The Straddle

by George Howard

When TuneCore first began, we called George: few people understand the music business as deeply. George Howard is a professor of management at Loyola University, New Orleans. He is the former president of Rykodisc, and founder of Slow River Records. He is the senior editor for Artists House Music, and a board member and advisor for a number of companies including Wolfgang's Vault and Daytrotter. He has written two books on the music business for Berklee Media. Check out his personal blog at www.9giantsteps.com.

Marketing today is a straddle between the online world and the offline world. Only those who do the straddle right will survive. Err too far online, you fail. Too far offline, you fail. What I think justifies this post’s existence is that no one (that I’m aware of) is really (yet) talking about the straddle.

Doesn’t mean people aren’t doing it.

For instance, I’ve written and blogged frequently about how artists like REM are leveraging the tech by using wonderfully articulated social media marketing strategies to allow their constituents to engage in participatory marketing. However, I didn’t emphasize enough in these posts that it was the straddle that really allows REM to leverage the tech. That is, it’s their interplay between their offline world (touring) and their online world that allows them to be successful.

Similarly, another person I’ve written about frequently who is doing the straddle well is Wine Library TV’s Gary Vaynerchuk. Certainly his use of tech is about as good as it gets, but what makes it work is his commitment to offline activities (wine tastings, appearances, etc.). It is wine that he’s talking about, for goodness sakes; you sort of have to have an offline presence.

Another example: I believe that the reason Facebook is just crushing MySpace (random sample of the hundred or so students I teach: Q. How many use Myspace? A: None; Q. How many use Facebook? A: All) is because Facebook helps them do the straddle (sounds like a dance); while MySpace is a closed online only experience.

Think about it: Facebook works because it allows you to enhance and augment your offline experiences. You post photos of things you do with your friends; you write on each others’ walls regarding offline experiences.

MySpace is more of (and I use this word in the loosest possible manner) a portfolio (or, what I really believe it’s become, for bands at least: a demo). MySpace has nothing to do with your offline life; it’s only related to your online life, and, thus, falls short.

Musicians and others too often feel that the new tech allows them to forgo what is really important: building real connections via playing live. I.e. they emphasize the online and forget about the offline. It makes sense. These online tools are so easy, and they give the illusion of progress and (sometimes) accomplishment. However, this indeed is illusory. Without leveraging whatever you, perhaps, built online in order to grow your offline presence (and vice versa), you will fail.

This holds true across the board. Businesses, authors…whomever…must do the straddle. If you’re a real estate agent, why would you not be tweeting up a storm, Facebook-ing up a storm, blogging up a storm, so that when you have an open-house for one of your listings you can connect with your online constituency in an offline manner. If you’re a restaurant who isn’t tweeting out your specials (and I don’t know ONE restaurant who is), and even perhaps creating events/menus for your online peeps so that you can then have the offline experience with them, it seems to me you’re missing something.

How are you doing The Straddle? Let us know in comments.

Comments

[ron]

Perhaps you are right about the Straddle. Thats something I do need to work on.

[george Howard]

@Bette

Bette,

I appreciate your taking the time to write and comment. The reason Gary Vaynerchuk is - as you say - an established TV personality is because of his doing The Straddle. He was not an established anything before he started leveraging the web.

I understand your point with re REM, but my point in highlighting them was to show that *even* established bands must leverage the technology and not rely on their current fan base, if they want to have a fan base.

Perhaps, Jonathan Coulton would be an example of an artist doing The Straddle that would resonate better for you:

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

best,

George

[Bette Dillinger]

Forgive my bluntness, but using REM and Larry, an established TV Personality as examples of your "straddle" principle shows myopic oversight regarding what the indie scene is like for 99% of artists. Michael Stipe and Co were on "The Stephen Colbert Show" recently. That was not due to "straddling" the worlds between online and offline, but due to their economic status as an (please read this word several times to yourself, repeat and rinse) established band. If it is hard for you to understand that economics is the most important factor for the indie artist when it comes to strattling this offline/online demarcation (touring is out right now, since I don't have Peter Buck's bank balance, but I have many listeners on the Web, compris?) maybe you should be writing blog tips for bands who have more capital at their disposal. I found this "helpful" entry a waste of my time and frankly, rather out of touch and thus insulting.

