Re: Reality Check - Gettin heartfelt with Kurb in Australia

I get a hard time in Australia. But what I find is once they've had the opportunity to kick ten types of shit out of my tyres, they're usually pretty happy to open their wallets and go all in.

Re: Reality Check for 21st Century Musicians

I've had some strong misgivings about how Kurb operates.

In fact I've only added you because you hit us up twice and in the end its no skin off my nose. In general I'm not impressed by people who attempt to scare you into believing they know more about the way things work than you do in a bid to get you to hand over cash.

But I'm not going to make assumptions.

I'm not trying to suggest that you aren't genuine or motivated by a love of music. But when you ask for money I think you are obliged to be up front about things.

When indie artists struggling to make any money give you between $200 and $400 a month, what is their average return on this investment?

Like I said, I'm not just going to be cynical, tho its tempting. I just would like to know exactly what artists are getting for this money. If i invested that kinda money in blue chip shares it might just fund the craziest rock and roll lifestyle I can dream up. What makes it worth giving kurb this kind of money?

Don't show me other people's musings on the state of the recording industry. I can find this kind of information with nothing other than google. Show me the figures, the nuts and bolts. I'm interested enough to ask for them.

Re:Re: Reality Check for 21st century musicians
well I'm glad you've thought about it!

You're quite welcome to be cynical if you like - it's no skin off my nose either, I'm starting to get cheerfully used to it though I tend to have a habit of being drawn into these debates.

A lot of early misgivings may have been justified in that we were simply a glorified spam service but we've evolved well beyond that now.

But this is precisely why I distribute articles like this. Too many musicians are just totally unaware of how the music industry environment is changing and have unrealistic expectations about what they can achieve! In short I've amazed myself with how much more I know than your average musician, but you don't have to be frightened.

If making your money back is your primary concern I'd definately try the share market before the music industry. Or even buy a lottery ticket.

I provide detailed descriptions on the services we provide if you care to follow the links - especially this one:

Overview of online promotion strategies

Though in saying that just last night I was pondering on a local publicity stunt I've labeled the "$1000 challenge" - The band advances us $1000 for a 3 month campaign and if they don't recoup in increased cd sales, bookings, attendances, licensing and alternative income streams, then we reimburse them the difference.

But in saying that any promotional service that can prove its costs are 100% recoupable would be a golden goose, and demand for our services is already fairly high. I'd have to think about publicly listing myself!

There's few avenues that offer access to this kind of scope and diversity in promotion for musicians and it comes a lot more pricey than what I offer. Do you have an idea of how much it costs to hire a professional publicist? I work for several of NZ's top publicists who pass on my fees to their clients without batting an eyelid. I'm coming to accept that in the future it will only be established acts and corporate clients who can afford the level of service and expertise we offer. But hey, thats business.

I've poured 17-18k into my music career before realising I was better off using what I learned from so much hard work and so many mistakes to help others, just to stay involved in something that was meaningful and exciting for people.

I don't mean to sound harsh myself but with the success I've enjoyed with Kurb since I quit my "real" job last year, if you think $200 is a lot of money to invest in yourself, youre probably best to keep your music a hobby.

People with big dreams and little else may not see their money come back with kurb. But they're never disappointed - sometimes I even feel a little guilty because 10,000 friends on myspace still doesn't add up to a music career. But it's a small price to pay to avoid so many pitfalls - not least of all feeling like your stuck in a rut and your music is going nowhere.

regards, Matt @ Kurb

(ps this eneded up quite long because im gonna blog it. all about the content baby. The rest, just leave to me.)

Cheers for the connection with Kurb - a promotions company for artists and creative entrepreneurs serious about using the most effective online techniques to market their projects. Come by our page and read our blogs on how the music industry is fundamentally changing now or check out:

how digital promotion and social marketing works
more indie self promotion articles hub
Our artist packages
Overview of online promotion strategies
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postering – placement in Auckland / Free delivery in NZ

Cheers and all the best with your work from Kurb
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