The Music Gardener - Artist Manager, Music Marketer

“We Are Nashville” is the slogan that Nashville residents adopted after the major flood that destroyed much of the city and surrounding areas this past Spring. The national media was scolded for not covering the floods and eventually Anderson Cooper showed up and apologized for the media not giving Nashville the attention it deserved. Meanwhile, as the “help your neighbor” spirit was building within the Nashville community, the Gospel Music Association was apparently fast at work making plans to move the GMA Dove Awards Show to Atlanta. While the Nashville Visitors and Convention Bureau is scrambling to keep tourist coming to town, the Gospel Music Association decides to move the Dove Awards show to Atlanta? Now, that’s the perfect way to show love to the city that has supported your infrastructure for 41 years and is now in desperate need of tourism dollars. Yes, I can see the GMA is trying to be cool like the Country Music Association who took their awards show to New York a few years back but is this year really the year to be cool? The GMA should take notes from the CMA who kept CMA Fanfest in Nashville this year and they donated proceeds to Flood Relief. What the Gospel Music Association is really saying through this move to Atlanta is “We Are Not Nashville”

Seeing the GMA make this decision, makes me feel really embarrassed that I am a GMA member. I think back on all of the benefit shows that Christian artists rushed to put together to help the flood victims and now the industry totally misses the simplest way to help. I don’t plan on being in Atlanta for the Dove Awards Show this year even though Atlanta is my hometown and it would be a very easy trip to make. Instead, I will be donating the money I would pay for my 2011 GMA membership to the MusiCarers Nashville Flood Relief fund.

I don’t normally like to write negative posts but the news of the GMA moving the awards show to Atlanta really struck an emotional chord in my soul. I witness many businesses and friends struggling to rebuild from the flood disaster.  There are still thousands of Nashvillians who are jobless due to the flood. This decision to move the awards show will have a negative impact on jobs and local businesses in Nashville and surrounding cities.

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Taylor Swift

I often wonder why people in the music industry like to bash successful recording artists? Could it be they are jealous of their success? It often seems as if people in the music industry feel like they have been assigned the position of judge for talent after the talent has already succeeded. The funny thing is, consumers and their wallets actually the judge who gets the top positions on the sales charts. When an artist has the one of the top selling records in the country, the majority of the public is saying “we like this artist,  they are worthy of our dollars and they should be put at the top of the list” Taylor Swift has been a perfect example of this over the last couple of years. She is currently one of the top selling recording artists and has the #3 grossing tour for the year. (Probably could be the #1 but she chooses not to gouge her fans with the exorbitant ticket prices that other artists are serving up) A day doesn’t go by where I don’t hear someone in the industry bashing her. Why is this? New artist Beckah Shae, recently tweeted the following “What if.. the music industry, Instead of being comparative, competitive & critical, Began to celebrate & cheer for each other?” I love that! I was personally convicted and have decided to take on that challenge. There will of course be exceptions in the case of artists who give music a bad name through stupid antics on and off stage and I will have a difficult time cheering them on. But for the rest, I would like to say thanks for your contributions! You keep this music thing going!

