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Roger Dean's Earbender logo resurfaces!
Earbender.com started as a way to promote my promotion business more effectively online. I also found myself spending more time keeping up with technology as it changes the music business (distribution, consumer electronics innovations, mobile, advertising/branding).
Subsequently, the site and my social media profiles have enabled me to change my way of doing promotion. Earbender Digital Music News, includes stories about companies and technology that reflect a similar convergence mentality.
MTV Serves as Model for AOL Site (NY Times) – AOL, branding consultant MGX and the Jonas brothers have teamed to create Cambio, their own web portal, sponsored by Bayer. Since the Jonas Brothers are also fans of Elvis Costello, and this is such a “can’t miss” idea, I wish them the best. If the site Cambio takes off, we have Cambio soda, sneakers and whatever else to look forward to. Could be the wave of the future. What other “branded” websites should be created, and with which sponsors?
WMVY goes social with Facebook fan page – Our friends at WMVY, Martha’s Vineyard, aka www.mvyradio.com, have just announced a Facebook fan page where their listeners from around the world can interact and keep up to date with station activities. Barbara Dacey has been at the forefront of the radio/net convergence, and the little station on an island has a large footprint as a result of their great music choices and being ultra aggressive about their presence on the net. Although people jeer Yankee hats on the Vineyard, WMVY has been masterful at using the image of their unique locale to bring folks from all over the world into their realm. Join the WMVY Facebook page here.
News about WUWM, WWOZ, Grateful Dead and Pitchfork after the jump.
WUWM and Constant Contact – Constant Contact is large email service which often provides client success stories in their newsletters. WUWM Milwaukee’s marketing specialists Cynthia Akey and Michelle Maternowski were recently interviewed about how they use the service as well as several social media profiles to improve fundraising efforts at the station. Read more about it here.
Grateful Dead Digital Archive at UC Santa Cruz – The University of California recently received a grant of 615K to digitize the Grateful Dead’s archives that had been recently donated by the band. This will create a living research laboratory with massive amounts of recordings, artwork and who knows what. I’ve been to the exhibit at the New York Historical Society that scratched the surface and have also seen Graceland. As classic rock becomes more geriatric daily, what are a few other bands that should have their “papers” digitized and made part of a University library? Mike Watt told me that Richard Hell had donated his works to NYU. The first that came to mind was actually Bruce Springsteen, and I think that Rutgers, Trenton State College or Richard Stockton College would make a lovely destination for his artifacts. How about Billy Joel to my alma mater Stony Brook University, or even better, Rakim and Coltrane or – hello – Blue Oyster Cult? Long Island in particular has a vast musical legacy.
WWOZ wins Gambit Best Sites of New Orleans Award – My favorite of all radio stations, WWOZ, New Orleans, was recently honored by Gambit entertainment magazine for best radio station site. The fact that the second and third place winners were news stations reflects both the technical and design excellence as well as the wonderful content the station provides. I cannot promote these guys enough, and look forward to WWOZ and New Orleans’ continued growth.
And speaking of WWOZ, New Orleans, they have one of the best radio station iPhone apps. A few others that have been a mobile app for a while include KUT, KCRW, WFMU and WMNF. But then a few weeks ago, NPR Music released their iPhone app, which seems to be the be all, end all for this topic. Taking a look in the World music section for example, I saw sessions listed from stations that are off their usual path, including WBGO, Newark. There isn’t much need to go anywhere else in terms of finding in depth music info from an artist’s point of view.
NY Times profiles Pitchfork must be the last word on the topic for the week! As the largest and most influential music-oriented site, Pitchfork’s accomplishments and place in the industry are recognized today by the Gray Lady. Congrats to founder Ryan Schreiber and my friend Chris Weingarten, a CMJ refugee who writes reviews for various places, mentioned in the article as well.
