david holmes

Facebook has essentially abandoned friend-list management in favor of its "groups" product.  As of now, the "lists" of friends you spent hours creating are meaningless.

Despite its clean, uniform appearance for users, there seems to be a constant tweaking of the way Facebook works - features only some people will ever notice, but that make a great deal of difference to those who use them.

Facebook has recently made two changes to the way "Events" work that make it much more difficult for musicians and others who regularly send invitations to friends or fans.  And I think I understand the self-serving reason they made changes to these features:

1. The ability to select multiple people within a list
2. The ability to use your own lists

I regularly find myself either creating and sending invitations on Facebook or inviting people to events others have created.  For a good while, Facebook kept adding features that made the cumbersome process a little easier.

Under the "edit friends" tab under "account," they created the ability to group friends into different lists. 

Having worked in two highly social careers - in state and national politics and music - my social network is predictably large.  Prior to lists, I had to wade through hundreds of people to find the few I wanted to invite to a particular event.

Once introduced, I created lists such as, "austin music," "austin politics," "film industry," New York," etc.  I populated those list with people I would want to invite to events in those categories; and they allow 1 person to be on multiple lists.  That was helpful having some friends who have multiple interests or even home-cities.

Prior to this week, if I wanted to send an invite to friends, I would pull up the appropriate list in the "Invite Friends" window off the event page and select everyone on that list that I had already curated.

That is where the first change came about two weeks ago - before then, once in your list you could individually select invitees or select them all at once and de-select individuals if needed.  The ability to select more than one person at a time has been removed.

So, if I have 300 in a particular list, I now have to go through the list and click 300 times. 

The second change is even more frustrating, though.  I spent hours cumulatively on creating lists of my friends.  Now, those lists are not available in the "invite friends" window.  In fact, I can find no utility in those lists anywhere on the site now; they still exist, but there is absolutely nothing you can currently do with them.

Instead of allowing you to use your own lists, they have two ways you can narrow lists of potential invitees.  You can narrow your list to a group of people within a particular city, or you can select a "Facebook Group" to which you belong or have created.  

What it appears Facebook is trying to do is to force anyone who wants to narrow their invitations to particular sets of people to form "Groups" of those people.  That product, though, can be highly annoying with the default setting being that group-members - whether they added themselves or not - receive notification of every comment in the group.  Additionally, it would be presumptuous for a musician to assume a fan wanted to be added to such a public group and potentially damage that artist's relationship with that fan.

I hope that some of these changes are only temporary.  They seem particularly odd at a time when Google has come out with a product that - while I have not yet been able to use it - purports to allow exactly what Facebook has just taken away:  The ability to select groups of people all at once.

Help us out, Facebook.

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Literature, film, music - there is no question that America is a leader in the world of compelling, creative enterprise.  But there are some fundamentally different ways that support for the Arts works in America when compared to other countries.  For many artists in America, the situation is getting to a breaking point; but there is something you can do about it.

For at least the last several decades, the music industry in America has been dominated by corporate and large, independent music labels.  The system worked fine a lot of the time - more for the labels than the artists - but a lot of good music got created.

The large labels have seen a great decline because artists with resources can accomplish for themselves much of what labels used to do.  Very few labels today are making major investments in artists due to this dynamic.  Without the labels discovering and investing in new talent, however, developing artists are left in a tough position; especially in America.

In many other countries, creative endeavor is supported by the people - by the government. 

The last couple years, I have attended a large music conference in Memphis called Folk Alliance International.  I asked a Canadian attendee last year, "Why and how are there so many of you here from Canada?"  Turns out they get government grants to attend such conferences to promote their Canadian-created music.

There is a tremendous program in Austin - funded by the Government of Denmark and capably led by Austinite Troy Campbell - called House of Songs.  Musicians from Denmark come to Austin and write new music with Austin-based songwriters.  The program has had a great deal of success.  From an Austin Business Journal which describes the program:

Although these types of programs are relatively unheard of in the United States, the government of Denmark has launched such artist-in-residency programs in New York, Los Angeles, Spain, Portugal and Greece.

