erik peterson.
Music/Tech Entrepreneur
Erik J. Peterson is a 39 year old music/tech entrepreneur from Chicago. Currently, most of his focus is in the new music industry, but his background extends beyond. He began his online career in 2000, marketing web site subscriptions and physical goods. Over the years he has developed several successful small e-commerce web sites, specializing in both digital and physical goods, and high-traffic commercial feeder networks for targeting niche visitors.
Prior to that, Erik was VP of Operations for Lewis Metals Corp., a metal fabrication representative firm; specializing in pollution and emissions control.
He currently is president and founder of Plugola Inc.;
a company dedicated to assisting independent recording artists earn from their music by giving their fans what they want. More recently, he has been
developing an online platform aimed at releasing limited edition, high-end, tangible music called, HIFIDELICS.
He was also a semi-pro drummer (recording/touring), former owner of a small independent record label and graduate of Columbia College Chicago.
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Tweets
- B-Day present to myself - 4 x 7" records that fit together like a puzzle - from The Locust http://t.co/vtL4JZFA
- Hypebot Debuts The Upward Spiral Podcast http://t.co/dGoVW3Vt via @hypebot
- (Check the comments too!) 10 Reasons Why Your Band Is About To Fire You: http://t.co/g9eyYVsc via @thornybleeder
- The Next SoundCloud Powers A Sonic Hackathon http://t.co/89qt6pf0 via @FastCoCreate
- Wisdom and Motivation for All Musicians in Comments by Ron Young of Little Caesar http://t.co/jU3dpOoN via @michaelsb
- The Jedi Master Approach to Content Marketing that Converts http://t.co/jmek4uPo via @entreproducer
- A MUST-READ -- Noise, promotion and spam will reduce your Twitter followers http://t.co/fmBF2GK7 via @Econsultancy
- According to my DM's, there are quite a bit of people out there saying horrible things about me...May 23, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- MusicHype (@mHype) Identifies Top Fans, Creates “Welcomed Knock on the Door” Approach to Fan Marketing http://t.co/SUHyKYTt via @hypebot
- If Metallica Is Touring for the Money, Then We're All In Trouble: http://t.co/UroqUem9 via @digitalmusicnws
- I like to post this video sometimes to remind artists (& everyone) that if you want to succeed you have to want it BAD http://t.co/Rt9axTU0May 23, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Need words to help you rhyme while writing Songs? Download ProStudioRhymes App: http://t.co/Un2qjEzt http://t.co/RBtj0HaT via @ProStudioAppMay 23, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Deconstructing the Misconceptions of Streaming Music Economics: A Biased Analysis Based on Logic http://t.co/Hdivjodz via @AntonyNBruno
- 5 Steps for Musicians to Dominate Facebook (or ANY Social Media) http://t.co/CkxEyADJ via @davidhooper
- @ProStudioApp Thanks, I will. =) I'll tweet your updates when I'm finished up w/ what I'm working on.
- @ProStudioApp Everything's good. I've just been busy working on @hifidelics. How's by you?
- @ProStudioApp hey man...what's up?
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Status
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Posts
- Apr 17, 12
Nowadays it’s becoming increasingly more important that artists, especially independent, really use their imagination when it comes to presentation. It’s pretty tough to be creative with digital tracks, however focusing your creativity on tangible items will not go unnoticed. Not only does your creativity help make your music (or merch) stand out and get people talking about you, but it also adds value and that gives your fans a reason to make the purchase. Since so many choose to follow the path most taken, it’s not easy to find music releases, in this case vinyl, that really goes outside the box when it comes to packaging and presentation. I’ve recently come across several that I believe really put some creative effort into their vinyl release and I wanted to share them with you for ideas and inspiration for your own release, hopefully on Hifidelics. ;)
These are in no particular order…
Lapse, or Richard Vergez, released this beauty. It’s a 10″ box set that comes in a hand-crafted wooden box and equipped with collage artwork from the artist. The vinyl is clear 10″ lathe-cut and unfortunately only one was made. Extremely limited edition, but a gorgeous example all the same. Clicking this image will take you to the Flickr page where you can read more about this release.
Next up is a new split 7” between The Everybody and Stationary Odyssey (featuring members of the Pixies) comes with an awesome custom silk-screened wooden casing. The vinyl record, itself, looks pretty interesting, as well.
Venturing away from the wooden packaging we have a very eye-catching release from Martin Creed & Box Codax. These white records come in a neon-colored frame and the center label is hand painted by Martin Creed, and signed by both artists. This release limited to a total quantity of only (100).
This final example isn’t so much focusing on the design of their packaging, but concept is very cool. This vinyl record comes from the band, Why I Must Be Careful, and is limited to (100) copies. “Each of the limited-edition albums is housed in a handmade wooden frame that has spent enough time inside of a beehive for a colony to form their iconic honeycomb structures on either side of the record”. The album is appropriately titled, Honeycomb.
