The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.

~ Benjamin Disraeli

In my last post on 360 Feedback, I wanted you to ask at least three people you know to look at your pages or posts (on your website, MySpace, Facebook, etc.) and provide you some criticism - negative or positive.  Specifically, I wanted you to: (1) have them tell you what message they think you are sending; (2) ask them for feedback on how well they think you are doing in portraying yourself; and (3) ask them to seriously critique your postings and pages.

So now I want to tell you what to do with the critiques you have gathered.

To remind you where I was going with this - I want to make your Web pages and postings more effective by sharpening your image.  This means crafting your message so that it has maximum impact — but the impact you want to it have.

So start with the feedback you got on the first topic.  How close was the message perceived by the reviewers to that you thought you were sending?  As you are going through the comments, make a point-by-point list of strengths and weaknesses.  And hopefully as you are doing this, you will have some ideas pop up for improving your posts and pages — write these down as well so you can act on them as soon as you get some time.  And don’t be afraid to get ideas from the reviewers too - they may give you some fresh perspectives.

Follow the same process for the other two questions — add to the list of pluses and minuses and to the list of ideas.

Now comes the hard part.  You should take each point made by your reviewers — even the “funny” comments — there almost always is truth in humor, and consider what you might do differently in presenting yourself.  Maybe you need different words, maybe you need graphics, or a different selection of music to best represent you.  Don’t do anything yet — just work through the list and try to get a total picture of your strengths and weaknesses.  And, even though I said to consider every point, you may still be right — but this sort of self examination should help you strengthen your resolve and your positioning as an artist.   

So, to summarize.  Your immediate next step in this exercise is to make lists of the pluses, minuses, and ideas for improvement.  And then to try to build for yourself a full picture of what others think of your site and its effectiveness.  I’ll give you a bit of time to consider all of this and next time I revisit this topic, I’ll talk about actions to be taken as a result of this exercise

A final note: WHATEVER YOU DO, do not get down on yourself about this.  One of the hardest things about this types of exercise is staying positive in the face of criticism.  I know for myself that this is one of the hardest parts of the process — I don’t take criticism very well and i tend to get down in the dumps if I get too much negative feedback.  But part of being a professional is learning how to improve, and accepting and acting on criticism is an important part of growing as an artist. 

So how did it go — were you able to get three or more critiques, and what kind of feedback did you get - mostly positive or negative?  Tell me what you think of this exercise (good or bad) and whether you would recommend it to others.  As always, I appreciate your comments - they help me get better at what I do. - V

What price tag are we putting on the Independent Music Industry? Photo Courtesy of Billy Alexander

Being involved with independent music as either recording artist or labels, we often think ourselves immune to the problems of the big boy commercial music industry. We think, “Oh, we are indie. We don’t worry about money. We make our music solely for the fans. The indie recording labels are recording our songs because they all want to help the musicians be successful.”

Oh wait…. You didn’t think that? Me neither.

We all know that recording labels and musicians, commercial or indie, all need money to survive and produce more music. While, as independent artists, we often have more freedom to record what we want the way we want to, we still have bills to pay, equipment to buy and studio space to rent. We can’t continue to function as indie labels and artists with absolutely no income from the music.

We saw an example of this yesterday when the popular indie rap label, Definitive Jux Records, announced they were calling it quits. The recording artist, producer and founder of Definitive Jux Records, El-P, made the announcement of the indie label leaving the scene citing lack of steady income and personal reasons, proving the point that even though an independent recording artist or label can compete with the best of the best, we are still subject to the same problems that take the commercial labels down.

Indie isn’t perfect. We still have to evolve if we want to remain a long lasting part of the music revolution. This is our year. We are taking over the charts and the music world but we cannot rest on our laurels and think we can stay at the top of our game.

As independent recording artists, we have to bear some of the responsibility. When an indie label crashes, we lose a part of our team and some of those losses are because we didn’t do anything to support them. When recording artists have seen awesome success working with a label, they should show loyalty.

