Let Me See Your Package

The coolest interactive posters you’ll ever see

Chris Bauer — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:18:16 +0000

You don’t just want posters. You want posters that really call attention. Here are some brilliant posters that go above and beyond simply being pieces of paper that contain good design and good information.

Here’s a video of how these three posters are interactive.

Just awesome. But of course, these may just be effective for people who are at close range to these posters. They’re meant for smaller venues and their purpose is to impress a smaller audience.

Annnnd…Here are the runners up.

Source: Saxofunny

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Unified Manufacturing is a custom CD/DVD and Vinyl Manufacturing facility based on both sides of the US. We also print posters! If you need an Instant Quote on a project AND you want FREE SHIPPING ( free shipping on all quotes from the blog) – Then CLICK HERE.

10 Tips for Selling More Merch Online

Erick Yankton — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:05:15 +0000

You honestly think your merch is awesome but how come no one buys them? There are so many possible reasons for this phenomenon but I have a feeling that poor online marketing is the main culprit. If you want to increase your merch sales, try these tips below.

Let your fans help you in the process. Before you even print those tees and books, make sure you make your fans feel involved. If they feel like they’ve contributed something to your project, there’s a bigger chance they’ll buy it. Let them vote for t-shirt designs or have a designing contest.

Models. You don’t have to spend big bucks to hire professional models; you yourselves could wear your merch. What’s important is that people would get an idea of what it would look like when worn. It also adds appeal to the products.

Clean background. To add emphasis to your products, eliminate too much noise and clutter. Choose a website lay-out that isn’t too bright or over-designed.

Bundle with other products. Shirt plus bracelet plus CD, or Shirt plus download cards…just make sure the price of the bundle is cheaper than the sum of each item in the bundle.

Good copy. If you’re selling online, your fans can’t possibly touch the fabric or know exactly if it fits them fine. Some won’t have a clue what the design is about. A good picture can sometimes do the explaining but most of the time, a good copy with complete information is necessary.

Pinterest. This is a content-sharing site that lets users share and re-share pictures. Post your items and let your friends and fans repin them.

Many payment options. Accept credit cards, payments thru paypal…the more, the better. Some customers are not that passionate about you or buying your stuff so a single obstacle could make them change their minds.

Endorsers. If you don’t know celebrities, I’m sure you know some influential people in your town who have lots of connections. Let them wear your tee!

Give some to your fans. Throw a contest on your Facebook page and give the winner a tee or a special edition CD. This will hopefully help create a buzz.

Clever merch packaging. Your fans will love you more than they ever did if you put your merch in witty packaging design. It’s one of the best ways to show that you’re trying your best to give them something of quality. Here are some of examples of clever t-shirt packaging: Food- inspired t-shirt packaging, creative cardboard t-shirt packaging.

Image: Representshop

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Unified Manufacturing is a custom CD/DVD and Vinyl Manufacturing facility based on both sides of the US. Our clients range from indie artists to major label artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Ringo Starr. If you need an Instant Quote on a project AND you want FREE SHIPPING ( free shipping on all quotes from the blog) – Then CLICK HERE.

CD Packaging: Forrest Day

Chris Bauer — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:35:48 +0000

Artist: Forrest Day
Album: Forrest Day
Label: Ninth Street Opus Records
Concept: Forrest Day
Model: Lisa Gemmiti
Year: 2011

The Bay-area bandleader who released his self-titled full-length debut came up with the design and enlisted world-renown model builder Lisa Gemmiti to help execute the album art.

The cover of the digipak features a jumper on the ledge of a building while reams of onlookers gawk.

“I was trying to capture the notion that America has a very voyeuristic attitude about tragedy. The figure on the building isn’t actually a jumper, he’s just trying to stay above the fray and set himself apart. It’s darkly humorous and represents the tragicomic vibe of my album,” explains Day.”

via: Thedieline

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Unified Manufacturing is a custom CD, DVD, Vinyl and USB Manufacturing facility based on both sides of the US. Our clients range from indie artists to major label artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Ringo Starr. If you need an Instant Quote on a project AND you want FREE SHIPPING ( free shipping on all quotes from the blog) – Then CLICK HERE.

