Not sure how this would work out but with so many top guys on here i think the stage is set the time is right for the birthing of a new marketing/distribution company the Tipsheet Collective. Anyone up for it ?

We have people on here with skills in so many areas and with talent coming through we can make a difference. The majors will be scared.

Why fight little battles when as a whole we can win the war.

Amandla !!

I think you have set a question there with your opening comment KZ.

The Tipsheet Collective as you say technically exists already but we still do not have, after all the debating, a defintive marketing/distribution idea.

One thing I have learnt in the last six months of putting my faith in PR, is to write my own action plan out first and let them add to it whilst also working on my own instructions.
I find this quite ironic, it`s a bit like writing a court case out for yourself and paying a solicitor to read it out verbatim.
So I`m 50/50 on outside PR currently, they are great at radio plugging, but I`m better at getting press myself.
As a paying client I`d like the whole package and just get on with the music.

Paper Lace neatly answer your statement about winning the war...

"we need a volunteer to ride up and bring us back some extra (pr)men"

next....

DJKZ wrote:
Not sure how this would work out but with so many top guys on here i think the stage is set the time is right for the birthing of a new marketing/distribution company the Tipsheet Collective. Anyone up for it ?

We have people on here with skills in so many areas and with talent coming through we can make a difference. The majors will be scared.

Why fight little battles when as a whole we can win the war.

Amandla !!

That's a very broad and general proposition - it could be interesting but it depends on what are you proposing?

What is it you think people here could do to contribute and benefit - and to/for what?

Mart wrote:
...but we still do not have, after all the debating, a defintive marketing/distribution idea.


I think partly because marketing is pretty unique for each person/venture.

Also.. I think there has been progress on marketing/distribution ideas, granted it's been more what shouldn't be done but even that is useful.

The main marketing/distribution idea obstacle for people is when their carefully hatched plans are shown to unworkable/inappropriate they have not accepted reality and fact but maintained their treasured idea.

I have certainly learnt although in a generally negative way rather than positive - by example of what not to do rather than what to do - but hey! I don't expect people here to give away all their information.

well, I've already gone ahead and done it. You need everything "in house" i.e. studio, musicians, acts, radio promo and P.R. Why? 'Cause if you don't you will go bust since it is so expensive to hive that lot out to different companies.

Also, different genres of music need different approaches on the promo side, which could create difficulties if various people are looking at releasing different genres at the same time...could cause a log jam?

Do I have all the answers? Nah, but I'll certainly post as things become more apparent.

Big End is right on the in house stuff.

If you want the sound from that "house", you go that that house, there is no point in going to the cottage next door.

Reading through the previous posts,over the weeks, I feel KZ and Zoo can sort the PR and A+R bit out.

Blimey, that was a bold post wasn`t it?

In house is cool if you can find the people to do it.

Let's face it, it's hard enough getting musicians working together.

There could be an opportunity there for a 3rd party to offer a PR package for musicians.

Though if I were doing PR you'd probably find nobody would speak to you after a fortnight of me... and A&R - love to but I'd probably only sign one band every 5 years

I think for most musicians a strength of the internet is communication and loose collaboration. Again a possible opportunity for someone to offer a "contact clearing-house" with reviews and ratings for bands to collaborate.

The problem that comes to mind, inspired by the idea of a Tipsheet record label, is that the people involved may be too diverse to be grouped together in a meaningful or useful way. In particular the Tipsheet regulars are all people with strong personalities and very much their own ideas.

It would be too many Chiefs and not enough... make that NO... Indians.



(PS If anyone's got an A&R vacancy... I'll do it, gis a job )

I was going to say that earlier Zoo, but what we do have here at TS, are specialists in their own fields.

I will say though, I have allways had very little trouble getting musicians working together, the unreliable ones are very easy to spot early on with an experience I wish I could have been taught before spending years learning it the hard way.

I must elaborate a bit more on the in house thing.
We do have a core of in-house musicians here, but it doesn`t mean they will automatically get the gig.

Firstly, they may not be the right person you need for the job and secondly, once you get their fee gradually increased, it`s very hard to cap, which inevitably brings in new blood, until it all goes full circle again.
The most succesfull earners I have worked with, have never changed their fees.

My main point is, a greed factor on an in house team is an absolute no go.

There is a problem with collectives in that people tend to put a higher value on their contribution than they grant others.

I think the problem I've had with musicians is the pool available has been too small so I accept "near enough" - only they aren't . Too many times for me it has been the triumph of optimism over experience. (Even now I am sitting amongst the ruins of latest TOFU, oh well)