Over the past year we’ve experimented with a number of free listings on Sonicbids, sponsored by consumer brands (Gap, Converse, etc.) They’ve been very successful in terms of attracting thousands of submissions (their objective) but not always in getting only the highest caliber of bands.

There are a number of reasons why we don’t have all submissions be free (I’ve covered the topic on a number of occasions), and Seth Godin articulates its very well in a blog post called “If Craigslist cost $1”.

I’d love your thoughts.

Panos

• You Are In Control, Closure. Great conclusion to the conference, with a number of fascinating speeches and roundtable discussions (another fresh concept, with good open debate among participants). I particularly enjoyed the speech from Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson from the Ministry of Ideas (how many times do you see an Einstein quote flashed on the screen at a music conference?), whose speech felt less about practical applications and more like a piece of music: meant to provoke, inspire, dream. I also gave a presentation about the emerging Artistic Middle Class with some examples of how this class of artists is rapidly reshaping the music industry landscape and forever changing way that music is discovered, consumed, and promoted.

• Reykjavik Member Dinner. Finished the the day with our now customary member dinner, hosted at a restaurant called Boston of all names, in downtown Reykjavik. We had a great group of 10 artists and managers from Iceland and Faeroe Islands and as usual, these dinners are great at helping me understand how we can improve Sonicbids – but also what we do well. Yes, each music scene is different, but the thing that always strikes me after meeting indie artists around the world is this: no matter the language, the country, the style of music, the government or politics, all artists share the same passion and the same need to find and connect with an audience – and technology is the great leveler.

• Reykjavik Music Scene. By the way, the music scene at Reykjavik is out of this world. To put it in perspective, the whole country of Island is less than half the size of Boston – but the quality of music, the venues, the sound of the capital city rivals or bests anything I’ve experienced in the States.

It’s a flat world indeed.

Panos

I love this event (even though I am not quite ready for the cold weather). Check out their daily blog for updates, but here’s my take:

• It’s not the same old, same old. We’ve had great, thought provoking speakers from all kinds of industries. I particularly enjoyed Paul Bennett’s speech (from IDEO) at the beginning of the day about creativity, change, collaboration. We need fresh thinking in our business, not cynicism.

• It’s international and intimate. I’ve bumped into all kinds of people from UK, Nordic countries, China, US. That’s right, our business is not about “domestic” and “international” markets; it’s about the global market.

• You feel welcome and surrounded by art. Coffee breaks, lunches, etc. organized by the event bring people together and break the ice. And cocktails take place at art galleries, not stodgy hotels. I love it.

• It fuses creative industries. There are people here from all over: film, music, fashion, art, design, advertising. We all need inspiration and we can inspire each other. Our worlds are coming together.

Plus, I got the greatest compliment this morning when someone called my outfit very “Kanye”. Who knew? I look forward to the member dinner tonight.

Panos

First, something I learned today: the word “saga” is Icelandic and it literally means a novel or story. Go figure.

This place (Iceland) is pretty spectacular. And from a business standpoint, I am already fascinated by the concept of You Are In Control, which is organized by the Iceland Music Export office and meant to bring the worlds of independent music, film and design together in a conference. Makes sense, right? So, why aren’t more of these events out there talking about the convergence of all these industries? And of course the message of empowerment couldn’t be any more spot on.

And I will say that Icelanders know how to do business. First thing they do when we arrive? Organize a trip for us to the Blue Lagoon (alas not the one with Brooke Shields circa 1980) —  this geothermal natural spring that’s part of a lava formation (check out the photos). No bathing suit? No problem. You can “borrow” a Speedo. (Yes, I did.)

More tomorrow when the conference kicks off. Who says work can’t be fun?

Panos

Leaving in a few hours for Iceland to attend the You Are In Control Conference, which the Iceland Export Office is organizing. I have never been to Iceland before so I am looking forward to the trip. I heard the music scene is out of this world.

While there we are also hosting a Member Dinner for our Iceland and Nordic artist members, which we are holding at the peculiarly and appropriately named Boston Restaurant. (I swear, one of these days I’ll write a book about all the amazing indie musicians I’ve met around the globe during these dinners.)

If you’re attending the conference, come up and say hi. Updates from the road.

Panos

For those of you who did not have the chance to participate in the Billboard/BrandWeek Webinar that we sponsored, you can access the whole thing, on demand, from the Billboard site.

Some highlights:

• There is more demand than ever from brands for great music that resonates with consumers;

• There is a market shift, with independent music becoming highly desireable to marketers because of its authenticity, ease of procurement, and because it generally costs less than major label music (but not free);

• 78% of brands have visual guidelines but only about 24% have audio guidelines. Isn’t that amazing?

A couple of good questions that we did not have the chance to answer during the webinar:

Q: Are there any don’ts in conducting battle of the bands digitally?

A: Yes. Some of the ones that quickly come to mind are: 1) Make sure that you define your objectives upfront (if it’s meant to promote your brand, don’t send them to another site; if you want to capture consumer contact info, make sure that you have the right to contact them, etc.); 2) Do your best to prevent voting fraud (people find ways to circumvent the system); 3) make sure that what you offer the bands has real value to them, otherwise they won’t care (i.e. telling them that the grand prize is “worth $50,000” when it’s a bunch of junk is not acceptable) ; which leads me to 4) Treat bands with respect. You are trusting them, after all, to be viral carriers of your message.

Q: Is it wise to hold a contest for indie artists to be in a commercial or is it better to just hire someone?

A: I guess it depends on your objectives. Creative contests have the ability to raise viral awareness about a brand (through the bands to their fans) that can generate excitement and interest about a new product, well before a commercial is even aired. And you can usually accomplish that for a fraction of the cost of just what one major network-aired ad costs (and be more effective). On the other hand, if that’s not the objective and you are working on a coordinated marketing campaign that’s kicked off all at the same time, then perhaps hiring the artists without a whole lot of fan fair is best.

Happy to answer more questions. In the meantime, feel free to browse my personal power point below.

Panos

I am presenting a free webinar today, hosted by Billboard Magazine and BrandWeek, and sponsored by Sonicbids, titled “Matching Independent Musicians to Your Brand: How to Choose a Musical Act to Promote your Brand and Boost Sales”. Other speakers are Cortney Harding, who covers Independent Music for Billboard, and Steve Knill, president of Banshee Music.

I’ll be talking about how the Artistic Middle Class is changing the rules of branded marketing, and offering examples of major consumer brands that are using independent music successfully for their marketing campaigns.

You can read more about the webinar and register free here.

Panos