Welcome to my review of the year post. This is the time of year when you traditionally find out my favourite Sellaband artists and songs of the year as well as a whole load of other interesting things.
However as 2010 progressed it became ever clearer that I was going to have a big problem when it came to writing a review of the year, and indeed with the continuation of this blog in general. As a result there are a number of changes to the content of this post compared to previous years, but before I get further into that and the reasons behind it, you might want to start listening to the soundtrack that accompanies this blog post because you're in for a very, very long read. And rest assured I'll be giving you an explanation of what you're listening to later as well.
The demise and rebirth of Sellaband
The big story of the year and effectively also the deciding factor in what's happening with this blog has got to be the bankruptcy and subsequent revival of Sellaband itself. On the plus side, the revival of the site allowed me to reclaim nearly $1000 from artists who hadn't reached target, rather than staring at the potential of having to fight administration for the money, and also safeguarding me from the second set of changes to the T&C that will have affected others (the first being the set that went live when the site came back up).
On the minus side comes the reason I pulled that money in the first place, followed by the subsequent efforts of the new administration. The 2 week clause for removal of money from projects when the site first came back up was bad enough, but to have this later changed to a system whereby you can remove no money from the system that you deposit, even if the artist themselves decides to call it quits on Sellaband is more than enough in its own right to make it impossible to understand why any respectable artist would sign up to the site in the first place. Let alone why anyone would put money into the project of an artist they weren't already familiar with. It's hard to feel anything but sorry for artists who decided to retain the faith and stay with Sellaband immediately after the site came back up as a result - effectively trapped by the subsequent set of changes, they are now left to face the prospect of trying to convince enough people to join their projects in order to complete them before the deletion deadline in September comes round, or their existing believers who kept the faith with them will be unable to take their money back out of Sellaband. Ever.
But this locking in of money isn't the only issue the site is facing. As far as I understand it, the takeover was allowed on the understanding that the rights of existing believers would be upheld. So let's look at the things that believers are interested in, to find out what other problems the site has and what's been happening with them in the 10 months since the new administration came into power.
1. Outstanding CDs
A number of artists had raised budgets before the site was declared bankrupt, but their albums had not yet seen the light of day. Some of these albums have eventually come through, however we still have quite a number where fundraising was completed prior to the bankruptcy, and in some cases more than two years ago compared to our current date. Given the length of time involved and the fact there still seems no date when they are likely to be released, it makes me wonder just how interested Sellaband are in sorting out this most fundamental believer right - to actually get believers receiving what they have paid for. After all, let's not forget that the T&C under which those budgets were raised looked somewhat different to the current version. Whilst the current set basically states Sellaband have no responsibility towards believers if an artist fails to deliver, this clause wasn't present in much earlier versions of the T&C.
2. CDs for sale
There was already a lot of controversy over this, even before the bankruptcy, when believers were being asked to pay to have all remaining CDs sent home or basically hand them over for nothing for Sellaband to do with as they willed. Limited Edition CDs got removed from the Sellaband shop. After an outcry, Sellaband said they had found someone to take over the storage of the CDs for believers at no cost, and hence they could continue to be offered for sale. In June, the ability for believers to ask for CDs to be sent home was suspended, while this outcry was going on. However, a look at the situation today reveals that there is still no artist in the Sellaband shop with limited edition CDs for sale (in fact very few artists even offering a CD at all), and indeed a number of artists where LE CDs are still known to be available have no product at all for sale in the Sellaband shop. In addition, the ability to receive your LE CDs at home if you pay for the postage remains suspended with no idea if/when it will resume, hence this is one area which has clearly got worse under the new administration as far as believers are concerned.
3. Revenue payments
Revenue payments seemed to have finally settled down into a regular thing shortly before the site went bankrupt, however the same can't be said of the current situation. The latest official excuse is related to the fact Sellaband mysteriously decided to swap from dollars to Euros for budgets, hence effectively putting a price hike on all new signups and therefore making the site less attractive to potential believers as well. Whilst a couple of payments were made before this change to Euros (not to the schedule in the T&C, but it must be said this could at least be partly excused due to the takeover), no payments have been made since. The official reason is that the Euro system needs testing to make sure it's working correctly, yet with the system seeming to be fundamentally the same, it seems incredible that more than 4 months after what basically amounts to a mere currency conversion of existing numbers, they still seem incapable of crediting balances with revenue and have already had to be prompted at least once even to get the "waiting to be credited" figure updated.
4. Handle the idiots
Fan funding potentially has two different methods of working. Firstly, that you find enough people who are interested enough in you (and/or have formed a relationship with you) who are willing to trust you enough to give you money in advance. Secondly, that some kind of platform exists as an intermediary where people who don't know you, don't need to trust you but rather need to trust the platform enough to hand over money to it for you to use. Whilst the reality in many cases is probably a mix of these methods, in order for a platform such as Sellaband to fit with that second method, there are a number of things that it has to be capable of doing.
The two main things on this score are a) the existence of music experts to guide artists through the process and b) to be able to act as a consumer protection filter so that believers can have the trust that an artist they've never encountered before has at least some idea of what they're doing.
Many of those looking for fan funding haven't even been to a studio before, have no idea of the costs, no idea of how to set up a marketing plan etc. etc. This means that plans presented to believers need to look reasonable i.e. a plan which merely states something along the lines of "to become rich and famous" doesn't just hurt the credibility of the artist but also of the site itself. However there are also those who have some idea that basically need pointing in the right direction or just that little extra bit of help and advice to get them up to scratch. And it doesn't stop there. Basically the WHOLE process needs to be monitored, right up until the point that the CD and/or other incentives are delivered to ensure things are kept on track as much as possible and that the deadline in the T&C can be met. At the end of the day believers generally have absolutely no idea of the things an artist needs to know, or what they cost, or how long they take. Nor do they have any desire or need to know these things. All they want to know is that someone experienced with that knowledge is out there making sure they're not going to get ripped off and that if there is a deadline when things are meant to be delivered, that they actually DO get delivered or they get their money back, rather than being on an endless wait where you have no idea when the end is going to come.
Unfortunately the "anything goes" plan attitude introduced by the previous Sellaband still exists with no such filtering. With a clause in the T&C stating that all the responsibilities fall on the artist's shoulders, not Sellaband, it becomes impossible for believers with no experience of the music industry to know which of these unknown artists they can really trust. And the "experts" page on Sellaband disappeared a while ago, meaning that one of the key reasons I signed up to the site rather than passing it by as an idea that didn't stand a hope of working seemingly doesn't exist. With no experts to handle the idiots and protect the naive consumer, there's little or no reason for people to trust a platform and hence the artists they've never heard of that are on it.
5 Terms and Conditions
As I already mentioned, immediately after the bankruptcy the site came back up with one major change to the T&C as far as believers were concerned. Previously believers could withdraw money from Sellaband at any time, however this had been reduced to two weeks after the money was originally deposited. Later this got removed completely meaning no money being deposited in the system could ever be removed. On the one hand, this appears to signal to me that the site is no longer considered to be a pre-purchase system (otherwise this restriction is clearly in violation of the EU distance selling regulations), but rather regarded as a financial investment product (at least as far as the Dutch Central Bank is concerned). In which case I have to wonder why the T&C don't include the standard messages about risk etc. that you would associate with such a thing. Such a stance is also clearly not suitable for consumers in the first place, yet it is selling a product to consumers we are talking about here, else why offer some of the kind of incentives such as CDs and DVDs and not merely a (probably large) cut of the revenue. When coupled with item 4, this also means investors would basically just look and laugh as the risks are too great given the seeming number of idiots around (based on the contents of the average plan). This stance therefore would mean Sellaband effectively now has no market.
On the other hand, to get back to the idea of a consumer based pre-purchase system, I have to wonder why Sellaband haven't changed the system to follow those of other fan-funding platforms who don't take the money up front but rather wait until the project has received enough interest before taking any money. Whilst I agree that this would mean a change in the way the Sellaband system operates and that will obviously take time, I find it hard to believe that the site was OK being re-started with a 2 week clause, but one day suddenly was told it couldn't refund any money. Rather, I would be inclined to believe that discussions about the issue had probably been going on for some time between the time the site was reincarnated and the point at which the removal of money was completely blocked. More than enough time for Sellaband to assess the situation (they had already seen the negative impact of the 2-week clause after all), and look for/start working on an alternative to deal with the fact that it was looking likely they wouldn't be allowed to refund money. Although existing money in the system would still have had to be dealt with, a system which didn't take money up front would clearly get around the problem the Dutch Central Bank seemingly have with the site. And presented to believers along the lines that although existing money in the system was going to be trapped, the fact the system was in the process of being changed for this reason would have still upset people but to a much lesser extent, as it would have been clear Sellaband were at least trying to make the best of the situation and protect consumers in future. It doesn't appear such a process has been started - indeed if it had been as soon as the problem became known, chances are the changeover would have been pretty much ready for implementation by now. The impression therefore left behind is that Sellaband are more interested in money grabbing, than resolving issues in a way that can help them retain at least some level of faith from their existing customers.
However, as well as this specific situation, there is also a more general situation with the T&C which remains outstanding. At the end of the day, if there are a set of terms and conditions, you have the choice to agree or disagree with these. But irrespective of which you choose to do, the important thing is whether or not they are enforced. With revenues not being paid according to the pattern laid out in the T&C and artists clearly over the deadline for delivery (some by a very long way, even when the current and most lenient set of T&C with regard to timescales is used), Sellaband comes across as untrustworthy and uncaring, and at the end of the day, a scam. Believers are basically being asked to deposit money in a system, understand that they are never able to remove it and have no guarantee that they will ever see whatever it is they deposited the money for in the first place because Sellaband doesn't seem interested in following the T&C that it has laid out. Ask yourself... would YOU become a believer knowing this?
So from a believer point of view, the evidence is damning. Whilst Franz does appear to be making some efforts to try and rekindle a community, the reality is that those efforts are destined to fail. Until Sellaband gets its head out of the sand, realises that the money it gets actually comes from believers and not artists and therefore sets its priorities to fixing the things that are bothering those believers (many of which I've just mentioned), what's left of the core of the old community is basically destined to act as a deterrent rather than a help. The goodwill has been used up - if Sellaband doesn't help believers, believers aren't going to help Sellaband. Which means the grumbling is just going to keep coming up over and over as a reminder to Sellaband and a warning to others who may be looking at the site as a result. No new community can form under those circumstances, and sadly I fear that by the time the penny actually drops the damage will be irreversible. Given the fact nearly a year has passed since the takeover and with no progress in a positive direction as far as believers are concerned, it may in fact already be too late.
I consider the situation so bad, that from my own point of view I won't be depositing any money in Sellaband for the forseeable future, nor buying any parts. It's also had a major side effect on my interaction with the site - in the past 12 months I've probably only listened to a handful of new artists on there, and I've pretty much stopped talking to artists on the site completely because I don't see the point in getting their hopes up when it's clear a large amount of work needs to be done to restore my own faith in the system. Whilst I'll still be hanging around the site, mostly on the forum, at the moment I can't see my interest going any deeper than that until/unless things start to change for the better as far as the paying customers i.e. believers are concerned.
The missing albums
I haven't tracked every album on Sellaband that is outstanding from before the bankruptcy, but here's what I've found out about the albums I'm personally still waiting for. Remember that under the current set of T&C albums should have been completed within 12 months of the date the target was reached, but in earlier versions of the T&C this was only 9 months (or in the case of the earliest set 6 months).
Natalia Safran
Target Reached: November 12th 2008
Status: Unknown. Hasn't been on Sellaband since the bankruptcy. A visit to her own website reveals the latest news about the album to date from 20th August 2010 containing the information "Mick and I are almost finished with our Sellaband album! It has been a long time coming and we cannot wait to let our songs into the air! They are being mixed and mastered and the end is very near...".
Impression: If any artist belongs in the sin bin, this has to be the one. With more than two years passed since the target was reached and no recent update on the artist's own website, never mind Sellaband, I can only describe this as one artist who clearly doesn't deserve to be fan funded. Indeed if you take into account when she actually signed up, it won't be long before we pass three years and start heading into a fourth as far as the full process is concerned. Artists, take note of this prime example of the way NOT to do things.
Radio Orange
Target Reached: June 15th 2009
Status: Finally reappeared on Sellaband in November after an absence of quite some time to announce that the studio work was done and only the album artwork remained to be completed, meaning they were expecting believers to be able to receive it by the end of the year.
Impression: Not a great one given that a year and a half has passed (when their T&C stated 9 months) and the long period of silence. Given the information presented, if the album itself doesn't appear by the end of January, my opinion is likely to drop even further.
Katie Thompson
Target Reached: July 21st 2009
Status: Last Sellaband post on December 9th 2010 states mastering is finished and album design work still needs to be done, also that website, merchandising and first single + video release are being prepared.
Impression: Although this is another album which appears well overdue, Katie has done much better than many of the other overdue artists at keeping her Sellaband believers informed of what is going on and why throughout the process and therefore has retained more of my trust than might otherwise be expected. But I am also hoping for a January release, otherwise it's likely my opinion will start to slip further here as well.
Lori Greco
Target Reached: August 17th 2009
Status: Unclear. There has been no update to her profile page this year although it was last visited towards the end of October. The last forum post from her back at the end of August contains the following information "I have stressed that the CD must be finished for a pre-Christmas release as we are hoping to give away the Christmas song for free in the hope of bringing new listeners to my CD." Clearly the CD release hasn't happened and her website appears to be a very long way out of date with no information about the current situation either. Facebook page seems to have the most recent information buried deep within it which basically states that the album will be available "some time in 2011 but I have no idea which month", suggesting there's probably been a change of producer. It would appear the Christmas song mentioned in the forum post did get made available for free download anyway.
Impression: The intermittent updates on Sellaband and hunting required elsewhere to try and find out what's going on mean I have a lower opinion here than I do of Katie. Given this album is now heading into its 17th month since the target was reached, and the last known information that opinion is also starting to drop rapidly.
Tim Bennett (formerly known as Civilised Tears)
Target Reached: November 5th 2009
Status: Shooting second music video to accompany album. Has previously stated in November that Sellaband were having issues with the manufacturing of his album, hence there would be a delay and were speaking to a new manufacturer as a result.
Impression: Has been excellent at keeping people informed regularly and has been clearly demonstrating work on the album supporting projects, hence I've not been too bothered about the delay so far. Hoping this is one that can be seen by the end of January given that all except the manufacture appears to be done.
BONNIE
Target Reached: November 5th 2009
Status: Whilst they themselves haven't been very present on Sellaband since reaching target, one of their believers has taken on the task of keeping other believers informed via forum posts. Last known at the beginning of December to be waiting for album artwork with all recording completed.
Impression: Positive at the moment as the delay appears small, particularly considering the Sellaband bankruptcy/takeover and there have been updates from them, at least indirectly.
Aly Cook
Target Reached: December 8th 2009
Status: Currently fundraising on IndieGoGo for a tour DVD to support the album release and has stated that she expects the album itself to be ready for release February/March 2011. In fact an e-mail arrived as I've been writing this blog, which now lists March 21st as a worldwide distribution date, although there is no mention of the date on which Sellaband believers can expect to receive the album.
Impression: Most definitely positive at the moment. Has kept believers informed and given there must have been a delay anyway due to Sellaband's bankruptcy, the information quoted is broadly in line with what my estimate on a 12 month release would have turned into as a result.
Cubworld
Target Reached: December 16th 2009
Status: Unclear. Not much information to go on here as last update from July seems to suggest the album was still in pre-production phase. Is known to be active on Twitter and stated back in November that Sellaband had been chasing him for an update. Also looks like Kompis has been trying to get hold of him for an article for 50kmusic, but this hasn't happened yet and the actual current album status therefore remains unknown, despite the fact a recent post suggests there will be more news on this soon.
Impression: I'm slightly disappointed, given this is his second run through Sellaband, as I'd been hoping he'd have learnt a lot from his first run and hence things would be a bit better this time around. Whilst the year is only just up and obviously the Sellaband bankruptcy will have caused some delay, although I'm not overly worried yet, I feel an update (as a minimum) is somewhat overdue.
A Christmas Carol
Before I get onto the music charts you're waiting for, it's time to talk about the direction this blog is heading in the next year. As you can probably guess from what I've already said, the focus on Sellaband itself will be much reduced at best, so I have a few stories to tell to explain the transition and new direction.
Ghost of Christmas past or How to Create a Community
In my last blog post, I promised you a moving story from Sellaband Christmas past, so let me tell you something that not many of you will know. And even those who know (or remember) something about this, almost certainly don't know the full story of what sparked it. Before I move on to the future, join me in a memory from the past. Let me take you back to Christmas 2006, my first Christmas on Sellaband.
But first a few things to set the scene. I'd joined the site back in October as a result of getting a vision in my head. In actual fact, my initial reaction was actually quite a negative one - whilst the initial idea seemed interesting, the idea that someone would spend money on an artist they'd never heard of before just seemed like a non-starter. That initial impression quickly changed though as I read through the information available on the site and a vision of not only why it could work but a broad outline of the actual path of how it would work formed, and in fact how it would eventually lead to the "new music industry" that so many have been talking about. Whilst I've learnt a few new pieces of information about that vision as a result of my interest in Sellaband, I still believe in what I "saw" that day. And whilst I've never revealed the full and complicated explanation of that vision, there are two things relevant to this story that I'll reveal now. The first is that the process can only start with a single platform of experts so that people can have trust in one (i.e. the platform), rather than needing to trust in many (i.e. each individual artist). According to the information on the site at the time, Sellaband already had this - those who have been on the site a while will remember the experts page.
The second thing is that once the first condition was met, a community of music lovers needed to form on that platform - whilst they would be most needed for a later stage of the process, they also form the core of the credibility required to help the idea take off. Sellaband didn't have this when I joined, but unlike other sites which have appeared since which seem pretty dead on the interaction front, there were (a few) obvious conversations happening on Sellaband artist profile pages. Clearly a community could be formed, but it just seemed like nobody was doing it, because at the end of the day all communities need an inspirational leader.
This is the person that not only stands up and says that the impossible can be done, but also makes people believe it to the extent that it actually happens, hence creating a positive cycle that encourages more people to believe in what was originally thought impossible. And the impossible quite literally becomes possible as a result. As a "new music" site, what has been presented to music fans is the idea that you can be a part of the creative process and get to see things that you won't see by merely buying an album, you can get to know the artists/have access to artists in a way you never have before. If all you have is people being polite to each other, in the same way you might nod, smile or say hello to a stranger in the street, then that presented promise is a lie. The inspirational leader on a site like Sellaband, is the one that's going to create the promised level of interaction and show its worth.
Those who know me, know that I don't like to be a public figure online, but the vision I had seen was just too strong to ignore, so I decided to see what I could do to start off the interaction, though I know it's something my own personality doesn't particularly suit. I wasn't really getting anywhere, and in fact had almost decided to give up and probably leave the site altogether, when some real help walked into the place.