Motivational Quotes for Young Filmmakers

Chris Bauer — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:33:27 +0000

Filmmaking is not for wussies. It takes lots of determination, strength, creativity, resourcefulness, and just the right amount of badass-ness.

Many newbies surrender before they even finish their first short film. So to some of you who are still pursuing their dream to become filmmakers, I salute you. To encourage you some more, here is a collection of inspirational quotes from famous filmmakers.

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As an artist, I feel that we must try many things – but above all, we must dare to fail. You must have the courage to be bad – to be willing to risk everything to really express it all.
–John Cassavetes

There’s nothing creative about living within your means.
- Francis Ford Coppola

My three Ps: passion, patience, perseverance. You have to do this if you’ve got to be a filmmaker.
- Robert Wise

There’s nothing quite like the idea of failing spectacularly to excite a film maker.
- Mike Figgis

If filmmaking was a beautiful woman, I would have trouble wooing her because she’s a needy jerk.
- Justin Bundy

What I always tell people is… Unless you are so passionate about filmmaking that you would rather live out of your car than not do it, find something else to do as a career and do filmmaking as a hobby. This industry is one of the hardest to break into and be successful. It takes a lot of passion and dedication for it to get anywhere…
- Ryan Connolly

I Don’t Try to Guess What a Million People Will Like. It’s Hard Enough to Know What I Like.
- John Huston

Even on a $100 million film, people will complain that they haven’t got enough money and enough time, so that’s always going to be an element in filmmaking.
- Ryan Kwanten

If there’s specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can’t change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.
- Kathryn Bigelow

One of the great things about being a director as a life choice is that it can never be mastered. Every story is its own kind of expedition, with its own set of challenges.
- Ron Howard

A director must be a policeman, a midwife, a psychoanalyst, a sycophant and a bastard.
- Billy Wilder

Hang on and stay where you are. One day, you will give birth to a beautiful film and you will be quoted like the folks above.
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More Awesome USB Albums

Erick Yankton — Mon, 21 May 2012 06:12:38 +0000

Many musicians, from Bob Marley to Lady Gaga, have released albums in USB flash drives. They love the USB drive because they can pack in MP3 files plus exclusive video interviews, music videos, band member profiles, games, and many more. But aside from the obvious, the USB flash drive also serves as a great marketing tool. If the CD legitimizes you as a musician, the USB flash drive gives fans the impression that you’re innovative and that you’re willing to try new things to make them happy.

Here are some more awesome USB albums…

Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” USB

A Born This Way-themed, limited edition memory stick of the Lady Gaga’s multi-platinum album.

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Kylie Minogue’s X USB

Besides the standard CD and CD+DVD set, Kylie Minogue’s 10th album, X, was released on a USB stick.

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Tarot Card USB – Shooter Jennings LIVE

The Living Album” the collection of live show recordings Shooter has released on USB drive. When fans plug this into their computer they get the new studio album, Black Ribbons (with narration by Stephen King) and a gateway to download additional shows as Shooter himself mixes them. Throughout the tour Shooter will be sending fans something new each time they plug the USB in.

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9mm Parabellum Bullet “Revolutionary” USB Drive

The Japanese rock band 9mm Parabellum Bullet has announced a new single to promote their upcoming album, “Revolutionary”. Instead of releasing the single on CD, it will go on sale as a limited edition USB flash drive printed with the 9mm Parabellum Bullet logo.

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Phoenix Down’s Pixelated Feather USB

Junk Science and Scott Thorough released their new album Phoenix Down on a mini-hard drive. The feat limited-edition flash drive is a soft-rubber pixelated feather—a fitting mix of nature and digital for their 8-bit-heavy sound and lyrics like “the future’s pixelated.”

