A case study of Pomplamoose: 10 tips to be a successful internet musician

Hello all! As an assignment for a potential internship (I'll tell you more when/if I need to) I've been asked to write up a case study about the band Pomplamoose and how they've become a financially successful internet band. I figured this would be a good blog article to have out in the world for posterity and reference, so I'm taking my assignment digital.

Pomplamoose has, in less than two years, become one of the most successful independent bands on the internet: they are in the top 100 most subscribed to musicians on YouTube, they have racked up over 2.5 million hits on their cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and are completely financially self-sustaining; meaning: they don't need day jobs.

Before I explain the various marketing and artistic tactics made by band members Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, I must define "internet musician": what does it mean? According to Nataly, it means "being a bad musician." Yes, there are many musicians that can be found on YouTube that aren't very good; and some have enormous followings. But there are also some very talented people out there and just like the regular traditional music industry, they have to figure out clever ways to rise above the rest. But when the internet is your only resource, you can call your own shots. You don't need a record label. The internet has given musicians and artists ways of connecting with their fans directly: no middle men needed.

Here is the main question: How has Pomplamoose reached the hearts of their fans? And how have they gotten these fans to spend several bucks on mp3s and merch?

The way I see it, all the traditional ways of having a financially successful music career have gone out the window. Pomplamoose has eradicated managers, record labels, promoters, live shows, and even actual CDs. Granted, there are many successful internet bands that use some of these (like CDs and playing live), but Pomplamoose has left all of these behind. They've only played live twice and they don't even have a physical CD you can purchase, all of their music is digital.

If you want to be a successful "internet musician," take one of these 10 tips from the Pomplamoose model:

(much of this information I got directly from the mouth of Nataly and Jack in this interview)

1. Be good at what you do
Just watch a Pomplamoose video. They are are great fun, and the music is good enough to take offline and listen to when you're not looking at YouT ube. Nataly has a gorgeous voice and her harmonies are well constructed. Jack's musical abilities are varied, well thought out and the mixing and editing is flawless.


2. Make interesting videos that people want to watch over and over again

Pomplamoose works in a new medium called "VideoSong" and it has two rules:

1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice).
2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds).



Snarkmarket has a very good discussion of the characteristics of Pomplamoose's VideoSong and why it is so enticing to viewers:

-Nor­mal duds, nor­mal envi­ron­ment. No span­dex, no fog machine.

- Gear. Lots of it.

- Sub­di­vi­sion of the video frame: over­lap­ping tracks visu­al­ized as over­lap­ping views.

- Per­for­mance! This isn’t just a hid­den cam­era in the stu­dio. It’s nat­ural, it’s unpretentious—but it’s still a performance.

[Pomplamoose's VideoSong] is show­ing us a com­pli­cated, vir­tu­oso per­for­mance, but mak­ing it really clear and acces­si­ble at the same time. It’s enter­tain­ing, but it’s also an exer­cise in demystification—which of course is exactly the oppo­site objec­tive of every music video, ever. Their pur­pose has been to mys­tify, to mas­quer­ade, to mythol­o­gize in real-time.

This demystification is one of the most powerful tools that Pomplamoose and other video bloggers use. Music lovers crave something "real" which is why if they think your music is good AND they like you as a real person, you've got a way in.

3. Be charming: make viewers care about you
This is true of any successful blogger (video or regular blogger). You have to be cute, funny or on the flipside, totally horrible. Either way, you have to present yourself in a way that people will want to keep coming back to see what you're doing and what you have to say. Fans think of the musician/blogger as their friend, someone they'd want to hang out with. Nataly and Jack are the most adorable couple: she is a smart self-deprecating cutie-pie who likes cereal. Jack is a goofy multi-instrumental smartypants who is obviously totally in love with his girlfriend. They have amazing musical chemistry as well as a social chemistry that you can see when they sit in front of their computer and chat.

4. Use several sites to spread the word - variety is key
Pomplamoose is on: YouTube, twitter, myspace, facebook, digg, iTunes, E-junkie and I'm sure many others. It's true that the average person is probably only on a couple of these sites, but many of these services are free, so why not take the time to set up and account. Nataly and Jack said that two-thirds of their sales come from iTunes and the other third comes from E-junkie. But they like E-junkie better because you can post a song immediately and E-junkie takes a smaller cut than iTunes.

