Pomplamoose And The Covers VS Originals Argument

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Corey Stewart

In my last post “CD Baby DIY Musicians Podcast. I Love It” I mentioned that I would share any DIY music marketing ideas that I come across with you. I will then attempt to incorporate these ideas into my own music marketing.

What you’ll read below is one of those ideas.

Before I downloaded all of the CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast series I was listening to them one at a time as they were being released. The latest podcast, features an interview with Jack Conte from the duo Pomplamoose.

Pomplamoose has gained massive amounts of exposure worldwide for two main reasons:

1. Their creative “video songs” have been collectively viewed over 10 million times (yes 10,000,000)
2. They use cover songs to their advantage.

Lately I have been getting more and more interested in using video for my own stuff as well as for the Open Mic Network so stumbling across this podcast was very timely indeed.

Until now I had not heard of the term “video song” but CD Baby describe it as a new medium of music video “…in which the imagery is an inside look into how the song is actually created.” Here is an example of one of Pomplamoose’s video songs, an excellent cover of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire

This leads me to the second part of why Pomplamoose is so successful, it’s their use of COVERS (I can hear you cringing through the computer monitor but hey, hear me out for a second…)

For me, the answer to the covers vs originals questions goes like this…

For me, it all comes down to the attitude you have towards the music you’re covering, there is a difference between an artistic homage to a great song and a blatant rip off just to make some cash. I believe that you can still have artistic integrity while doing covers.

It’s not the song itself but how you cover it that should be the most important thing to consider.

Jack Conte in the interview was saying that for Pomplamoose, making video songs of well known covers enabled them to gain a huge amount of exposure and in turn grow a large fan base who want to be turned on to their own music.

He also goes on to say that covers are a good business decision, in fact it’s your duty as a musician to do covers, how will you stand out in the crowd if you don’t give your audience something to relate to?

Personally, a great song is a great song no matter where it comes from. Whether you wrote it or not a great song should be played, it should be listened to and it should be appreciated for what it is… A work of art.

What do you think about the covers vs originals argument? I know that it’s one of those arguments that will never be resolved but hey, it’s great fun as a conversation topic. Let me know your stance on this I’d love to hear your views.

To end my rant here is another Pomplamoose video song, a classy rewrite of Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It.” Nice!

I’m now inspired to play around with some video and if you’re lucky, I’ll put some up for you to check out.

Peace,

Corey

Pomplamoose: Making a living on Youtube (npr.org)
Exclusive video: DLS interviews Pomplamoose “YouTube band” (downloadsquad.com)
So quirky, so clever, so irritating (theglobeandmail.com)
Modest Success Is Still Success For Indie Bands (techdirt.com)
A Version of Lady Gaga’s Telephone You Can Actually Enjoy (geeksaresexy.net)

CD Baby DIY Musicians Podcast. I Love It!

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Corey Stewart

I love podcasts.

I love the fact that you can subscribe to something that gives you the information you want as it comes out plus the extra benefit of being able to revisit the information at anytime you want.

A podcast is also really handy when you drive around in a car that has no working stereo in it.

I’ve only just started listening to podcasts over the last 6 months and what I’ve noticed is that there are very few songwriting and music business podcasts that are worth listening to. An exception to the rule however, is the CD Baby DIY Musicians Podcast.

I love it.

Along with the CD Baby DIY Musicians Blog it’s very informative, professionally put together podcast but at the same time, it’s personable and informal without sounding like one huge infomercial in which other podcasts I’ve subscribed to are guilty of.

I’ve just downloaded the whole series (there’s 96 of them so far) onto my iPhone and with every one I listen to I pick up at least one new idea, something that I can use in my own music business. In future posts I’ll share with you the ideas and concepts that really inspire me.

My iTunes is telling me that listening to the whole series will take 2.6 days. I best get a move on.

Peace,

Corey

CD Baby DIY Musicians Blog
CD Baby DIY Musicians Podcast

Open Mics Are Good For You

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Corey Stewart

One of the projects that I’m involved with is running an Open Mic every Wednesday night at the Daniel O’Connell Hotel called the Open Mic @ The Dan. This has been running for almost 4 years now and has a very solid following and is known around Adelaide as one of the best run and best sounding Open Mics around. This is something that I’m very proud of.

I’m also putting together an Open Mic Network in which all Open Mics can cross promote their events to a developing Open Mic community. I’m doing this because It’s my belief that grass roots initiatives such as Open Mics are essential in a vibrant music industry. I wish they were around when I first started my musical journey.

The benefits of an Open Mic are:

For everyone:

1. Open Mics are a great networking opportunity for songwriters, performers and musicians of all experiences and skill levels. Everyone gets together in one place with music as a common bond and allows magic to happen

2. It’s a great night out in a relaxed, performer-friendly environment listening to music performed by anyone and everyone. A mixed bag of good and improving performances. You can feel comfort zones being shattered.

For songwriters:

3. You can road-test new material as it is being written (even works in progress if you are daring) and get great feedback from your peers.

4. As other singer/songwriters are present you can easily find a songwriting partner.

For performers:

5. It is an opportunity to perform in front of an attentive, respectful crowd in which you can promote other shows, get names on a mailing list and sell product. If you have a band that you are starting and you want to get the vibe happening before your first gig, Open Mics are perfect for this.

6. If you are looking for other band members networking at an open mic should be one of the thing on your to do list.

7. Most open mic venues have music on other nights so consider your performance as an audition for a gig on another night.

For more information on the Open Mic @ The Dan and the Open Mic Network go to my projects page or to www.openmicaustralia.com

Peace,

Corey

Why?

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Corey Stewart

Why this blog? Why this site?

I discovered early on in my career that, as a performing songwriter and musician it’s really, really important to have people to play in front of. Seems a simple enough realisation.

Playing to an audience gives me a sense of purpose with my music, an end result to all of the hours practising, rehearsing and writing and of course it satisfies the ego but I also realised that just satisfying the ego was not enough. Performance is a two way street between performer and audience, without one the other ceases to exist.

I realised that for me to be a successful performer I need to be successful at giving the audience a reason to care, to touch move and inspire them and then find a way to keep them all in one group and give them what they want on a regular basis.

Hence this blog, this site. I’m using technology to reach out over the vast expanses of cyberspace to tap you on the shoulder and say “HI!”

I want to build a community of people around me and my music and I’ll be doing that by being me, being open and honest and documenting everything that I’m doing on my musical journey.

I’ll be putting up my music, my images, my videos, my thoughts, feelings and other interesting and useful things I find along the way. All because I want to reach out to you, my audience.

I know that might sound a tad arrogant but, I know that winning you over is not going to come easily. I have to prove my worth to you, prove that I’m worthy of your attention because your time is just as precious as mine so I don’t want to waste it.

If I’m on stage I know where my audience is. When I’m writing for this site I don’t know where you are, it’s exciting and scary all at the same time but it’s worth pursuing. My audience, my community, my friends are out there. I’ve just got to find them.

It is my hope that through this site (and what I put in it) will give you a reason to give me a go, to care enough to tell your friends about what I do, to come to my shows and to allow me to be part of your life through my music. It would be an honour and a privilege to do so.

As you can read, I take community building very seriously. It’s what the music industry is all about.

Peace,

Corey