50K MUSIC MAG - issue #16

8/7/2019 50K MUSIC MAG - issue #16

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Editorial

It's been a long time since last issue. But here it is, # 16 of 50K MUSIC MAG.

As you may have noticed already when reading the lastissue the MAG has developed into a kind of reader's digestof 50K MUSIC's blog posts. So some of the articles in thismag may read familiar to you.

In this issue you will read again about my favourite indieartists: Alex Highton, Cornershop, The Subways, FleurJack, Cubworld, Aneke, My Awesome Mixtape and a lotmore. Also you'll find my interviews with Benji Rogers (co-founder of Pledgemusic) and Peter Sorgenfein (fromCrowdmusic).

Enjoy reading the MAG and please give me your feedback. Authors and topic suggestions are always welcome as well.Send your hints and suggestions to [email protected].

Besides I'm still looking for correspondents who like to work for the MAG - get/keep in touch with local fan-funding artists, observing the music scene and writearticles/reviews/reports for the MAG from time to time. You should live in USA, France, Germany, Australia/New

Zealand, South America, Japan. So get in touch with meand we can talk about a collaboration soon.

[email protected] www.50kmusic.com

Note/Imprint:

50K MUSIC MAG (www.50kmusic.com) is mainly writtenand solely published by Mario Putzar, D-99947 BadLangensalza, Contact: mario(at)50kmusic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may becopied or distributed without the permission of thepublisher. Copyrights of photos and pictures of artistsused in this magazine are owned by the artists. Articles,feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please send themto my e-mail adress.

Friends of 50K MUSIC MAG are: www.sellaband.com www.multicorriente www.petestrobl.com www.talentcast.nl www.evolutioncoop.com

This magazine is made with Scribus - www.scribus.net



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Editorial 2

I've Got To Make It Work 4Fleur Jack: Album Progress ... And Artist Madness 5Lots Of Noise, Fun And Sweating 6Direct-To-Fan Instead Of Fan-Funding 8Only Doing It Till You're Satisfied 10

A Restart For Gussie Miller 12Cruelty, Cynicism, Romanticism 13Grassroots Democracy For Fans 14Cubworld Album Progress 15

There Are So Many Stories 16The 7 Ps 18Just Five People With Instruments 20Promising Newcomers: My Awesome Mixtape 21

In this issue

Alex Highton ... 4

The Subways ... 4

Lille Mulder ... 8

Lillith ...16

... 10

Trail ... 18

Metibla ... 13

Cubworld ... 15

Aneke ... 20

Gussie Miller ... 12



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50K MUSIC: You just came back from your US trip. Youtravelled New York, Austin and Los Angeles. Please tell ussome details … first about New York …

Alex: Yeah. Just back from the most amazing trip acrossthe US. New York was everything you would imagine it to be. Every street corner makes you feel like you're in a film.I was lucky to be staying with friends who looked after meand showed me a good time. I played three gigs in fourdays and for the most part they went really well.

50K MUSIC: … and what about Austin? You have joinedSXSW there, haven't you? Alex: The main reason I made trip was that an invitationto play at SXSW. Initially it looked like I wouldn't be ableto go, due to the costs of getting there, etc but some very

generous fans part funded it. They thought it was it, anoffer like that doesn't come up everyday, and looking back they were right. I met lots of good industry people, madesome friends, brought people onboard in general. Twothousand bands played the convention so its hard to stick out but my manager knows what he's doing and my showcase was a big success.

50K MUSIC: … and your third destination was L.A. Did you meet Ashton Kutcher there? Please give us all thedetails. Alex: In a word. No. I only played one gig in LA, at thefamous Hotel Cafe, and he couldn't make that night.

Which was a pity. I nearly got arrested trying to get totouch the Hollywood sign. You're not allowed up there butno one was about, so I climbed up the hill. I ended uprunning away from a cop who said he was going to arrestme. I'm still officially on the run.

50K MUSIC: How do you think this trip has influenced you? Alex: It made me realise how hard you have to work to get

anywhere in this business. I missed home, my kids, my wife, and that was hard but writing songs is all I'm goodat. So I've got to make it work. I made some really goodcontacts too.

50K MUSIC: Did you get some new ideas for new songsmaybe? Alex: Yeah. I think so. stuff seems to come to me out of the ether so I expect my experience will manifest itself somehow.

50K MUSIC: What about your upcoming album? When

can we expect it to be released? Alex: The plan at the moment is a single release on May 21st. Another in the summer and the album to be releasedproperly in October. We're talking to folk at the momentabout how we do this. Whether to release it ourselves ornot. There are pros and cons either way.

50K MUSIC: What other plans do you have for the nextfew months? Alex: Lots of gigs & make a video or two.

50K MUSIC: And last one: anything you want the worldto know?

Alex: If you're in LA go to the In & Out burger. It's the best, by a mile just don't go for the "Animal" option - that's very important.

www.facebook.com/alexhightonmusic

I've Got To

Make It Work

Alex Highton has justreturned from his US

trip. I talked to himabout this adventureand his experiences...



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Making an album always seams to take forever. I amrehearsing twice, sometimes three times a week with my band on my solo songs, getting ready to hit the studio and while it's obvious we are making great progress, I can'thelp but feel like i'm not moving fast enough! It's thatfeeling of being so close but so far (patience fleur,patience!).

As well as my impatience with time, I am also wanting the

album to be really freakin' good (who doesn't right!?). I want to make an album that people will want to play fromstart to finish and enjoy all the way through. I want it to bea successful album that people will talk about and as wellas impressing other people, I want to impress myself withit.

I have been writing like a mad hatter! Wine in one hand,pen in the other and a cigarette pressed into the end of my headstock. I can't help but feel like i'm channeling HunterS Thompson some nights. Is that song finished yet? Is my chorus strong enough? Is the bridge working? Can yousing this note, so I can test this harmony?

I even called my parents today to ask for their opinion on asong. My dad spent the rest of the afternoon locked in hisaudio cave putting strings to the song I emailed through,so I guess that's a tick from him and mum was honestabout her dis-taste for a chord I had chosen in anotherwise great track. Unlike a lot of peoples parents, mineare always brutally honest with constructive criticism andI can always test out songs on them and know i'll gethonest feedback that I can trust - take it or leave it, it'salways good to get opinions.

