April 1st 2009 Hatchet Day

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke but a genuine hatchet day posting after what's been a difficult month in many ways.

Results from last month
Well I got a first for a change in the form of a thankyou from every artist I'd bought parts in. Of course as there were only 2 last month, that isn't saying a lot, but I suppose you've got to start somewhere.

The community idea I have is not forgotten, but rather has been on hold while I try and nail down some details. I realised that what I want to do could really do with some proper planning rather than just diving straight in at the first opportunity, so I've been working on the fine print whilst looking for another suitable date in a couple of months time. I'm hoping to get the proposal up on the forum in about a week's time when I've had time to track down the last couple of bits of information that will be required.

This month's gainers and losers
I've had another big cleanout of artists on the wish list this month and got rid of the vast majority who haven't been seen on Sellaband this year based on their "last seen" date

I've also removed my part from Worow as I've heard nothing more on whether there will be a replacement for the band. Acoustic Jim is the recipient of the reclaimed part.

So after a couple of months off any major hatchet removals, I've now got my eyes on the following artists for removal next month unless they show some signs of life between now and then. Windom, Kellie Jaxson, Johane Exen and Off the Deep End.

New investments
It seems my new investments have been made during the course of the month, rather than today for a change.

First off was Matthew Ebel, who becomes the first artist signed up since the new era started to get more than one part from me as I've now increased my belief in him to 5. In the same way as MOPI were one of the best discoveries of 2008 for me, this man has to be the best discovery of 2009 for me so far. I've only managed to catch one of his Tuesday night shows live so far, due to clock changes and other things (like me plain forgetting!) and I'm kicking myself for that, because I really think he is that good. With 79 other believers on board too, even though his budget is not far over $3000, he's also got one of the highest ratios of believers to money of those currently trying to raise 50K.

After a lot of thinking whether to stay put or not, I also decided to increase my belief in Slim Void to 5 parts before they hit the 50K. The decision was made easier, partly because both Rustie Blue and NOIR decided to leave Sellaband, so I had a couple of parts come back to my balance after their accounts were closed.

I also inflicted the "curse of the knifelady" on 2 new artists this month by buying the first part in them. Simon Chainsaw and Bliss. Like the music, but as you know I'm still waiting for an artist to break the curse and reach 50K.

So after all that lot happening earlier, I decided to put off buying any other parts today. I was thinking about a couple of artists on my wishlist, but I've a feeling they may land up winning next month instead as a result of some of those who are under threat of losing parts.

Watching
I'm watching a mix of artists for various reasons this month.

First up is the interesting pairing of Apple Eyes and Harrison Hope. The music is interesting in both cases but I also note that both artists signed up a couple of days apart and both have recently been featured on BBC6. Coincidence? Or is someone out there watching the site? I'll be interested to see if either can make any serious headway with the way Sellaband seems to be evolving.

Next up, we have Resistor, who are completely not my style at all, but who seem to have a few different people going round trying to tempt people to listen. Don't know about anyone else but I've had a couple of friend requests and also some messages from believers who believe only in this artist saying they think they might be right up my street and I should take a listen. So ten out of ten for persistence so far, but zero out of ten for doing your research into my musical tastes first. If you like the Prodigy, they might be well up your street for a listen though.

New artists of particular interest to me at the moment are Eden Burning and High Tolerance. Don't know if it's the fact I'm getting pickier, but I'm finding less and less artists at the moment that are managing to hold my attention long enough for them to even make it as far as my wishlist.

I'm also watching to see what happens with micgun. This is an artist that has been on my wishlist for a while, but currently there is no music on the profile. The profile was last updated a couple of weeks ago and the artist last seen yesterday, which means the warning flags are now starting to appear.

The Words seem to be back after having not done anything much about their profile since they signed up. They've been on my wishlist a while now, so I'll be interested to see if/how long it takes before they disappear again.

Grooveduke caught my interest through his interesting approach to Sellaband using his video blog. I'm not sure that evangelical approach is going to achieve converts though - well maybe it might in the USA, but it's more the kind of thing that sends me running screaming for cover. I haven't been able to watch the video the whole way through as a result as it's been more of a case of "pass the remote". Musically I'm undecided. He's right on the edges of what I would listen to, so it will probably take something pretty special to grab my interest and want to buy a part.

