Bev's Blender Brain Blog

Is the real product the song, or the CD?

When Taylor Swift's new CD came out, I took my 17-year-old daughter straight to Target after school to buy it. Yes, the PHYSICAL CD. Taylor Swift is her favorite artist, and she listens to her CD before every track meet.

But why, you may ask, would a 17 year old buy an actual CD rather than the download? Well I wish I could say that its because she wanted the experience of holding it in her hands, savoring the liner notes, appreciating the care with which the songs were chosen and ordered, perusing the credits to see who wrote the songs, who's playing the guitar solos... you know, all those reasons those of us who are older than 30 understand. 

But the real reason is that she's driving her dad's 1999 Acura, which is too old to have an iPOD jack and too new to have a tape player to plug in one of those converters. So the CD is more practical.

But thinking about this brought me back to this core question: is the product the song, or the CD?

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that songwriters (and writers in general) are the only artists who create something out of nothing. No raw materials are used in the creation of a song. The intellectual property that's created is the song... so maybe the physical or digital media that carries it is more like the mat and frame would be in the case of a painting? So is it up to the artist, or the buyer, to choose the matting and frame?

With both our CD products we agonized over song order. Everyone does. You see, to the artist, these songs are glimpses into our souls. Choosing what feel you want that first track to invoke, deciding what flows into what, how the entire project builds and releases over the course of 10 or 12 tracks - this process is part of the art.

Then, 9 times out of 10 the tracks are dumped into iTunes and sorted alphabetically. In the end I suppose its the buyers choice, but you can miss a lot that way.

In the case of our Christmas CD, Starry, Starry Night, for example, there is a bonus track (track 11) that isn't noted anywhere on the track listing or liner notes. After about 30 seconds of silence, you hear a verbal exchange... "are you ready?"  "no!"  "1-2-3-4..."

Ready or not, the music starts. Its my son Kevin playing Jingle Bells on the trumpet in 6th grade after only two months of lessons, accompanied by my stepson Stephen on piano and me on flute (which I haven't played in years). The track was recorded live, then Greg's daughter Laura added the jingle bell track later, disregarding the cardinal rule that you always record the rhythm tracks first.

You can buy this single of Jingle Bells on iTunes, and believe it or not, people have.

I'm not sure it really has the same impact as it does as a bonus track on the CD, though. In fact, we just fulfilled a rush order for 10 copies of Starry, Starry Night for a couple that plans to give the CDs as gifts to each of their Thanksgiving guests this year. They specifically noted their love for the bonus track in their order. And I'm pretty sure they like the rest of it as well.

I haven't listened to the whole CD all the way through yet this year - I usually do each Christmas. It takes me back to that process, when we agonized over song order, debated whether or not to capitalize the song titles, draped Christmas lights over our shoulders for the inside photo and I wrote these words in the liner notes:

It is fitting that our first full length project be a collection of Christmas songs, because this is how we started singing together in the first place. And every Christmas, we are thankful that we can sing together again.

And while we're grateful to everyone who loves our music enough to buy even one track off iTunes, if you never hold the CD in your hands, you'll miss a lot.

Social Media - will the boomers ever get it?

Working with a client that's focused on securing enterprise networks in the face of the changing internet, not to mention a changing workforce, my perspective on social media is admittedly different than most middle-aged workers. (did I just admit that I'm middle aged?)

I cant' tell you how many times I hear "why should I be on Facebook? I don't have time!" Or Isn't it creepy to have people want to be your friend when you don't know them? And "why do I care what you had for breakfast?"

I get all of that, really I do. But I think Greg Rollet nailed it in his recent blog post Why Do I Have to Eat My Vegetables? Greg is a musician, and a marketing guy.... definitely not middle aged.

"As kids, we didn't want to eat our vegetables because we had a perception that vegetable were supposed to taste bad. Boomers and Gen-X have a preconceived notion that the Internet is bad and everything that comes with it, the YouTubes, Myspaces, Facebooks, Twitters and all the rest of the Community building applications that are considered time wasters by their biased opinions."

I have jumped into MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, blogging and all the social media avenues largely because I need to understand them to do my job. The by-product is that I understand how these tools can benefit independent musicians. And the suprising result is that I am enjoying the online conversation and its making me better at what I do both in the music world and the high tech marketing world.

In short, YES I do enjoy knowing what my friends had for breakfast, that the VP at our PR agency hurt her foot rafting over the weekend, and that the executive director of the San Francisco Chapter of NARAS is tired of the painters on the scaffolding outside his office window. 

