So What’s Amazing Journey

Now 19 artists at 50K!

In the morning of Friday April 19, SellaBand was a happy, cheerful place once again. The reason: Dutch band So What finished their budget and SellaBand welcomed it’s 19th Recording Artist...

By So What

 

Friday morning at 9.08, maybe the most important thing in the life of four guys happened. Fifty thousand dollar were invested in us, by people who think we are good enough to make an album. We know we can make a fantastic album, but still it is quite a big responsibility. How did we survive those last days? And what where the days after like?

Wednesday at noon the four of us were at Alex’ place. We were in a very happy mood and decided to write a little song and make a video. When we were done and we wanted to it online suddenly a telephone ranged, Bram answered. It was our Believer Lydia (who got his number from our website) she said we had to look on our profile. And then it happened, 40k! Lydia bought a lot of parts at once, we were in heaven. Immediately the chat was full of people, all saying that it could be going fast now. But we are Dutch and have a clear state of mind so we still thought it would last some weeks. We never expected it would go this fast! The rest of that day we spent online, seeing more and more Believers coming in and buying parts. What a feeling!

When we woke up the next morning we thought that by now it would have calmed down, but no. The train continued and more and more Believers jumped on board! By nighttime we stood for a difficult decision. Last year we won the finale of a huge band competition in our city, Thursday the next edition would be held in our favourite club. We had to go there, not only because it would be fun but also because of our ‘connections’ with all the local press people. We thought that from 43k it could still last some days, so we went. Leaving our moms and dads behind the computer with a mobile phone in their hands.

Their we where, the four of us, in a club full of people. Every now and then we got a call from home telling us the score. Ring ring “Hi Joeri, it’s your mom. 4450$!”, “thanks mom. Ring ring “Hi Bram, it’s your dad, 4500$”. Ring ring “Hi Vincent, it’s your sister, 4600$. We couldn’t be more happy, it went so fast! But we wanted to be there, we wanted to be online! Alex and Vincent decided to rush home, Joeri and Bram stayed at the club, having a little pre-50k-party. At 5 o’clock in the morning we were at 48k and the whole band was sitting behind Alex’ computer. But something went wrong there, the chat was quiet for a few minutes, we were a bit tired. And yes, we fell asleep! At 9 o’clock Alex’ was the first to be awake, checking SAB immediately. Still no 50k. 10 minutes later he checked: 50k. fireworks and our thank you video. Alex’ scream of joy waked up the rest of the band and the entire appartment building.

From that moment the fun began. We drove to the supermarket and bought a nice breakfast. We opened the windows of the car, stereo on full. Letting the world know that we are coming! It was an amazing feeling. We even bought a bottle of champagne (which we popped later that day, but didn’t drink because we don’t like it)! The rest of the day we felt kinda strange. Ok we made it, now what? More than one year you are going to this moment, and now you are there. You are really gonna make an album!

In total we probably got 150 text messages that day. All of our friends seemed to have been watching our backs. Everybody wanted to come and enjoy the party with us. We got some calls from Dutch journalists (we got a big article in a big dutch newspaper) and of course had contact with Sellaband. Our artist page was and still is full of congratulations of artists and Believers. It was maybe one of the most cool days of our lives.

And now? This Friday we’ll have a meeting with the SAB HQ, even Adam Sieff will be there (by webcam or something, long live the internet!). After that meeting maybe we’ll know some more. The Dutch music website 3voor12.vpro.nl asked us to keep a diary, of course we’ll translate the diary for all of you Sellabanders. Keep an eye out to our profile!

 

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Ellie Williams: Teaming up with Tony!

 

About a month after she finished her budget, British SellaBand sensation Ellie Williams has made the most important choice: her album will be produced by Tony Platt.

 

 

By Ellie Williams

So it’s been just over a month since I hit 50k and it has been a very mixed time. As some of you know I caught what has been called the “50k bug” and fell ill about  a week after making it and am now just about getting into the land of the living again. Still I had a lot to think about so that time lying in bed was put to some use!

Before getting too ill I was lucky enough to meet with the wonderful Adam Sieff, who was kind enough to meet with me and my husband Steve, to give us great advice and be our tour guide for our trip to London. During our short trip we packed in several meetings and I met three wonderful producers. With wise words ringing in my ears I came back home faced with what seemed like an impossible decision to make. I had met three of the best producers a girl could wish to meet, so who did I choose?

