Musician's Web Keeper

I'm Andrew Apanov, founder of a music marketing agency and blog Dotted Music, and a growth training and community platform for artists WeSpin.co. I release a weekly podcast. And share random thoughts on this Tumblr.

[matterandrew]

Same podcast, brand new name. Listen to this short episode to find out more! And subscribe at our new website at http://musicgrowthtalks.com http://soundcloud.com/wespin/wsr-mgt

[matterandrew]

Peter Hollens (@peterhollens) is an a cappella singer and producer who's built a massive loyal following on YouTube and Patreon. With over 1.5 million subscribers and 125+ digital singles released, his videos have reached more than 250 million viewers since 2011. Hollens is on the advisory board for artist-focused companies such as Patreon, Loudr, and Tubular, and has collaborated with the likes of Brian Wilson, Jason Mraz, Hunter Hayes, Lindsey Stirling, George Watsky, and Tyler Ward. In this WeSpin Recipes episode, recorded days before Christmas, Peter Hollens shares what it took to get where he is today, and, of course, talks about his new Christmas album (which is really good!). Peter is a goldmine of knowledge and inspiration for artists. Here are just some of the topics he covered: tips on collaboration and community building, reverse-engineering the success of others, the importance of knowing your platforms, analyzing Facebook vs. YouTube, and overcoming your fears. Listen to this episode to also learn what mobile apps Peter Hollens uses for promotion daily, to understand how to achieve success on Patreon, and to hear what Peter would do if he started from scratch today. Go to http://dttd.in/2m04Bpi for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2m02mlW

[matterandrew]

Jay Coyle is the founder of Music Geek Services, as well as a former marketing executive at EMI Nashville, a Berklee Online instructor, and someone who has worked with a myriad of bands over the years as an independent music marketing and business professional. Jay is also the author of the new Soundfly course called "Crowdfunding For Musicians": http://dttd.in/2ibhBFH The course combines instructional videos, step-by-step guides, downloadable resources, and more to help you build a successful campaign. You can enroll in that course, or any course at Soundfly, with a 20% discount using the WESPIN20 coupon code as a WeSpin Recipes listener. In this podcast episode, Jay talks on occasional challenges of dealing with band managers, the types of clients he works with, and how brands should see crowdfunding as an opportunity to build a business – not as a bank. Listen to the show to learn why exactly a crowdfunding campaign is in fact a direct-to-fan campaign, and much more. Go to http://dttd.in/2jlGcVK for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2jlU8iJ

[matterandrew]

Tommy Darker, the guest of the very first WeSpin Recipes episode, is back to our podcast! Over the past year, Tommy has been busy working on a new creative project called Kenophania. His goal is to get in front of no less than one million people, and Tommy will tell you how he's going to achieve that. Kenophania is described as "a docu-style arced reality series about an ex-military, now savvy musician, who embarks on a journey to create a new musical style and make it commercial success." What makes it particularly interesting: Tommy had never played music with others before. Throughout 2016 Tommy has toured the whole Greece and collaborated with hundreds of musicians, while documenting the whole process. In this podcast you are going to learn how Yossi Sassi from Orphaned Land inspired Tommy to start Kenophania, what it costs to record such a documentary (with a detailed breakdown of expenses), and why your creative process has little to do with the final product. Listen to this WeSpin Recipes episodes in full to be among the first to hear about the new music business platform Tommy is launching soon (which is like Quora for the music industry), and to find out how to watch the pilot episode of Kenophania. Go to http://dttd.in/2i2NQai for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2i2Fyzf

[matterandrew]

The big music industry conferences are where the bosses go, frequently leaving the junior staff in the offices. FastForward (http://dttd.in/2hQy8fL) flips that upside down. The new annual event, which has created a lot of buzz in 2016, is aimed at under 35s in the music industry. This week's WeSpin Recipes guest is the FastForward founder, Chris Carey, a music economist having worked with the likes of Universal Music, EMI Music, and PRS. He also runs a boutique research company called Media Insight Consulting, and made it to Music Week's 30 under 30 in 2014. On this show, Chris' shared the highlights of the first edition of the conference, and named the music industry developments to watch in 2017. We talked about big data (and how asking the right questions may be more important than the data itself), streaming, finding inspiration in the gaming market, blockchain, and more. Listen to the conversation to hear Chris' insights, and a candid answer to the question "Who is FastForward for?" Go to http://dttd.in/2hLw8II for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2hLxqmZ

[matterandrew]

