Hello again!

This is Part 2 of an ongoing, immediate experiment. Over the next 4 months, we’ll learn together as I (Secrets in Stereo) write, record, promote, and release my new album.

Last week in Part 1, we got to know each other. I introduced myself and let you in on my motivation and goals for this project. This week, I want to give you 3 things that have allowed me to quit my day job. Two of them, anyone can do. And you can start today. The third isn’t for everyone. But, it’s a game changer. Let’s dive in, shall we!

1. I SOLD MP3′S FOR THE PRICE OF AN EMAIL

That title is for all the artists that cringe at the idea of giving away music. But, whether you like it or not, MP3’s have a value of $0 in the consumer’s mind. And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can’t change the consumer’s mind once it’s made up. You have to adapt. Now, I’m not saying that your music has a value of $0. I’m saying that the low quality sounding, easily copied MP3 format of your music has a value of $0. Big difference. If you disagree, you might want to jump to #2.

At the level that you and I are at, our goal should be simple… Get our music in as many ears as possible. As an unknown, the most obvious way for me to do that was to give it away. I view an MP3 as my business card. And I view a potential fan’s email address as theirs. With that mindset, it makes sense to exchange business cards, with the notion of doing business together in the future. That’s the key… be confident that there will be future business. If you throw a hissy fit about giving away MP3’s, then you probably don’t have other products/experiences to sell.

There are a few great ways to facilitate this exchange of business cards. I’m a fan of Reverbnation’s Fan Collector Widget. Currently, I use this nifty little gizmo from Topspin…

This thing is supercharged. Unbelievably viral.  And I have all kinds of useful data that I can access on the backend. But, we’ll get into that further on down the road.

I’ve been giving away my music for a little over a year. I started with my 10-song debut album, and now my entire catalog to date. I’ve got close to 2,000 people on my email list, and I now average about 12 email adds a day. Without any type of active promotion on my part. These people are my “go to” people. Not only when I’ve got a new product to sell. But when I need help spreading the word about something, when I need input on a decision, or just to engage in conversation. They are indispensable. And if there’s one thing you do today… I recommend that you start passing out those business cards.

2. I IDENTIFIED AND ENGAGED LIKE-MINDED FAN-DOMS

This is easier said than done. Sorted Noise’s process of Artist Positioning gives you killer tools to the accomplishing this. And, again, we’ll get into that in more detail down the road. But before Artist Positioning even existed, I kinda fell into my first experience of a Fan-dom. It was eye opening to say the least.

Before I go on, let me define what I mean by a “Fan-dom.” This is really any group of people that are bound by a common interest. Not necessarily music. Read that last line again. But, back to my first Fan-dom experience…

It just so happened that the Fan-dom I fell into was the mother of all Fan-doms… Twilight. Very randomly (or maybe not), one of my songs was used in a fan made YouTube video about Twilight. All the video was, was a list of the songs on the soundtrack. You got it… a glorified track listing. Well, the song connected, and now that glorified track list has been viewed well over 1,700,000 times. Pretty crazy.

I could have been quite content with the exposure it garnered. But, what I did next to engage the Twilight Fan-dom was the most important tactic of this whole scenario.

I launched a campaign to write and record a song to pitch for New Moon (Twilight 2), with the help of the Twilight Fan-dom. I documented the whole writing and recording process on my blog, and asked for input all along the way. The project was covered by a ton of Twilight blogs (and there are 100’s of them), and really took my relationship with one of the largest Fan-dom’s in the world to another level.

What are your likes and loves outside of music? These could be good places to start finding Fan-doms you could relate to and engage with.

3. I LICENSED MY MUSIC TO TV, FILM, ADVERTISING, WEBISODES, DVD’s, TRAILERS, ANIMOTO, PHILANTHROPIES, … YOU GET THE PICTURE

Over the last 2 years, my 16 song catalog has generated over 50 placements in every kind of medium you can imagine. It’s the best exposure you can get… if you can get it. Sure, I’ve had songs in Grey’s Anatomy and The Hills. But, I’ve also had songs in independent internet shows like Palisades Pool Party.  I don’t discriminate.  I used a careful set of strategies and tactics to accomplish this. And there are absolutely rules you have to play by.