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KISS USB Bracelet

Of course, the kings of merch do not want to be left behind. A USB bracelet of KISS.

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Queen Golden Orb USB

Enclosed within this lined gift box you will find a majestic orb emblazoned with a Queen logo and gothic designs. Top crest removes to reveal a USB drive containing ALL Queen studio albums and a photo gallery. Inside of the orb lies a gold-plated pendant necklace resting in a red velvet collector’s bag. Audio content will be provided in 24-bit WAV (44.1 kHz) and MP3 (320 kbps) formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.

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Using Deal Sites to Sell Concert Tickets- Pros and Cons

Marion Isobel — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:44:05 +0000

Deal sites sound like a good platform especially if you’re desperate and impatient to sell your concert tickets.

But before you sign-up and create a deal, make sure you read the pros and cons of selling tickets through deal sites.

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PROS

It attracts a lot of consumers. You can reach new customers by appealing to those who are looking for inexpensive deals and a chance to save money. You get to charge lower prices to new customers who aren’t willing to pay more.

Venue owner will love you for it. The venue splits the $$ from the Groupon sales with Groupon. It helps get a few hundred extra drinkers into the room and the band ends up with more people to sell their merchandise to.

Deal sites gives people a sense of urgency.

Direct admission. G-Pass™ tickets from Groupon grant you direct admission to some of your favorite live entertainment events.

It gives a better word of mouth to some bands who have poor marketing.

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CONS

Huge price cuts. Groupon keeps 50% of all voucher sales that it obtains for its clients. Thus, business owners generally earn only 25% of what they’d normally make an any sale generated through a daily deal website. Let’s say I’m a business offering a $40 Groupon to customers for $20. I don’t even get $20, I get $14 after Groupon takes their cut.

Your site won’t benefit from it. Sure you get the foot traffic to your physical storefront but your website doesn’t get the bump in online traffic it normally does through traditional web based ad campaigns.

It might help big bands, but it could put small bands to shame. The problem is, you really can’t tell if you’re on the big side or the small side. So you take the chance. You think “hey, it’s free. What have we got to lose?” Think again. Of course you have something to lose- your reputation. If only 12 people buy your deal and you’ve been promoting it through Facebook, people will look down on you and your confidence will be crushed.

Deals hurt your image. One negative aspect of daily deal sites is that price promotions usually hurt the image of the company offering it, says Dholakia. By discounting the price your brand becomes susceptible to a reduction in perceived value by the customer. People would automatically think you’re not that good (or losing your career) because why else would you be offering 50% discount on your tickets?

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What some artists have to say about deal sites:

I think offering a Groupon is lazy. No seriously, it’s lazy. You want to bring in new people? You want to get more business? Then stop focusing on these bargain shoppers; instead focus on YOUR CUSTOMERS!

Yet not all performing arts organizations here are convinced the Groupon model will benefit them in the long term, or serve as a good marketing tool in general.

“I can see how it works for really large organizations but I am not sure it will work for small companies like us,” says Attack Theatre’s marketing director Rebecca Himberger. “The return on investment seems to be really small.”

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SUGGESTIONS:

If you really want to use deal sites, make sure you’re willing to “buy” the remaining tickets needed for a deal to be sold-out. If not, your reputation would seriously suffer.

If you really want to use deal sites, don’t focus on the profit you can get from ticket sales because you’ll only be disappointed. Focus on how you can get cash from your merch. And you make sure you have a splendid performance and get all of their e-mails to make-up for your tainted image for joining a deal site.

If you are willing to offer 50% off anyway, why not offer it to your customers as a reward or just a freebie? This way, your fans will love you more and they would not think you are cheap- just kind and fun. And this way, you won’t be giving any deal site any money.

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Have you tried selling tickets or merch using deal sites? How did it go?

