{"id":122,"date":"2006-01-18T16:16:09","date_gmt":"2006-01-18T22:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.burningoak.com\/2006\/01\/18\/lefsetz-letter-spot-on\/"},"modified":"2015-08-20T22:37:12","modified_gmt":"2015-08-21T05:37:12","slug":"lefsetz-letter-spot-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/lefsetz-letter-spot-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Lefsetz Letter Spot On"},"content":{"rendered":"

Music Industry insider Bob Lefsetz posted a perfect analysis of how to get your band rolling in today’s market. He usually has a good eye for current music topics on his blog, Lefsetz.com<\/a>, but this post in particular<\/a> was an exact commentary on how it is. Check it out:<\/p>\n

1. Material<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an old cliche, but you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re only as good as your songs. But DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T make the mistake of believing there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only one song formula. If so, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll miss out on Yes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Roundabout\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. The point is, how you look, how you fit into the scene, your IMAGE is secondary to what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re actually playing. And, if you want career longevity, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to write your own material. Oh, there are exceptions. Very COSTLY exceptions. Try breaking a diva. But, by writing your own material you give people a chance to BELIEVE IN YOU! Without revealing yourself, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no hook. Revealing yourself in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vanity Fair\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, or god help me \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Us\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, is not like revealing yourself in your songs. Music has a power, a way of conveying meaning that NOTHING ELSE CAN! No image, no other words. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re truly smart, just put out the songs and say very little.<\/p>\n

2. Website<\/strong><\/p>\n

Create a place where fans can rally, where people can discover your music. Be SURE the URL is your band name only, that your site is not hosted at another server and the URL is mac.com or msn.com or ANYTHING ELSE dot com. And, this site must be FAST! And never run out of capacity. How the site itself looks is ALMOST IRRELEVANT! One can make a strong case that the fancier the site, the bigger the turn-off to the public. If you can afford a Flash programmer, what are your priorities? Music or image? Your site doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be as basic as craigslist.org, but Craig has got it much more right than wrong. His site is intuitive, and FAST! You can find what you need immediately. Which is why at the top of your homepage you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have: Bio, News, Music, Tour Dates, Message Board, Contact. Put these in BIG LETTERS at the TOP OF THE PAGE! Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it TOUGH for people.<\/p>\n

And, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re VERY smart, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to give away MP3s. Hopefully on the homepage, with no click-through required. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the key, to GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! DO NOT STREAM YOUR MUSIC! If for no other reason that at today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Internet speeds there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a delay, and most of the streaming software sucks. And NEVER have music launch with the site itself. This is anathema to the surfer. If he can find your site, he can find your music, assuming you make it easily locatable on your page!<\/p>\n

3. Empower Your Fans<\/strong><\/p>\n

DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T create a street team. At least nothing CALLED this. Just give fans tools to get the word out. Make it easy for them to e-mail MP3s. Make it easy for them to communicate with OTHER fans. And when you go on tour, EMPLOY YOUR FAN BASE! If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made it and are flying, have them pick you up at the airport. But, since you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re developing, have them host you at their houses. For dinner, to SLEEP! This will be a story they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never forget. You can count on them FOREVER! They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be HEROES in their town if you ever make it. Let the hard core into the gig for free. And give a discount to others on your Website. And, at the gig, give them stickers, and posters, and any other kind of memorabilia you can come up with. People want a piece of you, it helps them believe, GIVE IT TO THEM!<\/p>\n

And put up an MP3 of the show on your site. People want to remember the gig THEY were at. And, if you can afford it, give away music at the show. It would be best to allow them to plug their iPods in to get tracks, but you can always give away CDs.<\/p>\n

4. Embrace File-Trading<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to break an act, you MUST support P2P. Because it spreads the word that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re into spreading the MUSIC! That THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a signal for your fans to do their work, that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supporting them. As for losing sales\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 True fans want the CD anyway. At least for now.<\/p>\n

5. Touring<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t play live, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it in the new paradigm. Non-tourers should sign to a major label, and utilize their marketing dollars. Otherwise, buy a van and some gas, and hit the boards. Play ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE you can. Hopefully, multiple times\/gigs a week. Because NOTHING builds a fan base like live shows. People can feel the energy, they can feel the MUSIC! They have an EVENING, where they hang with their buddies, and make new friends. Every gig should resemble a night at summer camp. An indelible life-changing experience that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never forget. Start locally, and then build regionally. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T worry about conquering the whole nation, or world. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s TIME for that. Great acts develop slowly. AND, unlike in the olden days, with the Internet and a mobile society, if you make it in one place the people from that region will go to college or move elsewhere and create a fan base you can play to live in this NEW market.<\/p>\n