Last week I filmed band practice as a way to make peoplefeel like being a part of the album making process. I've leftall the in-between stuff out of it and you just see the bandplaying one song in my very, artistically messy lounge. I will continue to film the album making experience so if you want to stay tuned into it, please subscribe to my Youtube channel.

While working on the album, I am also planning the

release tour. I toured NZ four times last year between bothmy bands and i've decided to step it up a notch for my album release. This September, I am going to drag my band to the USA, buy a van and drive for two months. It'sgoing to take me the whole year to plan all the gigs and of course, save my butt off to pay for the flights, the van,petrol, insurance, food, accomodation and everything elsethat will go into the trip of a lifetime but no doubt, will be worth every effort.

Once I get home, it'll be time to do a tour here and then try it again in Australia. The plan from there is to get into my follow up CD which I am already funding for on AKA music.

In my head, it's all figured out. I just need to dedicateevery part of my soul to turning into reality!Right - now for the sales pitch:Please 'like' me on facebook Follow me on TwitterFriend me on MyspaceCheck out my stuff and get behind me with my next album

Thanks very much - all the way from little ol' New Zealand!Fleur

FleurJack:

AlbumProgress...and

ArtistMadness



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Lots Of Noise, FunAnd Sweating

few weeks ago I digged a little deeper into Pledgemusic'srtfolio and found some interesting projects to follow and

edge. One of these was the upcoming album of UK basedternative rockers The Subways. Billy Lunn (vocals, guitar)swered a few questions about their experience withedgemusic, involving fans in a new way and their furtherans for their upcoming album:

0K MUSIC: You have raised over 130% of the budget forur new album on Pledgemusic in two months. Did you expectto be that easy?

illy: Never! But we are so glad that it has been so successfuld that our fans want to get so involved in the process of aking the record! We feel that they have contributed morean just paying for the music and listening to it - they'vetually helped us make, and we love the idea of breaking therriers between the band and the fans!

50K MUSIC: How did you find your way to Pledgemusic? What were your reasons to join PM?Billy: We'd seen some of our favourite bands getting involvedand we saw how cool it looked. We're always trying to find out what our fans think and feel about our music and our showsand we love meeting our fans after the shows for pictures andto get to know the people who feel the music speaks for them.Pledge Music suited us perfectly.

50K MUSIC: Do you understand this project rather asfunding/pre-ordering the album or more as involving fans into

your work?Billy: A little bit of both. The fans are helping us in a lot of areas - by ordering the album now they're helping usfinancially in making the album in the studio, and also we'relistening to what the fans would like to see us do when we cometo tour the album!



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50K MUSIC: I guess fan-funding an album or involvingfans this way is a whole new experience for you, isn't it?Please tell us how you deal with this.Billy: We've always wanted fans to come and help outsinging in the studio, and we've always wanted them there with us and experiencing the process of making an albumanyway, so for us this feels very natural and fun.

50K MUSIC: Does it mean your label will no longer

finance your albums?Billy: It means that we'll license the album to whoeverlikes the finished article. We've had nobody intruding andsuggesting things to us artistically apart from ourproducer, Stephen Street, which has worked brilliantly forus! We own the album, so we do whatever we like!

50K MUSIC: Do you think fan-funding could be THE way for you to finance your albums in the future?Billy: It's an interesting prospect for us on this record,though we're always wanting to try different formulas indoing things for each album. It's been fantastic so far, so Ican see us seriously considering it again for future projects.

50K MUSIC: You've announced your album to be out in2011. Can you give us a release date yet?Billy: I wish I could, but even I don't know yet!Summertime! That's all I can guess at!

50K MUSIC: You're in the studio with Stephen Street atthe moment. Please tell us something about your work inthe studio.Billy: Well we've been demoing and rehearsing thesesongs for so long now, that by the time we started our firstday in the studio with Stephen the songs were pretty much

there. Stephen's sound is exquisite, and he's madeeverything sound perfect, adjusting the drum patterns and

the feel of certain parts of the songs so they sound justright.

50K MUSIC: Will your fans and/or pledgers be involvedin the album production? How are you going to involvethem?Billy: We're having fans in to sing a gang vocal in the nextfew days, and we'll also be playing them some tracks andlistening to some opinions! We're very excited about doing

this!

50K MUSIC: What can we expect from the album? Willit be a typical Subways album or will we listen to somenew sounds?Billy: Heavy pop songs! That's how we like to describethis record. A combination of the first and second records, but every single song we wish we could release as a single!

50K MUSIC: Do you plan a release show once the albumis out?Billy: We may do a release show, though by the time thealbum comes out we may be somewhere deep in Europetouring! We'll maybe crack open a bottle of champagne!

50K MUSIC: Will we see The Subways on stages inEurope soon?Billy: As soon as we can we'll be playing all acrossEurope! We're getting ready now! Lots of noise, fun andsweating!

50K MUSIC: And finally: Anything you want your fansand pledgers like to know?Billy: We love you, and we're going to make this the bestSubways album ever - just for you guys!



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50K MUSIC: What does Pledgemusic offer musiciansonce they've joined?Benji: From the outset we knew that we couldn't build just a website. We set out to build a music company. So

from signup to fulfilment our artists are guided through what is essentially a digital marketing campaign thatassists with growing the existing database, consolidatingthe social networks, a data capture strategy & the actual writing of the campaigns. Whilst live the system and theteam work with each artist to make sure that the campaignruns smoothly and in short has the best chance of succeeding. There is allot to this process and we can makeit easier. Most artists realise that they do not want to look desperate or needy and as such we will guide the messageof the campaign to focus on the Pledgers only updatespage i.e. the place within the site from which the artistrewards their fans for their participation. We are currently batting a 75% success rate across the platform whichmeans that you have a really good chance at succeeding with your campaign goals. We're a friendly bunch too andso we go above and beyond to help out in matters beyond just the campaign where ever we can.

