We spoke with moderator Jem Bahaijoub about this stuff last week, but there were some especially enlightening and interesting takeaways that we felt compelled to share.
Free Doesn't Have to Stay Free
Amir Mohamed, better known to indie hip hop heads as Oddisee, is as resourceful and insightful as they come, and he perfectly illustrated a point that one of his co-panelists, Marcus Johnson, made. “People no longer buy music because they have to," Johnson said. “Today, people buy it because they want to."
Piggybacking off that point, Oddisee told the story of an album, 101, that he released online, for free, in 2006. The album, which was downloaded tens of thousands of times, helped the D.C.-area producer expand his audience considerably. But Oddisee figured that the album's slow, organic growth would make it an attractive offering for a label. A lot of labels refused, but when Arizona-based label Mello Music Group decided to put 101 on sale in 2008, “they recouped within the first month, and I'm still getting royalty checks [on that album]," Oddisee explained.
It Never Hurts to Ask
Speaking of Johnson, a jazz artist who's accumulated a mailing list of 20,000 names over the course of his career, he suggests using your Facebook status update to ask for advice. He's secured gigs everywhere from the Dominican Republic to Italy by asking his fans and friends for advice on cities he's in.
Enthusiasm is Enthusiasm
When asked about how to properly engage with her fans, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jill Sobule produced one of the highlights of the panel. “I've been asked if I have ever had problems with stalkers," Sobule began, “and I've said, 'Yeah, but I just put 'em to work.