I hadn't long written the piece about the things believers should be doing, which Sellaband wanted to publish in the Tribune, when Vegas Dragons joined the site. Brian Taylor had taken one look at the simple statement about my vision to be found on my profile page at that time and he believed in it. And he'd come into the site doing all of the very things I'd been thinking about when I'd written the Tribune article! Artists who were around had been leaving polite thankyou messages to people who believed in them and that was pretty much it at that point as far as communication went, so Brian was the first artist on Sellaband who really started talking to believers and getting to know them as people in a big way.
Believers loved it. Here was an artist that was actually talking to them. Here was the holy grail - the promised interaction, and someone who actually cared about them. You could almost see some of the other artists scratching their heads wondering why people were buying parts - I'm not a musician, but even I can tell you there were people with more talent, better songwriting skills, better recordings etc. out there at the same time and people were walking straight past pretty much all of them. Some other artists started to pick up on the idea that if they talked to believers they got more visitors to their page, and hence potentially more belief as a result, but what was urgently needed was a better way for people to interact than having to go to loads of different pages.
There had been some talk about Sellaband getting a forum, but Sellaband seemed to be saying it was going to take a while, whereas I knew I could set up a free forum in about an hour. It wouldn't necessarily be as good a solution as one integrated with the site, but for the stop-gap I had in mind, it was an incredibly efficient way of getting the job done. Even though I had in the back of my mind the old adage "if you build it, they will come", I'd only received two positive responses to the idea that I set up a forum until Sellaband had one of its own. Despite the doubts I had, Brian was the one who inspired me to go ahead with the idea anyway, and it quickly became a place that people would go to in order to talk to Brian as much as anything else, because it was much easier to carry out a conversation in a forum environment than on the profile pages of the time. Other artists and believers started working out people were actually gathering and talking there, and they started to get involved as a result. The place started to grow.
One of the things I'd set up on the forum to try and get people involved, was a list of potentially controversial topics. One of these was related to the idea of artists buying parts in their own profiles, something I feel to this day is something wrong on a number of levels. From my point of view, if you wanted to spend money on your own project, spending it on Sellaband made little sense even back then due to the money lost as administration fees, and the fact you'd be better off putting it in a bank if your project was going to take a while to reach target, because you'd earn interest on it there (and you wouldn't in Sellaband). Or perhaps even that you put that money towards gigging or promotion instead, so you could get more different (new) people on board to support you, increasing your fan base, which in turn would convince some of the fence-sitters. Also, if you did buy parts, at that time it meant you got a number of limited edition CDs and my argument on that score was that buying a large number of parts would mean you were going to land up selling these in preference to the CD sales that would actually make money for the believers that had taken the leap of faith to support you. You might make money, but they wouldn't see a penny and some of them might feel cheated as a result.
Brian's view on the subject was quite simply along the lines of "If I don't believe in myself, then how can I expect others to believe in me?", to which my counter has always been the fact that you don't have to spend money on parts to demonstrate that. So when Brian announced to me on Skype (we'd quickly got talking a lot to each other on there) that he was planning to spend his Christmas bonus on buying parts in his own project, I pretty much went ballistic at him to talk him out of the idea. You see, in his case I was even more against it. What not a lot of people knew, was the fact Vegas Dragons weren't actually gigging together as a band (hence couldn't get interest in from outside) largely because Brian was in debt. And not just debt but quite a few thousand dollars in debt. To me it was obvious, the money would be much better spent towards sorting the debt problems and/or getting Vegas Dragons doing all the things it ought to be doing. After we'd talked about it for a bit, Brian promised he wouldn't buy the parts after all, and we arranged to talk again a couple of days later after I'd travelled with my husband to the in-laws for Christmas.
So enough of the background and onto the story. It's the evening I've just mentioned and I'm sitting in exactly the same room that I'm writing this post from now, waiting for Brian to call me on Skype. Naturally, I start looking at artist pages while I'm waiting and what has happened while I've been travelling quickly becomes clear. Nearly every page I go to with new parts has the same thing on it. Brian has written a Christmas message on his profile page and uploaded a photo of himself in a santa hat, and that is the new believer picture I see on a profile I visit along with the thankyou message from its artist who somehow couldn't believe what he'd done. Even though it is seen as a commonplace and natural thing these days, the idea of one artist believing in another because they liked their music was unheard of back then. And Brian hadn't believed in just one, he'd believed in fourteen. The yelling I'd given him over a day earlier had only had a partial effect. He believed in what he'd read on my profile page and Sellaband was now his life - artists and believers alike that he'd been talking to had quite literally become his friends - instead of using his Christmas bonus to start working towards sorting out those money problems I mentioned and start doing the things needed to make Vegas Dragons a success, he'd spent it on making a whole lot of other artists happy instead. A part of me wanted to shout at him even so, but how could I? How could anyone when they read the reactions of the artists who had received this surprise, particularly given the time of year? And after all, the deed was already done.
But that's not the end of it. Brian had been offering a copy of the first Vegas Dragons CD as an incentive to buy parts and a number of believers had given him their addresses in order to receive that CD as a result. Because he had those addresses, a number of believers got an unexpected Christmas and/or birthday surprise in the post that year, the contents of which I think was based largely on the relationship he'd built up with that believer to date, but Christmas cards and handwritten thankyou messages personal to each believer and mailed to them were among the list. My own was the red and yellow stuffed dragon which famously appears in the picture with the chessboard on my old forum when Brian foolishly made a bet with my husband by saying he could beat me in a game of chess by the end of the year. (If you don't know my husband, then he doesn't take a bet unless he reckons he has a better than average chance of winning, and he was pretty quick to take Brian up on this offer). To give you an idea of scale it arrived in a cubed box of approx 1m per side. Given we're talking from Australia to the UK, then trust me, you don't want to know the postage.
So if I had to pick the defining moment when the Sellaband community truly started, this incredible level of generosity towards both artists and believers alike, given the background it was coming from would have to be it. Brian cemented his place as the inspirational leader the community needed to form behind because of the way he was saying and doing a lot of the things I already knew from my vision, and 2007 was to pretty much turn me into the sidekick building on that start by helping him with a number of his madcap schemes (some of which ought to have got both of us thrown off the site, but which in fact provided some much needed amusement from the tedious wait between artists hitting 50K) that would further seal his place in Sellaband history.
That inspirational leader has been absent from Sellaband for a long time now with nobody stepping up to fill the gap. But it's also impossible for me to see how anyone could given the current state of the site.
So if you hear artists or believers from the old days talking wistfully about Brian Taylor, hopefully this has been a small insight into how the original Sellaband community formed around him and why this lovable idiot of an underdog still holds quite a high place in many people's hearts.
Ghost of Christmas present or My year with Matthew Ebel
Those of you who remember my review of the year post from this time last year know that I had been getting some bad vibes about Sellaband and had decided to remove a large chunk of money that had been sitting inactive on my balance for a while. This is the story about how some of that money landed up with Matthew Ebel, what my experience has been and what the result of that is. And if you are Matthew Ebel and reading this currently, who knows, maybe you'll find a few clues on that Twitter question of why people believe in you, and maybe I can blow the mind that can't be blown.
Matthew had originally signed up to Sellaband in February 2009, and although circumstances had changed on the site to the point I wasn't believing in artists until I saw some interest in their page, I had started digging almost immediately because it was obvious that this was one place I wanted to buy parts because I liked what I heard a lot. When I start looking for information on an artist I've never heard of before, it's usually a bit like trying to discover a Roman coin in the middle of a field using a metal detector. In Matthew's case the comparison would be an archaeological dig that turned up an entire city - it doesn't matter how many rocks you turn over, there's still something new underneath. To date, I've never had another artist unknown to me produce anywhere near the same level of reaction of "How on earth have I never heard of this artist before, when there's all this information out there just waiting to be found?". And to be honest I'm still turning up some interesting bits and pieces even now.
You can't exactly miss his subscription site and although it was easy to dismiss the idea of a subscription first time around, the two songs a month did sound interesting if expensive, given I'd just tripped over him. However, the song snippets from his monthly releases would tempt me back every so often and I'd also started to explore his back catalog and drop in very quietly on the odd UStream show he was doing. That takes us to about September 2009, by which time I'd begun to realise just how much I liked his music. I'd actually even begun to contemplate the idea of a subscription. After all, I'd been watching the two songs a month popping through for a while, even if they weren't always exactly on time (If you've heard "A Song For My Subscribers" you'll understand) And it wasn't just that - there were always things popping up on his blog and on Twitter. Compared to my experiences with Sellaband artists, this was a whole new world - things that get updated and things that happen (mostly) on time! And there's no team of people or manager here, just the one man. Could it be that I'd found something special here? - an artist clearly demonstrating their trustworthiness much more clearly than anything I'd seen before.
So I have all this going on in my head when Matthew announces the Entourage subscription level, and I watch the first four slots go just like that. But the fifth and final one remains... and remains some more... And I'd just decided to remove a chunk of money from Sellaband that had been sitting inactive on my profile a while.
The tipping point was actually the release of the "High Orbit Holiday Special". Completed from scratch in just three months and I absolutely loved the result. The Entourage slot still didn't go and Sellaband were taking their sweet time over a payout anyway. Looking at the cost of the Entourage, I realised I'd believed more in artists whose music I liked less and where the supporting evidence was much, much weaker. So that's why I made myself a New Year's resolution as I was writing the review of the year post last year - if the Entourage slot was still available when Sellaband got its act together and sent the money I'd requested, I'd take that last Entourage slot. Furthermore, on the strength of the evidence of trustworthiness I'd seen and the amount I liked his music, I'd make that public promise to renew that I made in my blog last January.
You also have to remember that at this point I had never, ever spoken or communicated with Matthew Ebel in any way. This decision was made purely on the evidence I'd seen with my own eyes online and from what others were saying. To this day, I have absolutely no idea what he thinks of me or something quite that incredible - after all, it's not every day that a complete stranger pops up seemingly from nowhere and does the equivalent of saying "I love your music - here have $500". In any sane world that just doesn't happen - when it does happen it's usually a gradual process that takes time.
As you know, the slot didn't go before the money arrived so I took it up. Things continued OK for the first couple of months and then Matthew's basement studio flooded, making it impossible for him to create even one song that month, never mind two. Under the circumstances, I'm pretty sure that most people would have quite happily said forget it (me included) - several hundred gallons of water kind of grabs your attention, particularly when it's captured on video still pouring into the place. In fact I think the water pumping was still happening, when he gave a masterclass in customer service and damage limitation that some people could learn an awful lot from. He offered to send a copy of the live DVD he was working on for free instead to make it up to people for the fact he couldn't do the two songs that month. At a time many people would have been worrying about the water, Matthew was already thinking about his fans.
But that offer did lead to the single time in the past year that I've found myself wondering whether I had made a mistake or not. You see the one thing he didn't make clear at the time was the fact the DVD itself would be quite a while coming. A few months passed, and when he announced he was sending the annual goody bags and it still hadn't shown, my guess was that it ought to be coming with them, but it didn't. In actual fact he was still working on the editing. The DVD did show about 6 months after the flooding which kept my trust intact, but the length of time not being obvious from the start was enough to give it a little rattle, despite the fact I'd not really been expecting the offer in the first place, the regulars weren't making any complaint and my past experience that if Matthew Ebel says he will do something, then you can guarantee that he will do his best to make it happen.
In July he announced he wanted to do a new "proper" album, rather than just releasing the album collections (Songs from the Vault) of the two songs a month he'd been doing up until that point. But this would mean no more 2 songs a month, and he was also going to stop his weekly Ustream shows. Instead of two songs a month, he'd be giving you updates , rough drafts , sketches etc. every month as well as the project itself when completed. Because The lives of Dexter Peterson actually started life as a story Matthew had written, and the plan was to turn this into a graphic novel and write some music to go along with it. As a subscriber, you'd therefore receive a copy of the book, a copy of the graphic novel, the CD and also an audiobook/radio dramatisation/podcast of the story on its completion.
I have extremely mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand, I tend to agree that there felt something missing from a lot of the songs he'd been turning out as part of the two songs a month, but to my mind the problem lies more with the way he seemed to be going about creating songs, rather than the idea itself. Rather than having a vault of half finished ideas/rough drafts maturing, it seems he's been creating songs much in the same way he wrote my custom song - literally pick an idea and have a finished song two weeks later. And I think that forcing of the creative process is why so many of them feel like they're missing that little extra something. I also think the two songs a month idea is an easier step up for someone who has been buying finished CDs but wants to support an artist more, rather than the idea of an album in a year's time - it's a bigger leap of faith and trust that the artist is going to deliver. The Ustream shows change was also a bit of a blow, (though I can see his reasons for it) - the fact it was sitting there on a regular date/time did at least mean you could plan dragging someone in to see what they thought, even if that wasn't the kind of thing likely to happen very often.
On the other hand, I'm extremely excited at the prospect I see here. Having been on Sellaband for so long, I've seen a lot of different artists from signup to completion of project. I've seen what they do and don't do. And I've also funded artists on platforms other than Sellaband.
So hang on a moment and let me stop and repeat a couple of things slowly, so you get the point.
A Sellaband artist
Signs up with a new project and raises funds
(typically) You get a CD at the end of it
The artist may or may not keep you informed throughout the process
The process from original signup to receipt takes between 2 - 5 years
Matthew Ebel
Starts work on a new project whilst collecting subscription money every month
You will get a book, a CD, a graphic novel and an audiobook/radio dramatisation at the end of it
You get updates, and access to background information/drafts etc. every month
The process from original idea (just a first draft of the book available) to receipt takes 12 months.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out there has to be something wrong in this picture somewhere, because the amount of work relative to the timescales stated shows an incredible gulf between the two. Even if you want to play the "full time musician vs. holds down a day job" card. But where exactly is it? Let's look at the evidence.
The Sellaband side is taken from actual data, whereas Matthew is just his plan. The overdue artists I've mentioned above are a pretty good indication of not just the average, but rather the vast majority, as signup dates and target reached dates as a minimum are readily available for all artists if you want to try and work out a few yourself to compare. Yes, there have been some exceptions, but it has usually been the case they are looking for completion funds, rather than needing to do the whole songwriting and recording process from scratch. The obvious conclusion to jump to, given the number of Sellaband artists where we know the time taken, is that Matthew Ebel is being incredibly overambitious and is going to miss by a mile.
Perhaps... Remember I'm no musician - I haven't the foggiest how long something ought to take as a result. I have to admit I will be surprised if he does meet the 12 months and hence the Autumn release he has planned. But when you consider the fact he'd been hitting the two songs a month on time nearly all the time with the previous incarnation of his subscription model, the monthly updates/insights on the current project are happening, plus the fact his Christmas album (the High Orbit Holiday Special) was completed from scratch in just three months and quite a few of his fans seem to think it's possibly the best piece of work he's done to date, I'm not so sure the problem is on his end. Sure, I think there's a pretty high chance he'll miss the deadline, purely because of how ambitious the project is, but compared to what's been seen on the likes of Sellaband, it will be nowhere near what you might expect for the length of delay in comparison. Rather the danger here is that there may just be a large wake-up call on the way for both fan-funding sites and artists alike. Four times the project in a half to a fifth of the time from one man compared to an industry of experts would not only set a new standard, it also ought to leave rather a lot of red faces behind it if the finished result is any good. And I think there's a real chance he can pull this off.
I made a very public promise in my blog when I originally signed up - that I would be renewing when it came around, and that promise has been kept after Matthew sorted a small problem I had with renewing out. So based on what I've seen and told you, I'm also prepared to make another promise publicly now.
As far as I'm concerned there is just one thing that Matthew Ebel needs to do before this time next year. I'm not going to tell anyone (not even him) what it is at this point, because it's something that needs to happen without any pressure or prompting. But if you've been paying attention to this blog post and/or you're smart it should be pretty obvious what it is. If Matthew does successfully manage that one task I have in mind, then he will have done enough to guarantee himself an Entourage member not only for the next year (2012) but for life. The only reason that would stop me would be a financial one. In the current economic climate, there are no guarantees, so at this point I can only hope, rather than make a definite guarantee I'll be able to live up to my end of that deal this time next year, even if he manages to complete his. But whatever happens financially, that's a big statement of trust to be making.
I've been on Sellaband more than 4 years, and I've seen and/or had a lot of contact with a lot of artists and what they've done in that time. And I still have that vision gnawing at the back of my brain. Yet in less than two years, someone I've still never met, never talked to and in actual fact have only exchanged a few e-mails and tweets with, has managed to impress me that he is further ahead of the learning curve on this score than any other artist or fan-funding site that I've seen to date. Things are not perfect, nor is his subscription model "the" answer, but in a large number of ways, he's got the idea. Irrespective of whether you are a fan, an artist or into the fan-funding side he is teaching lessons on a daily basis that you ought to be learning if you want to see a "new music industry". Some of which I don't think he's even aware of. Add to this the amount I like his music and that's why Matthew Ebel is just a single step away from claiming my full trust and support in such a short time.
Any bets as to when he'll make that last step? You can be sure I'll be letting you know when it happens.
Ghost of Christmas future or Where this blog is heading
Once I realised that things didn't seem to be improving with regard to the Sellaband situation it became clear that I was going to have a real problem. I started this blog to help people track what artists were up to on Sellaband e.g. any interesting new arrivals, artists who had reported they were leaving the site etc. etc. but with it being unknown when (or even if) I will buy a part in an artist on Sellaband again, I don't have the interest level required to continue to do this. Even looking at artist profiles on Sellaband in the first place seems kind of pointless when you know you're not going to be spending any money on the site. And with no money trapped in the site, there's no "hatchet day" moving of parts left to do either. Although I've somehow limped through this year in the hopes the situation would improve, the fact has to be faced that it hasn't and there is therefore absolutely no reason for this blog to continue as it's not doing what I set out to do with it, nor is there any indication of when/whether we'll reach a situation where it can once again.
I could have chosen to follow in the footsteps of a number of others and fade away from Sellaband into the background. But in many ways that would be a lot less easy than the last time I considered about doing so 4 years ago because of the things I've seen happen and how they've reinforced what I saw in that vision I keep mentioning. In short, the vision won't leave me alone, and crawling all the way back into the consumer pile doesn't seem like an option as a result.
At the same time, some of the things I've seen have also shown me that some of what Sellaband described as fences and things that I originally thought were boulders are actually entire great mountain ranges standing in the way of a new music industry. And if anyone thinks a couple of sticks of dynamite is going to blow that to smithereens...well.. they've got another think coming.
There are some fundamental shifts that need to happen if an entire industry is to arise, rather than a set of isolated artists making something work for them even if they don't entirely understand why. But it seems that both artists and industry professionals alike have forgotten what it's like out here on the consumer side of the fence, and without that understanding those shifts can't happen. Like I said in 1000 true friends - everything works both ways. That's a key rule that both sides need to understand the implications of.
