There’s this notion that if you build something people will come. That notion is crap.

There’s also this notion that if you invest time, resources and energy into social media to build a presence, that people will automatically love you just because you’re there. That notion is also crap.

If anything, social media has shortened the life cycle of stardom to almost nothing.  How many bands do you know that were unknown one day, only to be the “next big thing” the next? Out of those, how many are still popular?

Before you get out there and start telling people about who you are any why they should care, focus on your product. Focus on creating something people will care about, THEN get out there and start talking.

I’m not saying wait until you’re perfect, but don’t expect social media to cover up the fact that you may not be all that good. Put out stuff you believe in and constantly push yourself to be better. Prepare for honest feedback and embrace it. It’s a tough lesson to learn, and a tough spot to be in, but congrats – it’s reality.

Aim to not suck and start from there.

I was invited by Mack Collier to co-host #blogchat (on Twitter) last Monday night (the 8th) and was blown away by the quality of participants and discussions taking place during the chat.

Before I get into my thoughts, let’s take a step back. For those that don’t know what #blogchat is, it’s a weekly chat happening on Twitter (check out tweetchat.com for more information on how).  Essentially, you pull up a Twitter search for #blogchat at the appropriate time, and start Tweeting with the people already participating. The key is to use the hashtag (#blogchat) in every tweet so that the conversations can be seen by all. If you’re wondering how to find the “appropriate time” a simple Twitter search will tell you if you search for the hashtag.

The topic of the week was how musicians could use blogging and social media to help them achieve their goals – whether they be ticket sales, music sales, or just connecting with their fans.

The full chat transcript can be found here, and Mack’s review post can be found here. Happy clicking!

About an hour and a half into the chat, Curt Smith (co-founder of Tears for Fears) jumped into the fray and spent the next 30ish minutes answering questions.  Part of the value (as a fan) of following artists on Twitter is the perception of personal connection you feel with the artist, their work, and their lives. Take the following exchange as an example:

Some of the other valuable music-related nuggets Tweeted during the chat:

• Blogging and using other SM tools is a great way to build a passionate community
• Communications should be authentic – no PR/marketing people tweeting “as” the artist
• Don’t be afraid to have a personality
• Many artists don’t see themselves as brands – that mind shift is necessary
• Twitter can be a great “first step” tool to drive fans to other places (like a Facebook Fan Page or a website)
• Offering up special incentives/announcements via SM is a great way to make your community in SM feel special (Ed note: as well as start to get an idea of the effectiveness of these tools!)
• Artists and companies need to start viewing fans as long-term assets, not just short-term pockets stuffed with cash. The key? Building a relationship with them.
• If you’re going to use SM, always consider what the fans want to read/might find interesting. The focus isn’t you as a person, per se – it’s about your brand and your work. Don’t be afraid to let personality shine through, but avoid excessive inane chatter.
• Location-based software could be a no-no if you get big enough to worry about “crazy people”. Safety first!
• Most agree a blog should be the “home base” in your digital efforts
• Don’t forget the fan to fan connections – they’re key!
• Before you can ever start to think about selling anything – you need to build a community who wants to buy.

What advice would you add? Leave it in the comments!

I could apologize for not posting in a few weeks. But I won’t.

Instead, i’m going to share some things I’ve learned, some over the last month, and some way before.

When I started this blog I wrote so that I didn’t bother my friends with my ramblings and thoughts about music and marketing. Quite frankly, it had gotten to the point of annoying.

As it happens, around the time that Christmas hit, I hit a blogging rut. So, instead of writing, I started thinking. Here’s what I came up with.

• Blog posts don’t have to be master essays. They can be, but there’s nothing wrong with a short blog post.
• I’m not great at writing when I’m not inspired. I’m absolutely certain that I’d rather write less, but write when I feel I actually have something to say.
• My new job is wonderful. This includes being wonderfully busy. Interestingly enough it’s given me lots of ideas for posts I’d like to write, as a lot of what I do is applicable to the music business.
• Video is cool. I like video. Expect to see more of it here soon, including an interview with Juakali and a short clip of Walt Riberio, talking about his newest project, For Orchestra.
• I don’t want to cover the news. As much as I love knowing what’s going on, I don’t want this blog to become just another blog covering information you can easily find elsewhere.