Austin Business Journal

There really is little corresponding support for American musicians.  So without that type of support added to the demise of the labels, what is a musician today to do to fund the creation of a project?

That is where you come in.

The popularily and success of crowd-funding has enabled many artists to maintain creative freedom by accepting various levels of funding from friends, fans, and supporters of the arts while giving those donors unique benefits.

There are a variety of sites:  Sellaband, Rockethub, and the one an artist I manage is using, Kickstarter.

In Charlie Faye's example, she started a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the creation of an album that is the culmination of her highly unusual tour.  She spent one month in each of ten cities in 2010; started a new band in each place, performed live, and recorded new music with them.  It was a monumental effort and saw her performing or recording with members of Calexico, The Eagles, Violent Femmes and many other great musicians.

The way these sites generally work, though, is that if the artist's target amount of funding is not met, then the artist gets none of the money pledged for the project.

So, I would obviously appreciate your consideration of giving to Charlie's project, but while you are on the site, check out the dozens of other amazing projects.  If projects like these continue to succeed, there could be a great resurgence in quality arts being created in ways that give the artist and average supporters more control than they have ever before had.

Charlie Faye's Kickstarter Campaign

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Delta Airlines automated phone system:  "Press 1 for flight arrival and departures."

Me:  "1"

Delta:  "Please hold while we transfer you to our flight information system.  Additional baggage fees may apply."

Additional baggage fees may apply?  I mean, I might have some baggage, but I just want to check an arrival time so I can pick up my friend on time.  I really wouldn't put it past the airlines these days to try to charge us for our emotional baggage; except the good folks over at Southwest Airlines, of course.

Thinking this warning was kind of funny, I tweeted about the robotic exchange.  When Ubertwitter notified me I had an @reply, I assumed it must be a comment from some witty friend.  Nope.

"@DeltaAssist @texasdnc If you follow this link you'll find baggage fee information:http://bit.ly/DL_baggage. ^BH"

Funny thing is, I had just been to their web site to try to check the flight arrival time and kept getting an error message that the system was down.  But thankfully, I can check baggage fees any time.

This whole thing illustrates a bigger issue for the use of social media by businesses and artists.

While there is no single proper way to use social media, there are certainly ways to get it wrong.

One dear, artist friend of mine seems to understand, for instance, that Twitter can be used to connect with fans and acquire new fans, but does not seem to understand that by tweeting one message over and over, every two days and tweeting very little other than that message - that she is actually pushing fans away.

Businesses and artists must understand that while Twitter and Facebook can be tremendous tools, they can also make you look foolish and hinder your efforts to connect with customers, as in Delta's goofy attempt at social interaction with me.

"Press 1 to follow me on Twitter; I promise not to spam or send you automated messages."  1.

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House concerts rock; plain and simple.

I find that there are a number of my friends whom I can never entice to clubs to hear music, and I understand their perspective.  Parking downtown usually sucks, drinks are often overpriced, the kids certainly aren't welcome in most venues, and the sound is often too loud if the next table over isn't.

House concerts, though, solve most of these problems and add several benefits - take your own refreshments, hang out with and get to know the artists in a relaxed setting, appreciate that the artists are getting the money rather than the venue, and take the whole family.

My favorite of the house concerts I have attended is the Wyldwood House Concert series.  A friend took me to one several years ago and I loved it; they've only gotten better since.

On 3 acres of land in deep, South Austin, Amy and Andrew Murphy open up their land to some of the greatest music you can hear in this great music city every several weeks during the warmer months.

Get there a little before the show starts to secure your spot on the lawn with your chair or blanket, then explore the property - especially not to miss is the awesome treehouse every adult wishes they had as a kid.  And if it warrants, they usually have a really nice bonfire going.

