A solo artist speaking about his experience of dodgy Indie labels who sell themselves on doing the online work like getting tracks onto Spotify etc ... And how easy he realised this was when he tried for himself after discovering how the label were letting him down.
You'll note how he plugs his own website, and holds up physical copies of his CDs, in trying to monetise his music ... He even signs off with a plea for viewers to add his songs to their Spotify playlists to boost their plays!
More news on Indie distribution: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/glassnote-signs-global-distribution-deal-with-kobalts-awal-leaves-behind-major-label-system/
I've blogged on alternative, secondary music video formats before: the one-take, single shot video; the lyric video; the album trailer; the special edition or merchandise unwrapping.
To this list, one worth pondering for an additional quickfire production that will help to drive website and social media content and engagement, add the tour date video (with website plugging included too).
The example is from 80s crossover (punk/thrash) legends Suicidal Tendencies. The video, spotted from a browse of the TeamRock site, a rich source for spotting evolving marketing strategies, includes several features:
performance footage
album art and website splash page, with plugs for both
like the most basic lyric videos, the main content is a vertically scrolling list of tour dates, white font on a black background
the audio consists of a snippet from a new album track, NOT the full track
The unpolished look is further evidence of how artists have incorporated audience approaches (fan-made videos) into their own playbooks. Even the mighty Metallica have dropped an unwrapping video, a hugely popular format that may have had pop origins but is now seen from audiences and artists across the age and genre spectrum.
Iron Maiden Fan Club members will be given access to an exclusive pre-sale, with information available via the official website.A Trooper VIP upgrade package will also be available, giving fans early access to the venue, exclusive goodies as well as food and Trooper beer. VIP tickets cost £140 and gig tickets will need to be bought separately. [LouderSound]
Artists variously charge for photos with fans, sometimes as part of a VIP backstage package, have licensed drinks, offer exclusives to fan club or registered website members (often charging a subscription fee).
...Maiden are a great example of a long-running act who skilfully use traditional and social media, and diverse merchandising, to successfully monetise their art and brand. Here's another example from them...the thankyou to fans, a natural example of direct address made possible by online media.
...
[recent update:]
I mention beer as a great example of merch - you can buy both Slayer and Iron Maiden beer in Luxembourg (Auchan), and Motorhead, plus some other branded wine/spirits if I recall correctly. That this is now a common strategy, especially in heavy metal, can be seen from a simple google ('heavy metal beer'). See this Pinterest for a gallery (pic, right comes from it):
Here's yet more, including Indie rockers Shed 7: https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/iron-maiden-queen-madness-make-13639252.amp#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s
frequently raise the point that digitization has meant that artists and record labels alike have sought to monetize other areas, and booze is a prime example of how wide this move into branded merchandising is. Take the example of Iron Maiden - they don't just sell one branded beer ... they have a whole website dedicated to their beer line! Smart branding.
See TeamRock article for lots of other examples (and a nice Megadeth intertextual ref).
(and here's a further update:)
I mention beer as a great example of merch - you can buy both Slayer and Iron Maiden beer in Luxembourg (Auchan), and Motorhead, plus some other branded wine/spirits if I recall correctly. That this is now a common strategy, especially in heavy metal, can be seen from a simple google ('heavy metal beer'). See this Pinterest for a gallery (pic, right comes from it):
Websites are routinely updated to centre on the latest album release
Bjork, The Pixies and many more are trailblazing a growing trend of creating videos for ALL album songs, not just the singles, recognising this boosts revenue-gaining YouTube hits ... but the importance of additional videos (unwrapping, lyric, live, UGC etc) is growing faster still, and Suede's "album sampler" is a good example. It would have Vernallis jumping up and down screaming I TOLD YOU SO given its narrative-free (is that possible?!) nature
Its another reminder of the convergence between film and music video - bear in mind that the 1964 Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night [Wiki] is widely considered as having created the music video template (archetype) with its video-like scenes ... and MJ's Thriller! While you will generally be creating youth-targeting productions with bands' existing (older) audience now the secondary target for you, Suede are possibly reinforcing their mature adult appeal with an entire feature-length arthouse movie released with their album. Its nature might also suggest an oddly upmarket (ABC1) audience for an Indie band. Read more here.
