Category Archives: Rants/Blogs

You want to be successful in this (or pretty much any) scene these days? Here’s some honest answers on how to do it.

(and mind you there’s exceptions to every rule:))

1) Make music that’s interesting and different, but not TOO interesting or different.
People want your personality, your “voice,” and your take on music, but if you want mass appeal you can’t give them TOO much “new”. Fact is, people say they want something different but the dancefloors say otherwise. They want SLIGHTLY different and SLIGHTLY original, otherwise they won’t be able to easily relate to it and dance to it. This is not saying don’t be yourself, but also don’t get pissed if your completely original take on X-genre gets ignored. People are creatures of habit, and when drinking and partying don’t necessarily want some po-mo deconstructed take on their favorite genre.

Then again, Radiohead got huge, so also remember that sticking to your guns can yield nice rewards, but prepare for a massive uphill climb.

2) Work your ass off.
Some of us make getting popular look easy. What you see on stage or released IS generally the easy part– it’s the results. The massive amount of time going in to DO it and what you DON’T see, however, and is a completely different story.

This is easy to say, but this literally means relentless, calculated, strategic planning that involves playing lives shows (at first any gigs you can get, and then eventually bigger gigs you earn by your reputation), putting out great CDs, and marketing them successfully. Don’t be the tree in the woods that nobody hears fall. You want people to hear your music, then bring it to THEM. They don’t like it? Bring another batch later and try again. We’re all a work in progress, after all.

Success in music means not taking no for an answer. This does not mean bash people daily over the heads and be a dick about it if people aren’t drinking your Kool-Aid yet– you’re probably simply not as good as you think you are yet. Patience and perseverance is key. It doesn’t mean you’ll ever get huge, but it does help you open a hell of a lot more doors than sitting on your ass and refreshing your MySpace page and getting bummed there’s no hits. Bring the awesome to them. Hopefully it’ll work.

3) Don’t get into massive debt doing this.
Yes, I know it costs money to make money and that equipment and software costs some major cash at times. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I AM talking about is making sure that when you HAVE a release that you aren’t putting yourself into any extra, unnecessary debt to do it. This means paying for things like expensive mastering, remixes, producers, special packaging that you don’t necessarily need RIGHT NOW. Yes, you want the best representation of your music out there. No, you don’t need to go to Top Masterer/Remixer/Producer of the Moment to get it. Make a budget. STICK TO THAT BUDGET. Why? Because you aren’t going to sell a lot at first most likely. You want to make your money back, get the word out on your awesome music (and hopefully MORE awesome live show), and most importantly DO NOT GET BITTER OR BECOME DEFEATED THAT YOU LOST MONEY. Don’t let your passion die because you blew too much cash and it unfortunately didn’t work. That’s your fault and your fault alone.

REM has always had a rule that they’d never get in debt with their music. Because of this their early videos were abstract and cheaply made but effective and honestly pretty damn interesting– the mysteriousness worked well with Stipe’s weird, cryptic lyrics. As their popularity and wealth grew (thanks to not being in debt) they could do more. Grow with your popularity. Throwing lots of money at something means squat if you don’t do the groundwork for people to hear it, and there are less and less labels out there willing to pony up any start-up cash to get you moving. Push what you have, and put more into it as your fanbase grows.

4) Remix the shit out of everything.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to promote yourself is to become a decent remixer, if not an awesome one. It allows people to hear “you” but through an artist that is already known to them. There’s a comfort in that. Remix contests and begging artists you like to do a mix for them can allow you cool networking opportunities as well as the chance to hear how artists construct their own music. By the way, you always, ALWAYS do them for free at first. And you ALWAYS let the artist know you don’t care if they release it– if it’s good they’ll want to release it anyway, so don’t get butthurt if they don’t. At least you got more practice in and they know who you are now.

Remixing allows you to hopefully show up on more playlists and in many ways shows you’re “in” with certain artists. It gives credibility, much like getting signed to a label does. It’s inferred, but it does just that, and if people see your name enough they start to think “Hey, who is this artist? Lemme google their name!”

It can also help raise your profile even more if you make An Essential Club Song for DJs.

I’m going to give what I consider The 100% Perfect Example on this. Modulate. Modulate had the enviable/frightening position of coming out of the gates with a huge hit song: Skullfucker. Everyone has heard that song time and time again, and for good reason– it’s danceable as all hell, uses a familiar and awesome sample, and both the ladies AND guys can dance to it because it’s tough but not TOO tough. And while that was massive he followed it up with something equally massive (and, in my mind, equally hard to do), by remixing Faderhead’s also ubiquitous Dirtygrrls/Dirtybois into something even MORE clubby and accessible (IMHO). This one-two punch showed that Modulate a) Could make a huge mofo of a club song, and b) Beat the hell out of someone ELSE’s song. Mostly though, it meant more people heard his name and that he wasn’t JUST “That Skullfucker Guy”.

Result: I saw one (or both) of those songs on every DJ playlist for months. Modulate got even bigger.

