New Metrics in the Music Industry – Artificial Inflation (Part 1 of 4)

The Music Industry is often used a case study for the impact that the internet and the digital age are having on a wide variety of industries.

The first to be hit by the immediate and infinite distribution machine and perhaps the most notoriously resistant and unable to adapt to the new demands of the market; hardly a day passes without an article being published on record low album sales and the dire state of the industry as a whole.

The tone of most of these articles and the general attitude of industry players seem to indicate an ongoing search for a deus ex machina: a new platform that will instantly and painlessly eliminate the open information sharing taking place over the internet and restore order and control to artists (read: labels).

The reality of the situation, however, is that for the Music Industry there will be no messianic technological innovation or business model tweak that will restore the original paradigm.

It is highly unlikely that a single event or product will restore stability to the industry but rather that a larger amalgamation of minor improvements will be wrangled into the ability to create successful sustainable careers for those artists who are smart enough and quick enough to make use of them. The industry paradigm has shifted and the manner in which we gauge an artist’s success must follow suit in order for us to make any sense out of things.

In a world where record stores are dying and sales figures plummet from year to year it certainly seems archaic to refer to charts indicating the total number of albums sold over the course of a year to gauge the popularity or success of an artist.

As total album sales have decreased over the past few years, there has actually been an increase in the total number of singles sold via iTunes and other distributors. This preference for singles as music becomes untethered to the modern concept of the album has some sources arguing that the price of music has actually been artificially inflated for the past few decades

The reasoning being that prior to the CD, the music industry consisted primarily of the sales of singles. A listener heard songs on the radio and went to the store to buy only those songs that they actually wanted. With the advent of the CD, listeners went to the store to buy the songs they heard on the radio and ended up with 10 more songs thrown in and an 80% markup to boot.

If there is validity to this position then current sales figures would actually represent a more accurate indication of the total size of the recorded music market undiluted by the restrictive format of the album. If true, this would certainly mean that the reports of the downward spiral of album sales could be taken less as harbingers of impending doom and more as the byproducts of the faulty economics of an industry that is notoriously bad with basic business principles.

This when coupled with the topics that will be covered in the following weeks: the economics of digital music; the impact of social media on the music industry; the concept of free; and community building in the music industry will provide the basis for what is largely becoming the new way to interpret data in the music industry.

- Patrick R

patrick@rabbitholeconsulting.com

For more on the concept of artificial inflation in music, check out these links:

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/market-forces-and-the-music-biz/

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2010/11/how-single-sales-redefine-album-success.html

Interested in how to implement Business Development Strategy and Intelligent Marketing Concepts for your Music Enterprise or small business? ContactRabbitHole Consulting to learn about how we can help you reach your target.

The conference consists of several ‘sessions’ of 10 minute speeches given by various members of the tech and startup community from all over the country. Since the running theme of Tribecon is online community building, most speakers chose to focus on ways for businesses to leverage social networks to gain traction or on startups that are using online technologies in creative ways.

One of my favorites from this year was NeighborGoods.net, an online community that allows users to share and borrow items which they have in their possession but do not necessarily use all that frequently. For example, while the average power drill only gets used about a total of 6 minutes in its lifetime (according to founder Micki Krimmel’s speech), allowing people who need drills to connect with people who have them (but are almost definitely not actively using them) saves a lot of time and eliminates a ton of waste.

Other notable speakers included Ben Huh, CEO of Pet Holdings Inc (the evil geniuses who bring you such sites as I Can Has Cheezburger, Fail Blog, and Engrish Funny); Ryan Graves, founder of Ubercab (a San Francisco startup aimed at providing a car service for the masses); and Baratunde Thurston, Web Editor for The Onion (among many other things).

Photo Courtesy of BenHuh.com

In addition to hosting the featured speakers, Tribecon serves as a de facto gathering place for the increasing number of tech entrepreneurs and startups that call New Orleans home. During our time at the conference we had the pleasure of meeting a number of people with really interesting ideas and thought we’d take this opportunity to fill you in on three of the New Orleans startups we think you should know about:

Liveset

Liveset is an online media production company and community that aims to bring live music to fans via HD video streaming. Along with producing the live stream of Tribecon this year, the company is currently working on its roster and securing content for its users. They intend to eventually develop a paid subscription service that will allow users exclusive access to live streams of concerts around the city, the opportunity to purchase archived shows, as well as connecting artists and fans. They’ve already shot footage of local indie artists MyNameIsJohnMichael, The Craft Brothers, and Andrew Duhon. Local bands with decent followings are well-advised to get in touch with these guys about working out content deals.

