Q + A The SellaBand CEO


Mega Interview only one click away...


As the CEO of SellaBand, JohanV has become used to doing interviews. But when he decided to answer all kinds of questions from within the SellaBand community, he was in for something else. He decided to do it in his own way: candid and perhaps a little controversial...




When the idea for a Q + A first came up, we intended to include the answers on the Forum. But since Believer Mandy Kongaika did such a great job at collecting and selecting the questions, we decided that the result of this Mega Interview deserves a place in the SellaBand Tribune. In fact, it deserves its own Tribune! Because JohanV refused toi settle on short answers, there was no way we were going to fit it in to the Tribune in its current size.

This article is just an appetizer. Subjects in the interview include:

  • Downloads
  • SellaGigs
  • Professional Advice
  • Big acts joining SAB
  • Competitors
  • Marketing & PR
  • Web updates
  • Conceptual changes
  • Regrets
  • The Future

The full interview kind be found in Tribune 88A.

 

Seth Warden goes solo


Wetwerks still determined to go to 50K


To most of us, the departure of Seth Warden as the frontman for Wetwerks will come as a big shock. The band have been with us for at least 18 months and have been community favorites since day one. To get a clear assessment of the situation, we invited both Seth and the remaining Wetwerks guys to tell their story...



To a lot of people your departure from Wetwerks will come as a big surprise. How long has this decision been pending for you?

"This decision has been weighing very heavily on me for the last couple of years now.  I have grown tremendously as an artist and a person over the last decade and these events have lead me to realize that I need to be the one in control of my musical destiny, and that the musical control (and social control) needs to be in my hands now.  I feel that there needs to be a new formula in my songwriting to reach the $50k mark (because almost 2 years have gone by since Wetwerks joined SellaBand and it started to feel as if the music had become stale)."  

 

Why now, where the band was in the midst of a serious competition?

"No one knew this (until now!), but my wife and I are expecting our first child this August (after a very difficult loss of a pregnancy last Summer).  Once I heard about this show/competition, I made it clear to my band mates that I wouldn't be leaving to go anywhere, and that I didn't want to be in such a competition since the birth timing is clearly not predictable. The band entered the competition anyway."

What are your plans as a solo-artist?

"Now here is the best part!  Though the profile is under my name, I have enlisted several top notch musicians (a couple of which are in the industry already) to be a part of this musical process.  It is clear to me that my goal is to be the artist that truly completes the second phase of the SellaBand process by producing monetary returns for the believer's investments!  This will be accomplished through writing commercially viable songs with proper marketing."



Musically your solo-sound seems like a real departure, too. No more loud rocking for Seth Warden?

"As stated in my blog, the music that is on my profile is what I had available at this immediate time.  I have been recording for a couple of years now (some acoustic, some rock, and some instrumental), and I plan on showing the SellaBand community, and further more, the world, the many sides of Seth.  I will be putting up many different songs over the course of this "ride", but the next one up (which will be posted within the next couple of weeks, once the mixing is done) will define the musical sound of Seth Warden.  The rock will never stop!"

Will you be as dedicated to Sellaband as before?

"My dedication to Sellaband runs deeper than ever before, because now I can be the one who communicates with the Believers!  I can now show my appreciation and sincerity where before I had nothing to do with the communication!  So let me now say, that it is truly a pleasure to finally meet all of you!"

 

Wetwerks



Seth Warden leaving Wetwerks, the end of an era?

"Well this all depends how long the "era" really was. Did Seth know he was leaving the band only 4 weeks ago when we told him about the Sellabration '08 potential opportunity? (as it appeared to us) Or, did he know he was leaving for quite some time... and just never had the insight to inform anyone?
We certainly never got the memo. (Otherwise what were we doing playing shows like this? Live at K-rock Summer of 2007 And our more recent acoustic/rock performance earlier this year for Sellajam USA. 
As you see, according to everyone here (up until a few weeks ago) it's been "full steam ahead"
- we were supposedly just waiting for the right opportunity *cough* (so we didn't miss it) lol."

What are your immediate plans?

"50k of course, and to take the band places it couldn't go before due to 'extraordinary impedimentary circumstances'.

When the dust has settled, will Wetwerks come out as a stronger band?

"Dust? What dust, oh you mean that stuff?
That's not dust, that's smoke - (into which our former frontman has disappeared)
Wetwerks already is a stronger band  - we're still here aren't we? ;)"

Will SellaBand remain a priority for Wetwerks?

Not only a priority, call it a day job.
Have you ever heard of The Record Label of The Future?
No?
What about Die Plattenfirma der Zukunft?
Het Platenlabel van de Toekomst perhaps?
or maybe  Le Label de L' Avenir?
Never heard of them?
Well if you haven't then,  please visit http://TRLOTF.com to learn just how excited we are about Sellaband! :)"

A few words on the SellaBration competition, perhaps?