And I know some people are going to say “Well how could you fuck up remixing a song that’s already so popular?” Believe me, you can. Don’t diminish the power of a solid remix. If they were so easy to do the good ones wouldn’t be so important.

5) Write for the women.
What gets women on the dancefloor? A song that appeals to them and makes them want to dance. What gets men on the dancefloor? Women.

Does this mean every song has to be about…I don’t fucking know, make-up and Twilight? (kidding, kidding…) No, it means it has to be catchy, easy to dance to (meaning within a certain BPM range: 115-135 or so for U.S., and apparently slightly faster overseas) and make them feel sexy and badass because feeling sexy and badass is nice when you’re dancing.

Duh.

Make the ladies love it, and the guys will inevitably follow suit. Even the gay guys, because they probably came to the club with the women anyway…and they love to dance. Because they’re gay. And other stereotypes.

(And, to clarify, I’m not saying women are “soft” and don’t beat equal ass on the dancefloor to hard shit. I’m saying if you can get the ladies dancing the men will follow suit.)

6) Network. Goddammit NETWORK!!!!!
Knowing people gets you things. Opportunities. Label referrals. Remixes. Being some anti-social goon gets you nothing. Sucking up to artists also gets you nothing, so be cool, be humble, and hope that some artists you like or know will toss you a bone. Maybe a remix opportunity or passing your name to a DJ or promoter to book you. Being friendly and a cool, down-to-earth person will open more doors for you than being a selfish dick. Believe me, most people’s music doesn’t EVER give justification for them to get away with being a douchebag. It’ll sink you, or at least slow you down a lot. Give people a reason to want to check out your music– people will always give someone nice, fun, and cool a chance. People will rarely give a douchebag a chance, and they probably won’t be telling a lot of friends even if they do like it.

Yup, it’s a popularity contest. Get used to it. But remember the music always comes first anyway.

7) Have a web presence.
Caustic would not have succeeded if I just made the music. Caustic succeeds because I also do things like this: Give you a reason to check out my pages by writing blogs and helping you. I don’t do it exclusively for getting pagehits as I truly enjoy sharing knowledge and think that giving tips can only improve the overall music and “scene” we have, but I also know it’s something that sets me apart from most other artists.

I have a big mouth, and I’ve learned how to use it.

I (and pretty much any artist I know “succeeding” these days, whatever that means) also have a web presence. They’ve also most likely put in hundreds, if not thousands, of hours when they started out emailing people, posting on websites, and pimping their stuff relentlessly for YEARS to get where they are today. It’s obsessive. It’s hard. It works, but only to the degree that it gets people checking out your music. If the music sucks the relationship ends there.

So be on sites, let people know when you’ve got new stuff out or have something going on, and remember that a light touch is EXTREMELY helpful in getting people interested in what you’re doing. I’ve always used humor, generally self-deprecating stuff, to get people interested. I still do because that’s my personality, but it was also done because I think it’s stupid when people pretend their new track or CD is God’s Gift to Industrial (or whatever genre). It became a hook for me to use– a way to stand out. Find your voice and what works best for you to speak to your fans and use it. Be human. CONNECT with people, as in this era of blind downloading and taketaketake it’s really helpful that people actually know YOU a bit. I’m not saying let them know when you go get a physical or get a weird rash, but just be yourself…or at least a slightly modified, cooler version of yourself that people can relate to.
_____________________
So there’s a few tips. Get to work.

Many of these are reiterations of what I’ve said in the past, but now it’s in a handy list. So there.

And there’s another 1000 most likely. These are just what I came up with on the busride to work. Add you own!

(And “don’t suck.” isn’t on here, because we ALL suck at first.)

1) Making your mp3 albums the same price as your CDs is asking for people to illegally download them. Make them cheaper.

2) Have a website, and make the front page have an area to hear your music. If someone’s there that’s the first thing they’re interested in.

3) Have your music available on streaming sites like Pandora, Last.fm, and Spotify.

4) Have a Facebook page and post frequent updates (“frequent” meaning whatever you think it means). If reminds people you’re there and available to talk to.

5) Get your music or live performances on youtube, but don’t put anything painfully bad on youtube unless it’s really, really funny.

6) Play live. Even if it’s just you at first. And put on a show.

7) Take compliments. Have humility.

Promote other bands you like– you can’t play the show? Recommend another good artist/band. Karma’s a beautiful thing.

9) No whining. Especially online.

10) Management- you don’t need to have anyone booking your shows except YOU, unless a) You’re playing more out of town than in-town, b) You’re actually popular. Promoters and booking agents don’t need any barriers if you’ll just end up with a door deal and free PBR all night. And to anyone thinking it makes them look professional– it doesn’t. It makes you look like you’re playing house.

11) Only work with people you can depend on and can trust to do what they’re supposed to. Otherwise you’re better off doing it on your own.

12) Don’t be a dick online. Sure, it’s funny now, but think “future consequences” rather than “now drunk posts”.