NOLAlicious

NOLAlicious is a free weekly newsletter that is sent out every Tuesday and gives readers five things to “do, see, and eat” around town every week. The publication is aimed at natives, recent, transplants and expats alike. The newsletter has been growing its subscription base steadily and will likely soon prove a valuable resource for local advertisers and event promoters. NOLAlicious is committed to the integrity of its suggestions to its readers so while they strictly curate suggestions for the newsletter (a very good thing), they have indicated that they are open to post a wider array of topics on their website which could eventually become a good resource for local acts looking to list their events (also a good thing).

InvadeNOLA

InvadeNOLA is a weekly online magazine that focuses on youth culture in the Greater New Orleans area. Covering everything from music and film to fashion and food, InvadeNOLA provides a refreshingly witty and hip breath of fresh air into the oft-laggardly New Orleans blog scene.

Tribecon was a great experience for members of the local startup community and is definitely a great place to connect with like-minded and creative individuals. I’m certainly looking forward to attending next year and encourage other locals interested in the world of tech, entrepreneurship, and community building to do the same.

-Patrick R

patrick@rabbitholeconsulting.com

Interested in how to implement Business Development Strategy and Intelligent Marketing Concepts for your Music Enterprise or small business? Contact RabbitHole Consulting to learn about how we can help you reach your target.

Initially, I had my doubts about his speech, thinking it was simply a rehashed Tribes, yet as Julien further explained the concepts outlined in his book, I became enraptured by his take on our generation’s experience with the birth and rise of the Internet.  Julien appropriately discusses today’s young adults, those ‘most familiar with the digital space’ as digital natives.  Digital natives recognize how the incessant proliferation of the Web creates a previously untouched level of transparency among humanity.  Every individual now has the resources to research just about any topic, group, or theory on their own. Previous gatekeepers such as research labs, private universities, and other bottlenecks’ separation from the rest of society is diminishing rapidly.   Each individual with a laptop and internet access now has the power to change opinions, rules, industries, simply with an idea and the promotional tools available.

For businesses, this means two things:

Traditional top-down management companies, pyramid schemes, etc. can no longer operate in the same manner.  Each individual in a company can “go public” with inefficiencies, corruption, poor management.  With the proper understanding of the internet and its effect upon communication anyone can now put together an entire proposal without being rejected by a boss or lofty manufacturing and promotional costs.

Secondly, it means an individual or business can now ‘leverage the way the web connects us and ties our information together to help turn transparency into an asset for doing business.”

The focus of Trust Agentsis identifying the qualities of a “trust agent” and how to leverage the Web to your advantage in this completely new era of business.  Trust Agents posses these six characteristics:

Making Your Own Game

The idea is to create your own rules for your job, passion, or industry.  Oprah is a great example of a woman who redefined the idea what having your own TV show could create.  The goal is to standout among your peers in your industry.

One of Us

Being “one of us” is a quality which a particular interest group will look for before deciding to accept the individual and their opinion. Do you possess similar qualities and interests of the group you are trying to reach?

The Archimedes Effect

The goal is to use the web and all the tools available to enhance and promote your skills as a business. Use the web to leverage your skills on an unprecedented plane. How do you use the web to leverage your business?

Agent Zero

Putting relationships first, before any work is done, is the key to becoming Agent Zero.  Create and establish relationships and open doors, which in turn creates access.  Are you a connector?

Human Artist

Often called “soft skills” this idea touches on what often goes unmeasured in companies. It is the aspect of interpersonal skills and communication which occur everyday between people.  Companies which overlook the importance of a human artist are ‘doomed to failure.’  Who in your business possesses these qualities and how?

Build An Army

Establishing a strong and active network of individuals willing to work together towards a common interest is what can set your business apart on the Web.  The key is to coordinate a mass of workers with a set goal, because no matter how talented an individual is, teams must assemble in order to make a difference in the seemingly vast and muddled internet.

The book gives you these six characteristics as a framework within which to work.