5. Encourage fans to help shape the band's identity
Nataly and Jack have asked their fans to contribute designs for virtual album covers and t-shirt designs. Many of these designs can be found online for all to see, for example as the Pomplamoose myspace profile picture. People love to see their own names in print, they also love to see hard work acknowledged and available for others to see. Fans eat that up, it makes them feel truly appreciated by the musician.

6. Offer free stuff
Covers must be free due to copyright issues; Pomplamoose has used this to their advantage. Nataly and Jack put just as much work and time into covers as they put into their originals. I downloaded all of the free Pomplamoose mp3's off of E-junkie. If I decide to spend another $10 or so to get the originals, it would feel like a 2 for 1 deal. I also want to support my "friends" so that they can keep making more music that I love.

Covers also get viewers who aren't fans yet to take a peek. I saw "Single Ladies" posted on facebook, and since I like the song, I was curious about a cover. Unlike some other artists I've come across, Pomplamoose's originals are just as good, if not better than their covers. So if a viewer is impressed with the originals after seeing a cover, he or she will be more likely to spend a little bit of cash.

7. Get creative with your merch
There has been Pomplamoose soap (handmade by Jack's sister) and dongles (flashdrives). Who else sells stuff like that? They told me that they'd like to do more merch sales that help support and promote artists and craftspeople. Both the soap and dongles completely sold out and were sent to 30 countries. People LOVE to support Pomplamoose. Their fans are very loyal.

8. Have an online network of artists to interact with
Fans LOVE this. Pomplamoose are fans of Julia Nunes and talk her up on YouTube. Julia and Pomplamoose talk to each other through their YouTube videos and fans can watch these coversations. Pomplamoose goes to Julia's house and produces some tunes with her. They make a video about it. Julia's fans mesh with Pomplamoose's fans. It's a big love fest.

9. No need to make a big push to play live
Pomplamoose has only played twice in the last two years, this is one of the main things that set them apart from almost every other band. They played their second show ever at the Brainwash Cafe last month in in San Francisco. There literally wasn't enough room for everyone who showed up and folks were outside on the sidewalk.

Pomplamoose has fans all over the world. Until they're financially successful enough to tour extensively, they'll focus on what they do best: videos. Also, preparing to play live is a whole other skill and takes up a good amount of time, so they have chosen not focus on that.

10. Keep it interesting, change it up
I was actually wondering where Pomplamoose was heading and what they might have in store for the future. The VideoSong format is really cool, but it might be losing some of its novelty value. "Come on! Keep impressing me" says the fan. But then I checked Pomplamoose's twitter feed: They're looking for horn players. Nice. Step it up! I don't know how they're all going to fit in Jack's little recording studio, but it will be interesting.

There are many other ways to be a successful "internet musician." One of my favorites is Kina Grannis. She's got another style all together. Each musician will, but you have to cover all of your corners so that you win the hearts (and pocket books) of your fans. Because in the end, being a succesful artist isn't about being rich and famous, it means being about to devote all of your time to your art, and you need money for that. If your fans really love you, they will support you.

I mean, look at this video they made me just because I asked...

Obama on Mel Brooks at the Kennedy Center Honors

Obama said, quoting Me Brooks in his own words:

"Look at Jewish history, unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable, so out of every ten Jews god designed one to be crazy and amuse the others. By the time I was five I knew I was that one."

Obama commented that most of the best Mel Brooks quotes are unfit to be mentioned at the ceremony. (He must have been talking about, "hey, where the white women at?" Or "excuse me while I whip this out!")

The President also said that he saw Blazing Saddles when he was ten, well under the age limit for the associated rating at the time. You will not convince me that this movie, about a black man taking a leadership position and proving his success with a heroic intelligence, did not leave a lasting impression on the 10-year-old Barack Obama.

There is just something so poignant and beautiful about that.

