How To Choose A Supplier

Ever wondered how to best choose a supplier to work with your music business enterprise? Or have you been burned? Has a web designer taken the money and not produced the goods? Have you had an ongoing to and fro with a graphic designer who doesn’t seem to “get you?” Well, I have too, here’s my story and here’s the lesson I learned!

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A Little Music Industry Career Advice

Last week I asked a question on my Facebook page which was:- “QUESTION! For anyone looking to get a job in the music business. I’m looking for 7 questions that you would like answered as to how to get a job in the music industry. What would you like to know?” I got a couple of questions back which I thought I would answer in blog form as the answers would be too long for Facebook comments so here there are – incidentally if anyone else has a question that they need help with please post it on my Facebook page and I will answer it for you.

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My TEDx Talk - The Fan Experience

I was recently invited to speak at a TEDx event. I spoke on the subject of fan experience. Here it is… enjoy!

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How To Talk To Strangers

Networking online or in person (eventually it is necessary to do in person) involves talking to complete random strangers. People you don’t know, people who might be untrustworthy, people who might have an agenda, people who might take from you, people who might steal from you, people who might harm you. We don’t like talking to strangers. Strangers are bad. Strangers will hurt you. Strangers have negative associations. Yet we are all strangers to other people.

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Goal Setting Workshop For 2012

Many people start thinking about their goals on New Year’s Day, many start thinking about this 3 months ahead and start gearing up for it and preparing to have it. This is the best time to start, it helps you think ahead, gives you more time to prepare and gives you extra time to think about strategy. 2012 is a few days away but of course it isnt too late to start thinking about what you want for the year!

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Reason #1 for The Fan Experience – A Take That Story

At the tail end of 2005, I was sitting in my office as Digital Product Manager at Sony (BMG) working on the Take That website. The band had been away for ten years. Take That were making their comeback and this event was marked by many things - a documentary charting their career, a new “Greatest Hits” album called “The Ultimate Collection - Never Forget” and of course their first official website. Until this point in time the “Take That Appreciation Pages,” had occupied the prime real estate of web space as the number one destination for all things Take That. The owners of the “Take That Appreciation Pages,” were doing a better job then we ever could have at managing the fans. Resources at Sony were stretched between many, many artists. The Take That Appreciation Pages,were dedicated to their cause. When it came to Take That as Lulu said in the documentary you weren’t so much a fan as you were a disciple.

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Broadcast Is Over

How many times have we been inundated on Facebook with “spray and pray” wall messages from “friends” promoting their music or tagged in photos and videos that bear no relevance to us? How many times have “Tweeple” tweeted us to watch music videos that we didn’t ask for and don’t have an interest in. It’s annoying isn’t it?

This happened to me recently (again) whereby I received a charming rock video that involved all kinds of torture, sex and death imagery (evident within the first ten seconds you could see where it was going … no major label deal for this band!). They were a follower of mine on Twitter. This video however, was unsolicited and not to my taste. Consequently, I blocked them.

Theoretically, we have permission so why do we find this kind of thing so irritating? Surely, by default, we are fans of our friends’ and followers’ musical endeavours? This got me curious why we feel this way and got me back onto a marketing strategy I am working on based on trust.

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