With album sales nowhere near what they used to be (unless your name is Taylor Swift, who probably doesn’t frequent indie artist advice columns), and streaming not yet a truly viable source of income for musicians, a lot of artists are looking for new ways to distribute their work that will both reach their fans and result in some remuneration.
Three such methods that are gaining in popularity are the new fan-funding site Patreon, the concept of artist-run subscriptions, and going old school with special cassette releases. What all three of these methods of distribution have in common is that they give fans something exclusive, and they create a unique connection between the artist and the fan. Here’s what else you need to know about distro’s newest stars.
Do you use Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or PledgeMusic but hate having to constantly launch new campaigns, and re-ask all your fans for support? Patreon has found a way to streamline the process.
Patreon was created by Jack Conte, who is one half of the musical duo Pomplamoose, when he noticed his YouTube views weren’t doing as much for his bottom line as he’d hoped. Rather than a one-time campaign, Patreon is a platform where fans contribute a set amount per project. For example, a fan can decide to pledge $1 per song for an artist, and that artist will get $1 every time he or she creates a song.
According to Patreon’s Head of Marketing and Special Projects, Erica Costello, this cuts out quite a few, oftentimes unnecessary, people. “Literal middlemen have come between artists and their supporters for way too long,” she explains. “Artists and supporters belong together!”
A few big names have been using Patreon, including the queen of crowdfunding Amanda Palmer and Ryan Leslie. That said, Costello notes artists of that notoriety aren’t necessarily who Patreon is focused on. “We’re super stoked to host Amanda Palmer and Ryan [Leslie],” she says, “but we take pride in serving the creative middle class. Patreon is the primary source of income for so many singer-songwriters who were struggling to pay rent and eat food, even though millions of people watched and loved their creations on ad-based platforms like YouTube.”
Patreon, at its essence, is a modern day, more advanced version of a fan club. Pentatonix, the a cappella supergroup known for their tight relationship with their fans, uses the service, and according to the group’s Scott Hoying, “A fan club is a perfect title for it. There’s more of a sense of a community, though, because it’s all digital.”
Ari Herstand, who’s a musician but uses Patreon to support his music business blog, adds, “Fans crave a closer engagement and exclusive content from their favorite artists.” He notes Patreon “gives fans a [nearly] direct line to support their favorite independent artists more than just paying for a download, which has turned into a cold, detached, digital transaction, quite different from the feeling fans would get visiting a record store and buying their favorite artist’s record.”
With constant access to your fans’ bank accounts, however, how does an artist make sure that their relationship with their fans stays a happy one? According to Hoying, “Putting out good content and staying interactive with the patrons will keep all parties happy.” Herstand seconds this, saying, “If the artist continues to show their fans that they actually care about them, and continues to be authentic and honest, the fans will stay loyal.”
2. Artist-run subscriptions
Magazines have been published for hundreds of years, and for hundreds of years people have subscribed to the magazines which featured topics in which they were interested. Some indie musicians are looking to use that ideology as a way to sell their music.
Coole High, a hip-hop and smooth jazz artist, remembers first hearing about the artist subscription concept in 2009, when he met Tim Sweeney, who ran a music strategy conference in LA. “He had this brilliant idea of independent artists having their own subscription models to sell their music, merch, etc.” The comparison made at the time was Netflix versus Blockbuster.
In 2009, however, the tech wasn’t quite there yet to make it happen. Now it is, which is why Coole High recently launched a way for fans to subscribe to his work for $20 a year. That subscription includes his extensive back catalog, any new releases that come out in the next year, discounts on tickets and merch, and subscription exclusives in the form of videos and concert streams.
Dance pop artist HoneyChrome has also launched a subscription format, noting “it’s like the fan pays the artist to be an artist, not pay the record label to manufacture one release.”
They key to making this form of distribution work, according to Coole High, is in the connection an artist has with his or her fans. “It’s really about creating a new and more intimate but effective way to connect with the people who really appreciate what you do, who you are, and what you’re about.” He adds, “A lot of my fans can’t make it from France to see me do a gig in NYC, so now with the subscription they’d have access to live streaming of select concerts or performances from virtually any location I can access WiFi.”
Both Coole High and HoneyChrome also love the fact that this form of distribution discards the traditional way of how artists release albums. With a subscription format, much like how Beyonce and Drake have dropped albums out of the blue, artists can release music whenever they want to. “Typical album/EP/single release schedules are fading,” HoneyChrome explains. “Artists like myself are creating more and more music faster than ever, and we want it to be heard. This answers our call.”
3. Cassette tapes
Yes, you read that right. There are artists and labels going back in time and releasing albums via cassette tape. Some artists are doing cassette-only exclusives, while indie labels like Burger Records boast a giant catalog of cassette releases. (And when we say “giant,” we mean it. Their site features over 200 albums available on cassette.)
Most music fans aren’t about to add a tape deck to their lives, but many still have them in their cars and others have older boomboxes that have the ability to play tapes. You’re definitely targeting a very specific audience with a release on cassette, but when done correctly, it can reap some pretty impressive rewards.
For his most recent tour, Stones Throw Records artist Homeboy Sandman had a tour-exclusive cassette release, meaning the only way to get it was to buy it at one of his tour dates. “Everybody’s hyped over it,” he says of the cassette release, which he credits Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf for coming up with. “I sell it more than any other piece of merch. More than vinyl, hats, or CDs.”
Homeboy Sandman feels that the exclusive nature of the release, which makes the album a collectible, is partly what inspires so many people to purchase it. “Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll just get it online, so I don’t have to carry it home.’”
From an artist’s standpoint, he notes that the cassette tape is a format that is more challenging to rip and put online, so a cassette release will likely have to be bought if someone wants to hear it.
The positive reaction he’s received from his first cassette release has Homeboy Sandman thinking of future uses for the format. As he says, “If I had some of my actual albums available on cassette, it seems like they would sell, too.”
Which one of these burgeoning forms of distribution is right for you? We don’t know, but we can give you three words of advice regarding this: know your audience. If you have an older crowd that grew up in the ’80s and ’90s and is prone to long car trips, a cassette release may be right up their alley. If your fans have fervently supported every one of your releases, perhaps you may want to try one of the subscription ideas.
There are a lot of ways to get your music out there, and as HoneyChrome notes, they all have the same ultimate goal. “I think we are just trying to get back to making everyone happy, fans and artists.”
Adam Bernard is a music industry veteran who has been working in media since 2000. If you live in the NYC area, you’ve probably seen him at a show. He prefers his venues intimate, his whiskey on the rocks, and his baseball played without the DH. Follow him at @adamsworldblog.
The guitar pick might seem like the lowliest piece of gear in a six-stringer’s ensemble, but the truth is it’s a mighty device that needs to be reckoned with. Any player who’s never explored the sizes, materials, sound-producing qualities and other subtleties of the plectrum should consider becoming pickier about picks.
The history of the pick dates back at least to the Egyptian empire. Drawings of instruments being played with quills and other early picks appear on walls of the pyramids. Turtle shell, bone, ivory and stone were all used for pick construction early in the plectrum’s development.
Today the materials employed for pick making are much more varied – and far less dangerous for reptiles, elephants and whales. And they all have an impact on sound and playability.
Here are 10 tips to keep in mind when picking the right pick.
1. Size Matters
The typical guitar pick is slightly more than an inch-and-a-quarter long and an inch-and-a-quarter wide, but they run as small as the size of a fingertip and as large as more than two inches across. Les Paul used the latter, in a triangle shape, for the last decades of his career. The big picks were easier for his arthritic fingers to grasp. Jazz players often prefer smaller picks, which promote string contact with the fingers. That creates a warmer more muted tone. Most rock, country and blues players go for the standard-sized pick, which is large enough to grip solidly and avoid accidental finger contact with the strings, and can be turned or palmed easily to grind the strings or to allow a quick switch to finger-picking.
2. Material Issues
Today, picks are typically made of plastic: nylon, polyethylene, celluloid and other varieties. Derek Bailey, the late great British improviser, made his own picks out of dental material used for making crowns and caps. Picks are also made in bronze and steel. In general, the harder the pick material, the brighter and more biting the tone produced. A problem with metal picks, with the exception of fingerpicks, is that they tend to chew up the surface of pick guards, guitar tops and fretboards.
3. Skinny or Wide
Generally speaking, thin picks are great for strumming acoustic guitars while thicker picks, usually identified as medium gauge and heavy or extra heavy, are appropriate for electric instruments. Using a thin pick to play with a super distorted sound can turn tone to mud, but thin picks can accent the ringing individual notes of chords on acoustic guitars.
4. Durability
Thinner picks tend to rip and tear more often, and wear out faster. A bout of power strumming can wear the tip off a thin pick mid-song, which subsequently interferes with picking accuracy, tone and attack. So be sure to get a gauge that’s going to be right for your playing style.
5. Stylin’
The kind of music you play is also a factor. Heavy sound? Heavy pick. Black-metal guitarists are more likely to have super thick picks of 1.5 millimeters or greater between their thumbs and forefingers. Those are perfect, also, for digging into the kind of heavy-gauge strings that respond best to low tuning. Jazz players who play flatwound strings often prefer heavy picks, too.
6. Numerology
Often, music stores have a display that offers picks according to size. Here’s a list of standard measurements for different gauges: thin picks typically are .44 millimeters or thinner; mediums range from .45 to .69 millimeters; heavy picks go from .85 to 1.20 or bigger; and extra heavies tag in at 1.5 millimeters or greater.
7. Branding
Here’s something most working players don’t consider when selecting picks – they offer a cheap way of self-promotion. Plenty of pick makers will put your own or your band’s logo, name, contact info, website, etc. on their products and most often for less than you’d pay for picks at the local guitar shop. Fans seek them as collectibles and they’re a cool visual calling card.
8. Oddball Shapes
Manufacturers have tried all kinds of frills in pick design, from shark-tooth-like cutaways to tips of different materials to holes for supposedly easier grip. Don’t be distracted by these oddballs. Ultimately, they offer no advantage over the conventional V-shape.
9. Grip
It may seem obvious, but harder, less flexible picks are typically difficult to grasp and keep in place. Hard nylon has a tendency to slip more often than softer plastics, and thicker picks are more difficult to control than medium models. The trade-off is finding the pick that stays between your fingers best and gets to the core of the tone you’re looking to crank out of your amp. Some picks have a special high-friction coating to aid grip. Others offer a flexible middle that allows improved grip plus a means to vary attack by applying different degrees of finger pressure.
10. Technique
How you use a pick also affects your choice of plectrum. Downstrokes employed by the likes of Metallica are best done with thick picks. Circular picking requires a more flexible pick. Ditto with alternate picking and sweep arpeggios.
A new style of DJ performances are sweeping the Okanagan.
Soon you will see special nights devoted to playing Vinyl Records, just like the old days, popping up at a pub or venue near you. Larger Than Life Entertainment has just such a night available combined with Music Trivia !!
Great Music Old or New can be heard on the warm sound of Vinyl again !! Digital music is a wonderful way to share and store music but there’s no escaping the full, rich sound of Vinyl records. Our DJ’s are specially trained to be the best at delivering your music, just the way you like it !!
Event goers can bring their favorite vinyl to the show, or contact us in advance with their selections. We will build a Trivia show specially for the night based on the music requested. Of course we may not be able to play all the requests but those who do bring music that is unique, uplifting and has some great trivia moments involved in the music, will be pleasantly surprised !!
We can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet, but stay posted by leaving us a reply of comment to this post. We will inform all subscribers of the upcoming shows !!
2015 will be a great year for Music, Entertainment & Fun !
David Gilmour 2015 Tour and Album Officially Announced
It is with great pleasure we announce that David Gilmour’s 2015 European tour dates have been officially announced!
The new David Gilmour solo album 2015 will also be released in September, so plenty to look forward to. It is yet untitled.
Although we have to wait all the way until September 2015, he will be performing at 6 venues across Croatia, Italy, France, Germany and the UK.
It is not known at this stage whether or not there will be any further dates announced – it says on David Gilmour’s blog that there are no other planned concerts, the site is currently down though.
Tickets go on sale at 10am on 6th March 2015 – David Gilmour’s birthday of course! See more about ordering tickets below and look at UK tickets here.
David Gilmour Album 2015!
David Gilmour’s yet untitled 2015 album will be released in September 2015 to coincide with his tour which will be much to the pleasure of fans the world over. Don’t miss out on news regarding David Gilmour’s new album 2015 and tour in 2015. Make sure you get our free email newsletter, or follow us on Social Media via Facebook or Twitter.
David Gilmour has said in interviews that he does not want the inconvenience of a massive stadium tour and the thought of anything on the scale of the old Pink Floyd sends him in to a cold shiver. It sure must be stressful putting on such huge concerts and could potentially take some of the enjoyment away – tell that to Roger Waters though with his massive Wall tour!
David will be playing at 6 separate venues across Europe – for the dates announced so far on the European Leg – and are all smaller intimate venues compared to some of the massive places out there. The venues for the David Gilmour 2015 tour are absolutely beautiful except for two! This makes for a much more intimate concert and can greatly increase the pleasure of the audience because you are not sat half a mile away up in the top of the stands! Saying that, there will be a lot of demand for tickets so get in there quick on March 6th which is, of course, David Gilmour’s birthday!
Concert Database Exploration…
Here are the links to the concerts, click on them to explore where else he has played in those cities/countries and whether he has played that venue before. For example, David Gilmour has only ever played concert dates at the Royal Albert Hall (three times in May 2006 on his On An Island Tour) and has never played at any of the other venues announced so far!
The Okanagan hosts some of the best Weddings in the Country !
With dozens of wineries ready willing and able to host your special wedding, the choices are vast, and sometimes becomes a daunting task just to choose the locations. With a setting as beautiful as a winery you can have the ceremony and the reception in the same place. Less travelling, more locations on site for photographs and guest activities. Wineries usually boast a top notch catering facility as well, and the larger more popular venues can easily accommodate hundreds of guests.
Your DJ is most important at this type of event. Having all your music queued a ready to spin at the call of the Bride (or Wedding Party), playing just the right styles of music during dinner, and lighting up the floor with happy dancers, partiers and well wishers ! Choose your music company wisely as future memories will depend on it.
Let’s all get ready for the season ….. Here it Comes !
Are you ready for your special event ? The music is undoubtedly the most important part of the evening. It’s what drives you and your guests to get up off the chair and onto the dance floor !!
You have arrived at the web location for Larger Than Life Entertainment. We are dedicated to getting you the best entertainment for your event. Contact us for a quote and booking availability for 2025 and 2026. We specialize in all types of Entertainment, Live, DJ, Special Events such as Trivia Nights, Vinyl DJ Shows, Bands, Duo’s, Comedy Nights, and many other entertainment events. We also post and recommend information directed towards the performers and crew, and interested viewers of the Music and Film Industry. Check back often as we post and update on a regular basis with helpful, useful information that will definitely keep you up to date in the entertainment field. Thanking you in advance for your viewership and please post or reply to an article if you would like more information or you have something to say to us or our readers.
