Tommy Lee Gets Interactive With Fan Generated Content

from the Karaoke2.0 dept

Ron Kujawa writes to us about The Public Record and Tommy Lee's project to collaborate with fans to produce his next album, Public Mayhem. Aiming to interact with fans and get more attention, Tommy Lee has posted some rough "stem" tracks online for anyone to download, and he's encouraging fans to upload their own music that might go with those tracks. (This is similar to what Nettwerk's K-OS did earlier this year with a contest for fans to remix his tracks.) Ultimately, the really good fan generated music will make it on the new Public Mayhem album with credits to the fan and royalties that go to charity. So every week, Tommy (or his production team) will release another raw track for fans to play with, review the submissions, and look to incorporate stuff into the album as he sees fit. Obviously, not everyone can make it onto the album, but if you're an amateur musician, there's not much to lose -- and there's a chance that Tommy might like your chutzpah or something. Either way, more music is being created and shared, and it sounds like a win-win for everyone.

On top of that, though, Tommy is also posting jamming tips for amateur rockers to help folks out with their music -- which seems like a great interactive component to this project. I'm not personally a fan of Tommy Lee's music, and the fan entries that have been highlighted so far haven't really piqued my interest. (From the ones I've listened to, there's some talent, but nothing I really like -- and there aren't even any submissions that so bad that you can enjoy them as a spectacle.) But still, Tommy is very likely training a new generation of musicians with his weekly YouTube clips filled with pointers, and the evolution of musical skills based on Tommy's tutelage has the potential to produce ever better songs. And it doesn't stop with Tommy, The Public Record is looking to do similar projects with other musicians, so we can all look forward to a virtuous cycle of fans creating music with more rockstars -- perhaps creating more rockstars and even more great music.

Filed Under: connect with fans, cwf, tommy lee

Cory Doctorow Joins The CwF+RtB Experimental Crew

from the good-for-him dept

Writer Cory Doctorow has long been a leading thinker/experimenter when it comes to issues of copyright and content creation -- having long put his works under very permissive Creative Commons license, and making sure that his books were available in all sorts of different formats. However, for the most part, he kept using the same basic business model. However, it looks like he's jumping on board our favored "tiered" CwF+RtB model. Reader Russell sends in the news that Doctorow will not just be self-publishing his next book, but is also offering various "tiers" for support. The ebook and the audiobook will be free, but the physical book will cost money. On top of that, there will be a limit of 250 specially bound limited edition hardcover versions for $250. He also sold a $10,000 commissioned story, which was already sold before he announced this (he thinks he priced it too low). Finally, he may experiment with ads in the book as well. It will be interesting to see how well this works, though I think the tiers could include some more options/creativity, as most people don't have many options outside of the basic book. Still, it's great to see these tiered direct-to-fan CwF+RtB offerings getting closer and closer to being mainstream.

Filed Under: connect with fans, cory doctorow, cwf, reason to buy, rtb, tiers

Hollywood Can't Handle Anyone Connecting With Fans... So It Contractually Tries To Stop Them

from the suicide-in-the-making dept

The whole "connect with fans" and give them a "reason to buy" mantra fits with pretty much any kind of content creation -- and absolutely works in the movie industry. We've talked, for example, about the amazing job that Clerks writer/director/filmmaker/actor/funny guy (he recently said he doesn't like being described as "just" a filmmaker) Kevin Smith does in connecting with fans and giving them a reason to buy. Lately, a lot of that has been happening via Twitter, which is great. Except in the minds of the Hollywood studios. Apparently, lots of new studio contracts are including anti-Twitter language, forbidding writers, actors and others from chatting too much about the movies they're working on. Some just talk about "confidentiality breaches" while others forbid saying anything disparaging.

This is the typical Hollywood "control everything" mindset, but totally goes against the way fans want to connect, these days, and will do a lot more to harm these movies than help. People want to follow their favorite actors/directors on the set and know what's going on. It helps get them more excited about the movies, well before they otherwise might have. Shutting them down, just because some studio execs, who have probably never used Twitter, are too paranoid to recognize it as a great promotional vehicle, seems backwards and shortsighted.

Filed Under: connect with fans, contracts, cwf, hollywood, twitter

Rebecca Mayes Connects With Fans By Singing About Video Games

from the definitely-beyond-haiku dept

Matthew Cruse writes to us about "another path to success on the internet that bypasses the middleman" -- describing Rebecca Mayes singing her way to fame by writing songs inspired by video games and distributing them on a blog. Doing this has apparently gotten Mayes a spot on BBC Four for a new show called Gameswipe, as well as some other offers for her to continue her work in other venues.

