Artist Resources
Free Database of Canadian Folk Festivals [UPDATED- December, 2011]
Since releasing the first version of the database in January, 2011, we received a lot of feedback from the folk … [Read More...]
Attending Music Conferences 101
I’m thrilled to announce the release of a new eBook for musicians called “Attending Music Conferences 101”. It’s … [Read More...]
Cool’s Corner
Post-OCFF: Public Apology to Paul Mills, Andy Frank Makes Us Look Bad, & Crushes Galore
Another OCFF conference is in the books, and it was probably my favourite so far. Big thanks and congrats to Peter, … [Read More...]
Latest Posts
I’ve left CIRAA, No New Film, & Other Casualties of 2011
Hi there,
How are you? I’m well. I realized that perhaps it was time for a little update. I’ve been getting questions recently about my new film, about CIRAA, my work with Ambrosia Records, and other projects I was working on last year. Well, I had high hopes for 2011, but things didn’t turn out as expected. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from 2011:
Left my job at St-Ambroise
Hey, I already wrote about this. I have no regrets, but leaving my job as Program Director of the Centre St-Ambroise & Terrasse St-Ambroise affected me much more than I thought it would. Those 2 venues are just a drop in the bucket in the music industry; frankly, they’re a drop in the bucket of the Montreal music scene, but it was my drop in the bucket.
So when I left, even though I had 100% control over my life and my schedule, I found myself being in charge of/responsible for, well, not very much. I had a lot of responsibility in that job, and was given pretty much total freedom to make the decisions that I thought were best for the 2 venues (my boss would often ask “what is your gut telling you? Your gut is usually right, so go with that”). It took me a while to truly appreciate the kind of confidence I was given and freedom I had in that job.
Anyway, bottom line is that I wanted to hit the ground running after leaving that job in March, but the truth is that I spent a good part of the year trying to find my place, no doubt at least partially because I was still processing that drastic change in my life.
No New Film
One of the main reasons for leaving St-Ambroise was so that I could focus more energy on making a follow-up film to “What is INDIE?”. I had even started blogging about it in late 2010, where I publicly announced that I was working on a new film. Well, it turns out that Derek Sivers was right.
I came to realize that I lacked the passion for making another movie. After the last film took 2 years, working long hours each and everyday to see it through, I could feel that I wasn’t ready to make that kind of sacrifice again. Maybe I’m getting old(er) and don’t have the energy, or maybe it was fear of taking that kind of financial risk again (I spent a small fortune of (borrowed) money the first time around). Whatever it was, I just wasn’t feeling inspired to fully jump into the project, and it slowly faded away as a priority in my life.
I appreciate the kind words of encouragement from everyone who has reached out to me the past year, it meant a lot. But the project was just not meant to be, at least for now. I did a lot of research and pre-production work that might go towards other projects like blog posts, podcasts, ebooks etc., so we’ll see.
Left Ambrosia Records
Some of you might remember that I started working at a record label called Ambrosia last April. Well, I hope that I’ve finally learned my lesson that I’d much rather be friends with my friends, than do business with my friends. It quickly became apparent that my buddy George Azzi (who runs the label) and I had stopped hanging out as friends and only saw each other at the office, so with other options available to me for paid work, I left Ambrosia in July.
Ember Swift
During my brief time with Ambrosia Records, I brought my friend and successful indie artist Ember Swift into the picture. She had asked me to manage her, something we had discussed in the past, and I thought with the infrastructure offered by the label, it would be a good time to take that on. Not so much, as it just never seemed to work out the way we wanted. Although I was never really officially her manager, I tried helping out with some administrative duties even after leaving Ambrosia, but I was simply being pulled in too many directions, and Ember always seemed to fall off the priority list. We remained honest with each other throughout the process and agreed to go our separate ways professionally late last year, but thankfully still maintain our friendship.
CIRAA: No Longer Director of Member Services
After a year as the Director of Member Services for the Canadian Independent Recording Artists’ Association (CIRAA), I decided not to renew my contract, which was a tough decision. I helped CIRAA launch a new grant program (Groundbreaker Grant), and for the better part of the year, I operated the lottery system that chose the winners and gave away $2000+ every month to indie artists from across the country. Not a bad gig at all. I also helped secure some new sponsors, which raised the monthly pot of money to $2600 as well as add a secondary prize pool to the program, which I’m very proud of.
