I’m pretty sure that Luke, Mark and the one who likes strawberries are soon to be out of a job
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People are often surprised to find out that the five of us don’t live in the same city, much less the same state (Joe and Russ in MO, Mark and Luke in IL, and Dustin in IA). There are obviously challenges to stay connected and organized when we’re all apart. One of the tools that we’ve found helpful in keeping us organized is a project management web application called Basecamp by 37Signals.
About a year ago we set up a Basecamp account and started with a single project: “winning a grammy” (go big or go home right?). One of our first goals as a band has been to release a new album with our current lineup of musicians that is more true to our live sound. With Basecamp we were able to set up a list of milestones and to-do lists that we would need to accomplish in order to complete that goal.
At this point, we’re almost finished with recording the album and we’re been using Basecamp as a central place to discuss things like an album title and song order. Basecamp has provided the means for all of us to have a joint conversation even though we’re living in different locations and keeping very different schedules. I’ll get more into some of the ways we’ve adapted the tools of Basecamp to work for us in the next post.
In just a few days we’ll be hitting the studio again for a full week. We’ve got half the album pretty much completed and we’re just a few vocals and instrumental overdubs short of having another two songs done. So next Monday we’ll be heading back to the studio with only a couple open spots on our album and a hand full of songs that will battle it out Project Runway style to fill those slots.
I think one of the hardest decisions when making an album is what songs make it on and which songs get left off. We’ve done our best to write the best songs that we could come up with in preparation for this album (some even within the last week) and now comes the crunch time when we have to choose. Whatever choices get made next week we are really thrilled with the way this project is coming together.
We’ve got some cool things planned for this blog for next week, so be sure to check back every day to see what kind of progress we’re making.
– Joe
A question that we often get asked is if our goal is to get signed to a record deal. I think most people would expect the answer to be “yes,” but in reality it’s not that simple.
Bob Lefsetz recently wrote this article about the need for record labels to cut costs if they’re going to be competitive (or even stay in business). Here are some highlights of that article:
Major labels provided the capital for production. And controlled distribution. For this, they extracted a pretty penny. Which they made back because they controlled exposure too, and only what they signed sold.
But now anybody can make a record and sell it on the Internet. The key isn’t finding out how to put the genie back in the bottle, how to make the major labels dominant today, but to figure out what your niche is and how to compete!
Used to be that the only way to make serious money as a musician was to be on a major label, and if you were one of the stars of the label you sold units by the tonnage. Today more and more people are finding out about new acts online or through word of mouth rather than the traditional radio/tv methods. This creates more opportunity for a band to survive without the help of a major label.
Your revenues come from recorded music sales, live gigs, merch and any sponsorships/endorsements/advertising you choose to do. LOOK AT IT THIS WAY! You have YOUR OWN 360 deal. Recorded music revenue is just part of the pie. And chances are recorded music is not driving touring sales, but vice versa.
Today we get 100% of the money that we make when we play a show, sell a CD, t-shirt, etc. The struggle is to get more exposure so the amount of people supporting our band increases. Think of it like a small business owner; if you can develop a customer base that supports your business/service you can be self employed and make a decent living.
If we were to sign a record deal it would be like that same small business owner accepting money from an investor. Sure we’d have more resources available to market our product, but now someone else is getting a big cut of any money that the band brings in. At the end of the day it’s only worth it if the added resources puts more money in your pocket long term.
Great music can still be made. And good stuff is sold by word of mouth. Which has the advantage of being instant and vast on the Internet. You can’t control the public the way you used to be able to, you can’t manipulate the consumer. Quality is the start, a relationship is second and managing this connection is third. Most of this requires sweat equity more than cash. Start perspiring.
We’re not anti-record deal, but it would have to be a deal that is profitable for us. Otherwise, we may as well keep working hard on our own to make a living doing what we love.
Say what you want about the state of music right now but I thought the Grammy’s were a lot of fun to watch last night. My favorite moments of the night were:
- My mom texting me after Kanye’s speech to let me know not to be a prick after she dies
- My 20 month old daughter running from her room to stand by the TV and sing ‘Umbrella’ with Rihanna
- The Beatles tribute. The exploding car was ‘killer’ (as Stephen would say)
- Vince Gill’s comment to Kanye after being given an award by a Beatle (even if it was Ringo)
- The Amy Winehouse performance
- Oh…and of course…this:
[sidenote: I really want to get the chance to perform with a huge orchestra and background singers like this at some point. That looks like way too much fun.]
– Joe
fundamental elements 