At Family Records we’ve made the choice to be a relationship-driven company. (To read about what this means, and what the opposite choice would imply read my earlier post on the Maney Continuum.) This choice influences our pricing strategy and the way we can deliver music to our audience. An example of an upcoming release where our strategic choices influenced the way we will price and deliver the product is Casey Shea‘s upcoming album “Love Is Here To Stay”, which will be release in April. This is still subject to change, but looking solid.

1. Love Is Here To Stay (Standard Edition) – $5 – This edition is digitally delivered to fans as a set of all 9 songs as high-resolution MP3s (320 kbs) and a PDF version of the artwork and credits. It can be bought at shows as a download card, or via the Family Records web store. The price is cheap to facilitate new fans wanting to take a chance on checking out Casey’s music.

2. Love Is Here To Stay (Deluxe Edition) – $14.99 – This edition of the album is limited to 500 copies, includes a 7″ vinyl featuring the title track and an exclusive b-side not to be found on the album. It also comes with a CD featuring the full album and a digital bonus EP featuring 4 additional tracks. All 14 tracks mentioned will be digitally delivered instantaneously upon purchase, while the physical package is shipped the next day.

We will also be delivering third option:

3. Love Is Here To Stay (T-Shirt Edition) – $11.99 – This package includes a t-shirt featuring the title track’s main message and comes with a digital download of the 9 album tracks as high-resolution MP3s (320 kbs) and a PDF version of the artwork and credits.

In our original plans there were many more configurations, other options, but in the end it just seemed that it would be confusing and stressful for people to make a decision. We cut down the options, and decided to provide a premium product for the inner circle of hardcore fans, while also offering a step-in low-risk option for new fans. In addition to this, the standard edition will still be available on iTunes, Amazon and the other usual suspects, to capture the searching customer’s business as well.

Thoughts?

An exclusive interview with Wesley Verhoeve, manager of artists Wakey!Wakey! and Casey Shea, highlights the 65th edition of the podcast. Wes talks about the role of an artist manager.

Denise and I had a chat for the latest episode of the One Tree Hill podcast that she presents. One of the most fun talks I’ve had in an interview setting. Hope the OTH fans aren’t bored by the music biz talk!

A successful artist who will stand out in a crowded marketplace should always be thinking about how each song and album helps create a brand. Verhoeve says he encourages the artists he works with to think about creating an album with an overall theme, message or story that reinforces the band’s brand. Casey Shea, an artist who works with Family Records, often makes short videos for the web that deal with the issues of the day – videos that might seem irrelevant to creating and selling music, but that help him reach out to new audiences online.

“It doesn’t really matter what he talks about in those videos; what you’re getting is Casey,” Verhoeve says. “It’s just a way to extend the brand and try to get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible.” (full article here)

Read more about 100000Fans here. For cover art, track list and more information on the album go here. Down the album for free here. Below also a live video of Casey and Jeff Jacobson performing their wonderful version of the entire second side of The Beatles album ‘Abbey Road’. (Full Disclosure: I’ve been asked to be part of their music panel in the future.)

“If you want your product to go viral you’ve got to first think about what types of things make an idea spread in your target market, and then pick a product/business that has those qualities.”

Very good point! I think music in general has a viral quality to it, simply by the fact that if it’s truly great, people can’t help but talking about it. We try to help that cause along by promoting our music with a number of tools that lend themselves to virality. These include videos that are topically relevant to current circumstances people can relate to, for example Casey Shea‘s great Bail Out video which made it to the NY Times. Other tools used are topical free downloads (watch for an upcoming free Modest Mouse cover EP on FR), keeping blogs and tweets current and of interest to people by keeping it personal and writing on tour and during the recording cycles, and finally providing a way of framing projects such as thematically oriented residencies/tours/product.

“Pick products that lend themselves to expirations, deadlines, and limited availability, that allow you to create a sense of urgency for the buyer.”

The way we try to translate this is by releasing albums in a limited edition (hand-made) physical version first, effectively creating something fans will want to have as a token of their fandom. These are followed by a digital release and a second physical one in a second run larger than the first and different in look and exclusivity. A good example of this is the 6 month run we just completed with, again, Casey Shea, releasing one 3-song single each month in a limited run of hand-silkscreened copies. (Download those here for free.)

“There are many products whose benefit to the customer increase as more people use them.  So from a game theory perspective, existing customers have an incentive to get their friends to adopt the service too.”

We try to do this by making our music easy to share and build a community around. Each album released is fully streamable for free on label and artist sites, in easily embedable players. All the music players, album and artist pages have commenting features and we provide easy access to artists and staff by listing e-mails, twitter accounts, and blogs. I think we can further improve this by making the artist and label sites even more of a hub of activity and increasing stickiness. Question: Should we reduce the number of places where comments can be left to consolidate them and creating tighter hubs, OR should we let the internet do our work and simply provide as many places to communicate from as possible?

“Your product might be great, but is your story remarkable? Remember, there are tons of great products that no one talks about, and therefore no one knows about. That’s because what makes people talk is the story that a product tells (or the story you tell yourself when you buy a product).  Tom’s Shoes didn’t spread because their shoes are the best on the market.  They spread because of their “One for One” philosophy.  For every pair of shoes you purchase Tom’s gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need.  And the best part of their story is that it’s the exact same pair!”

Very good point. We need to create a “unique, authentic, and remarkable story” for each album and each artist, and then for the movement of the label as a whole. We need to communicate what an artist stands for in life, and tie this into the product and the marketing. We have attempted to do this in the past by relating each album to a specific charity, and by releasing product specifically related to a historic moment like the split Casey Shea/Lacrymosa single “Hope/Change” (Download it for free here.)

Much thanks to Al for inspiring me to think hard on these questions, it doesn’t end by my writing this!

While his daily routine might not be predictable, his go-to look for work is. In the five years since Wes moved to New York, his style has evolved into a tailored uniform that reads business not boring; urban but with a European sensibility. Button-down oxford shirts, skinny ties with a tie bar, and fitted jeans are standard form for Wes. He avoids the quirky yet ubiquitous pairing of Converse sneakers with business wear in favor of the traditional—he sticks to brown or black leather shoes for a polished look. “For the most part, I aspire to pursue a timeless look, with hints of the modern age in terms of cut,” explained Wes. “On a style level, I admire guys like Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Robert Downey Jr., and Daniel Craig.”