Gibson Guitar Raided

Gibson’s plants in Nashville and Memphis were raided today by federal agents. Law enforcement is not giving any details in the case, but The Tennessean reports that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were executing search warrants at the offices.

Today’s searches could be related to past investigations about using endangered wood in Gibson’s instrument manufacturing. In November 2009, Gibson was charged with illegal importation of Madagascar wood.

 

Ticket Technology War Escalates

Touring is big business and filling the seats in a club or a giant stadium starts with one transaction—the ticket sale. The service charges that are collected from the sale of tickets is also big business. Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation Entertainment is the big dog in this market, currently dominating ticket sales at venues worldwide. But AEG, another concert promotion giant is set to unveil its own offering, Axs Ticketing, in an effort to capture some of the lucrative ticket fees for itself.
The ticket market is sure to become a battleground as Ticketmaster and now AEG fight for marketshare. The competition began as a result of the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger last year when the Justice Department called for additional ticket outlets to be created as a merger condition.
AEG’s Axs Ticketing
This new service, according to the Wall Street Journal, is set to begin selling seats at two Denver venues, the Ogden Theatre and the Bluebird Theater. Soon, two AEG-owned theaters in San Francisco will be added and by the end of 2012 all 100 of AEG’s venues—such as the Staples Center in L.A. and O2 in London—will utilize Axs. The ticketing software was built by Outbox enterprises and has been about a year and a half in development. Axs will place tickets on its website and on venue websites.
Ticketmaster Gets Facebook Enhancement
Further raising the ticketing bar, Ticketmaster is set to introduce a new interactive Facebook-driven feature that allows ticket buyers to see where their Friends are sitting.

According to Mashable, “With the upgrade, Facebook members can now connect their accounts to view a Facebook-infused event seat map that highlights where friends are sitting with miniature Facebook flags. The feature is live for more than 9,000 events on Ticketmaster and Live Nation sites. The interactive seat maps experience is now designed to help Facebook users see where their friends are sitting, purchase nearby tickets, tag themselves into their seats, nudge their Facebook friends to do the same and share their seats with friends on Facebook.”

“We studied the way people bought tickets,” says Kip Levin Ticketmaster EVP of eCommerce told Mashable. “People said they would buy tickets …because they knew where their friends were sitting.”

DISClaimer Single Reviews (8/24/11)