Direct-To-FanInstead Of Fan-FundingOver the last few weeks Pledgemusic attracted attention with projects of some well-known musicians like Cornershop, Dave McPherson and The Subways. I asked themfor an interview and Benji Rogers, one of the co-founders, provides us with a deepinsight into Pledgemusic's corporate philosophy:

50K MUSIC: You started Pledgemusic together with your mates Rupert, Jayce and Jann back in 2008. Whatare your experiences during these two and a half years? Would you do it again?Benji: It has been an amazing ride for sure, andpersonally I am still reeling from it all. I went from being amusician to running a music company seemingly

overnight. The best part about the day to day is that I am working with an incredible team of people who deeply care about the music and the musicians that we arehelping. What we do seems simple from the outside butask anyone who has worked with us and you'll see thatthere is allot more under the hood than just a fundraisingplatform and so there's allot to get right. I would do it overagain in a heart beat but this time with more sleep for sure.



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50K MUSIC: And what are the benefits and chances forfans?Benji: These vary from project to project and artist toartist. Ideally the fan gets, rather than just a sales pitch oran artist flat out asking them for money an experience of the making of the record or tour or what ever is on offer.They get to Pledge in at the level of their choice, and they also get access to the Pledgers only updates page from which the artist can offer them exclusive access to

anything from rough mixes, demos, live tracks, videos,tour and studio diaries and all in between. This is really where things get exciting for the fans. It's my belief thatfans are sick of being flat out sold to. So the Pledgeexperience was designed to reward them from day 1.Rather than a glorified pre-sale they are offeredparticipation right from the outset.

50K MUSIC: Dave McPherson, The Subways andCornershop have successfully raised money for theirupcoming albums – Dave in less than 24 hours and allthree much more than the planned 100%. Do you think fanfunding can work for unknown artists as well?Benji: So before I answer this I need to clarify thatPledgeMusic is not a fan funding platform it is a direct tofan platform. As previously stated there are multiple waysto ask your fans for money and straight out fan funding isone of them. We just do things a little differently. But back to your actual question it can work at every level as long asthe expectation is reasonable & the campaign thought out.The most important thing is to set the target correctly andmake sure that it's appropriate to the level that the artist isat. An artist with 50 fans does not need $50k to get to thenext level. They need 50 more fans. So it's crucial that thatcampaign is well thought out and to this end we have built

in a budget calculation tool into the signup system. Thiscoupled with the experience of running so many campaigns means that we can get this right more oftenthan not. Being an unknown artist is in no way animpediment to succeeding with one of our campaigns.

50K MUSIC: By the way, why don't Pledgers see thefunding goal (in £) on the project page?Benji: Because it's not important to the experience of theproject. It goes back to my issue with fan funding. Why would you publicly set a price on your artist or album? Why would fans care? We offer the ability to show the

target but it rarely gets used. The amount of money required to make an album is irrelevant to thePledgeMusic process as I don't think that fans ultimately want to "Fund Anything." When the target is displayedfans spend less money as well. The last thing I want toknow about my favourite artist is how much they need tomake an album or tour. I want the music, the access andthe experience. I'll leave the financial stuff to the bank.

50K MUSIC: It seems like Pledgemusic is mainly successful on the UK music market. Do you plan to expandto the European or US market?Benji: We have actually run an equal number of campaigns in the US and Europe and the rest of the worldis growing for us at quite a pace. The higher profile actshave definitely come from the UK so far which is brilliantthough the US is going to catch up this year for sure.

50K MUSIC: Do you think fan funding will be the

gravedigger of big labels? Will websites like Pledgemusic,SellaBand, Slicethepie really revolutionise the music business?Benji: Not "Fan Funding" in its present form no. FanFunding is getting allot of buzz at the moment and thereare some great people out there doing it but it's not a longterm strategy to my mind. The big labels are digging theirown graves and as such don't need any help with that. Thedirect to fan sector is where things will get interesting

indeed and this is where I see PledgeMusic fitting in. Yousee we can work with the labels and not against them. Wehave run campaigns with both major and indie labels andas such have seen what a brilliant future could look like.The direct to fan industry is the most exciting sector to watch at the moment as it has the ability to totally changethe way things are done. Asking your fans to give youmoney can be done with a paypal button on your website.But the kinds of strategic and in depth campaigns that willactually succeed and engage the fan, offer true value andmore importantly leave artist and management in controlof their destiny to me are not so much the future of themusic business but the business of making music and thisis what it's always really been about.

50K MUSIC: What are your further plans onPledgemusic for 2011?Benji: I want us to hit an 85% success rate and to furtherimprove the system. The iPhone app and a few other bellsand whistles that we are rolling out are really going tooffer the fans something special indeed and are going togive the artists some incredibly powerful tools to use. Weare also going to see our first releases on the PledgeMusicRecordings label which is going to be great and we aresigning our first artists to the publishing company as well.

We have opened an office in Los Angeles and will have onein NY shortly. This is an exciting time and we are ready to bring this direct to fan experience into the mainstream.

50K MUSIC: Anything else you want to let 50K MUSICreaders know?Benji: Because it can be amazing it should be.

Thanks a lot to Benji for this great interview.

www.pledgemusic.com www.facebook.com/pledgemusichttp://twitter.com/pledgemusic



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50K MUSIC: You have just raised 100% of the budget for your new album on Pledgemusic in a little bit more thanone month. Did you expect it to be that easy?Tjinder: No, we didn't really know what to expect, but

our label took it on with enthusiasm & we all put a lot if work into it as well as receiving a lot of support fromPledgeMusic themselves.

50K MUSIC: How do you feel now?Tjinder: We are very happy & excited about it. Aswell aspeoples pre-orders we also collate very warm messagesfrom them - most of them are as happy as we are, & thereis an excitement to see certain items being taken up. Therestill pre-orders coming through, & it will all help, not only to put the album out, but also in the means if how it will goout.