Obviously, the story of talented people getting a big break isn't exactly a new thing, but there are a few interesting points about this article. One is that there is a growing number of artists who are figuring out that there are more ways than ever to build up an audience. It sounds like Mayes had a bit of help from friends who are connected in the publishing world (at the least one Wired writer, Paul Govan). But that doesn't negate the hard work of putting together "stuff that doesn't suck" and bravely posting it on the internet for anyone to freely download. She also benefited from the quirky idea of creating songs that doubled as video game reviews and that could piggy-back on the popularity of a variety of game titles. So the second key point in Mayes' success is her subtle blend of content and advertising. Folks are always complaining about intrusive pop-up ads and avoiding TV commercials, but if the content is done well AND promotes other products at the same time -- Mayes' story shows that fans can (and will) still appreciate the whole work. (Luckily Mayes is in the UK, so she doesn't have to mess around with disclosing all her possible sponsorship relations.) Lastly, though we don't really know how much Mayes is making via donations for her songs or for her appearances on a BBC TV show, the success story here is that she made it from obscurity to relative fame without relying on a music label or the promises of copyright royalties. We don't know if Mayes will be a mega-superstar, but if "rockstar" is the bar for success, then there will be a lot more failures in the music industry. (And arguably, the era of rockstars may be ending, as the attention of audiences is splintered into ever more narrow niches.) The upshot of all this is that we're seeing how high-quality creative content can be independently produced and distributed -- and how an enviable on-going career in entertainment can be formed by connecting with fans.

Filed Under: connect with fans, rebecca mayes, video games

Felicia Day Building Acting Success The Entrepreneurial Way

from the do-call-us,-we'll-call-you-back dept

Though she's had a few minor successes with roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and House, Felicia Day has been quietly building herself a successful career under the radar of mainstream Hollywood. Her self-produced web series, The Guild, which follows a nerdy crew of World of Warcraft players through their offline hijinks, is now on its third season. In an interview with Wired, Felicia Day shows that, whether she knows it or not, she is definitely dabbling in CwF + RtB (if you're new here read this).

Felicia has done a great job connecting with her fans. Her @feliciaday twitter account boasts nearly 1.4 million followers, and the nature of her conversations on twitter demonstrates that she is well versed in the medium. The Guild is funded by sponsorship from Microsoft and Sprint, DVD sales, and individual donors.

It's a good start, but like others, Felicia seems to fall into the "give it away and pray" trap -- while it's great to rely on the good grace of donors, she could do much better if she gave her fans a better reason to buy. On her recent appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show, Felicia expressed her surprise at the prospect that someone would support The Guild with a $100 donation; however, what if, for $1,000, you could spend a few hours tackling quests on World of Warcraft with Felicia? Surely there's a fan or two out there that would leap at that opportunity. Day does not disclose the economic details of her franchise, but she keeps alluding to small budgets and tiny profit margins. I would be curious to see the exact numbers, but there's nothing wrong with running a small, lean, efficient operation: given the choice of owning GM or Craigslist, I'd definitely choose Craigslist. This metaphor works for entertainment too: remember Waterworld? This doesn't mean calling for the end to the lavish spreads of food on movie sets. Of course not. From what I hear, Google has great food too.

Much like with the music industry, it is getting easier for creatives to self-produce quality works without the support of a major studio. And, as we experiment with new business models (like CwF + RtB), perhaps we will find a better way to produce TV shows and movies than the traditional model. In the traditional paradigm, starving actors work jobs as waiters and waitresses while plying their craft during their off-hours in the hope of being "discovered" and hitting the acting "lottery." Otherwise, many live job to job or eventually burn out and go find a different job. With the tools of production and distribution now being available to the masses, when can acting be the "day job" for more people? Hopefully soon.

Filed Under: acting, connect with fans, cwf, felicia day, reason to buy, rtb

Four Rules For Music Business Success

from the don't-suck dept

The Topspin blog has a story of one of the bands they've worked with, a lesser known act called Fanfarlo, that was able to reach some specific goals in promoting itself and building up its fan base, while getting many to commit to paying. From that, the post discusses a four step "formula" that the band used for success (listed here with my summary):

