Indie Bands on Last.FM Part 2

Thursday I started my import of tracks and information into Last.FM. Today I will throw up the screenshots to finish up the process and report on my findings of the site.

I chose to upload all 12 tracks from my Skateboard Sneakers CD all at once. I used .wav's and the process took a little over 30 minutes which wasn't bad for the file sizes of the tracks. Once completed, you will see this screen:
After the songs completed uploading you are granted access to the Music Manager, essentially the backend of the site.



From here you can choose to select up to 4 songs for preview:


In the Manage Your Catalog tab, you have options to optimize your page by adding a main photo, album cover, editing the album, song credits, etc and potentially a buzzworthy section of adding similar bands. By selecting bands that are already on the site you can rate how similar you sound and essentially be grouped in with their tunes.




By utilizing the buy links option you can send listeners to your online store to buy tracks, whole albums or where ever you want to send them. I chose to redirect listeners to my blog, where they can buy my CD's or learn more about me.

On the Promotion tab you can buy advertisements to drive traffic to your music. This is set up like a Pay Per Click campaign. If any artists have used these features in more detail I would love to speak to you.

The last main feature in the Music Manager section is the Statistics tab. For the time being you only have access to radio plays of your songs. Hopefully this feature will upgrade with higher analytical fields to further breakdown where traffic is coming from, what others are listening to and royalty tracking.

Overall, the experience was quite painless. The only road block I had was the quality of my tracks being uploaded, but that is an easy fix for most indie musicians with quick access to your master files.

If you have any questions about getting set-up on Last.FM or how the site works, please shoot them over to gregrollett@rollettmarketing.com.

Just how cool are you?

Are you the coolest kid at school? Are you the most popular band in the land? Would you buy your product if you were at your merch booth looking at the CD’s and the gear? Would you be impressed with the set-up, the person working the table, the artwork, the packaging and the rest of the physical components? Would you stay and watch your set over talking to the cute girl at the bar? Would you skip your track if it came up on your Pandora track list?

Google employees think Google is cool. Google is the number 1 place to work, the world’s number 1 search engine and slowly taking over the world. I don’t know anyone who thinks Google isn’t cool. It helps that its employees believe in the product.

Apple workers think Apple is cool. Everyone who works at Apple has an iPhone, iPod and some kind of a Mac computer. What does this say to their customers? It makes them wait in line for new product launches. It makes them blog about the gadgets after they have bought and fallen in love with them.

What about Wal-Mart? Do you think (most) Wal-Mart employees think Wal-Mart is cool? Highly doubtful. If they are not excited about their business, how are you supposed to get excited. Sure we still shop there, but that’s because when you need a new desk and some ice cream at 3am, there’s nowhere else to turn.

What about your band or your music? Do you show the same passion for the music as you want your fans to show you? If you are going through the motions, so will everyone at the bar.

You’ve heard the expression, “Rock out no matter what the crowd looks like, you never know who could be in that sparse empty space of a venue.”

Take that to the next level. With the distribution levels and viral music marketing tactics of the internet, you never know who is going to get forwarded your Myspace page, a Last.FM link or come across a track on Pandora. This same person could be your big break, or it could be a new sale, or better yet, a fan for life.

Perceive yourself as cool (or as uncool) as you want anyone who comes across your music to view you.

How do you perceive yourself? Let me know how cool you think your band or company is and what you do to maintain that in your fans' eyes.

New Day, New Site, New Blog, New Possibilities

It's Monday. The start of a new work week. The sound of an alarm going off too early. The thought of knowing you are going to have some good lunch due to the fact that you went grocery shopping on Sunday.

For me, today, Monday, January 28th, 2008 is a date that embraces change, possibility and, well, a lot more work to do.

