I feel so cliché even saying this but where has the summer gone? It was just yesterday I was planting seedlings in my garden and now the tomatoes are ready for eating!

I got chills down my spine a few weeks ago at The New Music Seminar. They came at the moment Mathieu Drouin, Metric’s manager described how he feels at this time. He said (and I paraphase):

“It’s the opportunity to participate in the ‘new’ music business and be one of the creators of the architecture while influencing the artist’s destiny that keeps me vibrant and alive in today’s new music business.”

And I couldn’t agree more… This is what keeps me from sleeping most nights.

I have many colleagues and friends who are also on this mission and each of us in our own way is doing our best to carve out solutions and processes that work.

I don’t need to tell you that these are uncertain times. When we all started out in this business, we learned specific systems and they worked.

For me, as a publicist the process was 7 simple steps that I repeated 1,000 times for over 10 years:

1. Write press releases and craft a story with a solid bio
2. Stuff 200 – 350 envelopes with CDs and press kits
3. Schlep it all to the post office
4. Pitch, pitch and pitch, then pitch again
5. Get placements
6. Write endless reports for labels and managers who always wanted more placements
7. Pitch more – Get placed more

(I promise you this does not work at all anymore).

So what does work? I have re-invented my whole company and written 2 books about PR in the new music business trying to answer this question and I’m just getting started.

I spend a lot of time asking my closest colleagues and friends to help me answer this question and I am thrilled to announce we are getting one step closer.

Green Arrow Radio is an open forehead music show. The show offers a bit of something new with a mixture of world beat and fresh jazz. Also, included is some soulful funk. The entire show is landscaped to change each week.

http://www.greenarrowradio.com
http://www.myspace.com/greenarrowradio

Q: How long have you been broadcasting/blogging?
I have been broadcasting in  community and college setting for over 6 years now and i have been “blogging” for about 4 of those years.

Q: In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?
A good song needs to play well with others!

Q: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?
Such a difficult thing to narrow down since the desired sounds change constantly based on so many uncontrolled factors.  I don’t care much for assigning “genres” to art..either its for me or it isn’t….I guess if my life depended on answering this I would without hesitation say that Club d’Elf would be the band I call my favorite since they mix and blend so many varieties of sound into everything they do live or otherwise.

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have effected you most?
You know, I think I just don’t like the meddling of authority on what I am supposed to form my own opinions about.  But as I pay attention to what is going on and follow it to the edges—-I just appreciate the opportunity to introduce people to new sounds that I just play along nicely to be able to share.  But ask me again some other time and I’m sure to have a different answer.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel that that is a true statement
Well, I hope that my efforts on greenarrowradio.com help generate listening ears which will turn into trying to find out more about the artist..including purchasing some of their art.  I see myspace for me as a great avenue to get people over to greenarrowradio.com and for me an easier way to check out music with the intention to purchace it…even if it is one tune at a time.  More power to all these ways of supporting that something that does seem to unite many.

Q: How long have you been broadcasting/blogging?

I have been blogging on The Rock and Roll Report (www.rockandrollreport.com) since 2003 and podcasting with the Rock and Roll Report Podcast since November 2007. The blog has now evolved to include over 20 people from around the world who are passionate about rock and roll and want to spread the word to as many people as possible. In addition to the blog and podcast I host a monthly radio show on CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal and we will soon be kicking off Rock and Roll Report TV in the next few weeks.

Q: In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?

To me a great song has to have energy and has to induce me to turn up the volume knob as it is playing along. Great rock and roll has the undeniable effect of causing you to drum on your steering wheel while driving, air drum at concerts and pretend you are Jimmy Page in your living room while the music blasts out at ear splitting intensity on the home stereo. I am also a sucker for a melodic hook and harmonizing vocals. At the end of the day, what I want most out of a song is to have it make me smile. Fortunately there is still tons of rock and roll that does that for me

: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?

