Category: Music

Streaming Problems

Sorry / not sorry for pulling a majority of recent content from my social media feed:

For the streaming apologists out there, when a music industry heavyweight like (Jimmy) Iovine says the problem with streaming is that they’re ALREADY PAYING TOO MUCH for music — maybe it’s time to admit there’s a fundamental and systemic problem with the model.

Sean Cannon

Music licensing fees ain’t gonna get cheaper, and exec salaries are just going to keep going up, so yeah… not sure how this premium buffet of all you can consume music for $10/mo is going to continue.

Re: my “sorry / not sorry” from above – my pal Sean posted that Tweet on the 7th, and it’s already lost in a sea of a jillion more tweets, pics, and videos. I’m bummed that so many thoughts and good ideas and great stuff gets lost in the ether, so posts like this are just one way I try to hold onto them.

Music Legacy

Maybe it’s because of my emotional reaction to the new Star Wars (I loved it), or the quiet time with work right now, but thinking about making music as intensified. And I think part of it has to do with… legacy.

Part of “my story” is both my parents were gigging musicians when I was growing up. They both played in bands, my grandparents played music, my uncles (my one uncle was in a band that self-released a record in the early 80s).

So thinking about my mom’s passing in 2017, and how the world will never hear her sing again. Oh, how I wish I had recordings of her. My dad is still playing, mostly jazz guitar, into this 70s. He’s got thousands of original compositions, though none of them are recorded.

It’s like I’ve pushed down that part of me, like I’m “just” a computer guy now, who also runs a bit. And while the energy required to also work on music is slim, I know it’s bubbling up. Something I can’t keep running from.

Making Music Podcasts

My dude Sean Cannon laying it down, talking about music podcasts:

Four years ago, I started telling music industry friends and acquaintances that they should create high-end podcasts built around their artists/albums/labels. At the time, I got two main responses: “So you’re saying we should get our bands on Maron? Do you know him? Can you get us on there?” or “Oh yeah, (insert musician here) is really funny. I’ll have them talk to their buddies.”

I worked with Sean on my music blog from 2005-2008, where he was bascially my right hand man, and helped me really build and expand.

Then when I started Noise Creep at AOL Music, I was able to hire him as my deputy editor, which was both awesome and crazy at the same time (20+ posts a day was nuts).

But Sean went onto to work big time in radio and won a freaking Peabody award. He recently made the the Striped podcast, which is all about the White Stripes.

The thing is, there is so much more to be done with music using the medium of podcasting. Super glad Sean is one of the people leading the charge.

The Rise of Bandcamp

Hard to believe that Bandcamp has only been around since 2008. That’s when I launched Noisecreep for AOL Music.

In this episode of All Songs Considered, CEO and co-founder Ethan Diamond says that when an artist succeeds on Bandcamp, Bandcamp succeeds. That philosophy has driven the company since 2008, with over $425 million paid directly to musicians and record labels. 

The 2010s: The Rise Of Bandcamp on NPR

If you haven’t seen, I help run a project called Metal Bandcamp Gift Club, and was interviewed by Bandcamp.

Relaunch of Metal Bandcamp Giftclub

I had fun putting MetalBandcampgiftclub back together again. I had been tasked by one of the helpers of the thing to take over the Twitter posing over the summer, and I totally dropped the ball.

What the heck is MetalBandcampgiftclub? Well, back in 2016 some friends of mine were having a rough time, and instead of wallowing, they decided to gift some wishlist items to friends on Bandcamp. Positive motion, you know? We were all interviewed for it in Bandcamp back then about the whole thing.

And I happen to know on good authority that the whole thing generated tens of thousands of dollar in revenue.

I’m relaunching it via an email list (you can sign up here) because not everyone is on Twitter these days. And, I really didn’t want to grow this again by expanding into Facebook and Instagram. My thinking; if you have a Bandcamp wishlist, you have an email address.

Now whenever there is a birthday (or a few birthdays), I will send out an email with links to those wishlists, and a recommendation or two.

The site was built using WordPress.com. New logo images from Vecteezy. For the emails I’m trying out Revue instead of Mailchimp since I wanted to play with something new (try it for yourself using my referral link).

What’s Your Concert History?

How many of these types of things have we all been a part of on social media, and then forgotten about them three days later? These posts disappear into the river of social noise, never to be seen again. Let’s see if this link still works in 2021.

First concert: Spin Doctors, with Cracker, I believe. It was awhile ago, being that I’m 43 now. I remember seeing The Cranberries way back, too.

Last: I saw August Burns Red in Philadelphia, PA.

Next: Conjurer maybe in Philadelphia in October, maybe.

Best: Into Another in 94 or 95 at SeaSeas, in Moosic, PA. This was soon after the release of Seamless, one of the best albums a lot of people have never heard.

Or maybe Daughters w/ Coalesce in 1997 in New York City. It was my first time ever seeing Daughters – heck, I never heard of them! But I was hooked.

Worst: “No comment.” Given the nature of what I do as my day job, I’m not about to disparage any artist publicly like that!

Seen most: I have no clue, really. I’ve been going to shows and playing in bands since I was a teenager, so that’s a few decades worth of bands.

Have yet to see: Guns N Roses, and I’m 100% okay with actually not seeing them, honestly.

MUSIC MONDAYS: KNOWER

I mean, not only is the song catchy as hell, all the players are amazingly talented, and the video has to be re-watched multiple times just to catch the little easter eggs that placed throughout.

All that adds up to why (at time of publishing this) it has 2.7 million views.

MUSIC MONDAYS: Benny Sings, ‘Not Enough’

I am such a sucker for surreal visuals mixed with dreamy melodies, so this gem from Benny Sings has stuck with me.

New album ‘City Pop’ due out (Feb. 22), seventh (?) since 2003, and if this song is any indicator it seems like it’ll be a chill, laid back dreamscape, the perfect soundtrack to usher in the end of Winter, eh?

The song is available on Bandcamp, along with the album for pre-order.