Welcome to The Music Biz Weekly, a weekly podcast co-hosted by Michael Brandvold and Brian Thompson. Each week we discuss the latest events in the music business and music marketing events and techniques.
Tune in every week for the latest discussions and comments on the music business.
Listen to The Music Biz Weekly Podcast here:
Michael Brandvold Marketing
Thorny Bleeder
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About Michael Brandvold:
Michael Brandvold is a freelance music industry consultant based in Northern California. Having launched Michael Brandvold Marketing to leverage his years of experience to provide direction to large and small clients in the areas of online & social marketing as well as e-commerce and customer acquisition and retention.
Gene Simmons of KISS first tapped Michael’s skills as a pioneering online marketing strategist to launch and manage all aspects of Kissonline.com’s multi-million dollar enterprise, including their ground-breaking VIP ticket program.
Michael has also managed the online efforts for Motley Crüe, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna and Britney Spears to name only a few.
Find Michael online here:
Website
Twitter
Google+
Facebook
About Brian Thompson:
Brian Thompson, Managing Partner for Thorny Bleeder Records, is a Vancouver based music industry entrepreneur, record label owner, artist manager, marketing consultant, radio promoter, publicist, web designer, blogger, and industry speaker.
Formerly the corporate head of music buying and marketing for a large national music retail chain, Brian has since moved on to become a well respected voice on the convergence of artist development, music marketing, social media, and technology.
Hi Brian and Michael
Been listening to the DIY Daily Podcast and the Music Biz Weekly Podcast for about a month. Loving all the advice and inspiration you put into each podcast. Not to mention the dedication and work ethic to do it 5 days a week!
There’s so much good knowledge about marketing for the indie/new musician, and I’ve learned a lot. Been following all your good advice—Having a band website, a visual identity, blog, twitter, free giveaways. I felt like I was flying blind in the dark at night at the beginning, but feel a lot more comfortable about it now.
There’s only one small detail about the Music Biz Weekly Podcast. There’s a lot of great advice in it, but sometimes I feel a lot of the references are a bit dated. At least in the month I’ve been listening, I never hear about a band or artists from say mid 90s- to today. AC/DC, ZZ Top, KISS are mentioned quite often, but I don’t hear much about modern rock groups..Jack White, the White Stripes, Jack Johnson, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol. I don’t even listen to these bands, but It would be good to hear what’s going on in today’s rock scene…and other genres of music like pop, r&b, hip hop, and electronic music(which is massive at the moment). There are some good examples of music marketing phenomenons right now even if people dislike their music.. The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Skrillex, Deadmau5, Disney’s magnetic grip on the teenage girl demographic.
I don’t suggest changing the podcast or the format, but perhaps have some rotating hosts or interviewees from several genres of music.
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I was excited when you had dance artist Barron S on the show, but then slightly disappointed when no one really knew what to do with her “mixtape” or how mixtapes have changed. The mixtape has evolved so much from its hip hop beginnings.
Electronic and even rock artists like Chester French are in on it now. Many mix their own songs with other artists, or doing mashups, remixes and covers of other songs. Some put in as much production work as they would on an album they are trying to sell. Canada’s own The Weeknd has blown up in the last year, giving out 3 mixtapes of his alterna-r&b sonic collages mixing himself with other artists and tracks. Frank Ocean is another one mashing up of his original r & b material with other songs. I’ve always hated the overplayed Hotel California, but in his interpretation called American Wedding, he turns it into a cautionary tale about teenage marriage, and a general statement about the state of marriages in the US.
Producer Mark Ronson (producer of many songs on Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black) worked together with rap artist Rhymefest to create an entire Michael Jackson tribute mixtape, taking original rap vocals over spliced up and rearranged Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 material.
Like I said, I love the podcast, the ideas, and the passion that is there. Just some more modern examples and references from different genres of music would be great!
Thanks for reading
Fred Royster
Oak Park, IL