A local radio station songwriting contest recently caught my attention, mostly because of the sizable cash prizes: $10,000 for the winner, and a total purse of over $26,000. (This is a huge package for a small-market radio station.) So I submitted I Meant To Remember. And my song garnered enough votes in the first round of the contest to land me in the finale, along with 4 other bands from around Ontario, performing live for a panel of judges who determined the grand prize winner.

The finale was Tuesday night, and my band finished in 3rd place, which thrilled me not least because it meant I won some money!

How this relates to Hometracked, however: I completely overlooked the revenue potential of songwriting and performance contests in my previous post on making money as an independent artist. So I thought I’d share some thoughts based on my experience the last few weeks, and in previous contests I’ve entered, on how to increase your chances of winning.

(Note: Some of these points address live performances, but in general the advice applies equally to online contests.)

1. Win money, not fans
People enter contests for the chance to win prizes, and song contests are no different in this regard.

As indie artists, we’re conditioned to think of every performance as an opportunity to reach new fans. But song contests are a horrendous vehicle for promotion. Most people in the audience cheer for their buddy’s band, secretly hoping the other acts screw up so their friend looks better!

Success in songwriting contests, then, requires a different mind set than regular music promotion. Some of what best helps a band connect with new fans has no place in a contest entry – most notably: improvisation, like extended drum solos and guitar solos, and excessive story telling. You don’t need to make a lasting impression when competing for a prize. Rather, you need to sound (and look) great just long enough for the judges to give you their vote.

In short, be forgettably brilliant, rather than memorably unique.

2. Popularity contests depend on votes
Some contests are judged, while others involve audience voting. In the latter, you’ll only win if your fans and listeners actually vote for you. So leverage your network, be it a mailing list, the audience at a weekly gig, or Myspace and Facebook.

Of course, it should go without saying that you need all your friends to vote. Still, one band in the contest I just entered finished the two week online voting period with zero votes. Why bother entering if you don’t at least vote for your own song?!

3. Image matters
Public consumption of music has always depended on presentation as much as the music itself. And every judged song contest in which I’ve particpiated has included a “marketability” criteria for that reason.

Case in point: 3 of the acts on Tuesday clearly put some thought into their physical appearance on stage. And the other two bands finished 4th and 5th.

4. Bring your own fans
The winning act on Tuesday night packed the house with their fans, and there’s no question it factored into the judges’ final decision. Even if audience response wasn’t a judging criteria, I’m sure the venue feared a riot from the mob who turned out to watch their friends win.

5. Err on the short side
Submit and perform your best material, of course. But if you have a choice between a 7 minute opus showcasing your lead guitarist’s love of Stevie Vai, or a 3 minute rock song with choruses and a beat, go with the short number every time.

People in general, and jaded music judges in particular, have short attention spans, so it’s best not to overstay your welcome. (And remember, the main goal is to win money, not fans.) Two of the bands performing on Tuesday night exceeded their allotted 30 minutes, and while they weren’t explicitly penalized for this, the audience’s restlessness can’t have helped their standing with the judges.

6. Highlight your differences
While it’s generally good to focus attention on what makes you different, with a song contest entry it means drawing attention to your differentiators often at the expense of other elements in your music.

For me, this required downplaying the instruments, and working the “pop” elements of my songs: Lyrics, vocals, and a strong back beat. I had Kev and Clif (my lead guitarist and bassist) underplay their parts, and asked Jan (the drummer) to put everything he had into the snare drum.

Your music might demand a different focus, but the same guideline applies. Find a way to highlight whatever makes your songs unique.

7. Work the hometown angle if you’ve got it
When all was said and done on Tuesday night, the local band won. This makes sense: A local radio station held the contest, ostensibly to promote local talent, so it’s fitting that a local band got to hoist the giant novelty winner’s cheque.

But the winners didn’t turn in the best performance of the evening, not by a long shot. And 3 of the bands (mine included) had everything else that matters: Fans, an on-stage image, a short set, and a unique sound. In the end, their hometown won them the prize! So while you don’t have much control over where you’re from, this at least suggests a good reason to focus on entering contests in your area.

And, it probably goes without saying: If you find yourself with the hometown advantage in a contest, work it hard!

See Also: Ways I’ve made money as an indie artist.

For more indie artist and home recording tips,
Subscribe to the Hometracked feed, or receive email updates.

The book claims to be “for people who want to record their own compositions and get them out to the World” and “for people who want a career making music for films, TV, and video games.” It’s definitely more the former than the latter: Long on technical details (aimed squarely at beginners,) and short on anything I’d call “career” advice.

