Appeal to everyone and put on lots and lots of shows

This is a great article on how a Washington DC club has become one of the best venues in the country.

Five Years of Jamming (and Java): "If you didn't know better, you'd probably drive past Jammin' Java without a thought. Set into one of the many strip malls that line Vienna's Maple Avenue, alongside a credit union, sub shop and Mandarin restaurant, Jammin Java's name recalls a folkie coffee shop in a laid-back college town. It certainly doesn't sound like a venue that concert-industry bible Pollstar called one of the top 100 clubs in the world in terms of ticket sales in 2005 or a concert hall with a top-notch sound system that offers more than a dozen shows a week, including children's entertainers and nationally recognized touring acts....

"'We're all ages, all the time. We're smoke-free. We're a rock club, and we're a listening room [with 170 seats] at the same time. We're accessible. We're in a safe area. We have plenty of parking.'

"...the key to their success is the venue's versatility. Commuters stop in at the coffee bar for mugs of joe at 7 a.m. Later in the morning, the performance space is more "Romper Room" than Viper Room, as bands such as Rocknoceros sing silly songs about washing your hands and brushing your teeth while toddlers jump up and down, dance and clap along.

"...'We have to pay the rent. Early shows, late shows -- I think that's how we got on the Pollstar list. We just do so many shows.'...

"'We try to capitalize on the whole suburbs thing,' Brindley explains. 'There are moms looking for stuff to do with their kids. We'd do a kids' show during the week, in the middle of the afternoon, for free and hope people would come in and buy coffee. And we started getting crowds. Then it went to five days a week -- every morning at 10:30, and it was packed. We decided we'd start charging a cover, and it didn't slow down. It went to three shows on Monday.'..."

music scene
live music
virginia
clubs

Still no substitute for a live concert

Still no substitute for a live concert - Newsday.com: "... what do you call someone who discovers an unknown band, then spreads the music to a larger audience? A few years ago, that person was called a full-time record executive. These days, he's a part-time blogger. Or he might be just a teenager who spends a lot of time on MySpace.

"That's where CMJ, now celebrating its 26th year, faces a challenge. With MP3 streams, bit torrents and up-to-the-minute Web sites, who needs a music marathon to get hip to the next big thing? Fans are as well-informed, if not more so, than the professionals who are supposed to be driving the trends. It's a shift in power that's roiling the music industry: Radio is struggling to stay relevant, retailers are closing shop and the Internet continues to confound profit-minded record labels. Does the venerable CMJ marathon still have a place in this new-fangled world?"

music scene
music festival
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A tiny town that survives on live performance

Twenty-seven years ago I lived in a small Colorado town, Silver Cliff. I had friends who made the trek over the mountains to hang out in Creede. People who live in these little towns are a mixed group of locals, artists escaping the big cities, and wealthy folks. If you ever watched "Northern Exposure," you'd get a sense of it. People are both isolated and creative, which lends itself to music festivals and theaters and the like.

On the Rio Grande, the World: "Only a handful of the three block’s worth of businesses in Creede — Mineral County’s seat and only incorporated town — stay open year round, among them the True Value Hardware, the Kentucky Belle Grocery and San Juan Sports, where two workers, Annie Butler and Alan Thomasson, are killing time playing poker on the counter with a tiny set of cards designed to be tucked into a backpack....

"The Creede Repertory Theater, which recently celebrated its 40th season, is the cultural, recreational and economic heart of Creede. Each May, the artistic director, Maurice LaMee, and four other year-round employees welcome 70 professional company members who produce nine plays on two stages. According to a study commissioned by the theater, Mineral County makes 70 percent of its living in four months of tourism, and 20 percent of that income — more than $4 million — is theater-related. In the six years since Mr. LaMee took over, the theater’s budget has more than doubled. 'When the company is here there is an insane energy,' he says. 'When it goes away it is both sad, and an enormous relief.'