50K MUSIC: Do you see this project rather as funding orpre-ordering the album or more as involving fans into your work?Tjinder: The basic summary of it is all of these things andmore. It helps to get out the foot soldiers of support & then

Only Doing It TillYou're SatisfiedSure you remember these guys and sure youremember the hit single "Brimful of Asha" fromtheir 1997 third album "When I Was Born forthe 7th Time". Cornershop have just raised the

budget for their upcoming album featuring

Bubbley Kaur onPledgemusic. I havemade my pledges andlook forward to thealbum. And I talked toTjinder about theirexperiences withcrowdfunding...



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also allow other peoples know we have an album coming,& then let the campaign help finance the endeavour.

50K MUSIC: Was this your first experience with crowdfunding/fan funding?Tjinder: This was our first experience with this type if funding, & it has been bolstered in our minds by efficientprocedures of PledgeMusics system backend & the issuethat artists retain their Copyright.

50K MUSIC: Do you think it's THE way for you tofinance your albums in the future?Tjinder: In the future, we would certainly consider thisagain, but getting back to the music, it will depend on how good the music is, as to our ability to enthuse people topre-order. Having said that, the music of our wholecatalogue is why the campaign went so fast & smooth.

50K MUSIC: In September 2009 you've announced yournext album for 2010. You are bit late, aren't you?Tjinder: I don't think there is any notion of being late,only doing it till you're satisfied, & as we are our own label, we have always given ourselves as much time as we need.The day we stop that is the day we finally end the group.

50K MUSIC: Does it bother you when you're mostly remembered for your hit single „Brimful of Asha“?Tjinder: It doesn't bother me because I think it's a songthat deserves to be praised, & is political & pertinent asever. Appreciation for both versions is strong, we morepeople preferring the original, the more they get older. In

the preorder campaign it was nice to see that it was the3rd most popular handwritten music sheet ordered. Addto this that even our earlier stuff is gaining in popularity,so we are happy to see things going & growing as they aredoing.

50K MUSIC: We have already listened to Bubbley Kauron your single „Topknot“. Could you please tell ussomething about the collaboration with her on your new

album? What kind of album can we expect?Tjinder: I started working with Bubbley Kaur before shehad ever recorded a note. It was a learning curve all the way & as pleasurable as how Cornershop worked in the beginning.

I was brought up on Punjabi Folk Music, so to bring it out with modern western influence & not have it sounding likeBhangra (which I always disliked on the grounds that it was purely a commercial arranged marriage), is achallenge, & one I have wanted to do for a long while now.

50K MUSIC: Is there any change in band lineup for theupcoming album?Tjinder: There is no change in the lineup. I think everyone is into it as much as they ever have been, despiteits change in remit.

50K MUSIC: When will the new album be released?Tjinder: 14th March 2011. There will be a video forUnited Provinces Of India prior to that.

50K MUSIC: Will we seeCornershop on stages inEurope soon?

Tjinder: Nothing isplanned as yet, as we have been so busy setting upample play as label as ittakes it's baby steps intothe world.

www.cornershop.com



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About one year ago I featured GussieMiller as Promising Newcomer here on50K MUSIC. Now it's time to support

him again. I talked to him about hisupcoming single and the plans to raisemoney for his album on SellaBand...

50K MUSIC: In December 2009 you signed up toSellaBand and in January 2010 we've featured you as aPromising Newcomer here on 50K MUSIC. Please tell us what has happened since then.Gussie: I have been working on perfecting my profile onSellaband and reaching out to the community overseasand here in the United States. I realized that I neededmore video on the site, so I got together with indie directorJonathan Lewis and we produced a few EPK (ElectronicPress Kit) videos to create more interest in my project. Thefirst one is already posted on SAB and YouTube, and thenext one will be posted soon to hype the release of my firstsingle.

50K MUSIC: You have just raised about 800 € and you're still far away from reaching your goal. Are youdisappointed that fan-funding on SellaBand has not worked for you so far?Gussie: I would have to say that I had hoped that things would have gone a lot quicker...but then again, I probably need to reach out to the SAB community more often, so Ican't actually blame them. I have really worked hard to

give them more content and more new music.

50K MUSIC: What are you working on at the moment? You have announced to release a single soon? Is thatright? Please tell us something about it.Gussie: I have been working long and hard on the release

of my first single from "Forever Plan" which was entirely self funded to show the SAB community that I am a viableartist and that I am worth investing in and believing in.

The single is called "What More Can I Say" and wasactually the first song I started recording back in 2001 one when I decided to start a solo CD. This of course was WAY before SAB but had a few things that slowed me down likea divorce, a custody battle for my kids, and then aincredibly bad hard drive crash that wiped out most of thedata on two different drives, so I really had to start fromalmost scratch. After having to recover the drum tracks which were played by Tris Imboden of the legendary groupChicago, also had to put all the guitar parts back in theright places. The guitar parts were pretty easy since I hadactually cut them first with my dear old friend ReggieBoyd Jr. who is a well known session musician here in Los

Angeles. I then moved on to re-doing the keyboard parts which were originally all played by me into MOTU’sDigital Performer before I started using Logic Pro.Somewhere around 2007 I asked my musical directorfriend Alex Alessandroni to come by and replay all of my keyboard parts since he just smokes on everything hetouches..LOL It was actually right after those sessions thatI had my horrific hard drive crashes (they were LacieDrives) and I would NEVER use one of their drives again! When I finally got back to working on the CD in 2010 aftera bunch of personal stuff, I asked my friend Valerie Davis, who is a veteran L.A. session vocalist to come by and sing

on the backgrounds with me, and at the same time we alsocut the EPK shoot during these sessions so I have a lot of great stuff that we be seen soon. After that I asked my longtime friend Cleto Escobedo of ABC TV’s Jimmy Kimmel LIVE fame to blow some sax on the track so I would have some choices, and to rap it all together, my mentor legendary mega producer Peter Wolf to play a Basspart on the track which tied it all together! I am very excited about the quality of the performances and I’m very happy with my vocal as well!

50K MUSIC: What more plans do you have for the nextfew months?