13) Remix remix remix.

14) Free online EPs cost you next to nothing (find a cheap person to master it) and can help introduce a lot of people to your music.

15) Collaborate– it’s sometimes easier/cheaper than getting a remix from the same person and always more fun.

16) Do a split EP– double your chances for exposure and new fans.

17) Watch the partying, especially for big shows where you have the opportunity to impress a new crowd or a bigger artist. Rock star shit should only be for the stage if you’ve got a 20 minute set and are on at doortime.

18) Educate yourselves! There are tons of free blogs out there with useful advice. Understand current trends in marketing and, if lucky, start a new one.

19) Got a good idea? DO IT. People appreciate someone with the guts to follow their instincts and if you’re right it builds confidence.

20) Ask advice from artists you admire. You don’t know everything. Neither do I.

21) Don’t dismiss a good idea just because you can’t stand the artist that came up with it.

22) Adapt– especially for live shows. Be prepared for the worst.

23) It’s not the end of the world if you don’t succeed, and let that thought liberate you from being safe.

24) Art and professionality over ego, always.

25) Challenge yourself creatively. Always try and surprise yourself.

26) Budget your releases intelligently for minimal damage financially, and be prepared to whore that son of a bitch for all it’s worth to move units. The music business ain’t always pretty.

27) Don’t work with your friends in any capacity if they totally suck in all capacities.

28) Always think “Can this be done cheaper with comparable quality?”

29) Shitting on illegal downloaders makes more enemies than friends. It doesn’t mean bend over for them, but a little understanding goes a long way. It’s like bitching about taxes– there ain’t shit you can do to stop it. And reasoning only goes so far.

30) Be approachable. Be gracious. Be nice. (and I hate that I have to point this out.)

31) Develop and maintain relationships with DJs. Toss the ones that have been good to you special perks like new tracks early or cool remixes.

32) Realize that your music, RIGHT NOW, may only be interesting to you. Keep going.

33) Stand for something. That could be loving Fritos, but at least it’s something specific that people can glom onto.

34) Be ready to work your ass off and not be appreciated for it for a long time, if ever.

35) Like what you like, hate what you hate, but know everyone doesn’t feel the same so know when to shut up about X-band and how their early shit used to be better.

36) If you play with an artist bigger than you, show some gratitude and be NOTHING but professional, even if they aren’t.

37) Expect to be paid if an agreement has been met and don’t let a crappy promoter off the hook if they suck. If you end up cutting them a deal they better know YOU’RE being the good guy/gal here, but never totally screw yourself to look good. It’s business, even for $50 and gas money.

38) Write a blog. Let people into your world a bit. People like that unless you’re a boring douche or a complete asshat.

39) Analyze what works for other bands live (like “make eye contact with crowd”, “don’t cry if you forget the words”) and if you see something not work (like “berating band members” or “making excuses why your set sucks when it’s definitely you.”) remember that and never, ever do it.

40) Take constructive criticism, but know your aesthetic and only use it when you understand it. Trying something new never hurts either, and if it doesn’t work you can always go back to your original idea.

41) Don’t take everything personally. Use rejection as an opportunity to improve. Be patient, and know that if someone doesn’t get back to you it could mean a million things. We’re all busy, and if someone’s “making it” I guarantee they’re a million times more busy hustling behind the scenes than you realize.

42) Take the hits and pay your dues.

43) Get on as many online or physical compilations or samplers as you can, and don’t pay for it unless you’re DEFINITELY going to get some key exposure. This means RARELY pay for it.

44) Use mailing lists, but be respectful.

45) Merchandise is the key between eating McDonalds on the road and bumping up to Dennys. Have it. Make it cool. You can’t download a t-shirt.

46) Own it. Sell it. This means your show and your music. Don’t half-ass it for any reason, crowd size or otherwise.

47) Know when to take a step back. Don’t let the work kill your passion for the art.

48) Understand that money doesn’t equal popularity, and sales don’t equal fanbase anymore. But they’re both all nice to have.

49) Stickers. Make them. Give them out. People love stickers. They stick to things. Everything.

50) Read the contract. It’s written to be followed. Don’t bitch if you thought it was kidding and it wasn’t.

51) Do it yourself. This means learn as many areas of how this business works, even if it means you learn enough to learn that you need someone else to do it well. Get your hands dirty. It’ll help ensure you’re self-sufficient, not get taken advantage of, and can roll with the many punches that will be punched upon you. Doesn’t mean you have to do it forever, but it’ll help you more than you know in the long run.

I’m going to share something that motivates me to do what I want with my music.

In the grand scheme of things…hell, in the MINOR scheme of things, get this….

NOBODY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOUR MUSIC.

NONE. NADA. NOT EVEN HALF A SHIT.