You might have noticed some things have changed here at the blog. What you might ask? The domain for starters. I'm back on Blogspot for the time being. Not a huge fan of this but I am having troubles setting up an effective blog page over at the new site. (Open to suggestions) I have also changed this blog to reflect on me and not my company. Therefore the new title is Greg Rollett, a Blog About Music Marketing, Social Media and Millennials. The content won't steer too far from what was being produced here, and will continue on a frequent (hopefully daily) basis.

The biggest news is that we have officially launched RollettMarketing.com. There are still some glitches and some pieces are missing, but with all the client meetings and the office move in date approaching, we had to get it up.

I would love for everyone to go and check it out, tell me what you think about it and what you think needs improvement (i.e. what sucks) and how it functions. My team is filtering through it today and we have found a few glitches with both the text and the images.

As I mentioned above, the move in date for the new office downtown is now Friday, February 15th. Desk shopping at IKEA Orlando was unsuccessful, but we did get some great ideas.

We are looking for funding. I am not going to be shy about it. We are a music marketing firm that would love some start up cash. I have some great ideas for applications and resources that will require funding and a great developer to come into reality. In the meantime, we are here for our clients and the indie music scene and will continue on this track.

We are really excited and really tired. I am back at the 9 to 5 today and tonight head to the 6 to 12. I'm putting it all on the table and say that I am shooting for July 1st to be the day we go full time in the Music Marketing Business.

There's lots to do, lots to learn and (hopefully) lots to earn. The key is to be in tune to the music industry, the social media world and the needs of bands and music industry related businesses. We have a long road ahead of us and like Ryan Healy said this morning, its time to stop planning and start doing. That doing my friends, starts today!

Here's a quick sneak peak of the site:


Oh and I did get The Skateboard Sneakers CD online at Last.FM. The full post will be up tonight.

-Greg Rollett

Last.FM for Indie Bands and Music Marketing

So I got whim of Last.FM making some major upgrades for Indie Musicians looking to get on the site, get streamed, get played and get paid. Using these features can add to your online distribution and big picture music marketing plan.

The set-up is very simple and easy to browse through. Lucky for you, I have outlined the basics and have a quick 6-step plan to getting your tunes on Last.FM asap. (Note: I will follow up with a post tonight containing the back end tools, tracking and any interface issues I come across as my laptop does not have proper .mp3 or .wav files of music for me to upload, thus the need for a part 2)

1. Head on over to http://last.fm and check for the Artist or Label sign-up link on the lower right corner above the fold. Click the appropriate category and you will be sent to the sign-up process.

2. The first step is to enter your basic information, such as usernames and passwords as well as an email address for reference. The screen below follows the quick set-up screen on Last.FM’s backend. Here is the spot to enter Artist / Band Name and address for payment and other generic goodies.

3. I missed a screen that details your Publishing Rights and Terms of Royalty Payments. It basically breaks down into 4 sections. If you have no ties to any 3^rd party Publishing company select the first option. If you have a 3^rd party publishing group, please read carefully through the other options.

4. Next comes the music.

5. While on the ‘Upload Music’ screen there are a few tips and procedures to take into account before uploading your music. They are broken down below the screen shot.

6. When uploading please follow these steps.

1. You can only upload one album at a time. Your files must be MP3 or WAV encoded at 128kbps and above. If you are not familiar with these files types, please send me an email and I will get you squared away.

2. Click ‘choose file’ to locate the files on your computer. Now you may add another file. Once you’ve queued all the correct tracks, click the ‘upload’ button.

3. You can also upload a single .zip file of your music, rather than individual tracks.

Not tech-savvy? (although you should be digital savvy by now, but that’s another day)

You can send your physical CD right to Last.FM and have them do the file transfer for you. Send your CD to:

Music Department
Last.fm
Karen House
1–11 Baches Street
London N1 6DL

For those of you looking to see how Last.Fm will pay the artists, here are some clips from their FAQ:

How will Last.fm record and report plays and royalties due to me?

