R.I.P. Lou Reed

Lou Reed, frontman of The Velvet Underground and pioneer of rock music, died today at the age of 71. Ferris Wheel Music's thoughts go out to his family and friends. For more information, here's a link to the Rolling Stone Obituary.

Ben Marwood - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (The Postal Service Cover)

This has been stuck in my head for the last day and a half so I highly recommend checking it out.

Advocating For Bandcamp

   

     Bandcamp is a primarily digital music marketplace predominately utilized by independent musicians trying to sell their music directly to their fan base. So, why am I writing about a place where people can buy music? Everybody reading this knows how the Internet works, right? You don't need me to guide you through the process of inputting your PayPal information into a website so you can buy an album. Well, I'm writing about Bandcamp because I think it's an amazing way to buy and sell music and I am enamored and extremely impressed by the success the website has had.

     Bandcamp makes money by taking a percentage of an artist's sales, just like any other marketplace would, but Bandcamp only take 15% of digital sales (artists who have sold more than $5000 worth of digital music in the past 12 months only pay 10%) and 10% on the sale on merch. Those percentages can't be beat; ITunes and Amazon take around 30% of digital sales from artists (Via Digital Trends). This extra revenue is huge.

     Artists pocketing a greater percentage of the profit is impressive in itself but what makes Bandcamp even more impressive is that the website has altered the way fans buy music. Bandcamp has made fans feel a greater connection to the music they are listening to, making fans spend more money (sometimes even when they don't need to) and making fans buy full albums.

     

     Many artists on Bandcamp use a Pay What You Want philosophy. This system seems to work for many artists, as it doesn't alienate potential fans, but the artists still make money from generous fans. This system rewards artists who have created loyal fan bases. Bandcamp advertises that "On name-your-price albums, fans pay an average of 50% more than the minimum." Artists can set a minimum amount they are willing to take for the album (which many times is nothing) and then fans have the option to pay more than that. I know that I personally have given money to artists who weren't asking for any, in exchange for their album. That's outstanding for artists because it allows them to create solid fan bases, who want to PAY FOR MUSIC, something that seems to be lost in the digital age.

     Additionally, Bandcamp boasts that "Albums outsell tracks 5 to 1 on Bandcamp (in the rest of the music buying world, tracks outsell albums 16 to 1)." This is an extremely impressive feat, and it shows that Bandcamp has somehow changed the way fans look at music. When artists make albums, they make them as albums, with an overall feel and a lot of hard work put into each track to make the tracks flow into each other and work cohesively; sure it's nice that you really like that one Weezer (No, they don't use Bandcamp) song, but wouldn't it be awesome if you actually listened to the entire album and discovered that you liked the entire album? I feel like other digital marketplaces are discouraging the exploration of full albums because of how easy they make it to download the one "hit". Bandcamp advertises full albums over individual songs, and this benefits the artists using their service by allowing all their hard work to be fully showcased.

     Yet, what is this site worth if its collection of music is lacking? Well, that's simply not the case; many outstanding and successful (No, success is NOT the measure of whether your music is good or not, although it can be a sign, but I'm pointing "success" out to show that Bandcamp is by no means a small site) independent musicians use Bandcamp to sell their music. In fact, many artists only sell their music using Bandcamp, and I have discovered many artists on Bandcamp that I wouldn't have known about without Bandcamp, of those Shakey Graves and Balto come to mind.

     

     Both Shakey Graves and Balto are folk/alt-coutnry acts. Shakey Graves gives off a singer-songwriter vibe with a truly unique and interesting sound, which makes for good listenin'. Balto's album "October Road" is inspired by their lead singer Daniel Sheron's solo trip trip to Siberia. Both these artists are definitely worth checking out.

     Aside from these incredible artists there are many other artists on Bandcamp with a great sound, including Spose, Cloudkicker, Mac Lethal, Modern Diet, Essence, and many many others.

     Until next time, keep exploring (and don't forget to utilize Bandcamp).

Folk-O-Rama: Volume Three

     Wow. This is an awesome compilation of Folk Punk jams. The best part is that it's completely free, and if you go to the info section for each song, you can go to the artist's individual page, where many of them give away free music as well. I highly recommend it. This is just one of the many reasons I love Bandcamp, and an article about the site will be up soon. In the meantime, continue exploring.