But in the end, I wanted to focus my time and energy on fewer projects, so I decided to leave my position with CIRAA. I had a good experience and think we did some great work together. Thankfully, they’ve welcomed me back onto the board of directors, so I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the organization as a board member.
Other casualties of 2011: Folquebec, YES Montreal
A few more housekeeping announcements: I left the board of directors of Folquebec, after about 2 years of service (simply put: it was time for me to move on). I also resigned from the YES Montreal Artist Conference organizing committee, after serving for many years on the committee. I felt it was time to let someone else from the local music community provide some input for the event.
On a more positive note…
Although the year didn’t exactly turned out how I had planned, it certainly wasn’t all bad. Some of you might have heard me talk about a band I started to manage, Irreverend James and the Critical Mass Choir. After I got involved with the band in July, we worked hard, with the support of some great friends, and accomplished the following:
- 7 shows, including a showcase at M for Montreal and the SMIM Conference at Place-des-Arts, ending the year with a December show at the beautiful Ukrainian Federation
- Signed with booking agency Bonsound, joining an amazing roster that includes Malajube, Radio Radio, Chinatown, and Random Recipe
- Front cover of the Montreal Gazette
- Interview in the Montreal Mirror
- Feature interviews on CBC Television and CBC Radio
- Several other interviews, reviews, and plays on radio, podcasts and blogs.
Not bad for a 5-month stretch. 2012 should be an exciting year for the band.
Bandzoogle: Nothing but good times
Who knew that going for a coffee with Bandzoogle CEO David Dufresne last March would completely change my life? Ironically, I initially turned down his offer to pay me for blog posts. I’ve always admired the company, proud that they were based in Montreal and founded by musicians (and they were even one of the promotional partners for my film). So I had no problem donating a blog post to them every so often. But David was persistent, and wanted more commitment from me for content, so I started working about 10 hours/week for the company last April.
Well, I’m now working almost full-time as their Community Manager (lots of blogging + social media), which has given me the opportunity to focus on my writing, work from home (which I’m especially enjoying during the winter), and to top it all off, travel to music conferences. They sent me to the OCFF conference last Fall, and will be sending me to Folk Alliance in Memphis in February, and potentially the ASCAP EXPO in Los Angeles in April. Life is very, very good.
*****
OK, I think we’re all caught up now. I think 2011 was the year of saying “Yes”, but I think 2012 will be the year of saying “No”. Rather than spreading myself too thin by saying yes to working on so many new projects, my goal this year is to quietly focus my time and energy on just a few projects, which is going to mean saying no to some things that come up; something that I clearly haven’t been so good at in the past. We’ll see how it all turns out…
So thanks again for reading and for your continued support, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.
Cheers,
Dave
Twitter: @dave_cool
Free Database of Canadian Folk Festivals [UPDATED- December, 2011]
Since releasing the first version of the database in January, 2011, we received a lot of feedback from the folk community with many suggestions of festivals that could be added to the database. Here is the latest version of the database for Folk Festivals in 2012. Big thanks to Roots Music Canada for sharing their database as well as the many members of the folk/roots music community in Canada that contacted us. Collectively we built a fairly comprehensive database of folk festivals in Canada. You can download the updated versions of the database below. Cheers! -DC
My good friend Emma Julien and I compiled a database of Canadian Folk Festivals. It includes a listing of folk festivals in Canada along with their contact information, deadlines and application guidelines. It is a powerful resource for any folk/roots artist inside our outside of Canada.
You can download the database for FREE in either the original Excel format or as a PDF file.
Cheers!
Dave
P.S. We encourage you to share this resource, which you can do by:
Social Media Trends: Focus on Your Website, Songwriting, and Playing Live (?!)
This post was written for Bandzoogle, a website platform for musicians. Bandzoogle is a Montreal-based company, founded and run by musicians, and has every tool a musician needs for their website. Visit Bandzoogle.com to take the tour or get started right away and build your website free.
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel called “Social Media: New Trends for Current Users” at the recent OCFF conference in Niagara Falls. After 90 minutes of discussion, the end result of this social media panel was that artists should focus on their own website, their mailing list, songwriting and live performance. Say what?! Allow me to explain.
Social Media Trends: Focus on Your Website, Songwriting, and Playing Live (?!)
The goal of the panel at OCFF was to examine the latest trends in social media, how to manage all of your profiles, and to discuss new tips/tactics, etc. On the panel were Selena Burgess (social media maven for Borealis Records), Tom Power (host of CBC Radio 2’s Deep Roots) and singer-songwriter Ember Swift, who manages her social media accounts in both English and Mandarin since she’s now living in China.