Tony Platt. Firstly, what struck me about Tony was the fact that he is very human. We sat and listened to some tracks that I had brought with me on CD, and I listened to what he had to say regarding the instruments and flow that was going through his mind. It all rang true. Adam said to me “someone will just feel right to you”, and I felt this with Tony not long after we sat down together. He questioned me on what sort of album I was wanted to make and even during our short meeting was able to pull things right out of me, some of which I didn’t realise was there. I also came away and listened to some of Tony’s work, particularly with Second Person and Daniel Ward-Murphy (Shameless plug!!!! For the love of god people, buy a part in DWM and get this mans album made, no shelf should be without it!!), and I just loved the feel of these very different styles. 

 

So there lies my decision, and I have to say it sits very well with me. Tony is also a top bloke which I know will only enhance the recording experience. Currently, I am sending him tracks to his fantastic ears in order to make the tough decisions on the final choices. We are meeting again in May and in the mean time I am working on a business plan to make sure that every opportunity is grabbed to get this album out to the masses. I am lucky enough to have a company called Thinkology based in the Southwest back me too, who are going to be taking care of everything from the album artwork to a video and everything in-between.

Thanks for being patient with me, I do not want to rush this album as it should be the best we can do. I owe it to myself and for all those who believe in me.

Much Love

Els xx

 

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Julia Marcell - Album Soon!

It's time for the 2nd installment!  As from last Tuesday until the soon-to-be-announced release date, the "teaser" videos will be simultaneously posted on Sellaband and youtube for 24 hrs, so if you have a blog or few friends you think that may care, grab a link (embed, download, forward, share, whatever comes to mind) and spread the word!

Link here to youtube.

And, here it is on the homepage.

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Weekly Update

Chart analysis

 

No less than 8 artists with more than $1,000 increase in budget, and a minimum requirement of $400 or more to even make it onto the Weekly Charts are clear indicators of a healthy week on SellaBand. And a healthy week it was, with around 35,000 new dollars invested and this includes a number of significant Part withdrawals. Dutch band So What benefitted the most from Believer's generosity, and they say goodbye to the Weekly Charts with a #1 position. Angie Arsenault keeps her great momentum going and the most relevant question seems to be: will she be SellaBand Recording Artist #20, or #21. Nearfield enjoyed their Amazon-moment™ this week and storm in at #3. Also we welcome Dutch artist Ninthe, who come in #6 and also made her live SellaBand debut at Zwoel on Sunday. The eclectic Banshee Celtic Band have also secured a Top 10 position (#8), and we welcome Mily Hannington from the UK at #15. Special Mention of the week has to go to Lorraine Jones (pictured below), who seemed to have gone quiet of late, but it back in the Weekly Chart at #14 and, more importantly, now hopes to make a lasting impression on Page 1 of our Search Engine.

 

ABC Update: Next Week

As announced in last week’s Tribune, the next edition of our weekly newsletter will be a Tribune Special which will feature a comprehensive update on what has happened, where we are and, more importantly, where we are heading with SellaBand. The update has been met with nothing but enthusiasm during the first Board Meeting and special Team Meeting which we held last week, so the ABC Tribune will go ahead as planned. We understand there is an ever increasing demand for clarity and direction, on April 29 all will be revealed...

SellaBand Presents... Refreshing Sounds (Update)

 

We’ve received a lot of great feedback on our plans to release a compilation CD which will boast tracks from the first 10 Sella-albums. Also, a number of people have submitted their artwork suggestion. The Deadline for your submissions still stands: May 2nd, 2008. In the meantime, a number of artists have already submitted their track of choice for the compilation. Nemesea, Cubworld, Second Person, Clémence, Mandyleigh Storm, Lily Vasquez and Maitreya will all be featured on the album. But, the way it stands now, there are 4 more albums coming at us, fast and furious, so in true Spinal Tap fashion we may have to crank this one uo to 11. More news as it happens...

In the press

A very interesting piece in the Independent on Sunday, these week about the state of the Music Industry. SellaBand gets a favorable mention. More importantly, the journalist, Andrew Keen has dived into this subject even more and wrote a blog this morning to confirm his faith in 2.0 platforms such as SellaBand. This is the link to the Independent article, here’s the blog.

Tribune Alternative

For those of you who can’t get enough of the SellaBand Tribune, and also for those who think this newsletter is all biased promotional BS anyway, the inimitable Mysti and Mandocello, aka Spellbox have come up with their own SellaBand Tribune. It is not only hilarious and great to watch, but a very clever and inspiring way for Mysti to promote her upcoming SellaBand album. Hats off to Shawn and Mysti, and you can watch their Tribune Spectacular here.