That said, the book is worth checking out for the thoughtful introduction to songwriting, and the closing commentaries. (Chapters 1 and 12.) One of my favorite quotes: “You can’t become a better or more creative musician if you listen to only one thing, all the time, and write it…“

The first, in Business Week:

The outrage against the CRB rates isn’t fueled by concerns rooted in maintaining territory or corporate interest. It’s about the growth, development, and survival of both Internet radio and independent artists … It’s reasonable to assume that small broadcasters are more likely to be liberal in their allotment of airtime to independent artists. When July 15 rolls around, few smaller stations will survive, and as a result, fewer independent artists will receive royalty payments … When we support diverse broadcasting alternatives, we’re supporting the growth of independent music and the survival of niche-based genres that have become all but extinct on conventional corporate radio.

The second from an indie artist writing for The Baltimore Sun:

Because we aren’t regularly appearing on MTV, and American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest probably doesn’t know our names, Internet radio is one of our few real opportunities for exposure to large audiences. With more than 7 million Internet radio listeners every day – most of whom are tired of the redundancy they find on broadcast radio – the opportunities abound for the artists who before had very few.

If you’re as out of touch as I was, Digital Music News has a great round up of the main issues:

(1) Exactly what is the debate about?

The ongoing debate is focused specifically on streaming performance royalty rates in the United States effective January 1, 2006 through December 31st, 2010 (retroactive rates are being included in the current rate increase). It does not includes publishing royalties, which are defined by a separate process.

And Peter at CDM adds some thoughts:

Note the big attached “ifs”, which are vaguely worded in the official SoundExchange announcement, and sound all the more threatening given, according to SoundExchange, the previous rates are already in effect.

Why use one of these widgets to sell music on your site? Consider:

Cost: Unless you’re a web developer, equipping your site with the features in these players will require outside help, and it won’t likely come cheap.

Fan retention: You could outsource media sales to a company like CD Baby, but that means sending fans AWAY from your site to make a sale. Hardly optimal.

Ease of implementation: The media players work just about everywhere, including Myspace and Facebook, so you don’t even need your own web site to start selling tracks! (Though, really, you do need your own web site …)

Features: Thanks to near-universal support for Flash among web browsers, you can add music streaming, and in some cases social networking, to your site without having to worry about cross-browser issues.

The Players

The most popular players come from Amie St., Blast My Music, Hoooka, Musicane, Nimbot OMT, Project Opus, and SNOCAP. The 7 have a few common features:

• They’re Flash-based, and embed in any web page with some simple HTML.
• They support the sale of individual songs, and full albums.
• They let listeners stream your music.
• They don’t require you to give up any rights in your music.

Each player also offers something unique, however, and I’ve laid out the major features below:

Rankings

I’ve ranked the services below in descending order based on the features that are most important to me as an indie artist: How much do I make per sale? And how much control do I have over what’s offered?

With the caveat that I haven’t yet used all of the services personally: The free version of Nimbit OMT is my favorite, even without the CD and merchandise selling available in the premium versions, as the revenue share and pricing flexibility are the most artist-friendly of the group. SNOCAP is my least favorite because, along with their puzzling decision to charge an annual fee, their admin interface makes me feel like I’m essentially a commodity for their exploitation.

The rest fall somewhere in between. I’ve highlighted the main distinguishing features of each so that even if your criteria differ from mine, you can still determine which player best fits your marketing strategy.

1. Nimbit OMT

Website: http://www.nimbit.com

In their own words:

The nimbit OMT is your ultimate, all-in-one sales and marketing tool… use your nimbit OMT to establish or enhance your online presence, create brand awareness, market and sell your music, promote your gigs and other events, connect with your fans, build your mailing lists, engage in creative marketing and promotional activities and/or offer your fans an easy way to work with you!

Differentiators: Collect email addresses for mailing list. And although it’s a premium feature, nimbit OMT is the only tool here that allows for the sale of CDs and merchandise.

Hightlights: Nimbit OMT shares 80% of the sale price with artists (tied for the highest rate with Hoooka.) Artists set their own sale price, although there’s a set minimum price of 49 cents.

2. Hoooka

Website: http://www.hoooka.com/

In their own words:

The hoooka is a unique technology that combines the community and networking aspects of MySpace with the digital sale opportunities and exposure of iTunes. Anyone, from artists to fans, can easily create their own portable digital locker and post it anywhere – blogs, MySpace pages, or Web sites – and instantly become their own mobile media store.

Differentiators: Hoooka’s main differentiator is their affiliate program, which allows anyone to sell tracks on an artist’s behalf and earn 10% of the revenue. The Hoooka is also the only player that offers live chat among users.

