DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ

But read this:

"Global superstar or massive PR hoax?"

__________________________________________

FOOD TRUCKS

Read this article re Heavenly Ski Resort utilizing trucks to promote the ski area:

Marketers Discover Trucks Can Deliver More Than Food

And don’t skip over this just because you don’t like skiing.  The point of the article is:

"The challenge with buying traditional media, said John Wagnon, the vice president for marketing at Heavenly, one of the properties of the Vail Resorts group, is ‘paying for eyeballs of people who have no interest in what you’re trying to sell.’"

Zac Brown likes to cook.  Maybe to promote his new album he should drive around making meals in a truck or sponsor food trucks emblazoned with his visage.  This would create excitement for fans, get people talking.

You’ve got to be innovative these days.  People ignore traditional marketing messages.

_______________________________________________

From: Kia Kamran Esq.
Subject: RE: Pomplamoose/Hyundai

Bob;

Thank you for this. Your take is DEAD ON.  They (Innocean Worldwide – Hyundai’s ad agency) wanted the "Videosongs" vibe, and we agreed PROVIDED THAT Jack and Nataly direct the spots with zero intrusion, and all three (yeah there’s three) commercials were shot at Jack and Nataly’s own house so as not to lose the "Videosongs" authenticity.  Those were the most essential anti-whoring safeguards that needed to be in place, and none. . . NONE of the fan emails the band have received have been negative.  This is an advertising agency that really got what the band was all about. . .

There will also be a 60 second radio spot, and the band is in the process of finalizing the POMPLAMOOSE Christmas Album with full length versions of these songs to benefit Pomplamoose’s charity project (a school book drive).

’nuff respect
Kia

From: Doug Allen
Subject: Pomplamoose

Saw you posted an item on Pomplamoose’s Hyundai ads recently, thought you might be interested in their new project:

Richmond Book Drive

You just can’t hate this.
They’re cute.
It reeks of homemade.
The charity is not tied to a TV special, there’s no payback beyond…the charitable effort!
And as Nataly says: "We get nothing!"
The fact that this is not national enhances the credibility.
Just because you’re doing it yourself, that does not mean you’ve got to be sans charisma.  Jack and Nataly are cooler than anybody on reality TV, and they’re in control of their own destiny.

_________________________________

From: R. Emmett McAuliffe
Subject: Nelly tweets blasts against Universal over low album sales

Nelly tweets frustration over low album sales

Nelly’s major argument appears to be that single “sales” always should equate with album sales.  Not certain that that is true any more … or ever was.  Better than *not* having a platinum single from the album tho’, that’s for sure.

Singles don’t necessarily sell albums.  Nelly is seen as a singles artist.
But even more fascinating is the biting of the hand that feeds him.  That’s what technology has wrought, the ability for those further down the food chain to bite those on top.

__________________________________

From: Joe Piecora
Subject: Re: The Amanda Ghost Story

At 08:34 PM 11/17/2010, you wrote:

"It’s the story of an infrastructure built to churn out something most people no longer want, a creator of buggy-whips in an era of automobiles."

Because of my online music interests, I have given a lot of thought to paradigm-shift analogies like this one. One of the most curious and least known was the replacement of the antebellum canal system by the railroads. In its day, canal building was to the early 1800’s what the Space Shuttle has been to the field of engineering for the last three decades. George Washington was in the canal business on the Potomac. Huge investments were made, funding provided by national lotteries, etc. But it was all wiped out by the steam engine. A lot of the canals spent a GREAT deal of the money they had made in the first 30-40 years of business trying to reinvent themselves to go up against the track system but by 1860 that was proven to be a huge mistake. The good money after bad syndrome. The existing recording houses and the RIAA are doing the same thing when they should be cutting their losses and getting out entirely. But they just can’t stop yanking on that slot machine handle.

