What would you ask?

ChristopherM

ChristopherM

New member
Suggestion time.

I'm getting ready to do some interviews of indie musicians for www.indieshout.com. These are going to be based more on what a fellow musician would want to know. So...fellow musicians, what would you want to know? What information could a indie act that seems to be making some progress give that might help you in your endevours?
 
Christopher, just did my own brain storming session...nothing very original I'm afraid.

How long were they bashing away before anyone took notice?
How did they gain attention - strategy?
Is pro management necessary?
Are they making any money?
Did they gig first then start to get attention, or get attention then start gigging?
How'd they sell their CD/merchandise?
When deciding on material for their CD do they 'market test' it on fans and friends or just trust their own artistic judgement?

1001 and one other things... On second thoughts you may as well trawl through the threads on the 'newbie' section and you'll pick up most of these issues and more - I be there isn't a question that hasn't been asked here at least once!

I'll check out the site.
 
glynb said:
Christopher, just did my own brain storming session...nothing very original I'm afraid.

How long were they bashing away before anyone took notice?
How did they gain attention - strategy?
Is pro management necessary?
Are they making any money?
Did they gig first then start to get attention, or get attention then start gigging?
How'd they sell their CD/merchandise?
When deciding on material for their CD do they 'market test' it on fans and friends or just trust their own artistic judgement?

1001 and one other things... On second thoughts you may as well trawl through the threads on the 'newbie' section and you'll pick up most of these issues and more - I be there isn't a question that hasn't been asked here at least once!

I'll check out the site.
Click to expand...

Actually this is the kind of "brainstorming" I was looking for. I've already come up with many of your ideas myself, but there were a couple I'd missed, so I much appreciate it!
 
No problem Christopher.
I've benefitted from a few of your posts so its nice to be able to give back.
 
As far as sales & distribution:

We all know that places like HMV Music won't (can't) carry Indie Artist's Product... but every town has a...well... an "Indie" record store - a CD/Music store that's NOT just another franchise... have any of them tried distributing there?

If not, why?

If so were they successful in getting a deal to sell through there?

And if they were successful... what was their approach?


- Tanlith -
 
Heres my suggestions

One thing that every indie artist should know is how to sniff out possible contacts in your area.

In my line of work...(Urban - R+B, Hip Hop, Spoken Word etc) theres not alot of gigs falling out of the sky at any given time...so what could one possibly do to get booked?

Well...we all know that rock artists nomatter how good or bad they are..do alot of shows...linking up with the rock band to do a mini tour or whatever...would put you in a better position for exposure and gigging...this wouldnt have to be a permanent venture but looking at how rock and roll is getting its bread and butter by borrowing/leaching off of urban music namely hip hop ... actually TOURING or Trouping with a hip hop act adds credibility to said rock group and actually might make for good collaborative materials etc.

I really think I should get interviewed for this article or articles...I dont really think that any given point of time theres an indie hip hop label thats as available to the public as Mt. Olympus. Our staff is accessible, we're educated and whatever views people may have about us we know our shit enough to argue our point and get results.

I think its only fair that if you dont have any hip hop artists or labels in this round of interviews that you do that you add one namely US.

Im not demanding it but I definately think that theres a HUGE unspoken chapter of independent music when it comes to hip hop and I think that at this very moment in time we should put an end to that reality.

Another suggestion...is I think its only fair IMHO that people get steered away from getting reamed by consignment deals. The majors deal with a bigger recoupable than most people starting out and also a much better percentage on their return...whereas
people like myself and others are looking at a 30 percent return. Yes 30 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing but i think its only fair that you actually talk to people that have gotten 100 percent of something so that they can provide perspective on the situation. Theres too much negativity in the air about being independent unless you deal with certain people or play certain music.

Part of the negativity is manifested when it comes to vending your own material... Im sure this is old news to rock and roll and yet people say its not worth it or its not a good method of selling records. I definately think that you actually gettin those details from somebody that has experience in it (like myself ) would give people a better perspective on the matter. Instead of 30 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing.

Put a face to a name.

Im down to get interviewed over the phone (ill call you) or over the web through email or whatever....but I definately think that theres a host of people that can learn from the urban side of the indie industry...there are way too many people out there just trying to get your money....

Think about what could be gained by this
Im more than ready

Peace
Illumination
CEO,
Mt. Olympus Records
 
Re: Heres my suggestions

Illacov,
I understand where you're coming from regarding the selling of your recordings, and I checked out the two tunes you have on NoWhereRadio and like 'em...especially Catch22. However, for now, the main thrust of my articles will be to focus on interviewing gigging acts. I don't intend to leave hiphop out of the mix. I'm working with several bands now for initial interviews, but none are hiphop yet. Any suggestions for a hiphop group (that's drawing a crowd) that you would like to hear from?
 
Acts to inteview?

As far as suggesting acts to interview, that goes for everyone. Please send suggestions to editor@indieshout.com. I'm still waiting for the first feature acts to return all their details to me so that I can get the site up and running, but I want to stay ahead of the game for future features.

Thanks.
 
Re: Heres my suggestions

illacov said:
One thing that every indie artist should know is how to sniff out possible contacts in your area.

In my line of work...(Urban - R+B, Hip Hop, Spoken Word etc) theres not alot of gigs falling out of the sky at any given time...so what could one possibly do to get booked? ..........

...this wouldnt have to be a permanent venture but looking at how rock and roll is getting its bread and butter by borrowing/leaching off of urban music namely hip hop ... actually TOURING or Trouping with a hip hop act adds credibility to said rock group and actually might make for good collaborative materials etc.............


Peace
Illumination
CEO,
Mt. Olympus Records
Click to expand...


Ummmm exsqueeze me?????

Seems to me that most of the Urban Hip Hop etc gets it's bread & Butter by stealing/leaching off existing rock legends... like Aeorsmith, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd... seems if ya wanna break into Hip Hop and get noticed fast you need to first have a hook that already exists and is someone elses...

But that's a debate for another thread... if you want to persue it feel free to start a thread and invite me :)

Rock and Roll was born from the blues... and rock atrists never forgot that... Hip Hop and Urban was born from Rock and Roll... but they seem to have a misguided impression that it was an original creation... heh

- Tanlith -
 
Re: Re: Heres my suggestions

tanlith said:
But that's a debate for another thread... if you want to persue it feel free to start a thread and invite me :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for that.

And now back to our original programming...

Still taking suggestions.
Especially regarding artists you'd like to hear from (any genre).
www.indieshout.com
 
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