Here it is so you can judge for yourself - you should be thinking of this as an easy, but creatively free, extra (like the single shot video, lyric video...), so long as you remember to keep it MUCH shorter (or it'll just get blocked).
Thrash legends Testament (Burnt Offerings, Over the Wall, Souls of Black and many other classics that'll add a sonic boom to any day) are producing a band history which can only be ordered through their website, and comes with a personalised inscription.
Of course, there's a video from the lead singer, the venom vocalled Chuck Billy, to announce/flog the tome...
As seen from our sampling of websites, you can expect to find a range of online digital music outlets directly linked/embedded, as well as links to physical media (especially boxsets) resellers (sometimes self-distributed). Amazon Music, Apple Music/iTunes, Spotify ... there are lots of smaller platforms too. SoundCloud is increasingly commonly seen, for podcasts, remixes, samples, live audio, and simply for publishing tracks (for some unsigned/Indie acts). Like Vimeo and YouTube it includes purchase options, not just streaming.
Amazon includes a sample clip option - and so can you. You could avoid copyright issues by recording audio of you stating something like - don't just use my 'script'
hi, apologies as you're aware this isn't actually the track by [artist] you were hoping to hear. This website is a student coursework production and whilst we wanted to demonstrate our grasp of technology and industry conventions, we didn't want to contravene the artist's copyright. You can, however, find links to the actual artist page on various streaming and digital retail sites on this site!
As good an example as any, they're highly active across multiple platforms, and even managed to persuade me to lash out on a vinyl copy of their comeback single Bagboy and EP after spotting a promo tweet. Like many who ordered this I don't currently have a record player - the package also came with download codes for high bitrate (quality) MP3s.
Old-school email is a tool they use very effectively - always integrating their other platforms when doing so. These screenshots largely speak for themselves:
using staggered video releases to push new releases and tours alike
they've recorded videos for every album (2) and EP track since re-forming, a growing trend (not least as YouTube plays themselves generate revenue)
the range of videos work to both please their existing, ageing fanbase (the band date back to the late 80s and were a key influence on Nirvana) and to target a new, younger audience too (for sheer inspiration, I highly recommend viewing a batch of these and/or Depeche Mode videos)
they offer exclusives to various online ezines; an advantage of multiple videos is that they can offer this to a variety of sites over time
they highlight Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (plus their website), currently the big 3 of social media (surely users will tire of Twitter eventually?!)
look carefully at the followers/likes numbers, and you'll get a good example of which platforms are most/least significant for a primarily mature adult fanbase
the emails are not excessive, but often enough to keep prompting fans into potential purchase of recordings, merchandise or tickets, or at worst to view their video/s or visit their online platforms
the branding is clear: the P in a circle at the bottom of the email; the banner/masthead across their online platforms pushing the latest album, and a consistent image for their user icons
recordings are offered in multiple formats, including vinyl and boxsets
there is also a link for streaming
this is tied into multiple streaming platforms
Skip to 1:43 for 2nd question in this interview in which they discuss social media...(part of my extensive Pixies playlist)
a few of the emails The Pixies (... the marketing agency they've hired!) have sent me.
Details of the latest, plus screenshots from their platforms, are below the read more line
The site IronMaidenbeer.com shows one side of the diversifying approach of artists in the digital era - here's another, the mock election campaign of Alice Cooper (Wiki):
Such satire works as smart branding and PR for an artist that released his first album back in 1969 - fans will be familiar with his song Elected, but there is enough here to encourage wide (viral) spreading of the link or just the main poster with the manifesto - including a younger demographic than his primary fanbase.