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The Billboard Bulletin reported this week that the week ending May 30 clocks in as the lowest week for number of albums sold since Soundscan began tracking sales in 1994. At first I was in shock but then I remembered the music business has been headed in that direction for quite a while. I tweeted about the information and received many responses asking my thoughts on what was causing the decline. Honestly, I was at a lost for words for a minute. In the past, the last week of May would have been a great week as retailers ran huge sales with “graduation” themes.  My first thoughts were to blame it on the BP Oil spill, Obama, global warming, downloading or lack of hits. Then I remembered the many things over the last 15 years that appeared as warning signs. Many of the independent retailers screamed out the warning signs but the music industry chose to ignore them. First the home video industry took a bite out of the entertainment dollar, then it was video games and while both of those were going on, the music price wars were in full force. The way our world consumes entertainment does, always has and always will continue to change. We can’t stop it. However, the music industry does appear to be stepping back in time as it has once again become a singles business. Consumers are now enjoying the ability to “cherry pick”. I must admit, I do my share of “cherry picking”. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we didn’t have the ability to “cherry pick?” The movie industry amazes me at how they continue to grow. Not only are they able to continue to increase ticket sales but many customers also buy the DVD when it is released. They don’t give consumers the ability to pay for and receive only a portion of a film. A movie is considered a full body of work. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what would happen if the music industry forced iTunes and all digital retailers to move to the “album only” format? Yes, I know the fears of driving consumers to steal music but with the way sales are plummeting, it doesn’t appear they are buying music anyway? Instead, all we hear is that music is moving towards the “free” models. Is that really the direction the music industry has to go? The only people that hold the power to “Turn the Beat Around” are the content owners. Isn’t it time that the music content owners band together and stop the madness?  The world will be a boring place without a song!

How would you “Turn the Beat Around?”

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Photo Shoot

As an artist manger, I am realizing how important a great photo shoot is to the overall marketing plan for a music artist. While I have been involved in music marketing for years, my job in the past normally began after the product managers had the music packaged and ready to go. Now I find myself involved with every step in the marketing process and that being especially true with independent artists. Thankfully, my wife and business partner, Diana Stancil, has expertise in styling and photo shoots. Diana has been involved with many Jaci Velasquez photo shoots ranging from People Magazine shoots to movie shoots. I always wondered why some photo shoots were more expensive than others and why it is necessary to have so many people involved. This became very clear at a recent photo shoot for our artist Holly Starr.

Kristin Barlowe was the photographer chosen for Holly’s shoot. Kristin is revered as one of Nashville’s top photographers. She does an incredible job not only with photography but with the overall imaging. Kristin is especially great with females so she was a natural choice for Holly. Some of her past work includes photo shoots for Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, Wynonna, Jaci Velasquez, Kellie Pickler, and Amy Grant.

The first thing I noticed was how important the lighting and digital image team are to a shoot. The “Hood Brothers” (Derrick  Hood & Joel Hood - no relation) were Kristin’s team for the shoot and what an amazing team they are! Similar to a professional golf caddie, these guys were one step ahead of Kristin on every move. Not only did they take care of setting up the lighting and capturing the digital data, but they also suggested settings for Kristin’s camera keeping her abreast of how the pictures were looking on the computer screen. Extremely talented guys!

Libby Callaway was the stylist for the shoot and she did a fantastic job. Many of clothes and jewelry pieces will become part of Holly’s stage wardrobe so it was important that Libby capture and enhance Holly’s vision. Styling is the foundation and probably the most important part of every shot.

Megan Thompson- Fitchuck was the make-up/hair artist for the shoot. I was blown away by how quickly Megan’s artistry transformed Holly’s look for each individual setting. It was interesting watching how quickly Megan would change Holly’s hair style. She gave incredible attention to detail with Holly’s make-up and hair throughout the shoot. A great hair/make-up artist can prevent the necessity for a lot of costly touch-up work to the final photos.

My main take away from Holly’s photo shoot was how important every person on the team is to the final product. I now have a much better understanding of those budgets that I always thought were a bit crazy. A great photo shoot takes more than one person with a camera. It takes a team!

What photo shoot tips do you have to share?

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Coldplay

BiIllboard Magazine reported this morning that Chris Martin informed the press that Coldplay has performed their last show and recorded their last record together as a band. Extremely sad news for fans all over the world including The Music Gardener. Apparently their has been a major personal issue for some time between band members over the ownership of the word Coldplay. The controversy began when Chris Martin was playing a game of Scrabble with Joe Satriani over fifteen years ago . Joe Satriani used the word to win the game. Chris Martin refused to allow Joe to use the word claiming it really wasn’t a word and forced Satriani to pull out the Scrabble dictionary. Of course it wasn’t in the dictionary giving the win to Chris Martin. Chris actually liked the word so much that he decided to name his band Coldplay. Joe now claims ownership of the word and has filed a trademark infringement against the band. Other Coldplay members are so infuriated at Chris Martin for stealing the name and claiming he invented the word that they have decided to disband indefinitely.