While this seems disheartening (and if you actually want to make money doing this find another genre to try and “make it” and see how much harder THAT is) it’s actually 100% liberating. Sure sure, even people who say “I don’t give a fuck” actually kinda-sorta-a-lil-bit actually DO care, otherwise they wouldn’t even put out music. Yes, this applies to me. I care a LOT about what people think of my music despite the “oh look at me I’m so gosh darned punk rawk” bullshit I constantly spew. Of course I care. Don’t be a moron.

The difference is that I don’t try and let that dictate what I DO with my music.

Notice I say “try”. While some artists pretend that they’re in some little glowing bubble of creativity and every note and decision comes from their Eternal Artistic Soul….well that’s total bullshit. I’m not necessarily talking Censorship with a capitol “C”, I’m talking simple human insecurity creeping in subconsciously and saying “okay, this will NOT go over well much as I dig it. This alternative will work a bit better.”

It affects some people a little and others a lot, and the longer you do it the more confident you are with your instincts. If you’ve ever been around enough creative people you’ll realize you’re dealing with quite possibly the most fucked up, insecure, low-self-esteem-havin’ bunch of freaks on earth. It’ll seriously make you long to chill out with some fucking accountants for a while at times. But it’s the nature of the beast. As Insecure Artists we generally feel like we have Something Worth Saying and would love the world to fellate our creativity and give us rainbows of accolades. After all, it’s scary as hell to put yourself out there and try and push past Simply What’s Expected Of You as a person and do something that is IN YOUR MIND an extraordinary feat and feel like it’s appreciated appropriately (which it rarely is– creative people are totally egotistical like that.)

If you’ve never tried it, just do this: Simply find a poem you like and go to an open mic. Not even a poem YOU WROTE, necessarily. Just a poem that you feel sincerely speaks to YOU. Announce that it means a lot to you and just READ IT to people with as much feeling as you can.

Easy to say. Easy to contemplate. Not so easy to do for a majority of people.

Now try and write your own and do it. Even harder.

Hell, just think about how tense you got doing a fucking BOOK REPORT in gradeschool. I’m a freakish extrovert and I still recall the dread.

So back to the point: Nobody cares about your music.

I hate to break it to anyone (including myself, because I’m as wacked out and delusional as any artist), but the recording industry will most likely NOT be knocking on your door anytime soon to see if you’ll sign a 10 CD deal and tour with Depeche Mode and Jesus Christ’s awesome new electro project. In fact the chances of you even getting accidentally mentioned in Rolling Stone or Spin is about the same as me winning the lottery in a state I didn’t even buy a lottery ticket in.

Yeah, you’re fucked. And, better yet, not at all.

I look at someone like Katy Perry, who I think is about as low as they go in terms of fleeting pop status, and go “WHY THE FUCK IS THIS IDIOT POPULAR?!?!” Then I think about how this woman is just a “lucky” victim of the industry. She’s ferreted around by the label non-stop doing press, photo shoots, and letting dozens of people craft her image. She probably barely sleeps, can never just gorge on pizza without fear of some paparazzi filming her being a quarter pound heavier, and is constantly criticized by a million pricks like me daily.

And all she probably thinks about is “How long before nobody cares about me anymore and I’m dropped for the next perky-titted idiot?”

She has no control. I haven’t checked but I doubt she even writes her own songs, so she’s at the mercy of what she’s given and what the label feels like PAYING for her music.

See, as artists we don’t have the problem of shelf life or thinking this is a “career”. The only expiration dates that most of us have are when either the band breaks up or we just don’t feel like doing this anymore. Since a good portion of us can and do put out CDs in small runs or, even better, digitally, we aren’t beholden to massive labels desperate to make their massive investments back on someone who they’ve invested THOUSANDS of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars on.

So we’re not going anywhere, literally and figuratively. And that’s a great thing. Use that. Push yourselves harder. Fuck playing it safe.

Or, more specifically: DO WHAT YOU WANT.

Why? If for no other reason because YOU CAN.

And that, my friends, is true creative freedom. Nobody gives a shit, so you don’t have to either.

I love this world.

Being on a label means many things: Most of all it’s a status symbol, a badge saying “someone believes in my music enough to pay their own money to put it out.” It’s an ego thing as well; a validation. And I’d be a massive hypocrite if it wasn’t fun to say “Oh, my label’s putting out my new CD in March” to zillions of people.

But, really, do you need a label, and what do you get out of it?

Labels in this genre (and I’ll assume most genres where you’re selling less than a few thousand CDs) can be a massive benefit if you as an artist know what you’re getting from them and they deliver. Let’s start with what you most likely won’t be getting, just to get it out of the way:

-Any advances for production costs, new gear, etc

-Tour support of any sort, meaning the label will chip in anything short of maybe donating a bunch of CDs so you can hopefully sell them for gas money. This includes t-shirts and other stuff.

-More than a couple album deal.

-Much in terms of a promotional budget (and note this is different than promotional SUPPORT).

-A huge, Depeche Mode 50/50 split royalty rate.

But let’s look at the positives of what you DO get:

-The status of “being signed”, which should NOT necessarily be taken lightly.