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9 Albums that Creatively Use Clear Jewel Cases

Chris Bauer — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:38:49 +0000

Those who say that it’s impossible to make really creative and remarkable designs with “boring” jewel cases are probably boring and not creative. We love jewel cases and we think they’re lovely! There are so many good-looking (and award-winning) albums that use clear jewel cases effectively. Here are some of them:

Pequeña Burguesía

The whole information is printed in decals that allow you to decorate the jewel-box. The transparent jewel case is the perfect case for this because it contributes to the overall minimalist feel. This concept is very similar to the last three items of this post.
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Here’s a DVD compilation of the work of anthropologist and filmmaker, Julia Yezbick designed by Benjamin Gaydos.

I like how the clean jewel case emphasizes the colored squares. I believe this won’t work that well if it were packaged in a black jewel case or if it’s printed on a CD wallet. The clear jewel case gives it a clean, fresh-from-the-store look.

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Puerto Despertar

“A folded and stitched poster becomes an envelope that keeps a jewel-box inside. The title of the CD is “Puerto Despertar” (Port Awakening), hence a bundle of light rays on the front cover.”

It’s simple but we know it’s not just a lazy design. Plain-looking paper, thin “design- less” CD case and black and white photos. Clean and lovely.

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Breaknecks & Lok Allé

Album cover and logotypes made for Breaknecks and Lok Allé’s collaboration album “Tilfeldigvis”. We can choose our own cover out of six options.

Designed by Ludvig Bruneau Rossow, Norway.
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Everything (P-Money)

I love how the curved edges of the clear jewel case matches the typography and the edges of the computer monitor.
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CD Labeling

This is a compact disc labeling concept. Each waveform accurately depicts a complete song in a 1-inch square. Designed by Joshua Distler.

Again, minimalist design executed well with the help of the extreme simplicity of the clear jewel case.
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The Information- Beck

The packaging for Beck’s latest album, The Information, consists of a blank grid cover and a random set of stickers for each release designed by various artists. The idea is to mix and match as you choose to create your own custom cover.

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This CD cover/packaging design by the folks at PLEASELETMEDESIGN is clever in its use of the case to display a pencil which completes the ‘kids’ games’ feel. You can find song titles here.
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Pinebender: Too Good to Be True

This one has a pencil, too. This design received awards back in 2002. Do you also think Beck’s The Information album (above) copied this concept? Yeah, me too.

So you see folk? Never underestimate the good ol’ jewel case.

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Comparing Music Crowd-Funding Sites

Marion Isobel — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:28:00 +0000

Kickstarter isn’t the only crowd-funding site. If you’re new to this kind of thing, you have to select the platform that suits your project best. And in order for you to do that, you have to know the reputation of these sites, the fees, the good, bad and ugly.

Kickstarter

*The most famous crowd-funding site today.

*Not excusive to musicians. They fund almost any type of project from films to gadgets.

*It is not assured that your campaign will be launched. Their team will review it and they only approve 60 percent of the 2,000 or so projects that apply each week (unlike Indiegogo).

*Fee: Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds raised. Amazon charges an additional 3-5%.

*Payments must be made through Amazon Payments only.

*Disadvantage: You can only use it with a U.S. bank account. Meaning, fans from other parts of the globe can’t donate through Kickstarter. Kickstarter is still working on allowing international projects to be funded thru them.

* As of April 2012, Kickstarter had more than $175 million dollars pledged and more than 20,000 successfully funded projects.

* Has a 44% success rate.

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Pledge Music

*Second most popular fan-funding site.

*Integrates your database, MySpace friends, Facebook fans, Twitter followers and various other social networking sites.

*Fee: 15% of the funds raised

*Lets you accept donations via debit/credit cards and PayPal.

*Not exclusive to US Banks. Fans and supporters from around the world can donate.

*PledgeMusic is one of the good options for bands outside the U.S.

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Indiegogo

* For campaigns that fail to raise their target amount, users have the option of either refunding all money to their contributors at no charge or keeping all money raised but with a 9% fee.

