GarageSpin Chosen for Microsoft Sponsored Songs Program
GarageSpin was one of 1,000 bands (selected from over 400,000 at ReverbNation) to be part of the newly launched Sponsored Songs program that Microsoft is sponsoring.
What This Means For…
YOU: You can download my song “Spinning Daydream (Acoustic Remix)” for free, an acoustic remix exclusively available through the program (along with 999 more exclusive tracks from other bands).
MICROSOFT: Microsoft gets to slap their logo on 1,000 pieces of album art, as well as generate awareness for their new Windows on Myspace presence.
ME: I get $0.50 per download, up to a $50 cap, and bragging rights.
Bands were selected by Reverbnation based on a combination of fan counts, song plays, song downloads, and profile visits, leveraging fan activity to drive the selection process. As I write this, GarageSpin is #34 in the Alternative category, and #404 across all categories. Check out the 1,000 song catalog, the songs are actually pretty good (and if you feel so compelled and/or generous, please download mine while you’re at it ;) ).
More detail is available in ’social media speak’ in the press release, as well as at Marty’s blog (Microsoft Group Marketing Manager and Social Media Strategist). Some interesting discussions have spawned at Hypebot, with artists both praising and trashing the new program. Healthy debate stuff. Some artists think the caps are insulting, whereas others are psyched about the promotion. As a social media marketer, I think it’s a pretty sleek way to drive brand enhancement and awareness. As an artist, I appreciate the promotion, payout, and press kit-building opportunities. As a music fan, I enjoy wallet-free music discovery. Kudos, ReverbNation.com.
Did I already mention the “Spinning Daydream (Acoustic Remix)” free download? I did? Nevermind, then… (Hey, the baby needs a new onesy…)
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How Uncle Sam Can Help You Shoot Your Music Video for Free
Celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday by using a US law to shoot a music video for free.
That’s what the band The Get Out Clause did (except it was in the UK). From the Future of Media:
“The band set up their music equipment, from microphones to drum kit, in eighty different locations, including buses and what appear to be taxi cabs, and then requested all of the footage using the Data Protection Act, an English statute similar to the U.S.’s Freedom of Information Act that mandates any individual should have access to all information collected about them.”
Pretty sweet. Now yes, granted, though the footage was free, the travel expenses and editing costs probably weren’t. But it’s still an awesome idea. The video looks great, and the song…well…I’ll let you form your own opinion:
Who will be the first band in the US to accomplish the same feat? (Thanks Taylor! Via chasejarvis; via Telegraph)
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Song Pages Now Have Guitar Tabs - Record a Cover & I’ll Post It
I finally got around to updating my song page templates to include guitar tabs, background info, and recording gear used. If you record yourself playing a song, let me know and I’ll post the audio or video here. (Which reminds me, I need to create remixable audio clips of my vocals and instrumentals…)
I’ve received a decent amount of requests for guitar tabliture for both “Spinning Daydream” and “20/20 Foresight” lately, and figured it was time create some. Though it’s not fully developed tabliture — I didn’t include strum patterns — hopefully you’ll be able to figure it out from what I’ve provided.
If you try a song and have questions, please let me know. More importantly, if you record audio or video of yourself playing a song, definitely let me know, and I’ll post it on a soon-to-be-launched “Your Stuff” page.
Oh, and I also included “background info” for each song for songwriting geeks, and “recording software/gear used” for each song for gear heads. It’s always fun to share ‘n’ compare, right? No doubt.
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Home Made Hit Show Podcast: My First Podcast Airplay
Last week, I completely forgot to mention a milestone for GarageSpin: I received my first podcast airplay. Hopefully, now that I’ve finally settled on a band name (GarageSpin), and I’m finally trying to get heard, there will be more.
“20/20 Foresight” was included in the Home Made Hit Show podcast a week ago or so. Tony Buttersworth (I can’t help but wonder if that’s a stage name?) runs the weekly show, and talks about songwriting, production techniques, software and gear for DIY songwriters recording at home. Each show then features a few songs from said DIY musicians, which the hosts critique.
If you’re interested, you can listen to the podcast episode here: Episode mp3.
A couple notes:
- “20/20 Foresight” is at the very end of the podcast.
- Tony mentions that at first listen, he thought it was a pro studio recording. (Thanks for the compliment, Tony, but nope, it was a living room recording.)
- Tony and his co-host both complimented the string section, but incorrectly state that I had real friends play real instruments for it. The truth is, the cello you hear throughout the song is real, and played by me (requiring many, many takes, and much splicing). But the string section that appears at the end of the song I created in Reason 2.5 (violin, viola, and double bass).
Thanks again to the Home Made Hit Show for my first podcast airplay.
