Sorted Noise artist Kylee Johnson will be singing as Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak and Ann Lueders tie the knot today in Las Vegas. Jesse commissioned Kylee and co-writer Deanna Harper with writing a song for the couple to dance to. Bride-to-be Leuders loved the song so much that she insisted it be performed while she walked down the aisle.

The wedding will be televised and aired in a few weeks. Read more about the couple here at People.com. Here’s the latest press release from Vegas…

Keep an eye (and ear) out for the song “Feel You” when the wedding is broadcast! Congrats Kylee and Deanna!

We’ve been hard at work writing music specifically for film, television, and advertisements and are pleased to announce the fruits of our labor! These placements are in-house instrumentals either written in collaboration with music supervisors or written by Sorted Noise.

A national Gap radio campaign…

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Song: “Ready, Set Go”

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If you catch a Gap commercial on the radio and hear some sweet sounds in the background, you can bet it’s your pals at Sorted Noise…

L.A. Ink

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Song: “Sail Over Sunset”

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In collaboration with Jon Ernst (Music supervisor for The Hills, The City), Sorted Noise created this track for L.A. Ink. It will be used during the upcoming season on TLC!

Pretty Little Liars

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The new hit series on ABC Family will air an episode this week where you can hear Thad strumming on the acoustic guitar, accompanying the singing of one of these pretty little liars. In the scene, Aria is singing and Chris is playing guitar, but in actuality, Thad had to watch Chris’ hand and overdub a guitar part which worked musically and matched Chris’ movements. Crazy!

We’re super excited about these upcoming placements and hope you get to check ‘em out for yourself!

Mayor Thomas Manino of Boston has proclaimed July 9, 2010 to be “Ellis Paul Day” in the city of Boston. We here at Sorted Noise are thrilled to share the Mayor’s proclamation on our website and believe that the honor is very well-deserved. Seriously, this is totally crazy. Check out Ellis’ latest effort produced by Sorted Noise called “The Day After Everything Changed” here! Congratulations Ellis!

Check it out:

Kylee Johnson, multi-talented singer-songwriter out of LA via Salt Lake City, recently recorded an EP with Sorted Noise which is generating buzz all over the map. Radio stations all over Salt Lake have been featuring Kylee’s music and her EP recently caught the ear of former “Bachelor” TV star Jesse Csincsak.

Jesse devoted a blog post to Kylee on his personal site which receives 20,000 hits per day. Read the full post here, which also includes Kylee’s mp3’s. We’re excited for all the buzz Kylee is getting with this latest effort!

(One of our fave bands – Little Big Town – is hosting their fan club party here at the Rutledge right before the Sorted Noise showcase. So make a day of it! Catch LBT, grab some lunch next door or at the venue once doors open again, and head back to the Rutledge for dessert! First come first served! )

The recent flooding in Nashville has been shocking and heartbreaking. And while we’re so grateful that our studio in Franklin was spared of the water, our hearts go out to everyone who has been dealing with this tragedy. It’s also been inspiring to watch as our artists and communities have come together to pull through this disaster. As a transplant to Nashville via post-Katrina New Orleans, I’m no stranger to floods, nor to the seemingly random manner in which certain homes escape devastation, while others right up the street are inundated and destroyed.

So it was with stoic sorrow that I learned that less than a 1/4 mile from my house in Bellevue TN, where my place was high and dry, our dear friend and renowned country artist Julie Roberts was flooded up to her chest and later rescued by boat along with her mother, sister, and 4 dogs from the second story of their home.

Just days before, Sorted Noise had recorded a project with Julie, including the song “Somebody Does,” which is an inspiring reminder that no matter how hard things seems, somebody out there loves you and is thinking about you. The song is certainly timely during this difficult period and it’s been amazing to watch Julie, who despite the devastation to her own home, has continued to lend her time and talents to the recovery effort, including performing “Somebody Does” for the Nashville Flood Relief telethon which along with Vince Gill, Keith Urban and a host of Nashville’s talent was able to raise over 1.7 million dollars in funds for the relief effort.