Above all, I’ve learned that this outlet is a great way for me to express longer form thoughts, which I miss doing.

So no, I’m not apoloizing. It’s OK to take a step back and it’s OK to re-evaluate. Some would even say it’s necessary.

This post was pushed to the back burner this month in the midst of the craziness that is my life.  Over the course of the month it became “that thing” that all writers (or bloggers, in this case) think about. That Post That Must Be Written, to be specific.

First off, I do want to send a huge public thanks to a friend and a very talented web developer, Caroline Keim.  I wouldn’t have been able to go to this event had she not invited me, as I’m really just not cool enough to be invited on my own (really, I’m not).

On to the main event…. the event!

This event was put on by Billboard Live, and the concert (Alicia Keys & Friends) was livestreamed on their site and later archived.  The event was mainly “& Friends”, as I believe that Miss Keys played three songs (at most) the entire night.

Alicia opened up the evening with a moving performance of Empire State of Mind – Part II. In a venue as rich in history as The Apollo and in her very own neighborhood, this song really took on extra meaning. Plus, I have a big sentimental side, so there’s that.

Thanks to NYPOST.COM, I figured out who the other artists (“and friends”) were. Billboard – in the future a list of the “& friends” would be handy!

Raheem DeVaughn, Hope, Elle Varner, Marsha Ambrosious, Jermaine Paul and Melanie Fiona all performed a few songs each, with Alicia popping on and off the stage throughout the performances to either perform duets with the acts, or perform her own songs as transitions between the guests.

Two acts really stood out – Melanie Fiona and Elle Varner.

Elle Varner was up first, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she stepped on stage.  It took about 30 seconds for me to figure out that while Elle may be young, and perhaps new to performing on a stage like The Apollo’s, she is mega-talented.  She’s on Twitter and was tweeting about the event before and after, and I went to her YouTube page to see what she had up there when I read through her stream.  Take a look at what I found below:

I wish she used YouTube more, but she does use MySpace, and keeps a bit info there.

Melody Fiona, the other standout of the night, on top of having a KILLER dress (seriously, I want to own that dress), also brought plenty of sass with a healthy serving of “Holy cow, that girl has PIPES” to the stage.

She was just nominated for a Grammy, and also performed on Jimmy Kimmel live shortly after her show at The Apollo.

At the risk of overwhelming this post with videos, I’ll leave my favorite song off of the video list – Ay Yo.  Click the link to go listen to her performance on Carson Daly’s Last Call.

In true Alicia fashion, she closed out the night with All Right – still one of my favorite songs so no complaints from me!

Now for the social marketing comments…

From a social media perspective, I think this event could have been better executed. There was a MySpace contest for fans to win tickets, but I didn’t see a lot across other social media sites (including Facebook, where she debuted her new album a short month before the event).  Also, Billboard’s site doesn’t provide a lot of interaction, and it’s hard to find the event, let alone watch the recording. I’ve done the digging for you here, but even knowing where to go it took me a few minutes to find it.

I also wish it was easier to find out about the “& friends” part of the show, if you couldn’t tell by my comments above.  I was sitting next to Xilla from Global Grind and between him, myself and Caroline, we were hard pressed to find the correct names of the performers using our ears (and our iPhones).  I spent a chunk of the next day double-checking my work, and figured out that we still had some of the names wrong!

Photos and video weren’t allowed at the event. Since Billboard was live-streaming the event I can see the logic in this, but at the same time, I’d rather show you all the video I shot and photos I took rather than have to point you to YouTube and Billboard’s websites as the sole source of information.  I can play devil’s advocate both ways on this, but with things like events – I’m a firm believer in the fact that fans should be able to record the experiences for themselves through photo and video, as long as they appropriately credit the source.