Highlights: The 80% revenue share with artists is a plus, but the fixed price of 99 cents per track will hold a lot of indie artists back.

3. Amie Street

Web site: http://amiestreet.com/

In their own words:

We support our artists by giving them 70% of song sales and never taking ownership of their creative work. We want all artists on Amie Street to be successful and we believe that our unique marketplace will accomplish this goal to a degree never achieved before. Amie Street is where bands and fans run the show.

Differentiators: The most unique thing about Amie Street is their business model. They describe it better than I can, though they promise “our pricing model encourages music lovers to discover and buy new music.”

Highlights: The service is free to join, and open to anyone. Artists don’t set the price. Rather, songs are initially free, and slowly rise in price as fans discover and purchase them. Artists get 70% of the revenue from each song, but only after it has made $5.

4. Musicane

Website: http://www.musicane.com/main/home

In their own words:

Musicane is a tool that enables artists to sell their music, video, and ringtones from any site that allows you to embed flash… The best part about musicane is that your fans can actually resell your custom stores and products! They can sign up for musicane for free and become a reseller of your content. Every time they sell a download they receive a commission that you set.

Differentiators: Musicane also caters to video and ringtone sales; And like SNOCAP, they offer Widows Media DRM protection for those who want it.

Highlights: Artists set their own per-track sale price, and Musicane shares 60% of the revenue. However, they also offer a paid service, at $20 a month, which entitles the artist to 80% of the sale price.

5. Blast My Music

Website: http://www.blastmymusic.com/

In their own words:

BlastMyMusic is an online service that lets you buy music directly from the websites of your favorite bands! As an Artist, create an account on BlastMyMusic.com and sell your own, original music directly from your websites!

Differentiators: None to speak of, which in itself might be a differentiator. BlastMyMusic is a bare-bones no-nonsense mp3 sales widget. If their revenue share was higher, this player would likely be my favorite, as it does what’s needed, and gets out of your way.

Highlights: Artists can’t set their own sale price – all songs sell for 99 cents, although the company claims this will change. BlastMyMusic shares 65% of the sale price with artists.

6. Project Opus Folio

Website: http://www.projectopus.com/

In their own words:

[T]he easiest way to share and discover new music on the web. Each player gives fans the ability to share unlimited music with their friends, which in turn gives artists continuous exposure to new fans and broader audiences.

Differentiators: Offers multiple media formats, including Ogg and AAC.

Highlights: All songs sell for $1.00, of which the artist gets 50 cents.

7. SNOCAP

Website: http://www.SNOCAP.com/

In their own words:

Sell your music on MySpace and beyond – Easily upload your music – Set your own prices – Monitor your sales on a daily basis – you keep all the rights – Only $30 per year (the first year is FREE)

Differentiators: SNOCAP integrates directly with Myspace, rather than through template hacks. They also offer Windows Media DRM, and sound recording registration through the SNOCAP Digital Registry.

Highlights: Thanks to their partnership with Myspace (and the cachet of Shawn Fanning’s involvement,) SNOCAP is the biggest name in the group. They have a no-nonsense pricing model: Artists set their own wholesale price for each track, to which SNOCAP adds a flat 39 cent fee. But for most indie artists, the service has 2 big strikes against it: SNOCAP is currently only available to U.S. residents (and only offers payment by direct bank deposit;) and while the first year of service is free, SNOCAP plans to charge $30 a year thereafter. Given the glut of competitors who charge nothing, I doubt this will last.

He deals with changing realities in the music industry, and the strategies indie labels (though the advice applies to the major labels too) and artists will need to succeed in the face of these changes. Among his topics: The long tail, the importance of opinion leaders, and the overriding value of a great web site.

He recently completed the list, 20 “things” in all, and assembled them into an e-book which he’s offering on his site free of charge.

I read 20 Things this weekend, and two things struck me: First, how much of Andrew’s advice seems like common sense in hindsight; and second, how few artists and labels even remotely “get” the advice. Most of my musician friends fall somewhere in attitude between “if I put it on Myspace, fans will come,” and “what’s a web site?” If Andrew’s right, and I’m certain he is, my friends have no meaningful future in the industry!

20 Things is directly relevant to indie artists recording and promoting their own music, so I asked Andrew some follow-up questions on the book via email.

Hometracked: I’ll start with a quote from the book that resonated with me:

And a 30-second sample is pretty much a waste of your time and bandwidth. In fact, it’s worse than useless. That’s not enough to get them to like your music. Let them hear it, keep it, live with it. And then bring them back as a fan.