 

Office Powerplay

 

Alix: Alex Joe Marczak - Elliot's Song

Boudewijn: Alex Joe Marczak - Mars and Back

Chris: Jokke Ilsoe - After Hells

Dagmar: Daniel Ward-Murphy - You Live Up in the Stars (live) feat. Jennifer Delany

Dolly: Wildcat - Desolate Enigma

Johan: Banshee Celtic Band - Whiskey in the Jar

Pim: Alex Joe Marczak - Elliot's Song

Tirza: Alex Joe Marczak - Elliot's Song

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My 50k Plan: Angie Arsenault

Now over 35K in budget and very much determined to reach $50,000, Angie Arsenault has compiled a very thorough and comprehensive 50K plan. Watch this talented lady, as she is bound to be SellaBand’s first Canadian Star.

By Angie Arsenault

 

 

My 10 point 50K Plan

1-The Vision

My 100% will go into this album, which is my debut. I want to produce an album that I will be proud of and that my believers will be proud of as well. This said, I am very well aware of the costs of producing a record, so I'm keeping a realistic approach to the 50k Sellaband budget.

2-The CD

In terms of original material, I have enough to fill multiple albums (I counted 50 songs last week when I found some forgotten ones!) so I started the elimination process already, narrowing the list down to the strongest songs that fit into my current artistic direction. The idea is to record 15 or 16 songs and mix 10 or 11. The LE album will contain either an audio message or a message on packaging giving directions to a private area of my web site where a digital version of the 4 or 5 songs that did not make the final cut will be found along with other goodies.

3-The People

Over the past few weeks I started to list some producers that I would like to work with, and I'm looking forward to exploring these options further. To maximize the production budget, I will record the album here in my home city of Montreal. Montreal is graced with affordable world class studios and production teams and currently has a very vibrant indie scene.  Just think of The Arcade Fire, The Dears, The Stars and the list goes on... I also have a long list of very talented musician friends here in Montreal.  

4-The songs

Some of the songs that made the list so far have been performed live and some are brand new. The list of songs will be a balance between full band/full intensity numbers and soft whispers of songs from my heart to the listeners’.  As I am French Canadian, one of the album tracks will be performed in French.   Also, as I come from a family of musicians, I will be featuring my mother and my brother on one of the songs; something I have wanted to do for a long time now.

5-The Sound

My Sellaband album will be an extension of my "Once upon a Dream" show concept and will incorporate the same “atmospheric sounds” giving way to a semi-theatrical musical journey between consciousness and recurring dreams. The words fantasy, rollercoaster ride, intensity, fairytale, darkness, light, explosive, and magical are some that come to mind. Recently, I have been exploring with some darker sounds, and although I am not planning on making a metal album, I would like to tap into some of the epic sounds and intensity that can be heard in a symphonic metal band.

6- The Feel

Overall, this record will feature real musicians, capturing real performances and raw emotions but not a live album; a record featuring some electronic/industrial sonic textures, but not a synthetic studio album; a record with some intense progressive arrangements but not a metal album.

7-The Look

The photography and visual design will stay in line with the “Once Upon a Dream” concept of semi fantasy and reality finding each other.  Think modern, chic, sophisticated rock, smooth, mysterious,... I will again seek the artistic and digital skills of Sébastien Malherbe (7Vision), who helped me over the past year in developing the visual concept of my web site and “Once Upon a Dream”.

8- The Promo

Although the promotional vision is completely outside the 50k Sellaband budget, I feel it is important to share a few items from our marketing plan. I say “our” because this is where my husband/manager, Jocelyn, comes in (thankfully!).

A great deal of our marketing efforts will lean towards Web 2 and social media strategies which we have been working on for the past year. We will also continue to use and evolve my monthly video series called "My Shattered Windows" as a means to promote the album and create a buzz around it.  One example is to share some behind the scenes clips from the album recording sessions as we will be video documenting the complete process to give fans an insight on what goes on in the studio along with some song samples as teasers.

Other promotional strategies include Canadian radio, online social ads, film and TV licensing, touring and strategic showcases in Europe and North America, event showcasing and participation in events such as SXSW, NXNW, Midem, PopKom.... and much more as things will evolve.

9-Surprises

Now, what would be the fun in it if I gave away the elements surrounding my Debut Sellaband album?!  The taste of mystery keeps us alive and on our feet... ;-)

10-Fantasy or Reality?

If we close our eyes and observe from deep within, what do we see?  If we turn our ears away from all outside noise pollution and listen to our hearts, what do we hear?  Are all of these events real? Or are they simply illusions created by our subconscious preconceptions?  I will not turn my back on these adventures.  I will face them, and I will live to tell their stories.  “Once upon a Dream,...”.

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