Beethoven + Social Media = Crowdfunding Patronage
How can you finance your album, tour, and other musical endeavors? As it has been done in public television and radio, through crowdfunding, the power of many small contributions can become significant. Artists are more connected to their fans, and social networking makes reaching out simple and virtually free. Learn how to harness the crowd for funding and awareness for your next music project.
Presenters
BRIAN MEECE was born and raised on The Gulf of Mexico – that odd and magical little pocket of the American South where country and beach mingle, Jimmy Buffet blares, and hunting trucks have surfboards on the roof. Brian plays a mean ukulele and is a co-founder and CEO of RocketHub, a grassroots crowdfunding platform. Brian and the RocketHub team share a bold vision, that crowdfunding is the new path to creative empowerment. Brian is the co-author of The Crowdfunding Manifesto, a popular foundational resource for the rising Creative Class.
Eleanor Whitney is a Program Officer for External Affairs at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) where she works to connect artists to NYFA’s extensive services and resources. She also provides technical assistance and fundraising support to artists in the NYFA’s Artspire Fiscal Sponsorship program. Prior to NYFA she worked at the Rubin Museum of Art, where she was the Coordinator of Educational Resources and produced audio tours, videos, and interactive websites. Previously, she was the Academic Programs Coordinator at the Brooklyn Museum where she planned and implemented public programs for adults, taught university students in the museum’s galleries, and oversaw a professional development internship program for university students as well as academic outreach. She has also worked as a Development Assistant at POV/American Documentary. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs and received her Bachelor’s Degree from Eugene Lang College with a concentration in Cultural Studies and Education. In addition, she plays guitar with Corita, an independent rock band, and is a freelance arts and culture writer.
An alumnus of Washington, DC Radio and musician for the past 20 years, Billy Zero is a long-time supporter of unsigned bands in the US. Billy’s dedication to Independent music garnered label interest that resulted in signings for acts such as: Jimmies Chicken Shack, Good Charlotte, Army of Me, Sugarland, Shonie, Antigone Rising, Halestorm and many others. Furthermore, he created the ‘Locals Only’ stage at one of the largest rock Festivals in the country (HFStival), so that the best unsigned bands in the area would have an opportunity to play for thousands of music fans.
By the middle of 1999 Billy was disgruntled over the play lists on FM radio and the lack of support for independent artists and he left for a job in the internet world. Eventually he was booking clubs, managing bands, running his own company and he decided to set out on his own and get funding for one of his internet companies. During the venture capital recruitment, Billy got a call from a head-hunter about a new company called XM SATELLiTE RADiO. Billy dropped everything he was involved in to join the XM Family on August 7, 2000 as Director of Ad Sales Development and quickly found his way into the programming team. Where he started the Unsigned channel with Pat Dinizio of the Smithereens. He later went on to Program and Develop a number of brands for XM and programmed XMU from 2006-2008.
Billy is a Drummer and Produced his first record in 2009 and started his Management company in 2010.
Billy has worked at two innovative startups, XM RADIO and Advertising.com, and has two companies of his own, Dj Boy Records and Zero Management.
Billy is currently Trustee for The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which is the organization that produces the Grammy’s.
Billy currently consults with musicians and corporations and works on a number of charitable projects.
Billy can be reached directly at 1-800-255-2071
Kevin is a Grammy nominated artist, podcaster, and indie musician advocate. He resides in Vancouver, WA where he is the Director of Marketing for CD Baby (http://members.cdbaby.com). Oh, yeah, he also plays guitar in Smalltown Poets.
Ariel Hyatt is the founder of Ariel Publicity, a social media PR firm based in New York. Her agency’s Cyber PR® Campaigns place musicians on blogs, podcasts, and Internet radio stations and coach them to create authentic relationships with fans. Since 1996, Ariel Publicity has represented over 1,700 independent musicians.
Her books Music Success in Nine Weeks & Musician’s Roadmap to Facebook & Twitter help artists get in control of social media marketing strategies and online PR.
Ariel proudly serves on the advisory boards of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, SXSW Accelerator, SoundCtrl, The New Music Seminar.
Find her on Twitter: @CyberPR
Wednesday, March 14