As with many emerging business/tech books, Chris and Julien give examples of Trust Agents in today’s society and how each possessed particular characteristics of Trust Agents.  A key difference for the reader is that the book has actionable steps listed in each chapter. These actionable steps are a great way in which the authors successfully teach the reader by showing them examples and giving them instructions to follow.  The authors gracefully “straddle” their concepts between traditional publication and online mediums.

Essentially the book emphasizes the importance of creating, developing, and furthering social capital across as many different avenues as possible. The importance of owning your own website, blog, and having control of any and every other web outlet where your name can be listed cannot be stressed enough.

For anyone wanting to establish a web related business (which is just about every business today if they want to keep up with the drastic changes occurring in marketing and social interaction) should read Trust Agentsand not take it lightly.

-David B

david@rabbitholeconsulting.com

Interested in how to implement Business Development Strategy and Intelligent Marketing Concepts for your Music Enterprise or small business? ContactRabbitHole Consulting to learn about how we can help you reach your target.

That being said, I don’t think that there is anything wrong with being a Dead Head, and as you will see, I have a tremendous respect for the band’s forward-thinking and innovative business models.

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead was co-authored by marketing experts and admitted Dead Heads: David Meerman Scott (author of New Rules of Marketing & PR) and Brian Halligan (CEO of Hubspot). The two authors have compiled their mutual knowledge of the band’s history with their business knowledge and insight to illustrate a number of business practices implemented by the Grateful Dead that it is now clear were well ahead of their time. Additionally, Scott and Halligan extract the principles and philosophies underlying these practices and broaden them for general purpose use across a variety of business platforms.

The book is well written and really quite fascinating with the level of detail and insight it provides into the history of the Grateful Dead. The chapters are broken down in a manner so as to make them relevant outside of the context of the order of the book in order to allow readers to jump in just about anywhere. At 160 small pages, it is also a very quick read: perfect for a moderate length flight or car trip.

What I found most compelling in the book was its presentation of the avant-garde manners in which the Grateful Dead managed to build a loyal and supportive community around themselves without ever compromising their values and in many cases defying the traditional business knowledge of the time. I found this particularly relevant to the current era in which some bands are finally deciding to abandon the futile struggle against file sharing and learning new ways to make money by building communities that support the band and the artists themselves: not by merely selling the product of their recorded music to ‘customers’.

Particularly interesting examples surrounded the band’s treatment of bootleg tapers and merchandisers at their shows. When the Grateful Dead began to notice that a large number of fans at their shows enjoyed taping the performances (largely because the band was well-known for never playing the same set list twice), rather than attempting to clamp down and restrict these people’s access, they gave them their blessing. They went so far as to create special areas for ‘tapers’ as they were known at their shows behind the soundboard where they could get better quality recordings and also avoid interfering with the enjoyment of the other fans with their equipment. As long as the tapers agreed not to sell the recordings for money, they were encouraged to share them with friends which in turn helped grow the community around the band. (This ability to create a business that markets itself is the focal point of a book coming up called The Referral Engine.)

The Tapers' Section at a Dead Show - Courtesy of DeadTape.com

Another great example of this sort of openness occurred when rather than attempting to limit the sale of bootlegged merchandise in the parking areas surrounding venues, the Grateful Dead approached these merchants and partnered with them by allowing them the use of their logos and trademarks in return for a percentage of the goods sold. This legitimized the people who were creating their own merchandise, reinforced the band’s positive image among their fans, and allowed them to tap revenue streams that they were going to have a hard time prohibiting in the first place.

The examples in the book continue to demonstrate how openness and creative thinking as well as the good sense to partner with potential enhancements to your business can be extremely valuable, rewarding, and are often counterintuitive and extremely underutilized.

I really learned a lot from this book and intend to incorporate much of what I have learned here into the formal business practices RabbitHole employs with our management clients (we’re already doing a lot of it with | e.company |). I highly recommend Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead not only as an enjoyable read but also as an extremely pertinent book for our times given the shifting nature of industry and marketing in the digital age.

As always, we look forward to your comments, thoughts, and ideas (particularly if you’ve read the book).