You will be able to see weekly streaming statistics for your tracks in the Music Manager at any time. However, the weekly streaming statistics do not necessarily represent the total number of streams you are collecting royalties on (see why below). The royalties due to you will be displayed in the Music Manager at the end of the quarter and will be broken down into each revenue category (free radio, subscription radio, free on-demand, subscription on-demand).

How will royalties accrue?

You will accrue an amount each time one of your tracks is streamed on the Last.fm service. The amount will vary depending upon which Last.fm service your track is played. A brief rundown of the various royalty levels can be found below:

- If your track is played on our free radio service you will accrue a 10% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue (see the definition of “Share” and “Net Revenue” in the terms and conditions) from the free radio service.

- If your track is played on our personalized premium radio service, you will accrue the greater of either 10% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue from the personalized radio service, or US $0.0005 for each complete transmission on the personalized radio service.

- If your track is played on our free on-demand service, you will accrue 30% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue from the on-demand radio service.

- If your track is played on our premium on-demand service, you will accrue the greater of either 30% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue from the premium on-demand service, or US $0.005 for each complete transmission on the prepaid or subscription on-demand service.

If you have any questions regarding these definitions, please don't hesitate to contact us at labels@last.fm

That’s a lot of Last.Fm for now; I will do some more recap soon as I get into the back end on tracking and payment structure. In the meantime, any artists that have been using Last.FM like this, please let me know how it’s going for you. This could bring a good spike in streams and hopefully digital download sales of your music.

Just another tool in your music marketing arsenal.

-G-Ro

Legendary Vinyl Activist and Music Producer Closes His Doors

This man has been through it all. WWII, and comes from South Carolina, growing up in the Dr King days. Bobby Robinson is a 91-year old music producer and record store owner in Harlem, NY. Ironically, today, on Martin Luther King Day, he is closing his doors. A preserver of all things that are right about the music industry and wrong about the world are the problems.

Mr. Robinson believes in Vinyl and offers cassettes at his shop as well, to serve the people in his community and the collectors that visit his shops. He states that people come to Harlem for the roots of the community and not McDonald's or other corporate takeovers.

His shop is being closed to make way for a new 4-story office building with retail shops, presumably on the lower floor. None of the current tenants have been asked to move into the rebuilding plans.

Mr. Robinson has lived long enough to see the changes in the culture in our country as well as the state of the music industry. Producing the first hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips', "Every Beat of My Heart," to some of Harlem and the world’s first hip-hop tracks with Funky Four Plus One More, Spoonie Gee (Robinson's nephew), Kool Moe Dee with the Treacherous Three and even Doug E Fresh (and the birth of the beatbox).

Bobby Robinson was a pioneer and a survivor.

In a time when authentic vinyl shops close their doors and CD’s have taken the shape of MP3’s, Bobby’s Happy House stood the test of time. They built character and a lasting impression with the music they offered. This is something the current music industry takes for granted. The terrible excuse they currently call Artist Development has been thrown out the door for lawsuits with the RIAA and DRM infected music. (Even though DRM is gone, there are now digital fingerprints on your Amazon bought MP3’s.)

So while he may be closing up shop today, I am sure that his legacy in his Harlem neighborhood will live on. With the support of family, friends and loyal customers I wish Mr. Robinson the best and hope to see a new shop up soon.

-G-Ro

(image source - NY Times)

Open Up Communication Before It Hits The Fan

Communication was the downfall of my last band. I talk about it openly because the situation could have been prevented. We were 4 individuals, working cohesively as one. Every person held together something special that make each of us look like creative geniuses.

We were invincible. Selling out local shows, playing huge festivals, opening for national acts and creating a regional buzz. The problem was this wasn’t the goal for everyone in the band. It was my goal. My goal was to hit the road hard, throw all my suitcases in the SUV and go for broke until we were crowned the next Gym Class Heroes or Linkin Park.

While I was making moves, from hiring a manager, looking for booking representation, branding our band in outside markets and networking with rising groups all across the country, the other guys were shy and hesitant to the subject.