You are about to hear a story on how far creating your own path instead of doing what you're "supposed to" can get you. The story is about a successful US country artist, golfer, philanthropist, and public speaker Steve Azar (http://dttd.in/2ewPY9O), and it's told by his manager, Aaron Bethune (@playitloudmusic). Aaron is the founder of Play It Loud Music, Above the Noise and JAM, among numerous other projects. He's also the author of "Musicpreneur: The Creative Approach to Making Money in Music", which we covered in detail in the WeSpin Recipes episode number 29, over a year ago (http://dttd.in/2f871ev). After Aaron discovered that the key to everything Steve had been doing was the state of Mississippi, they turned it into a series of mind-blowing opportunities. From helping the state to improve its public transportation system, to becoming the first Music & Culture Ambassador of Mississippi (the title didn't even exist before), recording an album and filming a documentary with BB King's band in a legendary venue – these are just some of the events which the dedication and creative thinking led Steve and Aaron to. Listen to the episode for all the details, as well as Aaron's tips for up-and-coming creatives. Go to http://dttd.in/2ewPVKW for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2ewSKMb

[matterandrew]

Over the last few years Sam Matla's @EDMprod blog and podcast have become wildly popular among electronic musicians, and you most probably know why if you're a producer yourself. Even if you aren't familiar with the name though, we bet you will get a kick out of today's WeSpin Recipes episode with Sam. On this show, "The Producer's Guide To Workflow & Creativity" author shares his online blogging journey from skateboarding and self-development to music, gives actionable tips on improving your music production skills (also fully applicable to songwriters), names two most common mistakes up-and-coming producers make, and talks about EDM Foundations – a four-week online course which teaches the fundamentals of electronic music production through action and practice. You can join the waiting list to be notified on the next enrolment at http://dttd.in/2fmxlpS Listen to the podcast to also find out what Sam's top productivity and collaboration tips are, and to learn a single hack that is guaranteed to make you a better producer. Go to http://dttd.in/2f4LIeK for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2f4NVXt

[matterandrew]

Streaming music is a complicated mess and everyone knows it. On Oct 25th, for $5 you can OWN what fixes that mess. http://thndr.me/2mettz

[matterandrew]

Here's how StoryAmp (http://dttd.in/2dYoh8q) works, in a nutshell. You create an account and add a "dispatch" either for a music release or a concert, providing all the related information. Then, StoryAmp emails relevant media contacts in each genre, or tour market, three separate times. The database of journalists (US and Canada only) is powered by the Rock Paper Scissors PR agency, and is updated all the time. You get the service either for a flat fee (for a release) or a monthly subscription (for a tour). Pretty cool concept, isn't it? We've been intrigued, too, and decided to learn more from the StoryAmp and Rock Paper Scissors founder and CEO, Dmitri Vietze. In this WeSpin Recipes podcast episode, Dmitri talked on storytelling, specifics of doing PR for records and tours, and StoryAmp's new copywriting offer. Now, you can request a press release or a biography from professional writers that have collectively authored pieces for Billboard, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Google Music, VICE, Thrasher, and more. Listen to the show to see if StoryAmp is the right fit for your needs, and also to learn about the free ebook by Dmitri which will transform your approach to PR. Go to http://dttd.in/2en0FZ7 for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2emZn0r

[matterandrew]

Soundcharts (http://dttd.in/2d8nRZH) is a real-time charts, playlists, airplay, and social monitoring web app. And, as you will learn from this WeSpin Recipes podcast, there is much more to it than analyzing performance of your own music projects. Think of Soundcharts as a stock market (or a growth hacking!) tool, which allows you to see how well relevant or interesting to you artists perform in different territories. David Weiszfeld, the founder of Soundcharts, used to lead the International Development for Universal Music France, so the idea of building such a tool came from hands-on music marketing experience and understanding the importance of data analytics. Soundcharts is already used by the three major labels, but is available to everyone, even though at a price (check the Pricing tab on the Soundcharts website for the current subscription fees). Listen to the podcast to hear David's thoughts on running an international tech company from France and the enormous challenges startups face, and find out a few very specific use cases for Soundcharts – applicable to a music act or a company of any size. Go to http://dttd.in/2dxZl7I for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2dxZsA6

[matterandrew]

"As an artist, I don't need to reinvent the music industry. I need to reinvent how people consume MY music." That is just one of the many insights you're about to discover on today's show, with our long-term friend Josh Urban (@joshurban) – a musician, entertainer, and a pseudo political candidate from the DC area. Josh plays a home-built broom guitar, DJs on the street and at hospitals, and goes on a railroad tour across the East Coast every year. He's in the middle of one such tour, called "Join the Dance Party!", at the time this podcast is being released. One of the goals of the tour is to make a music video with the world, "dancing away our fears and division." Everyone who aren't in the area to take a selfie with Josh is invited to record themselves dancing, preferably to the official tour song, and tag it with #JURT (Josh Urban Rail Tour) on social media. To fit the theme, people are writing a fear on a piece of paper, dancing with it, then crumpling the paper and throwing it out of view. If you want to take part, send your video to [email protected]; Josh says he's a terrible dancer, so don’t feel pressure. In this WeSpin Recipes podcast episode Josh talked about street music marketing, creating "alternative tours" and social experiments, traveling by train, building cigar box guitars, hosting Facebook Live events, and finding ways to engage people with different personalities. Listen to the show to hear what it's like to play at a psychiatric ward, and to learn Josh's secret "look at the clock" approach to building a sustainable career as a professional musician. Go to http://dttd.in/2cW5ybC for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2cW6SLU