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Grab Your Custom Facebook URL, or “Facebook Username”
It’s Facebook-Username-Land-Grab time! As of 12:01 AM EDT, Saturday, June 13th, 2009, Facebook will allow anyone to create a “Facebook Username” for their existing user profile or Facebook Page. (Previously, only selected partners were given the ability to do so.) You should go out and grab your own Facebook Username, as soon as possible, if possible.
How To Get Your Facebook Username
Just go to Facebook.com/username (After 12:00 AM, on June 13, 2009), and follow the username creation instructions.
User Profiles will have to meet one requirement to enable Username creation:
- They must have been live on Facebook prior to 3:00 PM EDT, on May 31, 2009. (I’m guessing this will likely change at a later date to require that a user profile have existed for a certain minimum number of days. Be sure to register your “Coldplay Rules” user profile today.)
- UPDATE: This limitation is temporary. All users who joined Facebook after the cut-off will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday, June 28, 2009.
Facebook Pages will have to meet two requirements to enable Username creation:
- They must have been live on Facebook prior to May 31, 2009. (Likewise, I’m guessing this will probably change at some point to a “minimum number of days in existance” requirement.)
- They must have a minimum 1,000 fans as of May 31, 2009. (Ouch. So much for getting www.facebook.com/garagespin with my sub-100 fan count.)
- UPDATE: This limitation is temporary. All Pages created after May 31, 2009 or that had less than 1,000 fans on that day will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday, June 28, 2009.
Selecting a Facebook Username
Facebook Usernames won’t be able to be edited or changed, and are also non-transferable, so make sure yours is acceptable for the long term. Only one Username is allowed per Page and/or user profile. I.e. don’t do anything you’ll regret later.
Additional Facebook Username Info
- Facebook blog post explaining Usernames
- Username Frequently Asked Questions
- Form: Notice of Intellectual Property Infringement form (in case someone beats you to grabbing your own Username, or in case you want to protect a trademark you own)
- Username Creation Page for creating Facebook Usernames (you must be logged in to see it)
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Interview: Brian Hazard (Color Theory), Winner of John Lennon Songwriting Contest
If you were to list traits and skills of a DIY musician destined for success, what would be on your list? I might argue that strong lyrical and musical sensibility, audio technology mastery, and marketing prowess should be.
Which brings me to Brian Hazard, of the solo act Color Theory. A little background — Color Theory recently won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Electronic music category (and is about to go up against other category winners for the Song of the Year award). So clearly, Brian’s got serious songwriting skills. If you listen to his winning song, “If It’s My Time To Go”, you’ll immediately notice his musicianship and great vocal ability. He also happens to be an audio mastering engineer, running his own mastering studio at Resonance Mastering. Furthermore, Brian knows how to leverage online media to successfully promote his own music in a web 2.0 world, and shares his experiences at Passive Promotion. So check, check, and check.
Once I learned about Brian, I wanted to get to know him better — so I interviewed him. Check out the Q&A:
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GARAGESPIN: So Brian. You (Color Theory) recently won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in April. That’s awesome. Tell us about the song, and the process that lead to the victory.
BRIAN (COLOR THEORY): The song was originally created in collaboration with my friend Caesar Filori of Wideband Network. I sent him three piano sketches to pick from, and he sent me back a rough demo of his choice. The dark and melancholy character of Caesar’s demo inspired my lyrics. I recorded vocals and he wrapped up the mix.
After a few months, it became clear that neither of us had time to do an album together, but I didn’t want the song to go to waste. He gave me the okay to create a new version of it for my latest album, The Thought Chapter. The original version that Caesar produced is featured on a follow-up EP entitled Second Thoughts.
As for the contest, that was kind of a fluke. I’ve submitted to song contests over the years and got a few honorable mentions, but overall felt they weren’t worth the effort. The deadline for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest came just after I finished the song and was feeling overly optimistic about its chances.
GARAGESPIN: Where do you get your song inspiration? What hits you first — lyrics, melody, a song title, a piano chord lick?
BRIAN: I usually start from a title. When one hits me, I’ll rough out some stream-of-consciousness prose to make sense of it. Next I’ll flesh out the song structure and melody. Then I’ll mold the useful bits of my garbled prose into a lyric. The production goodies come at the end - typically the hardest part for me. At that point, I just want it to be done. I can only spend so much time finessing automation envelopes.
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“Spinning Daydream” Remixed and Remastered
I recently remixed and remastered my song, Spinning Daydream, and am making the enhanced mp3 available for free download. If you downloaded the track in the past, PLEASE get the updated version — it sounds MUCH, MUCH better.
Over the last couple years, I’ve learned quite a lot about mixing and mastering audio. Not enough to claim any kind of expertise in either field (I still plan to have my first EP mastered professionally), but enough that enables me to vastly improve my home-brewed recordings.
In addition, Cakewalk added a few new plugins like Boost 11 and Vintage Channel 64 that specifically aid in adding finishing touches to tracks. (I’m still a novice using them, but they definitely help.)