You can listen and share the new track here…

We encourage everyone to spread this widget along with awareness of the recent events in Nashville.

Throughout this ordeal, Julie became a trusted resource for many news networks including Fox and The Weather Channel. You can read her first-hand account of the flooding below:

Our thoughts and prayers are with Julie and everyone who was affected by this tragedy.

Welcome to Part 13 of an ongoing, immediate experiment. For the last 12 weeks, and over the next 4, we’ll learn together as I (Secrets in Stereo) write, record, promote, and release my new album.

To catch up, here are links to the past 12 weeks worth of blogs…

Part 1 – Meet The Artist

Part 2 – 3 Things That Have Let Me Quit My Day Job

Part 3 – 5 Things Music Supervisors Are Looking For in You and Your Music

Part 4 – 5 Truths About Licensing Companies

Part 5 – 5 Rules to Follow When Getting Your Music to Music Supervisors

Part 6 – The First 3 Questions of Artist Positioning

Part 7 – A Real Life, Current Example of Artist Positioning at its Finest

Part 8 – Applying Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics to an Album Release

Part 9 – 3 Key Tactics For The Release of The New Secrets In Stereo Album

Part 10 – 5 Blogs Every Indie Artist Should Read Every Day

Part 11 – 5 Keys to a Successful Fan Funding Campaign

Part 12 – 3 Examples of Fan Funding Done Right

I’ve been in LA for the past two weeks, meeting with a bunch of Music Supervisors.  I’ve been lucky enough to talk shop with some great music minds, including the vice president of one of the biggest film studios in the world, as well as the Supervisor for some of the biggest TV shows in the last 5 years.  I’m going to keep them anonymous, but trust me, they’re awesome.

Just when you think you have it figured out, you sit down with people like this, and they give you great insight.  I thought it was too great not to pass along to you.  So, this week, we’re going to expand on Part 3, and look at 3 more things Supervisors are looking for in you and your music.

1. Don’t Tell the Story.  Speak Around it.

This one is kinda tough to wrap your head around, but it’s sooooo important.  The story can only be told once.  Either by the dialogue, the visual, or the audible.  If a song is describing exactly what’s being seen visually, then the story is being told twice.  That doesn’t work.  The Supervisor that told me this did an interview in Time, and summed this concept up perfectly…

If a song tells too much of the story, it takes you out of the film. Because then you’re like, I’m already watching the story unfold, I don’t need lyrics to tell me the exact same thing.

2. Stay Away From “He” and “She”

The same Supervisor said that whenever she hears a song with those words in it, she screams a curse word that I can’t repeat here.  ”He” and “She” pigeon hole a song.  If the singer is a girl, and she is talking about a “he” lyrically, then the scene has to be a female actress focusing on a guy.  On the flip side, take the “he” out, and it could be a guy focusing on a girl, a girl focusing on a girl, the list can get as creative as you want it to.  :)

3. Song Titles Matter

In the same vein as #2, the more specific the title, the less likely it will get listened to.  Simple as that.  Keep it accessible and interpretable.  For example, I have song titles like “Tonight,” “Happy,” and “Beautiful.”

Until next week!

Josh

www.SecretsinStereo.com

www.twitter.com/SecretsinStereo

www.facebook.com/SecretsinStereo

www.SortedNoise.com

www.twitter.com/SortedNoise

www.facebook.com/SortedNoise

P.S. If you’re finding what I’m saying interesting, maybe other people will too! Pass along these blogs on Twitter, Facebook, and through Email.  Thanks!

Welcome to Part 12 of an ongoing, immediate experiment. For the last 11 weeks, and over the next 5, we’ll learn together as I (Secrets in Stereo) write, record, promote, and release my new album.

