Music Nation
By: Philip DeSantis |
Thursday August 02, 2007 |
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Nation of Millions |
| Artists once exclusively looked to record labels and other corporate entities to discover and distribute their music. The goal was world domination in the same way The Beatles did when millions tuned into The Ed Sullivan Show on that fateful day in 1964. But as the outlets of media have changed, so have artist relations with both fans and record companies. Myspace and other networking sights have allowed artists to connect directly to their fans, totally bypassing the entire system established by the record industry. Some artists are happy to deal exclusively with fans and exercise total control of their music. However, many artists are still looking to have have the distribution and promotion of a label to push them nationwide. The changing industry is looking to the Internet to bring artists, labels, and fans together in ways that allow the best music to rise to the top. Welcome to the world of Music Nation, the networking website where someone is watching. Lucas Mann, a founding member of the website, was able to answer some questions we had about the music industry, the role of the record company, and what a band can do to get noticed. What exactly is Music Nation and how did the idea come about? Music Nation was designed to sit at the crossroads of user-generated content and talent searches like American Idol. We launched in January as a video music competition where artists in the rock, pop, and urban genres compete for a record contract with Epic Records, among other prizes. After the success of the first competition, we decided to open the site up as a true music community so musicians and fans from all over can connect through their love of independent music. We still run competitions, and are halfway through our second couple in rock and hip-hop. This time artists are competing for a joint record deal with Epic and Original Signal, the label arm of Music Nation. What are the key elements of the Music Nation site that separate it out from other interactive music websites (ie Myspace, Purevolume)? For one thing, we're offering artists the chance at tangible returns from using the Music Nation site - a record deal, a FUEL TV performance, a Green Lantern mixtape, the chance to perform at the 2008 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, among other prizes. Music Nation also affords artists the opportunity to get discovered by one of our judges, or by Music Nation or Epic separate from winning the competition - we have the ability to pull artists out from the site early and sign them to Original Signal (as we already have with one band, The Barons) We also offer a number of tools on the site that artists can use to promote themselves both on- and offline to expand their fanbase. What kind of exposure can bands expect and what kind of fan turnout is Music Nation looking for? When artists upload content to our site, they're putting their material in front of both our and Epic's experienced staffs, the eyes of our partners and judges, not to mention all of the avid music fans that comprise our community. It's a community-based A&R source, where the fans help tell us where the talent can be found. We already have well over 100,000 registered users on the site, a number that keeps growing daily, so that's an immediate draw for artists. If you love music, you should be on Music Nation - we're an aggregator of the best unsigned talent on the Web. How can Music Nation more closely link artists to fans? If you want to think in purely logistical terms, fans and artists can connect on the site through both the comments section on artist and fan pages, and through our internal messaging system. But even past that, fans can really have a hand in advancing the careers of the artists they find and fall in love with on Music Nation if the band's entered in one of the competitions. Fans can vote and help rally support for artists, moving them closer to a record deal. That's a palpable return on their commitment to an artist that isn't always found on other online music communities. What is the future of digital music from the lens of Music Nation? First of all, we're a very digital-focused company. We believe that technology can have an equally strong positive influence on the music business as what critics would say it has had negative. We're not afraid to use the Internet and technology to the benefit of our artists and our own business - we believe in releasing music digitally to begin with and putting it in stores only once there's a demand for it. I think it's important that the music industry learns to work with technology rather than against it - the Internet has opened up the market to a much greater breadth of artists. It's no longer about a few artists being able to sell millions of records; now more artists can have long-lasting, sustained careers by selling way fewer records. How does this future play out between fans, the "old-fashioned" music industry, and websites like Music Nation? At this point in the music business, it's more about a pull with consumers rather than a push - they're not interested in being force-fed what to listen to. Music Nation hears what the fans have to say - their votes partially determine what bubbles up to the top on the site. So in that regard, we're a step ahead of the game with consumers in that because they have a connection to these artists from the start and they'll be ready to support these artists when the time is right. In what ways are the best bands rising to the top when slick production and image can mean so much in the music business? Slick production and image can only take a band so far. If true talent exists in a band, it will and does surface, propelling them to high places. Music Nation helps these bands find fans in the furthest corners of the country. What we've come to find, and has really been true since the beginning, is that true music fans don't go for the slick and styled artists. They just want to hear good music, and they can get the best unheard talent at Music Nation. Where do you see the music industry in 10 years? That's the big question. I see the indie world gaining in both market share and power...This is the time for the rise of the indies, be it labels or bands doing it themselves. The proliferation of video and audio sharing on the internet has lead us to a whole new world. Those that adapt will sustain and those that try and control the power and will of the masses will not survive. In a way, the music business has become about fan empowerment and will continue to lead in that direction. The development of the fan experience is key. What are several things a band can do to get noticed on Music Nation? To get noticed on Music Nation, a band should take advantage of each and every tool we offer: the electronic press kit, the embeddable videos, the mp3 and tour date widgets...all can be spread across the Web. Give your fans and profile browsers a full bio on the band, all of your show listings, and whatever else they desire. It's really all about the fans and the artists serving their needs. We offer the tools, they need to offer the talent and take the initiative. What's the best way for a fan to spread the word about a band they enjoy on Music Nation? They can use the basically the same tools as the artists to get the word out about a new band they've found on the site. Fans can take the EPK and embeddable videos and share with friends, post on their MySpace pages, etc. |
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