Bette Dillinger

[william kyttle]

Did you ever hear of the song called;
Homeless Man
Recorded at a studio in Lake worth
Elegbaland Studio
It was recorded in may of 2007
by a recovering alcoholic
Billy Kyttle jr.

[william kyttle]

Have you ever heard of the song
Homeless Man
by William (Billy) Kyttle
Lake worth Fl 33461
It was recorded in may 2008 at Elegbaland Studios in Lake worth Fl.
I can't find a copy anywhere

[george Howard]

@Bruce Warila

Awesome point, Bruce. It reminds me of the great idea and books of Mark Earls; in particular his concept called the "Purpose Idea." Here's an interview with Mr. Earls:

http://bit.ly/BGPbb

Here are some book recommendations:

http://www.9giantsteps.com/?p=977

best,

George

[george Howard]

@E.re-ill

short answer: you can't.

it's prohibitively difficult, and you won't be able to do it in an efficient manner. it's one of the myths of the tech: that because we're all able to function in a virtual manner, we can function at our highest level in a virtual manner - this is wrong. email is not an adequate substitute for face to face conversation any more than a youtube video of a live performance is a substitute for an actual live performance.

you can easily collaborate with someone online, and this is cool, and can be beneficial. but you can't maximize your offline efforts with someone who is far away. sure, you can do certain things, but none of them will allow you to maximize emotional connections with the constituents you are trying to develop.

in a market that is a fiercely competitive as this one, someone else will maximize these emotional connections that you are failing to, and will succeed on a greater scale than you will.

not nice, not pretty, maybe not fair...but definitely reality.

The Straddle requires you to maximize your offline efforts as much (or more) as your online efforts.

GH

[george Howard]

@charles Marlowe

Charles,

My sense is that, yes, MySpace is primarily useful for serving as a (somewhat effective) EPK. It's a place where people can quickly go to sort of get a sense of an artist. (given this, make sure to design your myspace page as you would present a demo.)

FB is definitely a more effective social marketing tool.

however, the key is to leverage all of them (ms, fb, twitter, whatever) and drive people back to a specific space....your space; i.e. your own site.

use fb as a way to quickly connect with people, to interact with people, to have people vote on their favorite song of yours, etc, but then push them to your own proprietary site.

hope this clears things up a little.

best,

George

[charles Marlowe]

So George, the article about the straddle. You stated that myspace is no longer as effective especially after facebook came out. Would you say I should use my myspace like an online press kit, and save facebook for the online social interactions?

[E.re-ill]

I have a problem maybe someone can give me advice on. I have an album out, I am the producer on the album but not the lead vocals (rapper). I'm the online example that hasn't achieved the offline connection... One of the rappers I can't find to perform and the other rapper is about 500 miles away from my location so it brings challenges to getting a good buzz going. How can I get places to book me and pay for my rapper that is 500 miles away flight, when I'm a no name producer (as of right now)? I know it sounds like a "green" question but I really don't know....

Any suggestion???

[Charly Gonsalves]

Im all over the web. Still, nothing competes with what happens live. Jam night at the local bar results in handshakes, real interaction between musicians.
BTW
BandMix.com creates false inquiries to get you to pay the entrance fee. Don't fall for it.

[Bruce Warila]

George,

Great post. I refer to The Straddle as hanging your VID Sign (your Value Interests and Desires) on your door. The chatter (the stuff you post and say) that reflects your values, interests and desires (using any media) gets ingested by Google, and that gets you found by those that are looking for what you have to say.

In other words, those that do the best job of hanging it all out there (extremely, openly and honestly) create the widest circle of "friends" (fans also) that have shared VIDs (no jokes please).

Google "Influentials are toast" for more detail...