By Area Girls Rock Camp Silent Auction round up

Poison Apple Pie: Emmalee, Torrey and Jasmine

Just wanted to report that the fundraiser was a success! I don't know how much money was raised, but there were over 65 pieces of art donated and most of them were bid on. Everything I donated was sold which is very excited for me! Thanks again Jen, Lauren, Jemal, Jessica, Diana and Erin .

Poison Apple Pie played a fabulous set including "Superman" by R.E.M., "21 Guns" by Green day, "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey (complete with the intro that Torrey and I worked on last week), and originals "I Need a Chainsaw," "Flying Swines of Doom" and my favorite, "I Don't Want to Hug You." The last one sounds like a 1960s garage band tune. They've just been getting better and better and better. I can't believe they are all only 12.

I sold two lessons, one to someone I know and one to someone I don't know. Should be interesting!

Anyway, everyone did a fabulous job and I am very happy to have been part of it.

"Tore My Heart": best "So You Think You Can Dance" performance of the night, a tune by Bay Area Girls Rock Camp volunteer Oona Garthwaite

If you saw So You Think You Can Dance last night, you saw Jakob Karr and Ellenore Scott give everyone goosebumps with the modern choreography of Sonya Tayeh. The performance received a standing ovation from the audience as well as from all three judges making them freak out quite a bit (there was a lot of screaming). Nigel called the performance "fabulous" and his "favorite routine of the season." See the video below.

But I'm not going to talk about the dancing; I'm a music writer! I will say, however that it was moving performance, especially when Jakob and Ellenore walked forehead-to-forehead across the stage at the beginning. The habanera rhythm used in the song - like the aria with the same title from the 19th century opera Carmen by Georges Bizet - really lends itself to modern dance. I love it when traditional pieces of musical composition fit right into modern pop culture. Ellenore and Jakob used the Cuban rhythm to undulate across the floor. The pauses in the song also add to the drama of the performance, which Sonya Tayeh's choreography brilliantly mirrored.

click here to enjoy a video of the performance.

OONA is the magical pairing of singer/keyboardist/lyricist Oona Garthwaite and drummer/songwriter/jack-of-all-trades Dave Tweedie. Their music is what I call electro-soul-pop, yes, I just made up a genre. But think of it: soulful vocals with a pop mentality that makes you want to shake your booty. Oh, just listen to some of their music!

The song is now available on iTunes. Congrats guys!

Oona Garthwaite volunteers with me at the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

Some kickass Bay Area music: My First Earthquake, B and Not B and Dina Maccabee

Wednesday night I'm going to have to try my best to see all three of these bands, but I'll settle for two. They'll play again. I've known Dina Maccabee for years and am super psyched to see her fronting her own band for a change. B and Not B and My First Earthquake are new to me but am happy to have gotten to know them recently.

For those of you in the Bay Area, come check out these bands and/or keep them on your radar for future gigs. Those of you not in the Bay Area, check them out anyway! Support independent music.

READ MORE ABOUT THE DINA MACCABEE BAND, B AND NOT B AND MY FIRST EARTHQUAKE HERE.

Local Bay Area artists featured in silent auction: Proceeds go to Bay Area Girls Rock Camp

Print by Jen Oaks

Artists and musicians are cut from the same cloth, but how often do the two communities get to directly support each other? Dozens of Bay Area artists have donated handmade items to raise money for the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp in a silent auction occurring this coming Friday, December 4th 7-10pm at Local 123 in Berkeley.

Just in time for the holidays, there will be everything from handmade earrings and jam to paintings, prints and sculptures. Check out the slideshow for a sneak peak. Homemade items can be special holiday gifts! Many items will start bidding at $10.

I'm auctioning off 4 music lessons starting at $20 each. Been meaning to pick up that guitar? Want to learn some piano? Always wanted to learn about African music? Bollywood? I can probably teach you about it.

These are some of the pieces that my friends Jessica, Erin, Diana, Jemal, Jen and Lauren donated. THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS! I am so grateful that you are helping to support Girls Rock Camp, an organization that I have put so much of my own time and energy into.

Click here to read the article on examiner.com and check out the slideshow of some of the other art that will be there (I think my friends donated the best stuff, but I'm biased).