There are plenty of marquee males marching into this listening session.
You’d be a fool to ignore the new sounds being made by Eric Church, Chris Young, Billy Yates, The Kentucky Headhunters or Billy Burnette. All of them are guaranteed to brighten your day.
But the fairer sex comes up with this week’s column’s honors. I have raved before about Joy Williams and her partner John Paul White in The Civil Wars. Listen to this duo and be enchanted.
Among all the stars on tap today, only one is a bona fide country queen. That would be Connie Smith, who has the Disc of the Day.
There is a singer-songwriter up in the Cumberland River town of Ashland City, TN who was utterly unknown to me until today. She sings in a throaty, husky alto that is gripping. As a songwriter, she is equally gritty on ballads (”Should I Run”), boppers (”Love a Good Love Song”) and story songs (”Daddy Went to Prison”). Her name is DeeAnn Dominy, our DisCovery Award winner whom some Music Row star maker needs to sign up pronto.
DEEANN DOMINY/I Still Believe
Writer: DeeAnn Dominy; Producer: DeeAnn Dominy & Jack Harris; Publisher: DeeAnn Dominy, ASCAP; Dizzee (track) (www.DeeAnnDominy.com)
—This Ashland City gal has a six-song sampler called Based on a True Story. This simply produced track showcases her husky vocal style and an extraordinary gift for truthful, down-to-earth lyrics. Talent scouts take note: There’s a whiff of stardom here.
CHRIS YOUNG/You
Writer: Chris Young/Luke Laird; Producer: James Stroud; Publisher: Runnin’ Behind/EMI April/Universal Careers/High Powered Machine, ASCAP/BMI; RCA (track)
—Chris switches gears to a groove tune. As always, he sings with brilliant, burnished luster, even when the lyric is a romantic trifle like this one.
BILLY YATES/Just Be You
Writer: Billy Yates; Producer: Billy Yates; Publisher: Graysongs, BMI; M.O.D. (track) (www.billyyates.com)
—The title tune to Billy’s latest is a lilting, light hearted ode to straightforward honesty and simplicity. The gist of it is, don’t sell yourself out, don’t worry about making it big, have a good time and be whoever you are. Highly personable and wonderfully engaging. I dare you not to tap your foot and smile.
BILLY BURNETTE/Rock N Roll With It
Writer: Billy Burnette; Producer: Billy Burnette; Publisher: Rock N Roll With It/Bi-Lo-Tex, BMI; Rock N Roll With It (track) (www.billyburnette.net)
—Burnette returns with a dynamite set of self-penned tunes, including some with such stellar collaborators as Gary Nicholson and Shawn Camp. The title number is a delightful, neo-rockabilly romp with some terrific guitar picking and a slap-back beat that just doesn’t quit. Jitterbug yourself into a frenzy.
THE CIVIL WARS/Poison & Wine
Writer: none listed; Producer: Charlie Peacock; Publisher: none listed; Sensibility (track)
—This Nashville male-female duo (John Paul White and former CCM disc maker Joy Williams) has a CD titled Barton Hollow that is a fabulously mesmerizing audio experience. This haunting, throbbing track has been featured on the soundtrack of TV’s Grey’s Anatomy and is now the subject of the team’s new video. Call it country, pop, Americana, folk or whatever you like, but this entire album is essential listening. Buy it at once.
ERIC CHURCH/Drink in My Hand
Writer: Eric Church/Michael Heeney/Luke Laird; Producer: Jay Joyce; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Sinnertina/Sony-ATV Acuff-Rose/Universal Careers/High Powered Machine, BMI; EMI Nashville (track)
—This rumbles out of the chute like a muscular, stompin’ bull on a rampage. The cleverly penned lyric drawls of howling party times. Play it and make every day a weekend vacation. If you don’t already own every note of music this man has made (most definitely including the brand-new Chief), you are out of your cotton-pickin’ mind.
RICK KRAUSS/If I Could Do It Over
Writer: Rick Krauss; Producer: Rick Krauss; Publisher: Rick Krauss, BMI; Relkay (track)
—Not to be confused with Nashville’s Alison or Viktor, this guy is a Maryland troubadour with an 18-song presentation called The Edge of Heaven. This is labeled as the “single,” but like the rest of the tracks, it screams “demo.”
CONNIE SMITH/Long Line of Heartaches
Writer: Marty Stuart/Connie Smith; Producer: Marty Stuart; Publisher: Marty Stuart/Connie Smith/Bug, BMI; Sugar Hill (track)
—Connie’s first new album in 13 years dropped yesterday. On its title tune, this peerless stylist cries from the heart while Gary Carter’s emotional steel guitar echoes every note. I remain hopelessly in love with this woman and her stunning voice.
THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS/Dixie Lullaby
Writer: The Kentucky Headhunters; Producer: The Kentucky Headhunters, Wayd Battle & Richie Owens; Publisher: Them Young Boys/Mr. Eric/B. Headed/Bug, ASCAP/BMI; Red Dirt (track) (www.thekentuckyheadhunters.com)
—The reunited Headhunters kick off their comeback album with this Southern-fried garage rocker, sporting plenty of grinding guitar and vocal attitude. Welcome back, boys. You have been sorely missed.
SHAWN CAMP/Jesus, My Old Dog and Me
Writer: Shawn Camp/Will Nance/Steve Dean; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Ann Wilson/Bridge Building/Dino’s Song Shop/Shawn Camp/Sony-ATV, BMI; Cloud 10 (track) (www.dogcountrysongs.com)
Dog Country is a CD compiling songs written about man’s best friend. Participating tunesmiths include Jason Wyatt, Mandy York (”Bebe’s Riding Shotgun”), Ron Wallace (whose song features the timeless line, “I wish that I was half the man that my dog thinks I am”), Steve Oliver, Rusty Van Sickle (who contributes two songs), Mark Nesler and Melissa Duval. Shawn has the sweetly sad ballad set closer. A portion of the album’s proceeds benefits Happy Tales Humane in Franklin, TN.

