[THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON THE FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITION’S WEBSITE. THANKS TO KRISTIN THOMSON AND CASEY RAE-HUNTER FOR THE INTRODUCTION AND THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT SUCH IMPORTANT THINGS!]

Today’s post is by Brian McTear, co-founder of Philadelphia’s Weathervane Music Organization– a nonprofit community that works with independent musicians to support and advance their careers. Weathervane’s efforts revolve around a program called the Weathervane Music Project Series: a curated series of audio and video recordings featuring the artists, their music and artfully produced video of the actual recording sessions.

When some people think about the lives of musicians, they may still imagine wild parties and fancy sports cars. There may be a party from time to time, but for most musicians, pursuing their art isn’t exactly the fast track to a life of luxury. With the traditional music industry in a state of what could safely be called disarray, there isn’t a ready-made recipe for sustainable careers. The good news is that people still put their hearts and souls into making music, and there are still plenty of fans out there that want to support creators. But what’s the best way to do so?

With so many things in flux, it’s not always easy to know which method of fan support will have the biggest impact. That’s why we figured it might be useful to take a look at some of the ways you can support your favorite artists and how it can positively impact those musicians’ bottom lines — directly or indirectly.

1. Go see your favorite bands play live. In the music industry, an artist is rarely handed money directly. In pretty much every other situation, a band gets its cut of revenues only after everyone else in line is paid. (And that can be a long line!) But when it comes to playing live, most get paid right when the night is over. Because of this I say that if you are friends with a band and they offer to put you on their guest list, you should… Decline! Pay instead! You will show your class in spades.
2. When you go see shows, buy hard copies of your favorite bands’ music. Most smaller signed artists get “tour support” from their record label in the form of free records to sell at shows. Buying a CD from the band means they can buy gas to get them to the next gig. Conversely, if they don’t sell them, all they’re really doing is wasting gas driving them around the country. So if you are offered a free CD or vinyl LP (because naturally they want you to hear their music, right?), opt to pay for it. You are doing the right thing, and saving them from themselves.
3. Buy your favorite bands’ merchandise. Very often, artists pay for their t-shirts themselves, or even MAKE them with their own hands. This means that they did, in fact, shell out the money for materials, and possibly someone else’s labor if they used a printer. Help them break even, or maybe even turn a profit! This is another rare opportunity in the scheme of things for the musicians to be first in line. Help them out!
4. Purchase downloads legitimately. Purchasing digital downloads from services like iTunes, Amazon, eMusic or Rhapsody also puts money in artists’ pockets. When it comes to digital downloads, there’s a wide spectrum of rates, and some artists profit more than others. Although there’s a common assumption that artists only make pennies on their iTunes or Rhapsody sales, this depends entirely on the label/distribution situation. The more independent an artist is — and certainly if the artist is unsigned and they self-released using Tune-Core (a service that doesn’t take a cut of the sales) the greater the percentage they stand to make from the download.
5. Use a legitimate streaming service such as Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora or Spotify (not yet available in the US). If you require an unfathomably large collection of music, this is the way to go. Not only are they safe for your computer, but since these services are properly licensed, the songwriter, publisher, performer and copyright owner (usually a record label) get paid for each stream of their song. It’s currently a small amount, but if you play it again and again, it adds up! Beyond payment, there are many valuable statistics and web metrics an artist can access when you use these services. This way, they know where people are digging their stuff and can plan their tours and releases accordingly.
6. Contribute to Band Fundraisers – Gone are the days of record advances, at least for new artists. Unfortunately, this is how they paid to record and to go on tour. Now, many artists are using fundraising sites such as Kickstarter.com to raise money in advance of these activities. Enjoy the opportunity to support the music you love before it even gets made! Another huge class act!
7. Subscribe to artists’ fan clubs. By doing so, you not only get first access to news and tour dates, you also help to legitimize and support one of the smartest, most industrious things an artist can do for their career.
8. Join a band’s email list. By simply becoming a fan on their Facebook Fan Page, or their Myspace Page, the artist doesn’t have your data, Facebook and Myspace do! If for some reason they lose their account with either, they lose you and you lose them. It’s a simple process, and most artists know not to email you constantly!
9. Support nonprofits that support musicians. I can truly say that far too few musicians are participating in conversations about where this industry is going. The inevitable result will be that musicians, again, end up at the far end of the line. Organizations such as (..ahem….) Future of Music Coalition, Weathervane Music and others are staffed by people who are dedicated to making sure that artists can achieve sustainable and lucrative careers in music.
10. Stop using Torrent sites. Go back and buy the records of the artists you fell in love with by using Torrent sites. The simple act of paying for the music that you love will surely buy back your ticket to heaven. And of course, we don’t even need to go into the dangers of downloading from Torrent sites, anyway.