So that's why I'm inviting you to join me as I look for new music. Rather than "Hatchet day", let me invite you to "Meanderings of a music lover" instead. Think of it a bit like I've been doing with Sellaband, only expanded. Not only who I find, but where and how I find. Come with me as I do something I've talked about before, but never shown you - get a better insight into the "ghosting" I've talked about in the past as I show you what I dig up from where, including artists I already know who almost certainly won't have been aware I've been looking. And there will still be the occasional special as well to get some more of the bits and pieces in my head out into the world.
As a matter of fact it'll actually be my second post under the new format which will properly introduce you to "Meanderings of a music lover" and its rather unique rating system, as the one I'll be posting after a short break is going to be another "special" about the value of music. From the point of view of your hardcore fans all the way down to a consumer, find out who finds value in what and why, and maybe even discover one of the things that many fans would love but tend to keep secret as a result.
The charts
The situation at Sellaband may have driven me away from listening to and discovering artists on the site, but it doesn't mean that I've stopped looking for new music completely. What's actually happened is that I've reverted back to what I was doing before I stumbled over Sellaband and whilst that means a slower process and a much smaller volume of artists, the breather has been rather welcome given the amount I've been doing looking into artists the past 4 years.
As a result, instead of my top favourite artists and songs on Sellaband, what you get this year are two different charts. One containing my favourite songs of the year from artists I'm fairly familiar with and/or am actively following and the other from artists where I've either encountered them for the first time in the last 12 months, or have only started to take an interest in them over that period. As a result, some of the songs I've chosen are actually more than 12 months old.
As well as the usual one song per artist restriction, in order to be included in one of these lists, the song in question must be available to listen to in its entirety online for free and without the need for any login or special software. As a result, where possible I've used Songza to gather these together and the link to the "soundtrack" I gave you at the top of this post is the link to that playlist of songs. Note that they will play in random order rather than the order I'm listing in my charts. Where Songza doesn't appear to have a copy of the song, I've provided a link on the song itself which will take you out to somewhere legal where it can be found (generally the artist's own page or the likes of Myspace or Facebook). The links on artists go to their own websites if you want to check anyone out further.
And for those who don't want to scroll all the way back to the top, here's the playlist link again!
Interestingly, although I follow both signed and unsigned artists and am including both, I believe you'll find the signed are most definitely the minority in the following categories.
Best Songs from artists I know
1. Poets of the Fall - Given and Denied
2. We Love the Underground - Let No Hand Hold Us Down
3. Radius - Prisoner of Your Love
4. Francis Rodino - Other Side
5. Julia Johnson - Lullaby
The top selection comes from an artist who is still independent and unsigned despite being one of the top acts in Finland, and is also still my tip for the best unknown (as far as the rest of the world is concerned) artist currently out there. The track in question is from their 4th album, Twilight Theater and is actually the one which contains the album title within its lyrics. As the album title suggests, there's more of a cinematic experience going on in the album as a whole than just some straighforward rock and the track I've chosen "Given and Denied" is representative as a result.
I've kept following Brad since he left Sellaband, and he's added 2 more tracks to one of his solo projects "We Love the Underground" since then. Whilst he did let me know about the first one, chances are he doesn't realise I spotted the second as well which in fact has grabbed me as the best of the six so far and comes in at number 2 on the artists I know about list because of this.
The remaining three are artists I know from Sellaband. In the case of Radius, I didn't think they'd come up with anything for a while which would beat "Next to Me" but lo and behold the first single from their Sellaband album managed to do just that. The song from Francis is one of the ones from the EP he funded this year at Pledge. And in the case of Julia Johnson, I have Daniel Ward-Murphy to thank for reminding me about her solo album through his blog. For those unaware, Dan always lists the music he's been listening to at the end of whatever he has to say to his own fans, and whilst his own choice of song was completely different to the one I've chosen, it did serve as the prompt which left me with half an eye on her site this year.
Best Songs from New Discoveries
1. Into The Night - Catastrophe
2. Morgan Page - Fight For You
3. Dommin - Dark Holiday
4. The Corner Laughers - For the sake of the cat
5. Vertical Horizon - Save me from Myself
6. Hazle Weatherfield - Nightstand Light
7. La Roux - Bulletproof
8. Modern Science - Wrong Things Said the Right Way
9. Sofia Talvik - Stop
10. The Swimmers - Hundred Hearts
11. Zoe Keating - The Path
12. Yonder Mountain String Band - Complicated
13. Fabrizio Paterlini - Pensiero Notturno
14. Mark Kano - Walking on Broadway
Here's just a few of the stories behind some of the artists making up this list. If you follow my blog over the next 12 months, you'll get to see more of what leads to a list like this as it actually happens.
I originally found Into the Night on thesixtyone when they uploaded 3 tracks from their first album, however it was just at the point I'd started to find out more about them when thesixtyone launched its disastrous site redesign that pretty much cut off all communication between people on the site. As a result it stopped me in my tracks at a key point in the discovery process and it's taken a while for me to get around to consider continuing where I left off by picking up elsewhere. The launch of Songza, the fact it contains both their EP and album and the fact I like what I hear on both is what has restarted my interest. As they're currently working on their second album, it's likely they'll be one of those I'll be following a little more closely in 2011 to find out if my interest is likely to take on a more permanent form. The track I've chosen is from their EP and has what I would describe as expected production quality as a result, and although it is somewhat different to their much heavier style, it's for this very fact that it stands out.
I know a number of my readers are into the female voice, and if you're one of those then Sofia Talvik should be right up your street. Another discovery via thesixtyone, but it's taken some time for her music to start growing on me. Interestingly she's currently attempting to fund "L" - the first of four EPs this year - via Pledge, so if you like what you hear, then that's well worth checking out too.
The story behind Zoe Keating is a classic example of how initial discovery can happen in a slightly unexpected way, as well as the importance of repeat/reminder in creating the tipping point which makes someone take that first step and check you out for the first time. Her name initially came up because she is one of the people Matthew Ebel tweets at occasionally and it's quite obvious from her twitter name that she plays cello. Now whilst I wouldn't describe myself as a fan of classical music, it is something I will listen to, but even as a music lover just that small amount of information isn't enough to get me chasing off to find out if it's something I'd like. Matthew Ebel himself created the tipping point, because in one of his video updates to subscribers he's listening to Pandora, you can catch the odd bit of what he's listening to in the background and he actually tells you that he's listening to Zoe Keating. And whilst I was listening to what Matthew had to say (honest!), enough of the background filtered in to prompt me to wander off to her website later. So if you like instrumental music, and cello in particular, you might find this artist even more interesting than I do.
Likewise Fabrizio Paterlini fits into the classical category as well - in this case with pure instrumental piano. And another discovery from my time at thesixtyone pre site change. Very laid back and relaxing, you'll find it makes for some perfect background music.
And finally
That's all for this time. Thanks for sticking with me all the way through this post which is long even by my standards, and thanks for sticking with me during my journey through Sellaband holding a large knife. Here's hoping you'll want to stay with me in 2011 as I discover artists and let a few ideas of my own out into the world. Happy New Year!
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
December 1st hatchet day
Welcome to the last hatchet day posting. As mentioned in my previous hatchet day post, things are changing for next year, but you'll have to wait for my review of the year post in its usual spot between Christmas and New Year to find out exactly what the future holds.
With the 1000 true friends post taking up so much of my time over the past couple of months, the shorter hatchet day postings over that period mean I'm a little behind on some of the things I should have been mentioning.
The most obvious of these comes in the form of Ivan from My First Robot who deserves every credit for being the only new artist I've noticed since the bankruptcy for taking a real interest and attempting to get involved in the "battleground" otherwise known as the Sellaband forum. Trying to work your way into a crowd when you're new is hard enough at the best of times, and it's definitely not been the best of times on Sellaband over the past few months. I seriously don't have enthusiasm for Sellaband at the moment, so I haven't been going round talking to artists like I used to, but just because I appear disinterested, doesn't mean I don't notice and appreciate things like this - I just find it hard to encourage this kind of "right behaviour" when I feel there's so much wrong with the system it's on.
It may also interest you to know that I actually voted for My First Robot in the Sellaband competition that pitted them against So What for a festival spot, even though I personally like their music less and have never actually seen them perform live, whereas I have seen So What live. So why, you ask? Well, for me a festival is about live performance and having tracked down and watched several videos of MFR on Youtube, I actually think they currently have the better live performance, so that's why they got my vote to go. A shame really that Sellaband decided to put an artist many were familiar with already as a result of their time on the site against one basically unknown to Sellaband users - I suspect many went with the obvious choice and just didn't even bother to check out the opposition to make a genuine choice.
So in many ways I'm kind of sad to see them as one of the "new artists" caught up in the whole "Sellaband parts-shifting" controversy. Unlike some of the artists Sellaband is favouring for receipt of parts, they're obviously around and interested, even though active believers don't seem to have been particularly interested in them to date. Given the potential for a big storm about Sellaband shifting money of inactive believers into inactive artists (particularly newer signups) this is one artist I'd rather not see caught in the blast radius through people deciding that all "Sellaband favourites" (or buddy bands as Thor calls them) are lazy good for nothings taking the easy route to a budget by sucking up the vast majority of inactive believer parts. They certainly don't deserve that tag.
I also find myself wondering whether Sellaband is going to dig itself an even bigger hole by starting a competition at this point. It's got a kind of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't feel to it, where you can almost feel people waiting for Sellaband to shift a heap of parts while it's on, hence influencing the result, yet at the same time I wonder just how well the competition is going to do while so many people aren't interested in buying parts due to the no refund policy, and/or one or more of the other ongoing issues lurking around. But so far no parts shifting has happened and there is a rumour floating around that Sellaband have said they won't be shifting any money during the competition, though I've seen no official confirmation (or otherwise) of that fact.
All the parts shifting has actually been making it even more difficult to work out which of the newer artists in particular is actually "out there". One artist has already been accused in the forum of being on the receiving end of parts from Sellaband but not actually being on the site, despite the fact there were status updates from them appearing in-between all the "dead believers" including information on how to get hold of the free track they were promising when they reached 1000 euros. In addition artists are actually getting some "real" believers appearing in between all the "dead" ones and that produces its own set of problems on the artist side as well. With nearly 71 pages of artists containing at least one part, it's obvious there's still a lot of parts shuffling to come, even before Sellaband get around to looking at inactive artists, hence the hell of believers being able to tell which artists are actually active and the hell of the artists knowing whether the believers are "real" or not looks set to continue for months yet.
And that's not a good thing from either point of view.
This is just one of the problems making Sellaband still look like a bad place to be more than 9 months down the line with the new management. With Sellaband locking money in the system, who is going to take a chance on an artist being active or not when it's completely unclear? Seems it's time to get out banging on doors and throwing the spam around again, or brave the Sellaband battlefield (i.e. the forum) if you're an artist wanting to convince people you're alive and not invisible.
This continuing poor looking situation was really the decider for me in asking for the little money on my revenue to be paid out to my Paypal account, rather than dropping it in an artist. The Sellaband system didn't disappoint on this score, but you could also say it failed to impress, seeing as the confirmation that my payout request had been received took seconds to appear from the automated system, but the money didn't arrive for nearly 7 working days after the original request. That's slower than the last time I requested a payout and about the same as the time before that. So one aspect I'd say that hasn't changed from the old Sellaband relative to the new, as this is the first payout I've requested under the new management.
Also on the subject of revenues though is the fact that no money has been credited to believer balances since the swap from dollars to euros. Sellaband say this is because the system needs to be tested, but I'm struggling to understand what the heck is taking so long considering there seems to be nothing fundamentally different with the system in the first place. As a result I'm back up to over 5 euros of revenue waiting to be transferred. So much for a quarterly payout system (as per Sellaband's own T&C) seeing as the last time money was actually transferred to believer balances was somewhat more than three months ago.
One piece of good news, it does appear that Franz from Sellaband is finally starting to take an interest in what little is left of the community. Though to be honest the "history lessons" and feedback he's been getting would have been part of a process best started months ago. Rather than the proactive approach of take over, get to know what's what and then try and move forward, it seems the reactive approach of take over, wonder why things don't happen like you thought and only try and find out why months down the line has been taken instead, and to my mind that puts Sellaband at least 6 months back on where it could have been. Only time will tell if the lessons get taken to heart though - once again it took me "growling" on the forum about revenues not being paid according to the terms and conditions before even the figure "waiting" got updated, and as already stated the money hasn't actually been transferred to believer balances yet, nor does there seem to be any likely date for when it will be.
The other result of my lack of enthusiasm for Sellaband at the moment has been that I've realised I am listening to pretty much no music at all on the site. Despite the fact it is a place where you can listen to music, it seems a part of me has subconsciously rebelled and decided there's little point in listening to an artist's music when there's no likelihood of me buying a part any time in the near future. For existing music I'm finding myself listening to Songza instead, but I haven't yet developed any single preference for a place to discover new music. Of the two sites for this that I've tried recently, weloveyoursongs.com has quite a few interesting looking artists, but the scam of a voting system which reminds me so much of some of the tricks the mobile phone companies use, puts me off wanting to spend much time there. The other site The Indie looks at first glance like a much more interesting site from the point of finding new music, but so far I've been struggling to find much in the way of artists that sound halfway decent. From comments on artists pages dating back to early 2010 or in some cases 2009, it seems to me the site really ought to be showing a lot more life than it is, but with no forum and seemingly no fan community perhaps this shouldn't come as so much of a surprise despite the fact I think it has an awful lot of potential otherwise as far as music lovers are concerned.
Back to Sellaband on the case of the invisible though... how many of you actually noticed Sellaband did a live stream of a Public Enemy concert? The concert was actually streamed on the 2nd November, but the banner announcing it only appeared on 1st November as far as I can tell. Unless you were lucky enough to get it as the random banner on the homepage and clicked through to the details, it's likely you'll never have known about this seeing as I didn't receive any e-mail from Sellaband or see any news article about it. Of course in true Sellaband style the text on the page itself was confusing, stating the live streaming would take place on October 2nd, even though the title clearly said November. Sellaband later put up a news article with a video of an interview they'd done before the concert itself, but I kind of feel the more interesting opportunity was botched here.
With Public Enemy having raised their budget the next "known" artist name to sign up has been Jonathan Davis of KoRn. Funding here is for a live DVD that is from a concert filmed all the way back in 2008 for his solo project Jonathan Davis and the SFA. However you need to buy two parts to actually get the DVD, as one part only grants you online viewing access for 24hrs. So far there's been much less publicity surrounding this signup than when Public Enemy came on board, but it seems a number of the diehard KoRn fans are already aware and have been quite happy to stump up 100 euros each (plus transaction costs) for the signed box set. With a $75,000 budget required, it will be interesting to see exactly how much interest does manage to find its way through the door, and how fast, given the 12 month deletion clause for projects.
Elsewhere on the site another artist we've seen before came back. The Funeral Honors raised virtually no interest the first time they were on Sellaband and disappeared off to Slicethepie where they successfully qualified for the $15,000 funding target. They've come back to Sellaband to try and raise a 34,000 euro budget, but despite having a plan that's better looking than the vast majority out there, it seems the interest level still isn't there. And whilst you might have expected their successful excursion to slicethepie means they've picked up some new fans along the way, it seems they haven't succeeded in bringing anyone back to Sellaband with them to support them as they are still on a big fat 0 euros. For those looking for an amusement factor though, you might be interested in the fact their old profile is still on the site and they seem to be visiting both profiles.
All Ages are actually also a returner to the site. Their original profile was deleted for inactivity back when Sellaband actually had a clearout. I'd already removed the parts I had in them some time before that as part of the hatchet day process. Another case of great music shame about the interest. Seems they haven't learnt anything since their previous visit to Sellaband either, judging by the amount of funding they currently have.
The only other new artist that's managed to make me notice them is a very recent signup Lillith through appearing on the forum asking for advice as they were new on the site. Perhaps further proof that my interest in Sellaband as a site is running at an all time low.
I finally got my act together recently and managed to drop in on one of Aly Cook's "kiwi Sofa" streams... well nearly. In actual fact I arrived about 10 mins after she'd finished while she was busy uploading the recording and pretty much everyone else had already left, so I stayed around and watched that. I think I've been spoiled by the likes of Mysti Mayhem and Matthew Ebel though, because I have to admit I wasn't a big fan of the audio quality. I have to admit it's the first time I've actually heard her live (well, ok, nearly live!) and despite the audio issues all I can say is Wow. I thought Mysti had a big pair of lungs, but I think Aly has an even more powerful voice. If you haven't dropped by her show yet, then my advice is do because she sure can sing. Meantime I'll see if I can get my act together again and make another visit to see if the audio was a one-off or not.
The only other thing worthy to mention at this point is the charity profile that has been started. It would seem this works differently to other profiles on the site, as the information I've read says money cannot be moved from this profile once donated and also that Sellaband don't take any administration fees if you donate to this project. Whilst I think it's an interesting development and also a nice idea in general, I do have a few worries lurking around. Firstly there's the rather bizarre statement on this page on Sellaband stating "UK charity registration pending" when the Foundation's site itself appears to be set up in Germany and the official UK government site clearly states "Unless your organisation is governed by the laws of England and Wales we cannot register you as a charity". Secondly of course is the fact that (in the UK at least) charity donations are tax deductible, meaning that if indeed it does get registered as a UK charity it would make no sense to make a donation through Sellaband anyway, if you believe in their cause and are based in the UK yourself - they'd get at least an extra 20% by you giving them the same money direct! Thirdly, although it states Sellaband doesn't take any administration fees, it isn't clear if you'll still be charged a fee to cover any Paypal/credit card fees on top of the basic donation. Call me overly suspicious, but given some of the things that have happened round Sellaband in the past, this currently comes across as something trying to take advantage of people's good nature, rather than a genuine charitable opportunity. Whilst I'm not averse to the general idea behind projects like this, this particular project is one I'll be staying clear of because I can find no basis for it actually being or even trying to become a charity (UK or otherwise). Even their own site seems to be more interested in company partnerships and sponsors.
So that's it for my last hatchet day post. Look out for my review of the year between Christmas and New Year, when you can discover (amongst other things) a moving Christmas story from Sellaband past, my impressions of my year with Matthew Ebel (remember I'm essentially a complete stranger who dived in at the deep end by joining his direct funding approach at the most expensive level possible back in January) and where (and why) this blog is heading next year, as well as my usual (yet at the same time different) music and artist favourite charts of 2010.
With the 1000 true friends post taking up so much of my time over the past couple of months, the shorter hatchet day postings over that period mean I'm a little behind on some of the things I should have been mentioning.
The most obvious of these comes in the form of Ivan from My First Robot who deserves every credit for being the only new artist I've noticed since the bankruptcy for taking a real interest and attempting to get involved in the "battleground" otherwise known as the Sellaband forum. Trying to work your way into a crowd when you're new is hard enough at the best of times, and it's definitely not been the best of times on Sellaband over the past few months. I seriously don't have enthusiasm for Sellaband at the moment, so I haven't been going round talking to artists like I used to, but just because I appear disinterested, doesn't mean I don't notice and appreciate things like this - I just find it hard to encourage this kind of "right behaviour" when I feel there's so much wrong with the system it's on.