Buddy Killen Circle To Gain Apartment Complex

According to the Nashville Business Journal, the long vacant site at 1515 Demonbreun St. across from the Tin Roof and the one-time location of the Barbara Mandrell Museum, is now slated to become home to a $40 milllion apartment project.
Lionstone Group, based in Houston, is said to be selling the land now a parking lot used for the shops across the street (property also owned by Lionstone) for almost $3.5 million per acre. NBJ names Lionstone principal Doug McKinnon who confirms that about half the 3-acre site will be used for the new apartments expected to hold 225-250 units plus over 10,000 sq. feet of retail space.
A few years ago an office tower was planned for the location and was in the news over a property rights dispute with Joy Ford who owned an adjacent land/building.
According to real estate professionals quoted in the article, Nashville’s rental market is much stronger than it’s condo market since renters “do not have to qualify for a mortgage, pay closing costs, or make a long term commitment.”
 

WANTED: A New GPS For Country Marketing

Peter Strickland


Music Row is fond of parties. We celebrate No. 1 songs at radio and throw Gold and Platinum sales parties. Performing Rights organizations give special honors for large airplay accumulations. And let’s not forget SoundScan, BDS, MediaBase, Country Breakout, Big Champagne, Pollstar and all the other yardsticks that attempt each week to answer the question, “Which artists are the most important and successful?”
There are so many career areas to consider: radio airplay; Internet activity via friends, followers, likes and circles; touring and tickets; merchandise sales; product endorsements; publishing; video views; album and track downloads; media exposure via print, TV, etc. And adding to the complexity, every successful career balances these factors using a different formula. Until recently our industry has relied upon SoundScan and the mainstream radio charts to rank weekly artist activity. But is that still enough or do we need a more comprehensive set of activity gauges?

Tom Baldrica


“Soundscan album sales and radio charts are still an important yardstick,” says Average Joe’s Entertainment President Tom Baldrica. “Any time you can measure what people are spending their hard-earned dollars on, that is an ultimate piece of research. But the digital download chart is also important and we should be considering hard ticket sales. Merchandise numbers are important plus ringtones and ring backs, or joining a fan club. Anything that generates dollars becomes a measuring stick because that is how you know if you are cutting through.”
“Two years ago every Wednesday morning I woke up at 5 a.m. to check the SoundScan charts and write reports about what was going on,” says Peter Strickland, Sr. VP Brand Management & Sales, Warner Music Nashville. “Now I choose to run 5 miles, hit Starbucks and wait till I get in the office before looking at the chart. What excites me today is our daily social media numbers that help me see how our various artist revenue streams are moving. We get reports from the road on a daily basis on tours where we are servicing merchandise. Of course SS is still important, but those kinds of areas capture my attention now. Radio remains a big tool as well. I don’t know if streaming services will take a bite out of that, but for now radio is important.”
Social networks have developed into an efficient means of delivering on the Internet’s marketing promise of allowing one-to-one communication. But how should that data be treated when compared with actual purchases, for example?
“The social networks are the ultimate street team and evangelist for your cause whether it is selling music or trying to overthrow a government,” says Baldrica. “It’s an important piece in the process of building that one-on-one relationship. The big question is, does it help move fans from an interested person to an interested consumer, that’s the leap you want people to take. Social Networks give you a chance to quickly tell your story. It is grass roots cubed in the sense of how fast it can move.”
Strickland ranks the social networks importance by looking between the lines, in a sense, but notes that it requires artist input to be successful. “It’s your continued day-to-day, week-to-week growth that tells the story,” he says. “What plays a major role in that growth is the artist participation and engagement with the fan. It doesn’t happen on its own. The music alone does not drive it. And that skill is a learning curve for every artist that comes to the marketplace now. There are varying levels of fan participation which you can see that tell the story of what’s working and what’s not. Eventually radio will pay more attention to all these numbers we throw their way. When all the yardsticks collide, then you know you’ve succeeded.”
Average Joe’s Colt Ford is an example of an artist which doesn’t have all the traditional yardsticks, yet has a growing career. “If you’re talking about downloads, physical discs, tickets, merchandise sold plus sponsorship deals he checks all those boxes,” offers Baldrica. “It’s a real successful career, but missing the one ingredient that used to be the end-all, be-all for success—mainstream radio. But there’s more to the story, Paul Harvey. We need to dig deeper, to find all the facts. And that’s not just in the music business, people in all industries are finding new ways to put the biscuit in the basket.”