I don’t really have any one favourite band anymore but I would have to say that the band that pretty much hooked me into rock and roll at an early age was the Rolling Stones. They have all the ingredients that make rock and roll so much fun and they really touch all the cornerstones from straight up boogie woogie rock and roll to soft lilting ballads to punkish blasts of fury to sneering sexual tinged sonic onslaughts. They were the first band that I didn’t have to think about. I just “got them” from my first listen. Then I heard the Ramones and all bets were off! Since then I have pretty much enjoyed everything from hard rock to punk to power pop to heavy metal and everything in between. It is why I refer to the Rock and Roll Report as a ‘niche-free” zone!

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have effected you most?

Since I always ask for permission from the artists to play their music on the show and since I only play bands and artists that are either unsigned or on independent record labels I can’t say that content laws have affected me too much. I have only been turned down twice for permission to play a song on the Rock and Roll Report Podcast and both times by a label even though the artists were all for it. I have been looking into starting a streaming radio station but the current complexities of webcasting royalty rates are making me take a wait and see attitude before I make any commitments there.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel that that is a true statement?

That’s not surprising as MySpace is so huge and everybody is automating their comments, etc that it is becoming difficult to sort through all the bands on the site. The thing that is great about bloggers and podcasters and the point I always make to labels hesitant about getting involved is this. Would you not prefer to have a blogger or podcaster who is obviously enthusiastic about a band play a track from them on their podcast or write about them on a blog to be listened to or read by possibly thousands of music fans who (a) trust that blogger/podcaster’s opinion and (b) want to hear new music and support great music? I think the answer is an unqualified yes!

Podcasts and blogs in my opinion work together with musicians unlike mainstream media in that we actively promote music because we are passionate about it. On the Rock and Roll Report we always make sure that we link back to a band’s website or MySpace page and try to include links to Amazon, iTunes or CD Baby where available so that music fans can buy the music of the artists we feature. I liken the Rock and Roll Report to an entree. We offer you a taste of all this amazing music and you can then decide if you like it or not. If you like it we offer you an easy way to buy the music and support the bands and we are not shy in emphasizing that fact! The nice thing about all of this is that the bands get real feedback and support in either people buying their music and merch or going to their shows and the fans get to discover amazing new music and aren’t force fed the same 50 songs every day like on on the radio. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.

While there are tons of great automated music discovery services out there, I still believe that what people enjoy most and what traditional radio has lost is having somebody you trust turning you on to great music with honesty and passion. And while there is a saying that “content is king” I tend to believe that “context is king.” A good podcaster or music blogger can not only introduce you to great music but can put that introduction into a context that is both entertaining and informative and that is why this is all so much fun and so powerful for record labels and musicians that want to get their music listened to instead of “consumed.” Really when you think about it, because the cost of entry is so low in starting a blog or podcast, it brings power back to the people and allows passionate music fans to simply spread the word to other passionate music fans about great music they think they might like. And that’s why it is so effective.

[Check out more from Ariel and Cyber PR ]

Network of four internet streaming webcast radio stations, archive of album and CD cover artwork, original Weirdsville cartoon art, cosmic collage. An online library of fiction, poetry, artwork, drama, resources on the arts. Free music mp3 downloads. NeverEndingWonder Radio is a “freeform” internet radio station.

Q: How much time do you spend listening to a song before turning it off?  What grabs your attention and makes you take a closer look?Not long, honestly. When I’m listening to a new artist who wants to be on NeverEndingWonder Radio I’ll listen to a song for maybe 45 seconds. If it doesn’t grab me right away, I’m on to the next one. I’ll usually check out four or five songs by the same artist if the first one doesn’t grab me. What I’m looking for is something I haven’t heard before. I want to be surprised. Take me somewhere I’ve never been before. A unique turn of phrase will get me listening. KaiserCartel caught me with their quirky songwriting. I/OI got me with their all-out experimental approach.

