Chicago musicians JaGoFF are a funky bunch. Their music is George Clinton meets Deadmou5, often with a message akin to lyrical wordsmiths such as Public Enemy. They helped spur mass resistance to the Chicago Promoters’ Ordinance, took part in the Warp tour, and are in the process of giving their latest album away. To find out what makes these guys tick, and to see what advice we could gain from their experiences, we sat down with them at the end of last year for a video interview. Enjoy…

JaGoFF links:
http://twitter.com/JaGoFFmusic
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=609361935
http://www.myspace.com/jagoff
http://www.youtube.com/user/JaGoFFmusic
http://soundcloud.com/jagoff
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jagoff

This was also only my second foray into video production and editing – feel free to comment or share any tips and advice!

by Lee Jarvis.

The good people of JaGoFF spend a lot of time on worthy causes. Over the last couple of years, Chicago has been under threat of an ill-conceived ‘Chicago Promoters’ Ordinance’ and the JaGoFF crew have been raising awareness, pointing out the huge holes an ridiculous impact it would have. This Promoters’ Ordinance, if passed into law, would effectively “drop a bomb on Chicago’s independent music community, if not nuke it entirely.” according to Jim DeRogatis at the Chicago Sun-Times.

To break it down:
*You would be required to submit to fingerprinting and background checks.
*If approved, you would be required to purchase a renewable license for $500 – $2000, even when working with a fully licensed venue.
*You must acquire $300,000 in liability insurance, even if working with a fully insured venue.
*You must notify chief of police seven days prior to event.
*The definition of “promoter” is vague and open to wide interpretation.
*The Ordinance targets the little guy while providing a big business exemption.

Although the Ordinance has currently been tabled, that does not mean it has disappeared; it can rear it’s ugly head in a mutated form at any time. It has also inspired Philadelphia to try and construct an equally-ridiculous set of rules that will crush the independent creative community.

JaGoFF have filmed a documentary to prove it. Do yourself and everyone a favor – Watch it, embed it, download it, share it… DO SOMETHING about it.

The Chicago Promoters’ Ordinance Kills Independent Music: A Documentary from the Street.
Part 01 of 07 (Head to The Record Industry’s Youtube Channel for all seven parts)

Filmed live in Chicago by: Sir Real, MOFO, 3Phaze & Joel Cote in the summer of 2008.
Produced & Directed by: JaGoFF
Presented in conjunction with: TheRecordIndustry.com
Film narration contains select excerpts from the white paper: “Why Chicago’s Event Promoters Ordinance Should Be Rejected” – courtesy of: Henry H. Perritt, Jr.; Professor of Law & Former Dean of Chicago Kent School of Law.

NOTE: All issues discussed reflect the time of filming and may not include recent revisions resulting from ongoing closed-door negotiations with “invited” members of the entertainment industry. However, the proposed ordinance as written is unconstitutional and should not pass in ANY form whatsoever.

Reaction to the ordinance:
“… a threat to the creative communities throughout the country and sets a very dangerous precedent – as one city goes, so goes another. Rinse and repeat.” – TheRecordIndustry.com

“… will pretty much drop a bomb on Chicago’s independent music community, if not nuke it entirely.” – Jim DeRogatis, Chicago Sun-Times

“… it doesn’t meet any public need and is very ill-suited to Chicago’s independent music community – as written, it is unconstitutional.” – Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law

“I cannot imagine a major metropolitan city, a world class city with the stature of Chicago having an ordinance like this on the books. It’s frankly embarrassing …” – Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

“this really has a chilling effect…” – Shawn Campbell, CHIRP [Chicago Independent Radio Project]

“The ordinance will reduce the amount of music in Chicago, make events more expensive for consumers, dampen the large and growing economic engine that is Chicago music, and create a much less supportive business climate for Chicago’s small music business community.” – The Chicago Music Commission

For more info on the Promoters’ Ordinance and what you can do to help visit: http://www.TheRecordIndustry.com/

