LE BLOG DU BARON

29/05/2012: KNOW THE BEST EMAIL & FAN MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Picked up on Michael Brandvold's MUSIC MARKETING website: "Here is a short video taken directly from the webinar discussing email and fan management, and the companies that offer that service".

 

25/05/2012: CREATE YOUR OWN FAN APP FOR FREE

Apps have been all the new rage since BJORK chose to release BIOPHILIA in this way (as reported on this blog here and there) last year. It seems that this option is now beginning to be accessible to independant musicians as well: here a couple of services I read about recently.

MOBBASE - as summarised by WIRED this is "an HTML5 app that’s free for any band to create, and which runs on any platform (mobile, tablet or a “computer,” whatever that is), delivering music, photos, tweets and videos. Bands can have it for free with a limit of three songs and three videos — or, they can post unlimited content within the app and use all of the extra features for $5 plus $5/month".

FANTASTIC4BANDS - according to GARAGESPIN "What I like about this tool is that you don’t need any computer coding skills to build your app and it’s really easy to use and update. And to top it off, it’s free.  It includes: simple drag-and-drop design, Tour schedule sharing, Fan engagement through live Q&A chats and Twitter, Direct-to-fan music sales and Direct-to-fan merchandise sales. How is it free?  The app  includes embedded targeted ads and links – a fair compromise considering what a band gets".

21/05/2012: THE PROFOUND HUMANITY OF THE DALAI-LAMA

I had the immense priviledge of spending three days with the Dalai-Lama last week. Obviously not one to one, I took part in a 2 day seminar and attended his public talk on the "Art of Happiness" on Sunday morning, both arranged at the occasion of his visit to Klagenfurt in Austria. Since I already missed twice the opportunity to see him in France, I was thinking how unlikely it was that of all the places to live (after London, Paris or Singapore), I would finally end up in exactly the right place. "If you can't go the mountain, let the mountain come to you" one might say.

The most amazing thing during these 3 days was to see how profoundly human the Dalai-Lama is. He is of course famous for his deep sense of humour but what is unique is his ability to laugh at himself and not take himself seriously. It is this simplicity and this humility which has really impressed and touched me the most.

The governor of Carinthia (who I must admit despite our very different political opinions seems to be very supportive of the Tibetan cause - which gets to show you always have something in common with people, even when you first believe the contrary) put it in quite a nice way during the final speech: "the Pope has the papamobile but you simply walk amongst the people".

15/05/2012: ZEROCAST #35

If like me you can start smelling the sweet smell of holidays in the air but have a few weeks left to wait, here is something which will surely help: the latest issue of ZEROCAST. With new killer remixes of GOTYE, LFMAO, MIIKE SNOW, the TING TINGS and many others, it will make you feel that you are spinning around on the beach in Goa in no time.

You can grab the whole issue as a single zip file for the small price of a little tweet by clicking on the icon ...

 ... or download each track separately. Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

• GOTYE feat. KIMBRA Somebody That I Used To Know (Tiesto Remix) download buy
• LMFAO Sexy and I Know It (Mord Fustang Remix) download buy
• VAN SHE Idea Of Happiness (SebastiAn remix) download buy
• MIIKE SNOW Devils Work (Dirty South Remix) download buy
• ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI Desert Island (Haima's Remix) download buy
• MAJOR LAZER feat. AMBER Get Free (What So Not Remix) download buy
• DISCLOSURE I Love... That You Know (Purity Ring Remix) download buy
• LITTLE BOOTS Every Night I Say A Prayer (Tensnake Remix) download buy
• THE TINGS TINGS Hang It Up (Shook Remix) download buy
• THE NAKED AND THE FAMOUS Young Blood (Tiesto & Hardwell Remix) download buy
• THEOPHILIUS LONDON Love Is Real (Fred Falke remix) download buy
• THE XX Infinity (Bruno Be Remix) download buy

All the tracks featured in this blog are the sole property of their owner(s). If you like what you hear, please support the artists by buying their original work or going to see their concert. If you would like your songs removed from this site, email me directly and I will take them off as soon as possible. 