Q: If you could be star musician in any genre, which would it be and why?
Well, if you can call “comedy” a genre it would be that. From my childhood to today my favorite artists are the ones that can make me laugh. There’s enough drama in the world, right? Let’s bring some joy to people. When I was young the classic artists were Spike Jones, Allan Sherman, Stan Freburg, Dickie Goodman and The Chipmunks. A little later there was Frank Zappa, Ogden Edsl, Da Yoopers, Bananas at Large and The Bonzo Dog Band.

More recently we’ve had Weird Al, Bob Rivers and Stephen Lynch. These people make life bearable. Running NeverEndingWonder Radio I’ve come across a lot of funny musicians- from internet superstars like Three Dead
Troll in a Baggie, Throwing Toasters, Arrogant Worms and Heywood Banks to new artists like Carla Ulbrich, Sheri Elf and The Mod-Est Lads. Being part of lightening the collective mood is something that’s important and worthwhile. 

Q: First pick one of your favorite songs.  Now if you were forced to choose an artist in another genre to do a cover, who would it be and why?
Without a doubt one of the greatest songs ever written is George & Ira Gershwin’s “Summertime.” One of the measures of its greatness is how well it adapts to various genres. I’ve heard bebop versions, doo wop, straight folk interpretations, reggae, and a really stunning version in Swahili by Angelique Kidjo. Strange combinations is what NeverEndingWonder Radio is
all about. I would love to hear how Blue Cheer could have turned
Summertime into a power trio noisefest. Adam Lambert could do a cool version that would be unusual and interesting. Gnarls Barkley could do something unique and worthwhile with it as well. Sound crazy? Don’t knock it if you haven’t heard it.

Q: Using the Twitter format in 140 characters or less, how would you both describe and attract new readers/listeners to your site?
Looking for your favorite music? It isn’t here. Discover a new musical adventure. Your mind, your soul and your heart will thank you.

Q: In a sea of innumerable sites, what makes yours unique?
We’re the only internet radio station with an elf in a jar. He imbues our website and our station with a bit of magic you’ll find nowhere else. It’s a crazy, mixed-up approach that has no formula other than trying to introduce visitors to experiences they’ve never had, take them down a path they might not have known even existed and delight them with what they find there.

http://cbcantor.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cowboycantor

Cowboy Cantor is a podcast run by a Portuguese music teacher. Its the only podcast around the island of S. Miguel, in the Azores islands, Portugal. The show’s aim is to share the greatest free mp3s found on the Internet, in the artist’s own sites, their label sites, or in many other mp3 sites that offer free music. It’s all done with love and in the name of independent music.

Q: What has to be done in the technological sense to monetize music to a greater degree on the internet?
A lot of different things have been happening on the Internet with music. From stores with d.r.m. files, to free music. From the Creative Commons to pay what you want. From file sharing on chats to illegal peer to peer clients. Everyday we meet new ways of promoting music and selling it. It is fact, legal or illegal, Internet is the most effective way of getting an artist to be known. Labels and artists should keep that in mind and work with it. F.M. and A.M. radios, television, newspapers and magazines still have a word to say on this process, but Internet is vital these days for music promotion.

One can not tell what will happen next, but I believe artists, labels, agencies and all music companies will keep on working in how to get the most benefit of the Internet.

Q: Where do you see the next trend in social media? What else can be done in terms of having an online conversation? What is the next “What are you doing?” question?
While some artists only release their music in digital format, some artists still prefer having hard releases of their music. There are even artists that are coming back to the vinyl L.P.’s. It is difficult to know exactly how the social media trend will be in a near future. Some artists still ask for a postal address to send their music on physical formats, others ask for the e-mail address to send mp3. Instant messaging software is used in some cases. While some people start using new ways of trading music and files over the Internet, others still go for the traditional. There will always be different ways of sharing music. Obviously e-mail and on-line file hosting is the most effective and fast. But if we want quality, get physical.

With on-line conversation getting easier and easier, and more common each day, and with the possibility of having no frontiers in what concerns distance, some day I will receive an e-mail from an Australian artist asking “what will you do tomorrow 6 p.m? Is it a good time for an interview?” The problem is that 6 p.m. in Australia is 6 a.m. in the Azores islands. “What are you doing?” is a question with lots of possibilities. The easiness of communication will lead us to have our regular schedules changed, so that we can follow a friend on the other side of the world.