So I threw out questions about how to manage several social media accounts (Hootsuite was the popular choice amongst panelists), what everyone thought about some of Facebook’s new features (not very popular so far), Twitter trends, and the latest, greatest social media network, Google+ (not too many people using it apparently).
But in the end, no matter what I did to steer the conversation towards a social media geek-out session, the panelists and artists in attendance always brought the discussion back to the basics:
1. You still need your own website
Any work you do through your social media networks needs to bring people back to your own website. Bandzoogle founder Chris Vinson just wrote a blog post about why this is so important:
3 Reasons to Drive Fans to Your Band Website (and not to Social Media)
But essentially, it’s because you own it, you control it, and you can give your fans a focused experience of your band through your own site. By bringing fans back to your own website you can deepen your relationship with them, encourage them to sign-up to your mailing list, and shop at your own online store.
2. You still need to collect email addresses
Email addresses are gold for an artist’s career. It is still the most reliable way to stay in touch with your fans. Regardless of what happens to the social media sites that are popular at the moment (remember all the fans you had on MySpace?), you can stay in touch with your fans through email.
Just recently, Facebook changed the way pages worked, removing the “Update Your Fans” feature, which sent a message to all of your fans. Ember Swift brought this up during the panel discussion, as she had been using that feature’s geo-location option to target fans by region while on her current North American tour. Well, halfway through her tour, because Facebook decided to make the change, she could no longer send those updates, let alone target fans geographically. Luckily Ember had always kept her mailing list going, organized by region, so she could still send out newsletters and email fans individually before she came to their city. But had she relied solely on Facebook Pages, that could have potentially been disastrous for her promotional efforts on tour.
Statistics from TopSpin, one of the top direct-to-fan marketing platforms, show that email is still the best way to convert fans to paying customers. With all of the fancy Facebook stores, and sales links being sent out through social media, sending a newsletter with a call-to-action to purchase through your own website (preferably) or through services that people recognize (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) still seems to work best.
3. Your music and live show must be GREAT
Nothing, I repeat NOTHING will be better for the promotion of your music than having other people talking about it. New fans are often created because they hear about a band through a trusted source. So if your music or live show is so good that it gets people talking about it, it’s going to spread naturally.
Tom Power’s last words during the panel talked about how social media marketing can’t make up for bad music. It reminded me of a great quote by Bob Lefsetz:
“No amount of Tweeting and Facebooking and online dunning will make up for lame music.”
Should you be active on social media? Yes. It is an important tool in your career and a great way to connect with your fans. But it should never come at the expense of your art. I actually wrote a blog post recently asking if social media was hurting creativity, and in the responses, Bandzoogle member D. Anson Brody mentioned another great quote from comedian/actor/musician Steve Martin:
“Be so good, they can’t ignore you”
And that is what will make you stand out more than any amount of tweeting or Facebook updates. Being so good, people have no choice but to pay attention to you and talk about you to their friends.
A Failed Panel Discussion About Social Media?
In my opinion, not at all. While these aren’t exactly new trends in social media, I was heartened by the fact that people are realizing that they can’t let go of these basic principles. Without solid music, a great live show, and a home base for your fans, your best efforts on social media are likely to fall flat.
Post-OCFF: Public Apology to Paul Mills, Andy Frank Makes Us Look Bad, & Crushes Galore
Another OCFF conference is in the books, and it was probably my favourite so far. Big thanks and congrats to Peter, Jennifer, Bob, the OCFF board, and all of the great volunteers, with a shout-out to Kim for helping out with my social media panel (oh, and with the exception of Aly, who pretty much ate all of the chocolate at the Bandzoogle table).
I had the time of my life at OCFF 2011, and it was another reminder of how wonderful the folk community is. Here are some personal highlights:
Conference Highlights:
Being Interviewed by Andy Frank
I had the privilege of being interviewed for an educational video series for the OCFF being put together by Andy Frank (Frankcasting/Roots Music Canada). I had a blast reconnecting with him and doing the interview. But Andy, you made the rest of us look bad with your slick suits, you looked like a million bucks sir!
