The social buying and selling feature is an addition to TheIndie.biz’s Frindie application launched in April. Frindie is based on the concept that like-minded people (friends) tend to have like-minded tastes in music and is the basis for the social buying and selling feature.

The Indie

“We’re truly happy to be offering this unique opportunity for fans to be able to buy the music their friends are listening to right from their social media profiles,” said Damon Cleveland, TheIndie.biz’s CEO. “There really isn’t anything out in the market like it and we’re excited to be the first to offer this to our fans and member bands. This is what TheIndie.biz is all about, giving independent musicians and bands the avenues to sell their music to new audiences, while offering music lovers a taste of what their friends are listening to so everyone’s music experience is enhanced.”

In addition to allowing music fans to expand their music choices and enjoyment, with the social selling feature bands will be able to reach a growing, fan-driven audience as users listen to and post their favorite songs to their social network feeds right from TheIndie.biz. As people see the music their friends are listening to, they will be able to listen to and buy the songs that they like directly from their friend’s profile.

Independent musicians, labels and bands can post their music for sale and distribution through three primary options. The first package lets bands sell an unlimited number of songs and includes full membership to TheIndie.biz for a flat fee of $149 a year, plus a 15% fee per song sold. The second and third options are $7.95 per song, or $19.95 for three songs, plus a 30% fee per song sold.

The representation of the not too revolutionally new idea is pretty intriguing, in my opinion – give it a look.

And thanks to Rockethub’s newly launched community site, that’s about to get a lot easier.

“Musicians should know that crowdfunding regardless of the platform is still work,” cautioned Brian Meece, one of Rockethub’s founders. “It takes a strategy and organized thought to make the campaign come together.”

But formulating that strategy can be daunting, and finding information about what works and what doesn’t is difficult; crowdfunding is a relatively new idea, and aside from the odd user of the crowdfunding hashtag on Twitter, most artists, already unfamiliar with the demands of fund-raising, have few places to turn.

RocketHub

That’s where Rockethub.org comes in. The site was founded, Meece explained, on the idea of “learning [from] and supporting each other.”

To draw users and curious crowdfunders to the site, Meece and his partners wrote something they call The Crowdfunding Manifesto, essentially a road map that anyone can follow, “to galvanize both our community and help the overall ‘Crowdfunding for Creatives’ movement,” Meece explained.

The Manifesto helps artists understand what’s required to successfully fund projects based on their size, the importance of rewards, and what kinds should be offered, and more. Its insights can be applied to any crowdfunding platform, whether it’s Rockethub or a competitor like Kickstarter or IndieGoGo.

That is one of the most important things about Rockethub. “We really consider the other platforms colleagues in this new sector,” Meece stressed. “We share mentions by bloggers, radio shows, news articles etc. – and have a lot to learn from each other. In the end, choice stimulates demand for the overall market – and the pie gets bigger, which is good for all of us.”

Whether that means gaining insights into Kickstarter’s “fund and follow” approach, or chatting with fellow crowdfunders in Rockethub’s forums is up to you. The important thing is that there is now a place for you to do it.

Courtesy of WeAllMakeMusic.com. Reposted with permission.

MicControl

While music bloggers make up a significant portion of the overall population of the blogosphere, there are far too many blogs that just float along in cyberspace without the understanding or direction to put their blog onto the path of success.

Meanwhile, there are far too few artists who truly understand the power of a blog and why it should be used in congruence with a strong social media presence.

Therefore the purpose of The Blogging Side Of Music is twofold – First, to share some powerful insight with existing music bloggers as to how they can get on the right path towards success. Second, is to elaborate on the effectiveness and usefulness of a blog in any artist’s overall marketing strategy.

The bloggers featured throughout the series have all found success at their own levels of blogging, each with their own purpose and motives for establishing a blog in the first place. The following is the schedule for the 5-part series:

• Monday June 7: Matthew Moran – Musician/ Social Media Consultant
• Tuesday June 8: Dave Tamkin – National Touring Musician
• Wednesday June 9: Peter Malick – Award Winning Music Producer/ Blues Musician/Blogger
• Thursday June 10: Andrew Apanov – Editor-In-Cheif, Ultimate-Guitar.com/ Blogger (Jon, thank you!)
• Friday June 11: Christina Duren – General Manager, Ariel Publicity/ Blogger

While the band stayed in Australia, Ultimate Guitar writer Joe Matera sat down with Biffy Clyro singer and guitarist Simon Neil to talk the new album, touring and music business. Read an exclusive excerpt below:

What have been some of the most important lessons you have learned from being in this business?

Image credit: news.bbc.co.uk

The one lesson we learned the most was to just believe in yourself. Just because someone thinks you’re crap doesn’t mean you are crap. And like wise, just because some one thinks you’re amazing doesn’t mean you’re amazing. It’s really about the belief in yourself.

We’ve always had a focus and a drive. We were lucky that we had a start where people didn’t like our band for years and we made small records on indie records. And if we didn’t have the belief in ourselves, we still wouldn’t be doing it. If we were doing this to make money or to meet tons of girls we would have given up after about a year. For us it’s really about the thrill of making music.

What have been some of the most memorable experiences in the band’s career thus far?

There have been quite a few. I guess on a basic level when we got to meet The Rolling Stones that was a real pinch yourself moment. And that was because they are a band that really shaped rock and roll from day one. I probably prefer The Beatles slightly more musically than The Stones, but they have done a lot. That was a moment we’ll never forget, and also having Josh Homme play guitar on the record. He is such an amazing songwriter and guitarist.

Read the rest of the interview on UG next week.

Read few exclusive excerpts from Amy Kelly’s UG interview before it goes live in full next week:

Do you feel any pressure from your label at this point in your career?

The label doesn’t really pressure us per se verbally. With the industry as fickle as it is, you kind of put that pressure on yourself. Executives, bands, and record stores – everybody is dropping like flies. Here today, gone tomorrow. You’ve got to keep being viable and give enough reasons for your record label to keep invested with the band and keep invested in you as well.

In buying the record or buying the single from iTunes and buying concert tickets, that’s keeping your shit going. I used to get really caught up with where we were on Billboard and how many records we had sold and where the single was and how much MTV was playing us. Honestly, I don’t even look at that. I have no idea where the single is. I have no idea how much they are playing our video. As long as I wake up and play a show and people are there and they know the words to the song and they’re having a good time and we get to do this for a living, then I’m happy.

I’m extremely happy that we can do that. Success isn’t the charts anymore. As long as I can keep doing this for a living, I’m extremely happy.

Photo credit: Chad Martel

What would you suggest for the business side? Do you think that touring as much as possible is still a viable approach to marketing?

That may work for some people. I don’t know. I really think that’s a complete waste of time, going to all these cities where people don’t know who you are. You go to a bar and play for 10, 15 people that are there for the drink specials. Maybe if you’re really good, then there will be 30 people. I’ve heard that. It never worked for me! I was always like, “Why did I take off work and spend money to go play at some show.”

I think nowadays it’s completely different. There is so much you can do on your own now. That’s what you have to do now as a band because no label has money to spend on breaking in an artist. The more you can do on your own as far as your MySpace, your Facebook, and your YouTube or your merch, the more you can do on your own and the less of a risk you are to a label, the better chance you have of getting it. The chance of a major label picking you up and wanting to spend a gazillion dollars on you are slim to none. Unfortunately that’s the way it is. Buy a van. If you make enough money, buy a van and the label doesn’t have to worry about it. Anything you can do on your own is going to give you more bargaining power with the label.

I will post the link to a full interview when it’s up, great read.

Asked by Joe, What has been the most important lesson you have learned from being in the music business?, Lu said:

Photo credit: Kentaro Murai

That there is no music business now, but the only thing I have learned is to not trust anything that has got to do with the business and only just play with your friends and connect to the people who you really share a passionate interest with music. Also keep your mind open and never dismiss anyone, never condemn anyone and never think you know everything.

Always keep your ideas open and go and see as much music as possible. And don’t clam up because if you become despondent and depressed, you will clam up.

And if you think you are really successful and are the bees’ knees and there is no one else better than you, you are going to clam up too and you are going to stop absorbing and stop connecting. And either of those two things are your nemesis. You have to stay calm and stay open. That is my advice.

This part is what I like: don’t ever stop absorbing and never stop connecting.

Read the full interview when it’s up on UG tomorrow here, and don’t forget to enter our latest giveaway for a chance to win 1,2,3’s colored Confetti 7″ vinyl for simply “liking” the Dotted Music Facebook page. It’s really simple.

For those musicians who are wanting to break into the industry, do you have any business advice?

Clint Lowery

The whole landscape of marketing is a lot different than when Sevendust first started. It’s got its pros and cons. The great thing is that anyone can get exposure through the Internet. There are so many avenues and so many ways to get yourself out there.

If you have the music to back it up, sometimes it just takes a small seed of promotion to get out there. If you have the music and the whole package to back that up, you plant that seed and it’s going to grow. If you have something that people want to hear and want to see, they are going to come and see it and buy it. They’ll spread the word. People want to be the first people to tell other people about this cool new band.

If you have the goods, you’ll do good. If you have an average band that relies on the smoke and the mirrors, you’re only going to go so far. If you have a real niche and something that’s new and liberating, people are going to get it.

If you have an average band, you’re going to get average results.

Read the full Amy Kelly‘s interview with Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery when it’s up on UG later this month.

While the need to record in a professional studio used to be the standard, the same quality of recordings can now be achieved from the comfort of your own home – you just need to know what you are doing. The purpose of this series is twofold – first, to explore different forms in-home recording in hopes of sharing some insight with other emerging artists looking to record their own music. Second, to expose the music of emerging artists who have put the time and effort into perfecting their craft.

MicControl

The music featured in Recording In The Home will vary from acoustic based blues to electronic based house, where the recordings were obtained in settings that range from an attic to a home-office based studio.

Except from interview with Eric Dennis – Metal Guitarist who goes by the stage name Daemon Blak:

Typical how many tracks will one of your songs contain? Can you explain the different tracks use?

On most of my songs, there are the following tracks – Drum rhythm tracks= 3-  main drum track for the primary beat, one fill track for cymbals, one fill track for drum fills, Bass track= 1. Rhythm guitar =2 tracks- one for left, and one for right, and Lead Track=1 for the guitar solo. There may also be two additional tracks for a lead harmony. That makes for an average total of 7 to 9 tracks for the music. There will be one track for vocals (when I find a singer), so the average track count is 7 to 10 total tracks, depending on the song.

Except from interview with ESEMDEE – Electronic Instrumental Composer:

Where do you get your samples from?

I hit the dollar (record) bins something serious. I had to not shop at the spot I go to for a while because I cleaned house. I got Prince’s “Purple Rain” album for .50 cents not too long ago. Everything from my 404′s & Cold Sores* album was made from dollar records. With vinyl back on the rise, so are the prices. I’m a man on a budget. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll just sample whatever songs I have on my computer. It could have came out today or in the ’40′s.. I’ll sample it. When I first started, I was using the sound of a heart beat for drum kicks. I might record my vocals to chop up and throw in a track from time to time. I get my samples from anything and everything. I’ll record voice memo’s on my phone when I’m riding the bus or hanging out and use everyday events even. Nothing is safe. You can’t limit your sources.

This series is right in line with the goals and purpose of MicControl.com – to establish a learning network through the use the fully functional blogging platform, where musicians can teach each other and learn from past experience. While MicControl.com is a fully functioning music social network, the primary focus is blogging and learning – forming a level of engagement and trust within the music community that has yet to be established on the internet.

This was a guest post by Jonathan Ostrow. Be sure to check out his ‘Recording In The Home’ interview series next week and express your thoughts on the topic in the comments below.

Reader’s Wives

Do you study how the music industry works? You seem to have a lot more knowledge about the music industry than some other musicians.

Yeah. I kind of made it my business. When I was younger and was doing the acoustic stuff, I had something musical to contribute, but didn’t really know where to start. I just got out among the conventions, and as a manager myself. At the time I did that, the whole digital thing was breaking, which everybody knows has turned the music industry on its head. But what I came away with as an artist was that I really need to know what I’m doing in a business sense. There’s no point in being good at music, and being no good or not knowledgeable about the business side.

We have a manager now as I said, but it’s still good for an artist to be knowledgeable enough to be able to talk to their manager on that level. I think most artists think that way now, but for some reason, they don’t want to be seen as boring to know a little bit about it, but I see it as exciting. It’s exciting to think that you can own everything, and still make great music. There’s something finally very punk rock about that; punk rock was a burst of energy, but it was supported by a major label system. What we have now is as good a burst of energy, but we can own it all.

Watch the Reader’s Wives video for “Victor’s Mother Juliet“:

Do The Editors ever try to try the self-promotion route or do you leave it up to the record label/publicists?

And Chris‘ answer was utterly logical and predictable:

“We can’t really leave it up to the record company to do anything interesting!”

Indeed, who can? The labels’ reputation in general is so stained, the digital revolution has brought us so many tools for “DIY” approach, the music scenes are overloaded, and seems no one cares about you. You have to do it yourself, you have to be an entrepreneur and not only a musician in order to survive and make a living from your music, etc. While all that is mostly true, and was especially true few years ago, we have to remember that things are changing very fast these days.

Image credit: blam2002 on Flickr

I always say that living a stereotyped “rock n’ roll” and especially ignorant life is not affordable now as it used to be sometime in the past. Yes, you have to treat your band as a business and put a corresponding effort into it, and be creative not only with your music. But is it all really about doing it on your own? Fortunately, a skeptical reconsideration of DIY is becoming a usual discussion topic. Musicians need friends, on the one hand, and labels are mutating to provide their bands with more than just a “record deal.”

Publicity companies should be mentioned as well. The publicities I work with, especially the relatively smallest ones, bring something innovative and interesting to the table every day, trying to think outside the box. And this is really great, for everyone (bands, music companies, media outlets, and fans, of course).

Something exciting happens when creative, smart people from related parts of the same industries unite, instead of quarreling with each other.

Do you believe in labels and publicists as the creative force behind musicians’ promotional campaigns, or think that the most unique things can be created solely by the artists themselves?