Q: What inspired you to start broadcasting/blogging? Is that still your source of motivation?
First of all, the obvious love for radio and communication. Then, the wish of discovering and sharing new and independent sounds. Major label artists have their own way of promoting their music. They have contracts that involve money in promoting their music on mainstream radios and television. Local radio stations don’t promote new music, only major label artists. That is not wrong, as there are lots of major label artists that are my favourites. But independent music has greater artists to discover, then some artists that are played on local radios here. Promoting new music doesn’t mean only playing seven times a day, for three of four months, songs from the new album of Bob Dylan, one of the greatest composers and poem writers of all time, but playing international new hits and also new artists.

Because most major label artists don’t write their own music, and when they write, they have to submit the music to be reviewed by the label, I look for artists that compose and sing in the way they want. I look for artists that don’t have to write 25 songs in two years. I look for artists that create music as they feel like creating it, and not imposed by editors, producers and managers.

Cowboy Cantor started as a podcast for independent artists, and still is a place to listen to good independent music. The quality of this podcast is not the way I produce each show, or set the playlist for each week. The quality of this show depends on independent music that I found. Each week I found new fantastic artists, and that gives me more and more motivation for recording each Sunday night a new show, to be launched during the evening, and giving my listeners every Monday the finest 7 track selection of independent music.

Watching the podcast’s statistics, and the subscriber’s lists, I am very proud of my little Internet place. Maybe small numbers, comparing to the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast on iTunes, but they are growing. My students also come to me from time to time and make some nice comments about the music I play. Also, the recent entry on the Association of Music Podcasting and on the iTunes podcast directory, gives me more motivation to keep on doing Cowboy Cantor as it is.

Q: What are some things bands can do to get your attention to be featured on your broadcast/blog? Do you ever cover a band that you are not particularly fond of musically?
I am listening to M.T.V. at the moment. I stopped because I was listening to the new song of Franz Ferdinand. I looked to the television and I saw a different band name. It is not Franz Ferdinand, is another band that sounds exactly like them. That is the problem of the majority of mainstream music today. Everything sounds like what listened before and will listen next.

For Cowboy Cantor I search for artists with new ideas, that don’t sound to similar to what we listen on mainstream radios and television. The music I play is the music I like to listen to. I never play music that I don’t like, even if I know some of my listeners will.

I play mainly rock and indie rock. If we consider Cyber P.R. artists that I have been featuring these last months, we will see that I play different styles of music. Recently I played Dare Dukes, 46Bliss, Clara Bellino, Lisa Bianco, Officer Roseland, Puppetbox, Chrissy McChouglin, amongst others. I still have to play Omar Alexander, Doug Cash, Spy For Hire, and recently I have added to my playlist Jessie Murphy In The Woods.

Lyrics have an important part on the quality of the song to be played on my podcast. Take Sorry Simon, by Jonny Dongel, a pure rock n’ roll song. It goes “I won’t fall for your ploy, for your sick and twisted joy, I know I’ not your idol, Sorry Simon”. This is about Simon from American Idol, and the way he talks about the way people sing. Then there is this song Prime Numbers, by The Two Gentlemen Band, a mix of country and rag time music. Some girl has prime numbers on her body measurements, and the lyrics go “My baby’s got prime numbers. That means she’s only divisible be one, and that one is gonna be me”. A part from the lyrics, the music must have intensity, suspense, different parts, changes of sound intensity and rhythm, and if it holds me for the initial 60 seconds, and makes me want to listen to the song again, I will play it on my podcast. It doesn’t matter if the keyboard sounds like Coldplay, or the guitar like U2. As long as it has energy and the artist own touch, it is a potential song for Cowboy Cantor.