The new live music venue

Some bands don't feel they can play to the same people every week and draw a crowd. And yet, churches are incorporating more live music as a way to attract people every week.

Just as bands are incorporating popular music and culture into their experience, I think there is something artists can learn from church: If you people a meaningful experience, they may seek you out every week.

People want community and they want to feel moved/uplifted/enriched.

St. Petersburg Times | A cool tweak to tradition: "On Sundays, the Italian Club in Ybor City becomes a haven for the young and hip.

"Blackout curtains cover the windows. Video screens project movie clips. And chairs fill with members of the MTV generation sporting multihued hairdos, hip huggers and tank tops.

"On stage, a rock band jams, covering songs from Coldplay and the All-American Rejects. Before long, a man clad in jeans and a T-shirt takes the stage. He cradles a Bible and a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. His sermon lasts 27 minutes - about the time of the average sitcom.

"This is cool church."

New York City isn't dead after all

According to this NYTimes article, even though CBGB closed, all sorts of new clubs are popping up.

CBGB - CMJ Music Marathon - Cake Shop - Studio B - Union Hall - New York Times: "... in the next few months, at least five major spaces are set to open, giving the city’s rock infrastructure its most substantial expansion in years.

“'Right now there’s a renaissance of venues in New York,' said Adam Shore, the manager of Vice Records in Brooklyn and a veteran club trawler. 'This is a great time. It’s going to be pretty cutthroat for promoters, but it’s great for bands and agents and fans.'...

”There are no reliable statistics about the flux of the quantity of clubs over the years, but in general the ashes-to-ashes principle applies: when one closes, another opens. The biggest growth area is Brooklyn, which had few major clubs before Northsix planted its stake. Since then it has developed into a world that almost rivals Manhattan, with enough spaces — from tiny rooms like Pete’s Candy Store and Barbès to roomier places like Southpaw and Galapagos Art Space — to accommodate a range of acts and audiences.

"One promoter, Todd Patrick, a k a Todd P., has built a devoted underground following by mostly avoiding the clubs and putting on must-see shows in galleries, warehouses and vacant lots.

“'People always move to New York and say, "I wish I had been there for something like CB’s was in 1976, or the Factory in ’66, or whatever,"' he said. 'I hope that what I do is a part of something like that as well — that the people and the places I work with now make a scene that people will look back on in 20 years and wish they had been part of.'”

cmj
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Hip hop and local scenes

This NYTimes article says the days of national hip hop artists selling millions of CDs may be over. Now the focus is on hometown boys selling locally and regionally.

Lil Boosie and Hip-Hop - New York Times, 10/19/06: "It’s easier than ever for fans to learn about regional scenes, from the Bay Area’s space-age hyphy movement to the rough beats and rhymes of Baltimore. The Internet has made it easier to get mixtapes, too ...

"...hip-hop feels both more local and more accessible, and nothing captures that combination like the continuing popularity of hip-hop dances. ... they filter up from clubs to YouTube, and then back down into bedrooms."

hip hop
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Music draws visitors to rural Virginia

Rural Virginia markets its music roots as a collection of stops along what is called The Crooked Road. The second article says the places have to be developed on their own, and then the collective marketing of them can happen.

Virginia hills come alive with mountain music: "In 1974, after the Carter family had gained widespread success in the music industry, Janette Carter decided to start inviting bands and performers of bluegrass, old-time and traditional country music to the Carter family homeplace in Hiltons, about 30 miles west of Bristol.

"The Carter Family Fold was formally established in 1979, and it still attracts performers every Saturday night throughout the year.

"Today, Rita Forrester, Janette Carter's daughter, continues the tradition.

"Forrester estimates that the Carter Family Fold typically draws anywhere from 300 to 500 people for the Saturday night shows, during which both dancing and enjoying from the stadium seating are encouraged.

"'I'm amazed, considering how far out we are,' Forrester said.

