The newer prouder country artist.

Yesterday I posted a link to Jason Aldean's newest release Night Train on my Facebook page. A few hours later a musical comrade of mine made a comment that got me thinking about modern country music.

According to my Facebook buddy the new Aldean album "ain't country".

This got me questioning; "what is country anyway?"

I find that a lot of people I run into who aren't up-to-date on the genre still think country is twangy stories about drunk lonely nights, divorce, and missing your dog. And for years this was country. Throughout the 70's, 80's, and most of the 90's country music was pretty damn sad. Sure their were the occasional two-steppin' hits, but for the most part country music was sad music.

Over the past decade the genre has been changing. It has become more powerful, more "proud".

Take a listen to Take a Little Ride from Aldean's newest album. This isn't a song about loosing a dog, a wife, or a house. It's a song about a hardworking man whose "been workin' all day bailing some hay"; and now he is off from work, and on his way to hang out with his favorite girl to watch the corn grow, from the tailgate of his Chevy, on a country back road.

Now I know if you are not a country fan that sounds like a pretty boring premise for a song.  However, if you do feel that way, chances are, you never lived in the South.  Or a rural area for that matter.

Well in my short life I lived in Nashville and spent some time in Oklahoma, and I can tell you that this is how people of the south live. It is a wholesome lifestyle, where they work hard for their pay and spend their time enjoying the company of mother nature, close friends, and cold beer. And contrary to what the press, television, and the pundits may tell you, this is how the majority of Americans live. When I first heard the song Pontoon by Little Big Town I immediately though of floating on a homemade barge on Aker's Pond in a northern New England town with no cellular phone service called Errol, and another time tubing down New Hampshire's Androscoggin River with a beer in my hand.

Many people will hoot and holla' that modern country has become commercialized, lost it's roots, and isn't even country music at all. I beg to differ. I think the new generation of country musicians and songwriters don't see their lives the same way their predecessors did. Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and Toby Keith are all telling us that it's OK to work hard, love your country, your truck, and to be proud of who you are. Life is short so Take a Little Ride, hop on the Pontoon, have Another Beer in Mexico, or just hop in your Truck Yeah.

So yes, these new artists are country music, but they are part of a new trend in the genre. A trend where the musicians are proud of who they are, where they come from, and their down home values. This has come through in their songs.

This is country.

How Touring Can Elevate Your Career

This week I want to talk about touring, and just how powerful it can for your musical career.

Last week I received my copy of Rolling Stone, and was pleasantly surprised to see that one of my favorite groups, The Dave Matthews Band, had reached number one with their eighth studio album Away From the World.

Dave Matthews hit the mainstream back in 1994 with Under The Table and Dreaming, and close to ten years later, the 45 year old Matthews still leads a group that can sell records and sell out concert venues. This is a rare feat in today's musical landscape. One hit wonders and passive fans have made it almost impossible for a young band to gain national stardom and then maintain that position for close to a decade. So how did Dave Matthews and his group of rocking minstrels do it?

It all boils down to touring. Even before the group had a major label record deal they toured. Their manager Coran Capshaw put them on the road in the early nineties and they crisscrossed the United States a number of times picking up fans at each show. A fan of The Grateful Dead, Capshaw understood the importance of coordinating a fan base for the group and then motivating them to buy into the brand. This proved quite successful because by the time the band was ready to sign a major label deal they really didn't need to. When asked about the group's powerful fan base A&R man Bruce Flohr explained why RCA decided to sign the group in an online article. "I only realized how lucky we were the more shows I went to go see. I was working at a label where 90 percent of the acts we had signed couldn't draw what this dude was drawing. All of a sudden I realized that if RCA did everything wrong, we had a gold album under our belt.