I’ll keep updating you with new vinyl releases that stand out from the crowd. If you have your own concept or would like to discuss some of your ideas, I, or Hifidelics, would be glad to assist you. Feel free to hit us up at: hifidelics@gmail.com You can also check out our other posts about some creative vinyl release.
- Mar 23, 12
When we first began developing Hifidelics the concept of download codes for the digital version of the record’s tracks never crossed my mind. I have a turntable that rips the vinyl tracks to digital should I feel the need, so other people’s desire to have the digital tracks bundled with the record was not part of our original thought process. The more records I received for personal use I started to notice receiving more download cards/codes along with them. Around this time I also began reading more and more about how vinyl fans expect the digital tracks. The whole process of having to visit a label’s website, register, enter a code and download the tracks all seemed a bit inconvenient to me, though. I figured it would be much easier to just to receive a flash drive with all the tracks loaded and ready to go.
By chance, I stumbled upon an interesting article discussing something very similar on the yvynyl music blog. The author talks about how widely different the user experience is for each label’s site, and the hoops one must jump through in order to download their tracks. He is absolutely correct; it shouldn’t be that difficult. So that got me thinking, why don’t I just ask people what they would prefer?
I first asked on Twitter to see what kind of response we would get, and to my surprise we actually received some feedback I wasn’t expecting.
When purchasing a new #vinyl record would you rather get a download code for the digital tracks, or a flash drive with all the tracks?
— hifidelics (@hifidelics) March 3, 2012
Based on the options I gave, people’s preferences were fairly even, but a few people responded by saying they would prefer a CD along with the record. That surprised me.
@hifidelics I actually prefer the CD copy with the vinyl.One for home, car, and easily burned onto computer.
— Beat Pharm (@beatpharm) March 3, 2012
I attempted a poll on our Facebook page, but for some reason I can never get people to participate with polls on Facebook. I could only get three votes after posting it numerous times. TwtPoll was the next option and it’s a great free poll service if it’s used for smaller scale polls (premium service for larger polls). They even make a nice, little pie chart for you.
Sadly, after a week and almost 900 page views only 22 people participated in the poll, but the outcome was still surprising. Not many were interested in the flash drive at all, and combined with the response from Twitter and Facebook, just as many people preferred a CD as they did a web download. There was also a suggestion of QR codes so you can just download the tracks directly to your phone, which is a great idea; and another said, “As part of an innovative packaging design or content rich and engaging app”. I immediately thought of the “Metal on Metal“ record, where it has “flash memory circuitry built into it so that you can plug a usb cable directly into the record and download the songs”.
The results still didn’t help us decide on what format we should offer on Hifidelics – maybe we can provide several options – however, it did open my eyes to the fact that not only are CDs still desirable with vinyl fans, but there’s no one preferable format; even when it comes to digital. Admittedly, this “study” is hardly scientific; especially with so few participants, but it’s definitely an issue that we, or any label that offers vinyl, need to work on and find a seamless solution that’s a quick and simple process.
- Feb 18, 12
A couple months ago I published a post of a few cool and creative vinyl record releases for inspiration for those of you considering releasing a record with Hifidelics. As you may or may not already know, Hifidelics is about releasing limited runs of custom vinyl records in beautiful, creative packaging. From time to time I will stumble across a vinyl release that really stands out and I think to myself, “Man, I wish we were the ones releasing this record”. So instead of just passing-on by, I wanted to share some of these stand-out record releases with you and give you some ideas as to what else is out there, and what can make an ordinary record into a masterpiece.
This time around, the records I’m sharing here are less of a focus on packaging, and more of a focus on just some killer vinyl. Now, imagine these records also coming in some awesomely designed packaging, as well. Your fans would be fighting to get their hands on just one, of very few, copies.
First up is a copper record from the band Scrap Iron called, “Shovel”. Technically not ‘vinyl’, but it does fall into the same category. I researched to find out more about this band and record, but turned up nothing. I believe the band’s name and associated keywords are too similar to common searches. However, the record manufacturer had this to say about the record; “This is the prototype. The finished version will have flash memory circuitry built into it so that you can plug a usb cable directly into the record and download the songs!”. It sounds pretty damn cool, doesn’t it? Not only that, but the non-groove side is a piece of artwork. This would be a very memorable release if they can get the word out.
Next we have a very cool record of Boys Noize & Erol Alkan remixes. Yes, that IS a 12″ vinyl record! It’s a picture-disc, actually. Picture-discs are not all that original in the world of vinyl, however I find the picture they used to be very clever! From what I can tell, it seems this record sold out very quickly, too.
Last, but certainly not the least, comes from Jack White’s Third Man Records. As many of you know, Third Man is also a crusader for vinyl records (I swear, Third Man had no influence on Hifidelics!) I’ve mentioned this record before. I’m not sure about it’s practicality for listeners, but collectors will love something like this. One comment on this video’s Youtube page mentioned they saw this record for sale on eBay for $600! It’s a triple-decker record for one of Jack’s many projects, The Dead Weather. He begins to explain and show you the record at about 00:35.