-Someone paying for the production of your CD and getting it online to major digital distros and, if they are even still around, into indie stores willing to stock the CD.

-Promotional support in terms of getting review copies out, release parties, listservs, online pimping, and possible handbills and helping get your music in the hands of bands that may want you to tour with them.

-A family of hopefully like-minded artists to work and cross-promote with under a single banner.

Due to diminishing returns in CD sales and the rise of digital albums as a more prominent means of getting music in fan’s ears, a lot of labels have either shut their doors completely or gone digital like my current label Crunch Pod. While this makes sense due to many factors, one being the still heavy cost of CD production (see my mildly aged yet still mostly relevant rant from years ago on the costs that go into putting out CDs– http://causticmusic.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/mega-rant-on-downloading-and-actual-costs-for-small-labels/), it also begs the question “Why the hell do I need a label when I can pay for all my shit myself and just chuck it up on itunes through Tunecore?”

Well, in essence, you don’t…IF you’re willing to put in an ass-ton of work to get the word out on it.

See, just because you have a bandcamp site and are on amazon, itunes, emusic, etc, doesn’t mean anyone will give a shit. Why? EVERYTHING is on there, so you’re not even a needle in a haystack– you’re the hay. And while some bands get hooked onto by the masses and every door seemingly opens for them and the world just loves ‘em to death, that’s few and far between.

So if you want to take the DIY route, be prepared to get your hands dirty, be ready to call in favor after favor if you can and whore so relentlessly you’ll feel like you’ve sucked the equivalent of a Vegas plumber’s convention of lonely cock.

Know what though? Welcome to DIY. Nobody owes you anything, and if your music isn’t ready or what people want to hear they’ll just bounce to the next band they can listen to for free and judge harshly or just press “don’t like” on whatever streaming site they’re pumping through their shitty, low-quality earbuds at work. Tenacity is the key to success, and anyone saying anything different isn’t selling for shit.

The benefits of DIY are pretty awesome if it works (and the IF is a big one) — you can potentially cover costs faster as you get to keep all the money, you get bragging rights that you rule and have a fanbase big enough to support your art, and like people bragging that they’re signed, you can say “oh, I don’t NEED a label to kick ass.”

*raises hand*

The thing is, while I know I don’t necessarily “need” a label, I wouldn’t be able to self-release without conceding a massive amount of humble gratitude towards Crunch Pod for helping me GAIN that following to begin with. Without Crunch Pod I wouldn’t have had many, many opportunities AND I know I would have lost a LOT of money in production costs at first, as even to gain my meager but luckily devoted fanbase I would have pissed through a ton of cash putting out CDs and pimping them solo.

It’s not to say I didn’t put in countless hours on my own, but I would be a fool to pretend to have done it all myself.

So am I saying go get signed and then do it yourself? No. I’m saying Know What You Want and Can/Want To Do. If you hate promoting yourself and just wanna be all about the music you should either try and get signed or be satisfied knowing people will hopefully stumble upon your Soundcloud page and enjoy your tunes. I’d recommend NOT investing in getting CDs made if you aren’t willing to shill like a motherfucker to sell them. Personally I’m pretty good at it, but I can’t pretend it always feels good and doesn’t feel like a massive chore at times, especially when I don’t get some good skinner box positive reinforcement. Honestly a lot of the time I just feel like I’m dragging along until another Paypal sale pops up in my inbox and the little voice in my head says “Only 99 more sales until I can be sure my wife doesn’t yell at me for losing more money on Caustic!”

***BIG NOTE before I go further on my rant here– know that I’m speaking GENERALLY of a MASSIVE amount of problems people have with labels– for the most part this isn’t my experience at all with my CURRENT label, luckily.***

Be prepared for the worst if you do DIY, but be prepared for the worst if you’re signed to a label. Be prepared for potential total lack of communication with whoever’s running the label, never seeing royalties or even sales statements, finding out you can’t even buy your OWN cds for a reasonable wholesale price from the label, or realizing that even though the label promised IN WRITING that they’d do X, Y, and Z they never even got to Q and now you’re screwed (and sueing them won’t help because they’re already working 3 jobs to keep the label afloat at all). Be prepared to have that label hold a contract over your head and cripple you creatively because they won’t release your CD until it meets with their approval, or they won’t release you from it because you didn’t read the fine print well enough to know you got locked in like a slave.

Get set to STILL do the lion’s share of the work even though you’re getting a small royalty rate (and before you whine realize it’s STILL probably bigger than someone like Madonna gets on a Big Label), do a massive amount of networking to find gigs and opening spots, begging to get on Some Important Compilation, and possibly, after you’re “established”, being essentially forgotten because the New Hot Thing just got signed to your label and they figure you can chug away on the last album’s momentum.

So what am I saying? Go with someone you feel you can trust, and don’t be afraid to leave. Don’t sign a ten (or even two CD with a two CD option) album deal because you aren’t necessarily getting “security”– you might be getting “stuck in a shitty contract” if that label can’t make even a good faith effort on what they’re promising.