08/05/2012: USE YOUR LYRICS TO BUILD UP TO A MUSIC RELEASE

Hypebot reports on an interesting idea relating to the release of ALANIS MORRISSETTE new album:

As a build up to the radio debut of “Guardian" later this week, the song’s full lyrics are available exclusively on MetroLyrics. Fans will be able to interact with her lyrics by adding their own interpretations, discussing them with other fans, and sharing them directly to their social networks.

I particularly like the fact that fans can share and discuss their interpretations of the lyrics.

This is obviously an approach that can be used by any musician, providing these would be arresting and intriguing enough. And I'm sure you can find a way to encourage fans to be more actively engaged (how about a Twitter Q&A or a Google+ Hangout during which Alanis would discuss this with fans or give some pointers to the meaning of the lyrics) and make the whole idea more viral.

06/05/2012: ZEROCAST #35 (sneak preview)

Here is another taste of the next issue of ZEROCAST which will be published next time. This time, amongst the numerous remixes of GOTYE's 'Somebody that I used to know', I have picked the absolute headbanger put together by TIESTO:

• GOTYE FEAT. KIMBRA Somebody That I Used To Know (Tiesto Remix) download buy

Only a few more days to waut till ZEROCAST #35 is out - don't miss it !

 

04/05/2012: JAMIE LIDELL ON ENGAGING DIRECTLY WITH FANS

Here is an interview of soul singer JAMIE LIDELL (already featured in ZEROCAST) in the last issue of This Week in Music:

02/05/2012: ZEROCAST #35 (sneak preview)

Here is a sneak preview (can you actually say "preview", shouldn't it be something like "prehearing" ?) of the forthcoming issue of ZEROCAST which will published next week:

• THE TING TINGS Hang It Up (Shook Remix) download buy

Don't forget to check out LE BLOG DU BARON next week for another dozen new killer remixes !

01/05/2012: HAVE A SAY "WHAT SHOULD COME NEXT FOR BARON ZERO"

Following on from the last concert, I have given some thought about what I should be focusing on for the next few months. The list is still open and, as is almost the case with yours truly, almost certainly going to change quite a few times.

But here it is anyway:

1. Live album: I have started to work on the material I have recorded on Easter Sunday, with the idea of posting all the songs on the internet and, if the quality is good enough, to release them as a CD. So keep an ear to ground on this one !
2. DJ set: something I have been keen to do for a long time, building on all these great ZEROCAST remixes. And since Bastille Day will fall on a Saturday, I'm playing with the idea of a "French Guillotine" set (100% French remixes) for the occasion. Could be quite fun (in a  kind of "let's not lose our heads" way).
3. Acoustic gig: as mentioned previously I have started to practice to go completly unplugged for the next concert. The date is not set yet but the location is and it is likely to happen over the summer.
4. New songs: beside recording a few old and new songs in acoustic form (starting with FIREBIRD which I played live for the first time on Easter), I'm also keen to work on a new song for next Xmas. Without giving too much details, it will be a cover of a classic seasonal tune, treated half way between Dean Martin and Jet. More to come on this at some point.
5. Remixes: as every year World Aid's day will take place beginning of December and I'm thinking of knocking up a couple of remixes of POSITIVE for the occasion. Or maybe to ask a few friends to have a go at it.

What do you think ? Is this too much on the plate ?

30/04/2012: HUORATRON WANTS TO INVENT THE PERPETUAL REMIX

Scandinavian dance producer HUORATRON has decided to reinvent the remix. In his own words: "I think remixes are pretty dead as a concept [...] It’s just a cheap way to do a new song. I was thinking this whole thing could be used as a way to create way more interesting remixes, that it would be almost never-ending variations on the remix.”

He is working on a software which should be ready this fall and would create infinite variations (or remixes) of a given song.

More details at WIRED here:

The program is being made largely with Max/MSP, with some Ableton Live thrown in. It will essentially let him determine specific parameters for which chunks of several new compositions can be altered, and how many variations can be made. Different parameters will then determine how the pieces can be glued together; the resulting .wav files will be given the same song name. Flash and PHP scripts on the server side will then determine which tracks go to which users.

Could a computer software really replace some day the touch and creativity of a good DJ ?

ould a software really replace one day the touch and creativity of a good DJ ?