When spinme.com launched in 1997, we thought it would grow up to be Pitchfork. It hosted “Daily Digital Opinion,” J.F. Parnell’s album review mailing list, and our original discussion forums. What a precious logo we had when we launched: While “J.F.” got headhunted away to a series of larger media companies, I chased conversations in [...]
Seven things I learned from fifteen years behind the wheel at spinme.com
September 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Should you release a CD or an EP?
April 14, 2011 By 1 Comment
Ever since attending last Saturday’s interview with John Oates, I’ve been talking to folks about the pros and cons of working on albums vs. EPs. There’s a school of thought among music promotion professionals right now that you might not even want to focus on EPs, choosing instead to release a steady stream of singles. [...]
Gamification in reverse: a music business where charts mean less
April 13, 2011 By 2 Comments
Folks have been talking to me a lot lately about “gamification.” It’s a popular business trend that hopes to leverage the video game habits of recent generations into stronger workplace productivity. Take a set of tasks that would otherwise sound pretty boring: making phone calls or filing TPS reports. Then, turn it into a game. [...]
Three essential qualities of a successful indie record label
April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When I ran Handwritten Records in the 90s with my friend Kristen, indie labels still had a clear role in the music business. I was a production geek with access to a studio and a mass CD duplication machine, and Kristen handled the A&R. It was pretty clear, back then, how we could add value [...]
Five things John Oates taught me about the new music business
April 11, 2011 By 1 Comment
The Philadelphia Chapter of The Recording Academy welcomed Temple alum John Oates back to campus last Saturday night, for an intimate acoustic performance and an interview conducted by my friend and former colleague, Gene Shay. Mississippi Mile is Oates’ tribute to the songs that shaped his songwriting and performing career, and it lands in retailers [...]
What Rebecca Black can teach you about music contracts.
April 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It doesn’t take long for partners to become enemies when a record “pops” and royalty checks start rolling in. Rebecca Black’s bizarre path to the Billboard charts has generated buzz about what she’s going to do with tens of thousands of dollars in royalties from YouTube views and iTunes ringtone sales. Except, according to news [...]
Could your music marketing eclipse your music?
March 30, 2011 By 1 Comment
Ed Simons from the Chemical Brothers wonders that aloud, in response to Radiohead’s new album release. In an age of quickly copied digital downloads, turning your album into an artifact can help you preserve sales and reward your most loyal fans. But it’s easy to let the planning of your album release and the development [...]
Is it tough to make a living as a music manager? Ask Quincy Jones.
March 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
At 78, you couldn’t possibly begrudge Quincy Jones the right to slow down a little. “Slowing down” for Q means working on just one album project at a time. This powerful career retrospective and interview from The National reveals some things that might make you think twice the next time you want to complain about [...]
University of North Alabama Students Plan Concerts, Run Record Label
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Here’s another case study of a college-based music management degree program taking things to the next level: At the University of North Alabama, students in an Artist Management and Touring course have to stage a concert for a final project. Getting audiences into seats is just one of the factors affecting students’ final grades. UNA’s [...]
