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Using Peer-to-Peer to Launch a Career
How The G-Man Got Played, Got Signed, Got a Publisher, Got on iTunes. . . all by Giving His Music Away For Free
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 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
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
Music Dish: www.musicdish.com
iTunes: www.apple.com/itunes
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