[matterandrew]

This podcast episode is all about the unique online event called Music Launch Summit http://dttd.in/2cBrZou, coming out of Melbourne, Australia, and being broadcast internationally from September 13-30th. The digital conference features 40+ speakers from around the music industry, including Benji Rogers (PledgeMusic), Jennie Sager (Twitter), Rodney Holder (MusicBusiness Facts), Budi Voogt (Heroic Recordings), Ariel Hyatt (Cyber PR), Ian Clifford (Make It In Music), as well as the Dotted Music and WeSpin founder, Andrew Apanov. In this WeSpin Recipes podcast, the Summit founder Steve Palfreyman talks on what's inside the Music Launch Hub, which took him almost a year longer to put together than he initially expected. Steve also explains how the focus of the event is on launching music, but not necessarily in the way you might expect. Listen to the episode to learn more about Music Launch Summit, which will stream live for free if you reserve your seat here http://dttd.in/2cBrZou If you want to get the lifetime access to the Music Launch Summit content, however, along a number of other bonuses, grab the VIP pass at http://dttd.in/2coqU1m – with a massive 81% discount. We decided to make something unprecedented on top of that. By getting the VIP pass at http://dttd.in/2coqU1m, you will also get a lifetime access to the WeSpin growth training and community platform (normally $15/mo). The offer is limited in time! http://dttd.in/2cBsA9J

[matterandrew]

** Listen to the show to learn how to claim an extended free trial to Hive.co! ** Hive.co (http://hive.co) is a platform built to analyze, grow, and communicate with your fanbase. Hive's "Engage" product allows you to capture fans' contact information with content lockers, sign up forms and contests, and then connect with them via targeted email campaigns. The "IQ" add-on indexes your followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud and Youtube, to then show who your most supportive followers are, what brands they like, where they are located, and more. In this WeSpin Recipes podcast episode, Hive's Theo Koolen gave us an overview of the toolkit, and shared real-world case studies of how other artists have been using it so far. Listen to our conversation for content marketing tips, to learn how to turn a free show into thousands of fans' emails, and for a secret link to an extended free trial to Hive! Go to http://dttd.in/2bsj2dV for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2bskMU8

[matterandrew]

Think about it: pretty much ever music gig, even the most niche and underground, has a Facebook Event created for it. Promoters, festivals, club owners, and music acts – even those who aren't good at promoting their events – rarely fail to announce a show on the world's biggest social network. But is it easy for music fans to discover something new and relevant to them in the myriad of Facebook Events? Truthfully, not much. Dave Blue, today's WeSpin Recipes guest, saw the untapped potential of Facebook Events, and created Spotcaller – a web and mobile app aimed to simplify live music discovery. Spotcaller aggregates all music events on Facebook, across the whole globe, daily, and displays them in a beautiful interface. In this podcast episode, Dave talked on how his app compares to the likes of Songkick or BandsInTown, and the ways Spotcaller benefits artists. Dave illustrated how the events' trending scores are calculated, explained how to update your upcoming events on the service, and gave specific tips on creating informative, converting Facebook Events pages. Listen to the show if you're a performing artist or have anything to do with live music, and if you want to get more out of your Facebook Events. Go to http://dttd.in/2aIxKk5 for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/2aIympI

[matterandrew]

Trying on the new Dotted Music t-shirt. Thanks @lgcl_73 for the superb lettering (and present!) 🙌 (at Świdnicka)

[matterandrew]

#artists #dissatisfaction

[matterandrew]

Being involved in the worlds of tech and music over many years, Peter Harris always found the process of moving a casual listener to a dedicated fan too clumsy in the traditional music industry. Not seeing any tangible solutions coming to change it, he decided to take the initiative in his hands, and founded Resonate – a unique, cooperatively owned streaming platform currently in the works. Resonate features an affordable "stream to own model" (with no monthly fees for listeners), where listening turns to owning – and where fans know that the money goes direct to the artists. It presents a new music model, which aims to provide better discovery and curation, centered around real communities. "Imagine that Spotify was a cooperative" – this is how Peter described the idea in a compact form during our conversation. In this WeSpin Recipes podcast episode, Peter explained how the "stream to own" model works, gave a great and clear overview of the blockchain technology, and went over some of the challenges the blockchain research team faced during the recent Music Tech Fest Berlin. Listen to the show to see how the future of the music industry may look like. Go to http://dttd.in/29HHXND for the show notes and http://dttd.in/27QAW1b to learn how to support the podcast and get a free WeSpin postcard. http://dttd.in/29HI5wK