Update: “Renowned” and hot, eh? According to blogger Dave Lucas, I’m tied in 8th place with some Japanese chick on his 10 Hottest Blogging Babes To Watch in 2008 list.

Dave writes: “Talk about a ‘180′ - renowned A-lister LaShawn Barber went from politics to music in a bold move to take her blog where she wanted it to go. The result is delightful.”

I’m glad somebody digs my music-digital-tech-stuff blogging. Cheers, Dave. A link from LBC won’t bring you the kind of traffic it used to (those were the days!), but accept it as a token of my appreciation.
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Long-time readers know that short posts just aren’t my thing. I can’t do it. I’m neither pithy nor truncated nor brief. In fact, I have to force myself to wrap things up. Depending on who (whom?) you ask, it’s a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, Happy Thursday!

Digital Madness

Thom Yorke, lead singer for Radiohead, the British band that offered its latest album, In Rainbows, to fans in a pay-what-you-want gimmick last October, complained on BBC radio that artists don’t make money from digital downloads. Dig the irony! (Hat tip: Ars Technica)

Eighty percent of people, he claimed, still buy “physical releases” (don’t know where he got that figure) and that it’s important for the band to put out a physical version of the album. To do otherwise would have been “madness.” Not sure about the 80 percent figure, but I agree that some people want to possess hard copies. They may not own nor have the desire to own MP3 players, or they can’t live without liner notes and album art. Whatever the reason, there’s still a (dwindling?) market for physical albums.

Yorke said this about releasing In Rainbows online:

“We have a moral justification in what we did in the sense that the majors and the big infrastructure of the music business has not addressed the way artists communicate directly with their fans.

“In fact, they seem to basically get in the way. Not only do they get in the way, but they take all the cash,” said Yorke.

Many artists share Yorke’s frustrations, I’m sure. All artists should want a strong and direct connection to fans. Not only does it make fans feel good, the connection can result in more merchandise and concert ticket sales. And if artists aren’t collecting much money selling music in whatever format, they can compensate by touring like crazy and selling lots of stuff.

Bands’ Fans and Velvet Ropes

Does a strong and direct fan connection equal big cash for artists? Some artists are trying to find out.

This may not be accurate (what do I know?), but this is how imagine the music business worked years ago: record labels gave artists fat advances while they kept mostly all rights to the music, including publishing rights. The artists were too dazzled by high living and all those women to notice how little financial security they actually had. Years later, they were old and broke, worn out from too many drugs, too much booze, and too few royalties.

Things didn’t have to be that way then, but people definitely are smarter about rights and money matters now. (Take this man’s advice!)

For example, John Legend, whose song “Refuge” is high on my list of favorites (listen to a sample here), is one of the smart ones. Just 28, he’s formed a company called John Legend Ventures. He doesn’t only want to make music. He wants to make money, and more important, to maintain control over the money.

How do artists make money and control it in the digital age, when CDs sales are down and illegal downloading is rampant? By building and nurturing a strong fanbase and staying connected with fans. The connection keeps fans excited, happy. And happy fans buy stuff and attend concerts.

Legend, still signed to a major label, has taken the “merch” reins and partnered with a company called Musictoday. I read about Legend and Musictoday last month in the February 2007 issue of Fast Company. The article is long, but I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Musictoday sets up web sites and online stores for artists, hosts web sites, manages fan clubs, monitors message boards, fulfills merchandise orders, and offers fans a “behind the velvet ropes” experience with their favorite artists. From Fast Company:

Founded by Coran Capshaw, the storied but reticent manager of the Dave Matthews Band, Musictoday works behind the scenes to fashion an online identity for artists, then connects them with fans–and drives commerce. It feeds the sort of passion, or obsession, that turns a $20 teddy bear in a Dylan shirt or a $45 Red Hot Chili Peppers messenger bag into a necessity. It fulfills fantasies: owning Carlos Santana’s black fedora, say, or playing blackjack and softball with the Backstreet Boys, or sitting in on a soundcheck with John Mayer. Musictoday can even help fans become part of the music itself, as when Christina Aguilera incorporated their voice-mail messages into “Thank You,” a song on Back to Basics, her most recent release. “This is all about taking your fans behind the velvet rope,” says Matt Blum, Musictoday’s fan-club manager.

While the big money is still in touring, Musictoday rechannels revenue streams–merchandise margins and ticket fees that traditionally padded someone else’s pocket–in the talent’s direction…And for megabands like Dave Matthews, which has more than 80,000 fans paying $35 a year for fan-club membership alone, the money can snowball.

As a big fan of a few bands, nothing is more alluring to me than the thought – the mere thought – of access. Fans want to feel connected and special. They want to be appreciated. That’s what Legend and the folks at Musictoday want to tap into. I like what Musictoday is doing so much, I considered asking for a job just so I could work with fans, helping them feel connected. It wouldn’t be a long commute, I reasoned. They’re just down the road near Charlottesville, VA. And I could always move to…

But the moment passed. I prefer independently writing and blogging about what’s happening in the industry to working in it. No conflicts of interest!

Joe Schmo and Band 2.0

Before I wrap things up (must I?), I wanted to mention other ways artists connect to fans. The British band Jamiroquai has gone all Web 2.0, setting up a one-stop shop complete with a comment-enabled blog (in need of much more content - hire me!), digital downloads, CDs, videos, photos, merch - everything the Jamiroquai fan would want. (Backstage passes and tour bus visits, too?)

The band also offers widgets, so fans can put the band’s content on their sites. Jamiroquai, like many other artists and businesses, is trying to monetize how fans network with one another. People discover music in a variety of ways, as Net, Blogs and Rock ‘n’ Roll expertly illustrates. One of those ways is through word-of-mouth recommendations. Jamiroquai is not only trying to retain loyal fans but attract new ones. In order to do that, you’ve got to go where potential fans are. All artists, no matter how cool or sophisticated they think they are, should have Web 2.0-style web sites. Need content? If you’re an indie label or band, I’m your gal.

OK, I’m done. If I think of something else…