The newer generation of musical dreamers should take notice of the importance of touring. First it helps you support your career. In today's day in age you probably will not sell a huge amount of $16 albums, instead you will sell a larger amount of 99¢ tracks, and you will probably give more away than you actually sell. To earn income you need to get fans to buy into your brand. Many younger musicians think this is done through FaceBook and Twitter, but trust me this rarely works. In order to connect you need to play live in-front of your fans or potential consumers.

When you play a concert, no matter how big or how small, you have a captive audience. If you can give them a performance to remember they will buy your music, your merchandise, and tickets for future shows.  All of this income adds up pretty quick, and like Coran Capshaw knew, can actually help keep a band on the road earning more fans and making more money. 

If a major label deal is your ultimate goal you MUST, and I repeat MUST, tour. As we all know there are fewer and fewer major labels out there today, but hundreds of thousands of musicians fighting for their attention. It is time for musicians to accept the cold hard fact that the music business is a business, and no matter how great your songs are these labels want to see how well you can connect with an audience and get them to buy into your brand.

I want you to step outside your rock attire and into a suit for a minute and look at it like a music industry professional. You are looking at two bands. They both have decent music that can be made marketable. They both have the look, and they are both pretty talented. But band one is touring. They play to an average of 400 people per night. They have merchandise at their shows and are selling t-shirts, thongs, stickers, and music. The other band plays occasionally, usually to about thirty people because they haven't been collecting and mobilizing a fan base, and they do not sell merchandise because they feel their music should speak for itself.

As a music executive it becomes simple math. The first band has proved they can captivate an audience and get them to buy into their brand. If on their own they are playing in front of 400 people per night and most of those people are walking away with music or merchandise, than imagine how much money the label can make when that group is introduced to 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 fans.

For the executive band two isn't even an option. Even if they had better music, they have not proved they can connect with an audience and make them break out their wallets. Musicians must remember that if you want to make a living at your craft you need an audience that is willing to buy into your product.

This mentality is what put Dave Matthews on the national and global stage, and is why close to a decade later they can hit number one in the Billboard Charts whenever they release an album. Through touring they have built up a fan base that is always hungry to buy into the group's brand. This is what record executives want. They are investing in your small company and want to know that ten years later you will still be making them money. If you can accept that premise than you have a huge chance to get your music heard by the world. 

In an upcoming article I will offer insight as to how to keep records of your sales, motivate a fan base, and sell merchandise so you have the evidence those major executives need when the time is right. 

Your Music is a Loss Leader

In business there is a term used to describe products that are designed to get you in the door and buy bigger ticket items. It is called loss leader pricing. When you break that phrase down the first word “loss” is because the business is probably loosing money selling those items. The word “leader” means it leads you to buy other products. We see this all of the time, but probably don’t even realize it.

For instance you can buy a brand new razor with two cartridges for around $10, but if you want to buy additional razors themselves you will have to fork over $25 for an eight pack. 

Have you ever purchased a new printer? What a steal you can get a whole unit with ink for under $50. It isn’t until you need a refill that you realize the cartridges alone will cost you over $50. 

Loss leaders are everywhere. Go into a supermarket and buy an 18 pack of water for $3, two bags of chips for $4, or a 12 pack of coke for $3.99. These are all tactics to get you to buy other, more expensive, things.

Well that is what music has officially become… a loss leader.

According to Apple’s 10-K filings for 2011 iTunes made $5.4 billion. Amazing right? Now think about this. Forbes reported that Apple sold five million phones within three days of their iPhone 5 launch on September 21st, 2012. Now even though the vast majority of these phones were at reduced rates through cellphone carriers, companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint still needed to pay Apple a subsidy to get the new highly in-demand product. According to CNN money that subsidy averages about $450 per phone. That equates to $2.25 billion dollars for Apple. A little under half of what their iTunes division made last year. So in three days Apple's iPhone made half of what their entire iTunes store made in a year. 

