Friday, December 21, 2012

Becca And Nikki In The Office


Becca Levy arriving at the office in the (almost) wee hours of the morning after the car ride up from DC. She came up to record some songs/videos as well as attend the Stand Up to Bullying rally.


Becca showing Nicole something on her phone


Silly girls!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Becca And Friends



Becca hanging around in the office before getting ready for her recording session at Jamspot and the Stand Up to bullying rally.



Becca LOVED meeting Benny for the first time!

Monica (one of our photographers) & Becca who met for the first time
over the summer and became fast friends

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Becca Levy Reconnecting With Some Staff Members


On Becca's trip up to our office she got to reconnect with some of the staff she hadn't see in a while.


Becca & Heather, one of our staff artists and designer of the Right Now logo.


Becca & Laura, one of our PR representatives who helps with all of Becca's campaigns.

Becca & Andrea, one of our social media gurus.

Beca & Matt, one our writers.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Becca With The Office Staff


Becca Levy had a great time coming to the office and meeting all the people that help with her music career and the Right Now campaign.


Becca and Chris, our web designer. (Check out his work here!)

Left to Right: Andrea, Lauren, Matt, Becca and Heather.
Just some of the team that helps keep Becca in order!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Around The Office - Posters


Becca Levy, Right Now spokesperson, hanging around in the office before getting ready to do some recording at Jamspot


Becca holding Becca! 
One of the posters for the Stand Up rally.

The poster for Becca's blog, the Buzz on Bullying, and Lauren, the artist
 that draws Becca as a bee!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2013

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced it's inductees for the 2013 year. They are:


Rush











Heart











Public Enemy









Randy Newman













Donna Summer (died May 2012)












Albert King (died December 1992)






Tuesday, December 11, 2012

First Impressions And Branding - SUPER Important!

One of the most important things to remember with music, and you can't say it enough, is you have to treat your band like a business. And what's one of the most important things for a business to have? 

Branding! 

Your image needs to say you're a professional just as much as McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts has to! You don't want people checking out your band's website or Facebook and seeing poor quality(or questionable content) photos or updates with typos. People will immediately start forming an opinion of your band and that's going to affect your image - and you don't want that to be 'unprofessional' or 'amature'. Same goes with your music. If you're going to record a song, make sure you're not just doing it with your cellphone.. the quality is going to be awful and people WILL remember it (and not with a positive light). 

So how do you make your band's image favorable? Well, there are plenty of things to consider. First think about this:

  • What is the forward slash address to your band's website?
  • What is the first image you see?
  • What is the first thing you read?
  • When was the last update?
Then…
  • Write words that describe what you see.
  • How do these words compare to the words you want people to think?
  • Then ask friends to do the same, asking for honest feedback! 

You are aiming for a consistent look and feel across all of your online profiles and pages. This is often very easy to fix and could just mean customizing your URL, updating information, or adding new photos. With a consistent brand identity in place, next consider how you can continue to communicate this consistency across the basic assets you need to support your next release. 

1. Recorded music - Ensure the quality is sufficiently high to have a chance of radio airplay.
2. Press pictures – Do you have a high quality image or images to support this release? Will people want to publish this image? Do these images communicate your style and support the sound of your music?
3. Artwork – Do you have high quality artwork to accompany your single, EP or album? If people judge the music by the cover, what will they conclude?
4. Biography or Press Release – What is the story of this release? Why should people be interested? Who produced or mixed the track? Do you have any quotes from music journalists or DJs supporting the track? Avoid hyperbole – sadly, apart from your mum, nobody is likely to really believe you are greatest band in the world!
5. Video – Do you have a HD quality music video to support your release? It doesn’t have to cost a fortune or be professionally made, but it does have to look great. So be creative! Ensure you add tags to help people find it and provide links to your key online sites and profiles.

Just remember, figure out what you want your band/brand identity to be, and tailor things accordingly. What do you want people to feel or think when they hear your music? Is that how you feel? And use your friends! They're great resources and less connected to the band than you are and will have a more honest opinion.


Click Here for the original article


Friday, December 7, 2012

Jamspot Recording Session With Becca Levy

A few behind the scenes shots during Becca Levy's recording session.



She's not a rapper, I swear.


 
A few encouraging words and advice between shoots. 


Photgraphers Andrew Swain and Jennifer Beliveau getting everything together.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Getting Ready - Jamspot Recording Session

Becca Levy at Jamspot getting ready for her photo/video shoot.


Nice hair, Becca! 


Hair Stylist Lindsay Griffin, Becca Levy, and Make Up Artist Kerri Herlihy


Myself and some of the crew. (I always have something to say!)

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Recording With Becca Levy

Recording at Jamspot in Wakefield with Becca Levy. She has some amazing talent!..