To catch up, here are links to the past 11 weeks worth of blogs…

Part 1 - Meet The Artist

Part 2 - 3 Things That Have Let Me Quit My Day Job

Part 3 - 5 Things Music Supervisors Are Looking For in You and Your Music

Part 4 - 5 Truths About Licensing Companies

Part 5 - 5 Rules to Follow When Getting Your Music to Music Supervisors

Part 6 - The First 3 Questions of Artist Positioning

Part 7 - A Real Life, Current Example of Artist Positioning at its Finest

Part 8 - Applying Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics to an Album Release

Part 9 - 3 Key Tactics For The Release of The New Secrets In Stereo Album

Part 10 - 5 Blogs Every Indie Artist Should Read Every Day

Part 11 – 5 Keys to a Successful Fan Funding Campaign

Jill Sobule gets a lot of press when it comes Fan Funding.  And in a lot of ways, rightfully so.  This week, I want to look at 3 campaigns that you might not know about.  But, are equally, if not more impressive than hers.

1. Five Times August

Just generally speaking, if you are a DIY artist, this guy should probably be your blueprint.  Not just with Fan Funding.  He teamed up Kickstarter.com in its very early stages for a campaign, and raised over $20,000 in 31 days.  Not too shabby.  Check out his Kickstarter page here.

Besides having a rock solid foundation of fans, I see two things he did that made his campaign successful that we could learn from.  One, he created urgency with a 31 day timeframe.  And two, he created a societal element by donating half of his sales for the rest of the year if and only if they reached their goal. Very smart on both accounts.

2. Allison Weiss

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Allison.  I hadn’t.  But, she is a prime example that you don’t have to have a massive following or a large number of backers (she had a little over 200) to make Fan Funding work.  Again, through Kickstarter, she actually far exceeded her goal of $2,000 by raising over $7,700.  That’s remarkable, as most backers stop backing once the goal is met.  Check out her Kickstarter page here.

Two things jump out at me as to why her campaign was so successful.  One, she’s real and relate-able.  Her video is very basic, but she comes across like-able.  And that’s a good quality to have when you’re trying to get people to give you money.  You can’t fake that.  And two, she was super creative and super personal with her packages.

3. Ellis Paul

Some of you may have heard of Ellis.  He got some press with his Fan Funding campaign (although I would argue not enough).  He is the perfect candidate for Fan Funding.  A large following.  An amazing artist that can deliver.  And a fan base that is older and affluent.  All this adds up to raising over $100,000.  I’m a little bit biased with Ellis’ project, because Sorted Noise actually produced it.  But, none the less, he is a great example of how Fan Funding can be a game changer.

There is a GREAT case study article by Rachel Klein from Ellis’ management company on Nimbit.com that details the specs on his campaign.  I highly recommend it.  You can read it here.

Until next week!

Josh

www.SecretsinStereo.com

www.twitter.com/SecretsinStereo

www.facebook.com/SecretsinStereo

www.SortedNoise.com

www.twitter.com/SortedNoise

www.facebook.com/SortedNoise

P.S. If you’re finding what I’m saying interesting, maybe other people will too! Pass along these blogs on Twitter, Facebook, and through Email.  Thanks!

Welcome to Part 11 of an ongoing, immediate experiment. For the last 10 weeks, and over the next 6, we’ll learn together as I (Secrets in Stereo) write, record, promote, and release my new album.

To catch up, here are links to the past 10 weeks worth of blogs…

Part 1 - Meet The Artist

Part 2 - 3 Things That Have Let Me Quit My Day Job

Part 3 - 5 Things Music Supervisors Are Looking For in You and Your Music

Part 4 - 5 Truths About Licensing Companies

Part 5 - 5 Rules to Follow When Getting Your Music to Music Supervisors

Part 6 - The First 3 Questions of Artist Positioning

Part 7 - A Real Life, Current Example of Artist Positioning at its Finest

Part 8 - Applying Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics to an Album Release