Overall, I’m happy to see Billboard do something like this, but think that little thought was put into the entire picture by all of the involved groups. The event was great, and fulfilled a long-standing want of mine to see Alicia Keys perform, but I still believe that it fell flat in terms of overall impact.  If companies in the music business are suffering so much, why don’t they put their full efforts into making events like this a true success? How can they appropriately gauge the effects of social media marketing if they’re only doing part of the work?

So. Go check out Alicia Keys’ new album, go check out the guest performers, and go check out the Billboard Live recording of the night.  It was a fun night full of great acts, and I really hope to see more events happening like this in the future. A great start, but there is more to do!

Photo provided by MightyBoyBrian

Break out the horn section and tell the drumline “drumroll, please!” – we’re starting and I have news to share!

As the title says, I’m joining Radian6 as a Community Manager!!  Much like my co-worker Teresa Basich, I’m excited to announce this news and I’m looking forward to getting started.

As David Alston recently put it, I’m “joining a jazz trio for daily jam sessions.”

Allow me to get a bit sappy for a moment…

For those that may know me personally or professionally, you may know that 2009 was a year of change.

My professional life changed as I transitioned from a marketing role with a B2B telecommunications company to a marketing role with a B2B community platform vendor called Ripple6.

My personal life changed as I dealt with cancer in the family and moving to New York City, seemingly all at once.  2009 was the year that my little sister graduated from college, the year that two of my best friends got married, and the year that I truly realized I felt at home for the first time in my life. Thanks, New York!

The year wasn’t always easy, but it was always rewarding.  I was happy to wake up and go to work with my very talented colleagues at Ripple6. I was excited to start this blog, and I was excited to meet new people and form new friendships in New York and around the US.

When the year changed from 2009 to 2010, I was celebrating the New Year near Times Square with a few hundred of my closest friends. With the sounds of “Happy New Year!” and “To new beginnings!” ringing in my ears I realized that while 2009 had been full of change, 2010 would be the year to change them all.

There’s a saying in New York City that “your first year is the toughest.” Going by that saying the next few years should be smooth sailing, as this very day is my 1-year anniversary in New York, and my first day on the job with Radian6.

To say that I’m excited to join the Radian6 team is a complete understatement.  I’ve paid close attention to them for awhile now and have always thought the world of the company, the culture, and the team.  I feel honored to be joining a team I so respect and admire as a Community Manager, and I’m looking forward to the steps we’ll be taking together as the year unfolds.

In my new role you’ll see me take a more active part in the Radian6 conversations happening across the web on places like Twitter and blogs. I’ll be helping the existing Community team to grow the Radian6 community as well as contributing content on topics relevant to my role and the company. The “never met a stranger” in me loves that I’ll be  acting as a first point of contact, and my inner travel bug is excited about the chance to attend industry events and put handles and URLs with faces and names.

I’ve never been one to have a “dream job” in mind, simply because I know that my criteria for that job will change as my career progresses.  Saying that, this role is analogous to having your first record go Platinum – you know you’ve worked hard to get here, and you can’t wait to see what comes next.

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing ever since this whole Internets thing started to pick up steam in the music industry. Namely, the recording industry has been fretting over what to do, and how to monetize this whole digital thing.

Ed note: The recording industry is a piece of the music industry – if you’re confused, go look here.

At first the Internets didn’t affect CD sales enough to actually bother anyone, so the strategy was “ignore, ignore, ignore”. The RIAA got all put bull and started bringing people to court over illegal downloading, screaming that the people who were doing the illegal downloading (or rather, sharing songs for others to illegally download) were  responsible for the current state of the recording industry.

Jump forward a few years and nothing really changed. The recording industry was still for the most part refusing to provide legal options to people who wanted to download music, so the public was still downloading illegally, delivering the Internets equivalent of a middle finger to the big bad RIAA, as well as the recording industry.

Then iTunes happened. Suddenly there was a very popular was to legally download music, and people started doing so. Voila, problem not yet solved, but hey – it was a start.