Gussie: My main focus will be mixing and mastering thesingle and getting it out on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody,Cdbaby, spotty, Napster and Emusic worldwide andproducing a music video for the single as soon as possible, which will be directed by Jonathan Lewis and assistant-directed by my son Nate Miller and produced by Kellie Yackie. We will be in full PR promotions mode to get the word out about the CD project and use those funds fromthe sale of the CD single to help fund the rest of “ForeverPlan”

50K MUSIC: And again my question: How can we

support you to reach your goals?Gussie: I could really use all the promotion I can get.Links to my SAB profile would be great, and in generalspreading the word about me and my music all across the world!So please support Gussie's efforts and spread the word.

A Restart For Gussie Miller



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Lately I talked to an old hand in fan-funding business -Metibla joined SellaBand in 2007 and they still want toraise their budget. Riccardo talks about their music andtheir further plans...

50K MUSIC: Where do you come from? What are theroots of Metibla?Riccardo: I’m from Rome, Italy, but I’m not so proud to be Italian. I mean… we had a lot of wonderful Art in thepast, and we had probably one of the best movie andliterature scene after the world war two…but today, Italy is just a useless country for old people. No work, No art, bad

quality of life. My life is NOW, not in the past, and It’s soridiculous that the only thing that you can save of thiscountry is the food. Nowadays my country's economy is based on the restaurants; people says “Ok we’re dying but we have a delicious kitchen!”. Everybody are depressed forthat but nobody is able to react anymore. Italy needs arevolution right now. The roots of Metibla are the“genuine” Italian roots: I tried to take the best from my country ... Cruelty, Cynicism, Romanticism. Italy neverhad a good rock scene in the past because we were too busy to putting bombs against politicians instead of liveour youth and create our “rock & roll” revolution. Most of the people in Italy don’t know classic rock because theChristian democracy a long time ago was against the musicof the devil. In that way, Metibla is against the ChristianDemocracy.

50K MUSIC: With your music project you follow a quitedifferent approach. Please tell us something about that.Riccardo: All my songs are composed in my room, aloneor when I’m drunk. I switch on the pc and I start to recordsomething. If the day after I still think about that song, Istart to work on it, composing an electro base for my friend/guitar player Paolo Alvano. When we think that thesong is finished we record it at Home Lobo Studio, where

V Fisik start to think about arrangements that couldsatisfied both of us.

50K MUSIC: You're an old hand at SellaBand, you havealready joined in 2007. What are your experiences throughall these years?

Riccardo: Well, It has been a pretty good experience.Some years ago SAB was a bit less professional. There were a lot of believers disposed to invest money andsupport their favourite artist. Today the platform is much better, there’re a lot of wonderfull options and links withpartners (I appreciated very much the soundcloud link forexample) but everything is a bit more “cold”. I mean,people doesn’t support bands in the same way of some years ago, and my profile will be deleted on September if I

won't reach my goal. It seems more like a record shop where you can buy music.

50K MUSIC: You have only raised 17 % of your budget sofar. Do you think you can still make it to your goal?Riccardo: I really don’t know, but I’ll try! I’m hard to kill.I’ll be on SAB until the date of expire of the profile(September). Then we’ll see.

50K MUSIC: Let's talk about the time once you'vereached your goal. What will you use the money for?Riccardo: I will choose 5 songs (“Christmas time” will beone of them) and I’ll record the E.P. at the Hombre LoboStudio in Rome. Then I’ll print some copies for my believers following the instruction of SAB. It’ll be aChristmas EP, so, if everything will go in the right way, Itcould be ready for December. Fingers crossed!

50K MUSIC: How can we support you raising the money you need?Riccardo: Just listening to my music and, if you really like it, buy some parts and tell other people to take a look at my profile. If you have Facebook this is my band page. Idon’t want to seem hypocrite, If somebody wants to buy parts is more than welcome, but the most important thing

for me is to have fans that listen to my music and feelsomething through my songs. This is the best support Ican aim.

50K MUSIC: What kind of album can believers and fansexpect once you've raised your budget?Riccardo: As told before, A Christmas E.P., with aChristmas song (Christmas Time) re recorded and rearranged and other four new songs of sadness, iconoclasmand love for life.

50K MUSIC: And finally: Anything you want your

believers and fans like to know?Riccardo: I really like to know their opinion about my music. Come on fans, don’t be shy! You can insult me but,please, tell me what you think about my music. Reaction isthe key of everything.

Cruelty,

Cynicism,Romanticism



14

50K MUSIC: You have just started Crowdbands and“want to save the world from bad music“. How would youdefine your mission?Peter: There is a gap in the record industry today wherecredible artists like The Donnas are itching to make greatrecords, but where labels focus on flash in the pans likeKe$ha and Justin Bieber. We aim to fill that gap with aplatform that allows bands and fans to get closer earlier inthe writing and recording process.

50K MUSIC: Your approach is rather crowdsourcing(with using the wisdom of the crowds) than crowd or fanfunding, isn't it?Peter: That is true, our members have an equal voice inthe choices we put forth. You can’t buy greater influencethan other members by paying more money. We are not inthe business of selling mentions in liner notes, or t-shirtsor mugs. We are in the business of providing a uniqueexperience to our members.

50K MUSIC: What does Crowdbands offer musiciansonce they've joined? Actually, can they simply "join"?Peter: At this point musicians can’t ‘join’ per se. We areactively talking to a variety of bands that we feel could do well on the platform, we hope to announce a couple morein the next few weeks.

50K MUSIC: And what are the benefits and chances forfans?Peter: The main benefit to the fans is to be part of theartistic process, which to date they have not had a chance

to participate in. Their voice is heard and they helpsupport and guide a band they love. We are giving themfree music from our bands, and we are creatingexperiences only they have access to.

50K MUSIC: You're focusing on a small number of musicians to support or more precisely one band, TheDonnas, at the moment. Do you think this could be theright way?Peter: We will add more acts over time, but we are notgoing to be a platform for hundreds of bands like some of our competitors. We believe in keeping it small, focused,and curated. This way we can really listen to our membersand truly implement their desires for our bands.