Part 9 - 3 Key Tactics For The Release of The New Secrets In Stereo Album

Part 10 – 5 Blogs Every Indie Artist Should Read Every Day

This week, I want to expand upon one of my Tactics… Fan Funding.  It seems to be a buzz word lately, but with only a handful of examples out there, it can be hard to know if it’s right for you.  Well, I’m just about through with my Fan Funding campaign, so I thought I would pass along what I’ve learned.  Good and bad.  It really boils down to these 5 keys to success (For each Key, there is a “Me” section where I’ll give my personal experience)

1.  DIY or Kickstarter.com

First things first.  Who is going to facilitate the campaign?  You or a third party?  (From this point forward, the “third party” will be called Kickstarter.  They are the only company I’ve seen that’s worth considering)  Obviously, there are pros and cons for both sides.  The pro for Kickstarter, is they provide a platform and a home for your campaign.  The con, they take a 5% cut.  The pro for DIY is you keep 100% of the money.  The con, you have to build a web page and incorporate Paypal buttons.

Me – I was lucky to have a friend who is a genius with HTML code.  So, it made sense for me to build my fan funding page right into my own site.  But, if I didn’t have that friend, I wouldn’t think twice about using Kickstarter.

2.  An Existing Foundation of Fans

There is no point in even thinking about a fan funding project if you don’t have a solid infrastructure set up.  By “infrastructure,” I mean an active Facebook Fan Page, Twitter account, and most importantly, an large email list.  The “if you build it, they will come” strategy won’t work here.  You are going after the most devoted of your fans.  This is usually about 10% of your email list.  So, you need to have a pretty big army to pitch to, and to have them pitch for you.

Me – I had just over 2,000 emails on my email list.  I can tell you from experience, that is about as low as you probably want to go with.

3.  Fans with Credit Cards

This one is sooooo obvious, yet so important.  Yes, you can accept checks.  But, the majority of your commerce with this, is going to be through cards.  Before you jump in, make sure you know your fan profile.  Are they 35 and middle class?  Or, are they 16 and living with their parents?

Me – Remember how I said this one was obvious?  Well, I slightly overlooked it.  I have two factions of fans.  One, is 24-35, and the other is 15-18.  So, basically, my potential funders were cut down substantially before I ever launched the campaign.

4.  Smart Price Points

This is, again, all based upon your fan profile.  If they’re college aged, then you might want to offer the bulk of your packages in the $10-$75 range.  If they are mid 30’s working class, then maybe lean a little higher, while also adding a few “just go for it” levels (ie. $500-$5,000).  You never know.

Me – I looked at some other successful campaigns on Kickstarter of bands that had, what I thought, similar audiences.  I noticed the most popular package with those bands was in the $25 range.  So, feeling confident I could get the up sale, I sweetened my $25 package by making sure it was a significant upgrade from the $10.  Also, I added a number of high dollar packages, and someone purchased my $2,500 one.

5.  Rare Content That’s Targeted

As much as we would like to think that a fan is purchasing a package to help us out, they aren’t.  They are purchasing that package because of its content.  And, the most enticing content is rare, exclusive, personalized, and targeted. It has to resonate with the people you are going after.  You have to give them a reason to buy.

Me –  My music has really connected with Twilight fans, and I have a lot of them as fans myself.  Because of this, I created two special packages just for them.  The exclusive content in the packages were based around the two songs that have really resonated with that fandom.

Hopefully, this shed some light on idea of Fan Funding.  I had a modest goal of $5,000, and even with my mistake of overlooking the fact that a large portion of my fans didn’t have credit cards, I was able to meet that (thanks to the purchase of the $2,500 package).  To be honest, it’s pretty hard to mess a Fan Funding campaign up.  There isn’t much overhead, and it doesn’t take a lot of time or energy to do it right.  So, if you can follow these Keys, go for it!

Until next week!

Josh

www.SecretsinStereo.com

www.twitter.com/SecretsinStereo

www.facebook.com/SecretsinStereo

www.SortedNoise.com

www.twitter.com/SortedNoise

www.facebook.com/SortedNoise

P.S. If you’re finding what I’m saying interesting, maybe other people will too! Pass along these blogs on Twitter, Facebook, and through Email.  Thanks!