So, I took the old song project, and made these changes:
- Fine tuned the EQ for each track of audio to further remove unnecessary low and high audio frequencies
- Added a bass guitar part back to the bridge (on some stereos, that section of the song was annoyingly lacking in bass)
- Re-applied electric guitar effects to the final chorus electric guitar (the latest version of Sonar “lost” an older plugin I had used for the electric effects…fortunately, the newer plugin actually improved over the old one)
- Applied Vintage Channel 64 plugin to “warm up” the track
- Applied Boost 11 to increase the overall volume of the track
- Shrunk the track’s timing by a few seconds
So, if you already have a copy of the song, PLEASE get the Spinning Daydream mp3. If you don’t, pick one up, and let me know what you think of the song. Ok, back to working on new songs…
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Sponsorshop: One Alternative to Getting Signed & The Dashing Suns
Winning label interest is still most bands’ dream, but many are looking for alternatives. What about sponsorship? Generally, advertisers look for big names in sports, hollywood and music to front their brands, but there are some rare, interesting opportunities for new bands with a unique sound.
Case and point, I was recently introduced to The Dashing Suns, a band that did just that with JanSport, the ‘backpack’ company. Since then, they recently rocked SXSW, produced a psychadelic music video (see below), and received this gushing praise from MTV:
”This seductively sunny little intersection of every band the ’60s and ’70s ever loved is really making my morning with its scratchy guitars, ooh-ahh Caramello vocals and vintage head cold production value.” (more)
Pretty sweet. (I would totally be willing to carry a fanny pack around with me if I could get my music funded.) I sent a couple questions about the sponsorship both to the band, as well as to JanSport. All the answers follow directly after the trippy “Van” music video below:
THE MUSIC VIDEO: “VAN”
A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR THE BAND:
GARAGESPIN: Quick history lesson — how and when did the The Dashing Suns form, and how much success had they had before the sponsorship?
KEVIN WALKER (from the band): The Dashing Suns formed during the winter of 2007. Only a year and a half ago. Matt and Jeff, the guitar guys in the band, had been hanging out and writing small little songs for the hell of it. One of their first songs was a Renaissance type song that dealt with dragons, castles, potions, and ren faire. Matt, David, and Myself were just ending our illustrious stint in a psychedelic country rock band called Sweetbriar. All of us were experiencing dark days from bad relationship break-ups and figured The Dashing Suns would be a better outlet than waking up in gutters. So we started playing and writing all of our songs about the complexities of the opposite sex. Before the sponsorship, The Dashing Suns just finished a small tour in New York as well as completing our first 5 song self titled E.P. Other than local Bay Area success we have not toured the country or world with hopes of gaining a wider audience.
GARAGESPIN: How did The Dashing Suns score the sponsorship? (Or, re-phrased, what selection process did JanSport go through to pick the band?)
KEVIN: So far we have only heard about the selection process through word of mouth. JanSport hired TEAK to create a brand video for them. TEAK compiled a list of bands and music to use in the video for JanSport to review. That list had some local Bay Area bands and other well known acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, MGMT. JanSport employees and the CEO heard our song “Future Thunder” and felt that it had the right sound. Which is funny because the original song was recorded in a crappy studio with a broken 8 track and lots of tape hiss. So they commissioned us to re- record the song.
GARAGESPIN: What advice would you give to bands hoping to find a sponsor for their next tour?
KEVIN: Hmmmm….. well… sometimes its a bit of luck, connections, and luck. And then its a bit of persistence, patience, and luck. To answer this question for real, I would say pick your sponsor and knock on their door for days and days. If that doesn’t work, try becoming really good friends with someone who works there and convince them that your music is the best in the world. If that doesn’t work there are professionals out there who you can pay to shop your music around to advertising agencies. Good Luck!
A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR JANSPORT:
GARAGESPIN: What inspired JanSport to take the approach it did with this particular sponsorship campaign?
JanSport: JanSport initiated our relationship with the Dashing Suns through the development of a brand video that would represent JanSport’s intersection with contemporary youth culture. We wanted to make a video that was fun, interesting to watch and above all connect JanSport to our audience through modes of self-expression, whether it be music, a roadtrip, grafitti art, etc. It’s an authentic representation of the Brand and where we live in our consumer’s lives.
GARAGESPIN: How has the sponsorship helped the band so far? How has it helped JanSport?
JanSport: The sponsorship has helped the band in many ways: [publicity/ and promotion] — they got sponsored by JanSport to tour from SF to Austin; [they]played ReadyMade Rocks showcase at SXSW (JanSport sponsored showcase); [and they received] visibility/promotion on Jansport.com. The Dashing Suns were also wrapped into our press outreach surrounding SXSW - and as a result, landed a very nice piece on MTV.
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Thanks to all, especially The Dashing Sunds, for taking the time to share their experiences.
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