It's Wednesday. Do You Remember My Name?

Welcome back!

It was brought to my attention yesterday that some people might not get the "hump day" reference and I don't want anyone to be confused. Looking at the work week (or school week), which is traditionally five days, Wednesday is in the middle and considered the "hump". Once you make it over the hump the rest of the week is a glorious downhill ride. I'm here to hopefully make your hump day a little more pleasant and easier to climb over. Got it? Good.

Moving on.

As I mentioned last week, I'll be giving you some networking tips to do when out socializing that will help you add names and faces to your mental rolodex.

1. The handshake

a. When you meet someone look them in the eye, shake their hand and repeat their name out loud after they say it. This will help you remember their name and hopefully be able to retrieve it from your memory when you see them next.

b. Give them a good one. I’d prefer to get a hand shake that temporarily cuts off my circulation than a soft one that leaves me feeling unfulfilled.

2. Business cards:

a. When someone gives you their business card LOOK AT IT! You must look at it while they are standing there right in front of you for a few reasons. It is yet another method of helping remember their name and where you met them. Also, it can be perceived as rude for the simple fact that it takes three seconds to get a good look at one of those and if you’re not going to take the time to just glance down, then why even take the card?

b. Do not be afraid to write down keywords on their business card. I initially learned not to do it in front of the person, but I find that people are appreciative because you are making a point to guarantee that they stay in your memory.

c. Upon purchasing business cards, opt out of the tempting glossy finish on both sides. You want to give people, such as myself, the opportunity to write on them.

d. Keep them. One of my desk drawers is dedicated solely to my business card collection. Rummage through them occasionally to remember some people that may be lost in your memory.

3. Names:

a. If you’re not sure how to pronounce their name, have them spell it and then repeat it to make sure that you are saying it correctly.

b. I forget names all the time. It’s incredibly difficult remembering every name and face after only meeting them once (sometimes even twice... or three times) unless the meeting managed to make quite the impression on you. If you forget someone’s name, don’t be afraid to ask them again. I’ve had great conversations with people and had to ask them to tell me their names at the end of our conversations. Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t remember because odds are they don’t remember your name either.

Now go out there and introduce yourself to people, chat them up, get their card, give them yours and don't forget to smile.

Cheers!

Why an advocate program makes sense…

When I was asked to join the ArtiSans Label and manage the R.A.D.A.R. program I asked myself a lot of questions. Why not just use traditional means of advertising? Why do we want advocates marketing for us? Why does an advocate program make sense?

Americans are bombarded by thousands of advertisements a day. Advertising is a 130 Billion dollar a year industry and advertisements are no longer limited to newspapers or the commercials between television shows. We now experience advertisements everywhere we look: on restaurant menus, at the check-out stand at the grocery store, in bathroom stalls, on every inch of sports arenas, on buses and taxis, on the sides of buildings, built into the news, television shows and movies via product placement, in our email inbox, on every webpage we visit, and in thousands of other ways.

The more ads we are bombarded with, the more we become immune to their messages. The truth is that traditional marketing methods are beginning to be replaced by new marketing approaches, and companies - especially small businesses, need to adjust accordingly. The message is no longer controlled by the business or the ad agencies, but by the customers and how they experienced a product or service. Websites, such as consumerist.com, are designed to help the consumer by reporting about companies who have gone above and beyond to satisfy their consumers and those who have failed to live up to their promises, exposing scams and defective products, and advising the consumer on how to go about getting the customer service outcomes they desire and how to deal more effectively with companies. CNET.com reviews everything technological. Tripadvisor.com allows you to leave and read reviews for hotels, and other travel destinations. Most shopping websites allow you to leave feedback on the items you purchased for potential buyers to see. Hundreds of websites exist so that consumers can leave reviews (on shopping websites, service companies, restaurants, hotels, etc.) so that future customers can make better informed decisions on where to spend their money. Personally, I use all of the above sites, and more, to be sure I know what I am purchasing and that I am spending my money wisely.

Word –of-mouth marketing has become a valuable resource for any business and ArtiSans Label knows that the use of advocates to market our business is the best way to attract new clients. With the R.A.D.A.R. program and the advocates who are participating, we can directly target the correct audience for ArtiSans. Rather than launch a pricey ad campaign, which would likely blend into the thousands of ad’s consumers already ignore, we reward our advocates for finding us new customers. Advocates find new bands and artists, tell them about ArtiSans Label, refer them, follow up with them - and when the time comes, pass them over to a artist coordinator to sign them to the label. By using advocates to market our business, ArtiSans Label can concentrate on the artists, their needs, and providing knowledgeable, friendly and reliable customer service.

To me, that just makes sense.

How Flexible Are you?

I feel like too many studios, producers, mixers, and engineers have a system they simply run each project through. It doesn’t matter what the songs sound like, the outcome is the same. Like an input/output formula. I understand that,for some, it's necessary to have a system like this. However it’s equally as important to have people that are willing to take each artist as they come.

If you were to give 10 bands a chart with just the chords, and tell them each to write a song, you will have 10 different songs. Every artist in unique! Everyone views life with a different perspective. Art is a chance for the artist to say, “Here is life through my eyes.” And as I said in last week’s blog, it’s the producer’s job to make sure the artist’s vision is clear. So, my question to you is how flexible are you? Are you willing to try different mics or mic placements, experiment with cloth or blankets on the drums, or even track main vocals with a 58?

I was working on a record a while ago with a group called The Steelwells. The song we were tracking had a very tom heavy “jungle” type of sound, which stayed pretty consistent for the majority of the track. I knew the sound of the toms needed to be intriguing because the drums were the hook of the song. So, I tried two things I had never done before. Tracked the cymbals separately from the rest of the kit, and placed an extra set of mics under the toms. The mics under gave me some extra power, and without the cymbal bleed in the overheads was able to apply unusual compression and EQ settings.

I’ve had singers get too nervous or don’t perform well in the booth. I just gave them a 58, turned the music up, and had them sing their hearts out. This gives them something they are use to. I’ve had groups that were going for a retro 50’s or 60’s sound. I knew the drums needed to sound tight and thuddy, so I used various cloths or sheets, and even full blankets over the drum sets to create the sound. I had an artist tell me one time, “hey man, for the intro…it needs to sound like rocks…rocks that are taking over your brain.” I looked at him, smiled, and said, “I think I can handle that.” I simply took the guitar riff in the intro, ran it through a few delays and verbs, planned it all over the place and asked him what he thought. “Ahhhhh. It’s perfect!” He was right, the intro now sounded awesome.

We have to be flexible in order to capture the unique gems that each artist has. This is not an easy task because it places us outside of our comfort zone. But it’s a huge component for making great timeless records. Imagine what Darkside would have like without a team flexible enough to handle their vision.

My purpose in writing these blogs is twofold: to share and discuss information, but more importantly, to evoke thought and the philosophy of music as an art. We should always be questioning, always improving, and always striving to be a true servant of our work.

Now let’s go out and do something that matters.

-Barrett

What's Your Music Addiction?

Music fans are like cigarette smokers, faithful to their brand. Hesitant to be the devil’s advocate here, but Philip Morris is genius in catering to addiction. When a band has solid and relatable music, an idiosyncratic identity and stage presence, we fans become addicted. We go further than simply listening to an album over and over again, we follow their shows, we talk about them, we wear their emblems, we read about them, we blog about them, we need our fix on every detail available! Addicted fans are like powerhouse public relations machines!

I speak from personal experience and the friends around me. My friends have tattoos of their favorite musicians! The Jen Creed herself knows details about Jason Mraz that his own sister probably does not know. (I had to ask Jen if Jason Mraz had any siblings…and she knew). She used to faithfully read his daily journal that he posted on his webpage. For instance, Jason Mraz wrote Sleep All Day about being a night owl because he went through his early 20’s staying up all night. Eventually he realized that he was missing the best part of San Diego, the sunrises. He decided to change his ways and wrote Who Needs Shelter. “Who needs shelter when the morning’s coming? Absolutely there’s no one. Who needs shelter from the sun?” He changed his thinking in his favorite city in the world; he became a morning person which led him to eventually tattoo a rooster on his lower back because they are the epitome of being an early riser. The Jen Creed has been an avid follower and introduces many people to the genius of “Live At Java Joe’s” and each one of them walks away with a sense of connection and inspiration. Check out one of Jen’s life changing addictions, Jason Mraz’s album, “Live At Java Joe’s”.

As fans, we will be faithful to musicians if you can captivate us and change the way we look at things, even if it’s only for a second. The music always comes first. An identity is essential, whether it is an insignia or your message to the world. What do you have to say to us? When this is established, we become accustomed to you, we become faithful to your brand, we are on the edge of our seats waiting to hear what you have to say next. And stage presence is self explanatory. Bring it to the stage each and every time and rock our socks off. That’s all we ask.