Musicadium Blog

I have been a subscriber to the Moses Avalon blog and e-mail newsletter for a little while now and he always has interesting insights into the industry.  This blog, on the eve of Thanksgiving in the United States, discusses the current economic crisis and how the music industry not only plays a part in it, but is thriving despite it.

Read his latest blog here!

Moses Avalon is not afraid to address the hard-to-ask questions, not to mention highly philosophical topics about ethics in copyrights, digital distribution and debunking the myths about major record labels.

He began as a producer and worked with numerous Grammy-award winning artists.  He is now one of America’s most respected Artist’s rights activists.

We at Musicadium love what he is doing to empower artists with information and education.

Make sure you empower yourself by giving this great music blog a read and signing up to his e-mail list!

Blake Scott and the Festival of Stable Living are a three piece from Melbourne, and are making waves in the Aussie music scene. Check out the review from Red Dwarf and then judge it for yourself! This track is called ‘Evening Scars’ - leave your comments below!

Also available at

photography: Marta Kreiser 2008

Although it was a damp and drizzly Tuesday night in Bris-vegas, nothing could dampen the spirits of the Musicadium/Chiki party people - or the phenomenal music we witnessed at Barsoma for the ‘With Digital Love’ Musicadium/Chiki Productions showcase. Kicking off the evening in his usual fine form was Musicadium favourite Benjamin Hooper who provided some funky tunes, and got the crowd singing away to his new tracks as the room steadily filled with music lovers and industry folk alike. Tim (Musicadium) then made the announcement that we would be sending both Benjamin Hooper’s track ‘Seven Days’ and Omni Anti’s track ‘Blackbird’ to those who wanted to receive them via bluetooth - a digital present from the artists and Musicadium to the lucky partygoers.

By the time Omni Anti took to the stage, there was an excited buzz electrifying the crowd and hardly any room to stand. Once they started to play, it became obvious - Omni Anti are going to be big in the Aussie hip hop scene. Reminding us in some ways of the Herd, they were simply outstanding - if you haven’t checked them out yet, do so here, right now. You might be able to be one of the lucky few who ‘knew them before they were big’ and can claim ownership of such a tight and talented outfit. With a singer that could rival Aretha Franklin, and tight rhythm section, funky keys and guitar riffs, a charismatic mc/vocalist and even a violin and baritone saxophone - you couldn’t ask for a better combination of talent and instrumentation on one stage. We were then lucky enough to catch the world exclusive screening of the film clip to accompany the ‘Blackbird’ single which roused an excited cheer from the already exhilirated crowd.

Ending the evening’s festivities was the winner of the Valley Busking Competition - The Lyrical Shamon. Now, we hadn’t seen this enigmatic performer play before so didn’t really know what to expect. Boy, did he put on a show! With beatboxing, an angelic voice, wicked guitar skills and an entertaining set list - the Lyrical Shamon was born to entertain.

Check out the pics on the Musicadium flickr account, and we hope to see you at the next ‘With Digital Love’ showcase!

Feel like you could do with a bit of a refresher course on your musical managerial skills? Music NSW has a great site that provides fact sheets for all of those things like ABNs, BAS, GST and other acronyms that may not make a whole lot of sense to some artists but are paramount when it comes to self-management. Check them out here and impress your bandmates with your wealth of music business knowledge!

If you have a hot video clip for one of your tracks that you think needs to be shared with the Musicadium family, pass it along so we can have a squiz! Send an email here and we’ll post up a link on our blog so that your fellow online travellers can see what makes an interesting clip and possibly get some cool ideas for their own video ventures.

This week we bring you Free Agent Crew’s new video for their track ‘Snakebite’ and we think we’ve hit a winner with this one. This act has been a long time favourite at the Musicadium office since we discovered them earlier in the year. The illustration aspect of this clip is a really effective concept and creates another level of interest to an already pretty funky video. (The boys are also quite easy on the eye, so ladies (and gents) strap yourself in!)

Grab their EP at

Yesterday, Tim was walking home from the Musicadium office, hurrying to beat the storms coming in from

the west of Brisbane, when he saw Clint Boge from The Butterfly Effect!

We here at Musicadium are big fans of Seth Godin’s work and anything in regard to how to market to fans.

I found this article this morning and, as well as the video that comes along with it, it’s amazing.  The video describes fundamentalist thought (not necessarily fundamental religious thought, rather people who accept information presented to them without exploring the facts first) versus what Seth Godin describes as “Curious” thought.  A desire to explore and find new information and the truth.

Check it out:

The Evolution Of Tribal Curiosity

established opinion leaders or chiefs.  Think about music blogs (pitchfork, stereogum & brookynvegan), where new artists are brought forward by a single source, and echoed down through different ranks and layers.  Embraced by certain tribes, but not by all.  Their reach differentiates, but wider spread.

4. State: Civilizations, with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments. Examples:  MySpace, Billboard Charts, Rolling Stone, and Top Radio.  High rates of discrimination of what makes “good music.”  They are influencing and reaching the masses far and wide.

In a world where people now have way more choices and far less time, the obvious thing happens, people start ignoring you.  But, no artist should ignore any fans, because they are more connected than ever.  You have to be constantly empowering curiosity and amplifying faith of your followers, because that is the only way you will rise above the the ranks and gain their acceptance.

Seth Godin - \’Curious\’

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2008/11/the-evolution-o.html

Leave your thoughts in a comment here - how does this challenge/align with the way you interact with your fans?

Looking to finesse your live performance skills? If you live near the Gold Coast, we recommend you rock along to the Coolangatta Sands Hotel’s MySpace page and check out what they’ve got on offer.

The Hotel and rock band The Smashed Crabs host a weekly jam session called Sands Jam where experienced and undiscovered talent battle it out. Prizes include music store gift vouchers and Tooheys and Jagermeister prize packs, and the chance to win a Jack Daniels branded Fender guitar, at the end of the series. Big Day Out tickets are given out at random to audience members. Sands licensee Chris Kelly says, “I believe there currently isn’t anything on the coast that supports this kind of event and undiscovered talent. It also gives bands and soloists who may not be getting regular gigs and want to practice in front of a crowd the opportunity to do so”. Sands Jam launched last Thursday and and will run over 13 weeks. For more information, and to participate contact Scott Martin (07) 5536 3066.

QMusic, Arts Queensland and Trade Queensland are giving two Qld acts the chance to play at UK festival The Great Escape in Brighton (May 14 to 16). It will feature 200 bands across 25 venues. You have to be an original band based in Qld, have a CD out and with management and/or label. Any enquiries email info@qmusic.com.au. Deadline is 5pm on Wed 26 Nov, submit to www.qmusic.com.au/thegreatescape. It’s free for QMusic members, $11 for non-members.

Musicadium will always applaud artists who think outside of the square and try something different when it comes to engaging music lovers. We found this article on Christie’s Music News and wanted to share it with you all for some possible inspiration.

Melbourne’s Brittle launched their “Technology is Your Friend” campaign at the Arthouse Hotel to 200+ tech saavy fans. They intergrated the release of a sample track from their forthcoming EP “Chinese Whispers” via bluetooth during the set, by asking fans to power up their bluetooth handsets to recieve a studio version of the track “Do It Again” while they played the song simultaneously on stage. Within seven minutes they got 247 downloads. “With a little brainstorming there are many ways that even a indie band can reach fans and convert potential fans by getting them a little involved in the show,” says Ben Whiting. Brittle moved from Ballina, NSW this year.