1. Don't suck: something that often gets lost in these discussions. The music still does need to be good. All of these business models are that much harder if the music isn't any good and fans don't like it. Playing good music is a definite first step.
2. Get others to introduce you to their audience: This is another good point. I've been talking to some musicians lately, who were trying to understand how to best apply some of this stuff, and I often suggest looking for other, more well-known acts, that the band can work with to get some sort of endorsement, or "opening" slot on a tour (or even just a gig) as a way of reaching more fans. The Topspin post points out that some people assume that this is the real story behind the success of Fanfarlo, but the numbers don't bear that out. It probably accounted for approximately 30% of the band's sales. Not shabby, but hardly the only reason for the band's success.
3. Make those audiences an offer they can't refuse: In this case, the band offered a download of their album, plus four bonus tracks for $1 for a limited time. Yes, all of the songs combined for a dollar -- not each of them for a dollar apiece. While I normally support just giving away the music for free, I can see a reason to offer them all for a dollar in some situations. In this case, it gets more people to commit to the music and the band, but at a price that is much easier to deal with. I'm still not convinced that $1 is better than free, but it sure beats regular album prices. While this offer was for a limited time, after it was over, the band still offered the download cheaply ($6).
4. Repeat: This is another important one. We keep hearing bands put in place business model promotions that are one time deals, rather than a fully thought-out continuous and ongoing business model. By repeating the process, not only can a band keep making money, but it lets them iterate and experiment, and find out what works (and what doesn't.).

In this case, it looks like things definitely worked. It was able to get 15,000 new fans on its mailing list, with a rather stunning 13,000 of those buying something (but fans just want stuff for free, right?). Of those who simply viewed the download offer, an amazing 22% made a purchase. That's an insane conversion rate. Also 30% of the download buyers came back and bought a physical product later (CD, vinyl or special edition).

All in all, yet another successful example of a band figuring out ways to connect with fans while giving them a reason to buy.

Filed Under: business models, connect with fans, cwf, fanfarlo, music, reason to buy, rtb
Companies: topspin

Connecting With Fans Via Live Theater As Well...

from the it's-happening-everywhere... dept

For many years, my wife and I have held a season subscription to the plays at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco. They put on some really great shows -- a mix of new and old (including at least one play by either Tom Stoppard or David Mamet pretty much every season, which is great, since those are probably my two favorite playwrights). This latest season kicked off with a bang a few weeks back with an amazing adaptation of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter, done by the Kneehigh Theatre group from the UK. Having attended dozens of plays at ACT over the years, I can't remember any that I thought was quite so amazing or that made me want to run out and tell lots and lots of people to go see it. It's the most imaginatively staged play I've ever seen, and you have to have a serious psychological disorder not to smile through most of it (despite the serious subject matter: marital affairs). I think the opening line to the SF Gate review summed up my thoughts exactly:

Every so often a theater piece comes to town that is so brilliantly conceived and executed, so entertaining on every level, that you want everyone you love or even like just a bit to see it. Kneehigh Theatre's "Brief Encounter," the opening show in the American Conservatory Theater's new season, is that kind of experience.

You kind of have to see the play itself to understand what's so creative about it, but as a hint, before the play even starts, the actors show up in different parts of the theater and start playing instruments and singing songs -- totally unannounced (and many in the crowd ignored it) right up until the play starts. Then, during intermission, they ended up doing something similar in the bar area (downstairs, not upstairs), before mingling with the crowd as everyone made their way back to the theater. Considering most of the actors are on-stage close to the entire time during the play, it's noteworthy that they then end up extending things both before the play and during the intermisison. It really is a neat way for the actors to more closely "connect" with the fans at the show.

Anyway... that, by itself, obviously isn't the sort of thing we post around here, but when I saw the news that the engagement had been extended for another week (the second time already) due to popular demand, I wanted to send that news to a few friends who I knew would enjoy the show, and did a quick search to find that SF Gate review (separately, I believe the play is heading to NY and then Minnesota in the coming months, for folks in either place). In doing so, I came across a blog post from a dramaturg who works at ACT talking about how the artistic department of ACT is trying to get much more involved in meeting people at the theater and improving the overall experience:

An idea I had over the summer, the SHOP puts the creators of Words on Plays (my supervisor and me) in the theater to personally sell our product and discuss it--as well as the play itself and the theater more generally--with our patrons. Part of our theater's mission is to encourage conversation; we're taking this tenant literally. Previously Words on Plays was sold at the merchandise counter, but that counter is remaining unmanned this season because of low sales. So our timing was good.

The idea is to get more in touch with the fans coming to the theater and build a stronger relationship, while still offering "reasons to buy" (the whole RtB part...). While it sounds like direct sales of the book weren't a big deal, it is still helping more people connect with the theater overall and come back to see more plays (a bigger moneymaker than any book...):

Our patrons are most familiar with our theater's hospitality and fundraising staffs. Certainly not a bad thing, but what if this model was exchanged for one in which representatives from the artistic staff were always present to discuss what the patrons are really there to think about--the art?

This is how smaller theaters have to do it because everyone is doing everything. The artistic director is the ticket taker. The playwright is the one who knows where the fire extinguisher is. And it's lovely. Every show you are being welcomed in by a family.