50K MUSIC: Don't you think you will overstrain fans with all the decisions they have to make and the artists with executing these decisions?Peter: Participation on the fan side is voluntary – you

either vote or you don’t. It is up to the fan. The Donnas want to hear from the fans and make decisions with themand so they are ready to execute the decisions made. Someof the decisions are for the Crowdbands team to executeon as well.50K MUSIC: If you need fast decisions I guess theprocess on Crowdbands could be a little bit complicated. Isgrassroots democracy really the best way?Peter: Define fast. We can turn a decision around in

matter of hours or a few days. In 99% of the cases that is

not needed however, in the creative process things taketime and so the fans and the band have more than that tomake up their minds.

50K MUSIC: Do you think fan funding or your new approach will be the gravedigger of big labels? Will websites like Crowdbands, Pledgemusic, SellaBand orSlicethepie really revolutionize music business?Peter: As in many other industries there is room for

different models and players. We believe we have a placein the industry and to some extent we are revolutionizingthe process. The fans should have more input in the musicthey love.

50K MUSIC: What are your further plans onCrowdbands for 2011?Peter: More bands, more fans, more decisions and morefun as part of the whole process.

50K MUSIC: Anything else you want to let 50K MUSICreaders know?

Peter: Come join us, we are eager to listen to and work with a diverse group of music fans.

GrassrootsDemocracy

For Fans

About two weeks ago I introducedCrowdbands.com here on 50K MUSIC. After publishing the post Igot in touch with HQ and asked PeterSorgenfrei, co-founder of Crowdbands.com, about the concept

and their further plans ...



15

50K MUSIC: For all those who don't know you yet (if there's anyone at all), please tell us something aboutCubworld. Where do you come from, what are your roots?Cubworld: I'm from the South Pacific. Born in Samoa,Raised in Tonga and Hawaii. I love the tropics. Freshsouth pacific breezes and the friendly nature of Islandpeople.

50K MUSIC: You are an old hand at funding your musicon SellaBand – two albums within 3 years. Is fan fundingthe best way for you to finance your music?

Cubworld: Yes, I'd say for me it is. I dont have the meansto pull together this kind of money on my own and it's sohard to prove to a label that your worth an investmentthese days so yes. It's fun too :) .

50K MUSIC: You reached your funding goal onSellaBand for your upcoming album in December 2009. When will your album be released?Cubworld: I'm hoping for Spring. I am talking to somereally inspiring people at the moment that will be helpingme. Once we get going I dont think we'll stop any timesoon. More details on that to come.

50K MUSIC: Please tell us something about the albumproduction.Cubworld: Production...hmm...well, at the moment it'sall acoustic. I took my time finding someone I click with totrust them with production. I dont feel like that last recordcaptured fully what I have to offer to I've been real

protective this time around. So I guess the answer is yet to be determined. I'd like it to be a pretty strong mix of Coldplay and Jack Johnson..as always haha.

50K MUSIC: What kind of album can we expect? Will it be similar to your debut “Step Lightly Create Out Loud”?Cubworld: Sorry, I think I answered this on in the lastquestion. I want more of the singer song writer to comeout in my records.

50K MUSIC: What are your further plans in 2011?

Cubworld: Release an album, maybe 2 :) . I need to makeup for 2010!!

50K MUSIC: How can we support you?Cubworld: Hang in there with me. I'll be putting outtunes and can always use the help spreading theknowledge to friends and family.

50K MUSIC: Anything you want your fans to know?Cubworld: I FREAKEN LOVE YOU! Seriously, what youhave all allowed me to do these last couple years has blown my mind over and over. Even when I get down onmyself I think about the support I've gotten from Believers

and I just lifts my spirits. Thank you all from the bottom of my Polynesian/Scottish heart :)

For Cubworld updates check out his blog on www.cubworldmusic.com regularly.

CubworldAlbumProgressHis fans are impatiently awaiting hisupcoming album. Cubworld financed thesecond album as well as his first one"Step Lightly Create Out Loud" with thesupport of his believers on SellaBand. Italked to him about his plans for 2011...

www.cubworldmusic.com



16

They were a part of my 2010 Promising Newcomers series -Lillith from the far north of Norway with their AlternativeRock made my day when I listened to their music the firsttime. Check them out and find out yourself...

50K MUSIC: Who are you, where do you come from, ...?Please tell us something about Lillith.Lillith: Lillith consists of Camilla Hell on vocal, piano andmusical-saw, Mr. Frantzen on guitar, Gregorius GrimKnockelkatt on cello and bass and Espen Engrønningen onpercussion. Lilliths music is like entering a haunted wonderland. We like to invite the audience to a feverdream dance that can be described as black cladcabaret/rock, inspired from the 70s colorful scenes.

We live in a small costal-town called Aasgaardstrand inNorway. And once upon time the well known painter

Edvard Munch used to live here, and he left someinspiration behind when he died. We get a lot of

inspiration from the artistic life in the summertime in Aasgaardstrand and the arctic climate in the winter whenthe little town is deserted and the mighty sea wash the waves ashore.

Lillith debuted in 2010 with the album “Once I Was Alive”, which has collected great reviews both abroad and back home. For the moment we add the finishing touch to thematerial for our sequel.

50K MUSIC: How did you discover SellaBand? What are your expectations here?Lillith: We were given tips by a person who had visitedthe page before.

In the beginning, when we decided to record our firstalbum, Mr. Frantzen sold his apartment and Gregorius

Grim sold his car to finance it all. This time we are in needof raising some money to finance the recording and

There Are

So Many Stories



17

Talentcast

Listen to:

w w w. t a l e

n t c a s t

. n l

release. To be quite honest we have no expectations atSellaBand, since this is the first time we do this. But, siteslike this bring hope to musicians. Since the internet is themain distributor of music these days, musicians are moredepending on the music-lovers than ever. Fans can moreand more take part in the decision making which the biglabels used to do, and help contribute to the projects which they believe in and the music they want to listen to.

50K MUSIC: How are you going to convince people to believe (and invest) in you?Lillith: We have great faith in our next album! And wehave worked hard to create new material, played many concerts and grown a lot as a band since the debut album. We are ready to bring our audience even further into ourhaunted wonderland, there are so many stories, so many songs to be played and we have only just begun!