I record each show of my podcast sitting on a chair, but most of the time I feel like recording it jumping and dancing in the room. The majority of the music I play, even slow music, makes me want to be traveling around the room, feeling the music on each movement of my body. That is one thing I look for on a song. It has to make me want to move.

I started my podcast back in January 2006. That time I played tracks with two or tree years old. Today I still listen to some songs I played in 2006 and it still feels like a recent song. That is because the artist was not looking for a song that sounded like the hits of that time, but was looking for a unique sound, not found on anywhere else.

Besides the musical requirements, there are the legal questions. I only play songs under the Creative Commons License or podsafe music. Even if I download a track from a podsafe site, like Ariel Publicity, I try to contact the artists to let them know that I intent to play their music. Before playing the tracks I refer to, I wait for an answer from the artist, manager or label. I do everything in the maximum security, just to ensure that I am playing legal music. Also, having a small answer, even if it is “yes, go for it”, shows some respect for podcasting and interest on having their music played on podcasts. I have so many great tracks on my waiting folder that I haven’t played yet, because I haven’t got any answer from the artist, label or manager. And of course, I don’t play major label artists. Only independent or artists with no label.

If I have enough songs of the artist, on CD or mp3, and I really like it, this artist is selected to be the artist of the month on my podcast. That means at least one, if enough tracks available, two tracks played on each show during the month.

My musical horizons are wide open. I listen to a lot of different style of music, I may play a song that doesn’t fit the usual style of music that I play, but I never play a song that I don’t find anything on it interesting. For example, because I did an interview to a local heavy-metal drummer, and we talked about Ahab, a doom metal band, I contacted the band to see if I could play the track The Hunt. That is not obviously the style of music I play on Cowboy Cantor, and not the kind of music I listen to everyday, but that song was very intense and dramatic. It was a nice experience I did.

Q: Will major labels ever be the gatekeepers again, or have they lost all of their power to the internet forever? Can they somehow return to prominence?
As long as radio, television, music magazines keep on preferring major label artists, instead of promoting some great independent artists, major labels will always be in the top. Illegal sharing communities may not bring any money benefit to labels directly, but having some tracks on a peer-to-peer community will certainly help to promote the artists, and of course the label. As the most Internet users still log in to illegal sharing applications, instead of listening to independent podcasts and podsafe music, major labels will always be the top labels. I will be very surprised if I log in to a file sharing application, and after searching for Puppetbox, I get thousands of files, as if I was looking for the new Green Day album. Independent artists and labels still not have a place on the majority of music communities. However, Internet radios and podcasts have been helping independent artists and labels to get noticed. In Portugal, for example, this year will have some artists that we can find at IODA Promonet, or Podsafe Music Network, performing at some major music festivals.

I believe that independent podcasts have a word to say on promoting independent artists. Unfortunately some artists don’t recognize the effort we do. When I ask permission to play a track, I don’t expect a thank you message. I just expect a “yes”. Podcasting a track is good for the podcast, because it gives quality to the show, and good for the artist, because the show will add some more listeners to the artist.

A Musicians Guide For Finding Managing and Reading Music Blogs

I have been working on the second edition of Music Success in Nine Weeks which will be released in a few weeks and I recently revisited the section about blogs.

I believe that getting reviewed on blogs is critical for every musician because it helps create a bigger footprint for you online, builds awarness and allows for a two- way conversation around your music

Here is a section from the book. To understand blogs I highly suggest you watch these two wonderful videos from the amazing Commoncraft website that explain all you need to know to get started.

STEP 1: Movie Time!
RSS in Plain English – http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

Blogs in Plain English – http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Now that you have an understanding it’s time to get prepared to manage your blog reading

STEP 2: Create Your Google RSS Reader
Now you know exactly what this is from watching RSS in Plain English. Setting up your RSS Reader is the perfect way to get the information you want (not only from blogs but from also from other sites you frequent) to come to you, instead of having to check constantly to see what blog has been most recently updated.

