Musicadium Blog

For the first time in the twenty-three year history of the ARIA Awards, music lovers will be able to purchase and download recordings of the live music performances from the Australian iTunes store.

The 2009 ARIA Awards playlist is available on iTunes now for pre-order and from Tuesday, 1 December, fans will be able to download individual songs. All proceeds from the sale of the live digital tracks will be donated to local charity, Youth beyond blue, the youth arm of beyond blue: the national depression initiative.

Australia’s leading digital music provider – iTunes, digital distributor - Musicadium, and ARIA have worked together to make this initiative a reality, with all partners donating their services in support of Youth beyond blue.

Artists confirmed to perform at the 2009 ARIA Awards include The Temper Trap, Sarah Blasko, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lisa Mitchell, Empire of The Sun, Ladyhawke, Hilltop Hoods, Jessica Mauboy and Keith Urban, alongside international special guest Robbie Williams.

The 2009 ARIA Awards will be telecast on the Nine Network from 8.30pm on the evening of Thursday, 26 November, followed by an encore screening on MTV on Friday, 27 November at 5.30pm.

Digital Music and Video Aggregator Musicadium has joined forces with digital delivery to Radio/Media service D-Star MPE to provide content to the tastemakers of Australian Music.

D-Star MPE is used by a wide variety of radio stations and music supervisors around Australia and the world, seeking new music to play on their station, as well as media, bloggers and TV representatives, all seeking the newest/hottest tunes to spin.

The addition of the D-Star MPE service to Musicadium only strengthens Musicadium’s position to promote and aid Musicians/artists to get their music heard.

Musicadium has created a number of packages that will benefit artists in their bid to get their art to those who have the power to play their music to potential fans.

Packages include Alternative radio, Commercial Radio, Community Radio, Country Radio TV/Synchronisation and various media sets.

So far, Musicadium has helped numerous artists, including Sally Seltmann (ex-New Buffalo) and previous UncharTED winners Here Come the Birds to deliver their new singles to Radio and is now making the service available to all.

Musicadium’s role is to provide new music to Australia’s broadcast community and it will be open to anyone, not just artists distributed to Musicadium.  Combinations of the packages or customisation can be negotiated by emailing info@musicadium.com.  Payment for the service is made via PayPal.

The service can be found at http://www.musicadium.com/dstar-mpe.

This week, Musicadium intern Tiffany caught up for a chat with Brianna Carpenter, one of Brisbane’s most exciting singer/songwriters and one of the most unique and talented people to go through Australian Idol.

1.    Back in 2007 you made it into the top 12 of Australian Idol, how did you find that whole process?
Well, you go from being a nobody…to not being able to walk down the street without people wanting your autograph or talk to you. Or just stare at you! Haha! So, that was intense. I learnt a lot and I got out of it what I wanted to. My song “Jacqueline” was played on the show numerous times and it got my name out there. I think it worked out okay for me because I wasn’t on the show for very long. I got booted off 11th but it seemed to be enough time for the public to understand that I was a songwriter and not at all into karaoke. The other contestants in my year were brilliant fun too. I really enjoyed hanging around with them and living in a multi-million dollar mansion with a chef and drivers and paparazzi! As I said…very ridiculous!

2.    This year you were announced as a finalist in the Adult Contemporary category of New Artist to Radio competition 2009 with your song “Jacqueline”. That’s a pretty big achievement, how did it feel to have your music recognized in that way?
That was a massive achievement. I’d forgotten that I’d entered it actually and had no idea what song had been picked so that was a surprise. I knew it’d take awhile to distance myself from the whole “I’ve been exploited on TV” thing, so it’s great that I’m being recognized for my songwriting potential. I was one of nine artists that got to go down to Sydney a few weeks ago and network with all the commercial radio music directors, so it’s been a great experience.

3.    Where do you draw your inspiration from?
People. Always people. I wonder about what they’re thinking. Like if I’m driving home from a night out and it’s 4am and there’s other drivers out there on the road that aren’t taxis and aren’t trucks. I drive along just wondering why they’re awake at this time. That sort of thing. People on the train. On a bus. My friends. People out jogging. I’m always wondering why they are the way they are.

4.    This is the first time you’ve recorded an album. How did you find the whole process? What can we expect from Harlequin?
Recording was great fun. I worked with producer Brendan Anthony. He’s a talented man and has been doing it for a loooong time. He’s worked with INXS, George, Wheatus, Wendy Matthews, Cold Chisel…so I was in good hands. I mixed the album in the hinterland of Byron Bay and basically chilled out for a week listening to the tunes and hanging with Jon Burnett (the lovely assistant engineer) playing ping pong. Harlequin is 10 years worth of what I think are my best and most loved songs. I had to do it. The first album was always going to be a reflection on how I started. So, it’s a bit of a mixture of styles but works well.

5.    What can we expect next from Brianna Carpenter?
I’m recording again now, working on pre-production for some new material. I’ve spent the last year just gigging. Gigging my brains out! I want to do more and more! Planning a tour with Melanie Horsnell and Kate Vigo for early next year along with a bit of a tour all to myself. Should have the new material finished by June next year. Exciting times!

Check out Brianna on , MySpace or at her website!

An event management professional said to me recently that she came across a band who believed that “Professionalism” has no place in the music industry and should not be taken into consideration when choosing bands for a lineup on a gig’s bill.

Sounds crazy, right?  I believe in professionalism in any industry (your band as a business and a brand depends on it), but I also believe in creativity and creative licence in a performance.

I understand to some extent what the musician is talking about - I am a musician myself (well, drummer anyway) and I understand that there is the whole credibility vs corporate “Don’t sell out to the man!” mantra amongst musicians.  Anyone who knows good music will know a band who has sold out to the “man” and are not being true to themselves. There is a big difference between being a professional and sacrificing credibility for dollars.

Let’s have a look at what professionalism actually means in the music industry.

From what I can tell about the statement made by the musician, he believed that a good-looking MySpace or website, facebook page etc, good quality recordings, a bio and playing to a timeframe given for the gig was all irrelevant and that his “good music” should be considered above all else and that he should be given gigs based on that. The event management professional had given him gigs previously and the band turned up late for soundcheck, complained when they could not have one because of lack of time, played a lot longer than the allocated timeslot and ignoring directions from stage management.  Sounds like a nightmare, right? But still, he insisted that Professionalism was periphery to the music industry.

Musicians are always busy people and often working 9-5ers as well as creating art, but is that any reason why professionalism should be dropped?

I do not believe that being a musician and being a professional are mutually exclusive, even after a musician has got to the point where they pick up a manager to take care of business affairs. So here’s a list I have come up with. Feel free to add to it or cut it to pieces.

Top tips for interacting with music industry

• Get yourself an appropriate e-mail address with which to do all written correspondence, even if it’s a free one. i.e. bandname@gmail.com.
  The email account you started for yourself at high school using your nickname or some such reference is not professional and does not indicate that you are taking the correspondence overly seriously.
• Check your spelling, be neat and fact-check!
  This goes for all written correspondence - MySpace page, facebook, bio, twitter, e-mail, applications to festivals.  Paste text into your text-editor of your choice and have it give you a cursory look at your paragraphs to quickly identify any major problems with your spelling.  Then go over it yourself and give it an idiot-check.  In my opinion, nothing shoots down your credibility quicker than (consistently or obviously) spelling words wrong. Worse is spelling names wrong or getting names/facts wrong altogether!!
• Be on time.
  Whether it’s a meeting with an industry person, a soundcheck or for a gig or a media call, don’t be late or lazy! Obviously, acts of God or massive traffic jams aside, being on time and having a great attitude counts a lot! The easier you are to deal with and the smoother the process of working with you to provide a great show/service, the less resistance you will encounter from that industry worker again. Remember the old rule of restaurants. If you get bad service from a restaurant, a customer will tell 8 people. If they get good service, they are likely to tell only 1 or 2.  You are the one providing the service in this case and you are the one who can leave a good impression!
• Sound great!
  Don’t go to industry people (labels, booking agents) with your music until you have something that you feel truely represents you.  Obviously, this will be a continuous battle to perfect this.  I am simply suggesting don’t go public with demo that will be detrimental to your chances of interacting with that industry worker again.  Additionally: choose wisely who you send your material to and do some research. If a label specialises in dance music releases, as a general rule, they won’t be interested in your alt-country release, so it’s probably safe to say it’s a waste of time committing your time to that.
• Look good!
  While not necessary, a great press shot will turn heads.  While what REALLY matters is the music, of course, often a promo photo or CD cover art will be the first contact a band will have industry, hopefully just prior to listening to your tunes. You have a chance to tell a story very quickly with these tools and the more concise you are with your message in these mediums, the more chance you have of someone giving it a spin.
• You don’t have to be Formal, but be respectful.
  While you don’t have to lay out any e-mails with Dear Sir/Madam or To Whom it may concern, professionalism in this case certainly takes on another guise. It means acknowledging that Music Industry professionals are busy people and your e-mail/call is going to be one of hundreds of things they do that day. So keep it simple and short, well-written and to the point. Ask what you want to ask and leave it with them. Don’t follow up every two hours with “Have you had a chance to have a look at my e-mail?” etc. Maybe a follow up after a week if you feel that there is some urgency.

Griffith University’s Dave Carter caused quite the stir when presenting his Online Marketing Research Paper at Big Sound this year. So much so, that he has since been interviewed globally on his findings - and most recently by Ariel Hyatt of Music Think Tank. Check out the fantastic interview here, and Ariel’s site here.

In case you missed out on Dave’s findings at Big Sound, or you’re yet to read them at www.musicadium.com/reports, Musicadium team member Anna Stodart has given you a rundown of Dave’s findings, and what it means for you as an artist and as a fan.

Follow Dave here

Follow Ariel here

In a recent study conducted by Griffith University Professor Dave Carter, it was examined if the web presence and sales data for 99 independent Australian artists distributed by Musicadium could identify what, if any, relationships exist between their use of online space and digital sales

Let’s face it; should bands really be shamelessly stalking radio announcers for airplay anymore? And when was the last time you watched Video Hits? What musicians should really be pushing for, at least according to Carter’s findings, is an online following.

Carter’s findings suggest that with higher levels of fan or audience engagement, there was a tendency to correspond to proportionally higher artist earnings. The most successful artists, as distributed by Musicadium, were those who made use of multiple inter-linked sites, including a dedicated website or blog as well the use of mailing lists and the provision of free content.

In the same way that no two people will share the exact same music taste, not every social medium is going to speak to every person. So it’s in a bands best interest to get amongst as many of them as possible. And don’t forget the odd free giveaway. Every fan loves a free giveaway.

So, what does it all mean? Fans (or to others, consumers) are tuning out to the white noise of traditional mediums and are seeking more from bands than the radio and television can offer. Fans are free to pick and choose bands as they please, and can simply push aside the racket that is presented to them by major broadcasting avenues and labels. They are turning down the radio, turning off the TV and turning to the internet and they’re online- waiting for you.

So the online social networking frenzy may be another way to generate buzz about your band. But an up and coming musician shouldn’t forget that fans are logging in online and taking their time out to connect with you.

What it all comes down to is relationships- if they can’t connect with you, they can’t connect with your music.

This week we have you-beaut electro/dance artists Friends of Mine’s cover art to admire. We love it here in the office. A play on words and a great visual! Very profesh, very cool.  Check out Friends of Mine at MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/friendsofmineonline. Can’t See Straight will be live on iTunes, eMusic, Amazon and Nokia very soon. Meanwhile, check out their sexy film clip at YouTube.

This week we are catching up with a special band to feature - The Bastard Children.  Artist Relations Manager, Sarah, caught up with the boys and questioned them about their music and the hirsuite pursuits (namely, their beards.)

From their MySpace:

“The twisted offspring of junkyard folk, old-world gypsy, ragged celtic & dirty blues. A multi-instrumental globe-hopping jaunt through the Australian musical landscape. The Bastard Children bring the wheeze of the accordion, the spilled blood of a dirty harmonica, the tearing of guitars, the scrape of the mandolins, banjos and more. A fast paced live show that leaps through various styles and instruments with all the urgency of a thirsty drunkard. Sordid, scandalous and superbly attired, these lads are, like it or not, bastards of their own diverse cultural heritage.  Grafted from the gnarled and twisted branches of Australia’s musical family tree, theirs is a sound plundered from their foreign forebears. The soil is rich and the roots go deep and, although their sounds may have originated from foreign shores, The Bastard Children conjure the ignoble birth of something distinctly Australian and undeniably good fun.”

1.     There seems to be a lot of great bearded musicians out there at the moment. Who are your favourite bearded songwriters? Do you think there is a correlation between growing a beard and writing good songs?
As a band we seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time discussing facial hair. It was only natural to get together with a band called The Beards for the Adelaide leg of our tour. This is band who write and perform songs exclusively about beards, we got on well. I think you can really hear a bearded recording, it’s like vinyl, it has a certain quality to it that’s hard to define but just works. I believe The Beatles did some of their finer work whilst bearded. The same is also true of The Band, Santa and to a lesser extent, Celine Dion.

2.    You play a lot of old-fashioned and interesting instruments. Are there any new/old and exciting ones you’re going to bring into the fold?
We’re all a bit obsessive when it comes to collecting instruments and they always seem to find their way into our recordings. I’m on the look out for a Fox hunting bugle at the moment and I’ve always wanted a pipe-organ but taking it to gigs could become a problem. It’s a great part of the writing process we you work with an instrument that is unfamiliar – you tend write differently when out of your comfort zone and take less traditional directions.

3.    If you could collaborate with any musicians (living or dead) who would they be?
I would love to work with Tom Waits, I’d probably be a little bit scared but I’d love to work with him in a studio environment and explore some of his techniques. His recording always have such an experimental style, he captures moments, textures, emotions masterfully.

4.    Have you ever had any adverse reactions to your name?
When we played the Edinburgh fringe we had a few old Spanish ladies take us to task when we were doing some promo. Not sure what was said but the word ‘Bastardos’ was being used and they didn’t look happy. My mother wasn’t a huge fan at first but my grandmother thinks it’s great – she’s been calling us Bastards for years anyway!

5.    You’re playing at the Apollo Music Festival next year which is huge. Apart from this, what’s next for the Bastard Children?
We’re back in the Converted 1970s brothel recording studio working on a new album at the moment which is has been intensive on both ears and liver. And we’re off to the UK next year to do a bunch of shows and return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which is exciting. We’re hoping to build on the great responses we had last time and maybe meet some more fiery old Spanish ladies.

You can check out The Bastard Children’s music on

So here’s an update of what I’ve been up to recently.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been busy posting tickets to bands scheduled to play at UnPlug. As you can see in the picture below, I’ve including my awesome new business cards, plus anything else Musicadium/UnPlug related. Upcoming at UnPlug we have metal bands, indie bands and a few acoustic nights…each a first for the venue, something I’m definitely looking forward too.

My business cards arrived at the beginning of last week and they look awesome (did I mention that they look awesome?!) I’m hell stoked as it means I can now promote the Musicadium name in style, offering a more efficient and reliable method of networking. I’ll make sure these cards stay in my back pocket indefinitely! (well at least not during the wash)

After incorporating the Unplug Live/Musicadium association,  I’ve also decided to give our original flyers a revamp.

You can check out previews below:

These will be due for collection from Street Print towards the end of the week.

and finally…

The Musicadium Podcast

With the first set of UnPlug Live shows shortly arriving, I’ll be starting progress on the Musicadium Podcast I’ve been discussing in recent posts. For every booking, I’ll be requesting a high quality MP3 of an artists track, during the week of the event due to be taking place. Each UnPlug Live show shall consist of three bands on the line-up, with regular mid-week gigs scheduled each month. At the end of the month, I’ll then produce a podcast featuring tracks from all the artists whom have played at the venue. However, the artists whom shall be featured on the podcasts will only be those who have successfully completed the UnPlug Live policy, earning a distribution deal with Musicadium. This demonstrates a solid working strategy benefiting both the artist, the venue and of course Musicadium. I’ll be creating the podcasts here, providing the team at Musicadium with all necessary log-in information and passwords. From here, I’ll look into posting a download link each month on the Musicadium blog, with a brief description of the artists featured.

That’s all for now!

Peace

Jimbo