Get it in writing if you’re wary. Personally, I’m not signed to shit with Crunch Pod, and it’s worked out just fine, but I’m more of the “Touch & Go” label mindset (they’re a Chicago-based label– look ‘em up) in terms of contracts, but I DID have one with my first label Statik Sky. Ben’s always been up-front and honorable with me on every front and I’ve done my best to help the label and team by crosspromoting, doing remixes, and soforth. We’re also a small label and a family in many regards, so that’s a great thing.

And yes, I consider Crunch Pod out of the norm in the stories I’ve heard and/or experienced from knowing of a lot of other labels. Not ALL, mind you, but there’s a lot that have risen and gone down or are still around…

The main point here is no matter what you’re going to need to put in a lot of work. One major reason I’ve stuck by Crunch Pod (other than the relationships) is that CP does a lot of the shit work I simply hate doing. I did it all solo on the last CD I self-released to show it COULD be done, but I still lost plenty of sleep while promoting it and especially packaging 100+ preorders. I could have spent that time working on new tracks or spending time staring into the sun to see how long it would take to completely blind myself, but if nothing else doing all that work made me appreciate Crunch Pod all the more.

Just do what’s best for your art and what you want to get out of it. Don’t do what’s best for your ego, much as it’s easy to sometimes confuse the two. For some people just throwing a few tracks up on bandcamp is enough. Some people want total world domination, and others are in between. Whatever you do though, don’t let the bullshit burn you out or make you stop feeling passionate for what you’re creating. I guarantee you it’s not worth it at all if that happens.

<3, Matt

Quit bitching. Make music.

Quit worrying about perfect production, that new softsynth or vintage whatever-the-fuck-you-saw-for-way-too-much-money-on-ebay, your fucking hair extensions, those new vinyl pants and those 16 hole $300 New Rock boots. Stop whining about how X-band shouldn’t have gotten that opening spot and that person kisses ass and name drops and sucks that band’s cock for an off mention in some douchey blog. Stop caring about what every other artist does and worry about your fucking backyard and how good it’ll look if you log out of some dickwaving forum and actually lay down some honest, real IDEAS for a change.

Quit saying “if only I could get X-budget so X-person would mix my shit” and find someone as hungry as you to give it a shot for a lot less money, and if not accept that you’ve just decided to bet against the music business’ current model and will get screwed financially. Educate yourself on the ways to do it cheaper, and better, and know where to spend your money so you’ll actually get more bang for your hard-earned buck.

Stop scheming to go viral or to get that massive club hit if Ronan Harris would just answer your Facebook message and touch the tip of his dick to your track to make it sound like EBM gold. Forget about your place in the pecking order and simply work to put out the best, most sincere, ORIGINAL music YOU can make. Worry about being fearless and confronting every weird notion that would actually make your music INTERESTING and forcing it out of you like you’re a virgin giving birth to triplets conjoined at the hip.

Put in the time, put in the work, put in the effort, and leave your ego at the door if the rest of the world doesn’t drop to their knees and sing your praises. Fail better. Work harder. Earn your supper. You don’t decide that the world accepts you and what you do, and when it comes down to it if the world doesn’t it really doesn’t matter if you’ve created something you’re happy with. And if you’re NOT happy with it work HARDER, and stop with the emo gothy pity party bullshit and grow a pair, sunshine. Get some calluses, wo/man up, and join the fuckin’ feeding frenzy. It ain’t easy but it’s still the way it is, so suck it up, drink a Red Bull, and wear a helmet.

The only people who should be disappointed are those who whored and pandered and put out their equivalent of a sonic sex tape and even then STILL nobody wanted to jerk off to it. Let them deal with their fractured, sold out egos and deflated souls while those of us who push and force our damaged, imperfect hellspawn out of our infected holes know that We Did The Best We Could with pride.

And fuck ‘em if they don’t like it. And fuck ‘em if they aren’t impressed. And fuck ‘em if they don’t get it, or think it’s shit, because 99% of them don’t have half the sac to even open their mouth to do a duet at a karaoke bar without pissing themselves, and the other 1% hates you because they’ve already failed and the only way they can look themselves in the mirror is by shitting on someone else’s birthday cake.

You’ve got one life. Live it right. And quit bitching.

http://blog.nulldevice.com/2010/04/fix-it-in-the-mix/

Eric Oehler is quickly becoming a Fairly Big Thang with his mastering. This is a great read on why you should always give the person mastering your CD the best possible version of your music, as they may be able to fix small errors, but at a price.

And here’s a great interview with my pal and sometime collaborator Dan Clark from ReGen Magazine. Lots of great advice in here, too.

http://www.regenmag.com/Interviews-316-The-Dark-Clan.html

So this is it– I decided to make an affordable CD on my own terms and meet the consumers, best as I could, literally half-way.  No sneakiness.  No reverse psychology.  No bitterness or anger at people downloading it illegally.