If you’re an artist and have a fanbase of vinyl-lovers, Hifidelics can help you release awesome records just like these! Just contact us with the concept you have in mind and we can get you started. Or, check out this blog’s Hifidelics page to learn a bit more on what we are all about.
- Feb 01, 12
I’ve been getting a lot of questions from you guys about the differences between digital and analog when it comes to the final mix. As you may or may not know, it’s really a bad idea to use your masters that were mixed for digital for vinyl. Admittedly, I’m not much of a studio guy, so I asked someone who does know the details and differences. The following article about mixing and mastering for vinyl records is a guest post from Adam Williams of Sonics60. Thanks Adam!
There is an age old argument that vinyl records sound better than CD or uncompressed digital audio. This is a very subjective argument that to this day, I believe, is impossible prove. However, I believe that a good quality vinyl record played on a high quality sound system produces a fantastic sound with a character and warmth that provides a completely different, and to me, a more pleasurable listening experience.
The reason I’m writing this article is that there is still demand for vinyl. Yes, not only are we still buying it, but reports indicate that sales are gradually increasing. A lot of what I’ll say in the article may seem obvious to an older generation of engineers and producers; however, there is younger generation of digital natives that may have never experienced the glories that vinyl can bring. If you’re a band, engineer or producer working on a vinyl release, there are a few techniques you can apply to get the most out of your recording. In my opinion, a mix is always subjective; however, we also need to work within the constraints of the technologies we’re using. Hopefully, the following will assist you in achieving a better sounding mix for your vinyl release.
It should be recognised as one of the main differences between an analogue vinyl recording and digital audio is the dynamic range. CD quality digital audio will have a dynamic range of about 150dB, where a vinyl record can produce anywhere from 70dB to 90dB. It is possible for vinyl to go higher, but these figures are a good starting point. It is good bare this in mind when handing over the mix to the mastering or cutting engineer. If the levels are too hot for the medium, the engineer will need to attenuate the signal, therefore possibly severely altering the sound of your mix. I want to keep this article about being creative however; it is worth noting that digital signals are measured in dBFs, whereas analogue signals are measured in dBVU. More information on this can be found here. It is also worth talking to the mastering engineer as he/she will be able to advise you.
There are areas within the frequency spectrum that need to be treated differently with vinyl. In the digital domain it is common to add compression or add limiting to the high frequencies to increase the perceived loudness. This method does not translate well to vinyl. If you can visualise the stylus in the groove of a record, it is moving through a series of peaks and troughs, narrow and wide, which causes the head to vibrate. These vibrations are then converted to an electrical signal which is then amplified and the passed through the chain until the sound is reproduced through the speakers. Again, if you can visualise the grooves as sound waves, higher frequencies are smaller and more frequent and cause more vibrations to the head. This can then cause overload from the amount of work the head needs to do and therefore compromising the sound quality by adding distortion, and potentially damaging the equipment. I’m not saying don’t use compression or limiting on the high frequencies, but be aware of what overdoing it can do. The cutting stage is the opposite of what I just described, where the cutting head is vibrated using an electrical current to cut the corresponding grooves into the record.
Low frequency content needs to be tackled differently. Try to centre the low frequency element to your mix. I understand it may be a creative choice to have two simultaneous basslines panned left and right, but this can cause phase problems when cutting the disc and render the disc unplayable, or at least unpleasant to listen to. There are ways around this at the mastering stage by cutting the low frequency content however; this will again alter the sound of your mix. It is better to recognise this at the mix stage and achieve a result you’re happy with before it is sent to the mastering engineer.
With the influx of music production and technology tools and software, and the constantly increasing power and affordability of processing power, it is easy to get creative with whole load of processor plugins on your mix. This is fine, but I suggest taking a step back and taking a different approach when mixing for vinyl. It is easy to add a compressor to the kick drum to give it that extra punch however; there are other ways to achieve similar results which translate better to vinyl. It is also advisable to be very aware of clipping. In the digital domain, clipping can be masked and dealt with, but it does not transfer well to vinyl.
Vinyl is a great medium for dynamic music and I’m a believer that great dynamics and EQ can be achieved at the tracking stage with good mic placements and performances. However, sometimes this is not possible due to lack of resources and time. In addition, as a mix engineer, it is common to be handed stems that have been recorded elsewhere by someone else where you have no input on the recording process. Instead of loading up that compressor to achieve the punch or volume to get it to cut through, try using EQ and balancing with the other instruments. Listen out for the harmonics and a little notch here and there can make all the difference. Careful panning and reverb can also bring instruments out in the mix. One thing to be very aware of is the length of your tracks as the vinyl disc is limited to how much information in can hold at good quality. Make careful decisions about the running order, or sequence of your tracks on the disc. The outer grooves a less susceptible to distortion so place your killer and loud tracks here, and your softer and quitter tracks towards the centre of the disc.