It may also interest you to know that I actually voted for My First Robot in the Sellaband competition that pitted them against So What for a festival spot, even though I personally like their music less and have never actually seen them perform live, whereas I have seen So What live. So why, you ask? Well, for me a festival is about live performance and having tracked down and watched several videos of MFR on Youtube, I actually think they currently have the better live performance, so that's why they got my vote to go. A shame really that Sellaband decided to put an artist many were familiar with already as a result of their time on the site against one basically unknown to Sellaband users - I suspect many went with the obvious choice and just didn't even bother to check out the opposition to make a genuine choice.
So in many ways I'm kind of sad to see them as one of the "new artists" caught up in the whole "Sellaband parts-shifting" controversy. Unlike some of the artists Sellaband is favouring for receipt of parts, they're obviously around and interested, even though active believers don't seem to have been particularly interested in them to date. Given the potential for a big storm about Sellaband shifting money of inactive believers into inactive artists (particularly newer signups) this is one artist I'd rather not see caught in the blast radius through people deciding that all "Sellaband favourites" (or buddy bands as Thor calls them) are lazy good for nothings taking the easy route to a budget by sucking up the vast majority of inactive believer parts. They certainly don't deserve that tag.
I also find myself wondering whether Sellaband is going to dig itself an even bigger hole by starting a competition at this point. It's got a kind of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't feel to it, where you can almost feel people waiting for Sellaband to shift a heap of parts while it's on, hence influencing the result, yet at the same time I wonder just how well the competition is going to do while so many people aren't interested in buying parts due to the no refund policy, and/or one or more of the other ongoing issues lurking around. But so far no parts shifting has happened and there is a rumour floating around that Sellaband have said they won't be shifting any money during the competition, though I've seen no official confirmation (or otherwise) of that fact.
All the parts shifting has actually been making it even more difficult to work out which of the newer artists in particular is actually "out there". One artist has already been accused in the forum of being on the receiving end of parts from Sellaband but not actually being on the site, despite the fact there were status updates from them appearing in-between all the "dead believers" including information on how to get hold of the free track they were promising when they reached 1000 euros. In addition artists are actually getting some "real" believers appearing in between all the "dead" ones and that produces its own set of problems on the artist side as well. With nearly 71 pages of artists containing at least one part, it's obvious there's still a lot of parts shuffling to come, even before Sellaband get around to looking at inactive artists, hence the hell of believers being able to tell which artists are actually active and the hell of the artists knowing whether the believers are "real" or not looks set to continue for months yet.
And that's not a good thing from either point of view.
This is just one of the problems making Sellaband still look like a bad place to be more than 9 months down the line with the new management. With Sellaband locking money in the system, who is going to take a chance on an artist being active or not when it's completely unclear? Seems it's time to get out banging on doors and throwing the spam around again, or brave the Sellaband battlefield (i.e. the forum) if you're an artist wanting to convince people you're alive and not invisible.
This continuing poor looking situation was really the decider for me in asking for the little money on my revenue to be paid out to my Paypal account, rather than dropping it in an artist. The Sellaband system didn't disappoint on this score, but you could also say it failed to impress, seeing as the confirmation that my payout request had been received took seconds to appear from the automated system, but the money didn't arrive for nearly 7 working days after the original request. That's slower than the last time I requested a payout and about the same as the time before that. So one aspect I'd say that hasn't changed from the old Sellaband relative to the new, as this is the first payout I've requested under the new management.
Also on the subject of revenues though is the fact that no money has been credited to believer balances since the swap from dollars to euros. Sellaband say this is because the system needs to be tested, but I'm struggling to understand what the heck is taking so long considering there seems to be nothing fundamentally different with the system in the first place. As a result I'm back up to over 5 euros of revenue waiting to be transferred. So much for a quarterly payout system (as per Sellaband's own T&C) seeing as the last time money was actually transferred to believer balances was somewhat more than three months ago.
One piece of good news, it does appear that Franz from Sellaband is finally starting to take an interest in what little is left of the community. Though to be honest the "history lessons" and feedback he's been getting would have been part of a process best started months ago. Rather than the proactive approach of take over, get to know what's what and then try and move forward, it seems the reactive approach of take over, wonder why things don't happen like you thought and only try and find out why months down the line has been taken instead, and to my mind that puts Sellaband at least 6 months back on where it could have been. Only time will tell if the lessons get taken to heart though - once again it took me "growling" on the forum about revenues not being paid according to the terms and conditions before even the figure "waiting" got updated, and as already stated the money hasn't actually been transferred to believer balances yet, nor does there seem to be any likely date for when it will be.
The other result of my lack of enthusiasm for Sellaband at the moment has been that I've realised I am listening to pretty much no music at all on the site. Despite the fact it is a place where you can listen to music, it seems a part of me has subconsciously rebelled and decided there's little point in listening to an artist's music when there's no likelihood of me buying a part any time in the near future. For existing music I'm finding myself listening to Songza instead, but I haven't yet developed any single preference for a place to discover new music. Of the two sites for this that I've tried recently, weloveyoursongs.com has quite a few interesting looking artists, but the scam of a voting system which reminds me so much of some of the tricks the mobile phone companies use, puts me off wanting to spend much time there. The other site The Indie looks at first glance like a much more interesting site from the point of finding new music, but so far I've been struggling to find much in the way of artists that sound halfway decent. From comments on artists pages dating back to early 2010 or in some cases 2009, it seems to me the site really ought to be showing a lot more life than it is, but with no forum and seemingly no fan community perhaps this shouldn't come as so much of a surprise despite the fact I think it has an awful lot of potential otherwise as far as music lovers are concerned.
Back to Sellaband on the case of the invisible though... how many of you actually noticed Sellaband did a live stream of a Public Enemy concert? The concert was actually streamed on the 2nd November, but the banner announcing it only appeared on 1st November as far as I can tell. Unless you were lucky enough to get it as the random banner on the homepage and clicked through to the details, it's likely you'll never have known about this seeing as I didn't receive any e-mail from Sellaband or see any news article about it. Of course in true Sellaband style the text on the page itself was confusing, stating the live streaming would take place on October 2nd, even though the title clearly said November. Sellaband later put up a news article with a video of an interview they'd done before the concert itself, but I kind of feel the more interesting opportunity was botched here.
With Public Enemy having raised their budget the next "known" artist name to sign up has been Jonathan Davis of KoRn. Funding here is for a live DVD that is from a concert filmed all the way back in 2008 for his solo project Jonathan Davis and the SFA. However you need to buy two parts to actually get the DVD, as one part only grants you online viewing access for 24hrs. So far there's been much less publicity surrounding this signup than when Public Enemy came on board, but it seems a number of the diehard KoRn fans are already aware and have been quite happy to stump up 100 euros each (plus transaction costs) for the signed box set. With a $75,000 budget required, it will be interesting to see exactly how much interest does manage to find its way through the door, and how fast, given the 12 month deletion clause for projects.
Elsewhere on the site another artist we've seen before came back. The Funeral Honors raised virtually no interest the first time they were on Sellaband and disappeared off to Slicethepie where they successfully qualified for the $15,000 funding target. They've come back to Sellaband to try and raise a 34,000 euro budget, but despite having a plan that's better looking than the vast majority out there, it seems the interest level still isn't there. And whilst you might have expected their successful excursion to slicethepie means they've picked up some new fans along the way, it seems they haven't succeeded in bringing anyone back to Sellaband with them to support them as they are still on a big fat 0 euros. For those looking for an amusement factor though, you might be interested in the fact their old profile is still on the site and they seem to be visiting both profiles.
All Ages are actually also a returner to the site. Their original profile was deleted for inactivity back when Sellaband actually had a clearout. I'd already removed the parts I had in them some time before that as part of the hatchet day process. Another case of great music shame about the interest. Seems they haven't learnt anything since their previous visit to Sellaband either, judging by the amount of funding they currently have.
The only other new artist that's managed to make me notice them is a very recent signup Lillith through appearing on the forum asking for advice as they were new on the site. Perhaps further proof that my interest in Sellaband as a site is running at an all time low.
I finally got my act together recently and managed to drop in on one of Aly Cook's "kiwi Sofa" streams... well nearly. In actual fact I arrived about 10 mins after she'd finished while she was busy uploading the recording and pretty much everyone else had already left, so I stayed around and watched that. I think I've been spoiled by the likes of Mysti Mayhem and Matthew Ebel though, because I have to admit I wasn't a big fan of the audio quality. I have to admit it's the first time I've actually heard her live (well, ok, nearly live!) and despite the audio issues all I can say is Wow. I thought Mysti had a big pair of lungs, but I think Aly has an even more powerful voice. If you haven't dropped by her show yet, then my advice is do because she sure can sing. Meantime I'll see if I can get my act together again and make another visit to see if the audio was a one-off or not.
The only other thing worthy to mention at this point is the charity profile that has been started. It would seem this works differently to other profiles on the site, as the information I've read says money cannot be moved from this profile once donated and also that Sellaband don't take any administration fees if you donate to this project. Whilst I think it's an interesting development and also a nice idea in general, I do have a few worries lurking around. Firstly there's the rather bizarre statement on this page on Sellaband stating "UK charity registration pending" when the Foundation's site itself appears to be set up in Germany and the official UK government site clearly states "Unless your organisation is governed by the laws of England and Wales we cannot register you as a charity". Secondly of course is the fact that (in the UK at least) charity donations are tax deductible, meaning that if indeed it does get registered as a UK charity it would make no sense to make a donation through Sellaband anyway, if you believe in their cause and are based in the UK yourself - they'd get at least an extra 20% by you giving them the same money direct! Thirdly, although it states Sellaband doesn't take any administration fees, it isn't clear if you'll still be charged a fee to cover any Paypal/credit card fees on top of the basic donation. Call me overly suspicious, but given some of the things that have happened round Sellaband in the past, this currently comes across as something trying to take advantage of people's good nature, rather than a genuine charitable opportunity. Whilst I'm not averse to the general idea behind projects like this, this particular project is one I'll be staying clear of because I can find no basis for it actually being or even trying to become a charity (UK or otherwise). Even their own site seems to be more interested in company partnerships and sponsors.
So that's it for my last hatchet day post. Look out for my review of the year between Christmas and New Year, when you can discover (amongst other things) a moving Christmas story from Sellaband past, my impressions of my year with Matthew Ebel (remember I'm essentially a complete stranger who dived in at the deep end by joining his direct funding approach at the most expensive level possible back in January) and where (and why) this blog is heading next year, as well as my usual (yet at the same time different) music and artist favourite charts of 2010.
Monday, 1 November 2010
October Roundup
Only a short (well for me at least) post again this month, due to the post about the 1000 true fans model that I've actually been writing on and off since August.
Over the course of October, it's become painfully obvious just how much trouble Sellaband is really in, and you could say that's come about purely as a result of their own doing. Firstly, the interesting change from the front page proudly displaying the number of believers and how many millions invested to a facebook addon has had me laughing. Well I have to, I'd be crying otherwise. Obviously not everyone is on facebook (I'm not - I've had a couple of dabbles in the past and that's it), but given its prevalence, the drop from nearly 70,000 believers to a mere 1,500 people who "like" Sellaband seems rather an extreme change, despite probably having been a lot closer to reality for some while now.
Secondly, Sellaband's "inactive believer parts movement" has come into effect, meaning believers who haven't logged into their profiles in 6 months are having their money diverted into projects other than the ones they originally believed in. So the second chuckle I had to have (or I'd be crying) was based on Sellaband's news article about Public Enemy getting close to reaching their target. The quote "more than a thousand die hard fans worldwide" doesn't sound quite so impressive when you consider that at least 100 of these (and probably closer to 200) are believers who had their money moved for them by Sellaband. They are one of the artists who have reached their targets during this parts movement, and despite beating both the record for highest budget raised on Sellaband and the record for highest total number of believers, the internet has basically been dead on the news front about this to date with searches still only revealing the huge number of old news stories of the original $250,000 budget and its drop to $75,000. Call me unimpressed.
Thirdly, the fact that Sellaband continues to make the site look "pretty" and continues to fail to address basic issues such as the fact the limited editions still aren't being shown in the store, the quarterly revenue payouts (the T&C are clear about when these should be paid and it just isn't happening) and having a set of FAQ which is accurate rather than blatantly false (amongst other things the FAQ still states there's a 2 week chance to reclaim your money, when this clause was taken out of the T&C weeks ago - the reality is you can't withdraw money you deposit in Sellaband at all).
And if you didn't think that little lot was enough, then perhaps you haven't seen the Sellaband commercial yet. Having viewed the English version, I was somewhat dismayed to see the "make money" message back and featuring so strongly. When combined with the issues not being addressed, I don't think Sellaband could currently come across as any more of a scam. Seems the hole just gets deeper.
This "parts movement" going on has been a little disturbing, with certain artists seemingly getting the lion's share of the moved parts based on their perceived ability to bring publicity for Sellaband. The biggest standout names in this are the "Big Name" Public Enemy, the "Dutch Superstar" Hind and the "Sellaband Commercial Stars" Unbuttoned Heart. Whilst there clearly has to be some criteria for deciding who gets moved parts, the fact only the same few names seemed to be showing in the "latest parts sold" for quite a while has raised more than a few questions, and even led to at least one artist stating they are leaving the site.
And talking of publicity, they do say that even bad publicity is good. I'd be inclined to disagree with that statement where fanfunding is concerned, as the impression you leave behind at the end of the process is likely to come back to haunt you later. An example of this came this month in the form of Hind, who managed to release her album and make it available in the shops weeks before all those believers who had pre-ordered it (or in some cases spent 100s of euros to support the project) received their copies. An attitude I find completely disrespectful towards all those people who had gone out of their way for something they could have just waited to buy on its release, and essentially a bad publicity generator for anyone hearing the music for the first time on Sellaband who might have been tempted into becoming a fan. And unfortunately therefore yet another example of an artist seemingly let down by their management - as a music lover, I've so far failed to be impressed by any artist on Sellaband towing "professional" management - the do-it-all-yourself artists seem to have a much better grasp of what motivates and retains fans. Hind could potentially have generated parts for her second project by making people happy at the fact they'd pre-ordered, rather than regretting it - as it is, it's a missed opportunity for her and Sellaband which hasn't particularly helped her reputation.
Ironically, the second stage (the project currently raising funding) for Hind is for the promotion budget for the album, so I'm also reminded of what I said in my post back in February about separating out a promotion budget as a separate project. Don't know whether Epyllion read that or not, but they've chalked another victory up for the DIYers over the "professionals" on that score, by showing the way to do it is to have the people willing to support you AND to offer something new. In their case, the low budget figure may have helped somewhat as well in terms of them becoming the first artist to successfully raise a budget for promotion on Sellaband.
This generally depressing situation with Sellaband has actually had me contemplating whether to buy a part in an artist using the revenue remaining on my balance or not. Whilst there are clearly a number of artists now heading towards target (and indeed a few that have reached it since the parts movement started) there is still the fact that I'm waiting on a number of CDs where artists reached their targets before the bankruptcy. Given the timescales involved and the fact Sellaband seems to be heading away from stability rather than towards it due to the lack of new money entering the system, I'm wondering whether it's even sensible to buy a part at the moment - even if the artist reaches target, will Sellaband go bankrupt again before the artist gets around to releasing their CD? Stay tuned for next month's post when I'll have finished my deliberations and either retrieved the money to Paypal or spent it on one of those I'm interested in that I see getting towards the top of the tree. All in all the site now feels like it's living on borrowed time.
At least the Sellaband store expanded again... well, not much.. but Sylvain Zebo does at least have a series of tracks available for download. You might struggle to find this out though, seeing as the store link has been removed unless you're logged in. If you're not logged in, for artists who have released albums and have them in the Sellaband store you now have to go to their profile and click on the "buy album" button. Interestingly there is no free track download as there has been for other artists in the past - not that that will probably matter, given how hidden this feature is in the first place.
And Finally...
It's getting towards the time of year again when I traditionally do my "review of the year" and given the Sellaband situation, it's given me a bit of a challenge to think about. There will be a post along in its usual slot over the Christmas/New Year period, but as you'll discover, there will be a few interesting changes to its content. Having limped along for most of this year and not really doing the job I'd originally set out to do with this blog, I'll also be revealing what I'll be doing with it next year. In the meantime, the next post should be out on or around the normal hatchet day on 1st December.
Over the course of October, it's become painfully obvious just how much trouble Sellaband is really in, and you could say that's come about purely as a result of their own doing. Firstly, the interesting change from the front page proudly displaying the number of believers and how many millions invested to a facebook addon has had me laughing. Well I have to, I'd be crying otherwise. Obviously not everyone is on facebook (I'm not - I've had a couple of dabbles in the past and that's it), but given its prevalence, the drop from nearly 70,000 believers to a mere 1,500 people who "like" Sellaband seems rather an extreme change, despite probably having been a lot closer to reality for some while now.
Secondly, Sellaband's "inactive believer parts movement" has come into effect, meaning believers who haven't logged into their profiles in 6 months are having their money diverted into projects other than the ones they originally believed in. So the second chuckle I had to have (or I'd be crying) was based on Sellaband's news article about Public Enemy getting close to reaching their target. The quote "more than a thousand die hard fans worldwide" doesn't sound quite so impressive when you consider that at least 100 of these (and probably closer to 200) are believers who had their money moved for them by Sellaband. They are one of the artists who have reached their targets during this parts movement, and despite beating both the record for highest budget raised on Sellaband and the record for highest total number of believers, the internet has basically been dead on the news front about this to date with searches still only revealing the huge number of old news stories of the original $250,000 budget and its drop to $75,000. Call me unimpressed.
Thirdly, the fact that Sellaband continues to make the site look "pretty" and continues to fail to address basic issues such as the fact the limited editions still aren't being shown in the store, the quarterly revenue payouts (the T&C are clear about when these should be paid and it just isn't happening) and having a set of FAQ which is accurate rather than blatantly false (amongst other things the FAQ still states there's a 2 week chance to reclaim your money, when this clause was taken out of the T&C weeks ago - the reality is you can't withdraw money you deposit in Sellaband at all).
And if you didn't think that little lot was enough, then perhaps you haven't seen the Sellaband commercial yet. Having viewed the English version, I was somewhat dismayed to see the "make money" message back and featuring so strongly. When combined with the issues not being addressed, I don't think Sellaband could currently come across as any more of a scam. Seems the hole just gets deeper.
This "parts movement" going on has been a little disturbing, with certain artists seemingly getting the lion's share of the moved parts based on their perceived ability to bring publicity for Sellaband. The biggest standout names in this are the "Big Name" Public Enemy, the "Dutch Superstar" Hind and the "Sellaband Commercial Stars" Unbuttoned Heart. Whilst there clearly has to be some criteria for deciding who gets moved parts, the fact only the same few names seemed to be showing in the "latest parts sold" for quite a while has raised more than a few questions, and even led to at least one artist stating they are leaving the site.