Do you recommend outright that musicians make full songs available on their web sites, rather than 30-second teasers? Should they put their whole catalog online for free?

Andrew Dubber: I think you should give it all away — but not for the reasons you might expect. That never makes me any friends, but hear me out. I don’t suggest that musicians put their livelihood on the line on a gamble that they might be able to sell music that people can already download for free. I recommend they recognise that their recordings are not the totality of their economic value. Recordings are idealised performances that show musicians in their best light. These are the best promotional tools available.

It’s entirely arbitrary that we think of songs as products and music videos as promotion. It could as easily be the other way around. More importantly, recordings are a tiny fraction of what musicians do, and yet they’re always going around creating value. It’s a profession for which most spend more years training than heart surgeons, and yet they are conditioned to believe they can only earn off one small part of what they do — and only then if they get really lucky.

The record industry has convinced the world that it is the music industry. It’s not. It’s just one bit of it. The major labels claiming to be the music industry is like the lions claiming to be the zoo. Music business is a wild and interesting place where all sorts of different people can make all sorts of different money in all sorts of different ways. But to get the punters in, you need to let them hear the music, live with it, learn to love it and become fans. Then you can have a sustainable and ongoing economic relationship with them.

And if records are the way you want to make your money, just think of it this way: it used to be that you’d press 1000 copies, give away 200 promos, and hope to sell the other 800. Now you can press 1000 copies, give away a million copies and sell the thousand.

HT: So is there any value in keeping some content behind a paywall, available to people who pay a premium or subscription fee?

If you think about this advice and then choose to put your music behind a paywall or only make it available to subscribers anyway, then you’re no doubt doing the right thing. Doing it without considering the alternatives is the mistake.

HT: In “20 things …” I’d say you blurred any distinction between music promotion and web site promotion. Will the successful artist of the future be as much SEO and web master as entertainer?

AD: I’m a big fan of clustering. Music business is overwhelmingly local, despite the few massive hits at a global level. And local music business makes its money by clustering. Local businesses who all do complementary creative things, all working together, paying each other, growing the local scene, co-promoting gigs and festivals, releasing compilations, linking to each other and using each others professional services.

Throw other creative professionals into the mix: documentary makers who need scores, games developers looking for theme music, local radio, website designers. Everyone in an organic, creative ecology. Sounds very hippy, but it’s local capitalism at its finest. Everyone makes money when everyone else makes money.

In order for that to work (and this is my point here), everyone needs to know the value of what everyone else does — and they need to know what those services are and how they work. Getting a grasp of Search Engine Optimisation lets an independent musician just starting out get a bit of a leg up into the new music economy — but once they have a bit of cash to spend, they know how valuable that is, and what to ask their local web developer for. Likewise, musicians should be educating other media professionals about the competitive edge that commissioned music services provide.

HT: That strikes me as novel and important: Not only do we musicians need to convince others that our music is good, now we also have to convince them that it has applications they may not have considered? Will we become service providers more than entertainers?

Well first, music’s far too important to just be entertainment. We’re improving lives here. I don’t care if you’re making children’s music, disposable pop, avant-garde noise music, polite dinner jazz or political acoustic folk. You’re contributing to an experience of the world in a specialised way — reshaping acoustic space, providing context, colouring in the emotions, building a personal history, emphasising an important message, and just generally contributing more to the quality of existence on the planet in five minutes than most people manage in a year.

And when you turn that into a profession, it’s a high-value service industry, whether that service is purely for casual ‘entertainment listening’ purposes or as add-ons to other media.

I’m not sure that idea is especially novel — but I think those sorts of services have been de-emphasised. With media coverage of music being almost exclusively about recordings and concerts, it’s no wonder that a whole wide range of music services that can be provided tends to get overlooked by artists looking for ways to make money. I reckon if you sat down with a piece of paper for 10 minutes, you could come up with dozens of ways to make money from music.

And these days, there’s so much more scope than ever before. The digital environment means there are more independent film makers than ever before, there are computer games and digital art installations… there are even websites with their own commissioned soundtracks. The list is pretty much endless, once you get going.

And it’s not hard to convince people that music enhances pretty much everything. People get that intuitively, I think.

HT: In the evolving music industry you describe, how important is “big label” sound in a recording?

AD: Like I said, they’re the lions insisting that they are the zoo. Because they have all the teeth and make all the noise, they’re the ones that get the attention and everyone wants to be recognised and promoted by the king of the jungle.