50K MUSIC: You've just started your project onSellaBand. Have you thought about the time after reachingthe goal of 5k yet? What are your plans then?Lillith: Our main goal is to make a hell of an album, toshow everybody that have believed in us and invested inus our infinite gratitude. Then we hope to play a lot of gigs, which brings us even closer to the people.

50K MUSIC: And last question: How can we support youto speed up raising your budget?Lillith: Spread the word and let the jungle drums callupon those who want to be a part of the concept. We won’tdisappoint you!



18

Tim Bennett wrote down a few guidelines for indie artists -read carefully and maybe it will help you to get your musicto the people.

When I was asked to write an article about 'Cracking America' - I knew it was a daunting task because I haven'tcome anywhere close cracking the music scene in this

giant country or any where else for that matter.

But I have learned many important lessons about themusic business. Probably the most relevant thing I'velearned is to live by the mantra 'hard work pays off' and I believe it's essential if you want to have any credible formof success here. There is so much competition and the only way to push on through is to work that much harder thanthe next band or artist. It's not just about creating topquality music but also putting together a team who canguide and promote you.

Another thing I've learned is that you can't rest on

previous success. The audience moves on. An associate inthe business recently told me he was booking a tour forKeane in the USA. The UK based alt/rock band havepreviously sold several million albums world wide. He saidhe was staggered to find that their management told himto book venues with a maximum of 500 seats. He had toask them again to make sure he heard right. It appearsthat just because you sell a few million albums anddownloads a couple of years ago does not guarantee that you'll sell out an arena.

So how do you conquer this Everest-like market ? I've built

a potential strategy list which I propose might work forany beginner or up and coming indie or mainstream artist.

I call these the "7 Ps"1. Potential2. Practise3. Produce4. Perform5. Promote6. Provide7. Precaution

1 - PotentialIt is vital to establish your parameters as artist. Essentially this means identifying your musical genre, your strengthsand weaknesses, image,demographic audience ,commercial possibilities and potential revenue streams. You can find your demographics from your audience turn

out at gigs and through you social network sites. You canfind out more about revenue streams through research onthe internet.

2 - Practise What ever style of music you chose - the only way toperfect your craft is through constant practise. I think

performing with musicians who are better than you is agreat way to learn, hone and improve your craft. It'sespecially beneficial to work with people who areconstructively critical and supportive.

3 - ProduceI personally believe that self expression, writing andcreativity should come naturally to any artist and if they don't then forming a quality product is going to be very hard. To be a success in this business you need to have anaudio-visual product. Producing something of high quality is going to be a challenge to any newcomer. The abovementioned practise will ensure that you are somewhat

prepared for the rigours of the recording process and thepressures in the studio. Hiring producers, studios,musicians, engineers and photographers and video makersis a costly expense and the question is how to raise thesefunds. Without a large inheritance, winning the lottery, a wealthy family to back you or a record label to finance your expenses there are few options available. My optionof choice (unless you are lucky enough to have one of theabove) is to learn to use music recording software ( e.g.protools, garageband ) and use this to demo your songs onFan-Funding Platforms. With a quality demo, some self orchestrated publicity and persistence you can reach your

funding target. Some well known funding platforms areKickstarter, My Major Label and Slice the Pie. These willallow you to afford and work with top professionals tomake a high quality album, photos and video.

In 2009 I raised $31K through Sellaband and finishedrecording my debut album in May 2010. I was fortunate to work with some top industry professionals including MultiPlatinum, Grammy Award Winning Mixer, Steve Hardy and Master Engineer, Ted Jensen, in NYC. This probably would not have happened had I not raised the fundsthrough Sellaband.

4 - PerformPerforming is a vital ingredient of any artist's career and ithelps mould and develop the craft. I've been lucky enoughto have performed with some wonderful and talentedmusicians in some of the top rated, smaller venues in New

The 7 Ps by Tim Bennett



19

York city and London. Booking these gigs requires theabove mentioned demos and a promoter or booking agent who will facilitate the process of booking the appropriate venues. It is necessary to bring a good crowd of friendsand fans and obviously a huge amount of practise isnecessary before going in front of a paying audience. Thiskind of practise should be done at home, with tutors and your band mates and then at Open-mics. Open-mics are agreat way to explore your public persona and repertoire.

Busking is also a great way to reach the public andpotential fans. However, you must look into the legalitiesof busking as it is unlawful in some public places.

5 - Promotion and Publicity Lack of promotion is the downfall of many a brilliantmusician. Promotion is the hard graft that goes on behindthe scenes and will help bring your music to the masses.I've known many artists who think that they don't need topromote themselves and some even consider it as a jobthat is below them. I don't buy into this and I certainly don't buy into the idea that you could get discoveredplaying in a dive bar by a famous producer who wants tosign you even though you only have five fans. The truth of the matter is that, from my experience, A&R, Managersand Record Execs are more interested in 'Bums on Seats'than raw talent. If you have thousands of fans who follow you loyally then that's a fan-base who are more likely tospend their money to see your perform, buy your t-shirts,and purchase your downloads, CDs and videos. And thoseare the dollar signs that the above can relate to. It's really that simple.

Social Networking sites are a fantastic way of reaching new fans. Myspace is still a viable site although recent gossip

seems to suggest that it is on it's way down, although, it'sstill possible reach many thousands of people around the world through this network.Facebook is also a wonderfulpromotion tool, as is Reverbnation, as well as Youtube which is still the most under-used site in my opinion. It'simportant to spend time interacting with your friends andfans on these sites. Gone are the days of up and comingrock stars in ivory towers. These days, fans want to be ableto talk to you or at least be able to message or comment you.

I believe that your fans are your lifeblood - they are the

most important thing along with your music. Without fans you have nothing. I found that playing in the New York Subway as a busker allowed me to meet thousands of people as well as music industry execs who have given me vital advice and suggestions. I was able to invite thesepeople to my gigs and it brought me a lot of positivepublicity and know-how.