The best thing to do is put yourself in the mindset of your potential audience. The majority of vinyl junkies I know invest a lot of money in their audio systems. Some even build special, acoustically treated listening rooms. Don’t worry too much about achieving loudness at the mix stage. Try and achieve a good balance and level for the mastering engineer to work with but remember, your audience probably has a sound system that’s very capable of going very loud, at their preference. A lot of DJs still use vinyl as well as digital, but most club systems will run through compressors which will level everything. The difference between highly compress digital music and more dynamic vinyl in this environment is that the digital files may sound flat through the club system, whereas the vinyl will have that natural punch which sounds fantastic at high volumes.
I’m not dictating that you shouldn’t be creative with the tools that are available to you. However, by being aware of the constraints of the medium and the preference of your audience can yield some great results and deliver a product that is of extremely high quality.
P.S. Another thing to remember about your vinyl release is the packaging – but that’s another story……
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Adam added that he is open for any questions you may have. He is most easily reached via Twitter: @sonics60 or you can ask your questions in the comments below.
- Jan 23, 12
It was the end of Winter in 2007 and I had just launched a video sharing site for independent music only called, Jamphetamines. In layman’s terms, it was a Youtube for indie musicians and record labels. To make a long story short, It was a miserable failure. After about six months of the site going live, I had realized what I had done wrong. Around that same time, an acquaintance of mine overheard me talking about Jamphetamines and mentioned he had an idea for a music site. He said, “How come there’s no iTunes for indie bands”? I kind of shrugged it off at the time, until a couple of weeks later when I ran across Snocap. It was an interesting concept, but they were doing it all wrong. I knew I could use their concept as a blueprint for something much better and bigger. I researched everywhere to see if something, like what I had in mind, already existed and I couldn’t find anything else. Since Jamphetamines had already failed I thought my next logical step forward would be to pursue this.
In the next couple of days I was able to reach the acquaintance whom brought up ‘an itunes for indie bands’ and mentioned that I was going to do this and I would give him a piece of the action if were to be successful. He wanted to be a full partner. I was very apprehensive since he had zero experience, however I also knew that I could teach him what I knew as we went along and that if he really wanted it, he would learn quickly just from researching alone. He promised he would give it his all and was ready to put up his share of the money it would cost us to get things rolling. My own online (non-music) business was thriving, so even if I had to cover the majority of the expenses I could still easily finance it. I decided to give him a shot as long as we made everything legally equal. I’ve had bad experiences with business partners before this and I believed I was taking all the right legal precautions so I didn’t get screwed again. My new partner and I went to a corporate lawyer and had the corporation and our concerns all drawn up. We signed the necessary documents and began dreaming up phase one of our new online digital music store.
We studied other social and music websites to see what people responded to. At the time MySpace was huge, Facebook and Twitter were just coming into the mainstream, a lot of bands liked PureVolume, no one (or not many) knew of TuneCore, barely anyone had heard of ReverbNation and Bandcamp wasn’t even in existence. I know I’m missing some others in there, but my point is that we had a lot of room to build something special and to be the first web-based music community doing it.We were fairly confident that we couldn’t go anywhere but up, from there. We had a great business model and good plans to continue building to an online music behemoth.
For those of you unfamiliar with what became the website PLUGOLA, let me explain. It’s a social music community where artists have full control over their music, from ownership to pricing. I had been marketing on the Web since 2000 and I wanted to be sure it was built with the necessary tools and incentives for artists to properly market their music. We incorporated your typical social features of the time, sales and play stats, rankings, automatic SEO, download codes that could be printed directly to cards for artists to pass out at live events, financial incentives for music fans to share and re-sell music, a music locker and a fairly elaborate shopping cart with different payment options. From a music fans’ point of view we programmed the site to only display music from their favorite genre, a music locker and, as I just said, music fans could re-sell( or ‘Plug’) music and earn a commission for each sale. Not to mention, we were the first place outside of iTunes where music videos could be bought and sold! On paper, I couldn’t see this not working.
It ended up taking almost a year for it to be ready for launch. The work and frustration that went into the programming and design is enough for another full blog post, so I’ll spare you the details for now. We had also been rounding up and meeting with investors and several parties really wanted to invest. They hadn’t signed anything yet, but they pretty much had told us that there’s a check waiting for us. We had to tie-up a few loose ends in the legal department, then the money was in our hands.We had worked so hard up to this point I think it was such a sigh of relief that we took our sweet time with all the legal stuff. The market was getting bad and these investors began to have second thoughts.
