bob's mailbag (this is getting out of hand)

Subject: Re: The Complete Clip

Bob

I want to thank you in the way your advice brings encouragement to bands like ours trying to forge a living in this new world of music. Your thoughts, or maybe they are rants, have really encouraged us to be creative in how we are going about building a fan base without a major label. I wanted to share 2 things we have done that have actually met with some success.

First we adopted the policy at our shows that fans could name their own price for our cds. We tell them that normally they are this price but we know times are hard. So just name your own price for the cds and you can have them for that. We just want you to have to music. And you know what. We are finding that our average price per cd has actually increased since we started doing this. Sure you have people giving you $3 but we have been amazed at the people who will give us $20. We are going to start doing this with all our merchandise at shows as we find it really builds good will.

We also started a new campaign called 'A Single Revolution'. sarahmacband.com In constantly reading your blog you are always talking about how we are getting back to an era like the 60's. Well, I remember as a kid being able to buy single 45's. And also remember that a lot of bands didn't even put these 45's on an album. So over the next year we are releasing 1 single every 4 to 6 weeks but we are trying to be creative in the release.

We agree that sales of cds are evaporating these days and that is not going to change. But can you creat a desire for a physical cd by only having a limited number? Well, we decided that we would try this and only press 100 physical cds of the song. Each of these cds would be numbered and signed by the band. We would also have extras on the cd that you could only get with the purchase of the physical cd. Each cd would cost $10, which seems like a lot and also appears to run contrary to our normal cd marketing of name your price, but we promise that there will never be anymore pressed and the 100 physical copies would be it. So we try to add value to the purchase to make it worth the $10. We will then use the proceeds from the sale of the first cd to press the second cd thereby making all the purchasers of the first cd our record lable for the second cd and giving them liner credit on the second cd. Then we will repeat this for each successive cd.

For the people who don't want to spend $10 for the physical cd we have sent an email to our email list saying they can download the song for free from our website for 2 weeks. After that we will put it for sale on iTunes and other places but we want to get it to places at leass than 99 cents a pop.

We just released our first single and have almost sold out the first run of 100 cds. So we are hopeful that maybe this will have some traction but who knows. Ultimatley this may not be a good idea as only time will tell. But I wanted you to know that your blogs are encouraging bands like us to be creative in how we do things. And we agree that first we have to bring a good product which only comes as a result of a lot of hard work. But once you think you may have something you need to think outside the box if you want to succeed and last in this business.

So thanks for your inspiration and keep writing brother, because it keeps me fired up and always thinking.

Charlie Vanture

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From: Adit Rao
Subject: A Serious Inquiry

Dear Bob,

I've been reading your blog with great interest over the past few months. My friend Joel Cummins, who plays in a band called Umphrey's McGhee recommended I pay attention to what you had to say. He's actually a poster child for the mindset/approach which you promote in your writings.

It's a semi-interesting story actually: About 10 years ago, as college freshmen, Joel and I took two separate paths: he remained in Chicago and began touring with his band locally. I moved to LA and pursued a record deal. Years later, it's pretty clear which one of us made the right decision. His band does about 150 shows a year (sometimes to festival crowds). They're not millionaires, but their company is a sustainable enterprise which supports the livelihoods of about a dozen guys (including their crew). Pretty impressive. My bands on the other hand, have floundered around the southwestern U.S., worn thru a couple of rotten experiences with labels, and disintegrated when our morale was destroyed. Joel wasn't a prophet... he simply played music which labels didn't care for (Jamband stuff). So they were forced to take a grass-roots approach from the start. And as it turned out-- they were way ahead of the curve. I'm very proud of them.

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From: Cliff Pia
Subject: Re: From Moby

We listen to music to feel what it is to be human again. Life makes you numb. Music makes you feel (or reminds you how to feel again). That's what music is. That's what music does. Thanks for reminding me of that, Moby. And thanks for that too, Bob.

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Subject: Re: From Moby

In reply to Moby's note:

I really feel that the state of the business can have a damaging effect in the minds of creative artists.

There is, however, a very simple cure that Moby touched on and I have been employing most of my record-making career which now stands at 51 years. One must always try and satisfy ONESELF with the final product - that is if you be true to yourself, you will inevitably almost always be true to your school (fans). So do your best to satisfy yourself and that means screw the record company, screw the producer, and forget about the fans during recording time. A producer should be selected to assist you in capturing your vision, not to make records the record company likes. Mixing the album should not be taken away from the producers aegis. Actually a temporary marriage between the artist, producer and engineer is best if there is no cheating. Be faithful to each other artistically and that should get you, the artist, the album you wanted in the first place. That is when a record is a success BEFORE it's released - when you've made the record you set out to make. In today's market for various reasons sales are way down. So if you can put out exactly what you hoped to put out, THAT is the success. If it sells - that's just cash cream on top.

Then you must get out there and bring your vision to as many fans LIVE as you can. That has been MY biggest problem - no one has booked me properly. As luck would have it, I have the best live show I have ever had when my band is behind me. But I cant get the funds from promoters to cross the Mason-Dixon line with my band. So I am forced to play solo shows which are good in another way; i.e. telling the stories behind the songs and being able to play a whole other repertoire from the bands. But I wish the people that hear the solo shows had the choice of also hearing the band.
What I fer sure can do, is make the best albums I have ever made, and put on the best shows I have ever performed. Now if I can solve getting ears to hear them and see them, then I will have adjusted to the way things are out there. I have released 3 albums in the last four years - BLACK COFFEE, WHITE CHOCOLATE and 50/50. I just pray that all my fans know that and that some people that have never heard me before hear those three albums. Later they can find out I produced "Free Bird" "Sweet Home Alabama" and played organ on "Like A Rolling Stone" That's not really gonna go away.
But meanwhile, Murphy's Law follows me like a stalker.

Al Kooper