Right, time to make good on the promise to introduce our dear readers to some of the latest ground breaking web services out there to help you all discover new art and even better, be discovered yourself. In today’s installment we are going to take a look at Bandcamp a slick new way for musicians to get distributed and found on the web while retaining control of how much or how little you want to charge/give away. Oh yeah, it’s free.

There is probably little in the way I can do to improve BandCamp’s own video introduction explaining the basics, so here it is. Have a look and I’ll see you on the other side.

Neat.

And so to  summarise:

Bandcamp is flexible. Once you’ve uploaded your album you can decide what you want to charge for and what to give away free. The free option can be tied to the user supplying you with an email address, allowing you to add it to your mailing list so you can let them know when you’re touring, news on new releases etc.

Downloads can be offered in a range of formats including mp3, Ogg, Apple Lossless, FLAC amongst others. You can choose to offer lower quality formats for free while charging a small fee for high quality tracks, it’s up to you. What’s more Bandcamp will take care of the encoding for you, you only need to supply the raw files. In addition Bandcamp will make sure the files are all tagged with the correct metadata so when imported into a media player or onto a music device it will look all flash with album art and such.

Bandcamp offers a variety of tools for artists to analyse which tracks are being listened to, where people are coming from to check your band out and even where your band is being talked about on the web. They allow easy embedding into websites so you can continue to use your existing site/blog/myspace and you can  point your personal domain to your Bandcamp profile.

All this comes in a very slick and easy to use package.

Personally, my favourite feature is the one that allows you to generate download codes. These codes allow those that possess them to download specific tracks or albums for free. You could give them away with tickets and t-shirts, offer them to those on your mailing list or place them in balloons and release them onto the gentle breeze allowing them drift into the lives of potential new fans. A brilliant way to offer dedicated fans added value when they come and support you and great example of being able to be flexible when you own your own releases.

In all, Bandcamp is a flexible, professional and extremely user friendly way to distribute music at virtually no cost.

On the downside, you do have to have a PayPal account to purchase any music. Although this makes it easier for the artist to receive money without the considerable hassle of a full blown e-commerce system, it may restrict impulse buys from people who for whatever reason don’t have PayPal and will need to sign up. Once you have an account though it really is easy to get the music you want.

Also, the ability to search for artists through the site is restricted. They are either listed in alphabetical order or descending order, recently released at the top. I think that offering some sort of tagging system would be useful to at least get a gauge on the type of music to expect.  There are  few ‘big name’ artists registered but this is hardly surprising, this site is part of the new paradigm the big labels are yet to embrace. Del Tha Funky Homosapien of  Gorillaz is down though (and giving stuff away).

Be that as it may, I think Bandcamp is a revolutionary new way to release and distribute music. I’ve used variations on the phrase ‘you can’ all over this article for good reason. Bandcamp allows musicians to be in total control of their releases and if used in conjunction with other web tools such as a blog/twitter/facebook/myspace and of course Loud Thought, it greatly increases the chances of winning new fans and having your music heard. After all, that’s why you do what you do, right?

How do you begin an article that your attention span doesn’t want you to write?

Personal development blogs. I have several of them in my rss reader. But don’t tell the boys.

Every now and then when I’m not procrastinating I have a browse. It encourages me to keep my nose out of the recruitment market and try to spend my days on my own terms. I’ve done alright so far. I got out of the bank, got a diploma and started creating Loud Thought, which was a culmination of ideas that had been brewing in different kegs for years. I get up when I want, stay up as late as I want. Play my drums when I want. Hang out with the Mrs when I want and see my mates when I want. I do my work when it feels comfortable and I dress to suit the weather.

Sounds ok, I’m not sitting on the bones of my arse, theres food on my proverbial table. But I don’t earn enough money yet to buy my mates gifts on their birthdays. The best I can do is to join them in a box of double browns. I don’t reap the benefits of having an employer – things like paid holidays and a collection of pens. All my socks have holes in them. The point is…  if I read a blog like this from time to time, I can smell the fresh socks just around the corner.

A lot of it may seem a bit wanky. It probably is. Like I said, don’t tell the boys. Every now and then, though, there are little gems amongst the coal. Such as, get amongst the people and endeavours that really interest you. The net is pretty good at facilitating this.

You may not at all be interested in “working for youself”. Cool, it’s just an example. But, I can guarantee that there are things you would really like to do if only the noise of living didn’t interfere.