Last week Samsung, Apple’s biggest rival, announced they will start buying up smaller music streaming and distribution companies to strengthen their own music network called Hub. The technology bohemian isn't doing this to sell more music. They are doing it to "lead" consumers into buying one of their Galaxy smartphones or tablets. Samsung is finally catching on to something Apple, Amazon and Google have known for years. You sell more technology devices if you can easily fill them with low cost music. 

Using music to get consumers through the door to lure them to buy bigger ticket items isn’t necessarily new. For years Wal*Mart had isles of CD’s. That’s right I said “isles” of CD’s. They did this because you had to go somewhere to buy new music. This was before you could beam it to your phone while you borrowed your neighbors Wi-Fi connection. When you went to Wally World to buy that new Pearl Jam CD. I know I’m old. You were forced to look at those beautiful big screen TV’s, stereos, DVD players, and other high priced electronic items, and chances are, at least once,  you walked away with one of them. In the end your $16 CD purchase cost you about $500. That is a loss leader.

But today music has completely become a loss leader. If you don’t believe me look around. If you are a Starbucks card holder you will get the occasional free download of a new music track, or you can buy those albums in their stores for $10 while you drop another $8 on a cup of coffee, plus another cup for your friend, and, oh wait, one of those awesome muffins.

  

Artists don’t make money by selling music anymore. That is an antiquated business model and if a manager or record labels is telling you otherwise start running back to your day job because you will make more money and work less there. Just take a look at the sales numbers according to www.gloriousnoise.com.  Total album sales were at $616.6 million in 1996 and have dropped to $330.57 million last year, and yes that includes digital sales for 2011.

But for some reason artist’s still think that they make money by selling albums. The truth is in today’s market they don’t. The smart ones understand how to use their music as a loss leader just like Apple, Samsung, Coca Cola, and Starbucks. Trent Reznor gives his music away and uses those free tracks to encourage fans to buy his concert tickets, merchandise, autographed memorabilia and anything else he can make money on. He understands that the market has changed their valuation of music. To them music no longer has a monetary value. Napster has taught them otherwise. Incubus’ manager Steve Rennie said it best “for some reason college kids can afford their beer and weed money, but will not pay for their favorite song.” 

On a good note music has not lost its intrinsic value and that is why ad agencies, film companies, and big businesses still fork over money to attach their brand to a particular tune. To make money in today’s market artist must stop thinking that people will pay for their music. Instead they must start using their music to get those consumers to buy into their brand. Hell it worked pretty good for Apple.  

The Degree is Over, But the Learning has Just Begun!

It has been a long time coming...This week I will graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Music Business Management.

Over the past two and a half years I have been studying, but not in a classroom.  Because I was "on the road" I had to obtain my degree with the help of technology...Online.

I chased that degree while I worked on cruise ships, paying 35¢ per minute to watch my lecturers, research and upload assignments, and participate in virtual discussions. At some times this cost me close to $200 per month in Internet bills alone.

For a while I got to study "on land" as I worked as a show band drummer for a five star resort nestled in northern New Hampshire. The remote spot where I lived lacked an Internet connection, so I went to my virtual classes via a mobile hot spot. It was slow, so slow that sometimes I drove an hour out of town seeking a stronger cell signal to upload my assignments.

I worked hard for those two and a half plus years. I think I averaged about 45 hours per week on school work while I traveled, played some late nights, and then traveled some more.

With a few months left before graduation I moved in with family in Florida and started working for Apple Retail. Luckily my sister had a really good Internet connection so I could finish my tenure at the college strong. I was up early every day and in bed late as I polished another assignment, researched another business topic, or read another chapter.

And in the end I got my last grades and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had achieved a 4.0 for all of my hard work. The same hard work that put me at the top of my class in Music Business Management at Full Sail University.

Many people question the validity of such a degree. I do not.

The music business landscape has radically changed. Everything is different from marketing to promotions, artist management, the record deal, contracts, and, of course, distribution. What is funny is that if you asked any "Joe blow" on the street he would tell you the same, but for some reason so many artists think otherwise. They still dream of that big record contract, the globe trotting tour to packed football stadiums, the debut album that goes platinum in the first week.