And talking of publicity, they do say that even bad publicity is good. I'd be inclined to disagree with that statement where fanfunding is concerned, as the impression you leave behind at the end of the process is likely to come back to haunt you later. An example of this came this month in the form of Hind, who managed to release her album and make it available in the shops weeks before all those believers who had pre-ordered it (or in some cases spent 100s of euros to support the project) received their copies. An attitude I find completely disrespectful towards all those people who had gone out of their way for something they could have just waited to buy on its release, and essentially a bad publicity generator for anyone hearing the music for the first time on Sellaband who might have been tempted into becoming a fan. And unfortunately therefore yet another example of an artist seemingly let down by their management - as a music lover, I've so far failed to be impressed by any artist on Sellaband towing "professional" management - the do-it-all-yourself artists seem to have a much better grasp of what motivates and retains fans. Hind could potentially have generated parts for her second project by making people happy at the fact they'd pre-ordered, rather than regretting it - as it is, it's a missed opportunity for her and Sellaband which hasn't particularly helped her reputation.
Ironically, the second stage (the project currently raising funding) for Hind is for the promotion budget for the album, so I'm also reminded of what I said in my post back in February about separating out a promotion budget as a separate project. Don't know whether Epyllion read that or not, but they've chalked another victory up for the DIYers over the "professionals" on that score, by showing the way to do it is to have the people willing to support you AND to offer something new. In their case, the low budget figure may have helped somewhat as well in terms of them becoming the first artist to successfully raise a budget for promotion on Sellaband.
This generally depressing situation with Sellaband has actually had me contemplating whether to buy a part in an artist using the revenue remaining on my balance or not. Whilst there are clearly a number of artists now heading towards target (and indeed a few that have reached it since the parts movement started) there is still the fact that I'm waiting on a number of CDs where artists reached their targets before the bankruptcy. Given the timescales involved and the fact Sellaband seems to be heading away from stability rather than towards it due to the lack of new money entering the system, I'm wondering whether it's even sensible to buy a part at the moment - even if the artist reaches target, will Sellaband go bankrupt again before the artist gets around to releasing their CD? Stay tuned for next month's post when I'll have finished my deliberations and either retrieved the money to Paypal or spent it on one of those I'm interested in that I see getting towards the top of the tree. All in all the site now feels like it's living on borrowed time.
At least the Sellaband store expanded again... well, not much.. but Sylvain Zebo does at least have a series of tracks available for download. You might struggle to find this out though, seeing as the store link has been removed unless you're logged in. If you're not logged in, for artists who have released albums and have them in the Sellaband store you now have to go to their profile and click on the "buy album" button. Interestingly there is no free track download as there has been for other artists in the past - not that that will probably matter, given how hidden this feature is in the first place.
And Finally...
It's getting towards the time of year again when I traditionally do my "review of the year" and given the Sellaband situation, it's given me a bit of a challenge to think about. There will be a post along in its usual slot over the Christmas/New Year period, but as you'll discover, there will be a few interesting changes to its content. Having limped along for most of this year and not really doing the job I'd originally set out to do with this blog, I'll also be revealing what I'll be doing with it next year. In the meantime, the next post should be out on or around the normal hatchet day on 1st December.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
1000 True Friends
1000 true fans is an idea increasingly used in blog posts about music these days. Since the original post, there have been a number of others posting either in defence of the idea or to try and debunk the theory. Interestingly all the posts I've seen talk about it from the artist perspective with no consideration of the process from the fan point of view. So I have two aims with this post. The first is to look at things from that fan perspective to show you that if you want to follow that path of 1000 true fans, you need to understand that the monster you are creating is actually 1000 true friends. The second is to show you just some of the ways in which an understanding of the fan thought process can help you towards creating that monster of 1000 true fans, whether you're an artist, a fan funding site or something else, should you decide it's still something for you.
So let's start with some basics.
What is a fan?
From my own point of view there are 3 types of people wandering around out there. The first I label consumers. These are people who will not go looking for you - rather you need to go looking for them. Traditionally reliant on what the media throws in front of them to decide what they do and don't like, this is your mass-market or long tail. The second type of person is a subset of the consumer, which I refer to as a music lover. Rather than be restricted by what mass media advertises as the thing they should buy, these people also search out music. Maybe your packaging for your CD looks interesting on the shelf, maybe they read a recommendation somewhere or maybe they even heard part of a song. They'll fall over you via some interesting route and like what they hear enough to want to give you a "test drive" i.e. If they're in the right sort of mood when you grab their attention and they've got the money, it's likely you might sell a few tracks or an album just because it looks interesting. The third type of person is the fan. Unlike the first two types of people, they already know who you are, they know where to find you and most importantly they WANT to find you. Irrespective of whether they are one of the quiet lurkers silently following you around or the more rabid and noisy "true fans", they will still be looking on a regular basis to find out when you're next releasing music, whether you're playing a gig in their area etc. etc.
The path to a fan
As far as your music is concerned, everyone starts out as a consumer (or that subset of consumer known as music lover). It's only by following a particular path that they may turn into a fan. If you like music you already know this, even if it is only subconsciously. But let's lay it out anyway.
1.Discovery
It all starts with a song that grabs your attention. "hmm, I like the sound of that - who is it by?". You might hear it anywhere - the radio, the music to a TV advert, the music someone has used for their home-made video on Youtube etc. etc. It doesn't matter. What matters is the fact you've found a song you like enough to want to own. It might not be the first thing by that artist you've heard (chances of this are actually very high) but it's the first thing that has managed to hold your attention.
2. Exploration
What happens next largely depends on how much of a music lover you are, and/or how much that track has got your attention in the first place. Since the advent of the Internet, it has become a lot easier to try and track down an artist, rather than have to go down the town and browse the local record shops, or wait for their next track to appear on the radio. If you've been hooked enough by just that one song, there's a good chance you'll leap straight into the next stage of trying to track down the artist to try and find out what other songs they've done to see if you like them. But except for exceptional circumstances, one song is not going to be enough and repeated exposure is required for the interest level to rise significantly. In other words - whilst someone may buy that one song because they like it, you don't stand a chance of landing up with a fan until they've heard more than one song they like "enough". And that's something that has the potential to take months (or longer), particularly if you don't regularly catch their interest.
3. Conversion
If you reach this point, you've probably sold a few tracks or an album. If someone likes what they hear and they happen to fall over you again at a later date, they may remember you and decide to buy your next song, album or whatever, but you still can't consider them a fan until they have been converted and actually start to seek you out rather than fate bringing you back together. There are actually 2 stages in the conversion - the first provides the fan and the second is the conversion of fan into "true fan". To clear the first stage, as a rough estimate you're probably looking at a minimum of an album's worth of material (i.e. about 10 songs) that the person actually likes, and this must also form at least 75% of everything they've heard of yours up until that point. The higher the percentage of your music that they like, the more likely you are to retain them as a fan over a long period. If there are tracks they actively dislike (rather than it being a take-it-or-leave-it case) you can be in danger of losing them quite quickly.
In addition to this, in order to clear the second stage, not only are you looking at a 90%+ like rate (in practice this is often 100% or very close to), they have to have seen you play live as well. If your live performance disappoints compared to the impression given by your recorded music, at best you'll be left with a fan who will buy your next album when it comes out and at worst you'll probably lose them altogether - the full conversion to "true fan" will not complete. Even worse, getting past this second stage still only creates a pseudo "true fan". Meeting in person will either seal or break the deal - if real life doesn't match the impression you have been giving them, then someone who previously has considered themselves a "true fan" and acted accordingly up until that point could well land up changing their mind.
Interestingly I actually found this post while I was planning this episode in my blog. The thing that amazes me most about it is that its author actually had to stop and think about the process he went through. Is it really not that obvious?
What do fans want?
In two words. More music. But let me give you the longer version.
- unless they were lucky enough to find out about you by the time of your first album, you can be sure they'll want to check out your back catalog and will likely buy some or all of it if and when they can
- they want to know when your next release comes out so they can plan their finances accordingly
- they want to see you perform live to see if you're as good as your music suggests
"True fans" take this one stage further
- they want to own everything you've ever done as well as being the first in the queue for whatever you do in future. Yes, that includes that early demo that you wish in hindsight had never seen the light of day and has been long out of print.
- they have made an emotional connection to you through your music and the image you portray and they think you're one of "their kind of people"
Yes, that's correct. That "true fan" on the other side of the world is actually your best friend (in the mind of said fan at least), even though you're actually complete strangers. Scary thought huh? At some point during the conversion of fan to "true fan" they have crossed an invisible line which means they stop looking at you as a business and start looking at you the same way they would a potential friend. If you're looking for true fans you need to understand that this is the reality, spot when it happens and react accordingly.
That thought scares me. If that's the case, why do I want true fans?
What planet have you been living on? If you don't want these people, you're passing up the opportunity to get yourself some lifelong supporters of you and your music. They think you're worth every penny they pay, despite the large number of people scratching their heads wondering why someone would pay YOU that much for whatever it is you're offering. And even if they can't actually afford the super-duper-top-of-the-line version, you've still got their undying love. Seriously. True fans are there for you and they are often generous, and not just in terms of money, particularly if you're not local to them. You want that bed for the night? You got it. They know what your favourite food or restaurant is? You got it. A luxury you like but can rarely afford to have? You got that as well. The list goes on...
So do you still want to create 1000 true fans? Read on.
Some clues that you already have true fans
- they will give or send you things (often out of the blue)
- they'll visibly talk about your latest project/voting request etc. without you needing to ask for them to do so
- if you mention you have a particular problem, they'll try and help you solve it if they can without expecting anything in return
- fans may come and go, but true fans will still be there whatever the ups and downs and more importantly they'll cut you some slack when you screw up (providing you don't do it too often and don't take them for granted).
Don't forget, they're your best friends (even though you don't know them). Isn't this the kind of way you'd treat your own best friends?
Let me give you an example from a story I've heard. Matthew Ebel has a fan helping him to book shows. His take on the subject is that the fan is doing the same job as a booking agent, therefore she should have the same percentage of his fee that he would pay to a booking agent. Her response - don't be silly. Now read that example again except with the word "friend" wherever I've used the word "fan" and not only should you see the conversation from her point of view, but also get a feeling for where things ought to go next.
How to create and retain true fans
- don't fake it, always be true to yourself
Whilst it's possible to have an image, whatever you do, don't try and come across as something you're not. Your fans need to like you for being you, or they'll feel cheated when they find out the reality. Managers are highly dangerous in this regard. If you've got one of those dealing with your fans rather than dealing with them direct yourself, make sure you stay aware of what is going on between them, and make sure it's known that it's a manager and not you talking to your fans. I'll never forget the story of the Sellaband believer who spent several thousand dollars on an artist on Sellaband, only for her to not even acknowledge him when he was stood directly in front of her, when her manager had been pretending to be her and constantly talking to him telling him how wonderful he was online. In actual fact the artist herself had absolutely no idea of who he was or what he'd been doing. That kind of experience loses fans and must come as more than embarrassment for any self-respecting artist once they find out too. Let's face it, could you really trust someone if you feel deceived?
- realise that it's the little things that matter
Shortly after Second Person raised their $50,000 on Sellaband they held a concert in London. I went down to that concert on my own, not knowing anyone there - I hadn't even been to a Second Person concert before. There are also very few pictures of the "real me" lurking around online. Yet I'd barely stuck my head around the door, before a shout of "Lucretia" (the name I'm known by on Sellaband) came from across the room, and Mark from the band was on his way to meet me. And indeed he was back around several times during the evening to check I was doing OK. When you consider I either had to be introduced to everyone else I met that evening, or at best I had a few uncertain enquiries as to whether I was Lucretia, the fact Mark had made the effort to both find out who I was and look out for me with genuine enthusiasm is something that really stands out. A simple thing perhaps, but the kind of thing that leaves a lasting impression. Just as with friends, it's the little gestures that show you're interested and/or you care about them as an individual that will leave the biggest impressions on your fans.
- find a way of giving true fans what they want
Other posts on the subject of 1000 true fans make the mistake of regarding a true fan as someone who can pay you cash. This is a misconception. I said earlier that a true fan wants to own everything you've ever done or will do in future. Just because they want to own it doesn't mean they can afford to own it - at least not in the traditional sense of paying money. The future is therefore open for artists to do what they do best i.e. get creative. Everyone has different skills and different contacts and the real winners will be those artists that form relationships with each fan in a way that allows the artist to use the fan's skills to help them accomplish some goal whilst rewarding the fan for helping them complete that goal with whatever it is they want to own as a thankyou gift. But to be able to do this, you're going to have to get to know your fans in the first place. At the end of the day, wouldn't you rather have someone who is as "into" your music as you are helping you out, rather than employing someone who is basically only helping you because you're paying them? Trust me, if you can pull this one off, not only will your existing fans love you for it, but you'll find yourself with a queue of new people too as soon as it becomes known what the deal is, because I certainly haven't seen an artist manage this one yet.
In short, if you approach the problem of making new fans the same way you go about the problem of making new friends, you stand a much better chance of landing up with a true fan. Even better, once you prove to them you're as cool and as great to know as they believed you were, they'll pass that word on.
I often hear artists saying they get the best response to their music by mixing with people who share the same interests as them, rather than trying to chase after people on music sites. Duuuh! If you make friends, people may be more inclined to listen to your music and see if they like it. Is it therefore such a leap to realise that by exposing yourself online, you've already prepared the ground, so that complete stranger that pops up from nowhere probably already has some idea of what you're like and what you're into? It's almost certain they have one or more things in common with you or your outlook on life - that's a part of what gave them enough interest in you to stick their head above the parapet in the first place! As a result, the artists I've seen do best at creating fans are those that realise the process of "make friend -> make fan" works backwards as well, and know how to react to a stranger that seems to suddenly appear with an interest. The better (and faster) you are at identifying when someone has, or is in danger of crossing the line and becoming a fan, the more likely you can make a true fan out of them.
Fans and fan funding
Fan funding sites are failing because they are trying to come into the process too late. It can take a long time just to convert one person into a fan. By the time you've gathered enough fans who trust you enough to pay you for something before it has been created, the chances are you'll also have developed the infrastructure and/or the contacts to be able to do it yourself. Why would you ever pay a middleman in this case? Not only do your fans have to trust you, they then have to trust the middleman too, and if the middleman lets you down some of your fans will therefore lose trust in YOU.
Rather than centering on the artist, fan funding sites need to recognise the laws of supply and demand and realise it's actually fans that are in short supply and it is therefore the fan needs that need to be fulfilled, as the artist needs will then be fulfilled automatically. (Stop Press: Artists only have ONE major need, and that's more fans!) Without this, they will only ever be a temporary fad while artists are still busy working out the fact they could do the same thing themselves.
The fan funding site that wins will be the one which gets into the process much earlier and realises that the conversion from consumer to fan is what they actually need to help with as it's where the potential really lies. On the one hand, artists are out there looking for fans. On the other hand, the current situation encourages consumers to remain consumers, rather than converting into those true fans that every artist craves. There is so much choice of music available, but so little chance of ever seeing the artists that make that music perform that there's no incentive to become a fan (see my section above on what fans want). Anyone with half a brain knows there can be a world of difference between a recording and how good an artist actually is. So it's no wonder that there are no superstars any more - that process of becoming a fan I mentioned earlier has been stifled by the sheer amount of choice screaming for attention and the traditional industry's inability to actually link artists with fans under these conditions. Of the three artists I particularly consider myself a fan of, I've only ever seen one perform live in person - the best I've had on the other two is video/Internet performance. And there's still no sign of either of these two ever performing a show in the same country as me, let alone anywhere actually local, despite each having already released at least 4 full albums, and one of the two even being a repeated and well-known award winner and chart topper in their own country.
We're forever being told that the price of technology is coming down and it's much cheaper to do things these days. People all over are saying that streaming media is the future. Yet how many music venues do you know that record concerts? Or even better, stream it? According to the future of music, fans have more access to artists than ever before. The reality is so far the exact opposite of this - despite all the touted advances in technology and all the free services around, the artists you are most interested in are often turning out to be the ones you have least access to. And there's no sign of this situation improving.
In addition, consumers want to try before they buy in the comfort of their own home. Gone are the days of going out on a dark and rainy night only to find out that it was hardly worth it, because the "new band" you went to see were basically just no good live. Without creating the appropriate level of accessibility to meet this need, you won't create fans in future. Accessibility is the one thing than fan-funding sites and more importantly the music industry in general should be looking at creating, and both are failing heavily in this regard. No Accessibility = no reason to engage = no reason to buy and music becomes a throwaway 5 minute track based flash in the pan as a result.
If I'm not getting what I want as a fan, why shouldn't I just be a consumer? This fan disillusion is the true challenge that the music industry needs to face and overcome, now that the music you can listen to is worldwide and no longer limited to artists in your own local area and whoever the music industry in your country is currently pushing.
The cost of true fans
Assuming I've properly managed to get over the idea that fans are actually your friends, it's time to understand what the cost of the 1000 true fans route is, and therefore why it will likely only ever work to an extent, rather than its full potential.
1. Time is not on your side
Can you spare 5 minutes of your time every week for your best friend? In reality, I'm willing to bet you spend somewhat more than 5 minutes a week on average with your best friend. But if we go with the theory that a true fan is your best friend, and attempt to spend just 5 minutes in a week with each, then if you have 1000 true fans, you'd need to spend nearly 12 hours every day, including weekends, to cover the lot. Assuming you sleep for 8 hours, that means you would have just 4 hours to do everything else including actually create music. Clearly not practical. Collecting and retaining a large number of true fans is therefore very difficult through time pressures alone.
2. One true love
Out of all the artists that an individual gets exposed to in their lifetime, you'll likely be able to count the number of artists they are a "true fan" of on just one hand. And possibly just one finger. Whilst they may consider themselves a fan of a much larger number, they'll only ever go that real extra mile for those currently at the top of their own personal pile. Given the millions of artists in the world, chances are it's not your day. The true fan relationship is much like searching for your soulmate - that one true love. Even though the fan is extremely compatible with your music, given enough time, the law of averages states that someone with even more compatible music is going to come along and oust you. How long can you retain your one true musical love status, so you can actually increase your number of true fans rather than merely replacing some of them?
3. Are you superman (or woman)?
It takes a special kind of person to truly cultivate true fans. I've been lucky enough to meet with some during my time on Sellaband, and I suspect a number of others based on their correspondences with myself or others, including one that I personally think can't sing for toffee. But one man's trash is another man's treasure in that regard, and they definitely exhibit all the other signs that would encourage someone who is into their music to consider becoming a true fan.