But actually, internet technologies pull back the curtain a bit and start to put things back in their proper perspective. I can be a professional musician and have a sustainable income for the rest of my life as a result of doing what I love — and it can happen without even recording a single song. Really.

That said, nobody’s having the lions taken out the back and shot. Record labels are massive multinational marketing firms and they’re quite good at what they do — when they remember what that is. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.

It’s interesting to note that of the top Fortune 100 companies listed in the 1980s, something like 85% simply don’t exist anymore. I heard that statistic this morning and went “huh…”. Anything could happen.

HT: A band tells you they have $500 to spend on promotion. How would you recommend they spend that money?

AD: $500 is branding money. Who are they? What do they represent? What is their look, their values, their logo, their font (seriously), their story? These things make it easy for everything else to line up.

If you don’t have a story, then you have no reason for local newspapers to talk about you. If they don’t have a logo or chosen font, local promoters will always list their band name in ‘Generica Bold’. You need to stand out.

Perhaps the best thing you could do, if you live anywhere near a university or college with a media programme is to give $100 to the brightest PR students for a local PR campaign — community newspapers and the like; $100 to the best graphic design students for logos, sticker, t-shirt and sleeve design for promo CDs — as well as imaging for website use; $100 to the best television students for a half decent studio performance clip you can upload to YouTube, give away on DVDs, etc; $100 for web hosting, domain name and an enthusiastic web and new media student that knows their stuff about CSS to make the most out of a WordPress-based site.

The last $100 is for new strings, drum heads, a piano tuner or whatever you need to get your work tools sounding as good as they can.

Otherwise $500 is a week off work in a rented place in the middle of nowhere so you can just practice, practice, practice. Websites are great, but a tight band goes a long way.

HT: So even though you say bands should now focus a lot of their energy on online promotion, live performances are still important. Are they any more or less important than, say, a decade ago?

More important. And less important. Statistically, more money is being spent on attending live gigs now than at any other time in history. Equally, the technology exists to have a perfectly successful career and never see another human being. Technologies don’t replace things, but they do mix the ratio up a bit. Let’s not forget, online promotion is just a tool. It’s one that wasn’t around not too long ago, so we’re still figuring out the things it’s good at and the things it isn’t so good at.

I think everyone thought that the internet meant they were no longer constrained by geography. A band in Madison, Wisconsin could have a hit in Jakarta and never even release in the US. While that might be true in principle, it’s more likely that decent online promotion will improve turnout, following and support in Madison.

HT: “20 Things…” extols the virtues of frequent web site updates. Would you recommend an artist post unpolished or unmastered work? How about works in progress?

AD: Publish everything. Scraps of ideas. Works in progress. Rehearsals. You’d be amazed at how fascinated people who aren’t musicians are by the creative process. A song that has just sprung fully formed into the air is a wonderful thing, but even more precious is the work you have seen being crafted from scratch.

People like stars to be stars, of course — but if stardom isn’t on the agenda, then people love human beings with human stories. A friend of mine once said that the best music is the sound of someone’s insides being displayed on the outside. Metaphorically, of course. But if you can participate in that process — or even just watch it take place, that’s really something special. Seeing a deer in the forest is kinda cool. Watching it being born, taking its first steps and growing up is a different experience all together.

And you can choose how much of yourself you want to reveal. The web makes you the gatekeeper. You get to decide what stays in the story and what gets cut. This is how you manage perception. But invite people in. People like to belong.

HT: You touch on the long tail a few times. I like the quote “The more easily searchable you make it, the more you will benefit at the business end.” Do you have any real-world examples of indie artists leveraging the long tail?

Indie artists ARE the long tail. The mass of music that does not register as ‘hits’ is increasingly more economically powerful as time goes on. But to leverage the long tail, you need to cooperate rather than compete. If you only promote your own stuff, then the chances of people finding you are remote. If you hang out in the sorts of places where bands like yours are enjoyed, then the chances of being stumbled upon are much, much higher. Of course, you still have to stand out in order to be memorable — but getting in the game is a great idea.

eMusic is probably the best large-scale example of independent music turning up in an environment where the people who like independent music are already spending money.

HT: The eBook is fairly comprehensive. So what’s next for newmusicstrategies.com?

The e-book is probably better titled ‘The FIRST 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online’. There are probably another 50. I’ve got a bit of paper with a couple of dozen scrawled down that I’ll return to at some stage. In the meantime, it’s back to business as usual at New Music Strategies: reporting on new developments as they happen, thinking about case studies of independent music from around the world (an Indonesian hip-hop artist starting his own label is next in line for the NMS treatment) and just generally coming up with tips and techniques for independent music business.