Charlie Faye happens to be in Austin this weekend on a brief break from her 10-month Travels With Charlie music tour, so she will be opening the show.  There is a suggested donation of $10 (Kids free) - and that goes to the artists.  So bring your friends or family and relax with me Saturday evening for some great music... Wyldwood House Concerts

Jesse Aycock

October 9, 2010

8:00 PM

$10

www.jesseaycock.com

with opener:  Charlie Faye @ 7:30

www.charliefaye.com

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Transitioning from Politics to the Music industry, one of the first things I discovered is that possibly the most difficult job in the industry is that of the Booking Agent.  Come to think of it, I never envied the job of the Scheduler on political campaigns either.

But booking bands in venues is a monumental pain in the butt.  Every venue has different rules.  It is common to come across one venue that will say, "We only take calls for booking from 1p.m. to 3p.m. on Mondays," then another that will say, "We only accept submissions for booking by mail."  And on and on - every club is different; some want all of your previous press clippings, some want .mp3s, others want .wav files; some want videos of the performer in similar venues.

Once you do happen to connect with a venue on their terms, it might take 5 or 6 communications over a week or two to get the details of an individual gig established.

Understand, I'm not complaining about the venues here - I understand how hard it is from their viewpoint as well.  I'm just pointing out how incredibly difficult and time-consuming it all is.

Then, once you have a gig set up; the average venue (in my experience) is woefully unprepared to be able or is simply uninterested in helping you promote your show.

At least once every month or two, Charlie will arrive at a venue to which I have taken the time and expense to mail posters to find none of her posters on the wall.  That is somewhat baffling.

But every once in a while, you will run across a venue who really has it all together, as in the case of Mo Daddy's in Asheville, NC.  First, they tell you how to submit a request for a gig; and it's simple and straightforward.  Second, they tell you precisely what they need from you if you get a gig there and how they will help you promote your show.  And finally, they give you a list of exactly whom to contact in the local media to get word out about your show.

For an artist doing it all themselves, this is invaluable, time-saving, and far more effective for the artist than just randomly sending press releases to anonymous emails at media outlets.

I have a feeling that the way Mo Daddy's has it all put together actually saves them as much time as it saves the artists and that the whole process is more profitable for all involved.

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Earlier this month, the Austin band Quiet Company had their instruments and merchandise stolen out of their touring van days before they were set to go on tour.  It has been really nice to see people come together in Austin to try to raise funds to help them get new instruments.  I have no idea how much they have raised or if it is nearly enough.

I can see on their Facebook page that they are on the tour and that they were loaned some instruments.

I don't know these guys at all and don't think I've ever seen them play live, but I went to their website to see what was going on and decided to give a small donation figuring that everything helps.

After giving, I got a link in my email to download all 3 of their previous albums - after having given them way less than the 3 would have cost if I were to have bought them.  And I like the music.

If you have a few bucks to spare, think about helping these guys out:  Quiet Company

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One of the great things about the Travels With Charlie tour that has Charlie Faye in her 9th consecutive month on the road is the talented and accomplished musicians she meets in each place.

In each town, she networks with local musicians; truly integrating herself into the music community there for that month.  It has given her opportunity to grow and learn as a musician and has provided her some wonderful friends all across the country; many of whom she will play again with on the road and as they travel through Austin.

In Burlington, VT, members of the band Waylon Speed were supportive of Charlie's efforts there - brothers Noah and Justin Crowther performed with her and Kelly Ravin came out to the shows.  I met Justin, Noah and the guys at Momo's last night at their 3rd night playing in Austin in a row.

They had an energetic and well received set blending Country, Metal, Punk and harmonies - and came across as great musicians who were having a lot of fun.

My phone video camera is pretty crummy, so sorry for the terrible quality of sound and video.  But here is a song from their set last night at Momo's:

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What's in a name?  And how does your name stand up to the test?

With the revolution in recent days inspired by Google's instant search technology, the composition of a name, its uniqueness, and the popularity associated with the name means more than ever - especially if your name has anything to do with how you make your living (artists, among others).

