How and Why You Need to Get Your Music onto Google Play Music All Access

"Google Play Music All Access."  Doesn't really trip off the tongue, does it?  Yet this will be a force in the music business.  This means that if you're an artist, you should really look at getting your music onto the service.  The Music Goat takes it from there.

If you are a musicians with original music, it might be a good idea to get your music on Google Play Music All Access whether you believe in the streaming model or not. Here’s why (and how).

Probably the biggest reason is that there are are a bazillion people using Android Phones. You can bet that Google is going to do there best to let everyone of them know about it.

Also, unlike Spotify or MOG, Google Play Music All Access is linking to a store where people can buy your music. Who knows how many streamers will go another step further to buy it but its worth a shot. I am waiting to see if that makes a difference or not but a sale here and a sale there is better than nothing right?

Continue reading.

Ah, The Joys of Being on the Road: One Band's Horror Story

Ryan is a member of F&M, a Canadian band doing their best to make a living.  He offers up this story of a particularly difficult gig in Banff.

We're quieter. Our audiences tend to show up knowing this. However this coked out baboon walked into the bar we were playing in Banff beating his chest (literally) and walked up to the stage.

I just shook my head and kept singing my song. Rebecca then introduced her song and said, "This next song is about our nephew who's really quite sweet and it's called Stuttering Boy."

Tthen he drunkenly yelled "Hey I'm not stuttering!.  Rebecca replied "No, it's the name of the song."  

"This band sucks!," he yelled.  "They don't even have a drummer!"

I said jokingly, "That's not why we suck.  We just don't have a drummer".

He then started coming to the stage yelling and pointing at Rebecca "Tell your c*nt of a wife to shut the fuck up!"

At that point I'm ready to leap at him when the AWESOME security jumped in and brought him straight outside to the police (it appeared to be a bumpy escort). 

It was scary, Becky was shook but she went into the song.  Kinda scary! We've had drunk people actually come onto the stage but it's been harmless.  Normally our audiences are generally amazing however I'm also a music fan that also goes to shows. Manners, people.

I'm guessing he was a meth head. There are plenty of them in that part of the world. Bad juju, those people.

New Analytics Tools Shows Where Your Music Does Best

TechCrunch sums up this new application nicely.

Does my music do better on Facebook or Twitter? Where should my next tour be? Is my new song too repetitive? Musicians can get free answers to these questions and more fromBeatDeck, a Y Combinator analytics company launching today. BeatDeck plans to license this data to labels and music stores to help them sign and recommend tomorrow’s superstars. Yep, BeatDeck is an enterprise music startup.

Here's Beatdeck's dashboard.

This sounds really interesting.  All social media-savvy musicians need to take a look at this.  The full story at TechCrunch. (Thanks, John)

Help Find Joe Strummer's Dodge!

One day while Joe was in Madrid, Joe Strummer parked his car.  When it was time to leave wherever he was, he couldn't find it.  It wasn't stolen; Joe had just forgotten where he parked it.  If this isn't a theme for a rock'n'roll movie, nothing is.

Read more at The Guardian.  (Thanks, John!)

My Guest Appearance on The K-Dub Podcast at the University of Victoria

I try never, ever to turn down an interview request from a student--and for a good reason.

When I was trying to get started in the radio business, there were two guys working in at Winnipeg radio stations that I was dying to talk to--you know, just to get a few pearls of wisdom and a couple of hints at how to get my first job.  

Even though I idolized these guys, both of them consistenly blew me off.  I swore that if I were even in their position, I'd never act that way to a student looking for a bit of break.

Second, they're both dead.  I'm not saying it was karma, but just in case...

This is how I came to be on The K-UB show on CFUV at the University of Victoria.  You hear how it all panned out by clicking here.