__________________________________

Subject: Re: Customer Care

Bob,

Being an Apple employee, I was cringing when I read the beginning of your "Customer Care" post. Yes—it’s true that AppleCare phone support can indeed be hit and miss…especially at the front line entry level. As you pointed out, most phone support calls are usually made by those who are perhaps not really tech saavy at all—mostly beginners. When you finally hit your more experienced tech—you witnessed an Apple phenomenon called the "Credo" kick in. Yes…it sounds like one of those goofy mission statements but any veteran Apple employee who does any type of customer service knows it by heart. The exciting thing about the Credo is that it empowers Apple team members to make gut judgement calls right there on the spot—usually always in the customer’s favor. This guy could obviously tell that you were a veteran Apple user and wanted to hook you up with something you didn’t have—not to appease you but to take the high road and let you know that Apple does value it’s customers. What’s exciting is that this guy didn’t have to ask permission from a supervisor and I guarantee you that no one gave him any grief about giving away a copy of iWork.

Apple is not a perfect company (there is probably no such thing) but what makes it a winning company is that it runs on the simple premise of trying to hire great people and then trusting them to make the best decision—using their own good judgement…unscripted! For some companies, that would be a terrifying thought but it sure works for Apple.

Please do not my print my name if you reprint this – Thanks!

Subject: Re: Customer Care (from an apple employee)

(Im an apple tech at the genius bar so don’t post my name, you’d be amazed how seriously apple takes this stuff)

Your recent article on AppleCare shows how far culture has come in 50 years. Technology is the new music, cell phones are the new albums, Apple is the new Beatles. The fact Apple now sells The Beatles is the handoff coming full circle.  Don’t believe me? Name a single musician with more fans than Steve Jobs. Name one forthcoming album people want more than a Verizon iPhone.  

Consumers in our culture don’t understand why it’s bad to pirate music. Or lip sync. Or autotune. Music is dead to this culture.

As far as The Genius Bar goes we will do anything to make customers happy. Seriously, no one cares in management how many iPhones I swap in or out of warranty. There is zero incentive to void it and pretty much never happens unless you treated your product like crap. Or got it wet (don’t do that). The entire Apple Store philosophy is to surprise and delight our customers.

Withheld.
– sent from my iPhone.

It was made on a Canon EOS 7D.  A digital SLR.

In case you’re out of the loop, "Tiny Furniture" is the hippest film out there.  "The New Yorker" raved about Lena Dunham in an extended profile

Downtown’s Daughter

and "The Wall Street Journal" lauded the film

comic ‘Tiny Furniture’ debuts a big talent

You’d think a production these mainstream outlets featured would be state of the art.

Actually, "Tiny Furniture" is.

You see the means of production are in the hands of the proletariat.

Distribution of feature films is still controlled by the powers-that-be, but just about anyone can make a film these days.  A Canon 7D retails for $1,699.  You can buy it online for $1,329, just Google it.  So the only thing standing between you and stardom is talent.

Think about that.

Used to be it was so expensive to make a movie.  Now anyone can do it.  But does your Director of Photography know how to wring the best out of the 7D?  Even more important, how’s the script?

Anybody can write a great script.

And anybody can write a great song.

And the movie studios and major labels don’t want to admit this.  They want you to believe that they’re the one true path to stardom, that only by going through them can you be anointed, can you make it.  They want you to believe in their religion.  Why?

So they can maintain power and continue to be rich.

In the music business the means of production are in the hands of the proletariat.  You can certainly make a record in GarageBand, which comes free on a Mac, and most people can afford a Pro Tools rig.  And anybody can employ Tunecore to get music for sale on iTunes.

But do you know how to use Pro Tools?  Are your songs any good?

We’re going through a giant sea change.  Power is being wrested from the mainstream.  It’s not a concerted effort.  There’s no organization. It’s just that using freely available tools creators are cheaply making their productions and when it comes to music and short videos, via YouTube/DailyMotion/Vimeo, you can go directly to the audience.

Hype is still not cheap.

Indies can’t get on the radio or in movie theatres, and mainstream media outlets favor their mainstream brethren.

But this paradigm is fading.

You see every day, more and more people reject the mainstream, they’re unreachable by mainstream hype/maneuvers.  They live by trusted filters/recommendations, and these filters care not a whit if a record comes out on Universal or was made by someone in their basement.

In other words, digital tools are the content industries’ worst nightmare.

The problem isn’t P2P theft.  The problem is control over creation.  The mainstream has lost it.  Yes, right now P2P makes it hard for everybody to get paid, but it also makes it easier for everybody to be heard, both the major label priority and the indie sensation.