Continue reading and let us know your favorite blog, here: http://www.arielpublicity.com/blog/archives/blog-reading-101-lurk-leap

The first podcast dedicated to commentary, interviews and news related to Beauty Pageants in the U.S.A. We discuss the ever changing face of pageants in this country and give exposure to the wonderfully talented young women that participate in pageants.

http://www.pageantcast.com
http://www.myspace.com/tkpnpodcast
http://www.twitter.com/pageantcast

Q: What has to be done in the technological sense to monetize music to a greater degree on the Internet?
A: As a podcaster, I don’t have the “skin in the game” that bands have to monetize music on the ‘net. Because of this, I have just a little more distance to watch this from and I think it comes down to the old chestnut that you need to release the music for people to discover a band and make the revenue based upon merchandise sales. It’s certainly risky, but when music was played on the radio (you remember radio, right?), bands were giving away their music “for free” as well. Or did you not record songs off of Casey Kasem back in the day?

Q: Where do you see the next trend in social media? What else can be done in terms of having an online conversation? What is the next “What are you doing?” question
A: I think the real problem here is how can Twitter and Facebook avoid the fate of MySpace and what will be the next big thing. Well, if I knew that–I’d be launching that website and trying to sell it to Google and venture capital folks immediately! I don’t think Twitter or Facebook are “here to stay” but I think social media, more ala Hulu, are going to start being the future. Social networks at some point are going to have to all come together because people are sick of signing up for 50 services a year just to stay hip. In that regard, I think OpenID has a huge future.

Q: What inspired you to start broadcasting/blogging? It that still your source of motivation?
A: I have a really odd broadcasting pedigree. I started in broker radio (where you pay for time on a local station to play your show) as a German music broadcaster. A gentleman that had been on the air for many years passed away very suddenly and I was tagged as a young man that had “a big mouth” and could start doing the show immediately. I ended up doing the show for seventeen years before broadcasting my last show in 2007. As you know, at that point podcasting was already alive and well at the time.

While doing the German program (you can still see the ol’ show at http://www.stimmungstunde.com), I started interviewing beauty pageant participants. I had noticed that these young ladies don’t really get a lot of mainstream media exposure and, most importantly, were excellent in the skills of BEING INTERVIEWED! I did figure out that these interview didn’t make a lot of sense on a German radio program, so I started podcasting the interviews. Nearly 200 episodes later I’m still going. Had there been more German language podsafe music early on, who knows if I ever would have started the PageantCast! (http://www.pageantcast.com)

Q: What are some things bands can do to get your attention to be featured on your broadcast/blog? Do you ever cover a band that you are not particularly fond of musically
A: I started playing music in my interview show to break up the ponderous rhythm an “all talk” format can bring. I generally look for two things: energy and memory. I need energy so that the music helps inject the program with some toe tapping heart to the proceedings, and it needs to memorable so that it can be played over and over. To do this, I generally go to a site and play five or six songs while reading e-mail. Then, I do something else for a bit. When I return I will pick only the song that I remembered. It’s not a great system, but I’ve found some great music this way. Obviously, I also listen to many other podcasters and if I can still remember a song after listening to the show in my car…that’s a winner! I’ll look it up in the podcast show notes and it will be on my program as soon as I can find a slot for it!

Q: Will major labels ever be the gatekeepers again, or have they lost all of their power to the internet forever? Can they somehow return to prominence?
A: No. No they can’t. It. Is. Over.

I’ve gotten a few emails here and there asking how your site can be featured in our Pre-Cleared and Podsafe newsletter.

The process of getting featured is pretty easy! Once you have featured/included an artist on your site:

1. Login to the Cyber PR System
2. Go to the “All Clients” tab
3. Just click ‘Leave Feedback’ at the right of each client under ‘actions’ or use the ‘Review Clients’ tab

That reports back to the client and us when you have featured an artist on your site.

Our Clients want to know what you think and love your feedback!

Everyone who reports back to us and leaves feedback/reviews is automatically featured in our newsletter!

Our newsletter is also an excellent way to promote your site to other social media makers as well!