"The site also includes the restored cabin where A.P. Carter was born and the Carter Family Museum.

"But three things, she said, have helped keep the Carter Family Fold alive, particularly in the past four years – the Internet, the so-called 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' phenomenon and The Crooked Road marketing effort.

"Part of the southwestern region of Virginia has been dubbed The Crooked Road, and an organization was established three years ago to economically develop this mostly rural section of the state, 'using music as a metaphor,' said Bill Smith, executive director of The Crooked Road project.

"'On the surface, we're just signs on the side of the road that connect the venues. but the real story is the people and the music,' Smith said. ...

"The Crooked Road is a 250-mile stretch that winds through 10 counties and 13 cities and towns in Southwestern Virginia. It promotes eight featured venues that highlight the history of traditional old-time, bluegrass, folk and country music."
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Carving a niche on the Crooked Road - Roanoke.com: "'Those places didn't happen because the Crooked Road was initiated -- the Crooked Road happened because those places were already there,' said Wayne Angell, chairman of the Franklin County Board of Supervisors. 'To add a new one, you've got your work cut out for you. ... It's just a hard, hard task to make yourself different enough and significant enough that you'll attract a lot of people.'...

"'People are turning this a whole bunch of different ways, hopefully to their advantage,' Smith said. 'That's the strength of the Crooked Road, and that's its appeal. The music played in Franklin County is subtly different from the music played in Galax which is subtly different from the music played in Bristol which is subtly different from the music played in the coalfields.

"'With the Crooked Road, there's a new show every night,' Smith said."

virginia
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tourism

A few thoughts on music sponsorship

Nothing too insightful here, but perhaps worth passing along.

Sponsorship Conference: How to pick the right partner: "'People are passionate about music, which means they are more open to engaging with brands that associate with it,' says Stephen Rogan, head of sponsorship at Virgin Mobile and also a panellist at Marketing's Sponsorship Conference. 'Music can be a powerful motivator for young people to adopt brands, and sponsoring music events gives brands access to this sought-after audience.'

"Partnering music events also gives brands the opportunity to add value to an experience. 'It is the little things that connect with people,' says Rogan; at this summer's V Festival, the operator set up a branded van offering free kebabs to Virgin Mobile customers.

"Virgin Mobile is a relevant sponsor of music festivals, given its parent brand's strong music heritage and the latest mobile phones' ability to play and download music. But for other brands there is a danger of a poor fit that could alienate a savvy youth audience. As much of the music industry is not yet fully set up to accommodate sponsorship opportunities, partnerships can also be much more difficult to develop."

Marketing ideas for location-based media

Here's an interesting site.

"Destination Cinema, Inc. (DCI) owns and operates giant screen theaters in tourist locations throughout North America, having pioneered the destination film and theater concept in 1984. One of the most prolific and successful producers of giant screen films, the Company owns a film library specializing in destination topics."

The company lists examples of promotions used for each of its films. Something similar could be done to promote local music.

Lewis & Clark -- Best Practices

Grand Canyon -- Best Practices

Mysteries of Egypt -- Best Practices

Whales -- Best Practices

YouTube and location images

This article discusses how Downtown Los Angeles is portrayed through the videos people have posted on YouTube.

A community rich in culture can make for more interesting viewing (1) because more artists are there to do the filming and (2) there is more art/culture to be filmed.

LA Downtown News Online: "Type 'Downtown Los Angeles' into YouTube and dozens of Downtown scenes arise from the Internet ether. Some are inane personal vignettes, like a 10-second car ride through the Second Street tunnel. Others are poignant, such as a music video juxtaposing Skid Row with Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

"With images of a colorful, painted elephant featured in the artist Banksy's warehouse exhibit last month, a drive through traffic on the 110 Freeway, military helicopters flying in between the skyscrapers, concerts like the recent Detour festival, rallies and loft tours, the videos capture Downtown's disparate facets, suddenly all visible at once."