-Patrick R

patrick@rabbitholeconsulting.com

Interested in how to implement Business Development Strategy and Intelligent Marketing Concepts for your Music Enterprise or small business? ContactRabbitHole Consulting to learn about how we can help you reach your target.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gary’s work, he is the raging ball of charisma that hosts Wine Library TV, an online video blog about his consuming passion – wine. Gary built his parents’ local discount liquor store into a multi-million dollar/year business by harnessing his incredible passion and enthusiasm and channeling it through a medium that suited it: one of the first video blogs.

Through his efforts, Gary has built upon this passion to create a career that involves television appearances, keynote speaking invitations, business consulting, and a myriad of other outlets and opportunities.

The best part (and the premise of Crush It!) is that he managed to accomplish all of this while doing exactly what he loves (and his argument is that it is exclusively because he was doing what he loved that it was possible in the first place).

Crush It! is an extremely enjoyable read and much of the unbridled hyperbolic exuberance that Gary demonstrates on WLTV translates well to the written word. It is a book that is well suited to people who need direction into how to go about thinking about their passions in a career-oriented sense. It is also a book that is perfect for novices and veterans alike of social media outlets.

Gary is a social media pro and despite having a decent amount of experience with social media marketing, I found myself highlighting and noting a number of strategies and even platforms that Gary presents in the book. Crush It! does an excellent job of presenting the fundamentals of business development strategy and planning in a very straightforward and accessible manner that is also tailored in an extremely contemporary manner (which is nearly impossible to find in traditional marketing books) to allow for the use of social media tools.

Vaynerchuk’s primary argument is that social media has completely changed the game – that business today is about becoming and establishing yourself as an expert in your field/what you are passionate about and then leveraging that position into a monetizable career. Gary does an excellent job of providing real actionable strategies for monetizing a career using social media and his insights are extremely valuable. The best part? Nobody practices their preaching better than Gary. From watching one of his keynotes to an episode of Wine Library TV, Gary Vaynerchuk lives by his own rules and his career makes for an excellent case study.

I really highly recommend Crush It! not just because of how likeable a character Gary has established himself as but because the book is not just a bunch of optimistic self-help fluff – it really provides useful and actionable information to readers. Like this excerpt from a numbered list of activities to use to build -your online presence:

….and so forth.

As always, we look forward to your comments, thoughts, and ideas (particularly if you’ve read the book).

-Patrick R

patrick@rabbitholeconsulting.com

Interested in how to implement Business Development Strategy and Intelligent Marketing Concepts for your Music Enterprise or small business? ContactRabbitHole Consulting to learn about how we can help you reach your target.

courtesy of joesephfotos.com

I’m just getting back to the heat of August in New Orleans, a reminder that the summer of Louisiana and Colorado are VERY different.

My most recent festival work took me to Denver, CO for the Mile High Music Festival.  Mile High is in its 3rd year as a festival and takes place on the Colorado Rapids 917 acre soccer complex, where the festival grounds cover 14 of the soccer fields.  Festival attendance is generally around 35,000 – 40,000 people, although last year’s attendance was lower than expected causing AEG to bring in well known festival favorites such as Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson.

Courtesy of www.joesephfotos.com

This year, I worked in the Artist Transportation department as an “Artist Wrangler”. My job soon became insuring that there was a clear line of communication between Sponsors and Media locations on site.

There is a trend of artists having a growing list of obligations at these national music festivals.  Artists now often have Sponsor appearances, autograph signings, magazine and blog interviews, as well as their actual onstage performance.

For instance, The Punch Brothers (http://www.punchbrothers.com), who I drove around for most of the day, had a short acoustic performance at the Toyota Sponsor stage (recorded and broadcast), then had an onstage performance, then had a meet and greet autograph session, followed by a Media appearance for interviews. After finishing the last of the interviews the band packed up and headed out that night.

I had an incredible time meeting living legend Jimmy Cliff who at age 62 in all yellow and gold still put on the best reggae show I have ever seen.  Bassnectar filled the crowd’s thirst for the growing electronic scene at festivals.

Quick and dirty coverage of Mile High: Mile High Music Fest Reel

Festival Features:

Live streaming of headliners such as Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, Steve Miller Band, My Morning Jacket, and Weezer among others…

Android and iPhone Apps

MHMF Pandora Station

Zero Service Charge” Ticketing
Flash Seats system is a paperless ticketing system which allows attendees to simply bring their phone and valid ID. http://www.flashseats.com/

Carpool Sweepstakes
MHMF created a sweepstakes for all cars carrying 4 people or more to the festival. The best decorated carpool car was allowed to park in the close lot as well as enter into a contest for free VIP upgrade.