The thing is, the recording industry and the RIAA were now playing two sides, so to speak.  They were getting the revenues from the iTunes downloads, yet still screaming and suing.  The theme as it appeared to consumers was “You’re consuming music in the way you want to, and we’re starting to allow you to do that, but we really want our old way back as we made more money, so we’re still going to whine and complain.”

Businesses have to make money, I get it. Everyone gets it.

What many companies in the recording industry fail to realize though, is that their refusal to innovate and adopt new technologies was effectively a huge middle finger in the face of the consumer. That pissed consumers off.

At the end of the day the consumer wants the music – and we don’t necessarily care about the medium it comes on.  The limitation of choice is what really pisses people off, and that was a choice made by inaction within the recording industry.

Hello to a problem the recording industry helped create.

So today I ran across his gem of a quote on brand dna, and it got me thinking.

“I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky.

There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time.

I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn’t last, and now it’s running out. I don’t particularly care that it is and like the way things are going.

The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel.

Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth.

Then gas came along and you’d be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history’s moving along.

Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it.”

The quote started me thinking about everything I wrote above. How if the THING you trade or sell suddenly is made obsolete, you need to figure out a new thing, a new product, or in this case, a new transportation method (from CDs to fiber optic cables).

Directly below the article was an “Open Letter from OK Go, Regarding Non-Embeddable YouTube Videos”.

Do yourself a favor and go read the entire article. It will take you a few minutes, but the letter is wonderfully written and really shows the evolution and struggle of many to monetize this whole Internets thing, while still delivering what fans want.

I’ve included a few excerpts below (emphasis mine), but really, you should go and read the entire article.

Believe us, we want you to pass our videos around more than you do, but, crazy as it may seem, it’s now far harder for bands to make videos accessible online than it was four years ago

The label fronts the money for us to make recordings – for this album they paid for us to spend a few months with one of the world’s best producers in a converted barn in Amish country wringing our souls and playing tympani and twiddling knobs – and they put up most of the cash that it takes to distribute and promote our albums, including the costs of pressing CDs, advertising, and making videos. We make our videos ourselves, and we keep them dirt cheap, but still, it all adds up, and it adds up to a great deal more than we have in our bank account, which is why we have a record label in the first place.

Let’s take a wider view for a second. What we’re really talking about here is the shift in the way we think about music. We’re stuck between two worlds: the world of ten years ago, where music was privately owned in discreet little chunks (CDs), and a new one that seems to be emerging, where music is universally publicly accessible. The thing is, only one of these worlds has a (somewhat) stable system in place for funding music and all of its associated nuts-and-bolts logistics, and, even if it were possible, none of us would willingly return to that world. Aside from the smug assholes who ran labels, who’d want a system where a handful of corporate overlords shove crap down our throats? All the same, if music is going to be more than a hobby, someone, literally, has to pay the piper. So we’ve got this ridiculous situation where the machinery of the old system is frantically trying to contort and reshape and rewire itself to run without actually selling music. It’s like a car trying to figure out how to run without gas, or a fish trying to learn to breath air.

So, for now, here’s the bottom line: EMI won’t let us let you embed our YouTube videos. It’s a decision that bums us out. We’ve argued with them a lot about it, but we also understand why they’re doing it. They’re aware that their rules make it harder for people to watch and share our videos, but, while our duty is to our music and our fans, theirs is to their shareholders, and they believe they’re doing the right thing.

Let me say it again – go read the entire article.

OK Go (or Gizmodo, I’m not sure which) then included the Vimeo video you can see below, and me being a blogger of course put it on this very blog (I dig the song and love the video, so go forth and view).

OK Go – This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

What’s the conclusion? Well, I’d say right now we’re all in agreement on something at least. There’s far less money to be made from selling CD’s then there was 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. This Internets thing has thrown a major wrench in the recording industry operations, and labels are suffering.

Is there a solution? That remains to be seen. Companies like Topspin,  TuneCore, Involver, Kickstarter, ArtistData and others are coming out and helping artists (and labels!) better manage things in this whole Internet-driven economy, but these companies are still few and far between in the grand scheme of things. It’s progress, but is it the solution? I don’t think it is, at least not yet.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on things. Do you still buy CD’s? Do you download music from legal online sources? What trends do you see (for better or worse) in the recording industry??

