Joce74_

April 22


Hello,

For those of you who don't know, I'm Angie Arsenault's husband and manager.  I just wanted to take a few moments here to share some of my views, ideas and reasons why I think Sellaband is good and why I see Angie as a good business investment as well as a great talent to support.

I know some of this could sound a bit bias, since I'm married to Angie...  but we have known each other for a very long time and have learned to separate our emotions from our business partnership. We started to work together in our mid-teens as musicians in a rock band that toured eastern Canada quite a bit and things progressed ever since.

The art vs. the business

I find that many artists and musician have a skewed vision of what it takes to produce a quality record, taking it to market and make it a success. If an artist wants to produce a quality record with a professional production team and one that can compete with all the other major label releases, $50k is not a lot... but doable. Keep in mind that most major label releases in the USA have a $250k production budget... On the other hand I have seen very successful records produced on a $15k budget. It just depends on what kind of record the artist wants to make and what kind of resources are at the artist’s disposal.

May an artist like it or not, the art of making music as a profession is a business and to be successful in today's music environment, an artist needs to mind their business and understand the full process.  Angie has always been involved in every business decision or planning concerning her music.   Also, due to our detailed pre-Sellaband production planning, she is very aware of the costs involved in producing a record, thus having a realistic $50k vision, which she has shared here on the Sellaband forum and in Tribune.   

I believe in Sellaband and the concept...

The days of "Getting Discovered" are long gone and the idea of "Overnight Success" is just an illusion.  An artist in today's music scene needs to attain a certain level of independent success through touring, radio and media exposure and record sales of over 5000 units before attracting any label interest.  

I see Sellaband not as a magic pill or end all solution, but more as a very attractive alternative channel to help a talented artist to raise the funds needed for the production of his or her album; A channel give the "music gatekeeper" power of the corporate labels back to the true fans of music.   

This said, like in the traditional music industry, I see it as a Sellaband artist entering into a business partnership with his or her believers (investors looking for a return on their investment), thus should show strong talent, a track record and a solid post release marketing plan: touring, PR, digital community nurturing, global fan base building, street team activities and more...  All in order to drive the sales of record.

Just like eBay and Amazon revolutionized the buy & see and retail industry back in the 90's, I see all of this as a major turning point in the entertainment industry and Sellaband is at the forefront of it all. We have a chance here to be a part of this revolution...  Let's keep in mind that Sellaband is a new start-up company that is growing and will need to adapt and change as they grow.  Will it be opening up new distribution channels for the albums, signing concert promotion agreements... and so on.  We are all in it together, believers, artists and Sellaband.


Why Angie Arsenault....
 
Before singing-up Angie to Sellaband, we spent many years working hard at developing Angie's craft and career.  We produced countless shows, recorded a few demos, released a 4 song EP, and chased many labels and potential partners...

Back in early 2007 with the self release of the EP, we launched a digital promotion campaign, which included Angie's web video series "My Shattered Windows" and the response, so far, has been amazing.  We then prepared a detailed 40 page business plan and started the search for a partner for Angie's debut album.

Then I discovered Sellaband and Sellaband became our strategy for getting the record produced. This said I was fully aware that the artist development and marketing remains the responsibility of the artist...  

Other than because she's my life partner, here are a few reasons why I believe in Angie and why she will be a success:

1) True Talent & Determination
Angie comes from a musical family and began performing at a very young age. She writes her own lyrics & music, is a multi talented musician and has always been involved in every step of the recording process.  Angie never settles for good enough...

2) The music
Angie's music is main stream enough to achieve commercial success yet is a breath of fresh air with its complex melodic and emotional structures.

3) Experience
Angie has extensive studio, live performance, concert production and business experience and understands the cost of recording and artist development.

4) The fan base & community
Over the past few years, Angie has written over 50 new songs, recorded a few demos, collaborated with many musicians and has actively been building a loyal fanbase by performing solo shows on piano as well as with her band in small venues throughout Montreal, Toronto, the Maritime provinces and even Los Angeles. Angie also had the opportunity to showcase at industry events such as the East Coast Music Awards and has been featured as a singer songwriter on multiple national and local television and radio shows.

Taking full advantage of her popularity on social media sites such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook over the last year, Angie has so far sold over 1500 digital and hard copies of the EP, got over 60 000 plays on her MySpace profile and got well over 150 000 views of her “My Shattered Windows” web episodes. Also, her mailing list and friend network numbers well over 10 000

5) Marketing strategy
I feel it is important to share a few items from our marketing plan... But these are just the items and not all the details found in our 40 page plan.

Online global strategies
- Angie’s Official Web Site & Artist Blog – www.angiemusic.com
- Email Newsletter
- Continuation and evolvement of "My Shattered Windows" Video Series
- MySpace and Other Social Media Profiles
- Digital Marketing Street Team... E Team.... Play it Forward...
- Interactive Viral Marketing

Micro marketing grass root strategies
- Radio & Media Exposure starting in Canada
- Press Promotion – Publicity Campaign
- Music Video Promotion
- Lifestyle Marketing
- Synchronization Licensing

Performances and showcasing
- Continuous touring with the help of a booking agency
- Strategic showcases
- Industry showcases Midem, SXSW, NXNW, PopKom....


6) Helping the believers with the Limited Edition CD
We are in this all together and each party is important to make it all happen.  Until Sellaband comes up with a physical distribution strategy, I feel it's important that each artist helps their multiple believers sell their Limited Edition CDs at the artist’s shows... With Angie we are looking at doing so.

We have bought 150 parts, but most of these CDs will be for our promo and radio campaigns, so we will need CDs to sell at her show. We are also looking at other ideas to help unload the Limited Edition CDs from believer, and we are always open for suggestions....

The key is planning, determination and focus....

"Continuous effort not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential" - Sir Winston Churchill