November 2nd, 2007
Trustkill Records has joined the new crop of labels offering a Fan Club model to fans of their music.
According to their easy-to-paste press release:
“Trustkill will offer 3 tiers to the subscription plan called 1. “The Pit”, 2. “Front Row”, and 3. “Backstage” which will give fans access to a massive library of audio, videos, as well as band/Trustkill merchandise. For the various price point subscription levels fans will have the opportunity of advance shipments of new Trustkill CDs/DVDs, and access to exclusive never-before-heard and seen songs/videos, a Trustkill watch, a Trustkill skate deck, exclusive Trustkill and free artist shirts and hoodies, a phone call from your favorite Trustkill artist, hand numbered Trustkill poster, all access “laminate” show pass, two (2) tickets to any Trustkill artist show, and access to your favorite Trustkill band’s video shoot, and lots more!”
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I think a label based fan club (especially for a prolific, very genre specific label) where people pay upfront for special access is a good idea in a p2p driven music marketplace. This also takes it out of the realm of having to sign up for one band and really aggregates an entire fan base and for once, gives a pretty good value.
check it out at: http://www.trustkill.com/allaccess/
Written by Bill Wilson | 2 Comments
October 4th, 2007
- AUGUST BURNS RED LOOKS FRAGILE AFTER ALL
- SET YOUR GOALS MUTINY
- RIVER CITY REBELS KEEPSAKE OF LUCK(NR)
- SKYLIT DRIVE SHE WATCHED THE SKY
- SUCIDAL TENDENCIES SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
- BLACK KEYS THE BIG COME UP
- CHIODOS HEARTLESS CONTROL
- ALKALINE TRIO MAYBE I’LL CATCH FIRE
- RX BANDITS AND THE BATTLE BEGUN
- CIRCLE JERKS GROUP SEX
here are the latest lumberjack top 10 scans. I am sorry I haven’t posted the indie charts yet, but I am working on it now. Vinyl Collective has made me its bitch as we have been so busy with the store (busy in a good way, but still very, very busy).
Written by Virgil Dickerson | No Comments
September 21st, 2007
Hey guys, things have been a little crazy for me as i just started a new job on the digital/ mobile side at one of those big ol’ major labels I’ve been talking shit about for the last decade or so. So far the people I’ve been dealing with are all very smart and very much aware of the changing scope of the business. I hope to use my experiences in this new environment to help smaller labels get a better grasp of the overall future of the marketplace.
Virgil has been ever so kind as to still allow me to stay on as a contributor. I hope to begin posting again soon.
Written by Bill Wilson | 5 Comments
September 11th, 2007
I’m loving what the folks over at Take Away Shows are doing. If you haven’t checked out the site before I highly recommend you do. They basically take a band and film them outside playing live and uncut in some sort of unique environment…
Here are a few I particularly enjoyed:
Written by Sean Klassen | 1 Comment
September 11th, 2007
Click image to enlarge.
We are celebrating our 12th anniversary this weekend. If any of you are in or around Denver, please come to one or all of our events. It should be a great weekend filled with shows, a punk rock flea market, and a BBQ/Washer’s Tournament. Click the below link for more info.
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Written by Virgil Dickerson | 8 Comments
September 10th, 2007
blik surface graphics are oversized, geometric decals (think stickers for grownups) that allow anyone to quickly & easily create custom wallscapes in no time. The decals are self-adhesive & removable, so your blank walls have no excuse to be bare.
I think their products could come in handy for bands and labels alike. Promoting a new record or a big show, get their decals and paste them all over the town. Want to put your band’s van and/or trailer to use to market your album or website, use Blik. Want to make your office or practice space look badass, use Blik. I am absolutely in love with the many possibilities that Blik and your band or label has together.
Written by Virgil Dickerson | 1 Comment
August 31st, 2007
So I just made a post over at the Suburban Home site where I posted mp3s of snippets of a conversation, I had with Jon Snodgrass of Drag the River/Armchair Martian. I recently figured out a pretty easy way to record phone conversations and can post the recordings as mp3s. I thought it might be a cool way to offer visitors of our site interesting things to listen to about our acts and about our label.
I was curious your thoughts and feedback on this. I think that it will be a neat way for me to discuss new signings, recordings, tours, and even fun stuff like what bands our acts are listening to and our artists’ interests.
I know what you are thinking, why not just do a podcast? Well, to be honest, I don’t have the time to produce a half hour or hour episode and feel that if I can offer short, but sweet conversations with interesting people, there might be some people who look forward to future converstions.
Please check out the original post where Jon Snodgrass discusses the upcoming Armchair Martian Tour, the final Drag the River album, Recording solo material, and a few bands he likes.
Jon Snodgrass discusses Armchair Martian tour, New Drag the River album, Solo Material and Pizza Parties [Suburban Home]
Written by Virgil Dickerson | 22 Comments
August 28th, 2007
I don’t plan to post every battle of the bands type contests I get word about, but I thought the following competition is an interesting way to join efforts between retailer and label. In this case, a label I have never heard of (Immergent Records) are working with Virgin Mega Store to host a battle of the bands. I have seen other labels do similar things and if done correctly, it is a great way to get your label some added exposure.
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Written by Virgil Dickerson | 46 Comments
August 25th, 2007
I know that I’ve waved the flag about how monetizing other content besides music is important to a revenue stream and is part of the next generation label model. The entity that plunks down an investment participates in all aspects of the artists life, in a management/ label hybrid model. In my somewhat Utopian vision of this, I pictured artists working together with their labels as true venture partners- mutual shareholders in a growing global brand. Sadly, I was floated some language from a not-to-be-named label, and once again they get it totally wrong.
To paraphrase the deal:
The label gets 20% of any income you earn, regardless if your’e an actor in a movie or on TV, on any merchandise or for-sale product bearing the name/ likeness of the artists, any income from endorsements or strategic partnerships, income from any books or articles you write, or videogames.
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Written by Bill Wilson | 6 Comments
August 2nd, 2007
I am looking for a recommended USB phone that I can use with Skype that will allow me to record my calls through my computer. I use I-Sound mp3 recorder that allows me to record all audio that comes through my computer as an mp3. I just want to find a good phone to make the calls.
I am planning to do mini-interviews with our acts and with people in the industry and post them on IndieHQ and Suburban Home as mp3s. Kind of like a mini-podcast but only a minute or two in length for those of us with short attention spans. Instead of a long interview, I might call up someone at a label and ask them one or two questions. I thought that might be a neat way to share opinions.
Please let me know if you recommend any USB skype phones. thanks.
Written by Virgil Dickerson | 6 Comments
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