Have you ever wondered how much a musician has to sell in order to make a salary of $1,160 a month. Well David McCandless of Information is Beautiful can help you with that. He put together this data poster to show how much you would need to sell or stream in order to make this minimal income. Now don't take this data to heart. It's basically just showing you that if you only went in one avenue of sales, then this is how much you would need to sell.

In the music world though going through one avenue of promotions and sales is not going to cut it. You need to market yourself and put yourself in many different avenues. When I was finding information about the chart below. I came acrossed an article by Allison Rizk from Radio Potato who gave some great ideas to increase your fan base, get more exposure and start making that money flow. The ideas below came directly from her article.

Fame Games (@FameGames) – This online radio show promotes independent artists. Musicians can submit their music online and fans can vote each day for their favorites. As it grows in popularity, you can increase your exposure worldwide. Really cool group of DJ’s, too. They know their stuff! Eclectic music choices and always top notch music!

The Sixty One (@thesixtyone)
Branded as “helping artists find their audiences.” Indie artists submit their work, but rather than allowing a stuffy suit to decide what’s cool, the listeners do. Listeners have to listen to a song for over a minute before they can “heart” it. It’s very cool exposure! For music lovers, please make sure you find your favorite artists and heart them – and if they aren’t on there, make sure you get them on it!

Kickstarter (@kickstarter)
I want to kick myself for not thinking of this first. If you’re a musician that doesn’t have the jack to promote yourself, this site can help you fund projects. Much like a telethon concept, you can set up graduating levels of “rewards” and goodie packages depending on how much each fan contributes to your project. Kickstarter put one of my favorite emerging artists, Gareth Asher, on tour all throughout the United States and massively expand his fan base.

Pandora (@pandora_radio)
This site gets the Brilliant Award of the Century. This music engine automatically creates a streaming radio station that is based on the artists/songs/genres that you like – and plays similar artists based on the style and tonality of what you chose. You can now upload your music onto the site and become part of their Music Genome Project’s musical library. Click here to submit your music: http://submitmusic.pandora.com/

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, iTunes, Reverbnation etc.
The name of the game today is being accessible. Back in the day, if you wanted to find music, you’d have to go to the store, buy the whole album, and if it sucked, you’re the fool with the stack of CD’s collecting dust in the back of your car. Nowadays, people automatically go to YouTube to find a video of their favorite song and can share it immediately. If you’re not Internet savvy, check out www.mashable.com as a comprehensive resource on using social media. Oh, and if you’re one of those brooding and introverted musicians who hates people, do your best to still respond to your fans reaching out to you and Follow them back on Twitter. Acknowledging your fans individually endears themselves to you and in turn, they will support you through your sales.



via: Flowing Data, Radio Potato

Matt Pond PA has a new album out called The Dark Leaves. It's his eight studio album and it was release early April of 2010. So I guess I was a little out of loop on his new album. Although when a new album is released a tour date is sure to follow. So I'm in luck, after checking out his website I found that he will be perform a show at the New World Brewery in Tampa, Fl on Oct. 6th with guest Company(Co.) and King of Spain for $10 bucks. So maybe I might see some of you out there if your in the area.

On a side note I got to give props to Matt on his album cover art. The color palette choice and the tone of the image is fantastic. The font that was used on the album is also quite interesting and blends in nicely with the design. It has a very earthy vintage feel to it and works with the album. If you like what you hear then follow Matt Pond PA on Twitter and keep up to date on what he is up to.

The Temper Trap is a 4 piece indie band from down under. This Australian band gives you some Aussie style with their atmospheric sound, that incorporates pulsating drum and bass grooves with fluctuating pitched vocals and arpeggiated guitar chords, and a modest drizzling of synths .

Their album Conditions was release in 2009 and their single "Sweet Disposition" has been used in countless commercials and it's also on the soundtrack to 500 days of Summer. Although this song is their mainstream hit don't let that full you. The rest of the album is full of great fines with the courtesy of Dougy Mandagi and his plaintive vocals and the swelling strings that accompany each track.

This album was well produced and bristlingly melodic, but also sobersided and personality-free, with lyrics that have big themes - life and death, love and faith - in empty platitudes. They are currently starting to work on their second album which I can only assume will be just as unique and filled with blissful sounds as Conditions. If you're looking for something to quiver and tingle your vertebrae and give you goose bumps then this album is for you.

I recently got my hands on a copy of the New Teen Dream album by the Baltimore-based duo Beach House. This is the third album by Beach House and it's packed full of dreamy sounding rhymes and vocals. Scally and Legrand have created a well arranged and constructed sound of droning melodies and waverly vocals to carry you through each song. This album is full of sounds that can be seen as dreamy like the use of vintage organs and the arpeggiating piano.

