One of the comments I hear the most from musicians and music industry folk alike regarding music today is “it’s great that there’s so much music around today, but most of it is absolutely crap.” People cite the (completely false and misleading assertion) that because most folks can use ProTools in their bedrooms etc. that there is a saturation of amateurish and horrible music in circulation.

I couldn’t disagree more.

In fact, I’m of the belief that talent is a constant. That genius occurs every single day in music, that songwriters lie in wait to be discovered if you know where to look. Quite contrary to the above assertion, music that will change your life goes unnoticed every single day and songwriters of exceptional talent languish in absolute obscurity for their entire lives.

That said, in today’s world, all of the tools are available for every fan to become a tastemaker and highlight these amazing artists.

My question is this: if you really care about music, about artists and musicians, what are you doing to shed some light on these unsung songsmiths?

Image via WikipediaI was fortunate to find myself in the beautiful city of Galway this evening - surrounded by the wild mystery that is the Connemara Gaeltacht, the Atlantic ocean and the rushing river Corrib, this city more than any other I’ve been to reminds me the most of San Francisco.

I was down to have a chat with the fabulous Vertigo Smyth and he was kind enough to introduce me to the guys who run Stress!!, a club night in Galway that’s gone from strength to strength hosting such acts as Daedalus and Scroobius Pip over the past 6 months.

By complete coincidence, Stress!! was hosting the David Lyttle Three. For those of you unfamiliar, David Lyttle is a Belfast-based jazz drummer with one of the most astounding work ethics I’ve ever seen from a musician. The man is EVERYWHERE, converting fans, spreading his music, touring relentlessly (look at the man’s tour history - and he’s only 25!)

But not only is David notable for the work he puts in, but the amazing artists he attracts to these shores. Tonight’s show saw Herbie Hancock’s bass player, Derek Nievergelt, joining David and fellow Belfast native Mark McKnight (Guitar) on stage. Jazz legends such as Jean Touissant, Greg Osby and Michael Janisch, have been convinced to play Ireland by David in the last year.

I’d go so far to say that David IS jazz in Ireland. (feel free to correct me in the comments, of course!)

It’s funny in this far flung place I could yet again be reminded of what Belfast has, what Belfast is doing and how what we’re doing here is special - important, even. The energy I saw, the effusive togetherness of Belfast music I witnessed at A Little Solidarity… this past weekend was utterly mind-blowing, utterly captivating and incredibly inspiring.

And tonight reminded me that this effusiveness is seeping out, beyond our little Northern Irish borders, beyond the borders of genre, thanks to people like David Lyttle, thanks to David Holmes, thanks to everyone who has had enough of hiding all these years.

And watch out - it’s only just begun.

And So I Watch You From Afar play Stress!! @ DeBurgo’s in Galway this Friday, 11/21.

I hate re-posting stuff that’s already on the web - there’s enough noise out there.

But some notes on Ian Roger’s recent talk at MusicTech Seattle say everything I want to say about Penny Distribution and our goals - and indeed, the goals of any music company in the 21st Century:

“Any of us, myself included, that are not either the artist or the fan, are just potentially in the way. So it’s on us to provide value. To provide real value. And that’s fine with me. I’m very happy to say, OK, my company has to provide real value. My company is not about lock-in. It’s not about me owning your masters. It’s about me providing value to you, and if I can’t, well, then I should get the hell out of the way. So I really encourage you, when thinking about the music business, to think about marginal profitability for artists first and foremost, and to think about the companies that enable that, and to forget about the ones that don’t.”

Amen.

If you don’t already, I’d recommend keeping up with Ian at his blog Fistfulayen.com and one of the most exciting new media companies of late, TopSpin Media

Read more at TechFlash, Thanks to Bruce @ Hypebot for the original post…

Update: Dave Allen, over at the awesome Pamplemoose, has some great insight into Ian’s keynote too…

Update II: Looks like the big boys are taking notice of the switch too…EMI are focusing on Fan/Artist relationships now as well.

Image by Pablo Moran Jr. via FlickrThe last few months have seen some really inspired ideas from bands - bands recognizing that the best way to engage with audiences is to do what you do best as an artist i.e. be creative. And we’re not just talking about NIN and Radiohead here -

How about Escape Act’s incremental release of their new album via various prominent Irish music blogs? Or Deerhoof releasing their first song ON SHEET MUSIC and asking their fans to perform it. Hell, check out the entire roster of CashMusic.org for some amazing new ways of making music mean more to fans.

White Denim’s offer of a $29.99 subscription where you’re peppered with content all year? Check.