Well, I didn’t listen or maybe they were speaking clearly when they said, hey G-Ro let’s do it. Book us a tour. So Chris, Logan and I got on the phones and emails and hit it hard. First we had a 30 city go for broke tour booked across the East Coast. Two weeks before deployment, some guys got cold feet. We covered our ass and got the shows re-booked for new bands.

New plan. Let’s do a regional gig with a Regional Band and stay local enough so that if we get in trouble, we were only a day or so away. Cool. We got the Crazy Anglos on board and had a 10 city, 12 day tour booked. Two weeks before roll out, the same thing. This time, asses were ripped and the band was over.

So, where am I going with this? Open up. Talk to your bandmates about the purpose of your band.

Are you:
Trying to be the biggest band in the land and go for broke.
Wishing to stay local and make a buzz.
A studio band who loves making music
A hobby
Just starting and need focus
Not right for each other
A magnitude of other options.

Talk to your bandmates about their personal lives, what is holding them back, their fears and worries. Throw it all on the table at the beginning. I thought I was pretty vocal about my ambitions, but no one spoke up until it was my ass on the line and name getting blasted.

Going into my new business ventures, it has been critical to talk to my partners about what my goals and vision are. I know what Logan is thinking and where he wants Endagon to go and I want to play a part in that. Chris has extreme passion for Rock For Hunger and he speaks openly to me about it. Asking for suggestions, input and opinions. I listen to both of them and see where there heads are at. I understand their financial situations enough to know when we are straining a budget or when we can go for it.

When contemplating your next move, whether you are a band, a small company or a start-up, sit down and beat it out of yourselves early, before it is too late. There was no saving StuMpP because it was already too late. If we had put it all on the table, things could be very different.

I would love to hear stories about your communication and how we can be forward and open about our opinions and goals with others who may not share the same vision. Please share and join this conversation.

-G-Ro

Writing Website Copy - A Self Lesson in 7 Steps

I have written a few websites before. The first was an online store that specialized in hammocks and hammock accessories (think Hank Hill, 'I sell Propane and Propane Accessories'). The site was fairly easy to write. The products already had descriptions from the manufacturing company (who make great hammocks btw) and the back end of the website did the rest.

The next site was during my brief stint as a sheisty Affiliate Marketer who thrived of automated AdWords campaigns and ugly Adsense design. Again the copy was easy to write as most of the copy was taken from the Affiliate site.

Then there are the countless Myspace page designs and optimization strategies that I have helped many friends, bands and small businesses write in the past year or so. I think these have been easy for me to write because I had an idea and vision of the finished product going into the project along with creative guidance from the site owners.

For the past week, I have been writing the copy for the new RollettMarketing.com, a full service Social Media Marketing company designed for Bands, Small Businesses and Gen-Y Brand Building. I know, I'm all over the place. The site will launch first for musicians only and music industry related clients. I know the material like the back of my hand. In fact, I wrote most of the business plan initially on the backs of my hands, much like the plays we ran in the Taravella football days.

So why am I having trouble?

Maybe it's the pressure of really launching my own company and knowing that we are expecting heavy traffic first week. Maybe it's the pressure of not letting my business partners down. Maybe I just don't know how to write (not throwing this one out just yet).

So, in my quest to write about 20+ product offerings with full descriptions, a company profile that actually makes sense (thus, not yet written) and more uses of the terms Social Media, Social Networks and Music Marketing than there are definitions, I have come up with the following 7 steps to help myself (and anyone else that wishes to join in or use my advice) in writing the copy for your own consulting-ish company.