April Fools!

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Jack Bauer

As The Music Gardener watched the season premier of “24″ last night, I couldn’t help but wonder if Jack Bauer could save the music industry? If the music industry marketed music the way “24″ is marketed, would we create more die hard fans? Every season, Fox launches the season with a special 2 hour episode of “24″ and then they keep the weekly watchers salivating for more by giving us just enough to keep us coming back on a regular basis. I find myself thinking about the next episode throughout the week and for months.  Maybe the music industry releases too much music up front? Of course there is also the Jack Bauer factor where he successfully foils the evil plans of the criminals who attempt to blow up the world. Maybe we could enlist Jack Bauer to foil the plans of those stealing music?

What do you think the music industry could learn from Jack Bauer?

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The Music Gardener was recently involved in what is now being referred to as the “4 week New Release Plan.” The plan was birthed out of a November strategy meeting with Brandon Bee, an artist we manage, and Save The City Records. We were looking for a way to bring some attention to Brandon during the holiday season and build his overall awareness. Knowing the heaviest traffic of the year on iTunes occurs the two weeks during and after Christmas week, we set that time as our target. All who receive iPods or iTunes gift cards for Christmas generally fuel up with music during those two weeks. Brandon had released a full album earlier in 2009 so we needed something new in order to have a shot at positioning in the iTunes stores. Our brainstorming resulted in the idea of recording a 6 song acoustic ep targeting a December 22 street date.

Brandon immediately began writing and recording. Even with the tight deadlines, we were able to get the ep recorded, mixed, mastered and up on iTunes via Tunecore by Dec 22. Fortunately, iTunes was willing to give us positioning in the New & Noteworthy section and at the only time of the year when the majority of the iTunes positioning remains in place for two weeks. Utilizing Twitter, Facebook and Brandon’s email list we began the web 2.0 marketing frenzy. Amazingly, we were able to drive Brandon’s ep as high as #17 on the Christian albums chart during Christmas week which is incredible for a new artist with absolutely no radio play. Traffic on Brandon’s website reached an all-time high which confirmed we had accomplished our goal. Coming from the major label system, I know first hand that this would have been absolutely impossible for a major label to pull off in 4 weeks. As a matter of fact, most major labels shut down for the most of December. It was so refreshing to be working with an artist who acted quickly, a label who turned all elements with speed and accuracy and no cost marketing vehicals that can be unleashed in seconds.

How would you release a record in 4 weeks? We know it’s possible!

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As we continue in the series of guest bloggers, I invited one of the top publicists in the music business, Jackie (Marushka) Luttrell to post on The Music Gardener blog. Jackie currently serves as Vice President of Public Relations and Communications for Provident Music Group where she works with artists including Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, Third Day, Pillar, Red, Brandon Heath and others. Throughout her career, Jackie has landed prominent media coverage for her artists on outlets including: The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s The Today Show, NBC’s The Tonight Show, ABC’s Nightline, NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, 60 Minutes, CNN’s Larry King Live, CNN”s Showbiz Today, Rolling Stone Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, The G. Gordon Liddy Show, Newsweek Magazine, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Anderson Cooper 360, FOX & Friends, FOX News Live, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Hannity & Colmes, Business Week, The Chicago Tribune, The Tennessean, and The Dallas Morning News.

Jackie Marushka Luttrell

Pulling into my office parking lot this morning, I hit the “park” button on my Prius and finish listening to the track I’ll likely have playing in my head.  All. Day. Long.
(It’s a great tune so I simply won’t be able to help myself.)