Nowhere is the power of instant search more evident than the college-student created, Youtube Instant - developed over several hours by Feross Aboukhadijeh.

As you type in letters one after another, the search engine attempts to predict the video you want and starts playing it instantly.

Here is a map to Charlie Faye's top video result:

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When I was eight years old, my dad ran for political office.  My first memory of that campaign involves a bomb squad at my house.  My second involves walking door-to-door with my parents in the snow to ask people to vote for my dad.  Making it through a political campaign takes a sincere dedication-to-the-cause; an ability to work long hours with little, solid evidence of accomplishment; and a willingness to fail.

Old friends often seem confused when I tell them I am now working in the music industry.  The two professions may or may not be similar - depending upon your perspective - but I've discovered that I approach them much the same.

The story of how I began working with the musician Charlie Faye is one for another time, but I discovered early in my acquaintance with her that Charlie has many of those same qualities required of surviving a political campaign.  The Austin American Statesmen once used the word "pluck" in the headline of an article to describe her.  I found another article I read a while back to accurately describe both her and my approach to our passions:  The Truth About Grit by Jonah Lehrer.

From that article: 

...researchers are quick to point out that grit isn’t simply about the willingness to work hard. Instead, it’s about setting a specific long-term goal and doing whatever it takes until the goal has been reached. It’s always much easier to give up, but people with grit can keep going.

Travels With Charlie has been as big as any political campaign in which I have been involved.  And there is a reason we can find no evidence of anyone ever having tried a tour like it before:  It's really hard.

1 month in each of 10 cities in 2010.  Charlie starts a new band in each town; performs live; and records new music with the musicians she has met along her way.

So far this year she has performed and recorded with members of Calexico, The Eagles, Violent Femmes, Navarro, Ian Moore, and many other amazing folks.  There are so many aspects of the tour we theorized would work that failed completely and other aspects we never dared to dream of have come together quite nicely.

I'll tell much more about the tour in future posts, but for now, I'll give you a sneak preview of some of the music she has been working on during the tour...

Whirlwind - Travels With Charlie Demo 

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I read a short essay this morning by Jonas Lamis - Co-founder of Piryx, among other things - within which he discusses his view of the future of fundraising for non-profit organizations.

I believe his thoughts are important for independent musicians and artists of all types as well.

Piryx, for instance, was created for political and non-profit online fundraising efforts.  I have used it for its intended purpose in political campaigns I've managed, but I have also used it in attempts raise money for artists.

Likewise, as Lamis outlines the social and technological environment within which non-profit fundraising campaigns must adapt and thrive, he is similarly describing the atmosphere in which musicians find themselves.

In Jonas' posting, "The Future of Online Fundraising" he states:

In today’s battle for public attention and action, web-enabled technology is the great equalizer.  Savvy causes have embraced the social graph and are driving strong connectivity with their communities, and speaking to new donors in ways not understood by today’s largest and most respected charities.  This shift in attention has only begun and will accelerate into a full-blown cause revolution over the next decade.

It has been widely referenced that the online music service Pandora is adding 10,000 new songs per month to its music catalog.  As Jay Frank points out in his book FutureHit.dna, for individual artists to stand out in such a crowded field, they must find ways to distinguish themselves and engage listeners in more meaningful and attention-maintaining ways.

The same methods and trends Lamis identifies as important to the non-profit fundraising world should be acknowledged by up-and-coming artists as forces and tools they can utilize to grab and keep fans' attention and to interact with those fans on their own terms.  Whether through games, alternative currencies, or social networks, artists should consider ideas like those Lamis outlines to make it in this new music industry.

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Checking this out to see if it is the right platform for me for a blog that I will hopefully maintain regularly.  It seems like a reasonably simple platform and appears to merge easily with my new website.  We'll see how this goes.

Check out the song below by a really talented young guy I met at New Music Seminar in NYC...

Music I'm Listening to... by texasdmh

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