The Boxcars Lead IBMA Nominations

The Boxcars are comprised of Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, John R. Bowman, Keith Garrett and Harold Nixon


The Boxcars lead the just-announced International Bluegrass Music Award nominations with nods in nine categories ranging from Emerging Artist of the Year to Entertainer of the Year.
The nominations were revealed today (8/17) at a special press event at the Loveless Barn hosted by Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Josh Williams and Sierra Hull.
Star Del McCoury and pioneering bass player/guitar stylist George Shuffler were announced as the new inductees to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. They will be honored at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Sept. 29 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Also that night, Distinguished Achievement Awards will be presented to Greg Cahill, Bill Knowlton, Lilly Pavlak, Geoff Stelling and Roland White.
Among the other top nominees are Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out with nods in eight categories, and The Gibson Brothers, and Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas with seven each.
The IBMA Awards Show is the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass Week, running Sept. 26 – Oct. 2 in Nashville, which also includes the IBMA Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest.
Nominees in select categories are below, and a complete list is here.
Entertainer of the Year: The Boxcars, 
Dailey & Vincent
, The Gibson Brothers
, The Grascals
, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers
Vocal Group
: Blue Highway, 
Dailey & Vincent, 
The Gibson Brothers, 
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
Instrumental Group: Blue Highway, 
The Boxcars, 
Sam Bush Band, 
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
, The Infamous Stringdusters
Emerging Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge, 
Balsam Range
, The Boxcars
, Sierra Hull & Highway 111
, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Male Vocalist: Jamie Dailey,
Leigh Gibson, 
Russell Moore, 
Dan Tyminski, 
Josh Williams
Female Vocalist: Dale Ann Bradley,
 Sonya Isaacs, 
Alison Krauss, 
Claire Lynch
, Rhonda Vincent
Song of the Year:
• “Help My Brother,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Leigh Gibson (songwriter)
• “I Am Strong;” The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists); Jamie Johnson, Susanne Mumpower-Johnson, Janee Fleenor (songwriters)
• “I’ll Take Love,” Dale Ann Bradley with Alison Krauss & Steve Gulley (artists), Louisa Branscomb & Dale Ann Bradley (songwriters)
• “Trains I Missed;” Balsam Range (artists); Walt Wilkins, Gilles Godard, Nicole Witt (songwriters)
• “Walkin’ West to Memphis,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chris Henry (songwriter)
Album of the Year:
The All-Star Jam: Live At Graves Mountain; Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Crowe Brothers, Lonesome River Band, Mark Newton, Lou Reid & Carolina, Carl Jackson, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Carrie Hassler with Brand New Strings (artists); Mark Newton & Carl Jackson (producers); Rural Rhythm Records (label)
• Almost Home, Larry Sparks (artist), Larry Sparks (producer), Rounder Records (label)
The Boxcars, The Boxcars (artists), The Boxcars (producers), Mountain Home (label)
Help My Brother, The Gibson Brothers (artists), Compass Records (label), Eric & Leigh Gibson and Mike Barber (producers)
• Rare Bird Alert, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Tony Trischka (producer), Rounder Records (label)
• Trains I Missed, Balsam Range (artists), Balsam Range (producers), Mountain Home (label)

Luke Bryan Debuts At Top of Chart

Luke Bryan’s debut is the big story on this week’s SoundScan report. The Capitol Nashville star moved over 145,000 units of his third album tailgates & tanlines, landing at the top of the Country chart, and No. 2 on the overall chart. This is more than double the first week sales of his sophomore release, Doin’ My Thing.
tailgates & tanlines is the second-highest selling debut week sales for a country release this year, coming in barely above the new album from labelmate Eric Church, and behind Brad Paisley.
Propelling sales are Bryan’s lead single “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” which has sold over 1 million downloads and is his best-selling single to date.
Bryan is now gearing up to headline the CMT On Tour, kicking off Sept. 15 and playing 22 shows before wrapping Nov. 19. In between CMT tourdates, he is set for a Farm Tour of six shows which give back to farming communities.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (8/17/11)