The word “listening” gets thrown around a lot in my world.  From the musicians, there are listening parties, spiritual

image provided by e-magic

experiences from listening to a great piece of music, listening to dubplates, listening for the meaning behind the music – the list goes on.

From the marketing side, I hear about listening to the marketplace, listening to your consumers, or listening for your brand across the web.

Listening is great, and it’s absolutely necessary. The challenge though, is to separate listening from merely hearing.

Listening is hearing with purpose.

In the examples above, “hearing” can be substituted for every instance of “listening”.  The challenge, is to not get stuck in that comfort zone of “yeah, I’m listening”.

The trick is, to never be able to say “Yeah, I hear you” as a throwaway.

Do you?

Are you listening to that dubplate, or merely hearing what you think should be there?

Are you listening to the new album at that listening party, or just waiting for the tracks to finish so you can weigh in with your support and comments?

Are you really listening to what the marketplace is saying, or are you sorting out the comments by “stuff we want to hear” and “stuff we know comes through, but we’ll qualify as unimportant and ignore”?

When you hear a piece of music, are you listening to it, or letting it pass you by?

Listening is a great skill, and a skill that takes a lot of work and patience. Just like learning to pay an instrument, listening takes practice. Listening is not passive.

For you musicians wondering how to listen as marketers, here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Subscribe to blogs of bands/artists similar to you via Google Reader
• Set up Google Alerts for your name and the name of your band
• Set up Google Alerts for acts similar to you
• Search on Twitter (search.twitter.com) for your name, as well as the names of your songs or albums
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of that Twitter search, and pull it into Google Reader
• Search for your name, the names of acts similar to you, or other terms on socialmention.com
• Subscribe to that RSS feed and pull it into Google Reader

What you end up with is a Google Reader (or any RSS reader of your choice) full of information about what’s being said. That’s step 1.

The value comes from going back through that information and absorbing it. Read the blog posts. Comment if appropriate. Go see who’s talking about you on Twitter, reply or send them a Direct Message (DM) if it makes sense.

Look for feedback, look for trends, look for opportunities to connect.

Turn the data that gets fed to you into information by listening.

I’ve been a fan of Alicia Keys since “Songs in A Minor” was released in 2001, and have continued to follow her career as my life, and the world, has evolved.

9 years later a hit new song with Jay-Z playing on radio stations and iPod’s everywhere, I’m now even more in love with her music.

Personal tastes aside, I have a lot of respect for the marketing going on around Alicia Key’s new album – “The Element of Freedom”.

She first debuted the album on Facebook, that’s right – Facebook.  To my knowledge – she’s the first major artist to do so (smart move!).

To do so, her marketing team got a company called Involver on board, which I admit is new to me (hey Involver, if you’re listening I’d love to pick your brain for a future post!).

You can check out her fan page here.

In addition to the Facebook album debut, Alicia and her team have also put together a “I think it’s going to be slightly insane in a great way” event happening tonight at the legendary Apollo Theatre. Actually, it’s happening now, and I’m there, and you can watch here. Full review coming tomorrow, of course!

Back on track…

That’s right – the entire concert is being livestreamed (thanks Billboard!), and straight from their article on the event, here are some juicy details:

The chart-topping singer/songwriter’s new album, “The Element of Freedom,” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in December, but Keys has enjoyed a pair of long-running No. 1’s on the singles charts. Her New York centric duet with Jay-Z, “Empire State of Mind,” — which the duo performed to much acclaim at Yankee Stadium during the World Series in October — rode the top of the Hot 100 for five weeks in November and December. Meanwhile over on the Latin Pop Songs chart, Alejandro Sanz’s track featuring Keys, “Looking For Paradise,” has been No. 1 for the last nine consecutive weeks.

Click to watch the concert here.

If you’re more of the “I like to watch the interviews” type, I included Billboard’s interview below. It’s a good watch!

