It’s safe to play the middle, but power comes out of the ends of the battery. 

I use this analogy when I am talking about what to create or how to say it. 

Some creators have an inclination to attempt to appeal to the widest possible audience by splitting the middle.  In my experience, the middle is never as large or as powerful as either end. 

If you are building an audience, consider appealing to the ends.  Power comes out of the ends of the battery, not the middle.

Another great example of engaging, viral promotion... The things you can do (as a marketer) that people talk about...

Click to read more ...

From Keith Andrew's excellent post on Music Think Tank. 

"As much as technology develops and changes the world in which we live, and in many ways changes how we think, feel and interact, there are some things at the core of the human soul or psyche that will never change. And it is those deep immutable elements that will always be reached -and resonate- through art. They will resonate something of a higher truth, hope, and existence. There is something in us that always longs for and reaches for something greater than ourselves and it is art that resonates and stimulates that ‘something’."

The music industry should be excited about Apple’s rumored tablet product called Cocktail. If executed well, this is the type of digital product that could bring significant profitability back to the music industry. Here are a few initial thoughts on this rumored product / format:

Click to read more ...

In his recent blog post, Eric Beall (Berklee Music) quotes Jason Flom (Lava Records) as follows:

“Where have all the musical geniuses gone? Why has this generation not produced even one musical genius on the level of Dylan or Sly Stone, or John Lennon, or Prince?”

Within his post, Beall offers a sensible answer to Flom’s question. However, I want to try out an alternative explanation. Here it is:

The ‘geniuses’ still exist, but ‘genius’ can no longer be manufactured.

Read the entire post on Music Think Tank... 

From Eric Beall's Music Publishing and Songwriting blog.

"You can not build an independent business on music, performances or artist identities that are passive– to which audiences have no great emotional reaction, either positive or negative. There are thousands of bands that play 200 anonymous dates a year, and have for twenty years. And every night, the audience applauds politely, and immediately forgets about them. The only way the indie model works is when the music and imaging are so dynamic, or at least so perfectly in tune with a very particular audience (”jam bands” being a good example), that they inspire a passionate response. If you’re playing 200 dates a year, but your myspace site has 200 friends and you’re selling 1000 records, you’re not reactive."

From Justin Boland's Audible Hype blog. Interview with Protoman - here's the quote:

"What I’m saying is, reflect your music. That’s what you’re known for. Always keep on your mask. You’re a superhero. Clark Kent was a pussy."

Artist statistics, analytics and dashboards are popping up everywhere.

• ReverbNation
• SoundCloud
• TuneCore
• SonicBids
• ArtistData
• EchoNest
• Trendrr
• MySpace (read the latest blurb on HypeBot)
• Band Metrics
• Last.fm
• RockDex
• The Orchard
• BigChampagne
• Next Big Sound
• MusicMetric
• Etc.

Over eighteen months ago I wrote a post about how the music industry is going to become a data-driven business (compared to the auto recycling industry - I have cleaned up this post considerably).

When competitors work to provide the best tools and information to artists...artists win.

Over the next 2 to 3 years, we should see a rush to consolidate data, tools, services and access to consumers under larger entities that compete to attract the best/most artists.