Whether you're just starting out or already touring, Fort Frances' David McMillin weighs in with tips for making your local shows count!
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@heavyjustice
Whether you're just starting out or already touring, Fort Frances' David McMillin weighs in with tips for making your local shows count!
Intellectual Property & Metallica
Artists want to control their art - but at what cost?
The controversy over intellectual property rights of music, band name, logos, etc, is largely rooted in the largest legal battle of our generation: Metallica v. Napster (2000). Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica, is quoted as saying if he wants to give his music away for free that it be his choice and with Napster that choice was taken away. "It’s really about controlling what you own."-Lars Ulrich. (http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2014/12/01/maybe-lars-ulrich-right/)
The fans disagreed with a multitude of points based on what was being said, what was being done, and how it was all taking place. With rumors as freely passed around as the music in question, it was a long battle that Metallica eventually won. Fans agree it changed the way they saw the band, but the result did not hurt Metallica’s position as the number one metal band in the world. Metallica's history of legal action spurs either support or opposition toward when, where, and how to enforce intellectual property protection, depending on your position as a fan or as an artist.
It seems to me that each lawsuit filed by Metallica is consistent in pursuing *control* over the music, logos, and other branding specific to Metallica’s creative efforts and success. It’s all about control. Choosing to put your music out for free for your fans is great. Not choosing to give it away and watching your fans do it anyway is a big middle finger to the artist you are sharing, even if it’s out of love for their art. Take a fan like this and give him a title and a profitable business model based on something that already exists, and you have flat-out theft. In the case of Metallica, they don’t need the exposure or the money so it really comes down to one thing: control over your creation. Deciding whether to associate your music/brand with designer makeup and clothing. Or deciding when your new album/single releases. Or in what games your music is included. Or who can use your logo. Newer and smaller artists may see a benefit in letting anybody use their creative art for any purpose. That should also be a choice. The difficulty is in keeping control while still reaching your fans in the internet age. Fans, artists, and entrepreneurs are continuing to experiment and, when an attempt fails, there will be a consequence and a lesson learned. In this way, we as fans, artists, and executives are shaping a new business model for a flourishing online music scene that will benefit the fans as much as the artists so that one is not taking advantage of the other.
A few lawsuits that have been filed by Metallica:
Metallica versus Amazon (Nov 1998)
"Metallica filed a lawsuit against online store Amazon.com over the bootleg album entitled "Bay Area Thrashers: The Early Days." http://www.encycmet.com/biography/diary3.shtml
Metallica versus Cardin & Cosmar (Dec 1998)
"Similar suits were filed in December against West Mill, a tuxedo-manufacturing licensee of Pierre Cardin that allegedly used the name Metallica in advertisements for its products, and Cosmar, a manufacturer of nail files, which allegedly used the name Metallica on the files’ plastic sleeves." http://www.mtv.com/news/511644/metallica-pushing-ahead-with-multiple-trademark-lawsuits/
Metallica versus Victoria's Secret (Jan 1999)
"Metallica filed a lawsuit against Victoria's Secret and Victoria's Secret Catalogue, citing trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and dilution." http://www.encycmet.com/biography/diary3.shtml
Metallica versus Napster (April 2000)
"The internet upended the media industry, and it's still trying to recover. Metallica v. Napster was just the first attempt." http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/13/8399099/metallica-sued-napster-15-years-ago-today
Metallica versus Edmonton punk band "Metallica" (2003)
"Your use of METALLICA is particularly astonishing to the band, given that you have admitted in at least one interview that 'you know you are not allowed to use the name,' " wrote lawyer Jill M. Pietrini, in an e-mail to bass player and singer Blair William Piggott." http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-sue-metallica/#ouQGzQiPv0aLdWWS.99
Metallica versus Guitar Hero III and Rock Band (2007)
“The suit alleges that both companies planned to package and distribute Metallica music through their video games in what lawyers characterized as a ‘licensed music to player’ system, or LM2P network. Metallica is fearful that album sales could decline if their fans were able to simply walk into any Gamestop or Best Buy and purchase an $80 video game that contained one of their songs.” http://www.metalsucks.net/2007/08/15/ride-the-lawsuit-metallica-sue-makers-of-guitar-hero-iii-rock-band-video-games/
Metallica versus Czech entrepreneurs (2010)
"American metal band Metallica won a lawsuit against Czech entrepreneurs which registered the band's name with the Czech trademark register and were selling products branded "Metallica"." http://zpravy.aktualne.cz/metallica-wins-trademark-lawsuit-its-name-protected/r~i:article:657296/
Metallica versus Canadian Tribute Band "Sandman" (2016)
"Metallica took issue with Sandman using one of their “official, stylized logos” to promote live appearance and asked “kindly” for the tribute band to stop." http://967theeagle.net/metallica-threaten-canadian-tribute-band-with-lawsuit/?trackback=tsmclip"
The music scene depends on the musicians as much as musicians depend on the scene.
