#24west

[24-west]

The awesome Sadistik has now signed to Equal Vision Records! Get ready for 'Altars' and check out his upcoming tour dates with Nacho Picasso! 

[24-west]

Back in September of 2013, we made one of the scariest, most intimidating and ultimately rewarding experience of our lives in deciding to venture out on our own to start 24West. Since that time we've had the honor and privilege of working with over 120 artists, thrown countless events and forged friendships that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. There have been ups and downs, trials and tribulations and we've learned invaluable lessons that have played a huge part in forming who we are both personally and professionally.

As of Monday, May 1st, 24West will be closing up shop in order to embark on an exciting new journey. We have been acquired by NGAGE Sports and Entertainment and will be forming a marketing agency within the agency called ngagency to work on their amazing roster, as well as, continuing to work with the bands and labels we currently have the pleasure of helping out. The breadth of experience and the quality of character of each and every member of the NGAGE team has reinvigorated us and reminded us of what we set out to accomplish with 24West. We couldn't be more excited to join their team and expand our efforts to helping not only artists, but social media influencers and professional athletes.

We would like to thank every label, manager and artist that took a chance on working with us over the past three-and-a-half years. You've challenged us to become our best selves and we hope we validated that risk by always living up to or exceeding your expectations. We'd like to also thank the team at NGAGE for bringing us onboard and giving us the opportunity to create something special with you. Most importantly we'd like to thank our friends and family for putting up with us throughout the craziness (and probably moodiness) that came with running our own company.

We have a very clear vision of what a marketing agency should look like in 2017. Now in partnership with the team at NGAGE we will have the tools and resources we need to bring that vision to fruition.

They say love what you do and never work a day in your life. We'd adjust that slightly. In our opinions it should read "Love WHO you work with and never work a day in your life". We love everyone that we've had the honor of working with during 24West's time and we look forward to continuing to grow and prosper with all of you as ngagency.

With love and gratitude,

Rich and Theresa

[24-west]

Check out Play Too Much's interview with Elijah Noll about his video for "Need U"!

[24-west]

3 Reasons Why Your Band Should Be Using Bandcamp

Whether you are a new band releasing a debut EP or a band with a discography that spans over a decade, Bandcamp is a no-brainer when determining which platforms you should be using to promote, stream, and sell your art. Here are a few reasons you should be using Bandcamp as an artist or even as a label.

Bandcamp is one of the best discovery sites for fans, not only in regards to its traditional stronghold in indie rock, but for all genres. Besides browsing genre tags and the main page of the site, Bandcamp Daily has caught the attention of users and tastemakers alike as one of the best editorial sites for music discovery. Outside tastemakers such as Fact Magazine,  The Needle Drop, and The Music have even dedicated whole sections of their site to what they’ve found recently on Bandcamp. Music discovery tools are always sought after and Bandcamp offers a great addition to campaigns that are increasingly focused on using Spotify playlisting to supplement general press outreach around a release. Bandcamp Daily spreads their coverage across all genres and covers what other press outlets wouldn’t normally give the time-of-day; making it a great place for any artist to gain exposure.

Despite the odds seemingly not in their favor, Bandcamp is growing. Even as music industry sales outside of streaming are dropping across the board, Bandcamp grew 35% in 2016, and exhibited the greatest increase in physical sales. Bandcamp are not only growing and profitable, but they also maintain a policy of transparency and consistency with regards to their percentage arrangement with artists; a complaint many have voiced against other streaming services. While they are definitely not the largest service by any means, this growth should not be ignored. The platform is a much needed alternative to the major digital retailers, especially for a smaller artist.

The growth of Bandcamp in a declining industry isn’t accidental. As a company, they’ve made great strides over the past few years to improve their platform; especially in terms of their artist and label services. They’ve greatly developed their physical sales ability and have built a dedicated community around the platform, boasting "double-digit conversion rates for signup-to-purchase within 30 days".