The bar is so low now that anybody can play.  Anybody can make a movie or record a track.  But that doesn’t mean it’s good.  Hell, kids learn how to make PowerPoint presentations in school, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to work for the Fortune 500.  But some of them are. Some of them are just that damn good.

Some of those existing outside the mainstream system are as talented as those in it.  But they don’t make Top Forty fodder, they don’t like to be told what to do, they don’t like sacrificing almost all of their upside to a corporation that doesn’t truly care about them.

These independent creators are a growing piece of the pie.  And all the innovation is in the indie sector.  And innovation is the key to the future.  Whilst the mainstream producers are selling pap, indies are more interested in catching lightning in a bottle.

You too can now make a movie.  Are you talented enough?

The camera "Tiny Furniture" was made on: EOS 7D

Do I have iWork?

I’m the type of guy who needs everything to run right.  Yup, I go to the dealer and carefully delineate every flaw in my automobile.  That’s one reason I’m never going to buy another German car, not unless I get really rich, I took my machine to the Subaru dealer for routine service and they asked me what was wrong with it and I said NOTHING!

But my MacBook Pro had a flaw after installing the 10.6.5 update.

I’m no amateur.  I repair permissions before and after installing new software.  I used the combo update instead of the delta.  But subsequent to upgrading, my mouse froze after awakening my computer from sleep.

What did I do?

Repaired the permissions.  Reinstalled the update.  Reset the PRAM.  Trashed a few plist files.

No luck.

So I went to the Communities.

This is where you go if you have a Mac problem.  It’s under Support on the Apple page.  It’s peopled both by newbies and the experienced, like me, who need answers, who need perfection.

But alas, I found no solution.

So I called Apple.

I’ve got an extended warranty.  You’ve got to on a laptop.  You’d be amazed what happens.  And with AppleCare, they replace parts no questions asked, it’s expensive, but it’s great.

And AppleCare also comes with telephone support.  For three years.  I thought there’d be a long wait on Black Friday, but I got a live person almost instantly.  Who told me to reset the SMC and see.

Didn’t work.

But I got a case number and called back this morning.

And this tech was worse than the first.  That’s why I don’t call Apple.  I know more than they do.  Phone help is really for the uninitiated, those who don’t know how to check their own oil.

And this guy was telling me to reinstall the operating system, which is overkill, but finally, I got him to kick me upstairs.  Where the tech gave me an answer.  That there was no answer.  Others were calling in with the same problem.

Voila!

That’s exactly what I wanted to know.  Shy of a solution, I wanted to find out that it wasn’t me, that nothing could be done.  That’s my personality, one flaw and I’ll hunt it down forever.  But in this case that endless search would be fruitless.  Because the problem was on Apple’s end.

Not the biggest drawback.  If I unplug and plug the mouse back in, it works.

And while I was running a diagnostic program on my computer, that the high level tech had e-mailed me, he proffered the above question.  I thought it was a trick.  You know how warranty work goes.  IT’S THE CUSTOMER’S FAULT!  You added an aftermarket item, you screwed it up. Ain’t that America.  Supposedly reputable companies constantly wiggling their way out of liability.

But just before we got off the phone, five minutes later, the tech brought up iWork again.  Since I didn’t have it, since I wasn’t running it, could he send me a free copy for my troubles?

HUH?  You’re accepting responsibility and giving me a reward for reporting a problem?

What kind of crazy fucked up world does this happen in?

The Mac world.

Which is why if you’re not a member, you hate us.  Because we keep telling you stories like this.  How the Genius Bar fixed our problem for free. How our computers run so well that a minor flaw is noticeable and intolerable.

It’s like we’re fans of a band.  All moon-eyed, testifying.

And you’re either part of the club or you’re not.  That’s what bands and labels don’t realize.  That it’s hard to convince non-members of the tribe. We’re turned off by the constant hype, by the constant dunning.  But we are open to peer pressure.  When our friends love an act, we give it a chance.

That’s what’s selling Apple.  Friends.  People hear these amazing stories and take a chance.  And they become members of the cult and have insanely great experiences and drag their friends in too.  To the point where anything Apple sells, people will buy.  Just like you’ve got to have the latest work of your favorite act.

And those acts that triumph in the future will give great customer service.  The labels are lacking here, and the old school acts too.  It’s not about having a street team hailing those who don’t care, it’s about having problem-solvers, who can make sure fans get tickets, have a good experience and get their questions answered.