Above all else - #gotoashow
In order for you to succeed in the music scene, there must first be a scene. The more bands that leech on the hard work and camaraderie of this scene, the more the scene will become impersonal and unattractive. You and your bandmates must be willing to go to shows (apart and/or together), not just to check-the-box for the week, but truly discover - over time - the venues, bands, and fans, that are willing to make the music scene personal and attractive. Only then will there be a reason for “new fans” to have a scene to buy into.
PR/“gigging” - make it memorable.
When you play a show, it must be memorable. Audiences don’t want to go out to watch you practice and stare at your own instruments and at each other. They want to see something they can’t see in their regular life. Lemmy said it best: “ If you're going to be a fucking rock star, go be one. People don't want to see the guy next door on stage; they want to see a being from another planet.” That can’t be a template, can’t be a checklist, it can only come from your own creativity as a performing artist. It’s why the greats are the greats. Everything they are is put on that stage, and you love to see it - every time.
Social Network Promotion: personalize each platform.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... they are different. Yes, it saves time to post a picture on Instagram and have it link to Twitter which then links to Facebook, but your friends and fans don’t want to get three notifications with the exact same image. Even worse, having your Instagram link to both Twitter and Facebook only to have Twitter also link to Facebook and have two identical Facebook posts - how annoyingly lazy! Also, captions do not translate well between each other and minimizes the effect of the post.
Each social media platform has its strengths that you need to use in specific ways. Facebook is currently the best way to interact with fans and share what’s going on. Twitter is great for businesses and media networking and is the best platform for hashtags. Instagram is definitely a great photo editor on the fly and it links well with facebook if you are willing to edit the post caption to tag people.
Post twice a day on facebook, more on twitter, and use instagram as an image diary and visual branding tool more than a network (harder to interact on instagram) - quality over quantity is always a good rule of thumb. Be smart about paying to promote on these networks - it can attract new fans and can reintroduce old fans that have unfollowed, but can drain your funds much faster. YouTube is great for video promos - keep them short, fun, interesting. A youtube page with two good videos amidst twenty boring videos is a turnoff. You are an artist and *performer* - promote that.
As for crowdfund campaigning, use it once, maybe twice, each year if you have a new product, or product line, you need help funding. The other benefit is it’s a great word-of-mouth sharing tool to show people quickly what you have in store for them. This can create buzz for the next series of live shows. It’s almost better to get a lot of small bids with the promise of live show attendance.
Blogging can be helpful but does take a lot of time and commitment. You may have a bandmate in charge of blogging with a particular direction in mind that can help build the music scene. Reblog, comment, be part of that community, and you will be more known among other bloggers which is definitely part of the music scene today.
Website & Advertising
Your website must have a “landing page” with everything somebody might want to see or hear from you. Avoid having to click to too many pages.
SEM standards for Search Engine Marketing. Creating a webpage is one thing, having it appear at the top of search engines is another. Bottom line: hire a professional graphic designer and webpage developer to ensure your metadata and page content is appearing correctly on all Google, Yahoo, and social media searches.
It costs money to advertise. Period. Word-of-mouth will get you started, but unless you know thousands of people across the country, you’ll have to rely on experts and services to get you in front of larger audiences. Use your word-of-mouth networks to find reputable companies that can help you do what you need to get done. IMPORTANT: First impressions can make or break your career. Be sure you are as ready as you and your bandmates can be to go all in when you take that step.
Eye on the Prize
The goal of the band that writes and performs music is to continue being a band that writes and performs music. All the money you spend getting yourself further out into the music scene must be at least being brought back in.
CD Sales. Merch Sales. Classic revenue items. It’s not enough.
Streaming. There are many online streaming services that pay per play if you are registered with ASCAP or BMI. There are companies you can pay each year to file all that paperwork and make sure you are compensated for radio play.
Gig Pay. When you start bringing in 25... 50... 100 people to your shows locally, you will begin seeing revenue from these shows. Of course, how will you do this? see above #gotoashow
There are other creative ways to bring in self-sustaining revenue to the project, but these are the most popular and demonstrate the levels of success you can target as you move yourselves forward.
It all comes back to this... #gotoashow
Everything written here depends on the music scene being something people want to be part of. If you are not contributing to the scene, it shouldn’t be a surprise when the scene isn’t as glorious when you find yourself on the same stages. Keep the scene alive. Go to a show. If not for the good of the culture and allowing new music to move up through the ranks, but for your own benefit as a musician that will rely on this same culture for revenue.
Remember: The musicians depend on the music scene as much as the music scene depends on the musicians.
Remember how fun our first #heavyjustice album was?? I do!! We're at it again... preproduction for the second album. Visit HeavyJustice.com for all our social media and get the first CD 'Apocalyze'!