This album was produced by Chris Coady, who has worked with TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Blonde Redhead, and was recorded in a converted church in upstate New York — appropriately named Dreamland. So I have a feeling that maybe the name Dream in the album title had some influences from the sound of the album and the location of where it was recorded. Either way this is a must have album.

If you like the album or want to check them out. Then if you live in Florida your in luck. They will be playing two shows in Florida with Vampire Weekend. One in Orlando on Oct 11th at the Hard Rock Cafe and then Oct 12th at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg.

via: NPR

Before I begin I want to give a big thanks to Tycho/ISO50 Blog and FITC for giving me the chance to see him perform with his band in San Francisco. The FITC event was a private party so to be able to attend you had to attend the FITC Conference or be one of the lucky winners on ISO50's giveaway guest list spots. Although I didn't go to the conference I would have liked to have seen Scott Hansen's seminar on his background, processes, and theory's along with some walk throughs and presentations of his recent work. I did however get the next best thing and that was seeing the new band play out. Tycho's band did a great job of capturing the sound that is Tycho but also giving it a different yet more unique feel to the music. Each member of the band gave off the right energy and vibe to keep the crowd moving while satisfying our ears with great music. Overall I have to say that I was very satisfied by the end of the night with the performance and the presentation of Tycho's music and visuals. I hope that many of you will get a chance in the future to check out his band's set. Lastly, I want to give another big thanks to Raoul Ortega who I meet last night for allowing me to use his photos from the event. Raoul has done work with Dusty Brown and Tycho before so it was cool of him to allow me to use his photos. My camera was not taking the best of pictures last night, however, it did do a good job on the videos that I took which can be viewed below. I used my Samsung TL220 camera. If you want to check out more of Raoul photography which you should then check out his Flickr account and his Website.

The Outside Lands festival was a memorable experience with its great music, food and wine. The event which was held in the Golden Gate Park was beautiful with its surroundings and cultural feel that is San Francisco. Although, it seemed to have less people than expected it did not put a damper on the experience or the quality of the event. The organizers of this event deserve major props for its fast tickets lines, its ease of movement and with the placement of the stages. So many festivals seem to put there stages so close it's like listening to a train wreck.

On Saturday, thousands descended upon the heart of Golden Gate Park for a day of cultural experience from the food to the wine and finally to the talented musician's that made the festival rock. To recap Saturday's experience I will have to start with Bassnectar who dropped some of the sickest dupstep I have heard since seeing Dieselboy at Bonnaroo. Bassnectar, also known as Lorin Ashton, made sure his homecoming was remembered as large black objects were launched into the crowd during his 50-minute set on the Sutro Stage. The crowd was eating up the stage presence and the bass was wobbling the crowd into a dance fury of fist pumps and dance movements.

Then came the Tokyo Police Club who kept their stage presence with the assistance of the crowd. Who throughout the set assisted the band in different clap sequence to keep the flow of the music. The four band members also took their turns leading the crowd and making sure everyone stayed engaged at least until the next song came around. “Thanks for helping out,” lead singer Dave Monks would say with a smile. If only every band could show that kind of enthusiasm.

Finally came The Strokes who closed out the night with a bang. The return of this band and their stage presence was more than anticipated. The band just picked up where they left off and played like they never stopped. They got the crowed going with classics from their 2001 release of "Is This It" they then went on to play a collection of other great tracks from their other two albums. This was a great set to close out the evening for Saturday. Unfortunately I was only able to experience one day of this great festival but it was enough to satisfy my music hunger for the time being. I'm sure that next year will have more of the great same experiences that this year provided. See you next year Outside Lands.

Here is a little taste of Bassnectar's set.



via: Ryan Mac Blog

Freelance Whales have been playing nonstop since I downloaded their CD Weathervanes last week. I highly anticipate in seeing then at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco this month. The sounds of FW is intergrated with mass amounts of different collective instruments from guitars, banjos, tambourines, harmonium, and glockenspiels to yes the occasional keyboard and laptop assist. Amidst a strange amalgam of unfamiliar instruments, and precariously arranged pop songs. This five member band worked at crafting songs with interlocking rhythmic patterns, lush textural layering, and an engaged group-vocal energy. The band is also gaining a lot of attention and besides that their label Frenchkiss, already has a great track record of locating bands with quality plus commercial appeal (Passion Pit, the Antlers, Dodos, Local Natives), FW sound is on the surface of a lot 00's Indie Hall of Famers Arcade Fire, Ben Gibbard, and Sufjan Stevens. So check out their sound and let me know what you think. I also want to give the band props for making their whole album available to the public via stream.