I mention beer as a great example of merch below - you can buy both Slayer and Iron Maiden beer in Luxembourg (Auchan), and Motorhead, plus some other branded wine/spirits if I recall correctly. That this is now a common strategy, especially in heavy metal, can be seen from a simple google ('heavy metal beer').See this Pinterest for a gallery (pic, right comes from it):
IN THIS POST:a quick look at some examples of how Megadeth, a band whose debut album was in 1985, use multiple platforms to engage with existing fans and seek new ones, generating media coverage along the way. Any music video producer can learn from their strategic approach. As I can't access FB + other sites while writing this, I've used limited examples, but you can always look further yourselves.
If you're producing a music video you really should seek to engage with an audience long before you've got to the final cut stage.
Blogging does that to some extent, but being active on social media (Instagram, Twitter, FB...), posting snippets and updates of what you've been doing, should be part of that mix, generating content for a website in turn.
Just as film has the trailer, so many artists are now creating their own (often put out on record company YouTube channels) trailers (see Slayer example on this blog) and even teasers, as with this example from Megadeth (featured in a popular e-zine; marketing involves a mix of social media and publications/channels - such content will typically generate lots of articles in magazines, e-zines, radio...):
Bing (yuck) results galore, showing the success of the strategy to generate attention
Megadeth are an act skilled in keeping a buzz going, over 30 years since their debut album - they're engaging with VR (and note the serializing of the feature too, drip-feeding segments):
What you can learn from this example - you should have a clear, consistent brand image and concept to promote - that consistency would extend across multiple platforms and even merchandise - most artists will change website banners, YouTube icon/banner (etc) to highlight their latest release or tour - artists increasingly create video content that can be shared (ideally go viral) ... even short promo clips for an album with self-filmed interview-style footage - artists also increasingly embrace and create content that was seen as typical of UGC/fan-made videos, notably the lyric video - you can present research into any coursework topic by creating content that takes on a recognised media format: magazine feature, radio or TV interview/chat show appearance, e-zine interview (more informal, including setting), podcast ... - the Anthrax Twitter's most recent update was on Record Store Day - formats like these are ideal to convey your grasp of industry topics like the role of vinyl; the issues around streaming and revenues; influences ... even technology ... - ... it could the album producer, songwriter, video director, video editor or cinematographer (especially to discuss technology used: hardware or software) sleeve art designer, record label executive, band management, fans, ... there are many options. Great website content, research evidence, Evaluation content...
The self-produced Anthrax new album promo is like an interview or TV feature
Pics to be added - a bang up to date example of the multi-formatting that forms part of the marketing for many album releases now.
Unlike many other examples, this isn't a reissue - indeed, the thrash godfathers have put up a video of interviews to trail the album release, with the YouTube description featuring US and UK links for different formats.
Look out for magazine ads for this - drop me a link if you see one.
As usual, convergence is evident here: someone posted a link in a FB group pointing to a metal news site that had their own video which in turn linked to the band/record label's trail video...all accessed, viewed, clicked, read and blogged on through my phone - albeit pictures, saved from phone, formatting and tagging will have to wait til I'm sat at a PC/Macbook!
THE ANTHRAX ALBUM PROMO
ANTHRAX DRUMMER INTERVIEWED FOR AN E-ZINE'S PODCAST SERIES, AND E-ZINE ARTICLE ON THIS!
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the big 3 of social media (as of April 2016 anyway..) - there are many more significant options boiling away just below mainstream radar ... and chances are Madonna will be on it!
There's another point here - social media has not REPLACED artist websites, but rather taken a complementary position: social media content is all over such websites. In this case the video premiere is jointly through Madonna's website and the Meerkat app.
You can question the usefulness of relatively obscure social media, but there are benefits...
New or lesser social media will make more effort to push content from stars that could get lost in the noise of larger rivals like Twitter
It makes for good branding - older star at the cutting edge, with tech early adopters being younger, so helping such artists to refresh their audience base
Here's why including a vinyl (limited) edition, as the Joy Division group did a few years back, alongside the digipak makes sense...
