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	<title>INVENIAM VIAM AUT FACIAM &#187; Music</title>
	<link>http://christianpicciolini.com</link>
	<description>[by Christian Picciolini]</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 21 Apr 2012 05:42:14 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>HOPE.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Seer Outfitters and the Kyle Korver Foundation (KKF) bring hope to inner city children one city at a time. Submit your Hipstamatic images of what hope means to you for a chance to have your image printed as a special edition Seer Outfitters t-shirt! Join Hipstamatic in Chicago on January 29th, 2012 to launch their new HOPE contest with partners Seer Outfitters and Black Label Booking. We’ll be rocking out at the Double Door with music by Barcelona, The Canes, and March of Morn! Doors are at 6:30 to the public with all proceeds benefiting three local charities, including my own, Life After Hate.]]></description>
		<link>http://christianpicciolini.com/2012/01/24/hope/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Bands, Treat Your Music Like a Bowl of Salty Bar Pretzels</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bands shouldn't be scared to give away some of their music for free. Think of your tunes like a free salty bowl of pretzels in bar. When a patron sits down, they begin by munching on the saliferous treats, not knowing a damn thing about what the pretzels taste like or who made them. Before they know it, these drunkards (and music fans are definitely lushy, in theory) will want something more to wash them down. The more they snack on them, the more they drink. Before they know it, they're totally wasted and they've spent $120 on the bar tab. Think of the beer as your merchandise, albums and live event ticket sales. Reel them in with something that's free and enough to make them want to come back for more or to quench their thirst. If you're lucky, they've bought their friends some rounds and now they're part of the party and wasted too. All because of a darn bowl of salty pretzels. My point is, if you want to compete against all the other bands out there trying to hock their wares and compete for your beer money, maybe you should think like a bar owner and give people some salty pretzels to make them really thirsty first. Just sayin'.

Blogger's Note: Stay tuned for my upcoming inevitably snarky post where I proclaim, "You're not a band, damn it! You're a t-shirt company!"]]></description>
		<link>http://christianpicciolini.com/2012/01/12/bands-treat-your-music-like-a-bowl-of-salty-bar-pretzels/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>What The Hell is a &#8220;Mac Miller&#8221; and Why Do All of His Youtube Videos Have Over 20 Million Views?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[White rapper. 19 years old. From Pittsburgh. I know what you're thinking…who? Exactly. I'd heard my kids mention his name once or twice and I thought the same thing. It turns out that this teenage sensation has over 1.2 million Twitter followers, 1.5 Facebook "Likes" and his latest record was #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 144,000 copies in the first week. That's rare, for someone you've never heard of. On top of that, he's got dozens of videos on Youtube, most with over 20 million views. The biggest has over 42 million views. This guy's pulling in some hefty digits on Youtube ad revenue alone.

This is what I've learned. Number one…you don't necessarily need to be good to be popular. In fact, being really good actually means you'll probably sell almost no records and end up becoming a subculture icon for many decades. But, still, you sell no records (Note: Compare The Ramones' album sales versus Rebecca Black sales - btw, 147 million+ Youtube views for Ms. Black). Numero dos: Find something that works, vis a vis the white rapper thing, college kegger frat boy entertainment and smoking weed in your videos tip, and amplify it and bring it to the masses via viral social networks. Kids love free. They share free. They live and breathe free. And yet, somehow, in some way it turns into 144,000+ album sales in one week. Here's a groundbreaking idea: Use the Internet efficiently and to your advantage. Take note, all you Facebook event invite stalkers. I'd bet that Mac Miller isn't sending out FB invites for his crappy shows at that sweat lodge in Indiana (well, maybe he is). Find new avenues to promote yourself and become viral. Easier said than done, but it's not this guy's music theory acumen that is making him rich. And C, make everything you do a party. The most active music market (outside of Country I'm guessing) is the college kid party market (I'm guessing, again). Kids + free shtuff + party atmosphere that brings boys and girls together = paycheck. Doesn't matter if there is dope being smoked there or not, girls spend money to impress boys and boys waste money to attract girls. It's the law of the land. And while I don't necessarily agree or get inspired by this kid's general message, style of music, or lack of originality, one thing that is undeniable is his knack for exploiting what works and not caring about what doesn't. He's not re-inventing the wheel, only making it slightly worse and then exploiting the crap out of it.

So, what the hell is a Mac Miller? Success, my good people. The American Dream. Get your nuts kissed...haters.
This is what I've learned. Number one…you don't necessarily need to be good to be popular. In fact, being really good actually means you'll probably sell almost no records and end up becoming a subculture icon for many decades. But, still, you sell no records (Note: Compare The Ramones' album sales versus Rebecca Black sales - btw, 147 million+ Youtube views for Ms. Black). Numero dos: Find something that works, vis a vis the white rapper thing, college kegger frat boy entertainment and smoking weed in your videos tip, and amplify it and bring it to the masses via viral social networks. Kids love free. They share free. They live and breathe free. And yet, somehow, in some way it turns into 144,000+ album sales in one week. Here's a groundbreaking idea: Use the Internet efficiently and to your advantage. Take note, all you Facebook event invite stalkers. I'd bet that Mac Miller isn't sending out FB invites for his crappy shows at that sweat lodge in Indiana (well, maybe he is). Find new avenues to promote yourself and become viral. Easier said than done, but it's not this guy's music theory acumen that is making him rich. And C, make everything you do a party. The most active music market (outside of Country I'm guessing) is the college kid party market (I'm guessing, again). Kids + free shtuff + party atmosphere that brings boys and girls together = paycheck. Doesn't matter if there is dope being smoked there or not, girls spend money to impress boys and boys waste money to attract girls. It's the law of the land. And while I don't necessarily agree or get inspired by this kid's general message, style of music, or lack of originality, one thing that is undeniable is his knack for exploiting what works and not caring about what doesn't. He's not re-inventing the wheel, only making it slightly worse and then exploiting the crap out of it.

So, what the hell is a Mac Miller? Success, my good people. The American Dream.]]></description>
		<link>http://christianpicciolini.com/2012/01/09/what-the-hell-is-a-mac-miller-and-why-do-all-of-his-youtube-videos-have-over-20-million-views/</link>
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		<title>An Open Letter to the Chicago Music Community&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Chicago produces the best music and inhabits the best musical artists around. Period. If you don't agree or don't have the time to read this, I won't be offended if you stop here and hit delete or navigate away. However, I am transmitting this message because I think you are a pioneer, an influencer, or an active participant in making Chicago a haven for amazing and cutting-edge artists - and I want to reach you.

I just spent some time traveling back from SXSW 2011 and it gave me some time to think and reflect a little bit on what Chicago music has to offer. My company, JBTV, brought down over 40 Chicago bands to participate in our 3 day showcase in Austin, TX last week. This experience was life-changing. And, while I am in the music business and have been going to SXSW for years, I often don't get an opportunity to discover so much great music all at once. It was truly an eye-opening experience for me and immediately realized that our city has some of the best music the country has to offer. And that music is being made by really great people too.]]></description>
		<link>http://christianpicciolini.com/2011/03/21/an-open-letter-to-the-chicago-music-community/</link>
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