Whilst performing in the subway I was also filmed for ABCTV who did a 3 minute segment about my music. This wasshown on prime time TV for a week and exposed me tomillions of people. My catch phrase was ' This is the biggest venue in NYC and for a couple of bucks entrancefee I can play to thousands of people'

6 - ProvideProviding your music through distribution sites and socialnetworking sites is the way that you'll hopefully makeenough revenue to support your music and even provide a

full time living. If your product does really well then that will improve the likelihood of you being picked up by decent management and/ or label. Reaching the USaudience and making a success here requires a really dedicated and enthusiastic team of industry professionals.

7 - PrecautionLast but not least, there are many predators in this shark infested business. Most of them just waiting for the next

desperate, naive musician to prey upon, bleed dry andleave for dead. Harsh words, you may think, but sadly it'snot an exaggeration. Rule number 1 - always readcontracts and have someone with legal expertise to look over anything binding. If you can't afford to pay anattorney then it is possible to find lawyers who will work 'pro bono'. I've done this in the past and it saved me fromsigning a disastrous record contract.

Rule number 2 - contracts should always be mutually beneficial. Rule number 3 - no one can assure you of success or fameand if they do then they're are almost certainly lying. Rule number 4 - always do your homework and researchpotential suitors. Ask other musicians and don't be afraidto ask industry people for references. You can also use on-line forums for this too. Rule number 5 - always look at resumes and past history.Look for credibility and past success with the people youare intending to work with. Rule number 6 - watch out for personality and agendaclashes and trust your gut. If you don't feel right about thepeople you're considering working with, then there'sprobably a good reason for it. Rule number 7 - your ' Word' is very important. Be honest

and trustworthy - This will stand you in good stead for allfuture endeavours.Those who run their mouths withoutfacts to back up their claims soon get a reputation for being such and will not be taken seriously by those whoreally matter.

I moved to the USA in December 2009 for personalreasons, intending to stay for a month or so. However, I'venow been here for a year and have decided to stay longterm.

Since that time:

I've worked with Grammy Award Winning Mix Engineer,Steve Hardy ( mixer for Bono-U2, Prince, Pink, Jay Z andBeyonce); worked with legendary Recording Engineer,Ted Jensen ( Metallica, Alice in Chains, Dave Mathews,Green Day, Police, Madonna); I've also made, directed twomusic videos which have been receiving critical acclaim;I'm represented by one of the world's biggestEntertainment Law Firms, Loeb and Loeb; built strongrelationships with highly regarded industry movers andshakers; played with some of the best session musicians inthe USA ; been included on a compilation CD for GoDIY Records; I've also had the pleasure of working with the very talented and versatile singer/actress, Bambi Monroeaka Taylor Horn.

Thank you for reading and the "Best of Luck".Tim at Facebook



20

... I consider this to be one of the biggest understatementsI ever heard. And if you listen to their songs you will surely understand what I mean. It's time for part two of this week's promising newcomers: Please welcome ANEKE with awesome Rock from Poland ...

50K MUSIC: Who are you, where do you come from, ...?Please tell us something about Aneke. ANEKE: We are from Poland. There is four handsomemen and one beauty:-) We started to play as Aneke on 1stof January 2010. We just want to play our music, meetother people and do our best during live shows. It's thatsimple.

50K MUSIC: How did you discover SellaBand? What are your expectations here? ANEKE: Frankly speaking, don't remember. You know,link to link to link and suddenly you find an interesting

idea like SellaBand. Our expectations are very simple - wehope people will like our music and let us to do anotherrecord with higher budget. We also want to book moregigs. It's quite expensive nowadays. Especially travelling.

50K MUSIC: How are you going to convince people to

believe (and invest) in you? ANEKE: We are old fashioned humans. We believe goodproduct doesn't need marketing and fancy photos. Although we have some fancy photos too ;-) Anyway, hereare our songs. You'll buy it if you like it.

50K MUSIC: You've just started your project onSellaBand. Have you thought about the time after reachingthe goal of 6k yet? What are your plans then? ANEKE: Yes, we've got a very precised plan. We want torecord 10-12 songs in very short time. No hundreds of overdubs, no studio hocus-pocus, just five people withinstruments. Then we want to hit the road for few weeks. You cannot record music and lock it up in a drawer. Youmust face it with the people. At least we must.

50K MUSIC: And last question: How can we support youto speed up raising your budget?

ANEKE: You can introduce us to Marillion guys orRobert Smith... Honestly - you can just promote us in yourmagazine. Maybe you can tell about Aneke some people who can organize live shows in Europe? We don't know your contacts, but any help will be appreciated. You canspread links to our music. More people = more chances.

Just Five PeopleWith Instruments



21

My Awesome Mixtape have just joined SellaBand with amix of Alternative, HipHop and Electronica. And they arequite successful so far. With over 1,000 € raised in a little bit more than three weeks they're on a good way I think. Italked to them to introduce them to you...

50K MUSIC: Who are you, where do you come from, ...?Please tell us something about My Awesome Mixtape.MAM: Hi Guys we're My Awesome Mixtape, 5 guys

centered in the mid-northern part of Italy in a city calledBologna, we started this project in 2007 trying to play themore we can everywhere!!!

50K MUSIC: How did you discover SellaBand? What are your expectations here?MAM: it's only a matter of surfing on the net...nowadaysgetting money from the music is dramatically hard, in anhistorical time where the CD format is becoming obsolete,

and concerts are no longer followed by crowd of people,the web turn to be the best way to get in contact with alarge amount of people.

50K MUSIC: How are you going to convince people to believe (and invest) in you?MAM: the obvious answer to this question is simply "themusic" in itself and just like it sounds like...even if it cansound like a sort of post-romantic quote, I want to believe

that the best way to convince people to invest in a band isall centered in the music the band plays!

50K MUSIC: You've just started your project onSellaBand. Have you thought about the time after reachingthe goal of 10k yet? What are your plans then?MAM: of course...the first target is to fund the release of our new album trying to invest a proper amount of money on that in order to reach a good quality level, then another

point is to find some funds to gooverseas, but let's see...

50K MUSIC: And last question:How can we support you to speedup raising your budget?MAM: just spreading the verb

P r o m i s i n g

N e w

c o m e r s -

M y A w e s o m

e M i x t a p e

50K MUSIC MAG - issue #16

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