Bonus: Bandcamp cares about giving back and aren’t afraid to take a stand. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably noticed that Bandcamp donated their share of all sales on February 3rd to the American Civil Liberties Union, in support of immigrants and human rights. They were promptly joined by hundreds of bands and labels and received coverage on almost every music website for their actions.

By Alec Cakebread, Digital Marketing Coordinator

[24-west]

Secret Science just released their awesome new video for "Dissonant Love" with Play Too Much!

[24-west]

How Artists Can Make the Most Out of Instagram

Social media is a crucial part of a musician's digital brand. Posting content that's engaging for fans and other users, that also builds a steady loyal following is tough. It takes time, dedication, and a plan for your content, brand, and voice. With it's recent changes in algorithms, posting styles, and more, we wanted to highlight some key things for artists to consider when using the app.

Content, Content, Content

And one more time for good measure, CONTENT! Content is king, and should be the first step in putting together a plan for your Instagram account. Do you and your band mates only take pictures in black and white? Do you have a mascot, or tour manager that has a tradition at shows? Once you figure out the aesthetic of your posts, prep all your content for your upcoming release/show/tour. The more content you have ready, the better. Mix up your posting styles, and post photos, GIFs, and short video teasers. Or, get crazy with it and combine them by posting multiple photos and videos in one post now. This is a great option for sharing some outtakes of serious press photos, behind the scenes look at a scene from a music video, and more.

Monitoring Hashtags, On a Local and Worldwide Level

I know, you're the cool kid who doesn't need any hashtags on their posts. But by adding just one hashtag, you can increase your engagement by over 12%. Add a few more? Boom, you've reached an entirely new market of fans. Now that I've got you convinced, it's time to figure out what hashtags to use. Creating your own hashtag, to give your brand some distinction, is a great first step. From there, dig into your local scene. For example, Philadelphia has #phillymusic and #phillymusicscene for accounts to use. From there, find more hashtags that are used on a worldwide basis, to expand your reach. #music is the basic hashtag, but there are so many more to include in posts!

Using the Location Tag

For bands, this is a no-brainer when on tour. Get to a new city, post about the show, tag the city or venue in your post. Boom - fans in that area will now get a nice reminder about the show! But what about when you're home, recording or are in between tours? Adding locations is still a major factor in engagement, as posts tagged with a location receive on average 79% higher engagement. Tagging your hometown, the studio, your secret basement lair, all of these little things add up to major numbers and eyes on your content. If you don't have a location? Make one up, you'd be surprised what locations you'll find in Instagram. We used "Edge of the World" recently, so no excuses to skip the location factor!

Instagram Story

So your content is on point, but you want more personality to shine through. The new Instagram Story factor is going to be your best friend, then! Similar to Snapchat, it lets you instantly share photos, live videos, and even Boomerangs to your followers. You can draw, write text, add stickers, and more to the photos as well, to spice them up a bit. This is your chance to get personal with your followers, and really let them in on rehearsals, what's going on, and your personalities. Story has been growing in terms of views, so be sure to include it in your plan, even just to share snippets with fans ahead of release day.

Be Yourself!

The one thing any good fan can tell is when a band isn't being genuine. This factors into your authenticity, their interest in the music and shows, and how willing they are to be active when you need them to be. Don't go for the same old generic posts. Instead, make your voice feel like you're sharing it with friends. Your voice on social media tells a lot about your personality, as people will take the copy to mean different things. Adding in Stories, short live videos, or video clips helps fans get a better all-around sense, and understand the real you. And in turn, understand your music even better.

All right, get out there and make your Instagram pop!

By Theresa Montgomery, 24West Co-Founder, Partner

[24-west]

Check out this in-depth interview on Gangsters Inc. with Don Capria about his book 'Colombo: The Unsolved Murder'! 

[24-west]

Happy Friday! Discover some new music and enjoy some classics on our 24West March Picks Playlist on Spotify. Don't forget to follow us for more great tunes!