Sales of vinyl could hit 2m in 2015, and have now been given their own chart by the official top 40 company.
Expensive remastered vinyl packages continue to abound, especially from longer established acts. Adam Ant (huge in the early/mid 80s), for example, is currently taking one past album at a time and reissuing in vinyl as a set with plentiful unreleased material and plush packaging as part of the deal. How does £40 for a Dirk Wears White Sox package sound to you (£60 if signed)? [update, 2016: limited stock/offer, here's the main store link]
This is primarily an audience, UGC activity but as with lyric videos artists themselves, as one means of seeming to put themselves on a level with their fans (uses and gratifications), have engaged in this.
Below: James Hetfield (Lars?) unboxes a deluxe re-release - useful on multiple levels:
IN THIS POST: Guides and how-to's for using Wix to build your own band website, incorporating multiple top-linked pages and deep social media integration, plus e-commerce for merchandise and music sales (even if not ultimately connected to a card/payment account), search engine hits (SEO) and more specific techniques through YouTube guides.
To view a range of student websites following the music promo package brief, see this post.
First up, perhaps uniquely, an advert...
WHY WIX?
You may not have heard of Wix before now (I hadn't until it was recently recommended to me), but it is a high profile, internationally popular website build option (they claim its used in 180 countries), reflected in the range of languages how-to YouTube videos come in. It fares well when compared to rivals. It operates a freemiummodel - you can access most things for free, but can pay for more options.
Wix manages to make intricate, fully-featured website design easy and intuitive - and there are plentiful online guides...
WordPress is the dominant player in the online website-builder market (DreamWeaver remains the dominant software option), but Wix boasts a vastly superior ease-of-use; there is a much steeper learning curve with WordPress. Other rivals such as Weebly are not only more limited but also charge for options bundled for free with Wix. According to this site, Wix is the third most-used online website builder.
Wix is largely controlled via drag and drop, with the ability to go into menus to edit site layouts - you should find it a highly user-friendly website builder... [You can read more basics at the Wix Wiki]
Wix.com's 90-second intro to working with Wix
If you do go on to look to monetise any of your work, a former student (Amber) who got a job handling e-commerce operations for a an online retailer on the back of her Media work, not least the blog, tells me they found the e-commerce provision in Wix quite problematic, and had to get onto the helpline frequently. How typical or not that is I have no idea!
BEFORE YOU GET TO WIX...
Read the guide on the steps involved in researching and planning your website.
YOUTUBE GUIDES
When I approach new software or ICT tools, YouTube is generally my first port of call. In time I will seek to create one or more vodcasts myself. You can use Wix's Help function and general online search for alternatives to video; eg this is Wix's step through guide to creating your own landing page (and the Wix site has a search box of course).
IN THIS POST:A breakdown of how to research websites, what to look for, and an example of an overall 16-step process, plus a list of some features to consider. A more recent (2019) very short theme list here. Info on websites I've analysed here (though check tag for updates)
Like every Media production, before you get to the editing stage you have considerable background work to undertake; I'll break this down into pre-production, production and post-production phases. There is considerable scope to delegate primary responsibility within a group for website work.
PRE-PRODUCTION SUMMARY:
A faux-personal mode of address; using existing media content to enrich your own site; social media deeply integrated: just 3 ideas you could glean from an analysis of Gaga's UK website
RESEARCH CONVENTIONS
You need to research the conventions of a range of mixed, general (not from the same era or genre) official music act websites, compare and summarise your findings with 1 or 2 others in a vodcast, then research the artist chosen for your video: their official website (if there is one), 2+ comparable (genre/era) acts' websites, 1+ fan site, and produce a fresh vodcast outlining any distinctive conventions for the artist/genre/era.
LIST YOUR LIKELY WEBSITE FEATURES Initial lists of main and sub- pages, and content you will need (unique images, video etc); website features (e-commerce, social media integration etc); social media sites to set up and maintain; key aspects of style or design across the entire site.
