Nick O’Byrne is the 25 year old General Manager of The Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR). AIR is a non-government, non-profit industry peak body representing independent labels, distributors and musicians. Nick commented on last week’s post on labels servicing mp3 blogs, so we invited him to answer a few questions.
Nick, you mentioned that you targeted music bloggers to vote in the AIR Awards. Why?
The AIR Awards aren’t a popularity contest; nominated artists are shortlisted when they appear in the AIR Charts but then judged on artistic and career achievement. We know that there’s a lot of widely read Australian bloggers and I can only imagine how much music they get in their inboxes. They’re more likely to have their finger on the pulse than traditional media and they’re in a great position to vote intelligently, with perspective and a good overarching view of independent music in our country.
We also recognised that there’s a bunch of Australian blogs that are quite influential (i know dozens of industry reps that check in on Who The Hell on a daily basis). Blogs are a valuable avenue for media coverage for indie artists and as an organisation that represents independent labels and musicians, it’d be downright stupid of us not to engage them.
That said, we’re not ignoring traditional media, we also asked a lot of broadcast and print media to vote, as well as retailers, AIR members and broad spectrum of people working throughout the Australian industry.
Why did you ignore label blogs?
We did invite AIR member labels to vote, just approached them as AIR members rather than bloggers.
How many label blogs do you know of in Aus?
If you check out Dew Process, Elefant Traks, Spunk, Head Records, Love and Mercy, Popboomerang and Future Classic you’ll see that they present their news in blog format and often use a blogging platform. A lot of labels blur the lines between blog and website.
Not many label websites in Australia go the extra mile of including extra non-musical content just because they think their adoring public will dig it… (They ain’t Matablogs or Sub-Pop yet). Maybe they don’t feel it’s their place. Room 40 is an exception but I suspect that’s because Lawrence English who runs the label is an artist too.
Anyway, doesn’t a record label just sell music? Isn’t that personal touch meant to be the domain of the artist? There’s some cracking artist blogs out there and I imagine a lot of them are set up at the behest of management and labels. Most fans have an attachment to the artist, not the label. I’m not sure that many Australian labels have reached the cult status of say, a Warp Records, Kitsune or Epitaph.
I’m a big fan of EMI’s The In Sound, particularly their A&R dropbox. What a great way to find new music, what a great way for a label (especially a major) to stop looking like a monolith and start engaging with the music community! I do wonder how much music is delivered to them through the dropbox though… do people use it, do thousands of people use it?
You used our top 25 list of Australian music blogs as a starting point. Which other sites took your fancy outside of that list? Would you mind sharing your findings with us?
Just had a look at your top 25 again. You’ve almost got me covered!
I Am Faux Pas is one of the most entertaining and attractive blogs I’ve seen. Silence Is A Rhythm too, A-Reminder (even though it’s not Australian anymore), Cyclic Defrost (sort of a website more than a blog though innit?) and Twelve Major Chords… all fantastic.
Of those not in the top 25, the Home and Hosed blog is great and I like to read anything that Clem Bastow writes or posts. Besides that, I spend a bit of time reading music biz, marketing and tech blogs. Again though, there aren’t many of them based in Australia. Those blogs are my first stop when finding news regarding online activity and industry developments that may effect the independent sector.
You wrote that you pay more heed to recommendations appearing in a favorite blog than you do the printed music press. Why is this?
I tend to like music that doesn’t get much coverage in the mainstream press. It’s not meant to be a reflection on the quality of journalism in my local broadsheet, in fact I used to read music reviews in magazines and newspapers vociferously. These days though, I’ll rarely find a review of my favorite niche artists in EG (The Age’s Entertainment Guide), it’s not that they’ve changed, I have.
It’s also a fact that the web is a better platform for music criticism. Read a review, listen to the song and watch the clip. In a very short space of time you can read a review, decide whether you like the music and (importantly) decide if you agree with the reviewer. If you like the reviewer you’ll return to them for more recommendations in the future.
