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Social Media Releases for the music industry

Greg — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:03:05 +0000

I was reading a blog post about the Social Media Release Template, version 1.5 on PR-Squared, and it made me think about these emails I keep receiving from bands, record labels and booking agencies. It’s really annoying to get hundreds of emails each day, saying “Hey! We are some random band, you should check out our Myspace page, book us and buy our cd”. I would be happy to listen to your songs and have a look at your pictures and live videos, but I don’t have the time to go to 5 different websites to do it.

What I think bands (and record labels / booking agencies) should do is easy: send a quick press release by email, and provide a link to a social media release (SMR), or, in other words, a page aggregating the various items you want to share (music, pictures, videos, blog posts, tour dates, etc.). To know what you should include in that page, ask yourself what people want to know about your band:

People want to listen to the band
The first thing you want to do when a band contacts you, is to listen to the songs to know who you’re dealing with. So, include a Myspace player and the embed code so people can listen to the songs, and share it with their friends or contacts.
People need background, booking and contact information
A quick biography and discography are mandatory, and you should also add any relevant information about your record label, booking agency and past tours / shows. Provide clear contact information; who is taking care of booking your shows, who is in charge of management or distribution, etc. The contact information should include your blog, Twitter, Facebook pages and groups, Youtube channel, Flickr, etc.
People want to see some action!
Listening to the songs is great, but live performance is also important. Don’t forget to share pictures and videos (you could do this by using a Youtube channel or a Flickr pool).
People want to see the band playing live
Now that we know how your band sounds like, we would like to see you playing live! So, try to include a listing of the upcoming shows and tours. This list should also include links providing more information about the shows, the venues, or how and where to buy tickets.
People like to have recent news and updates about the band
If you have a (myspace) blog, a tumblr page or a Twitter account, show their feeds on the social media release page! People love to read more about bands, especially when they’re on tour or in the studio recording their upcoming album.

So, that is basically what I would put in a social media release for a band (but it could easily be used by record labels and booking agencies to promote new releases, upcoming tours and booking offers). Some last quick thoughts:

Don’t forget to include logos from the band, the record label, the booking agency, sponsorships and any other (relevant) endorsement .
If you have great reviews or interviews, share them in the SMR and / or highlight the best quotes.
List some relevant selling points.
Provide quick links to your online presence: Myspace, Facebook (pages and groups), Last.fm, Flickr, Youtube, Twitter, etc.
Make the whole thing easy to share and embed. Use ShareThis, RSS feeds and widgets.

Feel free to comment if you have any idea or suggestion, I’d be happy to update this post with your thoughts!

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Are iPhone apps better than flash ecards!?

Greg — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:24:59 +0000

Well, my answer is yes. But don’t worry, music ecards will survive because iPhone applications remain a niche (iPhone users) communication tool. I think bands and labels should still use both iPhone apps and flash ecards (combined with a proper Myspace page, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc.). Mobile Roadie is a good example of what a band can do with such iPhone apps: share songs, pictures or videos, allow fans to leave comments, publish tour dates, etc.

As I said earlier, these applications won’t replace flash ecards, but they bring a whole new set of features that will seriously compete with the simple “preview trailer-tiny animation-mp3 player” kind of ecards. I think the major change is that these apps are mobile and help the fans to interact with the band. Old ecards were, most of the time, nothing more than an flash animation or a video and a player or, in some cases, a mini-site with news and tour dates. The iPhone applications we are talking about have a stunning number of new features: streaming music (with links to buy the tracks on iTunes), pictures galleries, Youtube videos, lyrics sharing, tour dates (with links to services and sites where fans can buy the tickets), blog or Twitter feeds import, fan wall (fans can leave comments or interact with the band), news, bio and discography pages, Facebook or Myspace profile import, etc. And last but no least: a full CMS and statistics system.

Of course, you can find these kind of features in flash ecards, but it’s unusual to have them all combined. Moreover, these flash ecards can’t be viewed on the iPhone (and most of the mobile phones). And that’s the interesting part about these applications: they have all these features and they’re mobile. I think this is a real shift in the way bands (and record labels) can promote their music, and I’m curious to see how the music industry is going to use that kind of tools and services in the future.

(Spotted on Springwise)

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How would I use Twitter if I had an indie band?

Greg — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:18:03 +0000

I see more and more bands (indie or not) appearing on Twitter, and that made me think about how I would use it if I had a band myself. As usual, I’ll share my insights from the indie/Do-It-Yourself music industry point of view, but it could probably apply to mainstream bands too.

So, if I had a band, what would I use Twitter for?

To give random news and updates about the band and his members.
To send updates when the band is on tour. Many bands open a blog just for their tours ,but they stop updating after a few days on the road. Twitter is probably the easiest way to give quick and short updates (or share pictures, using Twitpic for instance).
To promote your online presence: Myspace page, Facebook group or page, Youtube channel, Flickr account, etc.
To interact with fans! Twitter is a great tool to engage with people. You could use it to know if people like your records or if they enjoyed your last show in their town. You could also ask them what they think of the lyrics you just wrote for a new song. Or you could answer their questions, it would feel more intimate than a regular interview.
To organize or promote contests.
To ask for help. There is something everybody who works in a Do-It-Yourself way is familiar with: asking for help! You need a place to sleep after a show when you are on tour? You still need to find promoters to book two last shows to complete your tour schedule? There is an online contest to get your band to play as a support act on a big stage ,and you want people to vote for you? Well Twitter might help you find assistance!