(..though I can't say the same for myself.)


 
Becca Levy listening intently between recordings.

I had to take a few of my own photos while Becca was singing.


How To Play A Profitable Show

Here's a great article from Music Think Tank about how to budget when you're on tour. After all, the point is to make money which wont happen if you're making less than you're spending! It'.s all about planning.
(original article here)



Expenses


Before you begin planning where you can go on tour, it’s important to first list your expenses. I recommend keeping an Excel spreadsheet to monitor where your money is being spent and how much each item is costing you on the road so that you can make this a constantly updated process so you have previous data to work from to really hone your touring craft. Some of the most common expenses experienced by bands on the road, both new and old, are as follows: (A sample budget will be posted below.)
Fuel: The most obvious part of any tour is figuring out how much gasoline is going to cost you to go from city to city. To start with, assume that you’re paying the national average of $4 a gallon (at the time of writing, I’m hoping that number doesn’t rise much higher!). We’ll be using this number later on to determine an optimal driving distance for each of your shows.
  • Note: The standard Ford E350 touring van that bands use gets 16 miles to the gallon on the highway. This number is often less than the EPA rated highway MPG, so I like to round this down to 14 miles per gallon (MPG) just to be on the safe side. It’s always better to overestimate your costs to ensure your budget stays in check.
Food: Food costs are another important factor that you can’t leave out. Being on the road with a box of ramen at your side may work for a few days, but eventually you’ll have to supply your body with some actual nutrition. Avoid eating at restaurants and fast-food places and instead bring a camping stove, non-perishables, and some fruits and veggies you can buy every few days. These can all be kept in a cooler with a bag of ice that costs a few cents at the gas station you stop at to refill at each day.
  • Average Food Cost: Although it may seem tough at first, it’s very easy to get by on about$7/day per band member. This usually consists of a protein bar and coffee/juice for breakfast ($1.50 per protein bar and a tub of instant coffee + free hot water at most Starbucks/coffee shops), steamed vegetables (Enough broccoli, green peppers, and green beans can be bought for a meal for $1 per band member) and  & ramen/rice (less than 50 cents per serving) for lunch, and some form of tempeh/tofu or other protein and vegetable dish for dinner (a can of beans, corn, and another vegetable can be had for about 80 cents a can and can be cooked in a single pot coming out to another $1 or so per band member if you all eat the same thing). Dried fruits can be made very cheaply and are a great snack on the road. I add in a few extra dollars here and there to account for the candy bar splurges, nice coffee trips, and the inevitable “etc” that each person will probably face. $7/Day per Band Member
Merchandise: Although some bands may not be accustomed to doing this, keeping a running tally of your merchandise expenses on a cost per unit basis will help you not only keep your money straight, it will help you reinvest your money at a later date for a new CD printing venture while on the road or back at home.
  • Average Merchandise Cost: It varies wildly from band to band how much their merchandise costs them to print and produce, but for the band we’ll be using as an example below, each CD they sell costs them $4 to produce. $4/CD



25% Rule


This rule is self-instated and seems to work well for bands that are just starting out. The 25% rule says that out of the money you make playing a show (including the money you make from selling merchandise) you should be able to keep 25% of it as profit. That means that if the guarantee* that’s paid at your shows is $100, $25 should be able to go into your pocket or into the band bank account for future use or to cover unexpected tour expenses.
  • *Guarantee: Having a venue give you a guarantee is them saying “no matter what, we’ll agree to pay you this amount of money for showing up and performing.”

Example

The band I work with is based out of Nashville, TN. Playing once a week in town is enough for them to hold themselves over before going out on the road each weekend. Although they turn a profit during the week from playing locally, we’ll put this money out of the picture and simply consider what it is they’re spending on the road each weekend when they play out. The cities they decide to play are entirely based on how much they can afford to spend on their expenses and still be able to keep 25% of the revenue brought in by their shows. Confused? Let’s take a look.
On average, the band we’re talking about safely brings in guarantees of $150 per show that they play. And, their $8 EPs tend to sell at least 2-3 copies per show. Although this number fluctuates, we’ll use “2” as our guideline for revenue calculations.
(Before the flack comes rolling in about how $150 isn’t that much to be earning per show as a guarantee, know that many of the bands out there first starting out are going to be hard pressed to even get that. I know of plenty of gigs where $75-$100 has been the norm and when you’re growing, being able to play anywhere just to build name recognition in a place is more valuable than anything.)
Revenue: $150 (guarantee) + $16 (Merchandise Sales) = $166 per show GUARANTEED
Expenses:  $21 (3 band members food costs) + $8 (Merchandise Costs) = $29
25% Profit: 25% of $166 per show = $41.50
Money Left for Gas: $166 – $29 – $41.50 = $95.50

How Far Can You Go?