Now comes another corker from San Francisco’s Plot Against Rachel. They’re asking their fans and friends, wherever they are in the world, to record a vocal track on their bedroom software to be appended to the final song of their forthcoming full-length. Just go to the site below, download the guide and rough mix, and go wild. Send them the MP3 and you’re in.

Help Plot Against Rachel

Sure, you might say that the last thing you want to do is break out the kazoo and give a song with a 5/4 middle eight a go, and then publish your squeaks for the world to see.

But what do all of these ideas have in common?

If you’re the band, you’re creating a story. If you’re already a fan, if you’re already convinced that this band is someone to keep an eye on, it deepens commitment, band-to-fan interaction and most importantly, draws and keeps attention.

And even if you’re not a fan of the music, you can’t fault acts like these for using the one thing any fan of music wants out of their bands - creativity.

I’ve watched the success of BarCamp & OpenCoffee Belfast very closely: both are basically a group of like minded yet disparate technology-focused folks getting together to share their collective knowledge, geek out and possibly collaborate.

I’ve wondered aloud if something similar was even possible in the music business.

Thankfully, recent experiences at Unconvention, Creative Camp and Soul Ambition’s “Kick Up The Arts” has convinced me that it is not only possible, but essential.

Next Thursday sees the largest music industry conference so far in 2008, NIMIC’s “Northern Ireland Music - The Way Forward” take place at the Whitla Hall. Following that, from 5pm at The House, myself and a load of other loosely related folk will be gathering together with the same goals as Barcamp - to see what our collective enthusiasm, knowledge and geekiness can create…

And as if to hammer home the point, Seth Godin’s recent post “How To Lose” should be an indicator of how important such events are to this, and many other, music communities:

From SethGodin.com:

“Actual conversation at a local shoe store: “Do you have dress shoes in a size 6?”

Your ego might not enjoy it, but in the long run, your organization will.”

Get together, help each other, or lose.

Image via WikipediaJust reading Mark Mulligan from Jupiter Research’s roundup of Popkomm. “I was…disappointed at the lack of anything new…I couldn’t help but get the sense of a lack of impetus.”

I felt the same thing in every corner of the Midland Hotel at In The City this year - the same conversations, the same approaches, the same Innovations. Last year it was social networks, this year it’s widgets.

Could it be that people are settling into “new models” for the music industry already? Are people beginning to stand still in a market in which today’s innovation is tomorrow’s buggy whip? When Snocap launched their DIY artist StoreFront widget, it was one of very few players in town. Less than a year later, it was washed away in a widget tsunami.

Now it’s music discovery that’s getting the “Me Too!” treatment - A slew of copycats hitting the airwaves on the heels of Imeem and LastFM. Haven’t we something BETTER to be getting on with?

As you may have gathered from my last post, this was not the attitude at UnConference at Salford Trinity Church. The discussions I had involved burning down the businesses we’d spent 18 months building because they weren’t working, and building anew around the old frame. New ideas and a fearless commitment to impermanence is the only way.

In a market as uncertain as the music industry, ideas rush toward obsolescence at a shocking speed.

Just over a year since I started Penny Distribution, right now it has very little to do with Distribution. Change is coming and will continue as necessary to better serve my artists and their fans. There will be no idea too cherished to discard if its not serving its purpose: i.e. a better deal and wider audience for artists, a sustainable model for Penny and the best experience possible for our fans.

What’s your business doing to address this constant and rapid change? What are you ready to throw away to avoid stagnation?

Image by rawkblog.blogspot.com via FlickrTom McShane is opening for Portland’s wonderful White Hinterland (http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1429/white-hinterland) next Tuesday, Oct. 21st at Auntie Annies in Belfast.

“White Hinterland recalls pieces of Guaraldi, Sufjan Stevens, and Joni Mitchell at once, as Ms. Dienel’s endearing voice skates over that instantly familiar bassline and playful, jazzy piano shuffle, resulting in one of the best songs of this year” - Gorilla Vs. Bear

Belfast rock trio Escape Act, who recently released the first single of their album “Loosley Based on Fiction” with Penny Distribution via a split 7″, are taking a novel approach to the release of their debut full-length.

Over 10 weeks, all tracks off the new album will be delivered via various music blogs - MP3Hugger, Amuze.me and BoxSetGo have kicked off the release. Click here to download the tracks for free… A CD version of the album will be available in November.

Kudos to the lads for trying something unique and I know I’m excited to see which blog will release the next track.

Having been lucky enough to hear the album in it’s entirety, it’s an absolute corker - get on that Escape Act email list and in a few weeks you’ll have one of the best Irish albums of the year…

Image via WikipediaI don’t know what happened to me at In The City this week - maybe it was the energy of Unconvention, or the razor sharp minds who gathered at Salford’s Trinity Church for the anti-In The City.

