IndieHQ / Article Detail

May 24th, 2007

Blogging The Bloggers: Talentfilter

A little while ago, I ran across TALENTfilter, a blog all about great unsigned music. No hipster kitsch, no specific genre… just great unsigned stuff, as heard by an educated set of ears, with a knowledgeable sense of humor about the music biz-at- large. I find myself checking in on it frequently, and decided to talk to the (anonymous) folks responsible.

What was your motivation to start TALENTfilter? Unemployment, really. I had some free time on my hands, but was still on the hunt for new music…I’ve been that way my entire life — constantly looking for new great talent. I was coming across great artists on other music websites, but found that I was spending a lot of time sifting through bullshit. I figured, why not start my own little blog and post only the creme de la creme of artists — that will appeal to the general public. That’s the key here. Music that appeals to a bigger piece of the music-buying pie. If a decision-maker at a label notices, and the blog becomes his/her go-to spot for artist discovery, then great!

Is this just a scam so you can be the next Ultragrrl?
Fantastic question actually. Look, if the person at a label who writes the checks decides to write me one, I ain’t gonna turn ‘em down. Regarding Ultragrrl… (and with the greatest respect) …I defy you to pick any of the acts featured on TALENTfilter and play them for “Johnny Musicbuyer” back to back with an Ultragrrl signing –9 times out of 10 they’re gonna pick an artist I’ve got on the site.
I do love Ultragrrl’s passion and I’m a fan of lots of the things she comes across, but most of it is music that should remain on a small label, catering to that specific small slice of the pie.

Have the indies taken over the role of “tastemaker”?
They’ve always been the tastemakers. They’re able, now, to reach a lot more people due to the advancement of technology — and that means less of a need to do business with a major.

Are there any rules to being featured on your site?
No rules really. We look for artists that may have a bit of a story already building, but in the end, we’re listening with the ears of radio programmers and film/TV music supervisors.

Where do you see the roles of the majors/ indies on going?
Major labels need to rethink the plan. Their overhead is too high. They’ve got to move past the idea of selling shiny round things that nobody wants in stores that don’t exist anymore. Why the majors haven’t built their own online music stores is beyond me. Take all of those folks from the retail department, give ‘em a crash course in online sales, force ‘em to hang out with the ‘new media’ geeks that they’ve got stuffed in the closet, and put them to work building the Warner Bros. version of iTunes! Hell, Virgin Records was started out of a retail shop. Why can’t Virgin Records (or whateverthehell it’s called this week) get back to that — form an online record shop — cut the online aggregators out completely and sell direct-to-public. What do I know — I’m out of work ;)

Did you see that labels had a “secret” meeting with the RIAA at NARM about a new physical format to take over from CD? What’s your take on that and the whole digital vs. physical good thing? Labels are in ‘panic-mode.’ It’s kinda funny. Why they’re fighting the whole digital movement is beyond us here at TALENTfilter

Is it possible to make money from music or are artists in this bold new era of democratized distribution destined to live a life of poverty?
I’m actually a very big fan of the ‘tip jar’ idea — give the music away for free but ask for ‘donations to the cause’. Of course, the major labels would have heart attacks, but if they restrucutre their deals with developing acts where they’re able to participate more in film/TV synch monies, touring/merch dollars, etc., it could work out quite well!

You seem to be consciously avoiding the “hipster band” thing… The last thing ‘the internets’ needs is another hipster music blog.

What’s your advice for an artist looking to make a career of music at this point?
If we’re talking about a baby band….here are some tips:

1. Work with an experienced producer and have a fair back-end deal in place with him/her so you’re not sweating upfront costs.
2. Realize the importance of an online presence. If you’re not web-saavy, find a friend who is.
3. Find yourself a good film/TV plugger. The cash in your pocket from the publishing and master sides of the synch fees will help fund your tour, help you press up CDs to sell at shows, get your singer out of jail, etc.
4. If you do get placements on film/TV, find a way to translate that into music sales. If Grey’s Anatomy features one of your songs, it ain’t gonna magically correlate into sales. Get into those blogs. Get word out that what people heard on the show is your band!
5. Tour tour tour. But you knew that already.
6. Remember that it’s a big world out there. If your music isn’t necessarily translating Stateside, it could work in the UK, mainland Europe, Australia, etc.
7. When it comes time to deal with a label, ask them what they can do for you that you’re not already doing on your own. Bigger isn’t always better.
8. Have realistic expectations.

Any idea on how your viral traffic and readership “spreads” around the globe? Any figures or data you care to share?
It’s a relatively new blog — put it up in February. The only folks we were notifying about the fact that it even existed were the heads of major labels and heads of A&R (back to that whole ‘being unemployed’ thing) …Funnily enough, we’ve had numerous label people E-mail and ask what our business model was.

Written by Bill Wilson