Like I said, this third one isn’t for everyone. It’s an animal in and of itself. (Get ready for the American Idol style cliffhanger) Which is why next Monday in Part 3, I’m going to talk exclusively on my strategies for getting your music into TV, Film, Advertising, and every other medium you can think of.

Until next week!

Josh

WHO ARE YOU AND WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY

Fair questions. And ones that I would want answered before I started reading a blog like this. So, with that said, my name is Josh Collum, and I’m really two things…

1. A living, breathing, self sustaining DIY artist. I write and record under the band name, Secrets in Stereo, and I’ve released 2 projects (a 10-song album and a 5-song EP) in the past 2 years. All 15 songs have been featured in TV/Film/Advertising. Over 50 placements total, on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, The Hills, Young and The Restless, Private Practice, and the The Real World. If you want to know more about me on the artist side of things, you can go to www.secretsinstereo.com

2. A member of Sorted Noise. The progressive thinking, Nashville-based team that specializes in advancing artists’ careers. We see changes in the music business as opportunities. We embrace new media, artist direct-to-fan relationships, and have developed and practice “the next generation in artist development.” We call it Artist Positioning. Along with being an Artist Positioning “coach,” I also spear head our TV/Film/Advertising wing.  If you want to find out more about that (and you aren’t already on the site) go to www.sortednoise.com

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS CASE STUDY

I don’t know about you, but I’ve grown frustrated of the generic “tips” and “advice” like… “you need to embrace social media” and “you’ve got to connect with your fans.” When I hear those things, two words come to mind. The first word is “no.” And the other rhymes with “spit.”

There is a whole class of DIY artists that have evolved past this level advice, and it’s time the advice itself evolves as well. In my view, this evolution of information should come from artists themselves, or managers that are working with artists day to day (as oppose to a former this, a former that, or marketing specialist). There are two reasons that I feel artists and managers are the best communicators for this info…

1. As most of you know already, the journey of an artist changes daily. We have to be agile and flexible, always ready to try the new thing and discard the ones that won’t work. Who better to pass along that important info, in an immediate fashion than the people that are in the middle of it? Our fans want immediate content. Why shouldn’t we?

2. We’ve got mouths to feed, and being an artist is how we feed them. Not speaking on panels, consulting, or selling advertising on our blogs (Not that there’s anything wrong with that). We have a hunger to find out what works and what doesn’t. Because our livelihood depends on it.

I’ve been inspired by recent attempts at this delivery of evolved information. Topspin’s Ian Rogers’ documentation of his managerial journey with Get Busy Committee (I wish it wouldn’t have sputtered out after 2 blogs. He’s a busy guy) and, the ongoing guest posts of Hope and Social’s Rick Huxley on www.creativedeconstruction.com are great examples of this.

THE DETAILS OF THIS CASE STUDY

Every Monday for the next 4 months, at www.sortednoise.com, I’ll be blogging about the ongoing writing, recording, promotion, and release of my new album. My goal is to not only let you know what’s worked for me in the past, but give you useful info every week about what’s working and (more importantly) what’s not with my current project. I’ll be a living, breathing, case study. An immediate experiment. Specifically, I’ll cover these topics and more…

1. Specific things that have allowed me to quit my day job
2. Thought process and implementation of giving away my music
3. Thought process and implementation of a fan funded project
4. Tips and advice about the TV/film/advertising world
5. An inside look into Sorted Noise’s Artist Positioning
6. An inside look into the Topspin platform
7. Viral promo tactics that work and don’t work with my Topspin-powered release

So, bookmark www.sortednoise.com, and check in every Monday. My hope is that every week, we all come away with an idea or tactic that we can use moving forward. Next week, I’ll be looking back, and passing along a handful of strategies that have allowed me to quit my day job.

See ya next Monday!

Josh

High Flight Society’s 2nd single from their Sorted Noise-produced EP Par Avion, has shot to the #8 spot on Billboard’s CR Chart. Called “Inhaling a Bullet,” the song is released as a follow up to their first Top 10 single off of Par Avion, “Run From Yesterday.” This time around, all the major radio stations were ready and eager to add them quickly, and within 6 weeks the second single has moved into the Top 10.

