By: Kayleigh Mill and Lisa Occhino
The New Music Seminar is a gathering of all of the most innovative people in the music industry. From new media makers to streaming services to established management companies, the seminar went all out to gather the most informed minds, put them in a room together, and have them hash out the best strategies for the future.
We were lucky enough to witness all of this, and we’ve gathered the best information we took away just for you.
Music Blogs: Discovering The Best New Music
This panel was conducted by Bill Werde, the editorial director of Billboard, and consisted of Christopher J. Kaskie (President, Pitchfork), Matthew Perpetua (Founder, Fluxblog), Daniel Petruzzi (President, Okayplayer) and Anthony Volodkin (CEO, Hypemachine).
The group of new media makers discussed opportunities and challenges in the changing blogging and music discovery world, how best to utilize those opportunities and overcome those challenges, and the best way for aspiring bands to get their music on their respective sites.
Valuable Knowledge
For blogs:
- Create a community – network and take the time to build trust within that community
- Be able to scale and constantly look for ways to maintain relevancy – the music landscape is changing at a rapid pace, what works today might not work tomorrow
- Have an opinion and make sure you have a unique voice – personality goes a long way in setting yourself apart from other bloggers, some readers may click with your blog better than other blogs
- Create a constant stream – utilize social media and MAKE SURE your site is adapted to mobile users
For bands:
- Have an interesting subject line – something that describes your band (doesn’t have to be your music) in a creative way
- Know the blog – if you pitch yourself to a blog that’s way outside of your genre, they won’t just be uninterested, they’ll be annoyed
- Link to your music – MP3s are cumbersome and take up space, put your songs on Soundcloud to make it easier for the bloggers to listen to your music (unless they specifically request otherwise)
Website Demolition Derby
Presented by Bandzoogle and Folk Alliance International at Googie’s Lounge in The Living Room, this panel consisted of representatives from Bandzoogle, Ariel Hyatt (Cyber PR), Benji Rogers (Pledge Music), and Emily White (Whitesmith Entertainment/Readymade Records.)
The Website Demolition Derby consisted of perusing websites that members of the audience volunteered and breaking them down based on what worked and what didn’t. The cozy space made for a lot of good discussion and made it easier to voice an opinion along with the panel.
Valuable Knowledge
- The design should consistent and easy to understand and navigate
- The purpose of the website should be apparent – Preferably through a tagline or short mission statement on the front page, or an easily accessible “about” page
- Remember the rule of threes – Human nature is partial to options that come in threes, so, for example, have three tabs that have three options each
- Leave the autoplay off – no one wants to be assaulted by music unexpectedly, especially while in the office or listening to music of their own
- Have a mailing list sign up on the “home” or “about” page – bands would ideally have an offer (such as a free song download) in exchange for an email
9 Strategies to Maximize Artist Revenues in the Age of Facebook and Spotify
This NMS intensive was presented by Tony van Veen, CEO of Discmakers & CD Baby. He shared the nine top lessons he has learned running CD Baby and Disc Makers that every artist can easily implement to maximize gig sales, drive download purchases, optimize streaming music strategies, and increase music sales revenues overnight.
Valuable Knowledge
- Be where the fans are (hint: they’re on Facebook)
- Build your list by giving an incentive or exchange, i.e. a free MP3 download for an email
- Retain mindshare – don’t let people forget about you
- Sell it yourself
- Focus on iTunes
- Build a deep product catalog – more products = more money
- Embrace “free” – your enemy is not piracy, your enemy is anonymity
- Tell customers what to do (in emails, on your website, on stage, etc.)
- Offer specials/incentives, i.e. album and t-shirt bundles
Click here to read our interview with Tom Silverman, Founder of the New Music Seminar.
Click here to check out more of our New Music Seminar photos of speakers including Sean Parker, Wyclef Jean, Martin Atkins, and Andrew W.K.