*Fee: 4% fee for successful campaigns. There’s also a third-party payment processing fee of 2.9 percent.

* Unlike Kickstarter, Indiegogo let all projects in unless maybe if it’s offensive or illegal. But the downside is that you’ll be competing with tens of thousands of campaigns on the site.

* Unlike similar sites such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo disburses the funds immediately.

* IndieGoGo is open to anyone who has a valid bank account or credit card anywhere in the world.

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Sellaband

* headquartered in Amsterdam.

* They have a minimum funding target ( € 3000) and a maximum funding target (€ 250.000). Like the ones above, you won’t get a cent if you don’t reach your goal.

* Artists can also choose if they want to integrate a revenue sharing option into their funding. The minimum incentive is a download.

* Disadvantage: Some complain that they don’t get all their money back if they back-out because Sellaband charges a fee on the back end as well.

* Currently there are artists 89 artists who reached their goal.

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Artist Share

*The first crowdfunding/fan-funded website for music (launched in 2003).

* Same concept as most crowdfunding websites.

* ArtistShare’s CEO, Brian Camelio, applied for a patent on the basic concepts of crowdfunding back in 2003 and sued Kickstarter in 2011.

* Their model aims to build fan relationships and not just one-and-done campaigns.

* ArtistShare projects have received 5 Grammy awards and 15 Grammy nominations.

* Artists must go through a screening and survey process and be approved.

* Fees: One-time $595 setup fee plus $12.95 a month

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Feed the Muse

* Although it is primarily made for indie musicians, it also serves as a platform for other artists.

* For musicians, not limited to funding your album. You can make a campaign if you need gas money for your tour, if you need more gear, etc.

* Fee: a $5 monthly fee for premium accounts, which is necessary if you want an Audio/ Video embed content section ( no fee if you won’t receive donations).

* Has forums and site is not that easy to navigate.

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Transform Fans to Super Fans- How to Build a Loyal Fanbase

Marion Isobel — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:53:48 +0000

Your superfans are not just assets; they are your SUPER ASSETS and you simply cannot lose one or two because of the lack of artist-fan relationship. Here are some ways to build a rock-solid relationship with your fans:

Give Your Fans a Name

You want to create a semi-cult, right? In order to make it somewhat official, you have to give your fans a name. This would make them feel like they’re part of an exclusive organization. One good example is the Lady Gaga. Gaga doesn’t like the word “fan” so she calls them her “Little Monsters,” named after her album “ The Fame Monster.” Naming your fans is one of the best ways for branding your band and developing a good following.

Tag Fans in Your Panoramic Concert Photos

Let your photographers take photos of your fans during your concerts and post them on your Facebook page. Let fans tag themselves. Challenge them to get all the faces identified and tagged. This is not a new idea but I believe it still works as long as you put a bit of twist to it. Here’s one awesome example made by the Glastonbury organizers.

The experience is a bit like Where’s Waldo for the digital age, where oddly dressed cartoon characters are replaced by real people who attended the concert. If you enable Facebook Connect, you can tag yourself and your friends.

Give Approaching Fans Your Undivided Attention

If a fan approaches you, always give them your undivided attention. You do not have to talk to them for an hour, just a minute or even 30 seconds will do. And if there are just too many of them (lucky you, why are you still reading this article?), you don’t have to interact with each one of them- treat them as a group. The point is this: don’t be a snob. Don’t just go whooshing by as if you’re having the worst day of your life, even if you’re having the worst day of your life. Make sure you read our personality development 101 so you’ll charm (or at least not turn off) any big industry man or big fan you meet.

Always Have a Couple of Merch Handy

Bring small, easy-to-carry merch -like the Beastreaks’ lollies, customized guitar picks, rubber bracelets or even just stickers wherever you go so you will have something to give fans that will approach you. You’re aiming to have super fans, so you have to feed them with these stuff. They’ll love you for it. You don’t have to worry about budget because we can make really awesome yet affordable merch.

