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