Green Your Scene Passport Program
Attendees could pickup a “passport” onsite then go to as many different activities on site as possible to get the passport stamped allowing you to win prizes such as a Meet and Greet with Dave Matthews or stage passes for Jack Johnson

Highlights for Fans:

Mile High Music Fest is one of the most comfortable and efficient festivals I have attended. There is FREE WATER within the festival grounds, security at each entrance/exit, cooling stations if you get too hot spending all day outside.

Weather: 80s with a cool breeze, 60s at night

courtesy of joesephfotos.com

Safe Storage: Bag Valet located inside the stadium where you can safely leave your belongings for the day.

Colorado People: Of all the festivals I have worked, Mile High had the most easy going crowd of any.

For those of you who have never attended or worked Mile High Music Fest, it is certainly a festival for the bucket list.

Artist Interview with Danielle Ate the Sandwich

John Macy of Macy Sound Studios

As always we look forward to comments and questions. Thanks again to Joeseph Rogers for his photos. For more on Mile High and CO check here: www.joesephfotos.com

- David

While reading Trust Agents on my way to Denver I began thinking about customer interactions with large corporations.  So many of these corporations spend their money on high profile executives to come in and make strong and drastic changes to either increase profit, market share, public perception, etc….what too often these companies lack is individuals such as John.

John is what Seth Godin calls a “linchpin.” He is invaluable to the company.  John is a flight attendant for Frontier Airlines.  During the course of my 2 hour and 20 min flight to Denver from New Orleans, John managed to personally connect to just about every person on the 120 person plane.  John created a tasteful and personal relationship for Frontier airlines to their customers.

Not only did John remember just about every passenger name in the first 5 rows but 1 hour into the flight grandparents were telling John to go say hi to their grandchildren at the back of the plane.

As I waited to get the video footage, each passenger shook John’s hand and often gave him compliments such as “great to have you,”  “thank you SO much,” as well as, “you are the single BEST airline attendant I have ever seen.”

John does for Frontier Airlines what no manager, no corporate program, no incentive, no advertisement could do. He establishes, connects, and fosters relationships with every passenger in such a sincere manner, that every person who was on that plane couldn’t help but think “maybe I should keep flying Frontier.”

As always, we look forward to your thoughts, comments, and questions. Stay tuned for updates from Mile High Music Fest!

Cheers,

- David

david@rabbitholeconsulting.com

Episode 8 takes us into Mardi Gras day, the venerable holiday of head-splitting hangovers imbued with an overall sense of shame at the debauchery of the past week all while maintaining the sense of being a last hurrah before the Lenten period of repentance. Relatively little happens plot-wise in this episode although the writers take the opportunity to pack it full of traditional Mardi Gras references that at their best are relevant and informative and at worst sound a little tired.

Episode 9 marks the convergence of the paths of character Creighton Bernette and his real-life inspiration: disenfranchised blogger and New Orleans advocate – Ashley Morris. Ashley is the inspiration for Creighton’s Youtube rants and his suicide in the aftermath of Katrina leaves him mourned by many and establish him as an icon of the recovery movement.

Here are these two weeks Locals Guides:

The City

Lakeview – The man who talks to Sonny and Annie at their street performance in Jackson Square mentions that he is from Lakeview, a neighborhood on the other side of City Park from Mid City at the Southern border of Lake Ponchartrain. Many Lakeview homes were flooded when the Lake waters rose and spilled into the city. Lakeview is about as close to a suburb as you are likely to find in New Orleans aside from Metairie but its long history and the culture of its residents allow it to retain a unique sense of authenticity that is conspicuously lacking in the suburban subdivisions of other parts of the country.

Milenburg – Creighton makes a reference to an old New Orleans Red Light District – Milenburg. Now the area known as Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks, this neighborhood out by the lake used to be known as a haven for all sorts of debauchery.

Storyville – A later incarnation of the same sort of neighborhood as Milenburg, Storyville – New Orleans most notorious Red Light District eventually had to be shut down during WWII due to pressure from the US military due to the high incidences of venereal disease outbreaks amond military personnel stationed or on shore leave in the city.

