Kyle Bylin, Assoicate Editor
Continuation of interview with Jed Carlson, COO of ReverbNation.
Bylin: ReverbNation is known for its wide array of features and widgets that help artists navigate and organize their online presence.
Q: Are there any new tools or features in development that you cannot wait to try out?
Jed Carlson: We have a lot of really interesting features coming. You will have to stay tuned, but I think you will really like what you see.
Q: Which of the numerous tools in your arsenal have artists been most successful with in developing and managing their fan relationships?
Jed Carlson: The ReverbNation application supports Fan Relationship Management, and other aspects of managing their small or large businesses. Artists that get the most value from...
our system utilize the entire system. Some Artists use specific tools like our email solution, widgets, digital press kits, street team, or the gig-finder, but the Artists that get the most out of it use it as a complete ‘solution’ from end to end. Time is scarce for Artists. Most have day jobs, and the music is their passion. We are trying to offer a comprehensive solution that is as turnkey as possible, and respects their need to spend time on other aspects of the craft that can have a equally material impact on their business - like making great songs and responding to fans.
Our challenge is that we serve over 325,000 Artists ranging from those that make music in their basement, all the way up to major label acts. Their specific needs are different, so we strive to make our solutions as universally applicable as possible. This isn’t always easy to do.
Bylin: There are many artists who would like to believe they're competing with file-sharing by giving their music away. The strategy of getting a bunch of MySpace friends and flipping the funnel six months will never work. You have to make money along the way and develop a business model.
Q: How do you help artists understand that someone else's past achievements shouldn't be the guiding light for their vision of future success?
Jed Carlson: Reporters like stories that make the impossible seem plausible. When you read about the latest successful artist that ‘started from nothing’, got noticed on a social net, and then got huge, you are hearing about the lottery ticket approach. They make it seem easy, b/c if they didn’t, it wouldn’t make a good story. What you don’t hear most of the time is the money and time that have been invested by that Artist, the years of toiling away on a local gig circuit, etc.
Artists need to know that if they want to be successful, they need to do what MOST successful artists do, not what SOME successful artists have done. Big difference.
All an artist can really do is execute against what they control – the songs, the image, the work ethic. They need to run their business like anyone else. Work hard, make good decisions, and prepare for success. As a business, you can hope for the big deal, but it’s what you do day in and day out that puts you in the best position. Anything that happens beyond that is probably luck, and Artists who make it really big generally have a huge dose of that on top of being prepared to receive it.
Read Part One & Three