Freelance Whales performing Generator^First Floor Live.



via: Pitchfork, Last.FM

You know I would have to say that I love making the Playlist's every month because I find new bands that fit the style that I'm currently enjoying. This month I have been getting down to the sounds of The Whitest Boy Alive. This band started as an electronic dance music project in 2003. It has slowly over time developed into a band without any programmed elements. The Whitest Boy Alive is frontman-ed by Erlend Øye, the lead singer who gives this band it's unique sound. You might recognize his vocals from The Kings of Convenience (his other band) which by the way is another great band. The groups sound is a mix of plucking guitars, synths, with a steady drum beat and soft vocals to make for some great easy listening. Once you have listen to a few TWBA tracks you’ll be hooked and you'll be looking for more.

via: Hold My Coat

The great thing about the summer time is there full of festivals and who doesn't like festivals right? They're full of great bands, food, people and good atmosphere. So seeing how festivals rock. This year I have decided to attend the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco August 14-15th at the Gold Gate park. This festival will give me the first time visitor a taste of the San Fran scene because this festival is like a taste of San Francisco with music, food, wine and art. I will tell you though I'm looking forward to some of the bands that will be performing this year. You have bands like Toyko Police Club, The Strokes, Phoenix, Slightly Stoopid, and many other great bands to fill your festival going ears.

I think another great thing about this festival is the wine tasting which California is known for its wineries. It looks like from the website that they have added 3 more wineries to the lineup. Berryessa Gap, Long Meadow Ranch and Palmina have been added in the ranks of an already impressive lineup of wineries featured in Wine Lands part of the festival. So if don't live in area you should travel on over to California and check out the Outside Lands Festival.

In 2010 if your an indie band you might have difficulty becoming a known band due to the over saturation of the indie culture. Although, if you have that right sound that feeds the neon kids then by gosh your going to rise to the top. One band who is pushing to the for front is Tokyo Police Club with their new album "Champion". Now Tokyo Police Club is no new band. They have been slowing growing a fan base since back in 2006 when they played each year at numerous festivals and then in 2008 they released their first album "Elephant Shell".



In the new album you will get a sense that the lyrics of this album have matured and the stories have lyrically improved compared to the band’s earlier work. This album is full of catchy pop-hooked melodies to fill your indie ear drums. The first two songs on the album "Favourite Food" and "Favourite Colour" are a pair of tracks that tingle with the sweetness of summer memories. These two songs get you going and gets you ready for the other great tracks on this album. Tokyo Police Club keep their sound going with it's light and poppy with its gently swaying guitar and keys throughout this album. So have a listen to some of their tracks from their album. Also let me know if you think in a couple of songs if Dave Monks the lead singer sounds like They Might Be Giants a little.

The other day I mentioned to check out Two Door Cinema Club but realized that in Playlist-15 it only has two remixes by the band and not the originals. So I decided to do a piece on them so you can check them out and find out what their about. So let's get started.

Two Door Cinema Club is three Irish lads from Bangor, Ireland who have been growing its fan base fast since March when then album "Tourist History" was release by Kitsune in the UK. The bands album is full of dance floor melodic electro pop which sucks you in with it's hooked inspired tracks. The bands states that in the end its going to be a fast paced, electro pop album. That’s their aim their going for. Every song on the album from start to finish is loaded with tremendous amount of hooks that will leave you addicted all day. Alex Trimble’s warm vocals direct the band to pop perfection. The guitars in this album have the angular fury of Tokyo Police Club. The Bass standouts in each track which will have you shaking around like crazy on the dance floor. This album is ranked up high in my top albums of the year and has been playing nonstop all this week. Like I said it becomes addicting with all these catchy songs.

via: Amelia's Magazine, We All Want Something to Shout For

Bonobo became a favorite of mine after hearing his song "Terrapin" which was release back in 1999 by Tru Thoughts. He then in 2000 released his first LP "Animal Magic" which was self produced and he grew quickly to become the new down-tempo pioneer. In 2003 Bonobo switched labels and came over to Ninja Tune in which he produced three albums under this label. This includes his new album"Black Sands".