This is where my thinking started. I would stand at my booth selling my product and furthering conversation about the show. But I think I may have been thinking too small. Last night I sold five copies. Commendable but negligible. But I also sold at least two couples on November, our next show, by simply telling them how funny a script it is. I spoke to another gentleman about his time in England. I made a handful of people laugh when I directed them to the new location for the hearing devices: "Why don't you put a sign up?" "Because then I wouldn't get to talk to you."

Indeed. Over the last few months, we've been seeing how the whole CwF + RtB concept isn't just working for musicians, but authors, movie makers, photographers and many other content creators as well. Most of these experiments are still early, but you get a sense that actually building real connections with fans is really working for those who truly put their hearts into it. And, oh yeah, if you're in San Francisco, you really should go check out Brief Encounter...

Filed Under: act, brief encounter, connect with fans, cwf, plays, reason to buy, rtb
Companies: american conservatory theatre, kneehigh theatre

When Connecting With Fans, Be Careful What You Promise

from the high-class-problem dept

The submissions for Connecting-with-Fans (CwF) stories are ramping up these days, and here's a cautionary tale from thublihnk who writes "... one of the guys behind Borderlands (an upcoming online multiplayer FPS/RPG) promised to play with/give loot to anyone who preordered his game, and due to a game journalist alerting people to this deal, is now swamped with requests. Good try, better luck next time?"

So this doesn't actually sound too bad for Mike Neumann, the Creative Director of Gearbox, who promoted his game by tweeting a promise to play with anyone who pre-ordered it, even if the number of folks who viewed his offer is in the thousands (so far, though, it sounds like the number is more like hundreds). Neumann says he'll hold up his end of the bargain, but he's also asked fans if they'd accept playing with the CEO of Gearbox instead of just him, which seems perfectly reasonable. It's not like Neumann promised he'd show up in everyone's living room. He also didn't specify how long he'd play with these fans, so there are a few loopholes that will allow him to live a normal life -- assuming his normal life didn't already include hours and hours of gaming. And presumably, superfans are not out to destroy him, though, it might be a bit embarrassing if Neumann turns out to be a total N00b at playing his own game. But, yes, the lesson here for creative CwF promotions is to make sure to think through the consequences. Fortunately for Gearbox, the virtual loot in Borderlands has zero marginal costs.

Filed Under: borderlands, connect with fans, cwf, overpromise, video games
Companies: gearbox

Why Don't More TV Shows Try To Connect With Fans?

from the it's-always-sunny-in-philadelphia dept

We've talked about different aspects of the content business have been shifting to do more "connecting with fans" and giving them "reasons to buy," from the music, movie, newspaper, book and even photography industries. But we haven't talked that much about television -- and that's because TV shows still really don't do all that much to try to embrace their fans. There are a few shows (The Office comes to mind) that have creative online presences, but Dave Title highlights how the cast of the "cult hit" It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is doing a live tour:

Now, to both reward their rather rabid fanbase and to attract new folks to the fold, the gang from Sunny is doing a live tour version of the musical "The Night Man" and screening a new episode from this season at theaters across the country. This not only builds excitement for the new season but creates a far stronger bond with their viewers -- the people most likely to spread the word and build the audience.

Title asks how come other TV shows don't do this sort of thing... and it's a great question. Why aren't TV shows more actively working to connect with fans? Is it because TV shows are often more about selling directly to advertisers than to fans? Or is there some other reason? Or... am I just not paying enough attention to creative TV promotions?

Filed Under: connect with fans, cwf, it's always sunny in philadelphia, tv shows

How Imogen Heap Connected With Fans, And Created Her New Album With Their Help

from the cool-example dept

Another day, another example of a musician using social media tools to better connect with fans and built up true loyalty. This time, it's the story of how singer Imogen Heap involved her fans in the process of creating her latest album, using a variety of tools, including MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. She not only kept them in the loop of pretty much everything that was going on with the album, but she also reached out to them for ideas and support on certain parts of the album and its packaging (including fan-submitted artwork for the packaging). As the article notes, because of all of this, many of her fans feel personally invested in the album itself, making them more willing to purchase it when it comes out.

The whole story is interesting, though the one part I'm not sure I agree with was her decision to "fight back" against someone trying to auction off a pre-release copy of her album on eBay. Rather than complain about it, she did ask her fans to just bid up the price as high as possible, which helped eBay become aware of questionable activity on the auction, which they pulled down. As the article notes:

During a time when many music fans are clamoring for free music, Heap's fans actually helped ensure her music wasn't prematurely leaked.

While it does show the loyalty of her fans (and puts to rest the myth that fans will automatically try to get pre-released music), that strategy does seem a bit questionable and could result in eBay users losing their accounts. She claimed that she would make sure no eBay users were punished, but that's a decision up to eBay, not Heap. Still, overall, the entire story is definitely a great case study in really involving her fans in the process.

Filed Under: connect with fans, cwf, imogen heap