None of these people ever stop. I still remember sharing a taxi back to the airport in Amsterdam with Lily Vasquez at 4am - two hours before I actually needed to be there. She had pretty much been everywhere and spoken to everyone over the course of the weekend, and whilst I'd attempted to grab a few hours sleep before the taxi she hadn't even been to bed. I'm sat there feeling like the bleary eyed owl that's been woken in the middle of the afternoon, staring out of one half-closed eye wishing everyone would just buzz off and leave it to sleep and Lily was still fired up and on the go. To be able to put that amount of time and dedication into people and still be going takes a special kind of person, and it's exactly that kind of person that is best suited to creating large numbers of true fans. Are you that superman (or woman) or are you the bleary-eyed owl like me?
Whilst the 1000 true fans route sounds idyllic, the reality is that it's pretty much impossible to keep up the level of interaction that's required to keep that going for any period of time. But clearly, you can work with a smaller number and still keep them happy enough to want to retain their "true fan" status.
Fans need to learn too
It's only really since I pushed myself out of the consumer pile and took a real interest in Sellaband, that it's become apparent that for the music industry to move forward, fans need to understand a few things too.
1. "Sold Out" is a reality that isn't going anywhere
Some of the cries most often heard from fans is that an artist has "sold out" and/or doesn't have time for their fans any more. However fans need to realise the reasons why artists don't have a lot of time for them, and the fact this problem isn't going to go away. Just because an artist is doing it all themselves and doesn't have a manager, record label etc. in the way doesn't mean there's going to be any more opportunity to interact with them. We're back to that fact that it takes 12 hours every day in order to spend just 5 minutes of time a week with every true fan.
The average person has absolutely NO idea of the realities that artists have to cope with and the amount of time it takes, and even after 4 years I'd still consider that I've barely started to learn. By educating fans and giving them this understanding, more of them will start to cut you some slack and you'll also find yourself with better fan retention. If people don't understand something, they speculate and ultimately that lack of understanding is what often leads to those cries of "sold out". Engage them, involve them, but overall educate them if you want to beat this.
2. Be more open to interacting with artists
It's a huge temptation to only interact with artists you're really interested in, but by getting to know some of the others who openly exhibit the signs that encourage true fans you could be doing everyone a favour.
At the end of the day, there are a number of artists I've encountered and talked to on Sellaband that I feel truly guilty about the fact that I don't like their music more (or even don't like it at all). From the perspective of creating true fans, they're going about it the right way but for me the "musical spark" just isn't there for me to want to create the relationship. But the fact that I've interacted with these people, or even just paid attention to the way they interact with others gives me the opportunity to tell someone who asks me whether I like a particular artist the fact that even though I don't like their music, they come across as someone worthy of the effort. True fans are looking for interaction, so if I as a music lover can help direct another towards their "musical soulmate" without them having to sift so much of the junk by trial and error, surely that has to be a win for everybody?
3. It works both ways
The good news for potential fans out there is that it works both ways. In my experience, the artists most deserving of true fans are also the ones who appreciate them the most. They will be as excited to meet you as you are to meet them if not more so, assuming they ever get the opportunity. But by the same token that means EVERYTHING works both ways. If you truly want the kind of level of interaction which can only be offered to a "true fan", then you have got to step up to the plate and fulfil your side of the bargain. In the new music industry the artist - true fan relationship is a self-sustaining one, but you're going to have to be a true fan, and not merely a fan. That artist you love is going to need to trust you as much as you do them (if not more so, seeing as they probably know less about you than you do them) if you're going to move forward together, and that means that all the qualities you're looking for in them, they need to be able to find in you too. When they ask for your support in something, you need to be there to give it,assuming it's possible for you to do so. Are you up to that kind of challenge?
So. Artists. Fans. What are you waiting for? Get out there and make some true friends.
So let's start with some basics.
What is a fan?
From my own point of view there are 3 types of people wandering around out there. The first I label consumers. These are people who will not go looking for you - rather you need to go looking for them. Traditionally reliant on what the media throws in front of them to decide what they do and don't like, this is your mass-market or long tail. The second type of person is a subset of the consumer, which I refer to as a music lover. Rather than be restricted by what mass media advertises as the thing they should buy, these people also search out music. Maybe your packaging for your CD looks interesting on the shelf, maybe they read a recommendation somewhere or maybe they even heard part of a song. They'll fall over you via some interesting route and like what they hear enough to want to give you a "test drive" i.e. If they're in the right sort of mood when you grab their attention and they've got the money, it's likely you might sell a few tracks or an album just because it looks interesting. The third type of person is the fan. Unlike the first two types of people, they already know who you are, they know where to find you and most importantly they WANT to find you. Irrespective of whether they are one of the quiet lurkers silently following you around or the more rabid and noisy "true fans", they will still be looking on a regular basis to find out when you're next releasing music, whether you're playing a gig in their area etc. etc.
The path to a fan
As far as your music is concerned, everyone starts out as a consumer (or that subset of consumer known as music lover). It's only by following a particular path that they may turn into a fan. If you like music you already know this, even if it is only subconsciously. But let's lay it out anyway.
1.Discovery
It all starts with a song that grabs your attention. "hmm, I like the sound of that - who is it by?". You might hear it anywhere - the radio, the music to a TV advert, the music someone has used for their home-made video on Youtube etc. etc. It doesn't matter. What matters is the fact you've found a song you like enough to want to own. It might not be the first thing by that artist you've heard (chances of this are actually very high) but it's the first thing that has managed to hold your attention.
2. Exploration
What happens next largely depends on how much of a music lover you are, and/or how much that track has got your attention in the first place. Since the advent of the Internet, it has become a lot easier to try and track down an artist, rather than have to go down the town and browse the local record shops, or wait for their next track to appear on the radio. If you've been hooked enough by just that one song, there's a good chance you'll leap straight into the next stage of trying to track down the artist to try and find out what other songs they've done to see if you like them. But except for exceptional circumstances, one song is not going to be enough and repeated exposure is required for the interest level to rise significantly. In other words - whilst someone may buy that one song because they like it, you don't stand a chance of landing up with a fan until they've heard more than one song they like "enough". And that's something that has the potential to take months (or longer), particularly if you don't regularly catch their interest.
3. Conversion
If you reach this point, you've probably sold a few tracks or an album. If someone likes what they hear and they happen to fall over you again at a later date, they may remember you and decide to buy your next song, album or whatever, but you still can't consider them a fan until they have been converted and actually start to seek you out rather than fate bringing you back together. There are actually 2 stages in the conversion - the first provides the fan and the second is the conversion of fan into "true fan". To clear the first stage, as a rough estimate you're probably looking at a minimum of an album's worth of material (i.e. about 10 songs) that the person actually likes, and this must also form at least 75% of everything they've heard of yours up until that point. The higher the percentage of your music that they like, the more likely you are to retain them as a fan over a long period. If there are tracks they actively dislike (rather than it being a take-it-or-leave-it case) you can be in danger of losing them quite quickly.
In addition to this, in order to clear the second stage, not only are you looking at a 90%+ like rate (in practice this is often 100% or very close to), they have to have seen you play live as well. If your live performance disappoints compared to the impression given by your recorded music, at best you'll be left with a fan who will buy your next album when it comes out and at worst you'll probably lose them altogether - the full conversion to "true fan" will not complete. Even worse, getting past this second stage still only creates a pseudo "true fan". Meeting in person will either seal or break the deal - if real life doesn't match the impression you have been giving them, then someone who previously has considered themselves a "true fan" and acted accordingly up until that point could well land up changing their mind.
Interestingly I actually found this post while I was planning this episode in my blog. The thing that amazes me most about it is that its author actually had to stop and think about the process he went through. Is it really not that obvious?
What do fans want?
In two words. More music. But let me give you the longer version.
- unless they were lucky enough to find out about you by the time of your first album, you can be sure they'll want to check out your back catalog and will likely buy some or all of it if and when they can
- they want to know when your next release comes out so they can plan their finances accordingly
- they want to see you perform live to see if you're as good as your music suggests
"True fans" take this one stage further
- they want to own everything you've ever done as well as being the first in the queue for whatever you do in future. Yes, that includes that early demo that you wish in hindsight had never seen the light of day and has been long out of print.
- they have made an emotional connection to you through your music and the image you portray and they think you're one of "their kind of people"
Yes, that's correct. That "true fan" on the other side of the world is actually your best friend (in the mind of said fan at least), even though you're actually complete strangers. Scary thought huh? At some point during the conversion of fan to "true fan" they have crossed an invisible line which means they stop looking at you as a business and start looking at you the same way they would a potential friend. If you're looking for true fans you need to understand that this is the reality, spot when it happens and react accordingly.
That thought scares me. If that's the case, why do I want true fans?
What planet have you been living on? If you don't want these people, you're passing up the opportunity to get yourself some lifelong supporters of you and your music. They think you're worth every penny they pay, despite the large number of people scratching their heads wondering why someone would pay YOU that much for whatever it is you're offering. And even if they can't actually afford the super-duper-top-of-the-line version, you've still got their undying love. Seriously. True fans are there for you and they are often generous, and not just in terms of money, particularly if you're not local to them. You want that bed for the night? You got it. They know what your favourite food or restaurant is? You got it. A luxury you like but can rarely afford to have? You got that as well. The list goes on...
So do you still want to create 1000 true fans? Read on.
Some clues that you already have true fans
- they will give or send you things (often out of the blue)
- they'll visibly talk about your latest project/voting request etc. without you needing to ask for them to do so
- if you mention you have a particular problem, they'll try and help you solve it if they can without expecting anything in return
- fans may come and go, but true fans will still be there whatever the ups and downs and more importantly they'll cut you some slack when you screw up (providing you don't do it too often and don't take them for granted).
Don't forget, they're your best friends (even though you don't know them). Isn't this the kind of way you'd treat your own best friends?
Let me give you an example from a story I've heard. Matthew Ebel has a fan helping him to book shows. His take on the subject is that the fan is doing the same job as a booking agent, therefore she should have the same percentage of his fee that he would pay to a booking agent. Her response - don't be silly. Now read that example again except with the word "friend" wherever I've used the word "fan" and not only should you see the conversation from her point of view, but also get a feeling for where things ought to go next.
How to create and retain true fans
- don't fake it, always be true to yourself
Whilst it's possible to have an image, whatever you do, don't try and come across as something you're not. Your fans need to like you for being you, or they'll feel cheated when they find out the reality. Managers are highly dangerous in this regard. If you've got one of those dealing with your fans rather than dealing with them direct yourself, make sure you stay aware of what is going on between them, and make sure it's known that it's a manager and not you talking to your fans. I'll never forget the story of the Sellaband believer who spent several thousand dollars on an artist on Sellaband, only for her to not even acknowledge him when he was stood directly in front of her, when her manager had been pretending to be her and constantly talking to him telling him how wonderful he was online. In actual fact the artist herself had absolutely no idea of who he was or what he'd been doing. That kind of experience loses fans and must come as more than embarrassment for any self-respecting artist once they find out too. Let's face it, could you really trust someone if you feel deceived?
- realise that it's the little things that matter
Shortly after Second Person raised their $50,000 on Sellaband they held a concert in London. I went down to that concert on my own, not knowing anyone there - I hadn't even been to a Second Person concert before. There are also very few pictures of the "real me" lurking around online. Yet I'd barely stuck my head around the door, before a shout of "Lucretia" (the name I'm known by on Sellaband) came from across the room, and Mark from the band was on his way to meet me. And indeed he was back around several times during the evening to check I was doing OK. When you consider I either had to be introduced to everyone else I met that evening, or at best I had a few uncertain enquiries as to whether I was Lucretia, the fact Mark had made the effort to both find out who I was and look out for me with genuine enthusiasm is something that really stands out. A simple thing perhaps, but the kind of thing that leaves a lasting impression. Just as with friends, it's the little gestures that show you're interested and/or you care about them as an individual that will leave the biggest impressions on your fans.
- find a way of giving true fans what they want
Other posts on the subject of 1000 true fans make the mistake of regarding a true fan as someone who can pay you cash. This is a misconception. I said earlier that a true fan wants to own everything you've ever done or will do in future. Just because they want to own it doesn't mean they can afford to own it - at least not in the traditional sense of paying money. The future is therefore open for artists to do what they do best i.e. get creative. Everyone has different skills and different contacts and the real winners will be those artists that form relationships with each fan in a way that allows the artist to use the fan's skills to help them accomplish some goal whilst rewarding the fan for helping them complete that goal with whatever it is they want to own as a thankyou gift. But to be able to do this, you're going to have to get to know your fans in the first place. At the end of the day, wouldn't you rather have someone who is as "into" your music as you are helping you out, rather than employing someone who is basically only helping you because you're paying them? Trust me, if you can pull this one off, not only will your existing fans love you for it, but you'll find yourself with a queue of new people too as soon as it becomes known what the deal is, because I certainly haven't seen an artist manage this one yet.
In short, if you approach the problem of making new fans the same way you go about the problem of making new friends, you stand a much better chance of landing up with a true fan. Even better, once you prove to them you're as cool and as great to know as they believed you were, they'll pass that word on.
I often hear artists saying they get the best response to their music by mixing with people who share the same interests as them, rather than trying to chase after people on music sites. Duuuh! If you make friends, people may be more inclined to listen to your music and see if they like it. Is it therefore such a leap to realise that by exposing yourself online, you've already prepared the ground, so that complete stranger that pops up from nowhere probably already has some idea of what you're like and what you're into? It's almost certain they have one or more things in common with you or your outlook on life - that's a part of what gave them enough interest in you to stick their head above the parapet in the first place! As a result, the artists I've seen do best at creating fans are those that realise the process of "make friend -> make fan" works backwards as well, and know how to react to a stranger that seems to suddenly appear with an interest. The better (and faster) you are at identifying when someone has, or is in danger of crossing the line and becoming a fan, the more likely you can make a true fan out of them.
Fans and fan funding
Fan funding sites are failing because they are trying to come into the process too late. It can take a long time just to convert one person into a fan. By the time you've gathered enough fans who trust you enough to pay you for something before it has been created, the chances are you'll also have developed the infrastructure and/or the contacts to be able to do it yourself. Why would you ever pay a middleman in this case? Not only do your fans have to trust you, they then have to trust the middleman too, and if the middleman lets you down some of your fans will therefore lose trust in YOU.
Rather than centering on the artist, fan funding sites need to recognise the laws of supply and demand and realise it's actually fans that are in short supply and it is therefore the fan needs that need to be fulfilled, as the artist needs will then be fulfilled automatically. (Stop Press: Artists only have ONE major need, and that's more fans!) Without this, they will only ever be a temporary fad while artists are still busy working out the fact they could do the same thing themselves.
The fan funding site that wins will be the one which gets into the process much earlier and realises that the conversion from consumer to fan is what they actually need to help with as it's where the potential really lies. On the one hand, artists are out there looking for fans. On the other hand, the current situation encourages consumers to remain consumers, rather than converting into those true fans that every artist craves. There is so much choice of music available, but so little chance of ever seeing the artists that make that music perform that there's no incentive to become a fan (see my section above on what fans want). Anyone with half a brain knows there can be a world of difference between a recording and how good an artist actually is. So it's no wonder that there are no superstars any more - that process of becoming a fan I mentioned earlier has been stifled by the sheer amount of choice screaming for attention and the traditional industry's inability to actually link artists with fans under these conditions. Of the three artists I particularly consider myself a fan of, I've only ever seen one perform live in person - the best I've had on the other two is video/Internet performance. And there's still no sign of either of these two ever performing a show in the same country as me, let alone anywhere actually local, despite each having already released at least 4 full albums, and one of the two even being a repeated and well-known award winner and chart topper in their own country.
We're forever being told that the price of technology is coming down and it's much cheaper to do things these days. People all over are saying that streaming media is the future. Yet how many music venues do you know that record concerts? Or even better, stream it? According to the future of music, fans have more access to artists than ever before. The reality is so far the exact opposite of this - despite all the touted advances in technology and all the free services around, the artists you are most interested in are often turning out to be the ones you have least access to. And there's no sign of this situation improving.
In addition, consumers want to try before they buy in the comfort of their own home. Gone are the days of going out on a dark and rainy night only to find out that it was hardly worth it, because the "new band" you went to see were basically just no good live. Without creating the appropriate level of accessibility to meet this need, you won't create fans in future. Accessibility is the one thing than fan-funding sites and more importantly the music industry in general should be looking at creating, and both are failing heavily in this regard. No Accessibility = no reason to engage = no reason to buy and music becomes a throwaway 5 minute track based flash in the pan as a result.
If I'm not getting what I want as a fan, why shouldn't I just be a consumer? This fan disillusion is the true challenge that the music industry needs to face and overcome, now that the music you can listen to is worldwide and no longer limited to artists in your own local area and whoever the music industry in your country is currently pushing.
The cost of true fans
Assuming I've properly managed to get over the idea that fans are actually your friends, it's time to understand what the cost of the 1000 true fans route is, and therefore why it will likely only ever work to an extent, rather than its full potential.
1. Time is not on your side
Can you spare 5 minutes of your time every week for your best friend? In reality, I'm willing to bet you spend somewhat more than 5 minutes a week on average with your best friend. But if we go with the theory that a true fan is your best friend, and attempt to spend just 5 minutes in a week with each, then if you have 1000 true fans, you'd need to spend nearly 12 hours every day, including weekends, to cover the lot. Assuming you sleep for 8 hours, that means you would have just 4 hours to do everything else including actually create music. Clearly not practical. Collecting and retaining a large number of true fans is therefore very difficult through time pressures alone.
2. One true love
Out of all the artists that an individual gets exposed to in their lifetime, you'll likely be able to count the number of artists they are a "true fan" of on just one hand. And possibly just one finger. Whilst they may consider themselves a fan of a much larger number, they'll only ever go that real extra mile for those currently at the top of their own personal pile. Given the millions of artists in the world, chances are it's not your day. The true fan relationship is much like searching for your soulmate - that one true love. Even though the fan is extremely compatible with your music, given enough time, the law of averages states that someone with even more compatible music is going to come along and oust you. How long can you retain your one true musical love status, so you can actually increase your number of true fans rather than merely replacing some of them?
3. Are you superman (or woman)?
It takes a special kind of person to truly cultivate true fans. I've been lucky enough to meet with some during my time on Sellaband, and I suspect a number of others based on their correspondences with myself or others, including one that I personally think can't sing for toffee. But one man's trash is another man's treasure in that regard, and they definitely exhibit all the other signs that would encourage someone who is into their music to consider becoming a true fan.
None of these people ever stop. I still remember sharing a taxi back to the airport in Amsterdam with Lily Vasquez at 4am - two hours before I actually needed to be there. She had pretty much been everywhere and spoken to everyone over the course of the weekend, and whilst I'd attempted to grab a few hours sleep before the taxi she hadn't even been to bed. I'm sat there feeling like the bleary eyed owl that's been woken in the middle of the afternoon, staring out of one half-closed eye wishing everyone would just buzz off and leave it to sleep and Lily was still fired up and on the go. To be able to put that amount of time and dedication into people and still be going takes a special kind of person, and it's exactly that kind of person that is best suited to creating large numbers of true fans. Are you that superman (or woman) or are you the bleary-eyed owl like me?