I’m looking forward to seeing more major labels jump on the “let’s innovate!” train.  If you’ve seen any examples then by all means, please share them in the comments!

That’s right, someone (Jason Keath, to be exact) has invited me to participate in a panel on Social Media in the Music Industry as part of the Social Fresh Nashville conference.

I’m really excited to be participating, and even more excited to see what my fellow panelists have to say about their perspectives of how social media has impacted the music industry.

Panelists

Tessa Horehled, Senior Strategist – Social Media at THINK Interactive

Ben Bennett, Online Promotions and Mobile Marketing Manager at the Country Music Association (CMA)

Justin McIntosh, Manager of Web Services and Marketing at Big Machine Records
In advance of flying to Nashville for the conference, I’ve been connecting with people on the Social Fresh Community and reviewing some of my favorite blogs and videos.

In case you’re curious, I’m a particular fan of (in no particular order):

• Hypebot – Ridiculously quality articles about anything and everything related to music. Sometimes it’s practical, sometimes it’s more theoretical. All of it is good.
• Bass Music – I like my beats extra crispy, and this blog has a great selection of new tracks and music on a regular (more than daily) basis.
• The Future Buzz – I’m a recent fan of Adam Singer and keep wondering why I didn’t find out about him earlier. He’s a smart cookie and his blog shows that.
• Bit Rebels – I like these guys for all the nerdy techy stuff they write about, and the fact that their blog is a great source of music-related information makes it even better.
• Artists House Music – These guys help teach me about the pure music business side of things, which I find refreshing since I (by situation) tend to be more tech-oriented.
• Buzzsonic – A great resource for music trend roundups, tech information and other such quality articles.

I’d love to hear what you want us to answer during the panel. Leave your questions in the comments, or join the Social Fresh Community and leave them for us directly there.

Memories are powerful. Some songs play a leading role in certain memories, while others appear as a backup role.

I recently posted a question on my Twitter account (@misskatiemo) asking people what songs they associated with certain memories.  Their answers are below.

Carla Lynne Hall: “Crystal Blue Persuasion” by Tommy James and The Shondells because it reminds me of growing up in Miami, with its blue skies and sunny days. Whenever I hear it, I think of carefree days of being a kid, with all of the time in the world to just dream and play. Ahhh….

Prescott Perez-Fox:  When I hear “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles, I am wandering through a church yard in North London on my way to work.

Amy Garland:  Footloose – This was my favorite movie growing up (still is), and I always loved dancing to the end (prom scene). Whenever the song plays at a wedding, my sister and/or I try to get everyone to form two lines and take turns dancing down the middle (like the movie). This song always brings great memories from weddings, etc to mind!

Andrew Stugots:  New Years day 1999 my cousin and best friend in the world passed away after a life long battle with brain cancer. He was found laying in the parking lot of his job.  Phillip lived life as if it was his last day on earth and pushed others to do the same. A year later I met a seer, Jennifer. I never believed in this type of stuff but take it for what you will. Over dinner with others she leaned over to me and said “Phillip said to tell you “Don’t Dream It’s Over“. I sat there with my mouth agape, she continued “Yeah, he is just singing that song over and over again ‘Hey now, hey now, dont dream its over. There is freedom within, there is freedom without….” and then she said, he waved and walked away. The song still gives me goosebumps and will make me get teary eyed.

My own memory is along the line of Andrew’s.  Whenever I hear “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” or “Amazing Grace” I think of my Grandmother playing the piano as childhood versions of me and my younger sister bound up the stairs to her house.

Chris Brogan recently wrote about “Emotions At A Distance” – or, in other words, remembering that the people we connect and deal with from behind computer screens are just that – people.

It’s easy to get caught up in the nuances of your work from inside a practice room or behind a computer monitor. Not so easy when you’re performing your music in front of a crowd, or get recognized by a fan on the street.  Music connects people across age differences, language barriers, and continents.  Always remember that people have a choice to listen to your music, and that the music you create forms a very real part of the soundtrack of their lives.

What memories do you associated with music?