By November of 2008 we were ready for a public beta launch. Suddenly, my business partner was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t showing up for appointments and he wasn’t returning my phone calls. During some routine accounting, I figured out why I hadn’t heard from him. He had spent thousands of dollars from the company account on personal items, paid some personal bills and took a vacation with his girlfriend. He was already in the hole with me personally for a few thousand dollars, since I covered some of his share of business expenses. Needless to say, I was extremely upset. When I was finally able to corner him, I found out that he had quit his job months earlier thinking we would “be rich by now”. He was completely out of money. I was mildly sympathetic, but the majority of the stolen money was spent on luxuries. I tried to keep my cool and be open minded, so I gave him a second chance as long as he paid the money back. He agreed. He walked out the door and I never saw him again until a few months later when I finally forced him to sign over his rights to the company (otherwise he was going to jail). It was an unfortunate turn of events, but I persevered because I really believed in PLUGOLA and thought I could pick up the pieces as I went along.
That same month news of the economic meltdown had become widely known. All of the investors backed out of the deal. The little money we still had was already spent on some website upgrades. My already-in-existence, once thriving business had also took a very hard hit from the economic collapse. I had lost approximately two-thirds of my own income, because of this, so I could longer fund it with my own money, either. All work on the site was halted. My only option was to work really hard in hopes of saving Plugola. For the next few years I did everything I could think of to keep the site afloat, including paying for two servers out of my own pocket. The problem was that I couldn’t get the majority of artists to actually use the site. Once they registered and uploaded their content they rarely returned and almost never used any of the promo tools. I practically begged for feedback, but got nowhere.
After roughly two years, and few other similar sites doing a much better job, I realized that if Plugola hadn’t picked up any traction by then it wasn’t going to. My attention began to turn elsewhere in the music industry. As disappointing as the end result is, I learned SO much! I wanted to share this story so any aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from these mistakes, as well. Here are some good lessons I took away from a miserable experience (in no specific order).
- We built the site way too big – It makes sense in our heads to build something bigger than the competition and anticipate the flood gates opening when the site is launched, but that school of thought doesn’t translate well in today’s start-up world. It wasn’t until I read the 37Signal’s book, “Getting Real“ where I began to realize this was a big part of where we went wrong. We needed to start with the bare minimum and build from there.
- We took too long with investors – We had investors waiting to cut us a check, but we got lazy when it came to the legal red tape. Had we taken care of all that right away, or better yet, before we even met with investors, we would have had a decent amount invested before the American economy collapsed. I don’t blame them for wanting to back out.
- We spent money before we had it – I knew this was a bad idea, but something inside me told me to roll the dice anyway. I should have listened to my gut, rather than all the reasons I made up on why I HAD to spend that money. Doing this just dug us a deeper hole before we were ever in one.
- Bad choice of a partner – Not everyone has the same work ethic or vision, and character matters a lot. Never again will I partner with someone with little to no experience in the start-up world. Most people are all talk and will promise you the world, but when it comes down to doing the actual work and making good business decisions they are nowhere to be found. He wasn’t the only partner I had this experience with.
- Partner quit his job with dreams of riches – I warned by partner a number of times to hold on to his job, at least, until we can cut ourselves a regular paycheck. He quit his job dreaming of limos and reality TV (I’m not joking about that), ultimately leading him into a very difficult situation. He did steal, but I don’t think he would have if he didn’t put himself into that position.
- Not all good ideas guarantee success – I’ve been learning over the years, not only from this experience, that great ideas are everywhere and rarely are just the ideas enough to be successful. It takes very hard work, the right execution, a dedicated team, good timing and a little luck in order for a good idea to be successful. Don’t be fooled by stories of overnight success. Most ‘overnight success’ stories are of people who have spent many years failing before they finally got it right.
- You can’t do it all on your own – I’ve tried many times on my own and it just doesn’t work. You’re spread way too thin and it’s tough to focus on what really matters. You need a team to handle most of the important things. It may be one other person or a team of ten. It can be very hard to trust others, especially strangers, with your baby; but you have to. Try to be open-minded about your employee/partner decisions, but not naive.
- Upgrades were competitive, not needed – When we spent the money we didn’t have for upgrades to the site, we did upgrades that were to only keep up with the rash of other similar digital music stores that launched around the same time (ie: Bandcamp). They weren’t necessarily needed for the site to operate. Technically, it was wasted money.
- I built the site for marketers – While designing the tools artists would need to market their music correctly I forgot one very important factor; I was building all this for experienced marketers and not a typical Internet user. The tools were easy enough to use, but only experience would know how to tie it all together and make it work for them. Keep it simple.
Unfortunately, I will be shutting down Plugola in the next few weeks. The amount of sales we made I could count on both hands and I just can no longer afford to keep it going. However, I would hate to see such a good application go to waste. If you think you can salvage it, I would be more than willing to let it go for a reasonable offer. It does some need some work, but mainly in the upgrading department and perhaps a few adjustments to your liking. There is nothing broken about it, only that we couldn’t afford to keep up with the rapidly changing music/tech world. If you think you might be interested in taking it off my hands, please shoot me an email: support@plugo.la and we can talk details, before February 15, 2012. If no one is interested, it will be gone forever after that date. We will be keeping the name of Plugola Inc. for our company, however.