Case in point - I'm currently working on a project with an industry analyst whom I've never met. A couple of months ago, we became friends on Facebook. We haven't thrown any sheep at each other, or given each other good karma or Lil Green Plants. I haven't even written on his wall. But just by being connected, I know a little more about him as a person... and he knows a bit more about me.

The result is, our email conversations about this project, while never directly referencing anything from our respective Facebook profiles, have been smoother and more comfortable. At least that's my perception.

So I agree with Greg Rollett that when it comes to social media, Gen Xers and Boomers, especially those who are corporate leaders, need to "just try it."   

My job is to make your job easier

What's the best way for me to get you to help me?

What if I were to make it so easy for you that it hardly felt like you were going out of your way at all? We'd both feel good about it, and I'd have a much better chance of getting what I want.

This has always been my philosophy. It started in my media relations career 20 years ago and continues now as I submit our CD for radio airplay, pitch venues and presenters for gigs and promote our concerts.

I've had this blog post pretty much written for more than a month. Today I got an email that prompted me to finish and get it posted. It was from CDBaby - if you're a CDBaby artist, you know the kind. It comes from founder Derek Sivers and is written like its from your best friend. And Derek HAS worked very hard to become every indie artist's best friend by creating a truly artist-friendly independent CD distribution site. The email included a link to download Derek's article How to Call Attention to Your Music. Although its worded a bit differently, he's essentially saying the same thing I am:

"Want to know the basic rule of marketing and promoting your music?

Constantly ask, "What do they really want?" (with "they" being anyone you are trying to reach).

Think hard, and don't take this one lightly.

Thinking of everything from the other person's point of view is one of the best things you can do in life. If done right, it will elevate you into the clouds along with a few select immortal beings. Every time you lift up the phone. Ever time you write an email. Every time you send out a presskit."

This is the credo that I live by. My job is to make your job easier. "You" being everyone from a DJ who I want to play our CD to the audience I want to come to our next live appearance. Which, by the way, is on June 1 at Roudon Smith Winery in Scott's Valley, Calif. as part of their Harvest Festival. Enjoy music all weekend as you sample great wines. Bring a picnic lunch or grab a sandwich at the winery, we're on 1-2 pm on Sunday.

So ... when I hear other musicians whining about how a house concert presenter, DJ, festival producer or music conference showcase committee wants them to provide their music for consideration in a specific way - using a specific format or procedure - I just shake my head.

• If a DJ wants me to submit my CD in a jewel case with a readable spine and the tracks numbered with the song length, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
• If a house concert host wants a link to where he can listen to my music online, I won't send him a CD in the mail instead.
• If a presenter who has booked me wants a ONE paragraph description of my music, I will not send a full page bio instead.
• If a music conference prefers its showcase applications be made through SonicBids, that's what I'll use.
• And I will communicate with my audience in a way that works for them, including concisely stating the details of the show and including a message about what they will enjoy about the event (the wine at Roudon Smith is very nice, btw). Also, I will not expect them to open an attachment and I will not send them large files to clog up their inboxes. And the links in my email will be helpful and will actually work.

The reasons are so obvious. I am asking each of these people to do something for me. To play my songs on the radio ... book me ... promote me ... recommend me to others ... spend their evening listening to my music and buy my CD.

This not only improves my chances for success, it also gives me more control. Here's one example. If a promoter needs one paragraph and I send him a full page, I not only make his job harder and potentially leave a bad taste in his mouth about working with me, but I also lose control over which paragraph he'll use from that full page I sent.

This is how I do my job, by making your job easier.

Doesn't that make sense? Or is it just me?

Social Media is Media for Social People

I have one foot firmly planted in acoustic music, and the other struggling through the muck of the changing world of corporate public relations. These two paths are constantly crossing.

Social media is where marketing communciations is heading, and very quickly. I'm emersed in it these days.

But I'm also constantly having to explain why. Its the curse of early adoption. Why do I "twitter?" Why do I maintain a Facebook profile? Does anyone read my blog?

I read a blog on enterprise social media this morning that had me saying "yes... that's it, that's why!" Its a Q&A with two Interactive Media experts, a preview to a panel discussion they were to participate in tonight in Minneapolis. I wish I could have gone. But I loved this definition of social media in particular:

How would you define “social media” to someone not fluent in interactive or online marketing?

Cuene: I’m going to rip off Dan Zane’s definition of folk music: Social media is media for social people. Or, a slightly more complicated version: Social media is the online content left by people as a by-product of being social online. It’s the media that results when folks write, review, share, trade, connect, etc. online.

Its just an online version of people communicating like they always have. Conversations about news they've read about. Recommendations for restaurants. Warnings about faulty merchandise. It happens all the time, now its happening on line.