If it works, even just on the digital dl front, and if it sells well at $5-6 (depending on the website– I kept it as low as I could and hope that they all keep it at that price point– if they don’t look elsewhere, okay?  Fuck ‘em if they don’t listen:)) I’ll keep doing it, but if it doesn’t and it sells a similar amount to what I normally do (or less) then I’ll just start selling each CD at $2000 because hell, why not?

Again, no bitterness, but I’m giving my fans and the consumers a chance to show that if an artist is willing to sacrifice profit (which I’m all too willing to do.  Seriously, who gives a fuck in the end?) to help them feel more comfortable spending the money on my art then I’m all for it.  It’s not really some ultimatum and if it doesn’t work I really won’t be all that disappointed, because really then the consumers will lose out because I won’t do it again and they’ll either have to spend more to get it (and who wants to do that when there’s pizza to order and the new deluxe edition of Sherlock Holmes to buy?) or just download it illegally, which, despite people’s willingness to do it, I don’t really think they always WANT to if there’s a legal means to get it for a more reasonable price.

You see, in the past when I’ve been broke I too have downloaded music illegally (and I don’t say that with pride– It Just Is), but when I see a CD I want on amazon.com when they do their “100 mp3 albums for $5 each” thing I ALWAYS take a chance and buy it, even if I’ve just HEARD the CD was good.  No guilt in blowing a measly $5 in my mind, y’know?   I’ve blown that on a magazine I wanted to try out or just lent it to a friend without thinking.  So that’s the concept here.  Real simple.  Real straightforward.  No gimmicks, no strings, and no commitments outside of just spending a couple bucks and, hopefully, enjoying what you hear and telling a few pals.

I just want  my new music out and affordable to as many people that want it legally.  I know it’ll get illegally downloaded to death too, and that’s fine because honestly there’s nothing I can do about it if people want to take it.  If an artist offered to PAY fans a dollar to download it off their site some dipshit would STILL want to get it off some torrent site just because…I have no idea.

I’m not Radiohead and I’m not Nine Inch Nails.  I don’t sell out stadiums and I’m not trying to beat the Big Corporate System, because I’m not a part of it.  I’m just trying to figure out a model that works for fans, consumers, or hopefully fans-to-be for my music.  I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

I’m already extremely fortunate in that I have modest production needs and have been blessed with a core fanbase that helps me by buying the limited editions and allowing me to recoup most of my initial investment quickly.  I truly appreciate that, more than you know.  I see dozens of artists whose talents I’m dwarfed by struggle to even come CLOSE to breaking even, but through however I do it I’ve got a much better situation and I in no way take that for granted.  If nothing else that core fanbase allows me to even ATTEMPT ideas like this, so I raise a glass of soda water to you all, my friends.  Thanks.

And to new friends and fans willing to take a chance on the new Caustic CD, I thank you too.  Let’s hope the experiment works.

You can already get the new CD in mp3 form at Caustic on FiXt
(Exclusively until April 13th, when it’ll be up everywhere)

You can preorder a physical copy on Crunch Pod Distro

This one’s up to everyone, so if you like what you read and want to support it I appreciate it.  And tell some pals.  Like I said: I think it’s a good deal.

Thanks.

Matt, aka Caustic

So, in short, the plan worked.  I sold out of the limited edition in 18 days.  By setting it up and pricing it the way I did I’m now in the black on the whole new CD, which of course doesn’t factor in all the hours I’ll be putting in packaging and mailing the damn things, but at least I know I won’t lose the farm on it.  I’m sure some douchebag will read this and go “Good!  I don’t mind stealing it now!”, but since I already explained how I wanted it to work I just felt I should be honest in saying “Yeah, it did.  Aren’t I smart?  Or something.”

I’ve talked here and there about never being complacent in creating art, and this CD, for me, is really the totality of that.  It’s for all intents and purposes actually a “serious” CD for me, dealing with a lot of things in my past it took me a long time to get grips on, mainly my alcoholism (which I’m working on- 12 days sober as of writing this).  It’s ridiculously fitting that the last song on the CD is the one I’m actually freaked out the most by, and that it coincidentally ends up being a hopeful swansong to my longstanding relationship with booze.

I’ve listened to the new CD innumerable times and I’m really proud of it, and the response to it from my friends who kindly previewed it and gave me feedback was of positive confusion (and meant as a compliment– they didn’t see it coming:)).  I released a bunch of tracks to DJs today and the response (and demand) has been much more positive than I expected.

You don’t make music for anyone but yourself, or at least I don’t, but it’s of course nice that people appreciate what you do.

Part of me hopes this shuts a few of my naysayers up that I can’t just make “funny songs” (which is fucking ridiculous if you actually have listened to a lot of my stuff– the titles notwithstanding, I have a lot more “serious” songs than I get credit for, but whatever).  If it doesn’t it’s not going to really affect me one way or another, because I now have a lot more confidence in what I can do as an artist.  Does that mean I’m going to turn into fucking Coldplay?  Hell no.  I have many, many bad ideas yet to unleash on the electronic scene, but at the same time I don’t feel any obligation to act one way. 

