Digital Marketing

I started realizing marketing during high school. Radio stations would drop off flyers and throw them in the stairways. As we’d switch classes you could hear the screeching of the tires as  we read about whatever all ages event went on in the near future. After leaving football games our cars would be littered with 3 different club event flyers on the front windshield under the wipers. Digital marketing was not around yet. People actually had to form street teams to wander the streets and find strategic places to put the flyers.

Today, digital marketing has been able to put events in people’s lives all in one place. You can send an email e-vite invitation for a specific event or you can create an event page on Facebook. Facebook events today have actually caused an annoyance in some users that think the notifications get out of hand. Facebook invites in a way are turning into email where at times we can blur them all out as they come in with our notification sounds.

Digital marketing has been able to put us as close as possible into people’s lives by targeting emails, smart phones, tablets, and computers. The way to make it work is make the content entertaining and engaging. At least for me when a pop up plays before you are trying to watch something you get annoyed so marketers already start at a negative advantage. The combination that works is originality and content that is straight to the point. Digital marketing will eventually be the lead way of marketing as generations pass on.

As a final thought for digital marketing, the future is the tablet and smartphone market. Eventually everyone with a cell phone will have a smart phone. Most households are getting rid of their land lines and using their cell phone as a main contact point. Until the world is completely screen based one must think of the old way first and then incorporate the new in to reach the masses. Marketing will evolve again when the next technologies come out but until then create a balance.

Publishing & Distribution

Deadly Viper Recordings as of now only promotes artist’s tracks to help further their careers. Today, in the EDM world publishing and distribution arrives in different forms. Artists and producers have options to choose from if they are worthy of the company’s interest. Independent artists can self publish but it will cost a lot of start up money if not done properly. Distribution can be done independently through digital outlets as well.

Soundcloud is a website that can be used to upload songs, mixes, talk shows, and podcasts. Artists and producers can distribute their music for free through the website’s platform. A new trend is to connect your Facebook page to the free download button on Soundcloud under the song player. This allows the user to like the artist’s Facebook page and then grab the free download usually from a third party download site. This does take away download numbers from Soundcloud but it allows the producer/artist to gain organic likes. It also allows the fan page to gain new followers who can get content from the artist directly. Some djs and artists do not like this method of gaining followers but it definitely works. This method can also allow the artist to track independently how many people are actually downloading their songs.

 Another form of digital distribution is to upload the album or song to a zipped folder. The sipped folder is then in turn added as a torrent to major torrent sites. Torrents allow for files to be downloaded piece by piece from users all over the world. This helps to keep downloaders anonymous and unknown of their exact locations. For free files this does not apply but illegal files downloaded can be affected. Flosstradamus is an example of a group who has given their music away for free through a torrent-downloading platform.

Legal Issues

In creating a business plan for Deadly Viper Recordings my focus originally was to do a specific event. I want to add how the label will run on the business plan as well. I found two recent legal issues that have happened within the Electronic Dance Music scene. I have a personal experience during Winter Music Conference 2013 that I would like to share, which surrounds a legal issue. Baauer on Mad Decent was sued for his “Harlem Shake” song that went viral on YouTube and the Internet. Deadmau5 is currently in legal issues with Disney over his Mau5head design and logo. In 2013, I spun at a Winter Music Conference event in Miami called Moomba+ and Friends, where one label backed out due to specifics not held the day of the event that were on the contract.

Mad Decent missed being sued over “Harlem Shake” because they had Baauer sign a contract stating if anything happens it is his responsibility. Hector “el Father” wanted to get money for his vocal sample, “con los terroristas,” used in the track. The lawsuits came about after the money started coming in for the song.  Hennessy’s “and do the Harlem shake” sample was taken care off with a payment outside of court. Diplo was able to help Baauer out with Hector “el Father” by reaching out to his vast network over in Puerto Rico.

In 2013 I played an event called Moomba+ and Friends. I flew down from Wisconsin to Miami to play this once in a lifetime event. No one knew this one event would be in the Moombahton history books. Rot10 Musik had a whole artist line-up to play the event. When the first artists arrived to sound check they noticed the equipment was not up to their standards agreed upon in the contract. The artists left and contacted the head of the label. In turn, the President decided to pull the whole crew off the show. The owner of Moomba+ at the time got upset but in my opinion there was nothing he could do. In the contract it stated that they wanted specific equipment that was agreed upon. The equipment wasn’t there so the artists walked away.