So why do I Twitter? Truthfully, its all just an experiment right now. But I do enjoy getting status updates from my friends, and I'm getting used to talking about myself in the third person.

Bev Barnett is .... signing off for tonight.

Creativity and the Day Job

I've been thinking a lot lately about creativity. And validity. And whether or not I can be a professional musician while I am still a professional PR consultant. Its the "day job" stigma that's had me confused.

Here's where I am in my thought process. As ususal, there are some stories to tell.

Sara is a ceramicist in West Linn, Oregon. She is also a graphic designer. When she lived in Santa Clara, I sculpted in her studio every Friday morning. She moved to Oregon two years ago, and now I don't sculpt anymore. We spent a few days together last month when Greg and I were on tour, and she said something that I can't shake. She said as long as she can make her living as a graphic designer, and not a ceramicist, she is freer to create her art.

It sounds so obvious, and it makes perfect sense when Sara says it because I see her first as an artist, and second as someone who I call when I need a brochure or a poster - like tomorrow.

But I've been caught up in not feeling worthy because I'm not a starving musician. I'm a successful public relations consultant living in Silicon Valley.

My mom is a visual artist - she draws portraits with depth and feeling, paints innovative and inspiring abstract watercolors and creates amazing hand made paper pieces. Although many pieces have hung in galleries - and certainly some have been sold - selling her art has never been her focus. But that doesn't mean she is an amateur, or that her artwork doesn't have value. She's taught me a lot about not devaluing your art.

Being in my parents' house, surrounded by her paintings, is to be enveloped by a beauty and peacefulness that I don't find anywhere else. And although her primary medium is visual and mine is music, she is a true artistic inspiration for me. We're headed down for a visit this weekend, and I can't wait. I need that peacefulness.

So here's where I think I am with this... Sara can sculpt from her heart. My mother can paint and create paper from her heart. I can write songs from my heart.

It doesn't mean we are amateurs or that our art is inferior... just that we are creatively free from the need to make a living from our art. And that's very important work.

Libraries are the New Acoustic Venues

Good bye to the espresso machine whirring throught the most poignant section of your favorite song... libraries are becoming the new favorite acoustic venue.

On our recent Northwest Tour we ran into Dorian Michael, who us up live after our spot on KLCC in Eugene Oregon. Dorian was playing at a local bar in Eugene that night, and we were lamenting the loss of many great acoustic venues in the past several years. Then he mentioned that he'd just come from the midwest, where he'd played several library concerts. "The audiences are used to being quiet" he joked.

My friend Renee Bodie, of Bodie House Music in Agoura Hills has just launched a series at the Thousand Oaks Library. The kick off concert last Friday night was a CD release concert for Joel Rafaels' new disc Thirteen Stories High. The night was a huge success with well over 100 in attendance... including Graham Nash.

The incognITo librarian Blog gives perspective on library concerts from the library's point of view, and includes a commentary on the Joel Rafael kick off concert at the Thousand oaks Library. Moving beyond just kids concerts and puppet shows, our libraries could well play a substantial role in increasing awareness for modern independent acoustic music.

What are your thoughts? Any direct experience with libraries as concert venues?

Three Pines House Concert, Bend Oregon

House concerts, as we know all too well, are a labor of love. When we're preparing for a concert in our own TrueWind Music Series we always have a moment, usually around noon on Saturday as we're frantically cleaning dust bunnies and yelling at teenagers to clean the bathroom, when we say "why do we do this, again?"

But we know why. Its because of the magic that happens when you combine music written and performed by artists with integrity, with an appreciative and attentive audience that hungers for that connection. And the myriad house concert hosts across the country that make that happen week after week are a rare breed.

Jim and Susan Holmes are wonderful examples of this rare breed. They bought their house in Bend with house concerts in mind, and set out to book and promote some of the best acoustic artists on the circuit... Tracy Grammer, Stacy Earl & Mark Stuart, Craig Carothers, Kenny Edwards, Susan Werner... and the list goes on.

Our April 19 performance at Three Pines was another one of those magical evenings. About half the audience had never been to the Holmes' concerts before... its always fun to be a part of the widening of the circle.

This brings me to a very important point: the success of any concert series is a partnership between the hosts, the performer and the audience. We all work together to create this magic. It doesn't matter how long a performer has been touring or what they think their credentials are ... it all drops when you walk in the door because you have to make that connection with the audience each time, or the magic isn't there.

So thanks Jim & Susan for doing your part. Kudos, congratulations, carry on and on and on. Its people like you who give so much of yourselves to make this magic happen.