I hope to hear from some interested parties soon, but if not, please avoid some of the pitfalls we ran into when building our first REAL tech start-up.
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UPDATE: Just to clarify, only the website PLUGOLA will be closing. The company Plugola Inc. (and this blog) will be moving forward with our other music projects: Hifidelics and Flexi of the Month. The @plugola Twitter feed will continue, as well.
- Oct 24, 11
How would feel about being part of a club where you would be sent a new music single from an up-and-coming artist every month? Each single would arrive in an extremely rare (yet still playable) format that comes with original artwork, available in very limited quantities and can be proudly displayed.
Back in July of this year I was looking for a relatively inexpensive way to get the wheels turning with Hifidelics. If you have ever tried attracting active users to a website (or profile) you know it’s no easy task. If you’re on a shoestring budget, such as us, you must come up with innovative ways to get the word out since a professional advertising/marketing campaign is not an option. My initial thoughts were to find a way to present Hifidelics on a smaller scale, or at least a smaller release-a Hifidelics-lite, if you will. This would be a challenge since I’m not part of an active band myself, so I had to get artists involved.
I thought back to music promotional materials from when vinyl’s golden years and the only thing that stood out to me, and was even remotely similar to Hifidelics, was the flexi-discs that would come in-between the pages of music magazines. However, flexi-discs are super flimsy and I wasn’t imagining any attractive ways in presenting them where they held any real value (until much later of course). After a bit more research I learned about Polish postcards and amazingly I also found a manufacturer that still produces them. I knew little about the postcards before this; I didn’t even know they had an actual name, but I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect format to pursue for this project.
Hifidelics was originally conceived based on Sub Pop’s ‘Singles of the Month‘ Club, where for a one-time fee subscribers would receive one new music single each month. A lot of things happened before we abandoned that aspect of Hifidelics and took it to where it is now, but I always loved the concept of the ‘club’ and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring back to table.
I finally opened Flexi of the Month in late July, updating our blog with as much behind-the-scenes content that’s not completely boring. The participating bands can be found (listened to) here — first flexi-disc, second flexi-disc and the thrid flexi-disc.
Flexi of the Month — Introduction from Hifidelics on Vimeo.
If you would like to literally get your hands on some great, new music and try something different we would love to have you as a subscriber! It’s only $24 for a three-month subscription (shipping included in price) and membership is limited to the number of records produced for each artist, which is only 250. To sweeten the deal even more, we will be donating all proceeds to charity.
Please visit the Flexi of the Month order page for full details.
- Oct 11, 11
I was playing around with an idea I had last night. As you probably already know, not much music is released on vinyl; and out of that small number even fewer vinyl releases use true creativity. When I explain to artists that they can design their record release any way they want for Hifidelics, I get a sense that it’s not completely understood what I mean. Not too long ago, I posted some ideas to help; but I want to try to keep posting new ideas that other artists and labels have released.
My idea is to go to you and the public and ask for photo submissions of some of special edition vinyl records, like what you see below. I put together this interactive photo collage (just mouse over the image) of some of the slick, cool and creative record releases I know about. Let me know what you think and if you like it, we can get others involved and do more just like it.
If you would like to see this same collage on a larger scale, I have it on a tumblr blog.
- Oct 07, 11
It’s true that music fans have started to become interested in vinyl records again. Only halfway through 2011 vinyl sales were already up by 41%. And it’s not just the baby-boomers or people that grew up with vinyl; it’s really catching-on with the younger generation and new artists, as well. That really only played a small part in our decision to make vinyl records the chosen format for Hifidelics. Albeit true that the general music-loving population will probably care little for vinyl records with so many format options available today, some people have always found a certain charm and emotional attachment to their records unlike any other format.
While the above quote may be a bit extreme (and dangerous), it really does show the level of emotion music-on-vinyl lovers have with their records. You may have also noticed he made no mention at all about a CD collection or saving his iPod. Those are all replaceable objects where vinyl usually has a lot of sentimental value to their owners. There always seems to be a story or memory associated with our records. Hollywood even made a hit movie devoted to the subject, starring John Cusack; and that type of relationship with music has been seriously lacking since the CD and digital music made their appearance. Could this be one of the reasons why recorded music sales have declined so much?