6. Radio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pay anybody to get you on. And don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t service a station. If a station isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t coming after you, FORGET ABOUT THEM! Except for non-commercial stations. Play ball with college stations, and public radio stations that have music shows that expose your genre. People who listen to THESE stations BELIEVE IN THEM! And thus, will be prone to believing in you. Sure, if a big station plays you, and if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hot, eventually they will, things are changing, SUPPORT THEM! Go give an interview. But DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T play the radio show\/radio station concert\/gig. This cavalcade of stars behemoth rapes you of your specialness. You specialize in blowing people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s minds at a special event that burnishes YOUR image, not SOMEBODY ELSE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S!<\/p>\n

And, support satellite radio (send THEM your music), and in the coming years, Internet radio. Sure, the footprint is now small, but so was FM\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the late sixties. XM is programmed by believers FOR believers. XM breaks acts. Just VERY slowly. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your strategy, so THROW IN WITH THEM, establish a RELATIONSHIP!<\/p>\n

7. Never Sell-Out<\/strong><\/p>\n

It stops your fan base in its tracks. Oh, you might get some casual listeners exposed to your music, but the hard core will now be done with you. They thought you were THEIRS, but now they realize you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re Madison Avenue\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. No one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lining up to get endorsements from THEM! The corporations are the ENEMY! If you switch teams, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re done!<\/p>\n

Once you make it, your image is EVERYTHING! It must be guarded PRECIOUSLY! You have to make sure people still believe in you. Partying at star waterholes, buying Rolls-Royces which are featured in tabloids\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6you become a CARTOON, and nobody believes in a cartoon (other than the REAL cartoons, like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Simpsons\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, which have more credibility than today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s musicians).<\/p>\n

8. Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n

A constant flow of product. A new record a year at least. Look at the Dave Matthews Band, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at least one authorized live CD package a year. Constantly give away new material on your Website. Even DEMOS! Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t KEEP the music from people, GIVE IT TO THEM! They want the WORK projects along with the FINAL projects!<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t repeat the formula. Constantly evolve. The Beatles taught us this, and Madonna reinforced the paradigm. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not growing, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re losing your audience. THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE getting married, having kids, getting fired, getting divorced, having grandkids. Why should they expect you to always look the same and play the same music? The more normal you appear, the more you write about your life or explore new musical styles, the more people can relate to you.<\/p>\n

9. The Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only the game is changing, the music remains the same. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about sheer creativity. Capturing lightning in a bottle and exposing people to it. The only thing that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s different is how this exposure is accomplished.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The only additions of my own I can point out are these:<\/p>\n

1) Have a MySpace.<\/strong> I’m not a huge fan of the website, but the fact is it’s one of the biggest ways of finding out about underground\/small acts today. You still need a real website, by all means, but being able to be “friends” with your fans, offering extra tracks constantly, etc, is big.<\/p>\n

2) Embrace music blogs.<\/strong> Maybe not the little ones, like yours truly, but at least the big ones. Aquarium Drunkard<\/a>. EARFarm<\/a>. Gorilla vs. Bear<\/a>. My Old Kentucky Blog<\/a>. Stereogum. Large Hearted Boy<\/a>. Marathon Packs. You Ain’t No Picasso<\/a>. There’s tons with similar amounts of traffic or more, but you get the picture. Get your tour dates spread around, on places like LiveMusicBlog.com<\/a> and Pitchfork. Justin gets tons of traffic on LiveMusicBlog it seems, and he has active user’s who like to post and keep coming back. These people will find your mp3’s and tour dates diligently as it is, but help ’em out a little, eh?<\/p>\n

Those are all that come to my mind, any other suggestions?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Music Industry insider Bob Lefsetz posted a perfect analysis of how to get your band rolling in today’s market. He usually has a good eye for current music topics on his blog, Lefsetz.com, but this post in particular was an exact commentary on how it is. Check it out: 1. Material It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an old cliche, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kanejamison.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}