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Using
Peer-to-Peer
to Launch a
Music Career
How The G-Man Got Played, Got Signed,
Got a Publisher, & Got on iTunes. . .
All by Giving His Music Away For Free.
by Janis
Amy
Back to The
Academy
 The G-Man is a musician who knows how to "work the Web," perhaps
because he's also deeply involved in the worlds of advertising
and marketing. Some of his marketing savvy was put to use in
launching his music career.
Defying
the RIAA
What did he do that was so extraordinary? Defying the wishes
of the RIAA and the major record labels, he offered all the music
on his first album for free.
In fact, he went even farther than that: he contacted thousands
of DJs and remixers, established peer-to-peer filesharing
relationships
with them, then offered to send them individual tracks (bass,
synth, vocals, drums, guitar, etc.) if they wanted to mix new
versions of his songs.
The results have been spectacular, involving reviews, remixes,
club play, radio play, a record deal, publishing and licensing
agreements, and awards. All three of his albums have been nominated
Electronica Album of the Year by the Los Angeles Music Awards,
and he won for his "Grin Groove" album in 2002.
Indie
Signing & His Own Company
He is signed to Delvian Records, all of his albums are on Apple's
iTunes, his song catalog is administered by Janssongs.com, and
he has opened his own company, G-Man Music & Radical Radio, where
he creates songs, sonics, radio spots, and music for film, TV,
and games.
Perhaps best of all, two of his songs have been remixed by Matt
Forger, best-known as Michael Jackson's recording engineer on
"Thriller," "Bad," "Dangerous," and four other albums, and who
also worked with Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen,
and many more. These tracks are a part of The G-Man’s "The Platinum
Age of the Remix," an album featured on StudioExpresso, home
to more than 100 of the world’s best music producers and engineers.
Additionally, The G-Man has become a creative director for NARIP
(National Association of Record Industry Professionals), an associate
writer for MusicDish.com, and a content supplier for Circle of
Songs, L*A*M*P, Bitchin Entertainment, and Venus Music.
Rave
Reviews
Reviewers have compared his songs to such artists as Devo, David
Bowie, Art of Noise, Brian Eno, OMD, Thomas Dolby, Spandau Ballet,
and Frank Zappa. From mainstream media like the New York Times
and the All Music Guide, to respected Web sites and eZines, music
by The G-Man is written about with zeal.
Airplay
The G-Man is also receiving airplay on college stations in many
cities across the United States and Internet radio around the
world. Most important from the business aspect, his songs are
being licensed for use in radio and TV commercials.
How
it Began
"The 'give it away' approach may be a cool new way of starting
a career," G-Man states. "And some people say this method puts
me in the vanguard of changes that are overwhelming the music
industry. Perhaps it's both," he says with a grin.
"I think that the music business as we know it is splintering
into a million shards," he states, "and it is being built up
into something new right before our eyes."
Six
Year Overnight Success
Six years ago, Scott G was an advertising writer, radio commercial
producer, and sometime music critic. But he wanted to make sounds,
not just write about them, so he picked up a guitar and began
learning to play.
In 2001, he started recording his first album, creating music
that fuses today's dance grooves with pop melodies and then adds
sly commentary. Some have called it dancebeat, some have called
it Zappa-esque, but Scott calls it "grin groove music."
Using "Grin Groove" as his album title,
The G-Man did several
things that together represent the beginnings of a quantum shift
in the way music is created, marketed and disseminated to listeners
around the globe.
First, he put up a simple, graphically clean, "100% animation-free"
Web site at http://www.gmanmusic.com . Next, he combed other
Web sites for the e-mail addresses of media as well as 25,000
DJs, remixers, and those involved with raves, clubs, electronica,
dance, and drum 'n' bass genres. "This took as much time as it
did to record the songs, but it was worth it," he says.
Keeping
it Simple
Then, two simple e-mail messages were created. He followed the
ideas recommended by Indiespace's Pete Markiewicz, namely, put
the basic idea in the Subject line, keep the message short, and
do not include any graphics.
One e-mail message announced his new genre of music to the media.
The other e-mail offered to send tracks for free to anyone who
wished to remix his music -- and that is perhaps the most significant
part of his approach, as you will see.
It's
in the Remix
Remixers have been using his tracks all around the globe. "I
have had five songs remixed in Russia by a sonic master called
Random Distribution," The G-Man states, "and one of these tracks
went to #1 over there. Meanwhile, an Australian DJ known as Zero
Point Energy has done a remix that is now showing up on Web sites
around the world. A jazz artist known as il moroso has begun
remixing more of my songs and we have now agreed to collaborate
on an album of acid jazz music."
Perhaps most interesting is the reaction from the European community.
A consortium of remixers called The Allianz, led by DJ Insane,
created remixes of every song on "Grin Groove." One of the DJ
Insane tracks reached #5 on a European dance chart.
Part
of a Plan
All of this could be viewed as just a series of fortuitous accidents,
but The G-Man doesn't think so. "I believe that the music world
is breaking up and is at the same time transforming into something
new, and you have to address the peer-to-peer file sharing in
order to exist in this new world."
As seen in the presentations by Indiespace's Pete Markiewicz
and Jeannie Novak in the Future Of Music seminars, "the structure
of the music business is different now,” Novak says, "and it
involves several new methods of working. One is cooperation in
combination with competition, or 'coopetition,'" a word Novak
coined.
It also involves an attitude of total independence from traditional
distribution, and a faith that the business end of your work
will play 'catch-up' to your art. "You create and market and
interchange and share and compete with fellow musicians," The
G-Man says. "And only afterwards does the business world come
in to license your work for commercialization."
Did he write out his business plan? "Absolutely. I used the methods
outlined by John Stiernberg and his Succeeding in Music organization.
Some said my ideas were crazy, and certainly the record company
doesn't let me do this anymore, but the plan worked. I wouldn't
have even been talking with Delvian Records if they hadn't heard
about me from all the activity with my songs all around the world,"
he points out.
"Mostly, I love the fact that the business was totally being
driven by the art," G-Man says. "Plus, it was and is the most
fun I've ever had in the world. And besides, under what other
set of circumstances could I be collaborating on music simultaneously
with people in Australia, Moscow, Los Angeles, Big Bear Lake,
and The Hague in Holland?"
----
Janis Amy may be contacted at: janisamy@cs.com
The G-Man: www.gmanmusic.com
URLs of principals in this story include:
NARIP: www.narip.com
Delvian Records: www.delvianrecords.com
Janssongs:
www.janssongs.com
John Stiernberg: www.succeedinginmusic.com
Matt Forger: www.studioexpresso.com
Jeannie Novak & Pete Markiewicz: www.indiespace.com
Circle of Songs: www.circleofsongs.com
Venus Music: www.venusmusic.com
L*A*M*P: www.lamusicproductions.com
Bitchin Entertainment: www.bitchinentertainment.com
Interview with The G-Man:
www.lamusicscene.com/articles/00120/index.php3
Music Dish: www.musicdish.com
iTunes: www.apple.com/itunes
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