I feel bad for an artist who feels they can’t express a thought other than one they’re “known for”.  Maybe that’s a confine of popularity and not wanting to disappoint, but to me it’s self-censorship, and that’s completely against how my head works.  If an artist wants to be fearless they need to confront what’s expected of them and not rest on their laurels.  Be what you are, not what they want you to be.  Screw the opinions, as most of those people are too afraid to even TRY to accomplish what many of us try and do.

I’ll probably do a few more updates on the actual release when it’s ACTUALLY released– right now the master is at Sooperdooper and will be sent to replication soon, but I’m cool leaving it here for right now.

The official release date is April 13th.  I’m really looking forward to it.

Now on to the new EP, the Causticles CD I’m working on with Brian from The Gothsicles, and the live DVD for Kinetik in May.  Thanks for sticking around.

Samples are here:

http://vampirefreaks.com/caustic

http://www.reverbnation.com/causticmusic

http://www.myspace.com/causticmusic

________________

Be like Fanale and quit drinking. If this proves harder than you thought, get a hand with Alcohol rehabs.

So first off apologies to the few of you who were reading this and wanted an update on the new CD.  What was meant as a “quick and dirty let’s-just-get-it-out” CD turned into a “holy shit a lot of life crap happens and I wasn’t able to finish it until a few weeks ago”.

With that said “…AND YOU WILL KNOW ME BY THE TRAIL OF VOMIT” is done and currently being mastered by Ben Arp (aka C/A/T, Captive Six, and owner of Crunch Pod, my label).  I’m self-releasing this one for $5 a pop with hand drawn art in a plastic sleeve.  This is for a several reasons (some of which were mentioned in the earlier posts regarding the CD):

1) I wanted to try a more DIY aesthetic on it and literally do almost all of it LITERALLY myself, hence the hand drawn art (and laid out- no graphic design programs were used).  Even though this will be a professionally replicated CD like you could buy in any store (hell, it’ll have a barcode), it was done in the spirit of the indie releases I used to love finding at small record stores.

2) Shipping is much cheaper when you aren’t sending full-sized jewel cases.  This makes it easier for me to sell the CDs cheaper to fans.

3) I wanted to produce and release a CD, including all the incidentals like extras for the limited edition, printing costs, etc, for as low an amount as I could while still supplying the quality I wanted to.  Everything for this CD is costing around $1050.00 (usually replicating 1000 CDs costs $1200-1400, and this includes EVERYTHING not related to the replication), and since putting the presale up on Sunday (meaning 4 days ago) I’m about 3 CDs away from already breaking even.  I’m not saying that to brag (as pleased as I am with that fact), I’m saying that to show there are ways to do this that won’t destroy you financially and, obviously, if you can build a fanbase of people who are willing to support you.

4) I wanted to give Crunch Pod a reprieve from having to release a weirder-than-normal Caustic cd and not tie up money at the label so we can get other stuff out.

And the extra fun part for me is that very few people have heard ANYTHING on the disc.  Why do I like this?  Because it means people will still be awesome and buy music without having to hear every fucking note thirty times.  That makes me happy.  So there.

Speaking of happy, I’m actually pretty damn happy with this CD.  When I sent it to a select group of friends I got similar reactions along the lines of “this isn’t a typical Caustic CD…but is.”  It’s more personal in many ways and stylistically I tried to push myself in some different directions.  It’s not as much a 4/4 stompfest (although there are a few tracks like that) and I enjoyed going for more sparseness on certain tracks than I feel I’m known for.

Also, I’m scared to release it in some ways.  I was terrified until I got the feedback from my pals assuring me it didn’t totally suck, and to me that fear makes the CD a success regardless of anything, because it demonstrates that I didn’t fall back on the same bullshit.  I want to be scared creatively, as even if the whole track (or CD) isn’t successful I know I learned something and can use it later.  I don’t ever want to put out the same CD twice, or half-ass one.  I want to force myself to fight my natural proclivity to say “eh, that’s good enough.”  I need to know I won’t settle, and hopefully that’ll show through to those who listen to it.

Anyway, here’s the link to order it.  It’ll be out in April. 

 http://www.facebook.com/causticmusic#!/note.php?note_id=361600854192&id=36781326564&ref=mf

CAUSTIC
…AND YOU WILL KNOW ME BY THE TRAIL OF VOMIT

The Saint of Fuck-Ups
Piss and Vinegar
I to Id/Id to I [idiot]
Meat Market Carnivore
Chewing Glass at the Zoo (Caustic vs The Vomit Arsonist)
Altered Ego 1
Bad Habits
Appetite for Distraction
Bueno Excellente
Shrapnel Condition
Fail Better
My Crutch (w/Dan Clark of The Dark Clan)