Jesse Cannon - Sound In The Signals Interview
You recently released an updated version of your book Get More Fans. For anyone not familiar with the book can you tell me a little about the book and what people can expect to better achieve if they follow the advice presented in it?
Thank you! I wrote this book to explain the many ideas that go into building a fanbase in a post-MySpace music business landscape. These were techniques I used with bands I managed like Man Overboard and Transit to build them a fanbase. What I’ve seen from those who have followed the advice is they have an easier time understanding how to effectively market themselves, including what choices to make in order to make a living from their music.
With this 2015 edition I know from Off The Record you've added some new things that are crucial to maneuvering the waters of today's music industry. With this updated version what are a couple of the most important things you go into detail with in the updates and why do you think they are the most important?
The biggest question I got about the book was how to incorporate the essential habits into your daily life, so I wrote a bit about that. Secondly, streaming is taking over downloads and a lot of strategies changed in how to build a fanbase because of that and that will continue with each edition of the book. I also found it important to emphasize some of the ways pitching bloggers has changed.
The one thing I really like is that you take the time to update the book. Which is something a lot of people don't do when they write books like this. With the ever changing music business world in six months or less some pretty major changes can happen. When you first wrote this book did you always intend to go back in and update it to make it current?
I did. The idea for updating it regularly was that no one else does this and I committed to updating it in small ways every 6 months and making a major update annually. I take notes year round of what needs changing and I do a major read-through yearly. I wrote this book because no one else was doing this and felt it needed to exist. The most popular books on the music business were either horribly out of date or mostly about laws, not building a fanbase.
You offer a free excerpted version what are some of things you are getting in that version and for people really looking to dive in why should they invest in the full edition?
The excerpted edition has some great stuff, but not everything. I think if you look through it for 30 mins you will know if you want to read the book or not. With that said the first three chapters are there, which has a lot of the main ideas, just not all the resources and tools. I’m going to do a 7-10 page taster that just lists some essential things bands should be doing and my favorite services for a future endeavor I will be announcing soon.
I've seen some reviews quote this book as the "Music Bible" for music business books. Why do you think people have responded so well to it and since its release have you been pleased with the overall response?
I took notes on the book for four years and with this third edition it is now 6 years. I think I put a lot more effort into it. Most of the books I see about the music business fire off a double spaced 14 point font lecture of thoughts. I don’t like to consume information that way. I spend all of my time trying to find the best sources of information and devouring it. I wanted this book to be just that. As a record producer I have often seen that the musicians who put the most thought, research and development into their craft make the best records. I think it’s the same for books.
I've got to ask just a couple Off The Record questions. You guys are now being broadcast on Idobi Radio. How has that been working out for you guys? Do you think it has helped you guys reach a bunch of new listeners?
It definitely has, we immediately saw a new set of listeners who have been writing to us. We’re definitely different than what they normally do, but I am really psyched they took us on and brought us to new people.
On one of the more recent episodes you discussed playing beer pong for the first time. Did you find out you were a pro?
I was hardly a pro. Thomas (Bad Timing Records & Absolute Punk “fame”) had a drinking games party and I had never played before. It was ummmm, interesting? It would’ve been a lot better if Thomas didn’t have such an affinity for the Jay Z/ Linkin Park catastrophe, err I mean record. I take my drinking very seriously and don’t find it to be a game.
On the newest episode you guys took some time to discuss Warped Tour and their recent allowing of Front Porch Step to play. I thought you guys had a pretty good conversation about it. I guess for our readers I was wondering if you could kind of explain your feelings on it and what you thought about Kevin Lyman's response to some of the criticism? How important for you and Zack is it to use Off The Record as a platform for some of these larger issues plaguing the music community?
Both Zack and I are very passionate about gay rights and feminism. I think feminism gets a very bad name and it really comes down to that if you feel women deserve the same treatment as men you are a feminist. I know some people hate the thought of being associated with some protesty lefties, but that is the truth. I think sadly there’s an older generation of people that has not been exposed to progressive thought and how the vocal majority of young people feel about social issues, including protecting women from harassment and the human trash bag’s who bully women.
Sadly, I think Kevin doesn’t see this the way a lot of us do. He is a musician’s ally and wanted to help a musician in a bad place, which is great, but sadly I think he mad a bad wager. With the media’s hyperbolic senses, if one daily paper did an article that Warped allowed this creep to come after all the documented cases of him harassing under age girls it would probably mean the cancellation of the tour forever. I think Kevin Lyman is incredibly smart and have all the respect for him in the world, but I think this was a bad wager when it comes to risk/reward.
Politics is the only passion I have greater than music, so any time I am able to get on a soap box and explain socialism and other progressive ideals I am very excited and am confident we will continue to do that. In the beginning of the podcast we consciously avoided it, but as we get comfortable, we started to just talk about whatever is on our minds and with passions like this, it’s unavoidable.
I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Thanks for doing this! If anyone of you have a previous edition of the book, please drop me a line with a receipt and I will happily send you an updated eBook of the new edition.
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