Show your knowledge of changing industry practice by including a merchandise 'shop'; as well as a main top links list on every page, sub-pages will make your site neater. Think of the mobile browser: the less they have to scroll the better.
Through recently reviewing the Lady Gaga US and UK websites I went through the process of applying to become a Little Monster, allowed to enter the hallowed cyberhall of intelladytual conversation.
It truly is a slightly weird moment in life to get two emails informing me that, after reflection and consideration, I'm in ... I'm a Little Monster.
I've no intention of being snotty or patronising about those who take this all very ... very seriously indeed. Each to their own, and there is a strong emotional attachment between much of Gaga's fanbase - not just to/with the star, but with each other as well, a sub-culture that deserves study just as Hebdige (a pioneer of the notion of sub-cultures as a concept and subject for study) did with punk. Gaga herself expends considerable effort on interacting with and encouraging her Little Monsters ... though I have a wee doubt as whether it was Gaga herself (Herself? I don't know the LM rules!) who wrote and sent this email ...
Thanks though ... and I'll try to be brave!
Below - screenshots and some analysis of this phenomenon...
In my previous post, looking at a UK Indie band's website, I started by listing the many advantages of working with a local, Indie act. The following examples of student coursework websites, all from students at Latymer School in London, eschewed major acts, and their websites have a real wow factor. You can find links for their blogs (with videos and digipaks too) here, though I've also copied these in below.
They all used Wix to create their websites, and I'll blog on this separately.
NB: my thanks to chief examiner Pete Fraser for suggesting these as good student examples - you can find Pete blogging on media matters here, and updating his Twitter account here!
What makes these student websites good examples? Well...
Most important of all, its not immediately obvious that this is student work, and thats the level you should always aim for! If you have me as a teacher you'll find its a point I'll frequently raise!
The website ties together the wider package, in a way that a video/digipak/ad campaign doesn't do quite so naturally.
The shot variety involved is also likely to be greater than through digipak/ad packages, and you can judge for yourself to what extent separate photography has been commissioned rather than simply rely upon (lowered resolution) screenshots from the cinematography.
Gallery:not reliant on screenshots; extra photography employed
The imagery is carefully constructed with mode of address and audience in mind.
Likewise the language used - albeit many Indie acts will use 'strong language' as part of their discourse which these students obviously don't.
The use and intregration of social media is simply superb, making full use of the widgets and apps available to Wix website builders to provide hyperlinked icons, invites to join/follow, and live feeds.
Its not just a case of dropping in hyperlinked icons, look at how deeply the social media are embedded into the fabric of the site, with icons and #hashtags to the fore, and a colour scheme helping denote various social media. You can also see direct links to wider media, such as XFM and NME, reflecting and targeting a primary and wider audience.
IN THIS POST: Analysis of an obscure UK Indie band's website (for comparison with the major acts The Doors and Lady Gaga already blogged on), discussion of how relevant or not band websites are given the role of social media today, and points on why you might want to go for a local/student band rather than international stars... I also reviewed their debut video, making this more of a look at an all-round promo package. The band have tweeted me since I did this post; you can check out Sly Antics' updated website here!
WHY PICK A SMALL-TIME LOCAL (or even student) ACT?
You might be tempted to produce a promo package for a (currently!) small-time, local act rather than for a major existing/heritage artist. The closest I've seen to this thus far has been a group who entered the recording studio with their own metalcore band, Sunburnt in December, to produce the broadcast-quality audio required. Two of the group were Media students. This meant they had their cast sorted and a keen, engaged cast at that! They had to be ... they set up for performance footage in a snow-covered Yorkshire moors setting in what remains one of my favourite students videos (even if there were opportunities to improve it...). This video also came to mind given the main website image Sly Antics use (they also use it for other social media logos)
NB: the video contains FLASHING LIGHTS and scenes of horror
The advantages of local or student bands are evident:
