Ok, so as a follow up to my “Top Ten Worst band names Ever!” post, here is my top 10 tips to a good band name. I figured it was only fair since there might be a few of you second guessing calling yourselves “I went To The Store To Buy A Grape For Lunch”. Please notice that I am calling these tips and not rules. Why? Because rules are made to be broken. Tips are something to consider. So sure there will be exceptions. I know there are great bands that defy these tips. That is why they are just tips. Not rules. For the most part however, they hold true and should be strongly considered.
1. Keep it short.
Although a one word band name will most likely end up with you in court with ten million other unimaginative losers who thought of the same band name, you don’t want anything too long. Two words is a little more safe, but three words is the limit! Anymore than three words and your band name is very likely a inside joke that will get old very fast and most won’t even get. This will cause most people to just dismiss your band before they even hear the first note. You say the band isn’t serious anyways? Most of the greatest bands around were started off as just something to pass the time. So make sure the band name isn’t something you will think of as a curse when things shockingly get serious.
2. Can You Chant It?
Try chanting the name Slayer. Pretty easy eh? Now try chanting any of the bands from my worst band names list. Sucks, don’t it? Even if you are playing to 100 friends at the local tavern, you will want a name that will remain fun to chant for years to come.
3. Is it taken already?
Check every source you can. Check Amazon to make sure there isn’t a cd from a band with that name. Then check Wikipedia. Then check MySpace music section. If you are a Metal band check Metal-Archives. They have a database of Metal bands that is so big it is ridiculous. Check Cd Baby too. Then check to see if you can get the dot com domain. If you can’t get the dot com website don’t bother. Once you check all of those, grab those spaces as soon as you can before someone else does!
4. What Does It Say About The Band?
I hate to reference Slayer so often, but what does that name say about the band? They are going to slay! You know right off the bat they they are not some wimpy acoustic folk band. There was a local band around the Seattle area in the 90’s called Forced Entry. What does that say about the band? What does Trans-Siberian Orchestra say about that band? With that you know it is going to be some epic music with some really well thought out arrangements. You know that there is going to be some really great orchestral instrumentation. Pick a name that sends the right message for the band.
5. Make sure it doesn’t sound like that other band
So if you have a band name that confuses people into thinking you are another band, you will get some pretty ticked off people showing up at your concerts. Imagine if a band was called something like “Epic Nirvana”? Or how about “Anthrax Exodus”? That last name might be good for a Thrash Metal tribute band, but otherwise it would suck the taint of a dead pigeon (if a pigeon has a taint)!
6. Don’t use any brand names
It might be funny to name yourselves “Microsoft Blue Screen” for awhile, but the joke will get old when the lawyers come knocking at your door.
7. Enough with the name dropping!
I have seen a trend where bands will use a famous actress or actor in their band name. Stop it! It makes it hard for your fans and friends to find you on the internet because all they will find is that actress. It also might land you in court. Plus, joke names get old really quick.
8. No swear words
Notice how many of these rules could be reduced down to a rule of “No joke names”? They get old real quick and create more problems than they are worth. You will have a hard time putting up flyers, coming up in search engines, getting on even the local band radio shows, or even sometimes getting shows.
9. Think about search engines
In this day and age you need to think about search engines. Do you have at least one word that will help your band own that “phrase” in search? I have to say that I thought the band name Arkaea was stupid at first. Then I started putting it into search engines to research for an interview with the band. They always came up first because it isn’t a real word. They made the word up so they wouldn’t have to compete with anyone in any way. Smart guys I have to say.
10. Can fans spell it?
Yes, I know I just gave the band Arkaea points for coming up with a name that gets great Google juice, but I have to look up Fear Factory every time to remember how to spell the damn thing! Your band won’t have that reference, so make sure people can spell it!
Now I know that if you try to think of a band name that fits all these tips you will drive yourself crazy. That’s ok. A little insanity has done Ozzy well, right? Seriously, if you have the imagination to write great songs this should not be a problem. I remember a few years ago people started complaining that all the good website domain names were taken. Since then my wife and myself have grabbed RockMyMonkey.com, HeavyAsHell.com, QueenOfCheese.com and many others. If you have the imagination it will happen. If you can’t pull off a good name, you don’t have what it takes to write great music anyways. This is the first test. Will you pass?
A band name is a tricky thing I know. First off you need something that hasn’t been taken yet. The best one word band names were taken a couple decades ago. Slayer, Bitch, Overkill, Motorhead, and many more. A band with imagination however can still come up with something cool. Look at Goatwhore! That has to be one of the best band names in history and they have only been around since 1997!
So what makes a great band name? Look for another top ten list coming very soon to this blog! Until then here are the Top Ten Worst Band Names EVER! In case you think I made any of these horrid names up, I have linked to the websites of each and every one of them. Enjoy?
1. Iwrestledabearonce
Ok, I have no issue with the gay connection. Rob Halford is gay and one of the coolest people I have ever had the pleasure to interview. But that is more like a sentence than a band name. Try and chant their name for a few seconds and then try and chant Slayer and see which one roles off the tongue better.
2. Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Why not just be Scary Kids? This name is just plain retarded. It shows zero imagination and that is something a band might need people to believe they actually have.
3. Horse the Band
Ok, so the band name Horse was already taken? Why not something like “Horse Rider” or Horse Trainer” or “Horse Lover”? Now that last one I might be able to believe.
4. I Set My Friends On Fire
Really? Now this could be used as a cd title and no one would have said anything. Sure it’s about as stupid as it gets but it sounds like a cd title. Not a band name.
5. Attack Attack!
Ok, so if a band name you want has already been taken, just repeat it until you can claim it as yours? If this band was talented at all they could have come up with a better name.
6. The Devil Wears Prada
Now I interviewed this band a few weeks ago and even they regret the name. While many may get the message of anti-materialism, most will just think they named themselves after a stupid chick flick.
7. The Number Twelve Looks Like You
I understand that this is a name taken from the title of an episode of the The Twilight Zone. But it is still lame as hell. This is another one that might pass off as a really weak cd title. As a band name it just smells like yesterdays diapers.
8. Circle Takes the Square
Seriously? They named themselves after a cliche from a game show my grandma used to watch? A band name should make a statement and this band obviously wants you to know they both suck and blow.
9. See You Next Tuesday
Yes I know that this is a reference to C U Next Tuesday. Which spells out the word you never call a female unless you really want to piss her off. Most of the bands on this list have a band name that would make a worthless cd title, this band name would have made a great cd title. It’s just a bad band name.
10. Starring Janet Leigh
Have we run out of ideas this bad? Really? Do I even have to say why this band name screams a lack of the same imagination that is required to make good music?
In this era of the Internet many bands are trying to do their own everything. I think this is pretty awesome and I encourage it. Sure it’s great if you can afford a few grand a week to hire some powerhouse press agent. The biggest value they have is in relationships they have with journalists all over the place. There have been times that a press agent will forget to send the email to the BCC (blind carbon copy) and expose their entire email list. I can grab that info and use it to send out my next press release. This will not do me near as much good as if I pay to have the exact same press release, sent to the exact same list of people, with everything done exactly the same way. Those contacts do not have relationships with me. So I will not get the same results as Chipster, Mazur, HerPR, HelloWendy, or any of the dozens of PR firms I work with on a regular basis. But if you can’t afford the money, have the email lists, and really need to get a message out do it yourself (DIY)!
There are a few key things to remember though. First off, the very top should have “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE”. Yeah, I know it looks silly to do that in all caps but it is one of the many music industry standards none of us seem to have the power to stop. Put the date directly underneath that. Both of those should be in standard size text.
Second thing is to put the headline in bold and in larger text than anything else. Keep it short, sensationalistic, but honest and factual.
Third, put the body of your message. Most press releases I read blow so many proverbial flowers up the artists butt that I can’t help but dismiss the entire press release. I only read about 10% of the ones sent to me at best. So try to keep yours interesting, but full of information about your band. Most of the press releases contain zero information about the band. It drives me nuts!
Fourth thing is to put three pound signs (the tic tac toe symbol that is on the number 3 key) at the end of the information you want made public.
Lastly you can put any other information you want only press people to see. Like if you have a website to download the cd, get high rez images, or anything else. Under all of that put your name, address, phone, fax (if you have one of your own), an email address they can contact you at for further questions.
Keep your press release short, but detailed. Make it clear right away what style of music you play. In the world of Internet journalism your press release will hit the trash bin quickly if you don’t make it clear right away that the artist fits their format. We don’t want to tread through a ton of weak adjectives to find out the band plays polka. Don’t just describe the sound! That makes us think you are trying to hide something…like they play polka. Don’t tell the band’s entire life story, but cram in the important facts so they fly rapid fire when the press release is being vetted. Add links to video, graphics, and whatever else that the press can use to “pretty” up the posting.
So I have an idea. We have all heard of Follow Friday and Music Monday on Twitter, right? Well what about RT Tuesday? A day about nothing more than helping others get the word out! Now I know it takes a lot to get a new trend on Twitter started, so how about this. I will Re-Tweet a few “tweets” every couple hours on Tuesday.
How will I pick which ones to RT? Well I have a few rules. To keep track of people playing this new game of sorts I ask that you use one hash tag #RTtuesday. I also ask that you put @MarkCarras in there so I can just go to that section of my profile. Third, I only care about tweets about music. Guitar based music to be exact. This can be bands wanting their websites promoted, news stories about a band you love, a music video on YouTube (or some other known video hosting location), an article on your website about a band, or whatever else. Just as long as it is about music. No websites whose main purpose is to sell though. That’s not an article or helping a band. It’s spam and I don’t care about that crap.
I know I haven’t been doing #musicmonday or #followfriday much, but to be honest I notice almost nothing from those days. People have become jaded about them. They will pimp out a friends profile, but how many follow someone because of that? Because #RTtuesday is about compelling content I think people will care much more. So who’s in?
Ok, I talked about this once before, but I didn’t go into direct detail about why the 360 deal is so bad and anti artist. Last time was more about opinion. So here I will try to not only explain it all, but maybe show a more clear picture of why this is so bad for artists. First let me explain how things used to be done.
The old way record companies would do business was to sign a new band to a record deal where they would a huge advance and give the band a percentage of the profits for their cd sales. Sounds good right? Well, it does until you really look at what that means. Say for example you are given a loan of 500,000.00 for your business. Now let’s say that instead of you taking that money from the bank and spending it on the things you think your business needs to become profitable, the bank spends the money. They spend your loan and you pay it back. Pretty weak eh? It gets worse. The band’s not only have to pay back money the label spent, but while the label keeps 90% of the profits the band pays back the loan with their 10% cut. So out of that $20 a fan pays for a cd, the band gets nothing until they pay back every penny the label spent to promote them. Because the loan is being paid back with only ten percent of the profits, it takes decades for even well established bands. In the old days a great majority of bands would never see a single penny from any cd sales. It just didn’t happen. Unless a band went multi-platinum they never got a slice of that pie. Sometimes even bands with hit videos being run into the ground every day on MTV ended up in debt to their label.
So how did the band’s survive if they never made money from cd sales? For decades band’s survived strictly from touring and merchandise. Without those two sources of money most of your favorite bands would have never made it past album one. We are talking about less than one percent of the band’s that get that ever elusive record deal would have never made it without touring and merchandise money being all theirs. If a band made it over that hill to where they did make money from the cd, it was called “artist development”.
The 360 deal changes that! The 360 deal says that the poor record company isn’t making enough by taking every penny of 99.99% of every cd sale. Now they get a good chunk of the merchandise and touring as well. Artist development is now thrown out the window. If a band doesn’t become a major break out success right away they just disappear. The label own their ass until they pay off that “advance” (that’s really a loan), so they can’t do anything until that happens. It used to be that a band could at least tour like crazy if they wanted out of their unfair contract. Just keep touring until the label is willing to negotiate. Now even playing a show is under the contract. So the only thing they can do is break up.
So please encourage your favorite band to never sign a 360 deal. I hear Fat Wreck Chords like to talk smack about the 360 deal, so I love them for that. If you know of a label that is willing to stand against the 360 deal please let me know so I can love them too.
I have made it a habit to not update on the weekend for awhile. However, I am thinking of doing a new series on Saturdays whenever possible. I will send out a question on Twitter, post the replies, and give my useless opinion. I tried to do this with all social networks involved and it was too over whelming and it never got done. So you have to follow me on Twitter to be part of this.
This weeks question is when do you follow people back. Myself I follow back anyone who makes it clear they enjoy heavy music. This can be made clear from the bio, user name, avatar, profile background, looking at your Twitter messages, or by sending me a Twitter message telling me your favorite three bands. I’m not too picky about how you get the message out. If you at least make the effort to lie to me, I will follow you back. You would be amazed at how few even try to trick me into following them back. This works very well for me. Here are what some others have said…
metalross i follow back everyone unless they post hundreds of tweets in a row, then i unfollow them
Pubrockercom I follow everyone back. when they post too much stupid crap or too many links (just advertising w/o personality) I delete them.
deathisgain713 Like mindedness. Metal, design, etc. I don’t need to follow 500 people to tell me how to make money at twitter.
10. #followFriday
Follow Friday is where you pick someone you are following and “pimp” their profile to everyone else following you. “#followfriday @rockmymonkey because it posts some great music news” is fine. Keep it simple. Now some do the lazy Follow Friday where they say something like “#followfriday @markcarras@isewdollies@rockmymonkey@HeavyAsHell” with no explanation of why you should follow that person. Details are very important and people will be more thankful you cared enough to pimp them exclusively on that one message. Make it about quality and not quantity.
9. RT’s can gain you fans
Now this only works for bands trying to gain attention. Unsigned or mostly unknown bands need to do the Re-tweet! What is a Re-tweet? When you see someone sending a message you like, agree with, or is talking about your band, re-send it to the people you follow. If nothing else this can be used to encourage people to talk about your band.
8. Not being on “We Follow”
This is how you can find new fans. Or even fans you have had for decades but they don’t know the band is on Twitter.
7. Not doing updates
Ok, depending on how big your band is you may want to post different stuff. Once a day is fine for most. “Playing Chicago tonight. Who’s gonna be there?” can work for pro level bands. If you are unsigned, let people know how the new cd is going, what clubs you are going to play, what merch you are working on, or even some contest where you need your fans to show their support.
6. Not filling out a bio!
Sure everyone knows who Queensryche is, but most bands can have Gold albums and still not be known to most people. Keep it simple though. “We are the band Blah and we play old school thrash!” is all you need. The band name and what style you play is all you really need. Don’t try and be cute or funny. Just tell people who you are and what you play. If you are some wussy indie pop band I need to know that so I don’t follow your yawn inducing crap of a band.
5. Not uploading an image
It makes your profile look fake and spammy. A band photo or logo is fine. It takes just a few seconds and makes everything look way better.
4. Paying someone to run the account
This makes your band look like they don’t care about their fans. Call me if you need to know how to make this so easy even a drummer can do it. (just joking, we love drummers too)
3. Not responding to fans
Ok, your main focus is creating great music. So don’t try to respond to every message. Try to be strategical about it. But please try and respond to a about ten percent. 1% if you currently pack 10 thousand seat arenas.
2. Not Following Back!
Twitter is about being able to interact with your fans. @reply every once in awhile. Even Shaq does it, so what’s your excuse? You think you’re bigger than him? If your lazy you can at least use @socialtoo to auto-follow people back.
1. Not being on Twitter
Seriously! I am shocked that many bands are not using this great tool. This leaves it open to someone creating fake accounts and screwing with your fanbase. Very bad!
Yes, I know that last link doesn’t work. That’s the point. Nevermore needs to get their collective butts in gear! All my other links however do go to real places. Each point is made with a link to an account that SHOULD be doing something on Twitter they were not doing at the time I posted this article. Most of them fit several of my points though.
I like to think of myself as the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Tech Consultant” so please feel free to contact me if anyone needs advice or consulting. I work dirt cheap and even free for most things. So contact me on Twitter if you have a quick question. Call 360-789-0703 for paid phone tech support if you need that little extra.
So how can you gain a ton of Twitter followers without blind following?
Find lists of metalheads
I have talked before about how you shouldn’t just blind follow people on Twitter. The reasons are many and you will have to go back to that article to check that out. So how do you get a ton of followers without blind following? Well, if you are a metal band, fan, record company, online radio station, journalist, or whatever else, you want to find other people that care about metal. The first thing you do is find a list of metal fans. There are several ways to find these lists of the metal community on Twitter.
Other metalheads are “following” more metalheads
The first way is to find some people passionate about metal on Twitter. If you have at least 5 followers or are following at least 5 people you should have at least one. I’m talking about the nut jobs that live, eat, breathe, and crap metal 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. There is a good chance that the people they are following are at least metalheads on some level. So just pull up their “following” list from their profile. Then start opening up tabs of each one of the profiles of the people they are following. Look at the bio they have, their user name, who they are following, and what types of messages they are sending. Most of them are going to be metalheads and you should follow them.
We Follow does have it uses
The second is to go to the metal chart on “We Follow”. Now just like with the trick above, you shouldn’t just follow every profile on the We Follow metal chart. I saw one profile of a company that made stair cases. Wanna guess what those stair cases were made of? Metal! There is also a gem and jewelry blogger. They put themselves on the metal chart with zero thought to the style of music under the same keyword. There are also some people who hate metal and put themselves into the metal category to be funny. They do it in mockery and will not help your metal band in any way. In fact they could cause problems for you. So only follow the ones who look like real metal fans.
We need more metal bloggers to rank metal Twitter users!
The third way to gain a ton of metal loving Twitter users is to find a blogger that ranks metal related profiles. To be honest I have not run into any other than myself, but if anyone knows of any let me know. Very soon I hope to post a new chart of metal and hard rock Twitter users. It could be the ones who follow the most, are followed the most, have the best ratio, bands, fans, record companies, online radio stations, journalists, or who knows what else. I suck at programing, so this will be “static” lists and will not update automatically like some of them. However, unlike the charts at places like We Follow, I won’t have a company that makes metal stair cases on the list.
Using these methods I have gained almost a thousand people. Now after a week of adding all these people though, you might want to use SocialToo to mass unfollow anyone who isn’t following you back. It costs a tiny one time fee, but it is well worth it. You don’t want your following/follower ratio to make you look like some lame spammer. People hate that. That could cause quality people to unfollow you. Good luck and by all means follow me!
1. Fixion Media
Focused on hard rock and metal. Best if you can only afford one network and need to get to your band’s specific audience on a budget.
2. Indie Click
They cover metal, rock, punk, goth, and even horror movie fans. Great place if you get a hold of a good chunk of ad budget.
3. Blast Beat
If your band has a style that can be described as metal elitist, this is an ad network you really should check out.
4. Ultimate Metal
Just one site, but they are cheap and will give you more than your money’s worth.
5. KNAC
Another site that is not part of a network. They are a bit over priced, but they do have a following you could use if you can afford it.
6. Google Ad Words
Sure it is the largest ad network, but not at all what I would call target audience.
7. Microsoft Ad Center
This is a brand new one, but I hear great things. I hope Microsoft will challenge Google to be as good as they should have been this whole time.
8. YouTube
Yes I know they are owned by Goolge. However, I am not talking about the text ads. I am talking about that little link that says “Promote” next to videos you submit. Ever think about paying a little extra to get more eyeballs on your bands YouTube videos?
9. Stumble Upon
Did you know that you can pay to have people “stumble” on to your band’s website? The bad news is that this will burn ad dollars so quick it will make your head spin.
10. Buzz Net
I have checked out this site and it makes no sense to me. A few websites I go to claim that their ads are done by Buzz Net, but yet Buzznet seems to be it’s own webzine. So try as I might I could not figure out anything about this one. Of course I’m sure I could do some research, but I feel that if you have to contact the people to find out info then they have some issues that need to be dealt with.
So there you have it. This is the best info I have right now. Over time I will try to tweak the info I have so this can be a great resource for everyone. Ok, to be honest I really don’t care about any of you. I will keep this updated for my own purposes and if you benefit from that I really don’t care.
Just to be clear, the only ones I have used myself are most of the top 6. However, top 6 lists don’t seem to get any attention. So I added the others. I may try the others if I’m ever in a situation where I have a regular ad budget. Until then feel free to talk smack about this info in the comments.
Why does music suck now?
I think one of the most interesting questions to ask people is “What do you think is killing the music industry?” You can guess a persons answer by what category they fit into. Your standard person will almost always say that it is because music sucks now and there is only one or two good songs and a bunch of filler. But the question is why does music suck now?
Musicians have Stockholm syndrome
Why is there only one “good song” per cd anymore? The music industry falling apart is something they have been working on for a very long time. Musicians have a bad case of Stockholm syndrome and have been told that they think it’s the downloading. When I interview bands and ask this question they are unable to think beyond “you gotta stop the downloading”. Try to tell them that the cats already out of the bag and they get very flustered. Of course the music industry says the same thing since they are the ones brainwashing the artists. Internet geeks will tell you that it’s simply that video games are taking those sales. I say all of you are right, but at the same time wrong.
Greed and business vs artist development
The music industry is a business and so it is fueled by greed. You can’t blame them for this because they do this for a living and that new baby is going to need diapers. However, it is that greed that lead them to bad business decisions. Why? Because what we are talking about is art and art and business never go well together. The record companies very quickly created a formula. This was a good thing at first. This formula was to find out how to get the most sales out of the talent pool. When something was proven, they add it to the formula. This formula kept getting better and better until it was perfected. Around the 90’s this formula peaked. This formula is something I could write and entire book about so I won’t go into the details. It’s a combination of many things, but part of it is looking into the future just enough to sign an artist before that artists style becomes “the next big thing”. Soundgarden for example. They were not ready to be hit machines on that first major label cd, but the record company didn’t care. It’s called artist development. Soundgarden was given that ever important time to grow as artists.
Less artistic integrity let video games take over
Artists no longer are allowed that time to develop their craft. Even before the 360 deals started being forced on new artists, they were expected to have a hit on the first cd. This rush of the hit machine is one of the things that has cheapened the music. This has caused people to care less about music in general. This has caused music to be less of a priority for people. In about 25 years this has caused a situation where the video game industry is the bigger priority to the age group that has always been the most obsessed about music. So video games are a big part of it, but how the video games took the crown is very important to the big picture.
Artists never made a penny from cd sales
Part of what made people embrace downloading so much in the first place was the horrid percentages artists made from their work. A band can have a career of a couple decades before their first release even makes them a penny. This happens more often than not. A great majority of artists never see a penny from any of their cds. So many fans hear this and start downloading because they know their favorite band isn’t going to get any of the money anyways. Sure we can debate why this line of thinking is wrong, but the fact is that it is the perception. Their greed has lead to them losing control of the perception their customers have of them and the product they are trying to sell. That’s bad marketing and no opinion of the facts matters after that.
Your paranoia was your downfall
You also have to look at the music industries reaction to the downloading they blame for their downfall. When Napster was the hottest thing on the internet, they tried to make deals with the record companies. These deals would have been way more profitable than the ones they are currently making with iTunes, Amazon, and Wal-Mart. All they could do was freak out and shut them down. Thus training the fans to adopt it. Not because they wanted to steal, but because they obviously wanted to have their music digitally. What if your local bar only served Budwiser quality and the majority made it clear they wanted Sierra Nevada? People would find a way to get that better beer and the local bar would be screwed. People will always find a way to get what they want. Get it to them and you can take their money. Ignore their desires and your business will be dead! Now about a decade later the music industry starts making deals to sell music online. Problem is that it is full of DRM that doesn’t allow people to play the music they buy on any device they want. People are quick to notice that the illegal version is a better product. It can be played on any device. So the great majority keeps downloading illegally. This cheapens the overall image of music even more. They now have an entire generation that they have trained to dismiss music as a totally disposable thing that should just be downloaded. Even as recent as this month they have tried to shut down The Pirate Bay. Have they ever stopped to ask how this will help them? Will it stop downloading? No, it only fuels innovation to find better ways to not get caught. Instead of wasting so many resources they should be trying to find a way to use this free marketing platform to their benefit. If you work for a label, now is the time to smack yourself in the forehead and say ‘DOH’ Homer Simpson style.
It’s not your fault
Now not all the reasons for the downfall of the music industry are the fault of the music industry. Have you noticed that each generations rock stars are a little less famous. When The Beatles came out there was only rock. Pretty much every ‘young person’ listened to that one style. No metal, no punk, no industrial, just rock. Then Led Zeppelin came around and we had a couple more options. There was “hard rock” people could grab on to! The next decade gave us the beginning of metal and punk. Now we had true sub-genres. Now we have so many sub-genres of sub-genres that a band can be the undisputed kings of an entire style of music and still not be able to fill a 500 seater club. So many record sales are not even big enough to be registered by the RIAA. It’s out of vans, mail order, and tiny record companies that are too small to be members of the great overlord known as the RIAA. So when they keep releasing lower and lower numbers, the numbers that are not accurate!
Anyone can have international distro in seconds
As part of music being so spread out with sub-genres of sub-genres is the growth of technology. I can belch into a microphone on this same laptop I am typing this article out on, upload the mp3 recording of that to a service like CD BABY, buy some adds through Ad Words, and give that “CD” international distribution and marketing. I can do all this within an hour! My sales figures will not be recorded by the RIAA. So the numbers they announce are starting to look totally worthless, right? Bands with half a braincell no longer need a label at all. This is also part of what is killing the industry. Now the artists can focus on art and not have business breathing down their neck. Think this is only previously established artists like Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead? Think again! There are new artists like Jonathon Colton that give everything away without a thought but yet still make tons of cash. This kills music industry folks both figuratively and literally.
Now I could go on and on about this, but this article is already longer than 99% of my readers attention spans will tolerate. I haven’t even touched on the whole “loudness war” issue! Someday I can write a book on this and give more detail. But let me close with this. Please do your part in spreading the word. Downloading is only a tiny part of what is killing the music industry and misses the point of what the suits should be focusing on in the first place. If we do enough to get the word out maybe we can save the music industry? Or maybe we should just let them die and laugh at their ignorance?