The 20 Things was important to get out there in some sort of comprehensive form — but it’s the tip of the iceberg.

Actually, the very next interesting thing I’m diving into is a series about time management for independent music types. The sorts of people who wear jeans and t-shirts, work till 2 in the morning, sleep till noon and are deeply suspicious of corporate speak about ‘maximising potential’ and ‘actualising goals’ — but who still want to be able to get things done and not feel overwhelmed with all the busy work all the time. Chances are, that might end up as its own e-book as well.

So — lots to carry on with then.

Thanks Andrew, for the interview, and for the great book.

The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online is available as a PDF download, and as a series of posts, from Andrew’s New Music Strategies web site.

No big surprise, buying direct from me is the best (for me). Direct digital sales… is the best in profit and percentage as I only pay Paypal fees and a negligible Amazon S3 amount. I make more per sale on CD Baby and iTunes UK than direct CDs from me, but that’s only because the unit price is three or four dollars more.

That information could come in handy if you take Bob Lefstez’s advice – Don’t sign with a major label

They don’t pay you.
Oh, they’ll give you an ever-shrinking advance. But royalties? No one sells enough albums to go into royalties anymore. And they own the rights to the recording. Terry McBride’s got it right, you want to control all the rights, so you can license INSTANTLY! So you don’t have to get someone on the phone to say YES to YOU about YOUR music! Oh, they’ll give you money to get started, but it’s like making a deal with the Mafia, they own you, forever.

Inspired by Darren’s “top 5 ” project, I thought I’d share a few of the ways I’ve made money with our favorite hobby. [UPDATE: Below, I overlooked the possibility of winning money in song contests.]

In descending order of which has made me the most:

1. I sell CDs, both online and at shows: The industry’s changing, but for the time being at least, this tried and true approach is the most profitable for me. As I’m sure is the norm, I sell more CDs at live gigs than via my web site. Still, the online CD sales of Waking Up In August are more than enough to justify the album’s web site. And if you’re debating whether to use a service like CDBaby: I sell far more CDs via my own web site, but enough folks find my album via CDBaby to justify using both approaches.

2. I’ve written and recorded songs on spec: Most recently, last month a lady I’ve never met hired me to write a song about her and her fiance. (Out of respect for her privacy, I haven’t put the song online. But if you’d like more details, contact me.) It was a challenge: Writing a personal song about experiences I’ve never had was enlightening, to say the least. But I learned a lot through the process, so I can charge more next time.

Check out Tailored Music if the idea of writing songs for others appeals to you.

3. I’ve recorded and mixed tunes for other people: I have a decent basement studio, so my musician friends come to me when they want to record their own songs. One such friend commented after a session that my T3 probably cost more than his entire collection of instruments, and I realized I should be charging for the service.

4. I sell MP3s online: I offer Waking Up In August in multiple formats on the web site, but the album is also available on iTunes, and somewhat to my surprise, people buy it there! Though adding my own experience to the recent body of evidence that albums may be dead: People buy Brand New Car by itself much more often than they buy the complete album. Apparantly, that song is the “single.”

5. I write about music: Hometracked doesn’t make me a fortune. Really just enough to cover my hosting fees. (And while I could bury the site in ads to make a few more dollars, one of the reasons I started Hometracked was my frustration with the sea of affiliate marketing-ridden home recording sites telling me what to buy, rather than how to use what I already have.) But I enjoy writing, and most of the links I post are articles and web forums I’d be reading anyway. So it’s a natural extension of the hobby.

I’m curious: Have you found any novel ways to earn a few dollars with your music, or your home recording skills?

See Also: Tips for successful song contest entry

For more home recording tips,
Subscribe to the Hometracked feed, or receive email updates.

unless you make mainstream pop or hip-hop music, WHY BOTHER WITH A MAJOR LABEL? They’re not interested in artist development. Hell, EMI won’t EXIST by time you put out your SECOND album, never mind your third or fourth. You want to get caught in that vortex?

It’s no secret that Lefsetz thinks the executives at the major labels dug their own collective grave. Most people who follow the industry probably feel the same way. So why did his rant grab my attention? One passage in particular:

Don’t swing for the fences. We live in a niche world. Don’t carpet bomb, hitting those not interested, rather just appeal to the core. And the core will support you, buy your CD even if they’ve stolen the tracks, as a badge of HONOR!

Lefsetz is right on the money here. Not only do we live in a niche world, but the Internet has given rise to, what Clay Shirky calls, meganiches. With hundreds of millions of users within your reach, your niche can appeal to a tiny percentage of consumers and still be huge. Further, independent music practically defines a long tail market place. Amazon and the iTunes Music Store should serve as good examples of why that’s important.

