14.4.09

MaJiKer - Flesh & Bone


This week Gaymonkey releases the first single from the debut solo album by MaJiKer.

"Flesh & Bone" is a stunning piece of music - a mournful love song between a musician and his art. The story within builds on several levels - the metaphor of the piano interspersed with artists introspection of his own mortality. And finally the introduction of the ghostly angel (played by MaJiKer's on-stage collaborator - the fabulous Bénédicte Le Lay).

MaJiKer had already completed the video for the song by the time he approached us to join the label last year. I was instantly impressed - a perfect visual interpretation of the music. The song remains one of my favourites from the album, demonstrating his genius and always leaving me wanting another listen.

You can download "Flesh & Bone" from your favourite MP3 store. It comes with a remix by french electro maestro Leapstick and an exclusive live performance of "Wall of Sound".

MaJiKer is performing in Paris on the 29th of April - visit www.majiker.com for details!



10.4.09

Community Building


I've spent the better part of two weeks trying to sort out some marketing support for MaJiKer. We've been trawling the networks to find someone in France who can compliment the work we are doing to build his fanbase. 

It seems that most people working in music PR are still trying to do things the old way. They think working for an artist means they simply need to send volumes of press releases and albums out to lazy journalists. We know that this is no longer the case - we know how important it is to form a loyal community, and how to nurture it.

Thankfully Seth gave us further wisdom this week to support the approach. And even more thankfully it looks like we have found some energetic, fantastic individuals to help us with our french campaign.

The new approach to marketing is, of course, a hot topic for the music industry - as demonstrated by an email I received from Music Week announcing their latest conference: Making Online Music Pay. For a mere £199 you can attend to hear the experts pass down their wisdom on areas such as "identifying possible uses of social media channels".

One way to make online music pay is to whip together a panel and charge tickets to talk about it. Someone isn't learning their lesson (or alternatively, we're all in the wrong business!). Save your cash - here's some tips:

THE ARTIST IS AT THE CENTRE OF THE COMMUNITY
Work with them - involve them in the marketing strategy. Get them interacting with their fans. Genuinely. Ebb has always written back to the fans that take the time to email him. And MaJiKer is starting to develop an addiction to Twitter. Its easy to interact so just do it.

STOP THROWING AWAY CASH AND INVEST TIME
Advertising to the masses  is like drift net fishing - its a waste of money and you have no control over what you'll catch. Spend the time instead - build a targeted community and earn loyalty.

GET CLOSER TO THE COMMUNITY
Stop relying on a cast of misfits to work for you. The music industry has always put up barriers between the artist/label and the fan/customer. Distribution companies, record stores, managers, PR agencies. Remove the middle man.

THE POWER OF THE LOYAL FEW
Calvin Harris was whinging the other day that Mike Skinner had more Twitter friends than him. Quantity means nothing if your intention is simply to rack up numbers. If you've got volume, are you investing the adequate resource to nurture the community?

GIVE SOMETHING BACK
Your community deserves thanks. So give it to them.

Image by Pete Fletch on Flickr