Ariel Publicity

http://jaycast.mevio.com

The Jaycast. Take your Ipod on a trip! Escape to a world of comedy banter, toilet humour, and the best in new unsigned Rock Podsafe music. Join Jay and Mr D  in a british podcast that is:  “The world of the JC”.
The Jaycast Podcasting Live from “The Jaycast House Milton Keynes UK” every fortnight!

Q) Tell us a little bit about your site. What inspired you to start it?

A) The Jaycast is a British based Music & Comedy podcast playing the best in new unsigned, indie and Podsafe Rock and Pop music on the net, The JC tis a blend of two guys doing guy stuff, sharing silly stories and jokes mostly geared towards toilets and life. Lets think of it of it as an escape from the real world for around 30 to 40 mins and Jay’s world is pretty weird.
The show is hosted by Jay and Mr Downtrodden Jay’s manic depressed room mate. Jay of course is a constant source of amusement and ridicule for Mr D. Jay revels in his love of SiFi TV shows, mainly Battlestar Galactica, and hopes one day maybe just maybe he will meet a Cylon, preferably the blond one. The show was formed on November 5th 2005 mainly inspired by the Lynn Parsons Chalet Show, Top Gear and of course the Source Code by Adam Curry. Jay has had an interest in radio from an early age and New Media has given him a chance to annoy not only truckers on the CB radio but now the entire internet. So why not check us out for yourself every fortnight your Ipod wont know whats hit it.

Q) Why do you believe new media resources (i.e. blogs, podcasts, internet radio stations) have become so popular?

A) I believe Podcasting, Blogs and Internet radio are so popular these days simply because there is no diversity in “Lame” stream radio. Music tends to be manufactured with singers using auto tune, wheres the talent? We believe the real talent lies in Podsafe music, its diverse and it is real. Podcasting is a great way to promote this and is proven to sell records and real talent enthusiasts want to hear. However I also believe that in order to promote new talent you need to mix it in with the classics. That helps to keep the interest for the new stuff. Its great promoting a new talent but some times you need to throw in something people know. It is such a shame you cant spin Brother Love along side Pink Floyd without a huge law suit. If we could then Podcasting would really take off.

Q) Media 2.0 has changed the way artists communicate with fans. Where do you envision online communication going next? Any thoughts on what Media “3.0” will look like?

A) New Media 2.0 has changed the way artists communicate with fans greatly, It has become very personal and you can get to email an artist directly. Subscribing to artists blogs ensures you know exactly when your favourite band is giging and when the next album is out without the wait. The next step for new media 3.0? Let podcasters also promote the rock legends then sky is no longer the limit. Its just north of Watford.

Q) What does an artist have to do to get your attention? Are their specific characteristics that you look for?

A) To get the attention of the JC you just need to sound great and pack a rockin good tune. We like to start with a fast rock track, steer you round to a tuneful pop number, then add a little more rock and end on a nice ballad or “Ceiling Burner” as we call it, one where we can get the lighters in the air. Oh and nice legs we like nice legs and Mr Downtrodden likes female bass players apparently.

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Ariel Hyatt is a music publicist who’s reinvented her practice to utilize social media and other on-line channels. Her book provides nine weekly lesson plans for developing your own on-line profile, including suggestions for optimizing your website, blogging, building a mailing list, creating a newsletter, involving your fans with surveys, and building a “continuum program” that incentivizes on-going purchases. The book is task-driven rather than theoretical, with the first written exercise happening only four pages into chapter one. This necessarily leaves out some detail that might be helpful; for example, the suggestion of offering a free MP3 doesn’t indicate you must clear all the rights (including a mechanical license for cover songs), and the section on optimizing your website doesn’t mention SEO. One could argue these topics are outside the book’s scope, but a pointer to follow-up resources would be helpful.