We sometimes forget that the Americana field has more than its share of name-brand stars.
Amid the hundreds of unclassifiable, and usually forgettable, acts who populate this genre are a number of folks who are justifiably famous throughout the music world. In recent country columns, we have noted the new releases by Emmylou Harris, Michael Martin Murphey, Ricky Skaggs, Gene Watson & Rhonda Vincent, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Kasey Chambers and Buddy Miller, all of whom fit comfortably under the Americana umbrella.
Today, we have such stellar contributors as Steve Earle, Jakob Dylan, The Avett Brothers and Gillian Welch on our desk. Our Disc of the Day goes to someone who should be just as well known as they are, Sugar Hill’s Sarah Jarosz.
The DisCovery Award goes not to a person, but to a thing. It is a highly inventive, home-grown Nashville concept album called The 1861 Project.
GILLIAN WELCH/The Way It Goes
Writer: Welch/Rawlings; Producer: David Rawlings; Publisher: Acony/Do Write/3rd Revision/Bug, BMI; Acony (track)
—If Gillian’s music on her new The Harrow & The Harvest CD had a color, it would be sepia. On this track, as throughout, her guitar intertwines delicately with David Rawlings’ instrument. The fatalistic/nonsense lyric is given a typically dry reading with David drawling harmony on the title phrase. The whole collection is somewhat same-y sounding, but their groove is so hypnotic that it really doesn’t matter.
PATTY GRIFFIN/I Love
Writer: Tom T. Hall; Producer: Peter Cooper & Eric Brace; Publisher: Sony, BMI; Red Beet/CMF (track) (www.songsoffoxhollow.com)
—The tribute CD I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow begins with Patty’s luminous rendition of the songwriter’s most famous “children’s” song. Lloyd Green’s steel guitar sighs sympathetically behind her. Elsewhere on the album, Buddy Miller gets to do a delightful “Sneaky Snake.” Bobby Bare sings “I Care.” Jim Lauderdale essays “I Like to Feel Pretty Inside.” Tom T., himself, drops by to help Fayssoux Starling McLean perform the set’s one new song, “I Made a Friend of a Flower Today.” Ditties such as “Everybody Loves to Hear a Bird Sing,” “The Song of the One-Legged Chicken,” “How to Talk to a Little Baby Goat” and “I Wish I Had a Million Friends” are recommended for children of all ages.
MINTON SPARKS/Her Purse
Writer: Minton Sparks/John Jackson; Producer: Brandon Bell & Kristin Tschida; Publisher: Mountain Sparks, ASCAP; Mountain Sparks (track)
—Minton Sparks is arguably Nashville’s most creative entertainer. She inhabits the character of a middle-aged Southern lady. Her pieces are spoken, with John Jackson’s guitar providing audio coloring. She always carries a pocketbook on stage, so beginning her current CD with this track describing the contents and the sentiment of her mother’s is perfectly suitable. She is best experienced in person, but Minton Sparks Performing Live at The Station Inn in the Heart of Downtown Nashville is the next best thing.
STEVE EARLE/This City
Writer: Steve Earle; Producer: T Bone Burnett; Publisher: Exile on Jones St., ASCAP; New West (track) (www.steveearle.com)
—Steve wrote this for the New Orleans based HBO television series Treme, on which he appears in one of the secondary roles. Or did, until his character was shot dead last season. It is a brooding ballad of the city’s steadfast refusal to drown. His bluesy delivery is backed by stuttering trumpet, slow bass thumping and strummed acoustic guitar, all of which are just stark enough to put the focus firmly on the message. Grammy and Emmy nominated, it appears on his terrific new CD I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive, which is his most “country” collection in years. His debut novel, also out now, has the same title.