Good, now you know why you need Twitter. Second thing to do: find followers and people to follow. A good start would be using the search features from Twitter, I think it’s a very effective way to start. A good example of this is how I got followed by Peta2 and many other animal rights organisations on Twitter. They monitor animal rights related words (vegan(ism), vegetarian, ALF, animal rights, animal liberation, etc.) to find people who are concerned (the reason why they found me is that I have the word vegetarian in my bio and have many tweets about vegan food).

So, try to search “punk” or “rock” (or any word related to your band or music style) on Find People or Twitter Search and add (and why not follow) the people whose bio seem to match with your band and music. Another great idea is to follow record labels and other bands (looking at their followers list might also help you find new fans). Once you start getting people to follow your band, the list will grow naturally.

I had a Twitter account for my band, the last thing I would do is: engage with the fans and get them involved, they need to feel that you care about them. If you don’t do so, you’ll end up tweeting only about your band and your pointless self-promotion. So, @reply to people, direct-message them and retweet when you think it could interest your followers. It’d also be nice to mention who’s tweeting or who’s in charge of the account; people love to know who they’re talking to.

Does your band have a Twitter account? How do you use it? Feel free to share your insights and tips!

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Underground record labels and Twitter

Greg — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:34:57 +0000

These last weeks, I keep receiving “follow notifications” from underground record labels on Twitter. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how they use this tool. So I choose to observe nine “major” underground compagnies that have a Twitter page: Deathwish Inc., Earache, Epitaph, Facedown, Reflections, Relapse, Think Fast!, Trustkill and Victory Records.Let’s start with some statistics:

As these figures show, the Twitter phenomenon is something new in the underground music “industry”. Facedown Records was the first to join the movement in July 2007, but didn’t really understand how it works, posting only 42 tweets in almost two years. Victory Records was the last to join but seems to be better at tweeting, with already 80 tweets in less than three months and more than 2 400 followers!

Most of these record labels use Twitter for the same purposes: promoting new records or events, sharing videoclips and sounds, and sending updates about the label or the bands. But some of them came with better ideas. Deathwish Inc. launched a twitter account that broadcasts updates exclusively about their Sound and Fury festival, they also post random news and pictures (using Twitpic and cellphones) from their bands and staff. Epitaph Records came up with another great idea: Twitter contests.

Respond to this tweet with your fav Epitaph band to enter to win a prize! Just tweet @EpitaphRecs (band name here)! epitaph.com/artists

Facedown Records seems to use Twitter as a channel to broadcast updates on mobiles phones, but doesn’t tweet regularly. The most “mainstream” label from the list, Trustkill Records, found another original use of Twitter: tweeting the “Song of the day” everyday. This tweet comes with links allowing the followers to download (and buy) the songs from Itunes or Amazon MP3.

One thing is sure: most of these records labels still need to engage and start conversation with their followers. Deathwish Inc. and Relapse Records are really interacting with people (using @replies and sometimes even retweeting). but the others labels don’t. Another thing that really struck me is the fact that all these labels are tweeting without naming the person who is actually posting the updates. Victory Records is the only one who is clear about the person who’s in charge:

Mike at Victory Records tweets for the #1 Independent Rock Record Label. We run the streets.

Underground record labels still need to find their way in the Twittosphere. I think they’re still experimenting and trying to understand how to use this new communication channel. It would be interesting to compare this with how mainstream record labels work with Twitter and engage with their audience.

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Belgian Usability Day 2008: program

Greg — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:11:15 +0000

The program for the Belgian Usability Day 2008 is finally announced:

Taking social networks global: design patterns & tips (Peter Van Dijck)

Social networks are growing all over the world, but how are the IA’s of these networks managing this? What patterns and strategies do they use? What are the challenges? What works and doesn’t? (…)
Digital identity and self-representation in social networks (Amandine Feix-Villain, Groupe Reflect)

When one speaks of social networks, we necessarily think about people who interact and try to find a meaning for themselves and the community in which they evolve and structure their digital identity. Having a digital identity means that you deliberately manage several facets that corresponds to specific objectives, needs and self-valorisation (…)
Travel Experience: Brussels Airlines case study (Audrey benoit, Brussels Airlines & Raphaël de Robiano, Emakina)

This is the story of a total user experience mission for Brussels Airlines. The mission consisted to live the experience users make with the product of our client (…)
Traffic congestion. What can the designer do but despair? (Joannes Vandermeulen, Namahn)

(…) A lot of congestion is wholly unnecessary and avoidable, if only the design of the interface was right. Aren’t traffic signs the user interface between the driver and the road infrastructure?

More information can be found at http://usabilityday.be.

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Dissertation about electronic rumors: I need your help!