City shuts down on Mardi Gras – There is frequent mention of a general distaste for work and routine on Mardi Gras Day in this episode, and in reality, a large portion of the city does completely shut down if not for the entire Carnival season then certainly Mardi Gras Day. Good luck finding a grocery store open during the week.

Flambeaux – A Mardi Gras tradition in which (traditionally African American) men carry flaming torches (originally wood and flame, now propane – powered) in parades and collect change scattered to them by parade-goers.

Endymion – Growing up in Mid City, I have to admit that Endymion is my favorite parade despite Creighton’s disdain for its ‘superkrewe’ status. Endymion is quite a spectacle. A notoriously slow-running and late parade, it boasts the largest double-decker floats of any Mardi Gras Krewe and often features celebrities among its krewe members (Drew Brees rode this past year). The year after Katrina, Endymion rolled Uptown for the first year due to the still largely vacant and devastated status of its traditional route in Mid City.

Gumbo – Gumbo is a staple of Creole cuisine and available nearly everywhere in New Orleans. It has particular significance during Mardi Gras when nearly every household has a pot ready. Its thick roux makes for excellent fortification against the often cold (strange for New Orleans’ climate) week of Mardi Gras and it is a quick meal to catch between bouts of parades and celebration.

Courts don’t open on Tuesday – Every New Orleanian knows that one of the worst things you can do is get yourself arrested during the week of Mardi Gras. The courts remain closed until after Mardi Gras day so you will find yourself stuck in overcrowded jail cells for the entire week if you are not careful.

Zulu – The traditionally all-African American parade krewe runs bright and early Mardi Gras day and never announces its intended route before the parade. It is known for throwing highly coveted decorated coconuts that serve as something of badges of honor among the Mardi Gras faithful.

Finding places to ‘use the facilities’ during Mardi Gras – It is nearly impossible to find a decent or reasonable place to ‘use the facilities’ during Mardi Gras and it is not uncommon for people to just wander into the nearest open apartment and hope not to be noticed among the crowd of people certain to be inside celebrating. Public urination is also one of the number one reasons for arrest during Mardi Gras.

The Isle of Denial – Creighton uses a term that was often used to refer to the Uptown and Garden District areas that remained largely unaffected by Katrina and were some of the first to return.

French Conversation – In case you were wondering, when Davis says ‘What’s up, my Negro?’ to his former WWOZ colleaguge, the conversation that ensues in French goes as follows:

-What did he say?
-He thinks he’s black.
-What a nutjob.

The Music

Howlin’ Wolf – This is the first time I can remember seeing a show take place at the Howlin’ Wolf on Treme. The Howlin’ Wolf is a long-standing music hub on S. Peters St. The venue takes its name from legendary blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, Howlin’ Wolf Burnett.

Nevilles – Members of the Neville family make an appearance this episode. The Nevilles are another long-standing musical dynasty (the word family doesn’t really do it justice) in New Orleans.

Bob French – There is a brief scene of a set from Bob French, a legendary New Orleans drummer who has played with the likes of Fats Domino, leads the Tuxedo Jazz Band, and hosts a radio show on WWOZ.

Rebirth – Do Whatcha Wanna – This song became somewhat of a post-Katrina anthem in New Orleans used to mark any sort of celebration from Mardi Gras season to the successful Saints playoff run the year following the storm. To this day it is often played at just about every celebration involving more than two New Orleanians.

Professor Longhair – Go to the Mardi Gras – Probably the most recognizable and iconic Mardi Gras tune, Professor Longhair’s Mardi Gras Day is basically the theme song for Carnival Season.

Terence Blanchard – Blanchard makes another appearance this episode. The famed trumpeter and composer often does the scoring for Spike Lee’s films.

Le Bon Temps Roule- Delmond’s show this episode takes place in the club known as “The Bon Temps” (shortened from the Cajun saying Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez – Let The Good Times Roll).

Jon Cleary – A famous blues pianist, Cleary is originally from England but moved to New Orleans about 30 years ago and has yet to leave. He has been known to play with Bonnie Raitt and also fronts the band The Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

The Food

King Cake – This is the second time we’ve seen Mardi Gras’ staple confectionery treat on the show. After Mardi Gras day King Cake’s become very difficult to find in the city until Carnival Season the following year.