That last number is the most important part of this whole equation. Knowing how much money is left to pay for gas after every show is what we NEED out of all of these calculations. For easiness sake, we typically say that we have $100 to spend on fuel after every show.
Calculation: ($100 for fuel)/($4 per gallon) = 25 gallons of fuel to use after each show.
25 gallons * 14 MPG =  350 miles of potential travel distance after every show. 
BEWARE! - This also has to cover you on the round trip portion of every tour. Although you may have earned enough to go 350 miles to the next city, remember that eventually you’ll have to make your way back home. If you’re smart in your plan, you can start at home, play a show, and use the gas expenditure you make at that show’s $150 guarantee to make your way to city #2 and continue the cycle from there, ultimately ending up back at home.
Using this calculation, you can figure out exactly how far you can afford to travel and which cities will be the most economical for you to hit on any given tour leg. Guessing wildly at a good place to go may work for a little while, but eventually the randomness of it all will catch up to you.

Extra Money?


The budget we did above was very conservative in estimates. We assumed that the band was only going to get a meager $150 per show that they play. We kept the food budget very slimmed down and even built in a few extra dollars of “wiggle room” that could add up to a surprisingly large chunk at the end of things if it doesn’t all get spent. In addition, the 2 CD estimate we used was obviously very conservative as well and if the band does well at promoting themselves, this number could jump much higher.
Although extra money could be brought in on a per-show basis, these few extra dollars should also be put aside to cover unforeseen expenses and accidents that may happen.
The great part of being on the road is that things change. Often for the better and sometimes for the worst. Not every show is going to pay $150 as a guarantee and not every show is going to cost you your fuel budget to get to. Having a detailed account of all of your expenses is something that should stay constant though. The sooner you start keeping a detailed account of your band’s expenditures, the easier it will be to plan for future tours and expenses.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Should You "Pay To Play"?

"Pay To Play" is a concept that a lot of musicians are uncomfortable with, and think they should be getting paid to play (as they should, eventually) but is pay to play really as bad as it seems?

Below is a video from Nic Adler who is owner of the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, and he believes that "pay to play" is a good thing, and can be beneficial to many musicians. 

As Adler says in his vido, System Of A Down started out playing the Roxy Theater as a "pay to play" band. After a few "pay to play" gigs, they were making money on ticket sales and eventually we're selling out the theater. And a lot of big bands started out that way.

Now, if you're already getting paid decent money to play local gigs, then paying to play probably  isn't for you. But maybe you haven't made it that far yet. When done right, "pay to play" can be a great way to promote your band, and you actually might not be paying anything at all!

The concept behind "pay to play" is that you're buying tickets from the venue and selling them yourself. Now if the venue wants you to sell a ridiculous number of tickets and you know you can't, then don't accept. Look for people who want you to sell a reasonable number. For example if someone wants you to sell 40 tickets, and you're a 4-piece band, that's only 10 tickets each. And as long as you actually sell all those tickets, it's not going to cost you anything at all. And If you're lucky enough you can even sell more than the required number of tickets and pocket some cash too!

Selling tickets also gets you on the street, meeting people face to face and talking about your band and your music. As a band, you're much more personable when your can be reached easily. People will also see your serious about your music because you're putting in that extra effort to get people to come out and see you, instead of hanging around being lazy and hoping a gig will fall into your lap.

Your band should always be treated as a business, but as in any business you need to spend money to make money. You can't just hope that you're going to be getting amazing gigs when no one knows who you are and you don't work at making yourself more well known. Paying to play is just another step in the right direction to get your band at the level you want it to be!




Click Here for the video

Becca Levy Recording Session - Looking Good

For a video to look good, the artist has to look good too! Here are just some of the things that happen to make it all come together.

Laying out the clothes for the photo/video shoots. 


Making Becca Levy look good for the camera.


Kerri Herlihy, the make up artist who makes it all possible!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Jamspot Recording Sessions - Behind The Scenes

Some behind the scenes photos of what goes into a recording session. These are from a shoot we did with client Becca Levy last week. 


Photographers Andrew Swain and Jennifer Beliveau getting multiple angles while recording video of Becca Levy singing.


Becca Levy working the camera.


Make-up artist Kerri Herlihy doing touch ups on Becca for the video.

Jamspot Recording Session


Over the past week we worked with client Becca Levy recording some new songs at Jamspot in Wakefield, MA. Here's a look at some of the people who help out behind the scenes to make it all possible.




Me with Gary Agresti who does audio with K Productions Services and is the house production manager at Meadow Brook Farms in Gilford, NH.

Make-up artist Kerri Herlihy, photographer Andrew Swain and myself behind the scenes at Jamspot.