Indie music news is geared toward the independent musician, however much of the content can be of the same use to established stars who are expanding their career. The following article is an interview I did with ONNO of the band RED TO VIOLET, and the music sales site COMMUSE. To get back to the main Indie Music News page at any time simply click the button on the left. 

Well, where to begin, I was just wondering to myself how Indie Music was going to fare out the storm. In that I mean, the major labels are going to be slashing prices of music CDs, and how can the Indie Musician/artist/band compete with the big guns of corporate music. As I was pondering the question, I got an email from Onno, of the band Red to Violet, explaining the Indie Hot 100, which is simply put, a way for Indie music makers to market their CD for a low price, and get ALL of the revenue. 

Well, I thought I had better get in touch and see what all the commotion was about, and the following is what I found out through my chat with Onno.

Let me start by letting you know the reason I am interested in this story, first off, The music buying public are tired of high prices on their CDs and have said in a recent poll they would start buying music again if the price dropped. That is a true statement not only for the BIG companies that only pay their artists a minimal amount of the revenues brought in, but also for the Indie Music scene, through my cyber space travels I have seen Indie music priced anywhere from eight dollars, to a jaw dropping 25 dollars, and I know not all of the public can afford to get new music on the higher end of the spectrum.

I also know that when it comes to Indie music, unless the public knows who you are, and your sound they are going to keep walking past you until they come to music or CDs that they recognize. To me it stands to reason that if the music cost less, they would be more apt to buy it. I wouldn't spend 20 bucks on a band I didn't know, maybe if I heard them live, but not as a rule. So when Onno came to me I figured this is worth checking out, and here is the result of that conversation.

RR: First off Onno, When did Commuse get started ?

Onno: 1996, we needed a production company for our Red to Violet recordings. In the US we are working with Synergy Distribution, based in Denver CO, they are doing our streetstore- and online CD distribution, we are also working with their promo dept. Indiego (www.indiego.com) and have been featured on their compilations such as with Nils Lofgren, Edie Brickell, receiving national promotion to college radios and rec. stores. our activities have been added to music books such as Working Musicians by Bruce Pollock (harper-collins)~ next to stories by REM, Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson... (www.workingmusiciansbook.com). Our promo successes so far have been added to music book The Real Deal II (billboard books) by NY-writer Daylle Deanna Schwartz (www.daylle.com) and will be added this year to a book called Born to make noise by Ontario writer Mike Hayn (billboard books).

RR: Is there a cost to the artist at all ?

Onno: no costs whatsoever, not now, not in the future. that's a promise. no small print.

RR: What would be the benefit of Indie artists joining the HOT 100?

Onno: they can advertise and sell their CD for free and be featured on a site where people come to look for 'quality indie music for only 5.99' - AND we mention them in the weekly updates we send out to members and friends around the globe, so their music gets around... AND we have plans of creating a unique kind of compilation... AND Warner Rec/ Reprise Records seem to follow our moves too, they already have published our inititative on their Flypaper.Biz frontpage (you can see the headlines on the Commuse site, right column) AND we keep on spreading the word about this site throug yellow hand-out flyers, through web annanouncements on the best indie music news sites around. AND the bands listed will likely advertise the Indie Hot 100 on their links page, making it a free for all - benefit all thing.

RR: What musical styles/genres do you feature?

Onno: all styles, we've added a punkrock band last week and just received a message from a Californian hip hop group eager to join.

RR: What are the credentials of Commuse, what makes you stand out, and
what is your background in indie music?

Onno: we have started as a small (but noise making) production company for indie alt rock duo Red to Violet and are now expanding by starting the Indie Hot 100. also, I am the guitarist and producer for Red to Violet (www.redtoviolet.com).

RR: What does Commuse get out of this, if they don't get paid by the artist?

Onno: we also offer our own CD's on the list too, like the Red to Violet debut-CD Red to Violet' ~ also: bands or music related companies can put their banner-ad on the site, we've added the Red to Violet banner as an example. AND we believe that it's time that indie artists get more exposure with their CD's, cos the majors with their friends and affiliates at MTV and the larger radios have been dominating the music scene for a long time. I think the available "space" could be divided into two sections: indies and major. also on TV and radios. so the public gets to know ALL the new bands instead of the major label ones only. and the web - as you ofcourse know - finally offers the indie musician more room to move and promote and sell the product.. we believe that "when indies unite, we get major power" - call us idealists - we are...

RR: Longevity is the question, a lot of indie artists may be timid to work with a company that hasn't been around long, what are your guarantees, and what kind of traffic do you get??

Onno: it's a free for all service, and we just can promise to do our best. As we also promote our own product through the site, it's in our own interest too that promotion is done well.

RR: Are all products offered equally ?? Meaning does everyone, including yourselves get the same promotion ?

Onno: Yes - the entries are added the moment they are accepted as "quality indies for only 5.99", so new entries start right under the entries already on the list. whoever comes first gets a higher ranking.

RR: If an indie wants to become part of the Commuse network, how do they go about it?

Onno: you mean if they want to join the Indie Hot 100? well, they can e-mail us the link to their music and store. so we can check it out. and if it's a quality indie product they can send us the additional info needed for the listing, like: band name/ hometown/ albumtitle/ sellingprice/ storelink/ audiolink/oneliner pressquote.

RR:Is there anything you would like to add in closing??

Onno: Yes, I think it's very kind of you that you are willing to help me to spread
the word.

Alright so there it is right out of the mouth of the man who is trying to help Indie Artists with no benefit to himself. 

Is a $5.99 CD price your answer, only you can be the judge of that, and I urge you to check it out further before making any final decisions! What I do know is if you want to get your product out to the world, this is a good way to go about it, meaning that maybe you even have a past CD of high quality, and you want to sell it at a bargain price, this maybe the beginning to the answer. If you are just starting out, and you want to get your music to the most listeners possible, maybe this is a good answer for you to start getting word of mouth advertising for your new venture. 

So, check it out, get your OWN questions answered, and start getting your music heard by the most people possible.

     
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