This leads to an unrelated piece in NY Magazine. The greatest generation gap since rock and roll has nothing to do with indie music or music promotion, but the thesis it presents is important to anyone involved with either:

When I was in high school, you’d have to be a megalomaniac or the most popular kid around to think of yourself as having a fan base. But people 25 and under are just being realistic when they think of themselves that way, says media researcher Danah Boyd, who calls the phenomenon “invisible audiences.” Since their early adolescence, they’ve learned to modulate their voice to address a set of listeners that may shrink or expand at any time

If you’re much older than 25, the people described in the article probably seem odd. But make no mistake: The future does indeed “belong to the uninhibited.” And anyone planning to market music will have to understand that audience, for soon they will make up the lion’s share of the 18-34 year-olds most music sellers want to reach. (Even in a world of meganiches, you still need consumers with disposable income.)

The teens and twenty-somethings who grew up with a ubiquitous internet have views on copyright, property, privacy, and music that differ considerably from those of their parents, or even their older siblings. I thought this quote, from Xiyin in the NY Mag article, captures it best: “To me, or to a lot of people, it’s like, why go to a party if you’re not going to get your picture taken?”

If you think she’s talking nonsense, that parties were just fine before camera phones and Facebook, then ask yourself this: Do you at least know how to market your music to someone who thinks like Xiyin? Because you’ll need to …

Previously: Big Label Problems, Opportunities for Indie Artists

For more on home recording and indie music production,
Subscribe to the Hometracked feed, or receive email updates.

Gizmodo is calling for a boycott of the RIAA in March.

Gizmodo is declaring the month of March Boycott the RIAA month. We want to get the word out to as many people as humanly possible that we can all send a message by refusing to buy any album put out by an RIAA label.

I support the boycott, and if you’re an independent musician or producer, I think you should too. Not, however, because of the gut reaction you have to the promise of “sticking it to the RIAA.”

Thanks to the lawsuits, most music consumers now treat it as self-evident that the RIAA is a band of thugs. As a result, campaigns like Gizmodo’s appeal to us viscerally. But this reaction to the “RIAA is evil” bogeyman can distract us from what, for indie artists, are the real issues: The current music business climate, and our flawed copyright laws.

As musicians, producers, and engineers, even if only amateurs, we are part of the music industry, and as such we have a stake in the RIAA’s actions not shared by casual consumers. We also have a greater say than consumers in the industry’s direction, and when we pin the problems of the music industry neatly on the RIAA, as most consumers do, we’re apt to overlook the importance of the real issues and our need to have informed opinions about them.

Common Misconceptions

Gizmodo aims to send the message that we won’t put up with the RIAA’s “unethical practices” any longer. In calling for the boycott, they make a common mistake, one that’s inevitably repeated in every discussion about the RIAA:

The RIAA has the power to shift public policy and to alter the direction of technology and the Internet for one reason and one reason alone: it’s totally loaded… They get their money from us, the consumers

Let me dispel this and some other oft-repeated myths.

Myth: The RIAA makes money off CD sales
The comments following the Gizmodo article above are littered with this sentiment, but it’s off the mark. The RIAA is a trade group, and is funded by their members, and by government. Their members obviously make money off CD sales, but nothing you do at the cash register affects the RIAA directly. In fact, as CD sales decline, the big labels have incentive to increase their funding of the RIAA.

Myth: You stick it to the RIAA when you pirate music
The RIAA has risen in prominence over the last 10 years precisely because of illegal downloading. If you support the practice, you’re furthering the RIAA’s raison d’être.

Myth: The RIAA uses illegal tactics
Their copyright enforcement strategy might seem unethical, but it’s legal. And even though they’ve had their hand slapped for over-stepping their bounds, the simple fact is that current law allows the RIAA to sue music fans.

Myth: The RIAA is evil
“Evil” implies an intent to cause harm. The RIAA has no such intent (and I question whether an organization can have intent in any meaningful way.) Rather, they operate with a mandate, to “foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes their members’ creative and financial vitality.”

Whether or not they succeed at this task is open for debate. Personally, I think they’re one of the most successful lobby groups ever. This article from the P2P Weblog sums up my feelings: The RIAA has completely re-framed the P2P debate in terms favourable to their members’ business needs, making “piracy” and “downloading” synonymous for many people.

Regardless of their success though, “evil” is meaningless in this context. Yet the idea comes up in every discussion on the RIAA. Gizmodo and other copyfighters even encourage it, I suspect because it serves their purposes to have us believe we’re fighting a single, powerful enemy. People are easier to motivate when we have a simple cause to rally around.