Artwork and packaging are other major factors in vinyl’s appeal. A lot of people are unaware that at one time records were sold in plain cardboard jackets. In 1939, record companies really had no idea how low their sales were until a graphic artist named Alex Steinweiss proposed to Columbia Records that he design original artwork for the jacket covers. Sales skyrockted after that and a record’s art and packaging became an important part of record album. Not just because of sales, but because music fans came to expect it. Part of the thrill of getting your hands on a great record is studying the artwork. Some people would even hang the jackets on their walls, like a poster. A lot of underground artists have always understood this and have continued to release records that could be described as a works of art themselves. Unfortunately, since CD’s and ultimately digital music has come into play, the packaging and artwork has become almost non-existent. Most people will be satisfied with convenience over quality, but there will always be a smaller group that will gladly pay for music that can be held in their hands and proudly displayed.
Part of Hifidelics’ goal is to encourage and assist artists in releasing non-traditional vinyl records (of any size, length) where music fans feel a connection and are excited to get their hands on it. Let’s work together to give them a record that will encompass quality, creativity and emotion.
If you’re interested in learning more about Hifidelics.com and how it works, please visit our post: Hifidelics – Crowdsourcing Vinyl Records
- Aug 27, 11
I realize it’s not always easy to think outside the box when it comes to vinyl records and their packaging. I mean, they’re round and they come in a sleeve or jacket. How else can they be more customized other than in record size, shape and color?
As you may already be aware, part of the Hifidelics experience is in artists releasing very limited edition records in their own packaging concept. While artists DO have the option of releasing black vinyl in your standard cardboard sleeve, we strongly encourage they push their creativity and release something grand; a limited record that everyone must get their hands on. Admittedly, there are not a lot of examples out there to get the creative juices flowing if you don’t already have a concept in mind. So I collected a few of the interesting recent vinyl releases I have run across in the last couple weeks for some inspiration.
Someone on Twitter was showing off some of his vinyl gems and this photo caught my eye. It’s a limited edition 12″ ep with grooves on only one side and a stenciled image on the other, from Chicago Thrash Ensemble. It comes complete with a nice, clear jacket and a baseball card collection of the band members. Apparently, there were only (100) copies pressed. Please keep in mind, on Hifidelics it’s not just about the record, but the full presentation. If you have other artwork that goes with the record that is just fine.
I just stumbled across this video today. It’s a handmade booklet of records from old Reader’s Digest books, from PIAPTK Records. Pages include band artwork, while other pages contain a 5″ vinyl record in a pocket. Labor intensive, yes; but it’s very cool and it’s something that will never be reproduced.
Last, but certainly not least, is a 2011 double-vinyl release from Explosions in the Sky. You really have to see all the angle views of this, because it’s pretty darn incredible! I’ve never seen anything like this release, but I know you can beat it; or at the very least, match it’s cool factor.
Hopefully these examples spark some ideas to start putting your plans into action. I’m getting anxious! I want to get some records out by you guys! :) If you have any questions or need to discuss some things about your release, please feel free to contact me: hifidelics@gmail.com
UPDATE: If you’re still looking for more inspiration, our sister project; Flexi of the Month posted a video of another clever release concept – a booklet of flexi disc records.
- Aug 19, 11
The last several of months I’ve spending a lot of time on SoundCloud and besides discovering a bunch of very cool up-and-coming artists I’ve been learning a lot about how artists market themselves and their music. I can honestly say that I have not been to every single artists’ Soundcloud page – I probably haven’t even put a dent into the amount of band pages up there – but I have been to a lot of them. I’m writing this assuming you already have at least a basic/free Soundcloud page, or you’re thinking about setting one up. I’m going to give you basic steps to start attracting new fans almost right away.
I’ve noticed that a lot of artists seem to think that uploading their songs to Soundcloud, or any social network for that matter, will be enough for music fans to find them. The phrase, “build it and they will come” is only half true. First, you have to show them the way. There are a lot of artists out there and if there isn’t a clear path to your music (and/or website), it will likely get lost in the giant sea of bands. Targeting a specific niche of music fans is exactly where you should begin. This is no easy feat on Facebook or Twitter, but on Soundcloud it’s all about discovering new music and getting feedback. So they have the tools necessary to allow the right people to find you.
Complete Your Profile
First and foremost, be sure your biography and links are added to your page before you start promoting yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I have come across some really great music only to discover there is no real band name present (just a person’s name) or it isn’t clear who the artist is, and there are no links to their website/social sites. That is pretty much the end of the road. I have no idea where to go from there. If I really enjoy the music I will try a quick search in Google or Facebook. It’s even more frustrating to learn that they are elsewhere on the web, because it would have just been so much easier if they would have linked to these destinations in the first place. I wouldn’t count on fans going to that length to seek you out. For the best results, you want to take as much work out of it for fans, as possible. Just click on “settings” and then “advanced profile” and you can add your bio and site link(s).
Add Your Meta Data
Each track you upload has it’s own page and it’s own control panel. By adding all the correct meta data you can really increase traffic to your music and ultimately to your website and/or the links you just added. This will help your search engine visibility, as well as, search within the site.
- Description – Do not stuff this area with keywords. You will want take this opportunity to really talk/tell about your songs.