PEGI YOUNG/Foul Deeds
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Vapor (track) (www.pegiyoung.com)
—The title tune of the album by Neil Young’s wife Pegi is a loping waltz about abandonment. Her light soprano has a tart/sweet quality that sounds best on starker tracks like this one, rather than on the more electrified ones.
SARAH JAROSZ/Run Away
Writer: Sarah Jarosz/Alissa Bonagura; Producer: Gary Paczosa & Sarah Jarosz; Publisher: SoRaw/Almo/My Plum Songs/Alright Love!, BMI/ASCAP; Sugar Hill (track) (www.sarahjarosz.com)
—She tours on the bluegrass circuit, but her music is really closer to acoustic pop. This lead-off track of her new Follow Me Down CD captures how blissfully airy and haunting she can be. Instruments swirl in jazzy circles around her hushed, fluttering vocal. This woman is essential listening.
JAKOB DYLAN/Down On Our Own Shield
Writer: Jakob Dylan; Producer: T Bone Burnett; Publisher: Sugarmoonmusic, ASCAP; Columbia (track)
—I’m rather late in writing about this, but Jakob’s Women + Country album has been a nearly constant presence on my house sound system for months. With the aid of the ubiquitous Mr. Burnett, Bob’s son has achieved a stunningly ear grabbing sound that combines earthy rhythm, echoey twang and campfire folk. Harmony vocals by Neko Case and Kelly Hogan are particularly noteworthy. I chose this rumination, but you can “drop the needle” on “Everybody’s Hurting,” “Nothing But the Whole Wide World” or any of the other tracks and fall in love with this extraordinary record.
THE AVETT BROTHERS/Murder In The City
Writer: none listed; Producer: Rick Rubin; Publisher: none listed; American Recordings (track) (www.theavettbrothers.com)
—As a general rule, I don’t like live albums. But this is one group whose superb recorded works are sometimes outshone by its concert performances. The Avett Brothers Live, Volume 3 is not some “filler” release between studio recordings. Rather, it is an exciting document that stands on its own as a listening experience. If you’re already a fan, your favorites (”I and Love and You” for instance) are probably here. This starkly strummed family portrait is greeted with wild cheers by the crowd. But, then, so is just about everything else.
JOHN ANDERSON/The Turning Of A Field
Writer: Stan Webb/Thomm Jutz/Peter Cronin; Producer: Thomm Jutz; Publisher: Stan Webb/Thomm Songs/Samoline, SESAC; Cohesion Arts (track) (www.1861project.com)
The 1861 Project is an ambitious song cycle about the Civil War. This 17-song CD is subtitled, “Volume 1: From Farmers to Foot Soldiers.” The unmistakable voice of John Anderson kicks things off with this evocative portrait of a man plowing his land as war winds rise in the distance. Other notables who portray the various songs’ characters include Irene Kelley, Marty Stuart, John Brannen, Richard Dobson and Dana Cooper. Impressive acoustic-folk work.
ROBERT ELLIS/What’s In It For Me
Writer: Robert Ellis; Producer: Robert Ellis & Paul Moore; Publisher: Roger Elvis/New West Independent, BMI; New West (track) (www.robertellismusic.com)
—This ballad from his Photographs CD is carefully arranged with an echoey background vocal chorus, deliberately chorded piano and a judiciously played steel guitar. The Texan’s trembling vocal of a loser coming home is note perfect.