Bacchanal – This unique place has appeared a few times on the show already. Part wine shop, bar, music venue, and deli, Bacchanal is a convergence of the best aspects of New Orleans in a comfortable setting.

-Patrick R

patrick@rabbitholeconsulting.com

Interested in how to implement Business Development Strategy and Intelligent Marketing Concepts for your Music Enterprise or small business? ContactRabbitHole Consulting to learn about how we can help you reach your target.

Aerial from 2006

This year’s Bonnaroo is certainly one to go down in the books, seeing as the festival started with heavy rains and thunderstorms, turned to blistering heat,
and ended with perfect weather for Dave Matthew’s closing set.

With the initial rains, golf carts, cars, trucks, and even tours buses were stuck in mud on entering the festival site, but luckily due to the extreme heat on Thursday and Friday the mud finally dried and allowed for traffic to flow more freely.

At Bonnaroo, I worked as a golf cart driver for the Artist Transportation department which thankfully meant I was driving fairly often, allowing me to catch what little breeze there was to break the stagnant heat.

My main duty was transporting artists to the stage, “This Tent.”  After meeting most artists playing “This Tent” I was surprised at how nice and entertaining every single artist was with our crew.

My favorite sets of bands I drove included: She & Him (Zoe Deschanel and M. Ward),The Melvins who were not only the heaviest hitting band at the festival this year but also the funniest personalities of possibly anyone I have met, and of course New Orleanian, Jay Electronica who gave great tributes to New Orleans throughout his set.

The four founders of Superfly Productions, the creators of Bonnaroo, all lived in New Orleans during their college years, a commonality Patrick and I share.  To our liking, Superfly still has a strong taste for New Orleans music.  Not only does Superfly manage New Orleans live act Galactic, the festival’s inaugural year hosted a number of New Orleans bands including The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (band leader Gregory Davis is a former teacher of ours), and the Little Rascals Brass Band (a sixth ward favorite).

(Photo by GARY GURTCHEFF)

This year’s New Orleans bands included Bonnaroo veterans, Galactic appearing for their eighth Bonnaroo, Big Sam’s Funky Nation – Big Sam appeared for 5 different sets during the weekend including a stellar performance with Galactic during their late night set featuring Corey Henry and Cyril Neville, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave  playing an hour of New Orleans brass band music to start their set, and Jay Electronica who brought New Orleans hip hop to the fest.

Over the whole weekend I was able to catch around 40 shows which is one of the unique offerings of a festival as diverse and nonstop as Bonnaroo.  The festival creates an environment that causes festivalgoers to be exposed to different genres of music that they may not like or listen to, but every year each fan comes home with another favorite band whom they had never seen until Bonnaroo.  Bonnaroo furthered this idea by creating two new tents this year solely dedicated to Latin and Electronic music.

As far as headliners, I was able to watch both Stevie Wonder and Jay Z fifteen feet away from the stage with roughly 70,000 screaming fans behind me. I still cannot believe I was able to see Stevie Wonder live.  Each put on a show that no other artist could recreate.  Stevie set off the crowd by teaching us how to sing and Jay Z put on the greatest hip hop show I have ever seen, including singing happy birthday to a friend of mine’s little sister.

Other noteworthy shows included Flaming Lips who once again (previously in 2007 at Bonnaroo) put on the greatest visual spectacle that I have seen at a rock show, as well as new Electronic acts such as DeadMau5 giving the crowds reason to dance early into the morning, John Fogerty playing CCR classics, Weezer playing the Which Stage,  and The Dead Weather bringing energy to the fans strong enough to stand the sweltering heat.

Driving artists around, working with those experienced in the industry, and meeting new people who become friends is always a gratifying experience and one that I plan on continuing in the future.

With its extensive and eclectic lineup, and emphasis on the music –  Bonnaroo, hands down, is my favorite festival , but then again maybe being a Tennessean who’s fallen in love with New Orleans music, I’m a little biased.

As always looking forward to questions and comments. If you missed shows this year, check out Bonnaroo’s youtube channel for sets you missed. Hope to see y’all out there next year!

- David “Butters” Buttrey

david@rabbitholeconsulting.com