Whilst the 1000 true fans route sounds idyllic, the reality is that it's pretty much impossible to keep up the level of interaction that's required to keep that going for any period of time. But clearly, you can work with a smaller number and still keep them happy enough to want to retain their "true fan" status.
Fans need to learn too
It's only really since I pushed myself out of the consumer pile and took a real interest in Sellaband, that it's become apparent that for the music industry to move forward, fans need to understand a few things too.
1. "Sold Out" is a reality that isn't going anywhere
Some of the cries most often heard from fans is that an artist has "sold out" and/or doesn't have time for their fans any more. However fans need to realise the reasons why artists don't have a lot of time for them, and the fact this problem isn't going to go away. Just because an artist is doing it all themselves and doesn't have a manager, record label etc. in the way doesn't mean there's going to be any more opportunity to interact with them. We're back to that fact that it takes 12 hours every day in order to spend just 5 minutes of time a week with every true fan.
The average person has absolutely NO idea of the realities that artists have to cope with and the amount of time it takes, and even after 4 years I'd still consider that I've barely started to learn. By educating fans and giving them this understanding, more of them will start to cut you some slack and you'll also find yourself with better fan retention. If people don't understand something, they speculate and ultimately that lack of understanding is what often leads to those cries of "sold out". Engage them, involve them, but overall educate them if you want to beat this.
2. Be more open to interacting with artists
It's a huge temptation to only interact with artists you're really interested in, but by getting to know some of the others who openly exhibit the signs that encourage true fans you could be doing everyone a favour.
At the end of the day, there are a number of artists I've encountered and talked to on Sellaband that I feel truly guilty about the fact that I don't like their music more (or even don't like it at all). From the perspective of creating true fans, they're going about it the right way but for me the "musical spark" just isn't there for me to want to create the relationship. But the fact that I've interacted with these people, or even just paid attention to the way they interact with others gives me the opportunity to tell someone who asks me whether I like a particular artist the fact that even though I don't like their music, they come across as someone worthy of the effort. True fans are looking for interaction, so if I as a music lover can help direct another towards their "musical soulmate" without them having to sift so much of the junk by trial and error, surely that has to be a win for everybody?
3. It works both ways
The good news for potential fans out there is that it works both ways. In my experience, the artists most deserving of true fans are also the ones who appreciate them the most. They will be as excited to meet you as you are to meet them if not more so, assuming they ever get the opportunity. But by the same token that means EVERYTHING works both ways. If you truly want the kind of level of interaction which can only be offered to a "true fan", then you have got to step up to the plate and fulfil your side of the bargain. In the new music industry the artist - true fan relationship is a self-sustaining one, but you're going to have to be a true fan, and not merely a fan. That artist you love is going to need to trust you as much as you do them (if not more so, seeing as they probably know less about you than you do them) if you're going to move forward together, and that means that all the qualities you're looking for in them, they need to be able to find in you too. When they ask for your support in something, you need to be there to give it,assuming it's possible for you to do so. Are you up to that kind of challenge?
So. Artists. Fans. What are you waiting for? Get out there and make some true friends.
Friday, 1 October 2010
September roundup
The main post this month is something I thought should be written as an article in its own right, so here's just a quick roundup of the other things going on.
I mentioned last month that I'd received the mp3s for Francis Rodino's new EP. Well the CD itself has now arrived as well, meaning the Pledge music process has been somewhat faster than the Sellaband one, both in terms of the time for fundraising and the time between completion of fundraising and release. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on a number of artists from Sellaband for their CDs, including several who completed funding back in 2008.
And this increasing wait for Sellaband artists is just one of many things completely putting people off the site. In the first week of September, the friend from my university days has finally had enough and updated his Sellaband status to read "Goodbye Sellaband. It was nice while it lasted, but it's time to move on". Looking at the list of 25 artists he had bought parts in, it looks like he is still waiting for 3 or 4 CDs as well, but otherwise has decided he won't be buying any more.
AmieStreet closes down and redirects to Amazon. I managed to get nearly all the remaining money I had there into tracks and downloaded, but their servers were obviously overloaded with people in the same kind of rush, as the process took me several attempts over a number of days to complete. This is yet another case that highlights the fact of why I'd much rather have an album than download mp3s. Every time a site like this closes down or moves on you're in danger of losing the music you paid for. At least with a CD, the chances are you can still rip it again quite happily. And at your own leisure rather than being forced into a deadline too - essentially your music backup is already created! The $5 Amazon voucher was no compensation for non-US buyers though, as even if you redeem the voucher it can't actually be spent if you live outside the USA.
I am enjoying the site that the amiestreet people have moved onto though. Whilst Songza is aimed as being for a group of people to collaborate on playlists, I'm actually finding it the best site I visited since Yahoo terminated their Launchcast service. No prizes for guessing it's the music site I'm spending most time on at present. Essentially it allows you to set up a streaming station which only plays what you choose. The main downside compared to Launchcast is that it doesn't suggest artists for you to listen to based on what the station already plays, so essentially you have to go find and add songs yourself. I do have a few gripes with it, such as the fact you can't remove a track you may have added by mistake, nor can you remove a station once you've created it. (My initial experimentation meant I landed up creating 2 stations of the same name). Also the fact you can't listen to a preview of the track to check it's a) the right one and b) it's OK can be a bit of a problem. For example I went and added Lordi's "The Arockralypse" album and it's obvious the encoding is screwed up. This means every track on the entire album is playing in mega-slo-mo satanic, which is somewhat ironic when you consider the band's actual image.
For those of you interested in Indie artists, it's quite interesting what I've dug up on there (and indeed what I haven't). For instance there's no sign of Nemesea, yet all you Lily and Cubworld fans can go listen to their Sellaband albums (amongst those of many other 50K artists). And it doesn't stop there. Radius have their single "Prisoner of your love" on there, even though their album isn't yet released. And there's even music from artists on Sellaband who haven't reached a target such as some Wetwerks tracks. Matthew Ebel's back catalogue appears to have been sneezed on, meaning there's a howling gap after his album "Beer and Coffee" with the next album being "Songs from the vault vol 2.", meaning SFTV vol 1 and a couple of others from the intervening era are missing. There's also quite a few artists I recognise from either Stereofame or Thesixtyone that i've been able to dig up as well. In short it's well worth having a look to see who you can search up, as the site contains a broad selection of well known and indie artists, and also covers music released from at least the 1950s to (almost) current based on who I listen to that I've found. I'm still working on my own (call it personal) radio station, but if you've got anyone you think I ought to listen to, then here's the station you can add to A username I recognise from Sellaband has already come in and started adding some stuff to this one as well. Basically go ahead and knock yourselves out and join them.
Using Songza is currently completely free. More importantly there's absolutely nothing to download - it streams the music without bothering you to install any player, library management software or other junk that sites seem so keen to throw at you these days. There are some adverts on the site, but you can quite happily swap out to another tab or minimise your browser and it will keep playing so you don't have to be disturbed by them at all. But I find myself wondering how long the service will a) remain free and b) whether it will eventually go the same way as the likes of Pandora and lock non-US users out of the system. Which would be a real shame, as this is currently the streaming service most closely meeting what I want from a streaming service.
That's it for the September roundup. The main post looking at the "1000 true fans" model from the fan point of view will be along in the next couple of days, and that's one you really won't want to miss.
I mentioned last month that I'd received the mp3s for Francis Rodino's new EP. Well the CD itself has now arrived as well, meaning the Pledge music process has been somewhat faster than the Sellaband one, both in terms of the time for fundraising and the time between completion of fundraising and release. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on a number of artists from Sellaband for their CDs, including several who completed funding back in 2008.
And this increasing wait for Sellaband artists is just one of many things completely putting people off the site. In the first week of September, the friend from my university days has finally had enough and updated his Sellaband status to read "Goodbye Sellaband. It was nice while it lasted, but it's time to move on". Looking at the list of 25 artists he had bought parts in, it looks like he is still waiting for 3 or 4 CDs as well, but otherwise has decided he won't be buying any more.
AmieStreet closes down and redirects to Amazon. I managed to get nearly all the remaining money I had there into tracks and downloaded, but their servers were obviously overloaded with people in the same kind of rush, as the process took me several attempts over a number of days to complete. This is yet another case that highlights the fact of why I'd much rather have an album than download mp3s. Every time a site like this closes down or moves on you're in danger of losing the music you paid for. At least with a CD, the chances are you can still rip it again quite happily. And at your own leisure rather than being forced into a deadline too - essentially your music backup is already created! The $5 Amazon voucher was no compensation for non-US buyers though, as even if you redeem the voucher it can't actually be spent if you live outside the USA.
I am enjoying the site that the amiestreet people have moved onto though. Whilst Songza is aimed as being for a group of people to collaborate on playlists, I'm actually finding it the best site I visited since Yahoo terminated their Launchcast service. No prizes for guessing it's the music site I'm spending most time on at present. Essentially it allows you to set up a streaming station which only plays what you choose. The main downside compared to Launchcast is that it doesn't suggest artists for you to listen to based on what the station already plays, so essentially you have to go find and add songs yourself. I do have a few gripes with it, such as the fact you can't remove a track you may have added by mistake, nor can you remove a station once you've created it. (My initial experimentation meant I landed up creating 2 stations of the same name). Also the fact you can't listen to a preview of the track to check it's a) the right one and b) it's OK can be a bit of a problem. For example I went and added Lordi's "The Arockralypse" album and it's obvious the encoding is screwed up. This means every track on the entire album is playing in mega-slo-mo satanic, which is somewhat ironic when you consider the band's actual image.
For those of you interested in Indie artists, it's quite interesting what I've dug up on there (and indeed what I haven't). For instance there's no sign of Nemesea, yet all you Lily and Cubworld fans can go listen to their Sellaband albums (amongst those of many other 50K artists). And it doesn't stop there. Radius have their single "Prisoner of your love" on there, even though their album isn't yet released. And there's even music from artists on Sellaband who haven't reached a target such as some Wetwerks tracks. Matthew Ebel's back catalogue appears to have been sneezed on, meaning there's a howling gap after his album "Beer and Coffee" with the next album being "Songs from the vault vol 2.", meaning SFTV vol 1 and a couple of others from the intervening era are missing. There's also quite a few artists I recognise from either Stereofame or Thesixtyone that i've been able to dig up as well. In short it's well worth having a look to see who you can search up, as the site contains a broad selection of well known and indie artists, and also covers music released from at least the 1950s to (almost) current based on who I listen to that I've found. I'm still working on my own (call it personal) radio station, but if you've got anyone you think I ought to listen to, then here's the station you can add to A username I recognise from Sellaband has already come in and started adding some stuff to this one as well. Basically go ahead and knock yourselves out and join them.
Using Songza is currently completely free. More importantly there's absolutely nothing to download - it streams the music without bothering you to install any player, library management software or other junk that sites seem so keen to throw at you these days. There are some adverts on the site, but you can quite happily swap out to another tab or minimise your browser and it will keep playing so you don't have to be disturbed by them at all. But I find myself wondering how long the service will a) remain free and b) whether it will eventually go the same way as the likes of Pandora and lock non-US users out of the system. Which would be a real shame, as this is currently the streaming service most closely meeting what I want from a streaming service.
That's it for the September roundup. The main post looking at the "1000 true fans" model from the fan point of view will be along in the next couple of days, and that's one you really won't want to miss.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
End of an Era (part 2)
Before I take a look at this month's post, let's just take a quick follow up on last month.
As I start writing this, the Sellaband site should be down for maintenance. With only about 24 hrs to go, a series of news articles appeared about the changes during this maintenance, highlighting a very highly disturbing set of changes for both artists and believers. It's also interesting to note that none of the changes seem to have been communicated direct to artists or believers prior to them coming into force (no e-mail has landed in my direction at least) i.e if you hadn't visited the site and read the articles, then you're likely to be getting a shock next time you visit. Here's a quick summary of the main changes.
- The 2-week refund clause in the T&C is being removed completely. That's right.. no refunds from the Sellaband system EVER. The only money you will be able to get out of the site is the money Sellaband credits to you as part of revenue share (and then only if you haven't tried to buy a part with it).
-instead of using USD, the system is switching to Euros. That means every budget and every balance will be going through a one-time currency conversion, and the new part price will be 10 Euros for all new projects (existing projects are likely to have a figure around 7.8 Euros depending on exact exchange rate at the time). Given the current exchange rate, this means albums have effectively received another price hike to go on top of the one introduced with the previously increased fees. Whilst it does appears fees for deposits may be reduced again under the new system, this increase of more than 25% on part price will likely more than make up for that reduction.
-projects have 12 months to get their funding or be deleted, Whilst this should be one very good way for clearing out the inactives, when combined with the no-refund policy, the increased chance of locking money into the system is likely to scare people off completely. I can't see any self-respecting artist wanting to risk the money of their hard-earned fans (and hence their own reputation and likelihood to retain those fans) in this way, so I'm expecting most if not all of the new artists signing up to be there for the promotion rather than seriously trying to raise a budget (no real change there then, except that it might become even more pronounced). I can also forsee a number of artists with fans trapped in the system reducing their budgets over the next few weeks in an attempt to get out intact before the 12 month deadline strikes as a result.
-if you are a believer who hasn't logged into the site in a while and you have money in there, there is a good chance Sellaband will move your money into an artist of their own choosing. Yes, that's correct - so much for "Your music, your choice" (one of the original slogans of Sellaband). You'll still be entitled to the incentives etc. of the artist your money is moved into should you later turn up, but don't be surprised to see you bought a hip-hop CD even if you were only into classical piano, or some other unlikely/unexpected combinations happening if you don't keep dropping by the place regularly.
-Sellaband themselves will put 5% of the 15% money they receive (i.e. one third of what they receive) from completed projects into new projects. IMO, yet another blow for the "your music, your choice" ideal of the original Sellaband which was designed to let the music lovers choose which projects they wanted to hear, rather than have the choices forced upon them by record companies. To find that 5% of the money you pay for projects you like is going into projects you may not like is something that is not likely to go down well with people who came to the site to support a particular artist - I'm sure they'd much rather that money went to "their" artist than someone else. Rather than new music industry, this feels more like a return to the old, where successful albums were used to finance the less successful ones.
Here's hoping they get all the inconsistencies in the T&C ironed out as well, so that it stops looking like it was written by a 5 year old! (or younger, if that's the way you feel about the current set), but I think for me at least, these changes are probably the final nail in the Sellaband story due to being too disrespectful towards those who have been (and are) willing to put more into music than just buying a finished product from a shop. For sure, no new money will be going in from my end under the incoming set of Terms and Conditions, and unless someone whose music I like comes within completion distance on funding within the next couple of months, you can pretty much guarantee the little money I have remaining on my revenue balance (currently just over an "old" part) will be coming out before Christmas. (I did try to remove it the day before the site maintenance in fact, but surprise surprise, withdrawals were "temporarily unavailable" for the whole day and there was no response to my support request either)
Slim Void albums finally arrive for believers, however the corresponding incentives are seemingly missing. I know this, because with 5 parts I should have been receiving some discount vouchers and there were certainly none in the envelope. Apart from this issue, outstanding CDs are (so far at least) slowly coming through, but there's still a distinct feeling that backlog needs to be caught up with before anyone would start looking seriously at the site, even if we ignore the other gripes around. To give you some idea of the scale of the backlog of projects, of the 36 artists I bought parts in who completed funding, I'm still waiting on 11 for the results (this includes the one I mentioned last month that I was chasing), some of which are already over 12 months since completing funding ,and I certainly don't have parts in everyone who completed funding prior to the bankruptcy.
And so onto the topic for this blog post.
During my time on Sellaband,I've bought parts in a large number of different artists, some of whom raised a budget, some of whom left the site, and some of whom I landed up removing parts from due to the restrictive terms and conditions on the site. As promised in my last installment, this post is going to be about my own personal "pick of the bunch" that I'm keeping a particular eye on. Irrespective of whether Sellaband survives, at the end of the day I'm still a music lover and that means there are artists I will follow for one reason or another that little bit more actively than leaving it to chance encounter at some future date to remind me they exist.
1. Brad Cox/Skitzo Calypso
Although I've been struggling a bit with the Skitzo Calypso back catalog in particular, as quite a bit of it is that bit too far off the mainstream compared to what I listen to, I still consider Brad as a very interesting songwriter. Somewhat obscure lyrically, it makes for a refreshing (and more interesting) change from the large number of artists who seem to have a very limited vocabulary where songwriting is concerned. He's certainly capable of writing stuff I like a lot (as his solo projects Niki Thunders and We Love The Underground have proved) and will remain as one of the top three I'll be lurking around after on a very regular basis as a result.
2. Matthew Ebel
As regular readers of this blog know, I'm actually one of Matthew's 5 Entourage members, having snapped up the last spot a few days into 2010. This has proved to be a great call on my part - as I suspected and stated in a previous blog post, I can't find a song of his that I don't like. Of all the artists I've ever encountered, this makes him only the third for which this statement currently holds true (and he has a fairly decent sized back catalog to have a go at). In songwriting terms, he's clearly at his strongest when he has an emotional connection with his subject matter, whether that be the result of personal experience or his storytelling imagination, and that seems to reflect through on the most popular songs with his fans too.
If you're wondering about the incentives that come as part of my subscription level - well I've got no complaints - the goody bag (including framed/signed CD) arrived OK this past month. In addition, he's already written my custom song and it's actually the last song that's been released as part of his "2 songs a month" subscription. You see, he's now taking on the likes of Sellaband, Slicethepie, Pledge music et al. at their own game. That's right - he's fan funding his next album without using a fan funding site, so the only middleman involved is Paypal (and then only for the fees to transfer the money from you to him).
The project itself basically replaces his 2 free songs a month - instead you get access to the project "as it happens" - written drafts, sketches, rough songs, behind the scenes etc. as well as the finished article, which so far is seemingly going to consist of a book, CD and graphic novel. Add to this the fact he's only started off on this in August and the whole lot is due to be done in 12 months, and I find myself staring at the potential for a very interesting lesson in fan funding. I hope he pulls it off (I have faith that he will at least come close to that 12 month deadline), because it will throw down the gauntlet to ANY fan funding site to explain why they are needed (i.e. you've probably only got until July/August next year to show why you're not an obsolete idea and therefore why artists should use you, rather than pulling in the funding direct themselves). After all, what makes for the more interesting story? - the fact that the monetary and publicity power of a "household name" such as Public Enemy, combined with a company such as Sellaband can't pull off BOTH the funding AND delivery of an album project (with incentives) within 12 months, or a guy who (basically) nobody has ever heard of can on his own. You can be sure I'll keep you up to date on whether or not Matthew Ebel looks like making the grade on this one, unless you want to sign up over here and find out first-hand.