Brian McTear is a musician, producer, recording engineer and the owner of Miner Street Recordings, the Philadelphia recording studio revered by independent musicians around the country. In the 13 years that McTear has worked in Philadelphia, he has produced over 100 records, has played a large part in the resurgence and success of the independent music community in Philadelphia, and the national and international success of several recording artists. McTear writes songs and sings in the band Bitter bitter weeks, and plays guitar with The Novenas.

Hey everybody!   Today, we are very proud (and totally psyched!) to debut the fourth and final installment of 2009’s Project Series: Danielson’s “Moment Soakers.” In the last fifteen years, Danielson has earned a cult-like following for their experimental style and the unabashed celebration of life in their music. Ever evolving as a collaborative project between band leader Daniel Smith, his family, and many friends – including Sufjan Stevens, Deerhoof, and Why? – Danielson creates a kaleidoscope of musical images that shatter notions of traditional song structure and without fear artfully embrace the Christian values that tie the Danielson family together. “Moment Soakers” epitomizes this aesthetic; it’s about enjoying the company of the moment – about enjoying the now – in a contemporary world of hyperactivity.   Shot by Tom Quinn (The New Year Parade), video from Danielson’s Weathervane session is now up at WeathervaneMusic.org, where you’ll also be able to stream the song through Apollo Audio.  Sounds Familyre Records will digitally release “Moment Soakers” November 17th and shortly after as a 7” vinyl record in early December.    And we can’t wait to see Marji Fortin’s music video for the song! In the first week of the month, an animated video for “Moment Soakers” created by the PBS animator (for children’s show Word Girl), will be released throughout the Internet – and we’ll have it for you right here on our blog.   See Danielson at November 12th’s Benefit Concert Danielson will join the other 2009 Project Series artists to perform for our Year End Concert-Fundraiser at Johnny Brenda’s - in just two weeks! Sunset, East Hundred, Danielson, and BC Camplight will perform full sets to celebrate the 2009 Series, and to help us raise some much-needed dollars to fund 2010’s!   Get your tickets through Johnny Brenda’s, or by donating to our Kickstarter campaign.   And don’t forget - there are still 3 days left to get yourself into our VIP Party for a special solo performance from Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken! You can do so by donating to the Kickstarter campaign at the $250 level or higher. For more info, check out our Occasional letter from Monday.

If I haven’t said it enough already, Tom Quinn, the Philadelphia Filmmaker who wrote and directed The New Year Parade, is one helluva an awesome dude. Tom volunteered to shoot the Danielson Project Series Session that will release in less than a week (Oct 26, to be precise). And back to that film of his? Well, that film is probably about 75-90% of how we knew of his helluva goodness to start with. [Late edit: Philadelphia band, Eastern Conference Champions’ Greg Lyons plays the lead role!] If you are in Philadelphia, it WILL be playing at the Ritz Bourse Theater, 400 Ranstead Street Philadelphia, October 30 through November 5. Don’t miss your chance to see this limited run of a truly excellent film made in Philadelphia!

Next Monday, October 26th, we’ll be premiering Danielson’s Weathervane Music Project, “Moment Soakers” on our Projects page! This is the last release of the 2009 season, and we’re very proud of this final installment.

It’s not often that a senior thesis turns into a music career, but for South Jersey’s Daniel Smith, that’s exactly how it all began. The eldest sibling of five, Smith experienced a revelation in his final year of art school: that his family was an incredible blessing, and that he needed to sing about and with them. Over the course of the next 15 years, Danielson has evolved as a collaborative project between Smith, his family, and many friends – including Sufjan Stevens, Deerhoof, and Why? – and has earned a cult-like following for its experimental style and the unabashed celebration of life in its songs.

Beginning with 1995’s A Prayer for Every Hour, Danielson has released seven full-length albums and a slew of 7”s and vinyl pressings, but it’s perhaps his latest two – 2006’s Ships and 2008’s Trying Harts – that best personify the project’s ethos. Ships, hailed by critics as “a superdense wall of beautifully ramshackle orchestration” (from Pitchfork, who gave the album a rare 9.1 rating), is the culmination of over a decade’s worth of work. The album is a kaleidoscope of musical images that shatter notions of traditional song structure, and without fear embrace the Christian faith that ties the Danielson family together (though in perhaps untraditional ways). Trying Harts, in contrast, is a collection of the music that brought them to Ships, and celebrates the music’s evolution since Smith’s senior thesis back in 1994. And if one thing is decidedly clear from these two albums – and from Smith’s entire body of work – it’s this: his music is about celebrating the beauty of life and the relationships between family and friends. It’s all joy.

It’s not exactly a shock, then, that such a loyal group of fans has gravitated towards Danielson. This music is about community, after all, and it’s hard to resist one so full of gleeful exuberance. Those who have had the pleasure of seeing them perform live will have noticed their onstage garb: matching white nurses’ uniforms, with red hearts stitched into the sleeves. Listening to Danielson is a healing experience, and the nurses are here to deliver that healing power.

“Moment Soakers” will be released for purchase through Sounds Familyre records as the A-side of a 7-inch (and later through iTunes), but you’ll be able to stream the song on our site through Apollo Audio. The video from Danielson’s session and the stream will both go live Monday morning, so come check it out then!

Danielson will also be with us for our First Annual Concert Fundraiser - November 12th at Johnny Brenda’s - along with the rest of the 2009 Project Series artists. You won’t want to miss it! You can get tickets here or by donating to our Kickstarter campaign.

Tuesday, day 3 of the Future of Music Coalition’s Policy Summit featured an excellent assortment of highlights in the AM. Daniel Ek of Spotify was interviewed by FMC Communications Coordinator Casey Rae-Hunter, an hour long conversation and open question session with Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, Discord Records) and Wayne Kramer (MC5), a conversation between Radio Head Manager/Advisor Brian Message and WIRED mag writer Elliot Van Buskirk. The afternoon continued with smaller focused breakout sessions.

We’ll have more detail on the highlights of the whole summit, particularly answers for our concerns about Spotify, and information on legislation that is near and dear to our hearts.

I can say that hearing Ian MacKaye speak, and especially talking to him (even a question from the audience that didn’t really seem to move him all that much)  will always be a total thrill for me as long as I live. It certainly was today.

Another thing: There’s this thing called Band Metrics (@bandmetrics) that is coming soon and I can tell you it looks incredible. It will likely be one of the most powerful tools a musician can have to navigate their career. It’s still in private beta, but I spoke with the brains behind the project, Duncan Freeman and he is hopefull it will be out by late 2009, early 2010.  I can say this thing is scientifically thorough, while at the same time capable of some pretty subtle and nuanced analysis as well. The demo showed radio plays (down to a single spin per station? - uhh… ANSWER THAT, ASCAP and BMI!) among all other relevant data, and from there could make incredible suggestions, among them, planned tour routes. There was much more from there. It felt like anything I could think of was possible in Freeman’s mind.

In the same breakout session that Duncan demo’d Band Metrics, another very promising application called Bands in town was discussed. A demo proved frustratingly impossible for the presenter, as their were adapter/projector problems. In a nutshell it aggregates all data from the top 60 ticket selling agencies, and from there can tell you a great deal. Bandsintown also has a widget for an artist to sell tickets as well, and the commission they receive from the ticket seller ends up getting split with the artist. Seemed very interesting. Can’t wait to see it in action.

A full Summit review will be forthcoming in the near future. We need to absorb some of these things, and we’ll get back to you!

This was a great day.

I am going to geek out a little bit, here, folks, and possibly (no, DEFINITELY) neglect to talk about a lot of great things that were discussed. In my defense, I bet everyone in the room today at FMC Policy Summit has some artist or band that largely inspired their entrance into the music business. For me that was REM.

Bertis Downs, REM’s career long lawyer and advisor, sat on a fantastic panel to start the day about DIY Models in music. I must tell you that from the time I was 12 years old in 1985, I not only knew everything about REM, the band members, their songs, and their videos… I was the kid who also knew who their MANAGER was and who their LAWYER was. Yep. By 36, the name Bertis Downs has been a part of my personal music register for the most of my life. “Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe”, was incomplete, in my mind, without “Holt and Downs” tacked onto the end.

Flash forward to today, Monday morning at the Policy Summit: There I am, asking the panel a question, and there’s Mr. Downs answering …. conscientiously, enthusiastically, and respectfully … and for that little interaction with a guy who’s name I’ve know 20+ years, there was a little part of me “flipping out” on the inside.

But Mr. Downs’ really put the icing on the cake a couple hours later that same morning. After REM Bassist Mike Mills’ fantastic interview with newly sworn-in Senator Al Franken had let out, and sufficiently after the hub-bub died down in the lobby outside the conference hall, Mr. Downs seemed to go out of his way to pull me aside and introduce me to Mike Mills.

Talk about connecting with the customer!

The day was packed with informative debate all around. I feel a little bit silly for not delving into my thoughts around debates about net neutrality, ISP monitoring and filtering issues, the Performance Rights Act, Health care for artists, and many other key important topics.I encourage you to  read the chain of messages surrounding all of them and more by searching #FMC09 on twitter.

I am having incredible fun.

- Brian

I remember seeing the film “Berkley in the 60s”  (a documentary about the free speech movement at Berkley College in CA which preceded and led to the hippie movement), and thinking to myself, “Man, these kids are so intelligent! I was a complete idiot when I was their age!” Perhaps this comes to mind because the sheer level of intelligence that surrounds me here at the Future of Music Coalition’s annual Policy Summit in DC. I am also here with Weathervane’s very own with Katonah Coster, too. She IS only 21. All around, I am thoroughly impressed.

Perhaps the most important thing I come away with from day 1 was a thorough understanding what the FMC is working toward. Founder and Policy Director, Michael Bracy described Radio’s demise since the 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act which deregulated radio and within quick succession did away with locally owned, independent radio, making the chances of local independent artists receiving airplay near to impossible. He then explained the concept of Net Neutrality, which simply boils down to keeping telecommunications companies from limiting what their customers can access on the web. It’s amazing to understand the potential revenue Comcast could earn if they only allowed the highest bidder to distribute music through Comcast, for instance, and that Warner Bros could actually offer a package that allows customers to pay smaller bandwidth rates if they use the limited selection of net coverage WB “bundles” in the package. This was particularly insidious once explained.

The Future of Music Coalition decidedly concerns itself with matters of public policy, and therefore WON’T be putting its nose into private service providers’ matters. I for one, though, see this as a bit of a missed opportunity to be the voice they are for the musician. FMC believes that the marketplace will determine what flies, for instance, with regard to Spotify’s decision to only allow artists that are on labels to stream through their service. (See this article from the Guardian Aug 2009). This looks a bit like the “structural payola” Bracy defined in his conversation about Radio Policy, and while I know Spotify is NOT a part of the terrestrial radio and FCC monitored structure, it certainly seems like it could corner a market, and therefore have similar effects.  I personally don’t believe the average consumer will stop using Spotify with this knowledge (and for most they will never know what they are missing). This is not to say anyone can regulate service providers decisions, but musicians and consumers can use an informed voice. The FMC, clearly the most intelligent voice on behalf of the artist, should not miss key opportunities to clue consumers in on matters such as these and their ramifications.

I’ve been reading FMC articles for some time now, and they usually don’t miss such opportunities. … Just sayin’.