New stuff... #practice #heavyjustice #lovewhatyoudo
Have you REALLY not listened to this yet?!?! CLICK
www.HeavyJustice.com
(via https://soundcloud.com/heavyjustice/when-we-were-gods?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=tumblr)
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhde3Sswl3g)
Ever wonder *why* anybody would purchase a physical album anymore?
WONDER NO MORE!
Meet Billy Kasper. Billy loves metal. Billy supports metal bands of all levels shapes and sizes and talks about his favorite metal bands on his youtube page, Billy’s Metal Mulisha. Meet the mind of a true metalhead.
In this episode, Billy opens his *purchased* FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH “Got Your Six” album that just came out - and he absolutely loves it. The smell, the look, the feel, the sound...
Realize, please, the joy that YOU TOO can have when you purchase a physical album (from a store! or the band themselves!) and come home to open, look, touch, and listen, to an artist’s product that you feel is worth your hard earned dollars as a thank you for their hard earned time and energy.
Watch and let Billy show you how an album can be enjoyed. Check out Billy on his YouTube page, his Facebook, Twitter, et al. and be sure to check out Five Finger Death Puch “Got Your Six” out in stores now!
Play on! \m/
Rock is not “dead”
Music has become a socialist’s paradise. All people can create and share all music for the good of all people. Music, for all intents and purposes, is now free - by the people, for the people.
The internet is the culprit. The savior. The thief.
BEFORE MUSIC WAS DIGITAL
Before music was digital, it could only be discovered live on stage or on recorded objects that had to be exchanged by hand - physically, person to person. Vinyl, 8-track, casette, CD. This required communication. A person would enjoy the physical nature of a mix tape so much they would play the song over and over until the tape went bad and a new mix tape must be conjured through hours of thought and tireless record-stop-record-stop-ing. To share this joy, that tape would need to be manually transferred to another tape and handed to another person where discussion would prompt the transfer of joy regarding whatever artists the mix tape housed.
Before music was digital, a musician would practice long and hard to perform for people that had to go to live performances to hear new music. The best new music wasn’t created by just anybody - many large denominations of monies were required to allow for the large-scale production of a talented artist’s music to be shared beyond the neighborhoods and nearby regions. Audiences knew this and music scenes thrived because of this. To hear new music and to be the one who had a talented new artist’s music on tape or disc was a state of pride.
Before music was digital, music was being created by artists that not only had the skill and creativity and time to master their craft (for all genres) but had the privacy and niche marketing habits supported by record companies that invested big TIME and big MONEY so that these promising groups could create and flourish. Not all musical acts flourished, but enough of them did that it allowed these companies to profit in a big way while still continuing to invest in the smaller unknown acts.
AFTER MUSIC WAS DIGITAL
Once music became digital, the music scene shifted quickly as the internet became an every day part of average homes. While the “floppy disk” was an extension of the CD and required the personal transfer of an object and spark of joy, pride, and communication, it was the rapid innovations of internet email and file transferring that caused music, as a whole, to lose face.
Once music became digital, file transfer software replaced the hand-to-hand transfer of cassettes, CDs, and floppy disks. Children quickly learned that they need only access a PoP “Napster”-esque file-sharing program to skim through all of the music of anybody that was willing to share. That suddenly, the pride of owning a new artist’s music was lost. It was in that moment that the joy of sharing a new artist’s music was lost. Instant gratification replaced the art of the mix tape.
Once music became digital, it was not too long until home recording software allowed children to share their own musical ideas, no matter the quality.
Once music became digital, there was no difference between sharing a MIDI file full of “beeps” and “boops” or a new artist’s fully-produced album.
Once music became digital, everybody could create all music and everybody could hear all music, anytime. Why go out to discover new artists when they’re all on my computer at home right now?
“ROCK” IS NOT DEAD.
The music scene - all music - has seen a shift in the demand and supply of music as an art, as a business, as work and as pleasure. You will not see new artists being promoted each new year on television, radio, billboards, and other various print media. This is due to the amount of digital media promotion that has rivaled (perhaps even surpassed) the weight of the now-”old-school” promotion machine. Record companies are no longer in demand to create and share music. Television shows are no longer the only source for visual media. Radio lives on out of necessity (and partly nostalgia) as digital radio continues to grow. All of these machines are too big to shift with the changes resulting from digital media, so they rely on the only thing they know how to do.
THE REASON SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT “ROCK IS DEAD” IS THAT BIG MONEY NOW INVESTS IN THE MAJORITY.
Big money (record companies and media moguls) profit off of the fewest artists that appeal to the largest majority. That majority may shift week to week (pop, country, hip-hop, R&B, rap, rock, and occasionally mainstream metal) but the bottom line is the bottom line and more people like to dance and be entertained than they do enjoy interesting new music. So “popular” artists get the big money to entertain the largest majority based on what the majority deems is the most popular sound/genre any given week.
