Is this the DIY Xmas number 1!
Since citizensound set up, we have been providing more and more help to artists: From old school A&R services to fanbase management, from songwriting help to brand sponsorship and revenue generation ideas. Which is why we set up our Artist Development division. Then we met MIA ROSE, a talented singer/songwriter and a youtube phenomenon. Besides...
Dear Musician & Brand – Is your sound irresistible?
Robert Wolf, London musician and drumming teacher to my son, is finishing up his album right now. Getting noticed is a big challenge for every musician, but there was something he said to me today that really resonated. He said is is going to make his music sound irresistible How many musicians aim for that?...
What do your fans want from you? (Part 3)
Artists are increasingly embracing Twitter as a great way to connect with their fans. But its not just its simplicity as a communication tool that is attracting ‘celebrity’ users, it can also be a useful tool in helping you grow your fanbase. US indie band Jimmy Eat World accumulated some 200,000 new Twitter followers in...
What do your fans want from you? (Part 2)
Writing regular blog posts for your fans is not up everyone’s street. But who said you had to write? Kanye West’s blog is a great example of what you can do by developing a visual approach to blogging. Kanye regularly posts up images and videos that have grabbed his interest – be it some arresting...
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Six goals for your social media strategy
A few months ago we posted up a picture of the anatomy of a modern musician/music manager that showed how complex their role has become. Tom Williams (a New York based online marketer and publicist) has tried to map out the complex role that social media plays in a bands overall business strategy. What is...
What do your fans want from you?
Whether you like it or not fans expectations have changed in terms of the type of relationship they expect to have with their favourite acts these days – many of today’s fans expect Access All Areas from their favourite artists, so the need for Artist Generated Content is key in how you communicate with your...
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Sensory Marketing: A musician’s approach
Be it Dubai or Mumbai, London or Lisbon, citizensound is excited to find that more and more brands are investing in the power of the senses as part of the consumer experience. The old one dimensional approach to sensory marketing is moving out of the mainstream into the background, being replaced by strategies that consider...
Space is the Place: Journey to the Spatial AKA
citizensound went to see Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA at the Barbican this week. Three reasons to go: First a chance to listen to Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane tunes Second, these pieces of music played by some of the best jazz musicians in the UK Third to see Jerry Dammers do what he does best…be...
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That Venice Festival of Media panel in full…
We finally got hold of the recording of our DIY: Do or Die session at this year’s Venice Festival Of Media. You can listen to it here or by downloading it to listen to on your computer, iPod or MP3 player. Again a big thanks to Maarten Steinkamp, Jon Webster, Martin Stiksel and John Ingham...
DIY music: It was easy, it was cheap: part 2
After digging out my Desperate Bicycles records I decided to hunt out my copy of the first single by Scritti Politti. If that name seem familiar it may be from the hits they had in the mid 80s with singles such as Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) or The Word Girl, or you may...
The Roots of DIY Music Culture: Chaos the secret history of the Sex Pistols
Saw a pre-screening of the new documentary on the story of the Sex Pistols. Directed by Phil Strongman, it was enlightening in two specific ways. First, I came away better appreciating the role of Dave Goodman (sound engineer/producer) in the sound of the Sex Pistols. A phenomenal contribution that even Malcolm McClaren acknowledged his immense...
P&G and Def Jam: The birth of TAG records in the DIY culture
During our DIY panel at the Venice Festival of Media, the panellists were inevitably asked about what we thought about the recent deal between Proctor & Gamble TAG deodorant spray and Def Jam records. In case you haven’t heard, TAG records has been set up by both parties to find new hip hop talent and...