direct-to-fan

One Call To Action

By Ryan Van Etten on 07/27/2010

“Decide an important action + encourage fans to do the action.” There are three phases according to Vinson: Attract fans from social networks a.k.a. “outposts.” Engage them with a “compelling fan experience.” Sell through simple calls to action. Have one concept per page—one call to action. “Artist websites emphasize an artist’s own brand.”

Posted in Design, Music, Music Flux | Tagged action, Ariel Hyatt, attract, band websites, bandzoogle, brands, call to action, Chris Vinson, communication, direct-to-fan, Disc Makers, engagement, interaction, Liz Leahy, mailing lists, music web design, New Music Seminar, NMS NYC 2010, personal brands, resources, retain mindshare, Section 101, service, social media, social music, tips, Tony Van Veen, UX, value-added communication, What I Learned at NMS10 | 1 Response

VideoSong Schooled The Video Star

By Ryan Van Etten on 07/14/2010

VideoSong is medium defined by Jack Conte with two rules: 1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice). 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds). Jack is one half of the indie music duo Pomplamoose, who chose video as their social medium of choice largely due to the magnetic attraction emitted by YouTube.

Posted in Interviews, Music, Music Flux | Tagged anti videosong, band, CDBaby, direct-to-fan, DIY, DIY Musician Podcast, engagement, indie, inspiration, interview, Jack Conte, Kevin Breuner, mp3 sales, music industry, MusicBiz, podcast, Pomplamoose, production, rock/pop, shortform content, social music, video, videosong, viral video, YouTube | 2 Responses

Band Apps Get Sound Around [Launch]

By Ryan Van Etten on 06/30/2010

Last week I told the story behind the new band apps-as-a-service startup, Sound Around, whose mantra is ‘iPhone apps for every band.’ Today they rock their full-on launch. Want to get in on this action and try Sound Around free for three months? Well, you’re in the right place because we have a couple promo codes to dish out to bands or musicians.

Posted in Apps, iPhone Apps, Music, Music Flux, News | Tagged app services, bands, CMS, communication, demo, direct-to-fan, integration, iPhone, launch, mobile, mobile music, music apps, musicians, promo code, service, social media, Sound Around | 2 Responses

Musician Apps—What Do Fans Want? 5 Key Components.

By Ryan Van Etten on 05/12/2010

Last year I covered four platforms that musicians can use to build iPhone apps—Mobile Roadie, MobBase, iLike, and Kyte. Sound Around is another one, and is currently in private beta. Discussion from yesterday’s autoplay poll got me asking myself, “what do fans really want in an artist app?” I thought about it for a while and came up with 5 key components.

Posted in Apps, Design, Discussion, iPhone Apps, Music, Music Flux, Popular | Tagged app design, app services, artist channels, communication, community, development, direct-to-fan, fans, geotagging, ideas, iPhone, key components, Kyte, location, MobBase, mobile, mobile music, Mobile Roadie, music apps, musicians, networks, services, social media, Sound Around | 4 Responses

Music Business Driven by Data [Infographic]

By Ryan Van Etten on 04/13/2010

In today’s fluxing music economy of freeconomics, ubiquitousness, and abundance, musicians are leveraging data and metrics tools to drive their careers. What answers can digital data deliver for musicians? Who… What… When… Where… Why… How…

Posted in Music, Music Flux, News, Popular, Visual | Tagged analytics, artist-fan relationship, business, data, data-driven music, digital, direct-to-fan, infographic, marketing, metrics, Music, music industry, MusicBiz, tips | Leave a response

Music Consumption in a 180°—Terry McBride Interviews.

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/01/2009

The interviews below featuring Terry McBride—CEO of Nettwerk—offer terrific insight to the digital era of music. Terry points out that the ways in which we consume music are changing rapidly—largely due to smartphones—and that the “emotional glue” between fans and musicians is the essence of music business.

Posted in Interviews, Music, Music Flux | Tagged access vs. ownership, app stores, Apps, artist labels, behavior, brands, business, cloud, cloud computing, consumers, consumption, content, context, copyright law, culture, digital, direct-to-fan, DIY, entertainment, fans, future, interview, iPhone, kids, marketplace, media, mobile, mobility, music industry, MusicBiz, musicians, Nettwerk, p2p, partnerships, positivity, service, smartphones, social music, streaming, TED, Terry McBride, trends, video, virtuality | 3 Responses

Musicians—Money Is Not Motivation

By Ryan Van Etten on 11/24/2009

Musicians (artists) are driven by a fundamental need to create. Music is their art and their expression. Even in a world without money there would be music, and arguably there would be even more music (and other art) than there is today. In his 2009 TED talk, Daniel Pink makes a strong case relating the science of motivation to creativity and business.

Posted in Editorial, Infoculture, Music, Music Flux, Popular | Tagged artwork, behavior, business, change, consumers, creativity, Daniel Ek, Daniel Pink, direct-to-fan, empowerment, engagement, entertainment, fans, human, idea, money, motivation, music industry, MusicBiz, musicians, p2p, Pink Floyd, piracy, platform, positivity, psychology, purpose, research, revenue, science, social media, sociology, spotify, streaming, TED | 6 Responses