1. Be honest. When writing about yourself or your company, be as honest as you can with your readers.
2. Do not over promise. Nothing beats a bad deal like a company that over promises and under delivers.
3. Go into detail with your packages. It not only helps with Organic rankings, but it also paints a realistic picture into prospective clients.
4. Do your research. Find a keyword tool and abuse it. If you build it, they won't come. It you optimize it, they might.
5. Look into competitors sites and critique it from a prospective customer's standpoint. Did you like their writing style, their product descriptions, etc. How was the layout, the graphics and the organization of the site.
6. Create a mock sitemap. Planning 101, what are you even writing about and how did a reader get there.
7. Humanize it and have fun. No one likes reading something that comes straight out of a high school text book. Give it a personal feel, use your language and give it a personality. Your readers and potential customers will appreciate it.

Good luck writing!


-G-Ro

Office Space

Today was a historic day for Rollett Marketing, Rock For Hunger and Endagon Entertainment. We embarked on a journey through downtown Orlando and checked out an office!

How cool you ask? Very. The office in all of its glorious uncut and poorly edited visuals can be seen in the video below.

What is even more exciting is the prospect of Rollett Marketing grow into a company large enough to need office space. We have been building our client list and preparing for a marketing and sales surge and are now seeing the possibilities of what full time attention can do for our lil ol start-up.

Wish us luck and enjoy this special edition of MTV (er G-Ro's) Cribs (Office building edition).

Click To Play

And it seems like I have been talking about these guys a lot lately, but I did want to show off my new copy of New Day Revolution, the new book from the cool kids at Cool People Care. There's a rumor circulating that these are available in all Barnes and Nobles, so go pick one up!

Tagging Photos of Your Live Shows

Fans come to shows. Fans have small devices that take pictures. Fans post them online on sites like Myspace, Photobucket, Flickr and Facebook. Did you know that most of those photos are searchable through the tags and descriptions the uploader uses when putting those photos online?

By having your fans tag the photos, give them great titles and descriptions, searchers will be able to stumble upon your photos when searching for something that pertained to the night. Now if you can't get the drunk girl from the bar to tag them correctly, just ask her for a few JPG's and DIY. Here are 4 ways that tagging can have long-term effects after a show.

1. The venue. When people search for the venue or bands want to see the stage, etc, with properly tagged photos your images can be the backdrop for their viewing pleasure. Be sure to include the full venue name, the city, state and even the date of the event.

2. Your instruments. If they get a good shot of your guitar, amp or kick drum, use that as an advantage. When musicians are looking for gear images they can stumble upon the pictures and check out your site to get more information.

3. Clothing brands. Sounds cliche, but if you are rocking a local company t shirt and get a good shot of it, by using good tags and a good title, that image can rank highly in Google images for that company. You can be seen as a spokesperson for the clothing line.

4. People. This one is obvious, but overlooked. If there is no incriminating footage, use full names when tagging people in the image.

As Universal Search is becoming more active in Google search results, having pictures associated with your band and the scene your band is associated in will be a great addition to your marketing strategy.

Places to Find Me this Week

Another slow week for me on the blogosphere: Sorry about that folks.

Exciting news is that this Thursday Rollett Marketing, Endagon Entertainment and Rock For Hunger are going office shopping. Wish us luck! The steps are being taken to make this a full time lil gig.

Ok and here are my weekly goings on for last week:
Music and Downloads from Rebel Riot Films
Don't Just Make Resolutions, Have a Plan to Obtain Them on the Orlando JobSpot
5 Job Fair Resume Tips on the Orlando JobSpot

Welcome to Monday morning folks!

-g-ro

Seth Godin on Music Lessons

This is by far the best message I've heard yet on the state of the music business and something that I have been preaching for a good time now. And it comes from one of the best outside the box marketers of our time, Seth Godin. Stop fighting it and make change. Apple changed the music business. Why can't Sony? Or Universal?

Make a move and you will reap the rewards. His best line is the last:

The biggest opportunity for the music business is to combine permission with subscription. The possibilities are endless. And I know it's hard to believe, but the good old days are yet to happen.

Read please, whether you are industry, a musician or a music lover/fan.

Music Lessons by Seth Godin