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

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www.SortedNoise.com

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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!

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!

“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!

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!

Ellis Paul’s song “Once Upon a Summertime” was featured yesterday on USA Today’s Playlist, a piece the paper runs recommending great music to the public. The song off the Sorted Noise-produced album “The Day After Everything Changed” is generating a lot of buzz and seems to be a favorite among critics.

For more on Ellis, visit ellispaul.com

Sorted Noise is excited to announce the launch of it’s showcase series, starting Wed. June 24th at the Basement, in Nashville. This showcase will feature 3 artists whom Sorted Noise has recently produced, each having success in various formats which are proving to be the bread and butter of how musicians will likely facilitate a sustainable and successful career in the future. 

Headlining the event is folk icon Ellis Paul. A veteran singer-songwriter who first made his name in New England’s folk clubs in the 1990s, Ellis found himself in a disconcerting position last year. He had decided not to renew his contract with Rounder Records, his longtime label, but wanted to make a new album.

With no immediate ideas for funding, Paul took a novel approach: He enlisted his fans, posting a letter on his website asking for donations. Since July they’ve surprised him by contributing more than $90,000 through a Framingham-based online service called Nimbit, along with checks sent in the mail.

Also performing are Caitlyn Smith and Perrin Lamb. Caitlyn, an incredibly talented 22 year-old singer/songwriter from Minneapolis, began making regular trips to Nashville to write and record her songs with Sorted Noise.  She has generated a fever-pitch buzz all around Music Row and is an artist not to be missed live. Perrin, an artist in the vein of the emerging indie pop/rock talent in Nashville, (whose co-writes include the likes of Jeremy Lister, Trent Dabbs, and Matthew Perryman Jones) has landed several placements from his two EPs on which Sorted Noise has contributed -”Be This Way” and “Feels Like Home.” Of late, songs from these records have been featured in The Real World -Sydney, Kyle XY, Grey’s Anatomy and Army Wives.

Sorted Noise is excited for the opportunity to showcase these three artists and to share their concept of Artist Positioning with the industry here in Nashville. As the music industry continues to shift, artists and companies with a creative vision will find new and better ways to connect directly with their fans in a powerful way, sustaining their careers for years to come. Please come join us at the Basement on Wed. the 24th to hear what all the noise is about!

Hey, we’re in the final stages of the Ellis Paul record and are very excited about how it’s turing out. Ellis is a one in a million songwriter with a really cool story. This entire project has been funded by Ellis’ fan base, something that is truly remarkable and inspiring. Here’s the latest news blurb on the record.

News from the web…

Ellis Paul’s Fan Funded Album

After 20 years of touring and 14 albums, for the first time in 10 years Ellis Paul will be releasing a CD without a record label. With an inexplicable show of generosity, Ellis’ fans have helped him raise over $90,000 to record, manufacture and distribute his yet-to-be released album! The album is slated for Fall release with working title “The Day After Everything Changed”, and is currently being recorded in Tennessee under the watchful eyes of Producers Thad Beaty and Jason Collum of Sorted Noise, as well as Executive Producer Kristian Bush of Grammy Award winning duo Sugarland.

Many thanks to all for the overwhelming support and belief of Ellis Paul’s art. Please check out a sample song off the new CD, “The Day After Everything Changed”

The Ellis Paul Investment

To hear “The Day After Everything Changed” visit our player at sortednoise.com

Well here we are already a few months in to 09. Here’s the update thus far. This past month we finished up EP’s for Julie Downs and Kara Mann. Both projects turned out great, and are getting ready for debut. During the holiday season Sorted Noise produced an EP for singer/songwriter Caitlyn Smith. Caitlyn’s stirring voice and skilled songwriting chops are in full force on this EP and her project is getting really great buzz in Nashville and beyond.

The new year started with the production of an EP for the band High Flight Society. These guys rock! Songs from this EP will definitely be placed in a Major Film and or prime TV spots, and you will be hearing from High Flight Society for a long time to come.

Currently we are in the midst of a full record for singer/songwriter legend and folk icon Ellis Paul. This project is going to be Amazing! Ellis writes extremely moving story songs. Each one grabs you and doesn’t let go. His songs have been heard all over TV and radio. Ellis’s “The World Ain’t Slowin Down” was the theme for the Jim Carey movie “Me, Myself and Irene,” and I’m sure many of the songs from this record will find their way to big placements.

Secrets in Stereo keeps getting more TV exposure. “Happy” and “Tonight” will be featured in “Bring It On 5.” “Falling” was just in “The Real World Brooklyn”. And…. the Paul Alan Continue Reading