The new album "Black Sands" is Bonobo's newest album since 2006. This album was release in March of 2010 and it couldn't have came at a better time. Simon Green has once again provided us with a electronic plethora of hip hop/ jazzy hybrid mixed with the already well achieved textured sounds from his previous albums. Bonobo I guess you can say is a medley of jazz, funk, soul, electronic, pop, hip-hop, trip-hop, drum and bass, lounge, classical, and so on. Its very hard to stick him into one genre of music due to his vast style and arrangements of his songs. In listening to the new album you will find this to be true as you go from one song to the next. The album has a flow to it that will go by unnoticed throughout the album. So check it out and let me know what you think of the album. Below is a 10 minute teaser of the album.

So I will be heading to Bonnaroo in less than 20 days and I'm looking forward to seeing a ton of bands that will be playing at Bonnaroo. There is however a band that is on the top list of people to see and one of them is Local Natives. They currently have a new album out called Gorilla Manor which was released in the US in February 2010. The album Gorilla Manor was named after the house they all shared in Orange County, where most of the album was written. “It was insanely messy and there were always friends over knocking around on guitars or our thrift store piano,” said guitarist Ryan Hahn.

This band has a unique style which consists of different harmonic vocals while blending in different sounds of orchestral melodies. The band has made this record with intention of bring you up and down with songs which you can dance to and others that chill you right out. Another great thing about this band is that their live sessions sound just as good as the album versions. You don't find that the case most of the time. This five piece band has a lot to offer in the indie scene and I highly recommend giving them a listen.

via source: Frenchkiss Records, Wikipedia

Well it's that time again for you guessed it Bonnaroo! The Music and Arts Festival which is an annual, four to five-day music festival, created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, first held back in 2002. The festival is located at the Great Stage Park on a 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. So in it's ninth year of celebrating I will get to par take in this monumental festival on June 10th-13th. Bonnaroo which brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival's 100-acre entertainment village buzzes around the clock with attractions and activities including a on-site cinema, silent disco, comedy club, theater performers, yoga classes, and more. This year looks to have some great bands and artists like: Dave Matthews Band, Kid Cudi, The XX, Local Natives, Miike Snow and I could go on and on but I will put up the flier and you can check it out for yourself.

The 2010 Lineup

There are now a number of apps like PocketGuitar, Virtuoso, Ocarina and DigiDrummer which can make your phone into a virtual symphony. So today I found a couple of people who have put down there instruments and have picked up there iPhones, iPod Touches and other devices that can generate sounds.

iBand

The first band is iBand who are truly unique group of musicians. The band's first YouTube video generated over 4.8 million views. Their song "Vitality has also been a huge hit. The applications that they choose to use are iAno, PocketGuitar, IphoneSynth and BeatPhone.

The Mentalists

The Mentalists are a group of girls from the UK that play great covers only using their iPhone and their voices. They have covered songs like "Kids" by MGMT and "American Boy" by Estelle. Their favorite apps are NLog Synthesizer, MiniSynth, RetroSynth, DigiDrummer Lite and Ocarina.




Via: SocialTimes.com

I posted a while back ago on Playlist-08 a band called: Bombay Bicycle Club and their song "Always Like This". It's a deliciously danceable number, with an almost afro-pop melodious riff that would make Vampire Weekend jealous. Topped with Bombay's typically quivering, Devendra-esque vocals, the track looks to be a summer favorite. Bombay Bicycle Club are an indie rock band from Crouch End, London. This band is composed of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, xylophone), Jamie MacColl (lead guitar, backing vocals), Ed Nash (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Suren de Saram (drums, guitar, backing vocals). They released their first full length album back in July 2009 called: "I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose". So I have been getting down on the sounds of Bombay and thought it would only be fair to share the sounds of this talented band. They are currently working on a Acoustic album that will be available on CD and Vinyl, which is due to be released in July 2010. They are also filming a video for each song with the "watch listen tell" people, at locations which means a lot to the band.

I was listening to my Zune this morning and was shuffling through all my songs and came upon Hot Chip, which I haven't heard in a long time. So I wanted to see if they had anything new. Come to find out, they have a new CD out "Made in the Dark", which came out last year. So as you can see, I lost touch with the band but not anymore. I have been listening to them for most of the morning now.
Hot Chip is a Grammy-nominated British electropop band. They have released three studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, and Made in the Dark. The Warning was named Album of the Year by Mixmag and voted the fourth best album of 2006 by NME. I would have to say Warning album has some great tracks and is worth getting a copy. This album spawned also two UK top forty singles: "Over and Over" in March 2006 and "Boy from School" in May 2006. "Over and Over" received attention for its music video, which was directed by Nima Nourizadeh, and was also named as the best single of 2006 by British music magazine NME.



This video has some great concepts on how anything can be art. Plus this is a great song. Don't forget to check out their other music video's they are all good. Let me know what you think of this band.