Do you think there are any gaps or weaknesses in the Australian music blog community?
More industry specific music tech and music marketing blogs would be fantastic in Australia.
Also though, I’d love a really good blog about the Melbourne music community/scene (that’s where I live). I want regular pictures, reviews, discussion, issues, funny stuff, issues facing music in Melbourne. (Brisbane’s got Before Holywood which is great) If anyone wants to start a Melbourne version, I’ll contribute for you! If you don’t want to start one then I’ll try and set one up myself.
It occurs to me that there’s a great opportunity for Australian street press publications (Inpress, Beat, the Brag, Drum etc) to maintain their own blogs and fill that local scene blog niche, it seems such an easy fit, they’ve already got most of the content prepared on a weekly basis.
What’s thrilling your ears this week, and why?
Oh Mercy - Privileged Woes: No tricks, no gimmicks, nothing but great songs and great performances. They’re very charming live too. The Go-Betweens of 2009.
Oh Mercy: Pitchfork wielders.
The Nation Blue - Rising Waters: Smart, visceral, raucus and worldclass punk rock… I reckon they’re one of the most underrated bands in Australia.
Also, while I’ve got your attention, Chasm and Vida Sunshyne is (as far as I know) the first non-hip hop focussed album released by Obese Records. It’s dubstep/urban/reggae music and deliciously-produced, I feel like I’m going to play it a lot over summer!
You can read the AIR Independent Music Blog if you want… it’s at the AIR Charts website and features great Australian Independent Music that we’ve stumbled upon and posted.
How do you find new music?
I follow a lot of indie labels on twitter and if I’ve got a spare second, I’ll check out whichever act they’re tweeting about. I also read blogs; usually the name of a band reaches a critical mass where I just can’t ignore them anymore so I check them out. Then there’s good old word of mouth, an enthusiastic “dude, you’ve gotta check this out!” goes a long way.
Also, sometimes I’ll just take a risk, I buy a lot of music so sometimes I feel like going online and looking for some obscure Punk, Electronica or Jazz to buy it just to challenge myself… I’m always looking to remain musically stimulated! eMusic - which I don’t think you can use in Australia anymore - used to be great for that.
You can follow AIR/Nick on Twitter (@ozindies). More about AIR below.
Independent music is estimated to fluctuate between a 25% and 35% market share of Australian music sales. At the same time, independent music makes up approximately 80% of the total number of Australian releases. AIR represents a broader spectrum of genres and niches than major labels and a market share equal to, or more than at least two of the Australian major labels.
While the strength and variety of independent music here is heartening, it remains under-represented at a political level (the major’s 50% representation on PPCA and ARIA boards will effectively veto any decision that suits hundreds of smaller labels over the four majors) and is often neglected and undervalued by media and multi-nationals looking to license independent content. (MySpace music’s launch in Australia without licensing Merlin’s Australian member labels and AIR’s current collective bargaining negotiations with MTV are perfect examples).
It is AIR’s job to improve business conditions for indies through providing advocacy, collective licensing, support, advice, professional development, service provision, business networks and publicity for the independent sector. AIR publishes the Australian Independent Charts (The Jagermeister AIR Charts) and holds the annual Australian Independent Music Awards (The Jagermeister AIR Awards).
Jagermeister: AIR rider-approved.
You can buy Tickets to the Jagermeister AIR Awards at Ticketek. Less than $30 to see Dappled Cities, Bertie Blackman, CW Stoneking, Bridezilla and more… Plus some of the sponsor’s product thrown in as a bonus!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Sophie Benjamin 11.10.09 at 4:14 pm
Another thing to remember when comparing blogs and mainstream music press is the correlation between advertising and editorial coverage. In order to leverage editorial content in most street press, you have to buy advertising with the publication. There is less of this sort of stuff going on in music blogs, although I’m sure it happens to some degree. I know I personally don’t blog a song for Who The Hell unless I like it - people can send me cool free shit all they want and it won’t really make a difference.
That said, no advertising evil = no dollars for bloggers.