Without people like me, people who have trained in the modern music business landscape, they would starve. Or worse yet return to a normal 9-5 job. You see during this degree that many would deem somewhat useless I have studied how artists can not only survive in this new marketplace, but also prosper.

In the end I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far, but I am even more excited of what is to come. If the music business has shown me one thing, it is that the Internet is here to stay and those who don't hop on board will wither and die. I have studied one industry that almost died at the hands of an interlinked world, now I will learn how to leverage that power to help both myself and the lucky organization I will eventually work for succeed in the modern marketplace.

So you may see my posts change a bit.  I will continue to talk about the drumming world, but you will probably see more research on the modern music business landscape and the power of the Internet taking a larger role.

I look forward to sharing my experiences with you!

Want An (In-Depth) Understanding of Reggae Drumming?

A few years ago I had the opportunity to sit down with an exceptional Reggae drummer who was working on a cruise ship with me. He was the real deal. Born and raised in Jamaica and drumming for most of his life he could do things on the kit that made simple white guys like me very jealous.

During our quasi lesson he informed me that Reggae is something that is in your blood, just like Americans tend to be better when it comes to playing Swing music (his words not mine). He showed me a number of tips and tricks to get my island drumming more authentic, but I will admit Reggae has always eluded me.

Then two weeks ago I got an email from Hudson music telling me I could download Gil Sharone's Wicked Beats instructional DVD for only $15. I had to take the offer.

For you drummers who don't know who Gil Sharone is. Right after high school he became the drummer for the group Fishbone which opened a number of doors for the young musician. He has played with Blink 182, Dillinger Escape Plan, and his own group Stolen Babies. He is an active clinician and was even voted Modern Drummers #2 Most Up-And Coming Drummer in 2008. If you want to read his full bio visit Drummerworld here.

So enough about Gil and let's talk about Wicked Beats.

This is a great instructional DVD because it leads you through the development of Jamaican drumming. Gil walks you from the beginnings of the movement with the Nyabingi and Burru. This lesson is filmed with some of Reggae drumming greats whom explain the importance of Rastafarianism on the drumming style and how the sounds mimic that of nature. This really helped me to understand the underlying core concepts of the Reggae style of drumming.


From there Gil walks you through Ska and Rocksteady and how the beats change ever so slightly for each. Then he moves on to Reggae, Dancehall, 2 Tone Ska, and 3rd Wave Ska before ending with Dub. 


I was really impressed at how good of a teacher Gil Sharone is. He really helps the viewer understand where the important parts of the various Reggae style beats fall and how to make each one authentic. And he does it so simply that you catch on quite quickly.  Sometimes the best teachers are the ones very few know about.

Wicked Beats is a true "in-depth" DVD. Not only does Gil show you how to properly lay down various authentic sounding Reggae beats, but he also includes commentary from noted Reggae historian Roger Steffans who's history lesson helps the drummer understanding how the music has developed and evolved.

What I dig the most about Sharone's DVD is the fact that he brings in special guest such as  Lloyd Knibb of The Skatalites who offer insight into Reggae technique. These "true" Reggae greats offer amazing concepts that can give your drumming that real island flavor.

I will leave you with the trailer for Wicked Beats and encourage you to either buy the DVD or download it directly through Hudson Music on Demand.

Drumming Greats: Mick Fleetwood

As I weaved through traffic on Orange Blossom Trail with my windows down and music cranked up the other day I couldn't help but notice that I was getting some awkward looks from other motorists.

Now let me explain for a second. OBT, as we affectionately call it, is propagated by people who enjoy hip hop and Latin music, so when I pull up at a red light and Fleetwood Mac's Dreams is blaring from my VW sound system I guess I can understand the funny looks from other motorists sitting on their 22" rims. What these motorists don't realize is that I am a drummer, and Fleetwood Mac is backed by one of the greats in the drumming community – Mick Fleetwood.