FEEL FREE TO BE FRUSTRATED ABOUT THIS, BUT DO NOT PRETEND NOT TO UNDERSTAND.
Here is why “Rock is not dead” -
Rock lives on as all genres live on right now. In the digital feeds of all people all at once. EVERYBODY is sharing their music right now. You can find ANYTHING that makes you happy. Nobody is limited by anybody but themselves in regards to finding music they enjoy just by searching the internet and finding new artists that otherwise wouldn’t have seen the light of day. You like rock? You listen to it everyday and search for new artists and share their work? Then Rock is not dead.
Play on. \m/
http://www.KrankTV.com - Eken Is Dead - "Outlier" - Like this video? Come see thousands more at the Net's largest, uncensored, completely d.i.y. music video ...
eKEN iS dEAD - “oUTLIER” Blacksound Records
Respect to Chris & Gagg... Simon & Vic... and South Bay L.A. ...
Every performance is 150% energy.
EID is no joke and the title track of their most recent LP “Outlier” is worth your music-appreciating time and support.
Visit http://www.ekenisdead.com/ for more info on these dedicated local musicians. Then visit their social media pages cuz they’re the real deal.
http://www.myspace.com/ekenisdead http://www.youtube.com/user/ekenisdead http://www.twitter.com/ekenisdead http://instagram.com/ekenisdead http://soundcloud.com/ekenisdead http://reverbnation.com/ekenisdead
Heavy Justice seeks new drummer!
We are looking for a new band member and partner in the project, not a hired gun. We are fun-loving guys who enjoy a party but also are highly driven to be as productive as possible
Currently, we are in the process of pre-production of our next record and are looking for a drummer to step in, learn the new tracks, arrange the newest with us, and record in the studio to a click - all as we continue to play shows.
- Between age of 24 - 36 - Must have job and means of transportation - Musical Knowledge and Training preferred, bonus for knowledge of Guitar Pro - knowledge of how to use social media to promote a PLUS! - needs to be able to perform double kick - commitment to rehearsals and professionalism at shows - willing to travel to shows out of town or state, and help sell merch at shows and online - must be able to work *equally* hard to promote shows and draw - must have a drive to be highly productive to match that of bandmates - FEMALE drummers are welcome!
Our Music Video, APOCALYZE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj0G5TXT0yM
Recent Live Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk4Ty8_j2H0
Social Media Links: http://www.facebook.com/heavyjustice http://www.twitter.com/heavyjustice http://www.youtube.com/heavyjusticeband http://www.reverbnation.com/heavyjustice http://www.instagram.com/heavyjustice
CONTACT
VIA FACEBOOK MESSAGE
OR
EMAIL [email protected]
Play On! \m/
Studio time is the best time! Heavy Justice moving forward with the second full album... \m/
First album available online! Check out our first album - available at HeavyJustice.com/Store - Summer Bundle ense Aug 31st: album, shirt, wristband, button, stickers... all for $30 (free shipping)!
BOKA.
VISIT YOUR MOTHER.
IT’S IMPORTANT.
Artist and director Philippe Quesne uses brilliant stagecraft and deeply penetrating humor to create theatrical experiences that are both hyper-naturalistic and bizarrely absurd. In La Melancholie des Dragons, a band of longhaired metal heads decide the clearing where they are stranded might be the perfect location for a new amusement park with a heavy metal theme.
Imagine the band “Scorpions” breaks down on the side of a snowy road and a random hiker passes by and helps them open an amusement park. Featuring a car, a dog, classic rock, medieval recorders, a snowy stage, and a lot of French *humour*, this theatrical performance looks to be a hysterical (albeit a bit weird) presentation of the Scorpions musical anthology.
Performance is being held in the theater behind Disney Concert Hall for three nights only -
Wednesday, Septemember 23, 8:30pm $25
Thursday, Septemember 24, 8:30pm $25
Friday, September 25, 8:30pm $30
While a French performance, English subtitles are displayed. However, the visual spectacle of this minimalist production is surely worth the translation.
Billy Kasper track review: "Blind Leading the Blind" "The thing that Trivium does well with their heavy, aggressive music, is the melody that cuts through the aggression that gives it feeling..." Couldn't agree more. \m/
A good song can stand on its own worth of melody and structure.
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfalN7ZWLek)
Check out @gmullen310's Tweet:
“Oh My Goodness, Oh My Dayum...”
This song uses just another vlog post by a man who does what he loves - appreciates good food - and is completely honest about it.
Do what you love. You may not get famous, you may not get rich, but you’ll be happy. I don’t know this guy, but it sure seems like he was already happy and that makes this autotune all the better.
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcJFdCmN98s)