Comments on: System Overload: How Not To Get Ahead In Music http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com Sat, 26 May 2012 20:42:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Anonymous http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782112 Anonymous Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:52:01 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782112 <p>To put things into context DiS gets a sack of post a day. Plus I probably get sent 150'ish links of things I've never heard of, per day, to check out. Atop of that there are probably about 10 notable releases that I need to spend some time with, about 5 established acts with new records to digest at any given time and atop of that my eyes probably scan over about 300 band names a day on my RSS reader, etc... my logic is that i usually triangulate things which are getting mentioned a lot.</p> <p>The few things I end up exposing myself to / listening to each day are usually are from people who've worked out my taste, the "oh hai, i see you love The National and released a Metric album on your label..." kindsa communiqués usually get the best response.</p> <p>The trouble is to get to know many journos (and everyone seems to be one nowadays) is a challenge but to find out what they like isn't that hard, especially usually google "person's name" and site:thewebsiteyouwantthemtowriteaboutyou.com but these things take time.</p> <p>The thing which blows me away is after 8 years of writing (which now reaches 300k people a month), how few of the people who do PR I've ever actually met and moreso how the ones who barrage my inbox everyday rarely personalize any of the communication. It doesn't take much to get to know say the top 10 music websites in your genre or the top 30 music journalists in the world but to learn that it really helps if you're passionate about discovering music via media or at the very least someone who spends half a day a month reading a range of music media.</p> <p>Sean<br> Editor | <a href="http://drownedinsound.com">[drownedinsound.com]</a></p> To put things into context DiS gets a sack of post a day. Plus I probably get sent 150′ish links of things I’ve never heard of, per day, to check out. Atop of that there are probably about 10 notable releases that I need to spend some time with, about 5 established acts with new records to digest at any given time and atop of that my eyes probably scan over about 300 band names a day on my RSS reader, etc… my logic is that i usually triangulate things which are getting mentioned a lot.

The few things I end up exposing myself to / listening to each day are usually are from people who’ve worked out my taste, the “oh hai, i see you love The National and released a Metric album on your label…” kindsa communiqués usually get the best response.

The trouble is to get to know many journos (and everyone seems to be one nowadays) is a challenge but to find out what they like isn’t that hard, especially usually google “person’s name” and site:thewebsiteyouwantthemtowriteaboutyou.com but these things take time.

The thing which blows me away is after 8 years of writing (which now reaches 300k people a month), how few of the people who do PR I’ve ever actually met and moreso how the ones who barrage my inbox everyday rarely personalize any of the communication. It doesn’t take much to get to know say the top 10 music websites in your genre or the top 30 music journalists in the world but to learn that it really helps if you’re passionate about discovering music via media or at the very least someone who spends half a day a month reading a range of music media.

Sean
Editor | [drownedinsound.com]

]]> By: Anonymous http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782162 Anonymous Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:32:36 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782162 <p>To that, shouldn't a PR 'expert' understand brevity and conciseness?</p> To that, shouldn’t a PR ‘expert’ understand brevity and conciseness?

]]> By: Anonymous http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782172 Anonymous Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:31:29 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782172 <p>Lots of words...no point. Can someone please sum this up for me? My eyes are hurty...</p> Lots of words…no point. Can someone please sum this up for me? My eyes are hurty…

]]> By: Lucas Jensen http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782122 Lucas Jensen Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:07:11 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782122 <p>@<a href="#c9205894">M--N</a>: This is pretty myopic. Labels sign people based on politics and who they know as much as they do the quality of the music. Sure, Kranky's got a great track record, but plenty of people pass on stuff that's good. Labels make mistakes. Soooo many people passed on Beck and Arcade Fire it's hilarious. Secretly Canadian is good, no doubt, but it doesn't mean that a band with only a CDr is bad.</p> @M–N: This is pretty myopic. Labels sign people based on politics and who they know as much as they do the quality of the music. Sure, Kranky’s got a great track record, but plenty of people pass on stuff that’s good. Labels make mistakes. Soooo many people passed on Beck and Arcade Fire it’s hilarious. Secretly Canadian is good, no doubt, but it doesn’t mean that a band with only a CDr is bad.

]]> By: T'Challa http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782142 T'Challa Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:51:31 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782142 <p>As someone that deals with music publicists on the regular, I'm happy to receive music via download--I actually prefer it that way. Hell, if it's a hot release, I'm even good with a link to a stream until release date.</p> <p>Just because listening to/evaluating music is part of what I do, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm entitled to a finished copy of every CD that comes down the pike. I mean sure, I'm always happy to get stuff I like in finished form. But quite honestly, unless it's on my short list of favorites, it is indeed going to end up being sold to local music reseller. Space is finite; new releases are soooo not.</p> As someone that deals with music publicists on the regular, I’m happy to receive music via download–I actually prefer it that way. Hell, if it’s a hot release, I’m even good with a link to a stream until release date.

