Ever get that feeling that you are the only person in the world who actually
believes in your music? Sometimes, when you get in that pinch at the end of the
month when you skipped work to go on tour or had to buy a new amp and your CD’s
aren’t selling, it seems like the music business may have been a bad career
decision. It’s okay. You can admit it. We all have those days.

While it may seem like giving up is the only option, there are always
alternatives and the success story I am about to share with you demonstrates
just how much the fans care about our music and why you need to keep pushing
long after you feel like giving up.

A few weeks back, I wrote a blog piece about Kickstarter.com, a website for
creative individuals like musicians to find funding for their projects. Since
that time, I’ve been watching the buzz around the Internet and the music world
for examples to show you of the site in action. This morning when I was checking
my email, I found just such a story and I want to share it with you now.

The story involves Tyler Stenson, a very prolific independent folk
singer/songwriter from Portland, Oregon who, like the rest of us, faced those
sharp moments where the cash flow wasn’t matching the time he needed in the
recording studio. He had a slew of great songs he wanted to record and deliver
to his fans but the money was hard to find. So he gave up?…. NO, I’m just
kidding. He didn’t give up. He got creative.

Tyler had heard of Kickstarter.com and their unique funding platform so he
got on board and created a project. Then he used social media and other online
networking techniques to help him advertise his project. His original goal for
the project was simple: Earn $3,500 in pledges in 60 days to fund the recording
and production of his eighth album, Long Before The Wheel.

Sixty days later, a group of 90 fans had signed on and pledged their support
to the project. What is even greater is the fact that these 90 fans exceeded the
goal of $3,500 and Tyler actually made almost $4,000 to fund the creation of his
album with the final count being $3,924. That means, on average, his fans
donated over $43 each.

How many fans do you have? Most bands have at least fifty fans. How far would
an extra $2,000 go towards helping your band be successful in releasing an
album? The amazing thing is five of Tyler Stenson’s fans donated at least $250
to the project. Does your music have that kind of effect on people? Does it
create such a powerful response that they believe in your music career enough to
put $250 of their own money down as an investment in your career? If not, why
not?

So, here’s what I want you to do. Take a look at Tyler Stenson’s “Long Before
the Wheel: Recording Tyler Stenson’s Next Folk Album” project on Kickstarter.com
(I included the link at the end of this post) and see how he set it up and the
awesome rewards he offered to his backers. Look at what worked well for him and
what things you could imitate. Then, decide if this is something you could do.

I believe that each and every one of the people reading this post, including
you, have the potential for this kind of success. I want to see how much you
believe in yourselves and how many of you are willing to put in the work to be a
success. Please leave your comments here and make sure to include the links to
your own Kickstarter.com projects so we can follow your success as well.

See the project here:   http://kck.st/clPNkY

Okay, maybe this isn’t a brand new resource but I first heard of likeZebra.com today when I received an email from an acquaintance telling me about a contest on the site to win a Margaret Cho CD.  The site caters to the independent and unsigned bands, offering online promotion a boost with a social media feel to it.  With likeZebra.com, recording artists can sign up and receive their own profiles and widgets to share around the Internet plus they can connect with new fans who visit the site looking for new bands to listen to.

When I got the email I mentioned earlier, I decided to take a look at the website and I was impressed.  The site is easy to navigate, has a fun feel to it and a clear mission:  To help new recording artists get recognized.  I think they sum it up better than I ever could with a few lines in their Who We Are page:

“We are the launching pad for independent and unsigned artists. By providing musicians with the tools they need to pursue their passions in the music industry, they are able to properly reach out to fans of independent music.

We provide unsigned musicians and artists with the competitive edge they need to showcase and promote their music to an extensive audience consisting of fans, venues, producers and industry professionals. By joining likeZEBRA, artists receive access to a range of viral promotional tools to aid in accessing a larger fan base along with the ability to promote, distribute, and sell music.

In addition to the tools for our artists, we are also a hub where music fans can connect with their favorite bands, share their discoveries with friends and stay current with breaking industry news and events.

We also continue to host several contests and giveaways for bands and fans. Last summer, a lucky winner received a dream prize containing nearly everything needed to launch his successful music career. The giveaway included a MacBook Pro, Pro tools, a mic, studio monitors, and cables.

By making quality unsigned independent music accessible, while keeping things social and exclusive, we cater to the needs of artists in ways that no other site or social network can. “  -  Quoted from likeZebra.com

These folks sound like just the kind of music friendly folks that we at the MusicBizCenter.com Blog love to hear about and it sounds like they have the online promotion game figured out.  They also appeal to a large audience because  “independent and unsigned” stretches a long way so there is everything from hardcore, rock and even comedy music on the site.

They offer a variety of services to the recording artist who joins the site, including on site promotion, CD mastering & recording, as well as off site promotion in the form of email and text message campaigns sent directly from your profile.

For the fans, the site offers full track downloads and ringtones of their favorite artists, as well as easy search and navigation to help them find their favorite musicians or their new undiscovered favorites.    From the links that I have seen in the comments here at the blog, I can tell a lot of you will quickly find yourself going from “undiscovered” to “on fire” when you post your music on the site.

So, what do you think?  Have you heard of likeZebra.com before?  Is it something that could be beneficial to your music career?  Please leave your comments here.

The only thing you take with you when you’re gone is what you leave behind.  — John Allston

I’ve spent the last several days digging through (mostly old) videos of live performances posted on YouTube: Foo Fighters, AC/DC, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Sly and the Family Stone, Tool, Jimi Hendrix, and more …  Looking at all of this got me thinking, at times melancholic, about the temporary nature of music.  I think you know what I am saying — a performance lives in the moment, and then it is gone.  And while recordings can capture something of what music is, they pale in comparison to the real thing — or some of you might say that a recording is something entirely different — discrete from performance.  I am reminded of something Neil Young said in an interview about the difficulty in capturing the energy, strength and sound of a group in a studio performance.  That the bands he played in sounded better than their recordings convey.

All that being said, many of my favorite recordings are live.  There is a rawness and energy that seldom comes through in studio recordings, especially since overdubbing, remixing, etc. came to be the rule rather than the exception in making a record.  “So why should I care?” you may be asking yourself.  One of the musicians I work with regularly was lamenting the fact that most of the recordings we made of his band were lost - recorded over in trying to save money.  This seems to be the history of so much of rock - even name acts … it can be very hard to find good live performances.  You may have a better opportunity to save your work than we had a few years back before digital recording became pervasive.  Back then, saving an hour of rehearsal or of live gig in 4-track was costing us about $10 on tape.  Now you can do that on CD for about 10 cents.

You never know where the gems will turn up.  One of the best recordings I have is a rehearsal tape that survived the reuse.  So I am advocating taking advantage of the digital revolution and recording as much of what you are doing as you can.  And this ties into the whole Indie thing.  You don’t have to get your recordings to sound like what the majors think your band should sound.  You can decide, and your audience can decide, what you/they like or don’t like.  Take a chance.  This is how the new becomes!  You may find that the recordings that you have made in real time turn out to be one of the best sources of material for release.  And if you don’t have to toss it, keep the stuff you don’t use right now for later.  You will be surprised how often you pick up some old project and see new potential in something that seemed to serve no purpose at the time.  You may be in a new band that is a better fit to the song, or you may have evolved to a different viewpoint, even with the same group.  And when you do make it big — you have a rich source for those rarities that fans beg for.

Do you have any stories to share about rediscovering something of your own?  Or anything else about music and recording, especially Indie?  Please write! - V.