In which what was sown begins to bloom…
#weeknotes S03 EP06 – week ending 24 March 2019
Working on
Mainly MusterPoint – I’ve been getting all the bits of the toolkit to work together how I need them too and starting to deliver on the content strategy. There’s been a slow build of social media and in the background there is a lot of content work happening ahead of relaunch – it’s great to be in this phase of the project and I’m really excited about what is to come.
It’s also been a good reason to catch up with a few people from the sector including a great conversation with Nick Hill of Public Sector Forums and LocalGovCamp this week. It was really interesting to hear where the network I co-founded, LocalGov Digital, is at with its thinking three years after I left the sector and also feel enthused about positive change being made by brilliant people.
I’ve also been working on some longer term strategy for Reckless Yes as we continue to think about how we disrupt the industry model and work harder in favour of our artists. This stuff can get frustrating sometimes – we can’t go fast enough, or far enough and we have to work hard to keep picking apart and finding new ways to piece together what we’re doing with patience and perseverance.
We have made some moves forward though – we’ve re-launched our online store on Bandcamp and for the first time have all our releases in one place and linked consistently to our artists own profiles. We’ve tried a few different routes with our ecommerce aspects but none have quite done what we needed them too – either lacking what we know artists and fans needed at the front-end or having a back-end process which was prohibitive through poor user experience.
However we’re feeling or whatever we’re working on all our energy is recharged through our artists and it was an absolute pleasure to get to catch up with LIINES as they continue on tour with Sleaford Mods and played Lincoln for the first time.
Not only do they get better as a band each time I see them – quite something when they are already so great – but to see them win over new fans in the audience and people walk away clutching records and CDs, eager to hear them again at home, is a feeling which is very hard to describe (somewhere between pride, excitement, and wonderment). It’s looking back over the journey we’ve had with them – as a journalist, as a label, as an artist manager – and seeing the potential which is coalescing all the time which makes working hard to be the best label we can be for our bands all worthwhile.
Reading
I am still working my way through Brené Brown’s Daring Gently and getting lots from it – there’s plenty in it which resonates but lots also to think about in how to further incorporate vulnerability into my work and life, and focus on what she calls being ‘wholehearted’.
The DIY culture and music journalism books are also getting a hammering as I prepare the guest lecture. Along with this I’ve been re-watching a few documentaries – Try This At Home, and The Story of Indie in particular are recommended if you’re into this stuff or these scenes.
Writing
Very little writing this week – or editing! What has been done I’ve captured above in the ‘working on’ section. I’ve interviews and reviews on deadline this coming week and have some thoughts about literary edits needed to the second novel so hopefully I’ll be able to give this some time too.
Listening
The latest release from Reckless Yes came out this week so I’ve been listening to Japan Review’s JUNO EP (find it on Bandcamp and Spotify). I’ve also been listening to Noble and Wild client Ghost//Signals’ next single A Bag For Death (out 29 March) and a load of great underground music from around the world while playlisting the next edition of our Radio Free Matlock show The Rumble.
I’ve also been listening to music journalist Cherie Hu’s podcast Water and Music – like her writing it’s a great dive into the intersection of music and technology and what it means to be an artist these days.
What’s next?
This week has plenty of content and social media delivery lined up for MusterPoint as well as getting deeper into the analytics and making some iterations based on what we’re learning so far.
It also has label catch ups with artists with forthcoming releases and campaign delivery for both Reckless Yes and Noble and Wild PR clients.
I’m also hugely looking forward to delivering a guest lecture at the University of Derby to the Pop Music in Society cohort on DIY music and culture, being back on Radio Free Matlock with The Rumble, and getting things out in the open for my part of the Indietracks Festival preparations.
Everything is looking local this week so I’m looking forward to spending spring days in the village and slowly and gently doing a few jobs around the home (I’m not brave enough to go full Marie Kondo at it but there is a small amount of decluttering happening).