Deadmau5 is in a legal scuffle with Disney over his logo. Disney is stating that his logo and Mau5head are similar to the Mickey Mouse head. Deadmau5 fired back with a cease and desist order for one of Disney’s videos that uses one of his songs without proper permission. Disney claims that they got the song properly with permission granted and payment. The two parties are still battling out over the legal claim and we’ll see where the battle will go.

Product & Artist Management

Product and artist management has a lot to do with the Deadly Vipers. It even has a lot to do with my 17 years of being a DJ. I had to push myself as a product when I first started DJing Quinces (Spanish girls’ 15^th Birthday celebration) and weddings in high school. With the Vipers we have to manage ourselves as performers and all the artists that we represent. I would like to have our roster readily available for any media buyer’s requests. The Deadly Viper t-shirts are our number one requested item. In second place for demand are our stickers. This class will be able to help me understand what our strengths and weaknesses are regarding sellable products. We have many artists, DJs, producers, and more that can bring a profit to the Vipers. This class will be useful to also help me understand what moves to make as a performer. My music career has gone from performing in small clubs to opening for national tours. I recently moved back home to Miami from Wisconsin to pursue a bigger market. The Madison/Midwest market was a great learning experience. That market also showed me how to book artists relative to the area. Managing and learning what aspects to highlight can help me reach new heights of my career. Once we can get t-shirts and stickers up for sale, we can start a Viper fund. As a performer I will have to create merchandise and freebies to get my name out there in a relatively newer market. Artist and product management is a field that I have great interest to get into possibly opening an agency along with the label. There are a lot of people out there who need representation to get their ideas and views across musically. Tapping into this area will help boost all aspects of the Vipers and myself.

Blog Interview for Negotiation & Deal Making: Founder of Deadly Viper Recordings, Christian Herriot

Christian Herriot is the founder of Deadly Viper Recordings based out of Madison, WI and Miami, FL. He has been behind the decks for many years and played to many venues in the Madison and surrounding areas. He is the one that I have looked up to regarding anything with the label. He helped me get my foot in the door to the entertainment industry on levels I will always be thankful for. I asked him some questions about negotiation and deal making. This is what he had to say:

What have you done in the entertainment industry?

“I've been a host of nightclub events, been a support DJ and a headlining DJ for clubs of many different types, been an editor of a music blog and released free music via social network sites under the moniker Deadly Viper Recordings with the goal of exposing new and underground music.”

How have you used negotiation and deal making for your business?

“It's been said you aren't paid what you are worth, you are paid what you negotiate. Negotiations are being made all the time in the entertainment industry; of course, they come out lopsided when one of the parties doesn't understand that there is negotiating going on in the first place. Much like in a pawn store, the first offer a nightclub owner or record buyer makes is not their final offer. React accordingly.”

What objective criteria aka statistics have you used to help negotiation?

“Objective criteria in the music and nightclub business really come down to sales and visibility.  Some bands are visible and worth booking because of that. Some bands hold a crowd and are able to generate bar sales. Being aware of how you generate money for a business or a record label is important and identifying the numbers that help each act express they are worth money is key.  Some bands or acts have 200,000 followers but that may or may not be as important to a club owner as what the bar ring was at the last performance. Ask questions, give answers.”

What have you used to reach a mutual benefit or agreement during negotiation?

“Mutual agreements come from a mutually good business relationship. You will not make money on every business deal. Trusting that your partner had every interest in doing their best to prevent losing money makes it easier to create and continue a business relationship.”

What advice can you give against dirty tricks that people have used during deal making?

“Dirty tricks you say? The history of the music industry is one of people who were ripped off by the "powers that be".  You need to own your own work. Period. If you do not have any interest in learning and taking the time to understand the ins and outs of copyright law, trademarks, creative commons licensing, sampling and many key areas of the music business, than be prepared to lose your hard earned work. When preparing to perform, a signed contract and money in hand prior to performance is the only way.”

Do you have any future advice for anyone trying to gain entry into the entertainment industry?

“The key to entering the music industry is to make music.  If you do not make music, consider how many support careers there are including makeup, stylist, A&R, music lawyer, bodyguard, roadie, sound and light technician, session musician. There are only so many "sexy" jobs in the industry but there are an awful lot of careers.”