Working with musicians, you hear a lot of “oh no, my fans would HATE that …” Venues do it too. And managers often assume an understanding of what their artists like or dislike. On nearly every count, they’re wrong. This is never more apparent than the world of technology. Last night, I saw a grandmother proudly pull out her iPad to show off pictures of her...
Sometimes the bear eats you…
Working in the music industry is kind of like living through a Homerian epic. There are heroes and enemies and epithets a-plenty. You also get introduced to the mighty beast known as hubris. You know the type: brash CEO who boasts on and on and on about how their service will revolutionize the industry. There’s also the musician who assumes that their talent is obvious to everyone and...
The Best Policy
There are times when it’s fun to be a dick. Maybe you’ve hard a really hard day; the man is just beating you down. You gotta vent on someone, and that barista seems perfect to inflict rage upon. It happens. But unlike the lowly barista, I run my own business. I don’t tolerate such behavior. As a general rule, I go above and beyond for the artists I work with. And I’ve got...
What about Dispatch?
I spend a LOT of time at music industry events. And I spent a lot of time in college as a music business major. And I grew up in Boston. So when I see a band that's doing everything the industry's leading voices are recommending, I (at least...) pay attention. The bizarre twist is that NOBODY else is paying attention -- except the fans!
Mr Nice Guy
Maybe it’s a character flaw, I’m not sure. But I want to be as nice to every client as I possibly can. Sometimes that results in over-promising, and most times it results in under-charging. As an example, I recently had a client that needed a very basic website done. I charged a basic amount, and did the basic job. When the site was finished though, to the point that was paid for, it...
Fuck the Cloud
So the whole industry is all abuzz about Google Music debuting. And for those that're using Google Music, they're not all that thrilled. It's slow, clunky, and not exactly the Music 2.0/Next Phase/New Wave solution everybody was trumpeting from the rooftops. And so it goes. Once the music industry gives up on one problem, they just move onto another while forgetting to continue solving the...
Lipstick on the Pig
The Terrible Truth
Assholes Flock Together
Exit Strategy
In the process of starting D.I.-Why, I realized that bringing on investors might not be a bad idea. If you take a look at the companies shaping “the new music industry,” investors are heavily financing their trek toward profitability. Why should my baby be any different? To get things rolling, I put together a deck. A PowerPoint deck. A bunch of slides telling you why my company is...