High Flight Society is a marquee example of Sorted Noise’s Artist Positioning at work. Finding ways to separate yourself and your sound from all the noise out there is at the core of Artist Positioning. High Flight Society was ready to take a chance and break the mold in a way that remained authentic to their developing sound. We’re excited about all the success that this project has had and look forward to what’s in store for HFS.

Ellis Paul’s Sorted Noise-produced record “The Day After Everything Changed” has been released to the public. You can grab a copy anywhere that sells music, including iTunes, Barnes and Noble, CD Baby, etc… so check it out! Here’s a cool review that popped up on CMT.com

 - The reviews keep pouring in with accolades for this latest release. We’re very proud of this record and hope you will get your copy asap!

Ellis’ song “Annalee” from the forth coming Sorted Noise-produced release “The Day After Everything Changed” is available as a FREE download today on amazon.com. Get over there and get yours!  Hello, it’s freakin’ free!

You can download it here!

New cool band alert: “Have You Heard” a 5-piece pop-rock outfit out of Belmont University here in Nashville is making waves locally with their high-energy sets filled with sing-a-long-catchy choruses. They reel you into their world as soon as they hit the stage. These fellas have been busting their butts and have a great handle on the social media outlets at their disposal (you gotta check out their myspace profile. Here’s the homepage pic.)

These guys have worked hard to create a unique sound and a steady, devoted following. Sorted Noise is teaming up with the band to take things to the next level. Have You Heard has just kicked off their fundraising campaign to gather the funds necessary to make a new project. We hope you’ll take a listen to these guys and support their efforts. Check out their fundraising page on kickstarter.com…

With Kickstarter, bands don’t get their funds unless they meet their stated goal in 60 days so we’re rooting for the guys to have a great showing of support and get their project underway. Fan-funded efforts are the wave of the future and we hope you’ll come along for the ride with Have You Heard.

“The Day After Everything Changed” -the latest Sorted Noise-produced release from Ellis Paul is available exclusively for download on amazon.com until Jan. 12th, the official release date. The album is listed on the home page of amazon mp3 under the heading “New and Notable MP3’s.”  You know, next to Usher. 

At the time of this posting, “Day After Everything Changed” was the 4th most downloaded record in it’s genre. You can download it in mp3 form here. 

The album continues to capture rave reviews on amazon:

“This is Ellis Paul’s best work to date! One of the best produced albums I have heard. The songs and the performances are so honest. Nobody does it better than Ellis Paul!”

“First time I have heard this artist his voice is magical and a refreshing change from the mostly mediocre counter parts ,have to say the best album download of 2009 for me ,which have been many!! I am at a lost though how I have never heard of this artist before?”

We’re excited to report on the continued momentum that this record is generating!

The latest Sorted Noise release from Perrin Lamb – “Sometimes the Night..” is available on briterevolution.com. Brite Revolution is a super-cool subscription-based service where for $4.99 a month, you have exclusive access to some of Nashville’s best artists. 10% of every subscription goes to a charity of the artists’ and your choosing. Your subscription gets you access to all of the artists, each one posting exclusive content for Brite Revolution twice a month. You can only get the new EP here so go sign up today! 

We’re really excited about the new music and the opportunity for Perrin to team up with Brite Revolution. It’s good vibes all around. Check it out!

WUMB in Boston, Ma. one of the nation’s most influential acoustic music stations just released their WUMB Top 100 Artists of 2009 ….

The radio station surveys thousands of listeners to tabulate these results. We’re pretty psyched to see Ellis’ name amongst these giants of folk. Read the full article here…

Ellis’ latest release “The Day After Everything Changed” – produced by Sorted Noise – continues to generate rave reviews amongst fans and critiques alike. Congratulations Ellis on this latest honor!

Our crazy rockin’ friends from Atlanta have just released the second single from the Sorted Noise-produced EP Par Avion. The news is spreading and being streamed on such high profile music sites as tunelab.com, a premiere mainstream rock website which receives around 12,000,000 unique visitors a month. The track “Inhaling a Bullet” is already gaining momentum at radio and we look forward to witnessing the same success which was had with their first single, the Top 10 hit “Run From Yesterday.”