Should You Print Your Album?

     Music blogger/vlogger Anthony Fantano made an interesting video seemingly addressing small artists and whether or not they should physically print their music. I think it's worth a watch, since it's a short video which not only addresses the question of whether a musician should print their albums, but also looks at how the music industry has changed, even within my lifetime. Personally, as a consumer, I prefer buying used CDs on Amazon if I'm buying an album that's been out for awhile, or buying CD's from the artists' websites if they're new, but in truth I'm not too picky about where or in what form I buy my music. I buy music digitally from ITunes, Bandcamp or Amazon's digital marketplace, as well as buying physical CDs from Amazon, Best Buy, artists' websites or even at concerts. If I can get my hands on a physical version of an album I like to, but to me it's not essential. However, I do feel like it is essential to buy music as opposed to pirating it, and I plan on writing a post about piracy and why I am so adamantly opposed to it in the near future.

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Artist Overview: Frank Turner

            For the first real article on this blog, I would feel like I was overlooking something if I failed to talk about my favorite musician, Frank Turner, an English ex punk rocker (former vocalist for the now defunct band Million Dead) turned folk/punk singer-songwriter. I first heard of Frank from my dad’s business partner, who knowing I was into groups like the Dropkick Murphys and Bruce Springsteen sent me the song “I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous”, the opening track to the album “Love Ire & Song”. I loved it, the honest, genuine and well thought out lyrics and the instrumental build up made for an enjoyable first Frank Turner experience.

            However, at this time I did not go much further into Frank’s catalog, only listening to a few of the bigger songs off “Love Ire & Song”. He remained an artist I only listened to occasionally until my dad’s business partner, again, told us that Frank and his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, were going to be playing a show at Webster Hall in the city. Upon acquiring tickets, I began listening to his album “England Keep My Bones”, his newest album at the time. Delving deeper into his catalog, something I now regretted not doing earlier, I couldn’t find a song I didn’t find infectious, his British accent coming through in his songs, and his sound, sometimes acoustic and sometimes with a full band, is always on point, whether aggressive or lax it always seems to work.

            Following the opening acts Jenny Owen Youngs, a New Jersey singer-songwriter, and Larry and His Flask, a punk-bluegrass band that put on a lively show, constantly switching instruments, frantically dancing around the stage and coming into the crowd to perform for a bit, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls stepped on stage. From the moment they began, everything that I loved about Frank’s studio work amplified itself tenfold. His live show was spectacular, playing for everyone, from hardcore fans to people newly introduced to his music, there being a nice mix of songs that I knew, and songs that at the time I did not know. Even though, at the time I did not know all the music, his sound and stage presence were so invigorating that it was impossible not to try to sing along, even without knowing the words. I left that concert with a newfound desire to delve deeper into his discography, and upon doing so I was presented with a new favorite musician.

            So what is it about Frank Turner that makes his music so memorable? Is it the charged, emotional voice he uses while singing? Is it the fantastic juxtaposition of punk and folk he utilizes authentically, blending the two genres so that he can be loud, and he can be quiet, but whatever direction he decides to take a track in it is going to sound good?

Well, yes. It is those things, but it is also his lyricism that keeps fans coming back for more. He tells stories, like the story of his friend Lex, who dying of cancer, decides to have one last awesome night to “lay waste to all the clubs.” Or, his lyrics on the aforementioned “I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous” about his friends, growing up, playing music, and planning a revolution from a cheap Southampton bistro, or as he has described it, a song about everything. Even with the song's array of topics the song flows together beautifully and genuinely. Countless other examples of great lyricism can be found in the source material.

I hope my description of Frank Turner will make you want to listen to some of his music, because this Black Flag and Bruce Springsteen inspired musician puts out great music and has a work ethic bordering on insane. His website boasts that he has played 1463 solo shows (Either alone or with his backing band) since 2004, in 35 countries, with the disclaimer “This is, to my knowledge, a complete list of all the solo shows I've ever played.” With great music and constant touring, I think this is a man that deserves your attention.

Throughout the article are few of my current favorite Frank Turner songs, but the list of my favorites is always changing. He has a large catalog filled with quality music, so I heavily encourage some exploration.