Estelle Klein Award Presentation & Paul Mills Tribute Video
Speaking of Andy Frank, he did an absolutely wonderful job putting together the video tribute to the 2011 Estelle Klein Award recipient, Paul Mills. And I would like to take this opportunity to both congratulate and apologize to Mr. Mills. You see, sometimes members of the younger generations (speaking for myself) have a tendency to focus on the present and the future, and don’t take the time to examine what came before us. We can read bios, or hear things from other people, but watching that video really made an impact on me.
I don’t think I truly appreciated the work that has been done by real pioneers like Paul Mills, who are responsible for building this vibrant and wonderful community. So thank you sir, we owe so much to you, and to put it mildly, this was a well-deserved honour. I’m grateful I was there to witness it.
Moderating Social Media Panel with Tom Power as Panelist
Because of a scheduling conflict, I found out 24 hours before my social media panel that I would actually be moderating it, not just serving as a panelist. I think it turned out just fine, and the highlight for me was having Tom Power, host of Deep Roots on CBC Radio 2, as a surprise panelist. The guy is a superstar, and it was great to get the perspective of a member of the media on that panel.
Some Musical Highlights:
- Annabelle Chvostek: An old friend from the Montreal folk scene, her voice gives me goosebumps every time.
- Lindy: Same goes for Lindy, his vocals are shiver-inducing. Can’t wait for the new album.
- The Sweetness: Probably my favourite discovery at OCFF this year, and admittedly I have a huge crush on the band (actually on 3/4’s of the band, so that would be everyone except Aly; see above comments re: stealing our chocolate). They create a different vibe with their show than most other acts, and the combination of 4 individually talented artists has obviously resulted in something special. A band to watch out for.
- C.R. Avery: Had heard his name before, but didn’t know what to expect, certainly was not expecting a beat-boxing/harmonica playing/spoken word artist. Holy wow that was good.
- Dave Gunning: His storytelling & impersonation of Ron Hynes were incredible!
- Lake of Stew: One of the best bands in the Montreal music scene, I was so proud to see them showcase officially, as the band includes a few childhood friends and the singer for my old pop-punk band from way back when I was a teenager. My hands hurt after their showcase from clapping along to their songs, so much fun.
- Ember Swift: Watching Ember put on a great performance, 7+ months preggers and all, during the Global Cafe showcase was a reminder that she is truly one of the best live performers around.
- Suzie Vinnick: So much talent wrapped into such a lovely human being, totally have a crush on her now (don’t worry James Dean, your name is much cooler than mine).
- The Magnificent 7’s: Bandzoogle CEO David Dufresne highly recommended this band, and he was right, they’re a lot of fun, thoroughly enjoyed watching them.
- Rob Szabo: I had the pleasure of booking Rob many times in Montreal, easily one of the nicest human beings I’ve come across. I was thrilled to see him up there during his official showcase, and he played my favourite song “I Live for the Summer” with a very special guest, Peter Katz, who is another wonderful singer-songwriter. I think I might have man-crushes on both of them. Love those guys.
- Gospel Jam: For obvious reasons. It was also great to meet some fellow gospel choir geeks (that’s you Andrea Simms-Karp!)
Thank You
A huge thanks to David Dufresne and Bandzoogle for investing in the folk community and for sending Elida & I to the conference. We had a blast, it was so much fun to work and hang out together that weekend.
And to everyone who came up to me to tell me that they enjoy my blog posts, or thanked me for the work I do, I was completely caught off guard by your kindness. I can’t express how good it feels to know that the work you are doing is appreciated by your community. I was truly humbled, and am so grateful for your kind words.
It was great to see so many old friends, and meet lots of new ones. So thank you my fellow folkies for being such a great and supportive community, I’m already counting the days until OCFF 2012. In the meantime, please stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.
Cheers,
Dave
Facebook: facebook.com/davecool7
Twitter: twitter.com/dave_cool
Musicians and the Art of Polite Persistence
This post was written for Bandzoogle, a website platform for musicians. Bandzoogle is a Montreal-based company, founded and run by musicians, and has every tool a musician needs for their website. Visit Bandzoogle.com to take the tour or get started right away and build your website free.
Musicians and the Art of Polite Persistence
A few weeks ago I went back to a venue that I was the program director at for 3 years. The band playing that night was a jazz trio called “Apartment 5”. I realized that the bass player Paul is the perfect example of polite persistence, because it took almost a year for me to first book his band, but they have been playing regular gigs at the venue ever since.