Don’t get me wrong. I fuck around as much as the next man. Gasp!? I mean, theres always more I could be doing, I could work harder. I could write more articles,  approach more web design clients, play more drums, write more tunes, play more golf, etc etc

But heck, I just need to check facebook first.

Lets face it (a subtle pun, no apoligies). It’s more addictive than chocolate. Even if stuff.co.nz tells me that

Facebook friends ‘could be spies’.

Perhaps it should be called.

“Tom from Myspace now writing for Associated Press”

Of course they sap our time. These websites are designed to put ads in front of our faces while gathering valuable commercial information about our habits and interests. Thats why they’re free to use. Thats why Fox bought Myspace. Thats why you now say “Google”, instead of “Search”. It may seem quite new but really, it’s an old business model with a modern interface. More effective because marketers have better access to their niche.

There is plenty of good to have blossomed through web 2.0 such as open source culture and a new set of pipes for the voiceless. Blogging has changed the lives of people living under oppressive rule. It’s made communication easier. It’s made education more accessible. You just need to keep your bullshit filters running, it’s easy to get sidetracked.

Don’t let it be your biggest distraction, make it your most powerful resource.

Those are my words of wisdom for the week. Now I have to wrap this up – I’ve been putting off doing my tax return since the 31st of March and I’ve discovered I can do it online.

But heck, I just need to check facebook first.

I started playing the drums when I was six years old. The olds bought me a geriatric drum kit from a garage sale and started banging it while I was next door playing cricket. Even though I was batting, I raced over the 6 foot tall corrugated iron fence ( instead of running all the way around ) and Took The-Fuck Over.

Drumming was cool for a kid.  I would usually play until the mungies started throwing rocks at the shed. I would generally just jam. Dad showed me a couple of basic beats- I can’t really remember if he tried to get me to learn the rudiments and fundamentals at that stage. My enthusiasm for making noise would have quickly spat in the face of real practice anyway. I would JAM.

From about 7 or 8 years old I started jamming with Dad’s various bands on the occasions he would take me and my bro along to the pubs and pads and parties with him. Nostalgia kicks in at times like this. The old fellas loved having us around. It wasn’t hard to make ‘em laugh, sneak beers and get a bit loose round the buggers.

I had some pretty ruthless times when I hit 13 and started jamming with some older guys in their early 20’s. Some hippyish sort of punks that would take me to a pub in Ahuriri every Thursday night to drink Bully Hays and jam till the pub shut. We were “Paris Trout”. I don’t know how my classmates and teachers couldn’t see how rollicking pissed I was every Friday morning in English class,  followed by P.E. – which is when servere hangovers kicked in. I also dunno how the olds bought my 1am bedtime story when I would come home after school on Fridays and sleep until Saturday Night.

I will also be eternally grateful they gave in and let me go away for a weekend with Paris Trout to Wellington to play at a party. It was a hard sell and it took threats from my band that they were going to kick me out before Ma and Pa let their 13 year old hit the road. That Friday night I played to a full house (that has since been condemned and demolished), slept in a car and enjoyed some older breasts.

School had me playing a bit of drum with various orchestras and choirs and rock bands and percussion groups. At 14 I got a girlfriend by being approached by a girl who’s school I had drummed at the week before. Touched some titties that night too, just quietly.

Getting to my point. That’s what drumming was for me my entire life. Band practice and gigs were the only time I played.  I got better gradually,  it came quite easily to me. The thing was, practice was boring. My occasional lessons were boring. I thought I was good, but by the time I became an adult I realised that the kids who started drumming and taking lessons seriously in their teens were playing in Tool cover bands. I started when I was six and couldn’t even play “Sober” properly. I’d missed the fundamentals and the reason I missed them is because the thought of proper practice sent me into procrasti-mode.

Procrasti-mode. It’s not even a real word but you know exactly what I’m talking about.

My dear friend is at University and he loves studying. Until he has to do it. My girlfriend has a University Degree in illustration and HATES drawing. Until she’s finished. It becomes a battle against your own will to find any excuse to slack off.

Why?

I think at the moment, in most things we do, we are captivated only by the results.

What we need to love is the process.

Think about that for a second until you reach the thought that  inevitably follows – “Is that right, Jakob? Your Parents sounds pretty cool mate, but how the fuck do I do that”.

Well… We’re going to find out for you. We will plough deep into the heart of self help books and new-age wish-wash and try to return with sensible ideas for getting things done. Stay tuned. This will be an ongoing subject because I think it’s one that affects us all and could do with a lot of attention.

I would also love to hear everyone’s input on this. Share your stories and thoughts below.