Hyatt stresses the point that many musicians are reluctant to market themselves, and she wisely reframes the musician’s career as a business. She points out that a musician who thinks their only job is to make good music is an idealist who’s not really interested in having anyone hear their work. The steps she outlines will be difficult for some artists to carry out, but taken one at a time, and broken down into smaller tasks, they become part of your larger job as an artist. Her experience as a publicist, and particularly her understanding of what will get people’s attention, is the key to her pitch. She provides compelling advice on how to connect with those who can help advance your career, garnering you more fans, gigs, rehearsal space, private shows, interns, and, eventually, money. She provides valuable guidance on how to make your press kit work on a web site, noting who will be visiting your website and for what purpose.

The downside to this book its brevity. The 184 page count includes 25 pages of fill-in-the-blanks worksheets (which can more cheaply be completed in the blank notebook Hyatt advises you to get), 11 lined end-chapter notes pages, and 43 “bonus” pages on traditional PR. The bonus sections are helpful, but don’t speak to the book’s stated on-line theme. Finally, though one might expect a publicist to publicize herself, the promotion of Hyatt’s PR services on page 82 and the four pages of her company’s offerings (including the ethically ambiguous ReviewYou.com) at the back of the book seem opportunistic, especially given the book’s high list price. Hyatt knows her stuff, and these exercises will methodically help you develop your business as a musician; just don’t be disappointed by the page count.

©2010 hyperbolium dot com

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“The In-Crowd” is an inside look at crowdfunding, with Ariel Publicity Artist Phil Putnam and RocketHub.com co-founder Brian Meece.  Each Monday, the boys are giving us an honest look at a crowdfunding project in action and dish on how things are going each week.
What is crowdfunding?  Find out here.

What does it look like?  See here.
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THE END:  75 days in, 0 days remaining.  Not enough raised, a lot more was needed.

Phil Says:

I’m not going to beguile you with all the typical “it’s the end of the journey but the beginning of a new one, we fought a good fight” crap.  I believe that crap, and don’t think I don’t, but I’m not going to do that here.  Here, I’m just going to tell you the truth.

The truth is that the most shocking realization about this crowdfunding experience is that I couldn’t be completely, open-heartedly honest.  Quite early in the process I began to see the signs that it was not going well, and this made me feel like crap on toast.  Where I would normally go to facebook and type “It’s not going well.  This makes me feel like crap on toast,” the Banker in my brain stopped me and warned “People don’t give money to a leader who expresses less that full confidence in his project.”  And BLAM-O.  That’s the moment this project was over.  I hated what the Banker said, but I knew he was right.  I realized that I had put myself in a situation where I could not be myself, and thus I could not succeed.

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http://www.livemusicmedia.net/fr_lmme.cfm

Live Music Media loves indie music and want to help independent musicians gain exposure on radio and TV. Most commercial Radio Stations and Music TV Networks get their funding through advertisers. They get advertisers depending on the stations’ ratings. They get high ratings through playing top 40 songs and music videos, and thus no independent music gets played. They don’t like that!  Live Music Media just want to hear the music and help feed the scene.

Q) Tell us a little bit about your site. What inspired you to start it?

A) About 5 years ago, I started to develop a small TV Show, locally on Long Island. Featuring only new artists. It launched on Channel 115 in the Cablevision network Jan. 2008. Since inception we have reached over 500,000 viewers. Our show features, artist videos, interviews and promotions. This is commercial free. The only advertising you will see is our artists albums for sale or advertisements to keep it green or earth day.  We are a regional not national show that airs every Sat. Night at 10 PM EST. The TV Show is called HomeGrown Music TV.  We also thanks to Love at New Music Radio, have a radio show that features only the artists on the TV Show. Called HomeGrown Radio. The live radio show features me (DJ Rain) and it airs Tuesday at 11 AM and Friday at 9 PM. We often have live performances and live listening parties.  The radio show is brought to you by New Music Radio. Also our TV Show is aired weekly from our website on Friday Nights at 8:30 PM brought to you by Wildnite Radio.

Q) Why do you believe new media resources (i.e. blogs, podcasts, internet radio stations) have become so popular? How have they been beneficial to artists? How have they been detrimental?