Unfortunately, some of the more popular indie recording artists have reached a point in their fame where they bit the hand that fed them and dropped their labels entirely when the time came to show support. For an example, research the band Radiohead and you will notice that they distributed their 2007 release, In Rainbows. directly to the fans and only offered it through the label as an afterthought. Sure, this was great for the fans. It was great for Radiohead as a publicity stunt. But you can bet, the indie label that recorded them felt the bite and it won’t be one they will soon forget when the next small time band with a great new sound comes asking for help getting their recording careers off the ground.

Let’s face it. If we don’t support the indie labels that help us get where we are going, we are no better than the commercial recording labels that have overlooked the needs of the recording artists for decades. If we don’t continue to move forward and improve the independent music world, in a few decades, we may hear the same sad stories we hear about the commercial Music Industry today being used to describe the Independent Music Industry. We can do better. We have to do better. It starts with each of us recognizing the flaws and doing our part to fix them.

What do you think? Do you agree that we have to keep moving forward? What areas do you see that need improvement? Please, leave me a comment and share your thoughts.

This is the wrap up of my discussion of the Battle of the Bands I attended recently.

I forgot to mention last time that the first two bands at the battle were both trios: guitar, bass and drums.  The third band was a quartet, with the addition of a keyboard player. 

Of the three bands competing, the third band had the cleanest sound.  The sound was even more balanced than the band before, but about the same volume level.  Not surprisingly, it was again a better showcase for their songs.  They were the tightest of the bands — partially due to the clearer sound, and partially because of the advanced technique of their drummer.  One little performance trick the third band used that the other two did not was a role shift — the guitarist/lead singer and the bass player switched roles for one of the songs in the middle of the set — showing off their versatility.  This was enhanced by more variety in the styles of the various songs - contrasting in texture, mood, and dynamics.  The energy level of the band was high — again, not as athletic as band #1, but with a strong rapport with the audience — partially because they brought a decent chunk of the crowd with them.

And the winner is: the third band, by acclamation of the crowd.  As the master of ceremonies noted — it helps to bring your own people.  But I also think there were other factors at play — as I’ve already pointed out, the third band had the most variation to their sound — and you could hear the textures, some of which were a little different from what you might be used to hearing — so there seemed to be a little more originality here.  Of course, this can cut both ways — I remember producing a band several years ago that did mostly original material and they had a hard time connecting with the audience, who kept yelling for them to play stuff they could hear on the radio.

So, part of the reason I went to hear this battle was so that I could share with YOU some important lessons that can help contribute to your success.   For now, I’ll try to do this from the perspective of someone who is judging your band and trying to decide whether to invest in your musical project.

First - if I can’t hear you because your sound is so loud and muddy, then chances are I am not going to be impressed no matter how fast you can play, or how intricate the interplay between your instruments.  And I certainly am not going to know how clever your lyrics are if I can’t hear or understand them.  So pay attention to detail - make sure your amplification is balanced so that each instrument and voice can be heard. One of the groups I work with went to the trouble to have a sound man with a mixer, even when they were just playing the bar scene.

Second - the audience matters.  I look at the reactions of the crowd as much as I look at the band.  I am trying to see whether you connect with the audience and generate some excitement in them.  I expect you to be excited, but can you get the audience going as well.  It doesn’t hurt to have your friends and supporters present to help build the energy.

Third –pay attention to details in your performance.  Play loose when it fits, and play tight when THAT fits.  Make sure you choose material that matches the performance capability/skill level of your group.  I am not going to pick up a band that can’t play the songs they are attempting - I might add, BY THEIR OWN CHOICE.

Last (for this particular battle, anyway) — show versatility.  I am not particularly interested in one-trick ponies.  If every song sounds the same, or similar, I (and probably the sudience) am going to get bored.  Of course, you have to adjust to what the audience is reacting to.  So a good strategy is to have extra material ready beyond your immediate play list for the night.  (this can be important in opther ways as well — I remember one battle of the bands where the first group up played two of the songs from our playlist — the group I was working with had to scramble to come up with a new playlist.  Fortunately, they had enough material to do this.

I hope some of these points hit home for you and help you strengthen your success as a performer.   It can only help you get closer to your goals as a artist. 

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK — TOO MANY OF YOU ARE BEING QUIET OUT THERE.  Comment on this blog and let’s get some conversation going! - V.