I first heard from Paul after I had started booking a space called the St-Ambroise Centre here in Montreal, which is owned and operated by local micro-brewery McAuslan Brewing (if you can find their St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, it’s considered to be the best stout in the world by many beer geeks). Anyway, his jazz trio had played at a visual arts event at the venue (the artist had hired them), and he called me shortly after to see if we would be interested in hiring his band for other gigs. I explained that it was something we simply didn’t do. We didn’t charge to rent the space, but we also didn’t offer guarantees to bands. But they were a work-for-hire band, so there was nothing I could for them at the time.
A few months later, I got a voice mail from Paul, asking if we had any need for his jazz trio. I didn’t call him back this time because I was swamped with work, and there was still nothing I could do for him. A few months later, he called back and we spoke on the phone once again. I didn’t have anything different to tell him, but he was a nice guy and I honestly didn’t mind talking to him for a few minutes.
Opportunity Knocked
These phone calls and messages continued every once in a while for most of that year, until one day we got a call at the venue to host a private event for a company. It turned out they wanted a jazz trio for entertainment during the evening. Guess who I thought of first? My friend Paul. So I called him up and offered him the gig. It was for less money than they normally charged, but Paul said they’d take the gig to show me what it was like to work with the band and to prove themselves.
As it turned out, they were perfect. Great musicians, totally professional. They came in, set-up on time, played their sets, tore down and got out of the way (and they didn’t get drunk, eat all of the client’s food, etc.). They knew they were there to do a job and that’s what they did. I was really impressed.
I got a thank you phone call from Paul shortly after (remember how much I love those). He of course reminded me they were available to do more gigs, and I reminded him that this was a one-off kind of thing, but that I would keep him in mind if anything else came up.
The Pay Off
Well, the following spring I was given the keys to the much larger outdoor space at the micro-brewery, the St-Ambroise Terrace (250+ capacity versus 50+ capacity). We also made a decision to invest a considerable amount of money into hiring entertainment throughout the summer, a good portion of which would go to weekly music nights. I think you know who got a lot of those gigs, and they’ve been playing regularly at the space for 3 years now, even after I left my job as the program director.
Everyone Needs a Polite Reminder
So when I saw Paul recently after his set at the St-Ambroise Terrace, I reminded him how it had all started with his regular phone calls and messages. We laughed about it, but then he thanked me for reminding him. He admitted it’s not easy to do for an artist, and he had lost sight of the fact that polite persistence can indeed pay off. He realized that there were a bunch of potential clients that he had stopped phoning simply because he had lost confidence after he wasn’t getting calls back, but he said he would pick up the phone and try again.
I figured since the guy who was in my mind the perfect example of polite persistence needed a friendly reminder, then other musicians might need one as well. So take it from someone who was fielding dozens of booking emails/calls every week for 4 years, polite persistence can indeed pay off.
IMPORTANT: Why Paul’s Polite Persistence Paid Off
It’s one thing to say that polite persistence works, but I want to take a closer look at specifically why it worked in this case:
1. They never sounded bitter, angry or frustrated
Whenever Paul called, he never came across as pushy, and never sounded bitter, angry or frustrated that I wasn’t booking him. He was always upbeat, asked me how things at the venue were going, and was just fun to talk to. The reality is that had he given me any attitude along the way about not booking the band, the story probably would’ve ended there.
2. They didn’t take a non-reply as a “No”
There were several times when I didn’t call Paul back, but he didn’t take the non-reply as a “No”, and neither should you. If a booker or media person (or anyone else you’re trying to reach) doesn’t return your phone call or respond to your email, all it means is that they didn’t return your phone call or respond to your email. It doesn’t mean the answer is no.
People are extremely busy, especially any gatekeepers in the industry, and emails and phone calls often get lost in the shuffle. Heck, even when I did tell Paul the answer was “no”, he still persisted, but that’s because I always left the door open to the situation changing in the future, so he kept following up until the answer was a definite “No”, which it never ended up being.
3. They persisted, to a point
Yes, Paul persisted, but he didn’t call every day or even every week. It was more like once every few months. Had he called me every day or every few days, I probably would’ve blocked his number and never booked the band. He struck the right balance.
4. Once opportunity knocked, they exceeded expectations
Once the band got the first gig, they did an amazing job and exceeded my expectations. They even took the gig for less money than they were usually paid, just to get their feet in the door. They made sure that if ever another opportunity came up, I would have no choice but to think to book them, which is exactly what happened.
Have you ever used polite persistence to get a gig? How about to get an interview in the media or song on the radio? Let us know in the comments section below!