OK, so I will admit that Mick wouldn't be a drummers first choice when it comes to inspiration. He isn't  a blazing jazz pioneer like Billy Cobham or Max Roach, he isn't a progressive superstar such as Neil Peart, or a modern day rock star such as Rich Redmond, but we should all give Mick Fleetwood his due and here's why:

1. You know a rhythm section is great when the band is named after the bassist and drummer.

Sure many fans associate Fleetwood's fame with the vocals of Stevie Nicks, but many do not know that the band started out as a blues group and was named after bassist John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Hence the name Fleetwood Mac.

2. To be a drummer you have to have brass balls.

Part of being a great drummer is having confidence. Nothing says confidence like wearing a wedding dress for a Rolling Stone article, and Mick did just that.

3. Mick kept the band alive.

We all know of the chaos that is Fleetwood Mac. The marriages, the divorces, and all the drugs, but through it all Mick is responsible for keeping the group going. After a long hiatus Mick urged the group to get back together for a new album in 1997 called Dreams, which brought them back to the mainstream and put the original line-up back on stage thus reinventing the Fleetwood brand.

4. Showmanship.

Watch any Fleetwood video and you will see Mick making faces, dancing on the kit, and feeling the music. To be a great drummer you have to be "in the music", and for his entire career Mick has been inside the music.

5. The tick-tock.

This is what keeps Fleetwood Mac on my playlist. Sure some drummers can burn the double bass, others can swing like mad, and newbies can play at 200 plus beats per minute, but to get the audience to dance and your records to sell your music has to have a groove. When it comes to groove Mick and John created a tick-tock that is always in the pocket, on time, and infectious.

I urge all the young drummers out there to give Fleetwood Mac a listen. See what these musical pioneers do that has pushed them up the charts and put them on stages across the world. In this day of speed drumming competitions and programmed beats we often forget that when you put great musicians together you get a great product. When that band has a drummer who can keep solid time, create an infectious groove with the bassist, and perform with confidence and musicality you can survive the test of time.

Finally watch this video from their successful Dance video, even with the University of Southern California Marching band Mick keeps the groove alive.

A Great FREE Learning Resource for Drummers

During my practice routines I like to devote some time to playing with study materials that give you music without drums and a chart to follow. I have found Tommy Igoe's Grove Essentials series (you can find these great books here), and Steve Houghton's Ultimate Drumset Reading Anthology (you can check out this manual and more here) to be great resources.

But after daily practice with these books the purpose behind reading charts and playing along with the tracks looses it's value. I mean it's pretty useless to read through a chart when you know the songs inside and out because you have played them too much.

So I went on a search this morning to find some new play along material, and being a consumer of the new technology driven universe I wanted to download something as opposed to purchasing a CD and then waiting for said disc in the mail before I could practice.  Through an Internet search I came across Vic Firth's Education section of their website and was pleasantly surprised.

I have to thank the folks at Vic Firth because this is a great resource for both drummers looking to boost their game and music instructors seeking ways to efficiently pass down their craft. They have countless videos of the drumming community's best offering lessons, live footage, and their own theories on the instrument. You can download their copy of the 40 Essential Snare Drum Rudiments, although I would encourage you to get my book on that (shameless plug), along with a plethora of other resources. They even have an ongoing Podcast that keeps you up-to-date with performances of today's top drummers.

The gem I found was at their drum set play along section (you can get there here).  

This page offers countless songs with and without drums. These free online lessons cover a number of genres and each one includes music to help you work on your chart reading skills at the same time. They are all songs by today's top drummers so be prepared to be challenged during your practice routine when you connect with these bad boys. 

All in all this is a great free resource for drummers looking to up their game. I encourage you all to take a tour of Vic Firth's website and see how they can help you get better on the kit.