"Hmm A few words on the competition..
First off, A massive congrats to Mr Kane Sole!!! Yeeeee Haw! Go get em dude!
There could not be a better outcome! (besides us winning that is - lol)
This guy's songs have had "Hit" written all over them forever... he blew my mind the moment I arrived on Sellaband. (before we even put Wetwerks up here!)
Seems I have a thing for picking good  singer/songwriters. Call it a hunch.
Stay tuned - we've only just begun  ;)
Rob and the boys @ ~Ww_2.0~"

 


The Competition is Closed

 

Kane Sole completes line-up!



Kane Sole has won the SellaBration Competition. The New Zealand born singer/songwriter took the lead somewhere half way through the competition and managed to stay on pole position ever since. Kane has already received his invitation to perform at SellaBration '08 and has cordially accepted. And what an apt winner he is: three days after SellaBration Kane will celebrate his own second birthday on SellaBand...



Your first reaction, please...

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! This is so cool! It really is a dream come true."

A word of comfort for the other nine acts, perhaps?

"It was such an honor to be selected along side these talented SAB artists, I feel very privileged to be the lucky one coming to Amsterdam."

How did you manage to convince so many people to vote for you on a daily basis?

"I put a video on youtube asking for votes and bombarded facebook, but I think the biggest factor was daily harassment haha! I am very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of Believers behind me, not only did they vote everyday, but they also pulled in over 30 new Believers during this competition…I made the call and they delivered. Thank you so much guys, I can't wait to finally meet some of you!"



Do you see this as a reward for 2 years of persistence and dedication on SellaBand?

"Yeah it does feel like that. The cool thing about this SAB though is the instant gratification you get when a new Believer signs up. Having fans not only enjoy what you do, but also work hard to help you achieve you goals is a constant SAB reward that I'll never tire of.
It does kinda feel like I've hit 50k already though, I'm so stoked!"

What can we expect from Kane Sole, live?

"A heart felt performance from a very happy guy…yeeeeehhaaaaaaah!!!"


SellaBration Update

Less than 50 days to go before SellaBration '08 will be upon us. And with the announcement of Kane Sole as the winner of the competition, the line-up is now complete.


In the Main Hall:


Upstairs:



Running order is still subject to change. Doors will be open at 18.45, first artist will be on stage at 19.30. All performances will be aired live via www.fabchannel.com

The last band will be off stage before midnight, after which the after party begins. All visitors of SellaBration '08 are invited to stay at the venue until the wee small hours and dance the night away...


EES On Fire!



SellaBand welcome 23rd Recording Artist!



On June 25, only 55 days after they first signed up, Electric Eel Shock finished their budget on SellaBand. Still high on this phenomenal achievement, guitarist Aki still found some time to answer our questions...



With 50K in the pocket, are you glad you joined SellaBand?

"Yes, of course. SellaBand gave us a big chance. This system is also great for any band that is growing up / wants to expand their audience."

What did you expect before you signed up?

"We have released three albums, working with many traditional labels around world with
different levels of success. Always we have had some frustration with the record label
because EES does not always want to do what they tell us. For example most labels say concentrate on one country first and then if you are success you can tour over sea. But this is not right for EES - we love to tour everywhere and meet new people and fan all time.
We had offers from labels for this album but we chose to sign up for SellaBand as we hoped it would give us more freedom. We didn't have big clear expectations at first, we only had big curious and interesting about this system. But you know we got interest from believers really quick. It gave us huge excitement. And we got a lot of Believers from the countries even we haven't been to! It was one of biggest things I didn't expect. SellaBand
gave us new possibilities we broadened our horizons. We should have signed up ages ago!"



How does the experience compare with your expectations so far?

"I just expected SellaBand to give us a better situation for recording, money, publishing etc.... deals. But now we also got a chance to play on the party "Sellabration" with other bands signed up SellaBand. We'll make new friends and band links, it will help each band. It takes over 200% of our first expectation!"

What sort of album will you make?

"The new album's appearance should be in the between of our completely raw straight to tape early album "Slayer's Bay Blues" and our latest album "Transworld Ultra Rock". We want to put back more garage rock feeling again. But it doesn't mean we want make a Lo-fi album. We want show garage rock & roll spirit on great sound. But don't worry, it also doesn't mean we want hi-fi! We'll find out best matching sound for us."

What do you hope to achieve with the album?

"We really want to get success ! But success means many different way. Of cause our success doesn't mean only about money. We want to make our best album for us and for our fans. And also we want to make the album which affects a young band. We want to show this great SellaBand system for them: You don't have to write songs likely record company loves to make an album. You need to write songs from your passion and with enjoyment and that real people will love. Write for yourself and your fans. We have been preparing all of EES life for this album and we are very excited to see how it turns out, even we don't know yet what we will produce but this is one of the great pleasure of recordings."