A) Beneficial… yes the world wide web has given artist the opportunity for exposure.

Detrimental… yes, everyone who thinks they can sing or strum a guitar is now an “Artist”. I am old school, sorry to say. I liked the days when musicians had mystery. The album cover was the closest thing you could get to the artist and music was based on talent… not studio tricks.

Q) Media 2.0 has changed the way artists communicate with fans. Where do you envision online communication going next? Any thoughts on what Media “3.0” will look like?

A) From the artist stand point I believe it has helped to open fan bases. Making it more personal. And opportunity to be a part of your favorite bands world. Media, 3.0… I don’t know perhaps by that time we’ll be seeing them in the shower?  Too much communication can hurt things as well.  The last thing you want to do is over saturate too much, because as you can see, people have no attention spans anymore because it is so readily available.  Not sure what it will bring, but not sure it will benefit the music business.

Q) What does an artist have to do to get your attention? Are their specific characteristics that you look for?

A) Vocals and the ability to harmonize. (True testimate to a good singer) unique, something different, (in sound) I don’t care what you look like, I care what you sound like.

Q) What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with your site?

A) A chance to help independent artist, get exposed.

www.livemusicmedia.net (website)

http://www.livemusicmedia.net/WebTV (Web TV Show)

www.livemusicmedia.net/webradio (Radio Show)

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Part 2

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http://www.mevio.com

As the premier social media community, Mevio is the only network providing single-click access to the best in new media in audio, video, podcasts, and music to be delivered to your computer, iPod, mobile device, or television.

Q: What is the background story of how Mevio came along?

A: Mevio was originally Podshow. The company was founded by former MTV VJ Adam Curry and his business partner Ron Bloom.

In 2004 Adam had been messing around with audio blogging, before the term podcasting existed. He and Dave Winer were experimenting with adding enclosures to rss feeds and podcasting was born. Soon, podcasters were starting shows and shortly after, Podshow was started. They signed some of the early producers including my show (The Rock and Roll Geek Show), Dawn and Drew, Yeast Radio and some others.

Back then, people were playing whatever music they wanted on their shows. Then people started getting worried that the RIAA may not like that so Adam and some other creative minds started a place for bands who actually wanted to be heard on podcasts to post their music and The Podsafe Music Network was born. Shortly after, Adam and Ron asked me to quit my job as a house painter and work with artists on the network. 4 years later, it is THE place for bands, record labels and content creators to connect.

Q: What do you see the future of Mevio being?

A: I can’t speak for the entire company, since I only work on the music network but my goal is to have every record label, band and aritst on the network. I want independent content creators to have as much power in the music business as radio stations had in the good old days. It is my dream to have back catalog available to podcasters. I can’t speak for everyone but as a content creator, I want to play not only up and coming independent artists but also bands that were a part of the soundtrack of my life.

Q: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?

A: I am partial to 70′s rock and punk because that is what I grew up listening to. My favorite bands are still Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ramones and Joan Jett.

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have affected you most?

A: When I reach out to some of the major labels to try to get their artists on the Podsafe Music Network, some of them still think that posting an mp3 on a website is piracy. The indies have been posting mp3s on their own websites for a few years not but the majors are a little harder to convince. That being said, the majors are now starting new media departments so there may still be hope for the dinosaurs.

The Podsafe Music Network now deals with some of the largest digital music distributors and independent labels in the world and I am really proud of that.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel podcasts has the same power?

A: I think the labels are slowly realizing that by releasing a song from their artists to blogs and podcasts does more good than harm and can actually help break a band. For example, last year, there was a band from Australia called Airbourne. No one in the US or Europe had ever heard of them. I started playing them on The Rock and Roll Geek Show and listeners seemed to really like them. They emailed the band and let them know they discovered them from my show. Soon after that, got a CD from the band’s management and offered an interview with the band. I interviewed the band and continued to sing their praises. Now that band has taken the country by storm and has released one of the best selling independent hard rock records this year.

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