Also, "my" girls, Poison Apple Pie will be performing at the event. It's been so much fun to see Emalee, Jasmine and Torrey progress as a band. Can't wait to see what they're going to play.

Homemade Peach and Strawberry jam by Diana Kowalsky (I made the labels)

earrings by Jessica Hilberman

Painting by Erin Wapple

Wunzee by Lauren Summers

Doodles by Jemal Diamond

A holiday playlist that doesn't suck: Christmas and a couple Channukah songs!

Thanksgiving has officially come and gone, and now I feel the time is appropriate to start talking about Christmas and Channukah. I think many would agree with me that before Thanksgiving, it's really just too early.

After scouring the Internet, reading blogs, looking at iTunes playlists and asking friends I've compiled an extensive list of holiday songs that don't suck (according to me). This list includes classics that never get old, sarcastic songs, punk covers, indie covers, funny songs and even a handful of Channukah songs that I feel are appropriate and don’t cross that cheese ball line. (I’ve placed them at the bottom of the list.)

Please feel free to share more. I want this list to serve as a resource for retailers to keep their employees from ripping their ears out, or folks who want to make a soundtrack to a party where people might actually have a good time. I’ve also included links to CD compilations (click on the captions under the images) and iTunes playlists that are acceptable.

Click here to see the list of 64 songs. Everything from Alvin and the Chipmunks and 2 Live Jew to Eartha Kitt and Sufjan Stevens.

Adam Lambert doesn't stand alone as openly gay male pop star: six musicians to check out

I wasn’t going to broach the subject of Adam Lambert's "coming out" into mainstream pop culture post-American Idol , but after hearing and reading reactions all across the board I had to get my two cents in. I, sometimes painfully, sat through most of the American Music Awards and can’t believe the media is getting their panties in a bundle over this. Nevermind, I can believe it, that’s what the media does. I guess I’m part of that, eh?

In the midst of all this Prop-8 nonsense, I do believe it is the double standard that is to blame. But there are two double standards at work here: that of gender and that of sexuality. As many have said before me the Britney Spears/Madonna kiss was okay with the media. They are both straight women. If Melissa Etheridge pulled what Adam Lambert did, I think there would have been a similar noise. Blatant homosexuality is threatening to mainstream media. This we know.

READ MORE OF MY ARTICLE AND SEE VIDEOS OF RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, MATT ALBER, IVRI LIDER, CAZWELL, LEVI KREIS & THE SCISSOR SISTERS

Band to check out: At Dusk

My favorite band photo of all time: At Dusk - Will, Greg and Cary

This post is coming to you about a year late, I should have blogged about the band At Dusk as soon as I started this blog. I'm sure one of the reasons you read this blog is so you can find out of about new and maybe obscure bands. I've been off writing about Green Day and musicals and other stuff. But here's a very cool band that sadly is no longer together, but one of the great things about music is that if it's new to you, it's still new.

At Dusk is Will Hattman, Greg Borenstein and Cary Clarke, three of my good friends from high school. I've actually known Will since first great. I remember him blowing his nose *really* loudly when he was 6 or 7. Sorry Will, I had to mention it.

I sang with Will and Cary in high school choir and am very happy to report they have spent the last 10 years since graduation playing music together, even through attending different colleges. The last several years they lived in Portland making music, lots of it. Four albums worth actually. I have all of them. At Dusk took themselves on tour in 2004 and stayed with me in Washington, D.C., where they got mugged on my street. Sorry about that guys, at least it made for a good story.

Will is still living in Portland, Greg has gone to grad school in NY and Cary moved up to Seattle. They've left behind a really cool album called Small Light. It's more acoustic than their previous sound, and while I've really liked the previous ones, I haven't played them over and over again like I have this one. Small Light really has an over-arching acoustic mostly percussionless groove to it of interlocking guitar rhythms that get under your skin.

Check out At Dusk's myspace page and listen to the song "Okays." I really can't get enough of this song. I love the vocal melody - I'm a super fan of Will's voice, but I'm biased. I love the Kennedy reference too. "Loose Tooth" is really cool too; a dance-y number that I bet these Sonic Youth loving intellectuals never thought they would write.