Greg — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:21:22 +0000

This is the translation of yesterday’s post about my dissertation. So, my research is focused on the transmission of electronic rumors and how it evolved from the web “first generation” to the so-called “web2.0”. What I call an “electronic rumor” is any unverified information spreading on the Internet (emails, forums, blogs, microblogging platforms, social networks, social bookmarking sites, video sharing services, mobile web, etc.).

So, It’d like to compare the transmission model from the web1 (mainly through email and BBS/messageboards) with the new model I’ve developed for the web2.0. Afterwards I’ll have to evaluate and test this model on several case studies, and that’s why I need you!

It would help me a lot if you could suggest me some rumors, and tell me why you find them interesting (length, multiple channel used, different versions of the same rumor, use of new channels such at mobile web or microblogging tools, etc.). The theme or topic isn’t relevant for my research, so it can be anything except marketing related rumors (no viral or buzz campaigns).

Those rumors don’t have to be specific to the Internet but MUST be spread and transmitted on the web. You can think of some examples such as the strange things you can find about Barack Obama’s religion, the rumors around the Iphone 3G before it was launched, etc.

Thanks in advance for helping, I really appreciate it! You can leave your rumors in the comments at the bottom of this post, or send them by email at . It would be nice if you could spread the word about this research to your bloggers or microbloggers friends, or any person using social media on a regular basis.

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Why we use Facebook to promote our concerts

Greg — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:30:53 +0000

This article could apply to all kinds of events, but I’ll focus on concerts because that’s the field that I know the best. We’ve booked a lot of DIY (Do It Yourself) concerts in the last five years, and we did use every possible way to promote it. From oldschool flyers/stickers/posters to social media, we tried everything we could. MySpace was our first step into social networking sites, until we tried Facebook.

So, this post is about Facebook and why I think it’s good for events promotion.

Before the concert

When you create an event, you can add the precise location or address and Facebook will generate automatically the link to Google Map, MapQuest, Microsoft and Yahoo maps. From there, your guests can print the map and easily get the directions to the venue.
All the information added to the event will be embedded to an iCalendar file that your guests can download (and import to their calendar software). I discovered that function some weeks ago and I think it’s really useful! I downloaded the iCalendar files for every show I’m attending, and they got automatically included into my iCal.
The Wall can be used to answer questions from your guests. They can also use it to arrange meetings, ask for a ride or a place to crash after the concert.
With the RSVP (literally “reply, if it pleases you”), you’re able to know how many people plan to come to your concert. Our experience has shown that many people are marking themselves as “Attending” and don’t come to the event. So, don’t trust this too much.
If your event is set as “Open”, your guests will be allowed to invite friends (on Facebook) to the concert. This option is very useful because your guests can invite people you don’t know, and spread the information about your show to their network. This viral diffusion can help you to reach a lot of new people real fast.
When we create an event on Facebook, it’s hosted by our group (the Disobedience Collective). This is useful because we have a fanbase, a niche where we can start our promotion. The rest is just word of mouth and In Real Life interaction.
Don’t forget to add pictures, videos and links to the bands that are playing. Useful things to provide to you guests could be: links to Myspace/Purevolume/Last.fm pages, links to the bands websites, pictures and videos from lives performances, links to website where they can order tickets, etc.

After the concert

Guests can submit their feedback (suggestions, remarks of just kind thoughts about the concert) on the wall and you can interact with them.
Guests can browse the guestlist to find people they met at the concert.
Guest (or you) can upload pictures (and tag people in it) and videos from the concert. They can also share links to their Flickr or Picasa accounts.

But don’t forget

Use oldschool offline promotion: word of mouth, posters, flyers, stickers, advertising in zines, getting your concert in the events calendar in nightlife publications, etc.
Use online promotion: post the flyer on message boards and webzines, use your status-message and screenname on MSN and instant messaging services, send the flyer by email to all of your friends (and friends of friends) and ask them to forward it, spread the word about your show on Twitter and Myspace, etc.

These are only a couple of ideas, feel free to share yours!

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Design Help via Twitter

Greg — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:42:18 +0000

I said, months ago, that I should start blogging in English (even if my English skills are very limited), and I think today is the day! I’ve just spotted a new use of Twitter and I want to share it with you.

We’ve seen a lot of new applications, mashups and companies working with Twitter lately, but the Go Media team comes with a fresh use of the n°1 microblogging service: they now offer design help via Twitter.

Have you ever found yourself stuck on a design project with nobody to ask for help? You Google for tutorials and pour over support forums for the answer but nothing seems to solve your specific problem? This is common with freelance designers who work alone. They don’t have the luxury of working next to other designers who just might know a quicker way to achieve the same effect. So Go Media is going to try to help as best we can, using Twitter!

Working with Twitter will give users a more customized service and something more personal than common tutorials. The other great thing is that, no only Go Media can answer your question, but the other followers too. It creates an interaction between the designers and builds a network of users helping each other. Their twitter account already got 297 followers in a couple of hours, and it’s still growing.

I’ll keep an eye on this project because I think it’s a really great idea. If you want to know more about how it works, just take a look at the project page.

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