Just because listening to/evaluating music is part of what I do, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m entitled to a finished copy of every CD that comes down the pike. I mean sure, I’m always happy to get stuff I like in finished form. But quite honestly, unless it’s on my short list of favorites, it is indeed going to end up being sold to local music reseller. Space is finite; new releases are soooo not.

]]> By: Anonymous http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782132 Anonymous Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:04:44 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782132 <P>You're missing the point. The current system of independant labels is already an excellent filter. For example, I can pretty much trust that anything distributed by Secretly Candian or Beggars Group will be of a relative quality. There are plenty of labels under these distributions all with a distinct flavor, and all pretty good. If a release come out on Kranky of Darla, I can venture a guess at what it may sound like and once again I can be pretty sure about the quality. This is why labels still exist. I'd rather have something from Siltbreeze, than a random cd-r of some band recorded in a basement. Yes, it seems like a silly distinction in that case, but I know that Siltbreeze serves as a first line to remove out some of the dross. When I was a college radio MD, I lagely ignored cd-rs because I knew if a band was actually good and dedicated enough, they could find a likeminded label to release their stuff.</P> You’re missing the point. The current system of independant labels is already an excellent filter. For example, I can pretty much trust that anything distributed by Secretly Candian or Beggars Group will be of a relative quality. There are plenty of labels under these distributions all with a distinct flavor, and all pretty good. If a release come out on Kranky of Darla, I can venture a guess at what it may sound like and once again I can be pretty sure about the quality. This is why labels still exist. I’d rather have something from Siltbreeze, than a random cd-r of some band recorded in a basement. Yes, it seems like a silly distinction in that case, but I know that Siltbreeze serves as a first line to remove out some of the dross. When I was a college radio MD, I lagely ignored cd-rs because I knew if a band was actually good and dedicated enough, they could find a likeminded label to release their stuff.

]]> By: Lucas Jensen http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782152 Lucas Jensen Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:58:03 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782152 <p>Hmmm. I agree with a lot of what's being said, but something about the tone seems off to me. No matter...the points on digital copies are DEAD ON. If it was "all about the music" for these writers then they would suck it up and download it, for the most part. I love the writers who have autoresponders set up to respond to every press release with a request for a CD no matter what. There are tons of these guys who don't even pay attention to what they receive. And some of them are good, reputable writers!</p> Hmmm. I agree with a lot of what’s being said, but something about the tone seems off to me. No matter…the points on digital copies are DEAD ON. If it was “all about the music” for these writers then they would suck it up and download it, for the most part. I love the writers who have autoresponders set up to respond to every press release with a request for a CD no matter what. There are tons of these guys who don’t even pay attention to what they receive. And some of them are good, reputable writers!

]]> By: RaptorAvatar http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782182 RaptorAvatar Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:27:59 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782182 <P>The depressing thing is that an album has to do pretty decent business to justify $17k in PR expenses on top of whatever other costs were involved. How much pure profit does a single cd even generate these days? Also, how many of the concerns that traditional PR covers are even going to be relevant in a few more years? I'm kinda curious to see if labels are going to end up enfolding the PR wing of things (or the other way around) as the logistics of distribution get easier and the money gets tighter.</P> The depressing thing is that an album has to do pretty decent business to justify $17k in PR expenses on top of whatever other costs were involved. How much pure profit does a single cd even generate these days? Also, how many of the concerns that traditional PR covers are even going to be relevant in a few more years? I’m kinda curious to see if labels are going to end up enfolding the PR wing of things (or the other way around) as the logistics of distribution get easier and the money gets tighter.

]]> By: Clevertrousers http://idolator.com/5100506/system-overload-how-not-to-get-ahead-in-music/comment-page-1#comment-782192 Clevertrousers Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:57:54 +0000 http://af64a45f9d0fbceabcea28d1951fad94#comment-782192 <p>Publicists have been making this same complaint since the dawn of time... and music journos have been selling promo product for just as long. Tapping into the overdone "death of the industry" meme doesn't really make this any more thoughtful or original.</p> Publicists have been making this same complaint since the dawn of time… and music journos have been selling promo product for just as long. Tapping into the overdone “death of the industry” meme doesn’t really make this any more thoughtful or original.

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