I suppose it can all be summed up by In The City’s final panel - entitled “Has The Music Industry Gone Full Circle”. The panelists included Alan McGee (he of Creation records and “I discovered Oasis” fame), a gent who’d just left Warner and was keen to express how happy he was to leave, a chap who still worked at Columbia (and who spent a good few minutes performing fellatio on his parent company, Sony, for being the “ultimate media company”), a fellow who remembers buying Elvis’ first single and, as panel moderator, Andrew Loog Oldham, manager of the Rolling Stones. At the last minute, Mr. Oldham invited a member of the audience to join the panel: Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records. The only quote that sticks in my mind, and which I believe bears repeating, is from the venerable Mr. Travis:

“It’s about that thrill. The thrill of finding a new artist, when all of a sudden you’re 13 again, in the back of a musty old shop, flicking through the 3 racks of new singles and finding the gem that will possess your heart for the coming weeks.”

As if to back up those words, I bumped into Mr. Travis (who must be in his 60s by now) at the front row of at least 3 very sweaty rooms, watching the bands.

At the SXSW panels, I summarized the questions and answers of participants. But as I reviewed my notes for this post, I couldn’t bring myself to transcribe the vacuous nostalgia and irrelevant drivel from the ITC panels. It’s not that what was said was entirely irrelevant, I suppose, but as has been the problem with the music industry, there was absolutely NO conversation. They were up “there”. We were down “here”.

It was ironic that a recurring theme of some of the panels was how “technology had removed the mystery from rock bands”. It seemed that the reason d’etre of the panels was to impose that same sort of mystery on the panelists.

The passion, excitement and accessibility of the attendees at UnConvention was simply not present at In The City – not only that, it seemed that ITC simply did not have a platform for labels, artists and zines working at the most exciting level of the music industry. Unconvention celebrated that in every sense.

As with the majority of conferences the best conversations occurred after the panel finished - and WHAT conversation! Implementing “use-it-or-lose-it” copyright, the importance of supporting local music businesses, creating infrastructure (legal, pr, accounting) for said businesses; the realization that all too often music businesses can work in a bubble, unaware that across the street someone who can help achieve their aims toils also; reinventing the label to be a model of what artists need, consumers want and labels can deliver - making the label a conduit of information and a focal point for artist and consumer contact.

The buzz in the foyer of Sacred Trinity was electric as label startups, digital services and indie musicians bounced ideas and exchanged details – the most thrilling discovery was just how many bands, labels and artists were in a similar situation – there was an immense sense of camaraderie, founded on the simple realization that everyone was pushing in the same direction.

Companies like SoundofMonkey, iThinkMusic, Bearded Magazine and innumerable merchandise, publishing and graphic artist discovered each other and began discussing the problems and solutions in their daily businesses. There simply is not substitute to getting a group of people with ideas in a room and watching those ideas get refined, drawn out and expanded upon for the benefit of all involved.

So, anyway, onto the music.

Overall, I was surprised at the real lack of “blow-me-away” artists, although there were a few. Hearteningly, many of Belfast or San Francisco’s top bands (Cutaways, Cashier #9, Not Squares, Two Door Cinema Club, Overview, Low Red Land, Geographer, Two Sheds) would easily hold their own against this lineup. Here’re my top 5…

To The Bones - Angular, glorious rock with the kind of twists and turns that’d make Deerhoof proud.

Toolshed - Their chamber jazz, avant-garde glory suited the Church setting in Salford very well. Vocalist Seaming To’s operatic reaches brought the house down.

Down The Tiny Steps Glaswegian electro-trio, mixing spoken word vocals and layered and sampled vocals, these guys rocked Piccadilly Records on Tuesday. Big shout to Laura & Darryl at the store for ruling (and for hooking me up w/ that Cheval Sombre 7″!)

Barbarians - Only the 30 or so people in that room (The Tiger Club) know what happened when Barbarians started.

My Toys Like Me were an interesting electronica-tinged wail-fest.

So I completely over-estimated my availability for blogging during my trip to Manchester - between the amazing showcases, talented and inspirational individuals and fab panels (not to mention the 30 min walk between both conventions and lack of WiFi in BOTH VENUES!?! - oy! my feet!) I had virtually no time to take stock and blog.

The biggest problem was, of course, that the best bits happen AFTER the panels when you mill around and share ideas with other attendees.   There was just TOO much happening during these periods to put the brakes on and blog for 45 minutes - and when I did just that (my last post), I invariably missed something awesome (the Live Panel at UnConvention would’ve been nice to catch).

That said, I’ll have a wrap up of days 2 & 3 on the blog tonight or tomorrow for your delectation - meanwhile you can check my Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pennydist) for some photos.

Live blogging may be the only answer from now on…