You see it worked.  On paper, it looks like Apple’s losing money.  Having its tech support in America, spending all this time on the phone, sending me free software.  But now I’m evangelizing.  I’m just telling you, you want to be a member of the cult.  You want people to take care of you, you want them to care about you.  Owning a Mac is like following the Grateful Dead.  Jerry took care of you.  Steve might not be as benevolent a character, but deep inside we believe he’s taking care of us too.

Is about taking chances.

When oldsters complain that there’s no more artist development, what they’re really saying is labels are no longer interested in signing the outsiders, the weird, the risky, and staying with them for four or five LPs to see what they turn into.

Once upon a time, most record labels weren’t multinational corporations focused on the lowest common denominator in order to generate profits. Rather they were the hobbies of fans.  You couldn’t even call these fans entrepreneurs.  The only business they had in mind was staying in business.  Selling enough records to be able to make more.  Oftentimes they recorded artists just because they wanted to hear the finished product.

Today’s major labels get the lion’s share of the press, but they’re the last place you’d go for innovation.  At best, they purchase the rights to successful indie acts.  The concept of hearing something raw and vital and signing it on a whim, an inner desire as opposed to an Excel spreadsheet/calculation, is completely history.

And the major labels control the major press.

It’s like there’s a constant disinformation campaign.

If the major labels were interested in surviving, they’d change their tactics.  They’d split in two.  One entity would be the usual hit machine, signing malleable acts for airplay on Top Forty radio.  The other would be a nimble enterprise focused on signing that which is interesting, that which can grow.  Can you tell me how Ke$ha grows?

And this second entity must be manned by fans, with one suit to keep the books balanced.  And salaries must be minimal.  Any further financial rewards must be based on success.  But the real reward is being able to work in music.

But the major labels won’t do this.

So where does this leave us?

With a lot of bands vying for attention.  Some good, most bad, and too many playing by the major label rules to little success.

So if you’re a new act, stay indie.  You’ve got to, in order to be control of your own artistic destiny.  If you can’t change direction on inspiration, chances are you won’t connect for more than a moment, if that.

And indie is about forgetting everybody else and focusing on your fans.  If your fans are burned out on your music, you must make more, even though others have never heard it.

Albums are big statements.  Hooks upon which to hang your marketing.  But marketing doesn’t work for anyone but the major label acts.  Artist development is not about growing your audience.  It’s about writing, recording and playing, and finding out if someone is interested.  Your music is your calling card.  What the majors call marketing is luck.  If you’ve got a buzz, someone will write about you.  Their passion will shine through and you might garner some new fans, especially if the writer has a following himself.  Maybe NPR will even do a story.  But a passionless squib in the local paper is worthless.  As are advertisements.  People are only attracted when they can feel the passion and the excitement, which doesn’t come from hype, but people, testifying one to another and occasionally in media.  In other words, there are no shortcuts.

And if you’re really good and have success, business people will come to you.  Like flies to sherbet.  That’s when you hire a lawyer and decide who to play with.  Please hire a lawyer.  A bad deal can kill a career.

And a lawyer can craft a deal that allows someone to run with your music for as long as he or she generates success, otherwise you’re free again.

And you don’t want to be with the usual suspects.  Not unless you make Top Forty music.  The usual suspects only know how to do it the old way. They’re all about the money, and you’re all about the music.  It’s a bad fit.  They’re about instant stardom, you’re about paying your dues, discovering exactly what it is you do that appeals to people.

Take a chance on someone your age.  Young and tech-savvy.  Someone who’ll work 24/7 on your behalf.  Someone who’s of the same demo as your fans, who understands them.

And sure, work Facebook and Twitter and…  But all of that is secondary to your music.

In other words, you’re in charge of your own artist development.  We live in a DIY world.  If you’re waiting for someone to rescue you, to make you famous, you’re delusional.  Yes, in the old days Warner Brothers gave five album deals to nobodies.  But they really weren’t nobodies.  They had friends, they were connected.  Which means you probably never would have gotten your chance anyway.  Now, you’ve got a chance.  Don’t play with the usual suspects and kill it.

There will always be a few superstars, culture demands it.  But the new era is about tons of journeymen.  Your goal should be to make a living playing music.  If this is not enough, give up.