Share Dark Secrets on Your Blog

Do not simply blog about your upcoming concerts; share something more intimate than that. Talk about your experiences, your dirty secrets, your inspiration, your opinions, your problems. Once regular fans read your blog, they’ll sympathize, laugh, and totally become more interested in your band. What most bands don’t realize is that music-lovers want something more than music, they want stories. Learn more blogging tips for musicians so you can make the most out of your blog.

Send Special E-mails

Not all fans are created equal- some are more loyal than the others. You do not want to send them all the same e-mail because the loyal ones SHOULD (and I mean MUST) feel special. They simply want to know they are more appreciated than the guy who only knows your latest hit song. If you want to develop intimacy with your fans, make sure you put them in different categories (the more categories, the better) and send them different e-mails, different web conferences, different concert invites, etc. New fans should receive different e-mails from old fans. Old fans should receive different e-mails from Hardcore fans. Make sure you won’t commit any of these frequently committed e-mail marketing don’ts or else your efforts would be useless.

Develop Shared Symbols

The concept is pretty much the same as naming your fans. Shared symbols allow fans to identify each other and connect. It’s the feeling of being part of a “secret society.” Lady Gaga’s official Little Monster greeting is the outstretched “monster claw” hand. As all Little Monsters know, the clawed hand is part of the choreography in the video of her song “Bad Romance.”

Use Loyalty-based Apps to Connect to Your Fans

One example is Flowd. It lets you chat directly to your fans, promote gigs, and throw contests. You can sync Flowd to Facebook and Twitter for easy management of your social networks. If you are an artist, you can sign yourself into Flowd with an artist profile on: flowd.com/artist_registration.

Play in Smaller Venues

Develop intimacy by playing in more intimate venues like art galleries, book stores, smaller bars or in the living room of one of your loyal fans (hey, great idea for a contest). Try to invite the more loyal fans and make sure you connect with them by sharing stories, giving some merch, giving free pizza, etc.

Stay on Your Merch Table

After your performance, head to your merch table. This will not only help you sell more merch, you’ll also be able to connect with your fans and future fans. While you’re there signing autographs, let them write down their e-mail addresses for so you can send them e-mails and newsletters.

Conduct Live Webcast

Livechat allows you to webcast a video to your fans. It is pretty much like talking to someone on Skype. Your fans will ask questions through a text-based chat room interface and you will answer them one by one.

Showcase Them In Your Music Video

The most loyal fans deserve recognition and rewards. You can express your gratitude by inviting them to dance for your latest music video. Take it from Graham Coxon’s new video for What’ll It Take. He invited his fans to dance on camera. 85 of them from 22 countries sent him footage. The result is one very unique music video.

Post Their Gifts on Your Website and Social Networks

So let’s say you’re already that loved (popular) and you’ve received tons of letters and gifts from all over the world. Take time to give each one a thank you e-mail. You do not have to rush this if you’re too swamped. As long as you do it within six months, you’re still a lovable musician. If you are active online (which you should be), I suggest you take a photo of your fans’ gifts. You can tag them and thank them one by one or shout out a big thanks to all of them.

I’m sure you have more clever ideas than the ones listed here. Do share!

Photo: Wired

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CD Packaging: Tyneham House

Chris Bauer — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:09:44 +0000

Artist: Various

Album: Tyneham House

Label: Second Language and Clay Pipe Music

Art Director/ Designer: Frances Castle

Year: 2012

This is a melancholic tribute for the tiny Dorset village of Tyneham, which was requisitioned by the British government during World War II and was never returned to the inhabitants. Land access around Tyneham was opened up in the 1970s, but admission to the house remains strictly forbidden.

Illustrations are made by Frances Castle.

The disquieting music of Tyneham House is made by artists who have previously graced Second Language releases, but who wish to remain anonymous.

Images from: Hardformat

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