Video of the month
Whilst there are artists whose music you like and listen to, I think everyone has a "first love" - that artist or band that really got you hooked on music in the first place. This month's selection is mine. Howard Jones found fame in the town where I grew up, at the time I was growing up and has helped to shape the music I listen to today. The video I've chosen for you is a live performance from his 20th anniversary concert in 2003 - a concert in 4 parts and more than 3 hours in length. Enjoy "Pearl in the Shell" from the acoustic section of the concert. Performances from the electronic set, the retro set (with original equipment from 1983) and his performance with a full live band (all from the same concert) can also be viewed on his official youtube profile.

Sixpack Stories
Well after Matthew Ebel reaching the top of the Sixpack, I've had some rather intermittent voting patterns. I haven't often felt the "must vote daily" urge, something which seems to be compounded by what happened the week Caterpillars won the Sixpack.

In probably one of the most interesting stories I've had for you in this section for a while, I was basically presented with the choice of voting for my love of Finnish music (in the form of Essentia) or my love of classic rock in the form of new signup (and local band) Voodoo Johnson. I decided to go with who I perceived as the underdog in the voting, by voting for Essentia, but I also decided to watch and see what happened, rather than trying to stimulate any interest myself.

I'm given to understand from Sellaband that artists selected for the Sixpack competition receive an e-mail telling them of the fact. In retrospect, I should probably have posted something on the Essentia forums after the event to say "hey, why didn't you tell people to vote for you" and therefore test to see if that message did indeed get through, but the fact that neither the band themselves, nor any of their fans posted anything on their forum urging people to vote is definitely interesting. It kind of confirms my suspicion that Sellaband seems to be more of an online presence for them rather than something to actively chase. It also confirms the theory that a lot of people sign up to Sellaband to support "their" artist and basically don't really visit afterwards, seeing as I know which of their current believers are regular posters on their own forum.

I've been voting for Apple Eyes last week and so far also this week, though fairly intermittently as I said earlier rather than every day. It was a hard choice this week to pass by Acoustic Jim though, because there's just something about "Life Two Point Oh" that makes you want to listen more. So far things have been pretty quiet in both camps though, and that probably isn't going to tempt me to take Apple Eyes off my wishlist in a positive fashion any time soon, given the fact they've been in the Sixpack for 2 weeks now.

It feels a bit to me as if the Sixpack is getting a bit old and tired already, but I can also draw many parallels with what buying parts in artists is like on Sellaband to start with. There just seems this overall feeling of "Hey great music, but how interested are you really?" and I've a feeling that the vast majority of artists who are getting put up for the Sixpack vote are fitting into that area of it being "another place to advertise your music", rather than necessarily being hungry to raise the 50K and with any kind of existing fanbase.

Sellaband
In many respects it's been a month of chaos with believers leaving, whether quietly or not so quietly. And maybe the odd one coming back under a different guise yet again. We had a troll in the Slim Void countdown chat which has to be the first of any countdown chat I've seen, and I succeeded in missing the listening session for So What, which I think is a first for any artist I hold parts in.

Throughout the chaos though, one thing is most present in my mind and that is the fact that Sellaband is evolving. The era of the "Big Believer" is over... well at least until(or if, if you prefer) a "known" name signs up. My gut feeling tells me it's too soon for this to happen, because the replacement of "quantity of believers" just doesn't exist yet, nor does there seem to be anything happening to try and attract that volume in and keep them. Community initiatives can't succeed without a community, and with so many key figures leaving and seemingly nobody replacing them, it's beginning to feel like a believer "ghost town" out there. Can Sellaband survive this evolutionary nightmare? Will some of the more quality artists start leaving even before Arenafest? Will there even be an Arenafest? In my vision of Sellaband when I first signed up to the site, it cannot succeed without a believer community and I therefore now have an ever increasing feeling that this is make-or-break year for the site. Unlike others, I'm not packing my bags just yet, but rather am watching to see which way things head next. I've a feeling next month's hatchet day post could prove to be an interesting one as a result, so watch this space.