Anyway, as the guitars begin to fade, I discover there’s something new here.  Something I’d missed in prior passes.  I hear a whisper of a prayer in the background as the song plays out.  With this whisper, a layer has been pulled back and in a moment, this artist has gone from lofty and untouchable to human and vulnerable; like me.  He’s made me feel something new – offered a glimpse through a new filter, and I’m inspired.

The artist is Matt Maher and the track is on one of the early pre-releases to his Alive Again CD.

This is a typical start to one of my days.  My name is Jackie (Marushka) Luttrell and my role is that of VP of Public Relations and Communications for Provident Music Group.  Sound lofty?  It’s pretty simple, really. I’m a storyteller.  I’m passionate about getting to the heart of what an artist is all about, and helping them share their stories with the world.

How do I do this?  Well, I immerse myself in the artists’ music and then get to sit with the them and listen to what THEY want to communicate to the masses.  I take these incredibly insightful nuggets and package them in ways easily digestible to our media partners.  These media partners include (but aren’t limited to) TV, newspapers, magazines, radio and online platforms like magazine websites and blogs.

I spend a lot of time at my laptop writing bios, press releases and compiling key information.  I also spend A LOT of time on the phone.  I usually start a day with calls at 7 AM and go until 7 PM, in order to accommodate East and West coasts.

I also get to do fun things like plan street-week media events and award-show media, which can include red carpet arrival interviews and navigating Grammy winners through a maze of media, backstage.

So, in a nutshell, I get to listen to incredible music and promote some of the most inspiring artists I’ve ever met.   If you’re interested in hearing more, please follow us at twitter.com/providentpress and be sure to check out our roster at www.providentpress.com.   You’re also welcome to follow me at twitter.com/JackieLuttrell, I’ll launch a blog in 2010 so please stay posted to hear the latest and greatest!

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U2 Live Streaming Concert

The Music Gardener is writing this blog post while participating in the huge historical moment of watching the U2 concert streamed live on Youtube. WOW! The way we watch and listen to things has been catapulted into the future. I just read a Tweet from my friend Spence Smith comparing this moment to a time when the world gathered around black & white TVs to watch men walk on the moon. It really is exhilarating to know we are in such a time of transition with technology. While streaming a live concert on the internet has been done before, it hasn’t been done with this magnitude of viewership. I haven’t seen the actual results but I’m sure viewership was in the millions rivaling any live concert on traditional TV.  I’m happy to see such a huge moment in history being driven by a band that contributes so much to humanitarian efforts around the world. Thank you U2 for playing such a big role in bringing change to our world through sharing the message of love and through helping usher in new technology!

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The Music Gardener at Seattle Seahawks game

My wife and I recently traveled with our daughter to Seattle as she was invited to sing the national anthem for the Seattle Seahawks game. Jaci has been blessed throughout her career and asked to do the same for the Tennessee Titans, the Florida Marlins, the MLS All Star Soccer Game, the Texans, the San Antonio Spurs, the Minnesota Timberwolves and several others. It is amazing how much emphasis the sport franchises put on who they choose to sing the 3 minute song at every game. The Seahawks organization was extremely hospitable to our family. Four adults and two babies is quite the undertaking in regards to travel, hotel etc. They outfitted us with a suite to watch the game, official jerseys, food and travel. It was especially exciting for our grandsons who got to hang out on an NFL field before the age of 2! So that brings forth the question “Why the big hoopla about who sings the 3 minute song?” Well first of all, The Star Spangled Banner is America’s National Anthem which makes the most popular song in the United States of America. The song’s popularity makes it tough  to flawlessly sing it in front of 50k-100k Americans who should know every word. We have all seen instances where singers slaughter the National Anthem with the biggest memory given us by Roseanne Barr. And then there was Carl Lewis who recently started in a key much higher than he should have. (I really did feel for him!) I must say that Jaci Velasquez does the best and most consistent job that I have seen from anyone! Hopefully it will lead to more family trips to great sporting events. We have our fingers crossed for a Superbowl!

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