3. Bulletproof Messenger
The first artist on Sellaband that grabbed my attention enough to "want to buy a part now", they actually appeared during one of the competitions on the site and so far look to be the only artist I see definitely heading towards some kind of success. All of their recent gigs have seen them as support to an artist I've actually heard of and who gets regular airplay on one of the UK music TV channels. In many cases the name in question is one I more usually hear as a support name for someone else - but to get to support the support of the well known is clearly getting pretty close towards the top of the pile. I may not be seen to be around these guys - rather consider that I'm lurking heavily in the shadows, ready to reappear (probably when least expected).
4. Phil Tweed
I'm actually still playing chess against my long time favourite from Sellaband. Unlike Brian Taylor, Phil has actually managed to beat me on a few occasions now - I think we're currently running at a rate of him winning one for every three or four I do. Whilst a very slow musical creator in general (think of it as creating a masterpiece rather than a song), I actually prefer his original music to his covers - and believe me I've heard quite a few jazz standard covers in my time. I'm pretty sure I'll be lurking back around in his direction with some money next time he manages to get an album together.
5. Francis Rodino
When I removed my money from Sellaband after the bankruptcy, Francis was one of the artists who got some of it. Whilst believers are left waiting around on Sellaband for CDs of artists who completed their funding back in 2008, Francis has so far managed to raise the funding and release the digital copy for his EP this year via Pledge music. With the album release party scheduled for October and the physical copies currently being duplicated and packaged, it seems likely that Sellaband believers will still be waiting for 2008 albums from some artists when Francis' Pledge supporters have already received their 2010 ones. Pledge shows only just over 100 supporters compared to the more than 650 that are listed for his Sellaband album, so it would be interesting to know whether the price, site or length (i.e. EP vs album) put people off. Or indeed whether the length of time after funding completed for his Sellaband album to be released was the deciding factor (more than 12 months at a time when the contracts were supposedly significantly less).
As my own "pick of the bunch" of the UK artists I've encountered on Sellaband based on his ability to entertain a crowd, it's good to see this release out in a timely fashion whilst at the same time making me wonder what the real story of his Sellaband album taking so long in comparison was. One interesting thing for you though - it may be a little early to make a proper comparison, given the Pledge 192kb mp3 vs Sellaband 320kb mp3 and the fact I don't have the CD yet, but for all you music purists out there, the production on the Pledge EP certainly feels lower that the Sellaband album from what I've had available to me so far. Will be interested to hear what the genuine article (i.e. the disc itself) sounds like.
6. Best of the rest
In addition to the above, there are a few artists I am likely to drop in on occasionally. These are generally ones I've seen perform live and/or who have managed to do something in particular to impress me to the extent that while I may not be the biggest fan of their music, they are certainly someone I'd recommend to others based on my own experiences, and who knows, I may well be caught around their site buying music at a later date if I find something I like.
Aly Cook
At the end of the day, being female, I tend to fit the stereotype that my major likes are more likely to be male. There are a few ladies who have particularly managed to impress though. As the only female in the list that I can claim as one I haven't seen perform live in person, rather it's Aly's approach to music as a business and towards new model music methods of promotion etc. that earns her most of this recommendation. After Matthew Ebel, this is probably the artist I'd be most comfortable to trust with money for direct funding rather than using a middleman of those I've encountered on Sellaband. And as I haven't met her, or even had much direct contact with her (whereas I have with a number of other artists mentioned in this post), I think you'd have to agree that has to be quite some statement.
Daniel Ward-Murphy
Probably my biggest regret here is the fact I don't like his music more. I think the nearest I came to kicking myself that I hadn't bought more parts in his Sellaband album was when he put up the video for "The Queen of Something New" as it managed to grab me in a way that none of his previous stuff had quite managed. (Un)fortunately (depending on your point of view) the rest of the album didn't have quite the same impact when it appeared. A solid performer, the opportunity I had to see him soundcheck is probably the thing that opened me most up to him musically. But I suppose the real thing here is that if I had to choose an underdog I'd like to see kick the traditional music industry in the nuts and achieve success, then I think I'd be making my choice here, purely on the basis that Dan is one of the good guys who prefers to stay out of controversy and just do his thing. Given the adage about where nice guys are supposed to finish, this is one person I think deserves to prove that adage wrong.
Lily
If ever there were an example candidate for the 1000 true fans model, Lily would be it. Whilst I'd say she's currently missing some of the business side to get it to work, in person she has exactly the right personality and approach towards fans that is required. Trust me, if you fall in love with Lily's music, you'll fall in love with her as well. I'm looking at the whole issue of fan funding and 1000 true fans in my next blog post, so hopefully after that you'll get a better understanding of what I'm on about here.
Trail
Hands up who remembers Trail? The ones that got away from Sellaband back in the 50K budget days (after raising something like half that amount) and went to Slicethepie to raise a budget instead. I didn't help fund them over there because I don't like the way the site works, but I still keep a passing eye on them because they have several great tunes. Interestingly when Daniel Ward-Murphy was asking for people to vote for him in the Pepsi Max-IT Legends competition recently, Trail's video for City was one of the videos he was up against. Wonder how many of you noticed that? (They finished 9th to DWM's 3rd in the 3rd round if you were interested)
Nemesea
The first artist to raise 50K on Sellaband and the first artist I went "guardian angel" on (ah... but you don't know that story), I feel they've got a lot of untapped potential they haven't quite managed to release. Hopefully their third studio album will be out soon, but there's very little information about it on their website to date.
So that's my list for you. Like I said earlier, I'll be looking at the idea of 1000 true fans and its relationship to fan funding in the next post. There are plenty of lessons to be learnt from Sellaband (add to that quite a few BY Sellaband) in this area, not least of which is the differences and motivations between the different types of people making up potential sales. So far, I haven't seen a single funding site that understands this and even artists themselves seem to be struggling when it comes to truly understanding why something they do works (or not). So discover 1000 true fans from the fan point of view next time which is going to lead us nicely onto where I'm looking at heading with this blog now that I no longer have the "Sellaband" in the title.
As I start writing this, the Sellaband site should be down for maintenance. With only about 24 hrs to go, a series of news articles appeared about the changes during this maintenance, highlighting a very highly disturbing set of changes for both artists and believers. It's also interesting to note that none of the changes seem to have been communicated direct to artists or believers prior to them coming into force (no e-mail has landed in my direction at least) i.e if you hadn't visited the site and read the articles, then you're likely to be getting a shock next time you visit. Here's a quick summary of the main changes.
- The 2-week refund clause in the T&C is being removed completely. That's right.. no refunds from the Sellaband system EVER. The only money you will be able to get out of the site is the money Sellaband credits to you as part of revenue share (and then only if you haven't tried to buy a part with it).
-instead of using USD, the system is switching to Euros. That means every budget and every balance will be going through a one-time currency conversion, and the new part price will be 10 Euros for all new projects (existing projects are likely to have a figure around 7.8 Euros depending on exact exchange rate at the time). Given the current exchange rate, this means albums have effectively received another price hike to go on top of the one introduced with the previously increased fees. Whilst it does appears fees for deposits may be reduced again under the new system, this increase of more than 25% on part price will likely more than make up for that reduction.
-projects have 12 months to get their funding or be deleted, Whilst this should be one very good way for clearing out the inactives, when combined with the no-refund policy, the increased chance of locking money into the system is likely to scare people off completely. I can't see any self-respecting artist wanting to risk the money of their hard-earned fans (and hence their own reputation and likelihood to retain those fans) in this way, so I'm expecting most if not all of the new artists signing up to be there for the promotion rather than seriously trying to raise a budget (no real change there then, except that it might become even more pronounced). I can also forsee a number of artists with fans trapped in the system reducing their budgets over the next few weeks in an attempt to get out intact before the 12 month deadline strikes as a result.
-if you are a believer who hasn't logged into the site in a while and you have money in there, there is a good chance Sellaband will move your money into an artist of their own choosing. Yes, that's correct - so much for "Your music, your choice" (one of the original slogans of Sellaband). You'll still be entitled to the incentives etc. of the artist your money is moved into should you later turn up, but don't be surprised to see you bought a hip-hop CD even if you were only into classical piano, or some other unlikely/unexpected combinations happening if you don't keep dropping by the place regularly.
-Sellaband themselves will put 5% of the 15% money they receive (i.e. one third of what they receive) from completed projects into new projects. IMO, yet another blow for the "your music, your choice" ideal of the original Sellaband which was designed to let the music lovers choose which projects they wanted to hear, rather than have the choices forced upon them by record companies. To find that 5% of the money you pay for projects you like is going into projects you may not like is something that is not likely to go down well with people who came to the site to support a particular artist - I'm sure they'd much rather that money went to "their" artist than someone else. Rather than new music industry, this feels more like a return to the old, where successful albums were used to finance the less successful ones.
Here's hoping they get all the inconsistencies in the T&C ironed out as well, so that it stops looking like it was written by a 5 year old! (or younger, if that's the way you feel about the current set), but I think for me at least, these changes are probably the final nail in the Sellaband story due to being too disrespectful towards those who have been (and are) willing to put more into music than just buying a finished product from a shop. For sure, no new money will be going in from my end under the incoming set of Terms and Conditions, and unless someone whose music I like comes within completion distance on funding within the next couple of months, you can pretty much guarantee the little money I have remaining on my revenue balance (currently just over an "old" part) will be coming out before Christmas. (I did try to remove it the day before the site maintenance in fact, but surprise surprise, withdrawals were "temporarily unavailable" for the whole day and there was no response to my support request either)
Slim Void albums finally arrive for believers, however the corresponding incentives are seemingly missing. I know this, because with 5 parts I should have been receiving some discount vouchers and there were certainly none in the envelope. Apart from this issue, outstanding CDs are (so far at least) slowly coming through, but there's still a distinct feeling that backlog needs to be caught up with before anyone would start looking seriously at the site, even if we ignore the other gripes around. To give you some idea of the scale of the backlog of projects, of the 36 artists I bought parts in who completed funding, I'm still waiting on 11 for the results (this includes the one I mentioned last month that I was chasing), some of which are already over 12 months since completing funding ,and I certainly don't have parts in everyone who completed funding prior to the bankruptcy.
And so onto the topic for this blog post.
During my time on Sellaband,I've bought parts in a large number of different artists, some of whom raised a budget, some of whom left the site, and some of whom I landed up removing parts from due to the restrictive terms and conditions on the site. As promised in my last installment, this post is going to be about my own personal "pick of the bunch" that I'm keeping a particular eye on. Irrespective of whether Sellaband survives, at the end of the day I'm still a music lover and that means there are artists I will follow for one reason or another that little bit more actively than leaving it to chance encounter at some future date to remind me they exist.
1. Brad Cox/Skitzo Calypso
Although I've been struggling a bit with the Skitzo Calypso back catalog in particular, as quite a bit of it is that bit too far off the mainstream compared to what I listen to, I still consider Brad as a very interesting songwriter. Somewhat obscure lyrically, it makes for a refreshing (and more interesting) change from the large number of artists who seem to have a very limited vocabulary where songwriting is concerned. He's certainly capable of writing stuff I like a lot (as his solo projects Niki Thunders and We Love The Underground have proved) and will remain as one of the top three I'll be lurking around after on a very regular basis as a result.
2. Matthew Ebel
As regular readers of this blog know, I'm actually one of Matthew's 5 Entourage members, having snapped up the last spot a few days into 2010. This has proved to be a great call on my part - as I suspected and stated in a previous blog post, I can't find a song of his that I don't like. Of all the artists I've ever encountered, this makes him only the third for which this statement currently holds true (and he has a fairly decent sized back catalog to have a go at). In songwriting terms, he's clearly at his strongest when he has an emotional connection with his subject matter, whether that be the result of personal experience or his storytelling imagination, and that seems to reflect through on the most popular songs with his fans too.
If you're wondering about the incentives that come as part of my subscription level - well I've got no complaints - the goody bag (including framed/signed CD) arrived OK this past month. In addition, he's already written my custom song and it's actually the last song that's been released as part of his "2 songs a month" subscription. You see, he's now taking on the likes of Sellaband, Slicethepie, Pledge music et al. at their own game. That's right - he's fan funding his next album without using a fan funding site, so the only middleman involved is Paypal (and then only for the fees to transfer the money from you to him).
The project itself basically replaces his 2 free songs a month - instead you get access to the project "as it happens" - written drafts, sketches, rough songs, behind the scenes etc. as well as the finished article, which so far is seemingly going to consist of a book, CD and graphic novel. Add to this the fact he's only started off on this in August and the whole lot is due to be done in 12 months, and I find myself staring at the potential for a very interesting lesson in fan funding. I hope he pulls it off (I have faith that he will at least come close to that 12 month deadline), because it will throw down the gauntlet to ANY fan funding site to explain why they are needed (i.e. you've probably only got until July/August next year to show why you're not an obsolete idea and therefore why artists should use you, rather than pulling in the funding direct themselves). After all, what makes for the more interesting story? - the fact that the monetary and publicity power of a "household name" such as Public Enemy, combined with a company such as Sellaband can't pull off BOTH the funding AND delivery of an album project (with incentives) within 12 months, or a guy who (basically) nobody has ever heard of can on his own. You can be sure I'll keep you up to date on whether or not Matthew Ebel looks like making the grade on this one, unless you want to sign up over here and find out first-hand.
3. Bulletproof Messenger
The first artist on Sellaband that grabbed my attention enough to "want to buy a part now", they actually appeared during one of the competitions on the site and so far look to be the only artist I see definitely heading towards some kind of success. All of their recent gigs have seen them as support to an artist I've actually heard of and who gets regular airplay on one of the UK music TV channels. In many cases the name in question is one I more usually hear as a support name for someone else - but to get to support the support of the well known is clearly getting pretty close towards the top of the pile. I may not be seen to be around these guys - rather consider that I'm lurking heavily in the shadows, ready to reappear (probably when least expected).
4. Phil Tweed
I'm actually still playing chess against my long time favourite from Sellaband. Unlike Brian Taylor, Phil has actually managed to beat me on a few occasions now - I think we're currently running at a rate of him winning one for every three or four I do. Whilst a very slow musical creator in general (think of it as creating a masterpiece rather than a song), I actually prefer his original music to his covers - and believe me I've heard quite a few jazz standard covers in my time. I'm pretty sure I'll be lurking back around in his direction with some money next time he manages to get an album together.
5. Francis Rodino
When I removed my money from Sellaband after the bankruptcy, Francis was one of the artists who got some of it. Whilst believers are left waiting around on Sellaband for CDs of artists who completed their funding back in 2008, Francis has so far managed to raise the funding and release the digital copy for his EP this year via Pledge music. With the album release party scheduled for October and the physical copies currently being duplicated and packaged, it seems likely that Sellaband believers will still be waiting for 2008 albums from some artists when Francis' Pledge supporters have already received their 2010 ones. Pledge shows only just over 100 supporters compared to the more than 650 that are listed for his Sellaband album, so it would be interesting to know whether the price, site or length (i.e. EP vs album) put people off. Or indeed whether the length of time after funding completed for his Sellaband album to be released was the deciding factor (more than 12 months at a time when the contracts were supposedly significantly less).
As my own "pick of the bunch" of the UK artists I've encountered on Sellaband based on his ability to entertain a crowd, it's good to see this release out in a timely fashion whilst at the same time making me wonder what the real story of his Sellaband album taking so long in comparison was. One interesting thing for you though - it may be a little early to make a proper comparison, given the Pledge 192kb mp3 vs Sellaband 320kb mp3 and the fact I don't have the CD yet, but for all you music purists out there, the production on the Pledge EP certainly feels lower that the Sellaband album from what I've had available to me so far. Will be interested to hear what the genuine article (i.e. the disc itself) sounds like.
6. Best of the rest
In addition to the above, there are a few artists I am likely to drop in on occasionally. These are generally ones I've seen perform live and/or who have managed to do something in particular to impress me to the extent that while I may not be the biggest fan of their music, they are certainly someone I'd recommend to others based on my own experiences, and who knows, I may well be caught around their site buying music at a later date if I find something I like.
Aly Cook
At the end of the day, being female, I tend to fit the stereotype that my major likes are more likely to be male. There are a few ladies who have particularly managed to impress though. As the only female in the list that I can claim as one I haven't seen perform live in person, rather it's Aly's approach to music as a business and towards new model music methods of promotion etc. that earns her most of this recommendation. After Matthew Ebel, this is probably the artist I'd be most comfortable to trust with money for direct funding rather than using a middleman of those I've encountered on Sellaband. And as I haven't met her, or even had much direct contact with her (whereas I have with a number of other artists mentioned in this post), I think you'd have to agree that has to be quite some statement.
Daniel Ward-Murphy
Probably my biggest regret here is the fact I don't like his music more. I think the nearest I came to kicking myself that I hadn't bought more parts in his Sellaband album was when he put up the video for "The Queen of Something New" as it managed to grab me in a way that none of his previous stuff had quite managed. (Un)fortunately (depending on your point of view) the rest of the album didn't have quite the same impact when it appeared. A solid performer, the opportunity I had to see him soundcheck is probably the thing that opened me most up to him musically. But I suppose the real thing here is that if I had to choose an underdog I'd like to see kick the traditional music industry in the nuts and achieve success, then I think I'd be making my choice here, purely on the basis that Dan is one of the good guys who prefers to stay out of controversy and just do his thing. Given the adage about where nice guys are supposed to finish, this is one person I think deserves to prove that adage wrong.
Lily
If ever there were an example candidate for the 1000 true fans model, Lily would be it. Whilst I'd say she's currently missing some of the business side to get it to work, in person she has exactly the right personality and approach towards fans that is required. Trust me, if you fall in love with Lily's music, you'll fall in love with her as well. I'm looking at the whole issue of fan funding and 1000 true fans in my next blog post, so hopefully after that you'll get a better understanding of what I'm on about here.
Trail
Hands up who remembers Trail? The ones that got away from Sellaband back in the 50K budget days (after raising something like half that amount) and went to Slicethepie to raise a budget instead. I didn't help fund them over there because I don't like the way the site works, but I still keep a passing eye on them because they have several great tunes. Interestingly when Daniel Ward-Murphy was asking for people to vote for him in the Pepsi Max-IT Legends competition recently, Trail's video for City was one of the videos he was up against. Wonder how many of you noticed that? (They finished 9th to DWM's 3rd in the 3rd round if you were interested)
Nemesea
The first artist to raise 50K on Sellaband and the first artist I went "guardian angel" on (ah... but you don't know that story), I feel they've got a lot of untapped potential they haven't quite managed to release. Hopefully their third studio album will be out soon, but there's very little information about it on their website to date.
So that's my list for you. Like I said earlier, I'll be looking at the idea of 1000 true fans and its relationship to fan funding in the next post. There are plenty of lessons to be learnt from Sellaband (add to that quite a few BY Sellaband) in this area, not least of which is the differences and motivations between the different types of people making up potential sales. So far, I haven't seen a single funding site that understands this and even artists themselves seem to be struggling when it comes to truly understanding why something they do works (or not). So discover 1000 true fans from the fan point of view next time which is going to lead us nicely onto where I'm looking at heading with this blog now that I no longer have the "Sellaband" in the title.
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