I remember Cary's girlfriend once called their music "avant-garde art rock." I guess that's a good way to explain it. CD Baby calls it American Underground Rock. Prog rock would work too. It's definitely smart people music. There's complicated rhythms, bizarre harmonies and interlocking melodies going on here. I know that At Dusk takes a good amount of inspiration from gypsy/roma music as well as bands like Sonic Youth. You're smart reader, you should take a listen.

Unfortunately they don't have anything up on the myspace page from any of the previous albums, so if you're so inclined, go to At Dusk's cdbaby site and listen to some clips there. My favorites have been the awesomely schizophrenic "You Make me Worry" off of Heights and "Forver Ago" off You Can Know Danger.

Again, to listen here is At Dusk's myspace page (the have a flier up as the profile pic of their freshman yearbook photos) the At Dusk website and the CDbaby page. I think you can also download on itunes.

I know they would appreciate it if I filled you in quickly on what they're working on now. This is Will's new hard rock band Jana Osta. Greg is geeking out at Tisch in New York City studying communications technologies with the ITP program, here's his blog. Both Greg and Cary were working very hard to get PDX Pop Now! up and running in Portland. It's a non-profit that celebrates the music of Portland in an all-ages setting.

Give the guys some love even though they're not playing together anymore. I'm sure they'll have a reunion arena tour one day when they're old and wrinkled. It'll be cute.

Okay I kind of love this picture too. Three man racquetball, gotta love it.

Green Day and "American Idiot" Berkeley Rep Cast to Record New Version Single "21 Guns"

This is only the beginning of the staged production of American Idiot's rise in popularity.

According to cast member and star John Gallager, Jr's twitter the cast of American Idiot at the Berkeley Rep went into the studio yesterday to record "21 Guns" with Green Day. It is rumored that the production will spread onto Broadway and the big screen.

Personally I'm looking forward to the cast recording of American Idiot. The arrangements are spectacular. I saw the show opening night just over two months ago. READ MY REVIEW HERE and can't quite remember who sings "21 Guns" (it might have been one of the female characters), but the cast was terrific and it's bound to be good.

Green Day's singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong is producing the track, which will hit the radio at the end of November and be made available for purchase through all digital retailers. With bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool the band will also shoot a video for “21 Guns” with the American Idiot cast. The digital version of the "21 Guns" has gone platinum, selling more than one million downloads, while the video won three 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in September, including “Best Rock Video.”

Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer

Imagine a world where the Beatles continue to make music well into the 80s and 90s and work to change the world for the better - together - until they were old men.

Thanks Greg for tweeting about this. It made me way too emotional for a Wednesday morning. But I loved it!

READ IT HERE on MightyGodKing.com

My favorite part: A battle of the bands on the Muppet Show with the Electric Mayhem:

The episode [where the Beatles appear] is the highest rated episode of The Muppet Show in the show’s history and the most watched television program of the entire year, beating even the news coverage of the 1980 American presidential election. The undisputed highlight of the episode is the “battle of the bands” between the Beatles and the Electric Mayhem (although Starr says his duet with Fozzie the Bear remains his personal favorite moment). Jim Henson would later say that the Beatles episode “rejuvenated” his joy in working on the show, which by that point he had begun to feel was growing stale: the show continues for another seven seasons.

Read the rest here

(I'm noticing that I post a good deal about Muppets... interesting)

What's your favorite karaoke song to sing?

Had a fun conversation last night about favorite karaoke songs. Andy, if you check this I'm expecting you to respond! I like the soulful lady songs. My recent favorites to sing are:

- "Midnight train to Georgia" - Gladys Knight and the Pips. When I can I get some Pips on stage with me, make the song way more fun

- "Livin on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi. I can hit those high notes and people are impressed! And everyone knows this song, so they sing along, dependiny mostly on how late in the evening it is and how much people have been drinking.

- "Piece of My Heart" - Janis Joplin. I like Erma Franklin's (Aretha's sister) version of this song, she did it first. And some of her phrasings are fun. But I still like trying to howl like Janis, although I certainly don't do it as well.



- "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield. Again, people know this one, so folks sing along.

What are you favorite songs to sing at Karaoke?