DIY ‘U’ Showcases Digital Artist Career Tool

The third installment of ASCAP’s DIY “U” took place in the performing rights organization’s conference room Aug. 16. The DIY series is designed to introduce members to various technology companies and this edition featured the Topspin direct-to-fan platform and Topspin Sr. Director of Artist Services Nashville, Wayne Leeloy.

Topspin has many layers of tools and ways to obtain and analyze data. Looked at simply, it is the next step for an artist who has already begun to engage fans on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but wants to gather more individual information about those fans, for example an email address. It is one thing to have a Friend, Follower or Like, but another level of trust entirely when a fan feels secure enough to give you his or her email address which then allows you to contact them when you want to do so.

According to Leeloy, who began his Nashville career working for Ticketmaster, Topspin was a closed platform until last March but has rapidly expanded to over 12,000 members. “It can be harnessed for music, books, film and more,” said Leeloy. “Anything where the goal is to build community around a brand. It’s a platform for creating and managing a retail channel including an artist store, plus a sophisticated toolset to help acquire new fans and analyze data.” Artists currently using Topspin range from Paul McCartney to Nashville’s Jim Lauderdale.

(L-R): ASCAP's Mike Sistad, Jesse Willoughby, Topspin's Wayne Leeloy and ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan.

Some of the kinds of available tools include a series of flexible widgets that allow artists to offer free content, fan club memberships, tickets or contests in exchange for email acquisition. The widgets retain full functionality when shared on social networks and third party websites. So, for example, a widget can be shared in someone’s Facebook stream and others can discover and interact with its functionality. A second key feature of the platform is its robust data dashboard where the fan list is kept and analyzed. Artists are able to filter the list and sort by zip code and distance parameters. Emails are ranked in terms of influence, engagement and other interests. The list can also be downloaded for use with email programs such as Mailchimp, for example.

One ASCAP member noted that while the platform seemed “amazing,” the learning curve for best leveraging its power can be challenging. “Think Pro Tools, and what that did for recording,” said Leeloy. “It takes some time to master, but it’s worth it.” The Topspin website has a series of educational features and videos to help artists move through the process. Also Berklee College of Music’s online school has a 12-week course given four times a year designed to provide “deep insight into the strategies, skills and tools required to market your business online as well as the tactical training you need to become a Topspin pro.”

Sharing, awareness, viral engagement and data acquisition systems like the Topspin platform aren’t just terms or concepts for tomorrow’s music industry, serious careers are already immersed in them.

 

DIY 'U' Showcases Digital Artist Career Tool

The third installment of ASCAP’s DIY “U” took place in the performing rights organization’s conference room Aug. 16. The DIY series is designed to introduce members to various technology companies and this edition featured the Topspin direct-to-fan platform and Topspin Sr. Director of Artist Services Nashville, Wayne Leeloy.
Topspin has many layers of tools and ways to obtain and analyze data. Looked at simply, it is the next step for an artist who has already begun to engage fans on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but wants to gather more individual information about those fans, for example an email address. It is one thing to have a Friend, Follower or Like, but another level of trust entirely when a fan feels secure enough to give you his or her email address which then allows you to contact them when you want to do so.
According to Leeloy, who began his Nashville career working for Ticketmaster, Topspin was a closed platform until last March but has rapidly expanded to over 12,000 members. “It can be harnessed for music, books, film and more,” said Leeloy. “Anything where the goal is to build community around a brand. It’s a platform for creating and managing a retail channel including an artist store, plus a sophisticated toolset to help acquire new fans and analyze data.” Artists currently using Topspin range from Paul McCartney to Nashville’s Jim Lauderdale.

(L-R): ASCAP's Mike Sistad, Jesse Willoughby, Topspin's Wayne Leeloy and ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan.


Some of the kinds of available tools include a series of flexible widgets that allow artists to offer free content, fan club memberships, tickets or contests in exchange for email acquisition. The widgets retain full functionality when shared on social networks and third party websites. So, for example, a widget can be shared in someone’s Facebook stream and others can discover and interact with its functionality. A second key feature of the platform is its robust data dashboard where the fan list is kept and analyzed. Artists are able to filter the list and sort by zip code and distance parameters. Emails are ranked in terms of influence, engagement and other interests. The list can also be downloaded for use with email programs such as Mailchimp, for example.
One ASCAP member noted that while the platform seemed “amazing,” the learning curve for best leveraging its power can be challenging. “Think Pro Tools, and what that did for recording,” said Leeloy. “It takes some time to master, but it’s worth it.” The Topspin website has a series of educational features and videos to help artists move through the process. Also Berklee College of Music’s online school has a 12-week course given four times a year designed to provide “deep insight into the strategies, skills and tools required to market your business online as well as the tactical training you need to become a Topspin pro.”
Sharing, awareness, viral engagement and data acquisition systems like the Topspin platform aren’t just terms or concepts for tomorrow’s music industry, serious careers are already immersed in them.