- Image – Be sure to add an image for EACH track. Good images always attracts eyeballs. It will also increase listens and when/if someone shares your song on Facebook, it will look pretty so people don’t just scroll right by it.
- Type/Genre – This step is pretty self-explanatory. I was going to say to add the correct genre, but some of the made-up genres is what peaks my interest to begin with.
- Tags – A lot of sites use tags to categorize content these days, but I get the feeling that a lot of people don’t quite understand how they work. This results in good content being in the wrong place & the people you’re aiming for will more than likely never find it. Think of tags as keywords or categories. On SoundCloud, most people add additional, or more targeted genres as their tags. This is the correct way. Take a look at their tag cloud and click around a bit. You can get an idea of how the tags work or which tags are popular.
- Select License – Again, this is self-explanatory and easy to do.
- Show More Options – Clicking here you can add label info and/or links to your digital store or videos.
You have your profile set-up, your tracks uploaded and all your meta data added. So, now what? Now the fun can begin! It may take a little time to get things going, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Start Following Other Artists
You don’t want to just start following bands/people blindly. You will want to target your specific niche or genre of bands and fans. Unless you already know where other similar artists are on the site, the best way to do this is just to type in your music style into the search or use the tags function. In my opinion, it can’t hurt to go the extra mile and listen to a few tracks of each artist before following them. Not only is it polite to your musical peers, but this is also so you know who you’re lining yourself up with and hopefully developing some sort of relationship. Leaving good comments on their tracks (do not spam your stuff here) will expedite communication with fellow musicians and a lot of times their fans will visit your profile, and listen to your tracks, as well. Every time I leave a comment on someone’s track I notice an influx of visitors and new followers, and I’m on there just as a fan/listener. Be sure not to abuse this, though.
Join Relevant Groups
While you’re on other artists’ profiles, take a look at some of the groups they belong to and join the groups where your music fits. It’s free and there are no annoyances (spam, emails, etc.) after joining. This is where the real listens from relevant music fans will begin.
You should see a “share a track” button next to the “join group” button. From there, click on “select an already uploaded track” under “Choose File”. Voila! You have just added one of your songs to the group. All the fans of that group will have the opportunity to check out your music. If you repeat this several times every week, you should develop a nice flow of organic listens and hopefully new fans/followers.
Some Observations on ‘Groups’
- A lot of music bloggers search and find new music here.
- Some ‘Groups’ require that your music be approved first.
- It appears you can submit the same tracks to the same Groups, but you should wait a period of time before doing that.
- Try not to submit all your tracks to the same group at the same time. I would recommend no more than one (1) track a day per Group, depending on the size and popularity of that group. This way it will provide a steady flow of new listeners, rather than just one quick burst.
Additional Comments
By now, I’m sure you have heard a million times about how important communication is these days for artists. To assist in building your fans base, it’s important that you respond to all comments and/or questions. I’ve seen a few artists go as far as asking people who left comments to share the track on Facebook or with their friends. I’m not sure how effective that is, but if an artist I liked asked me I would probably do it just to help out. If you become popular within the Soundcloud community responding could end up being a full time job. So you will have to use your judgement on what works best for you.
I’m not trying to upsell you to premium memberships, or anything, but it’s something you may want to seriously consider. The free/basic membership doesn’t have all the metrics and customization capabilities that you may need. If my steps work well for you, taking it to the next level may require you getting more information on who is listening to your music and who is promoting it.
This will help you start to building a relevant following and attract new ears to your music. If your music is good, it will get the attention it deserves. You just have to show the right people the right path to find it.
If you have any tips you would like to share, please feel free to leave them in the comments. We always like to hear what is working for others!
UPDATE: I just got word that Soundcloud has added their own tutorials for getting the most out of their service. You can view it at Soundcloud 101
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Info
- Music/Tech Entrepreneur, Founder of PLUGO.LA and HIFIDELICS.COMInternet | United States, USSummaryFounder/Anti-CEO of online music start-up focusing on independent music distribution. Over 10 years experience with online marketing and e-commerce; roughly 7 years as a touring/recording musician - even two years running a small record label in the early 90's.Specialties: traffic generation, SEO, online marketing, e-commerceExperience
- Aug 2007 - PresentPresident/Founder / Plugola, Inc.Oversee brand development and web site traffic growth
- Jul 2004 - PresentPresident / American DigicomOversee development of small e-commerce websites.
- May 2000 - PresentWebmaster / B.R. Mediawebmastering a handful of entertainment websites, including; design, development, promotion, SEO and everything in-between.
- May 1995 - Mar 2001VP Sales/Marketing/Production / Lewis Metals, Corp.Wore many hats. Oversaw production of environmental machinery and tanks, headed on/offline presence campaign, marketing/sales R&D.
Education-
1991 - 1996Columbia College ChicagoBA in Broadcasting/Film
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