But in this case, the cause isn’t so simple.

The Real Issues

As an independent artist, especially if you plan to sell your music, you should understand the two issues that have given rise to the RIAA’s lawsuits.

Music business reality
Opinion on the big music labels ranges from “the record labels don’t get it,” to “the labels are dinosaurs.” Rarely do we see an understanding of the labels’ position that accounts for their business realities.

Here’s how it works: The major labels who fund the RIAA are publicly traded companies. This means they have a responsibility to their shareholders to remain profitable. The U.S. government, too, is responsible to American corporations, primarily to ensure that the country and its laws allow corporations to remain profitable. P2P networks posed a threat to the labels’ profitability, and they charged the RIAA with (arguably the most responsible) counteraction: Change the law.

Was this the best response? It’s debatable, but whether or not they made a wise decision, that they chose a legal response does not make the labels evil. Nor does it make them dinosaurs. This is 21st-century capitalism: Corporations lobby government for business-friendly legislation.

That brings us to the second issue.

Current copyright law
The DMCA is, by most accounts, bad legislation. Just as the U.S. government has a responsibility to ensure businesses can succeed, they also must represent the rights of their constituents. The RIAA’s lawsuits illustrate clearly that the DMCA does not balance the needs of business with the rights of the people they serve.

But I’ll reiterate: The RIAA uses faulty law to further their cause, but that doesn’t make them evil. They could defer to Ice-T on the issue: Don’t hate the player, hate the game. So long as the law allows record labels to sue downloaders, and business realities dictate that they protect their existing business model, can we really expect them to behave differently?

What can you do?

While rewriting copyright law and retooling the entire music industry probably aren’t on any of our career paths, you may still play a bigger role than you realize.

As an artist, when you release a recording, you contribute to the music industry and its future. By virtue of your participation in it, the music industry becomes your industry. Whether you release via an established label, or distribute the music yourself, the decisions you make will affect your success and the success of the industry.

I would argue, then, that as musicians it’s our responsibility to make good decisions about the music industry. (And boycotting the RIAA “because they’re evil” is not one of them.) Making good decisions depends on keeping yourself informed. In two ways, as it relates to the current discussion:

Understand the business: Courtney Love’s anti-industry rant in Salon is required reading for anyone who still thinks of rock stardom as a path to riches. Even if you don’t intend to sign with a label, you’ll make better decisions if you understand how the industry works. And especially if you sign with a label, you should know their stance on suing your fans.

Understand the law: Some of the best sources for (mostly) unbiased information are:

• The Chilling Effects copyright library
• The EFF
• Digital Consumer’s FAQ page

And for a Canadian perspective, I can’t recommend Michael Geist’s blog enough.

In addition to keeping yourself apprised of the issues, you might also involve your fans. By explaining your position to others, you increase awareness of the real issues that we face. (Feel free to adopt my approach. The music and text on my album site are Creative Commons-licensed.)

What about the boycott?

So is Gizmodo misguided in boycotting the RIAA?

Yes and no.

As I implied above, copyfighters like Gizmodo have us fighting a proxy: “RIAA” is shorthand for the host of issues that really need addressing. To the general music-consuming public, this might be an unimportant distinction. But independent musicians and producers have the power to shape the future of our music industry, and it’s important that we do so with an informed perspective.

That said, I don’t like the idea of suing my fans, and I want to send this message to the corporations who endorse the RIAA’s legal tactics. The boycott is unlikely to affect the RIAA financially, as Gizmodo hopes, but it does have potential to raise awareness in the industry. So I support it.

I hope my fellow indie artists and producers will reach a similar conclusion. Don’t support the boycott just because you believe the RIAA is evil or unethical. Rather, recognize that our industry, and the legal environment that supports it, needs help.

In short, boycott RIAA labels in March, but know why you’re doing it.

For more home recording issues and tips,
Subscribe to the Hometracked feed, or receive email updates.

The movie follows the creation, production, and release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Wilco engineered the album themselves, so we see a bands-eye-view of the recording process. For musicians and amateur engineers, not to mention studio porn enthusiasts, the appeal of this is obvious. We’re shown their gear setup, their recording techniques (I replayed and paused the overhead pan of Glenn Kotche’s drum mic arrangement half a dozen times,) even their microphone and instrument choices. And, given YHF’s history, the movie looks closely at the business of music. If you have a record label bidding war in your future, this could be valuable information.

Here are the opening credits, with Jeff Tweedy (and Sponge Bob) driving us around Chicago: