Monster Call Comments

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69 responses

  1. Hey guys, thanks for the great session! Do you recommend an new rock band creates a buzz first and have a minimum draw (say 40 people here in L.A.) before attacking press and college radios, or should we go to radio and press right away?

    David from Los Angeles, 6am eternal

  2. btw, this is an amazing thing to offer artists…your knowledge. I work with a lot of artists who can benefit (& should try to) from things like this & I intend to refer every one of them to you guys. Thanks!

  3. CMJ was OK, it was a good blend of Unsigned & Signed artists. The Directory gave a good description of each band & set times were pretty dead on. It was fun, but I enjoy the “smaller” conferences more. It WAS harder to meet REAL people though (aka Non-Radio or label people). If I didn’t live in NYC I dunno if I could have afforded it.

  4. Mira Blackhawk Avatar
    Mira Blackhawk

    Is there any value in sending your music to artists who influenced your own work?

  5. HIs main page, for background, is:
    http://www.geniesongs.com/troy.htm

    .

  6. “stand up & take back this business”…amen. as an ex-label person whose broken off on my own doing radio promo as Notorious Radio, I couldn’t agree more. viva la revolution! I’ll stop commenting now…

  7. My husband wrote a cool book on the questions you’re asking, and it’s free right here:
    http://www.geniesongs.com/troy/PeelingOnionTroyNilsson.pdf

  8. I would love to be able to know who iss in my neighborhood in NY thats on this call! Long Island here, band name is FINESPUN, website is http://www.finespunmusic.com .

    Hope to hear from anyone local and maybe help eachother out with draw at clubs:)

    Guys, great call so far!
    Oren
    http://www.finespunmusic.com

  9. Hey, I’m David from Los Angeles, from the band 6am eternal. Our music is somewhere between Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. Visit our website and make sure to drop a few words on our message boards!

  10. How do I sell another million CD’s?

  11. regarding record sales, do you 100% recommend artists get a registered UPC code, or sell “out of the trunk” until you get established? how do get the UPC code & does it cost money?

  12. Mira Blackhawk Avatar
    Mira Blackhawk

    What advice would you give to a studio artist, who doesn’t have any plans to perform, who has been successful in the past, has sold thousands of albums, but has lost momentum because of lifestyle changes and haven’t sold more than a dozen albums in the last five years. And I really have very little in the way of contacting my past fans. What would be the first thing I should do to recreate a buzz and rebuild my established listening audience.

  13. whats the contact info for 1off upc’s?

  14. i manage a band noosphere who has a mailing list of 1000 plus, we are preselling the debut cd. we have sold 114 so far. any ideals of how to get the rest of the base to preorder. also i’m in philly and disc hounds went bankrupt.

  15. for the one off UPC codes go to http://www.IndieRec.com (its also hyperlinked on the right on the Essential Links list

  16. Hey guys! Thanks for the great talk. The points you brought up about UPC bar codes from the manufacturer may have saved me tremendous grief in the future.

  17. CDbaby is also cool for barcodes.

  18. Steven- I would add some sort of value if they pre-order, like free tix to the release party gig or a limited edition Live or even Autographed disc that they can ONLY get if they pre-order.

  19. If we don’t get a chance to answer your question while you’re on the call, we’ll answer it in the comments here!

  20. Fixed — thank you!!

  21. Joe- I’m having trouble signing up for your email newsletter mailing list…it’s saying “Page Not Found”…can you add me yourself? my email is notorious@notoriousradio.com…Thanks!

  22. Thanks again for this…we had to run for a show, but every second of the almost 4 hours we were on was AMAZING. You guys really outdid & went above & beyond for us & your passion for this shows. Kudos!

  23. We have a list of 75 questions we wanted to hit — we’re only on #35, so we have a way to go! 🙂

  24. Dave! Give a shout out to Ian Decker for the promo of disposable cameras for marketing!

  25. Wow!

    We survived! Thank you all for joining us tonight. We’re going to rest up, and I will answer some of your comment/questions when I am back in the office on Monday! Thanks again!!!!

  26. Jeremiah Birnbaum Avatar
    Jeremiah Birnbaum

    or, properly spelled, compilation? 😉

  27. I was at CMJ and I saw a bunch of bands but I think the best unsigned band I saw was morningwood their website is morningwoodrocks.com they are going to be huge!!

  28. ALWAYS ALWAYS create a buzz 1st! JIMHO

  29. Jeremiah Birnbaum Avatar
    Jeremiah Birnbaum

    Hi–a great session so far. Just a follow up on something you mentioned–How would I submit my material for the IndieMusic complitation?

  30. What do you think about CMJ in NYC?

  31. hey it’s deb from dallas.

  32. it appears that you are anti major label. does this mean that the KR tip sheet does not have major label opps?

  33. What is the young ladies name you are talking to in Indiana moving to Nashville that wants songs?

  34. THIS CALL IS GREAT BY THE WAY. EVEN THOUGH I LIVE IN NYC AND HAVE HAD AIRPLAY IN THE TOP STATIONS HERE FOR MY GENRE OF MUSIC(HIP HOP), IT SEEMS LIKE OUTSIDE MY AREA IS MORE WILLING TO TAKE A CHANCE ON INDEPENDANT ACTS. I’VE SEEN THE OTHER STATES THRU BDS THAT HAVE PLAYED OUR SINGLE, HOW DO I GO ABOUT GETTING CONTACTS OR SHOWS IN THOSE OTHER STATES TO WORK WITH AND PROMOTE MY MUSIC IN THOSE AREAS?

  35. Hi my name is tanya fermin. I am located in Northern California. I am a singer/songwriter. Genre is jazz/r&b. I am actually sitting here stuffing envelopes to all my family and friends to have them sign up up for my newsletter either electronic or postal. You can contact me at tlfermin@aol.com The good news is that my WEBSITE will be up and running next month.
    It is http://www.tanyafermin.com.

  36. JK McKnight Avatar
    JK McKnight

    great thing you all are doing with this!! Question, what is the best way to utilize “The Indie Bible?” Will the contacts listed in this publication really listen to my music?? Thanks – JK

    http://www.jkmcknight.com
    http://www.thevixenred.com

  37. Hi Deb from Dallas and I represent 3 songwriters from Dallas and Toronto if you’re looking for song material

  38. With the Huge Success of Norah Jones-do you think that style will be around for a while mainstream?

  39. Hey Guys! First let me thank you for this conference call, I’ve got a few pages of notes and idea’s!
    I have a question:
    How do you feel about digital distribution as a way of promoting an artist? I’ve seen different services offering downloads at $ .99 per track. Seems like a good way to get the music out there to people who may not want to spend the money on a whole album if there is only a few tracks they want to hear. However, I read that alot of the “major” artist’s have pulled out of this service. Why?

  40. Tyler Lizenby Avatar
    Tyler Lizenby

    === FULL-TILT === unpretentious rock. sounds like 311, incubus, and guns’n’roses

  41. When you say different web locations can you either repeat or say it slower?

  42. Nez Mirage Avatar
    Nez Mirage

    They want you to go along, but they are WRONG…

    Ambient Rock//World Metal//Zymphonik Electronik

    EleMentalMuzik.cjb.net

  43. Tyler Lizenby Avatar
    Tyler Lizenby

    Who was the girl from indiana? I’m in southern indiana. about 3 hrs from nashville as well.

  44. From a distributors standpoint what are the main factors of taking on a new artist? And are there any good local distributors in the market?

  45. LIZ KOCH, IF YOU COULD EMAIL ME SUCCESSENT1@AOL.COM, I HAVE AN INDEPENDANT LABEL IN NY AND AM INTERESTED IN LEARNING WHAT NOTORIUS RADIO IS ABOUT.

  46. musicians need to remember that their music is their business! Great point! musicians forget that!

  47. what was the site Dave just mentioned about agents?

  48. Heather Daggett Avatar
    Heather Daggett

    Hi. My name is Heather (Daggett) Potts. I’m the one from Indiana. I live in Princeton.

  49. So glad to hear that you are not anti big label!

  50. ok, I was suppose to leave 1/2 hr ago. I’m still here, so much interesting information.

  51. Hi Heather, drop me an email about what type of song material you are looking for. Thanks, deb

  52. Heather Daggett Avatar
    Heather Daggett

    what is the website that is being talked about for using pre-recorded songs? I didn’t catch it.

  53. Heather Daggett Avatar
    Heather Daggett
  54. I have to leave, Dave is posting the answers to the other questions on his site or emailing the link to us? I want to thank you both for your expertise and sharing it with us. In other words, thank you both for being so human!

  55. I am suppose to be at another meeting at 9pm on the other side of Dallas. So…..how far down is my question? I do not mean to be a pain in the a**

  56. WHAT IS THE CONTACT INFO FOR THE LABEL IN PITTSBURGH?

  57. IM REALLY GETTING ALOT OF GOOD INFORMATION OUT OF THIS CALL, BUT JOE WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO ADDRESS QUESTION #18, BECAUSE IM GOING TO HAVE TO HANG UP SOON, MY 5 MONTH YEAR OLD SON IS HITTING NOTES NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE CAN REACH. LOL

  58. Jeremiah Birnbaum Avatar
    Jeremiah Birnbaum

    Guys, really enjoying the call! Thanks so much, as usual, for the great stuff. -Jeremiah

    http://www.jeremiahbirnbaum.com

  59. ok. Thanks for the great info. I’ll check back here later.

  60. same here, joe.

  61. can you tell me if my question will be answered? deb d

  62. HOW MUCH BDS WOULD YOU NEED IN ORDER TO OPEN EYES IN THE INDUSTRY?

  63. Heather Daggett Avatar
    Heather Daggett

    What kind of computerized home recording equipment do you need to make a good quality recording, and where do you find it?

  64. How much longer do you think you will go tonight?

  65. Thank you for all of your advice. I will take my leave now and I wish everyone good luck with their endeavors. While listening, I not only got a chance to write down some great tips but I uploaded my logo for merchandise to be on my website and I finished setting up my mailing list binder-Organization is the key!

  66. Heather Daggett Avatar
    Heather Daggett

    how many questions do you have left?

  67. Heather Daggett Avatar
    Heather Daggett

    That was the most productive 6.5 hrs! Thanks for so much useful info., now I have to reorganize all the pages of notes that I took. Again, Great Call and Thanks.

  68. Good morning Joe. Thanks for the great information that you and Dave shared with us. I forgot to ask a question. Hope you have the time to answer it for me. I have a student at an university who wants to use a couple of our songs for her film. She will be giving us the credits on the film but no monetary exchange. What time of contract do I have her sign? Is it a mechanical license? The songs are copyrighted and the songwriter is a member of BMI and ASCAP.
    Thanks again,
    Deb D

  69. […] Almost two years ago, David Hooper and I hosted a conference call where we vowed not to shut up until we answered everyone’s questions. So, we went for almost SEVEN HOURS. You can see some of the callers’ comments here. […]