Lee Jarvis

(Click to enlarge)

The site is unlike anything I’ve seen before, it’s quite a unique concept. The gist of the site is that it allows you to post a project that you need to raise money for. For example, look at this band using this site: http://www.indiegogo.com/shapesstarsmake. The band wants to go on tour, but in order for them to be able to do so they need a van and some additional funds in order to make their dream happen. Indie GoGo aids their efforts by giving them a unique platform to promote their cause to everyone they know and millions of people they don’t know. They customize their tiers of giving, as well as providing rewards and incentives for those who give to their cause. It’s a great way to get the help you need, raise awareness about your band, and ultimately get one step closer to actualizing your dream.

The site makes the whole back end of the giving run smoothly so everyone who contributes can do so with ease. There is a time-line on the giving, a date to reach the goal by, similar to an eBay auction, so to speak.

• IndieGoGo gives you, the host, a 5% bonus for every dollar you raise if you meet your goal.
• They cover over 100 countries – all of which can post or fund any project.
• You keep all of the money you raise whether you meet your goal or not.
• People funding your project can do so with many payment options, making it even more funder friendly.
• They even provide analytics on your funders so you can see which of your fans are the most influential.

How much does fundraising cost?
IndieGoGo is free to signup and a majority of the core actions and tools are free to use (i.e. post, contribute, share, campaign analytics, discover, and comments). IndieGoGo charges a 9% marketplace fee on funds raised. Projects are also responsible for 3rd-party payment processing and international wire fees. If you reach your goal, IndieGoGo pays you a 5% cash bonus on every dollar raised, therefor your net cost is just 4%.

If you have a cause, project, or just about anything worthy of having fans – this site can help you grow that base by giving you exposure that you may not have gotten on your own, keeps your fans excited about you, and helps you raise those funds to take your music to the next stage.

For all those aspiring artists and promising bands – here’s a real resource that can take you to the next level.

Check the site out and let me know what you think.

T. Lynn

Apparently some of the record labels in the music industry may have actually figured it out and are becoming a part of the solution, rather than holding on for dear life. According to this article from Billboard:

Canadian band Metric announced a joint venture partnership between its label, Metric Music International (MMI), and Mom + Pop Records, which is part of QPrime management. The band self-released its latest album, “Fantasies,” which has sold 85,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“To be clear, we are not signing with a label,” says Metric’s manager, Matt Drouin. “This is a joint venture deal between Mom + Pop and MMI. We retain our own masters, our own label, and have the ultimate control over decisions we make as a band.”

I think that the deal is quite a unique one as it actually promotes a band’s success. It doesn’t seek to bleed them dry of every possible penny that could be made – but rather joining forces to work towards mutual success. However, I do come from the school of thought that the major record labels are generally evil and greedy though…

It’s quite priceless that Metric will keep ownership of their masters and control over the decisions made for the group – that alone is huge. It would be interesting to see how their publishing will be broken down between the two… With this partnership, which actually for once seems to be a balanced partnership, they have no rules or unattainable standards to pretend to try to live up to. Essentially they can be themselves, follow through with their dream, and be the rock stars they want to be. Mom + Pop provide the band with the manpower to reach further than they have before, and continuing their development – not capitalizing on a finished product. This type of relationship looks promising – as the band and label can grow together. The band gains manpower and access from Mom + Pop, and the label gets a major artist for their roster and share the benefits of the band’s long-time future success. So far it seems like a win-win. Only time will tell though.

Weigh in – what are your thoughts on this deal setting a precedent throughout the industry?

T. Lynn

ArtistData is an innovative tool for the independent musician and can certainly help music job members seeking to make the most of their time and efforts. They build solutions to help an artist save time with the “monotonous updating” of their online music profiles, Myspace calendars, Facebook and Twitter updates, and the endless stream of concert calendars and gig websites. Being able to enter the data once, to the ArtistData website, then allows more time for being creative – something that is at the core of every musician.

Named a “Top 10 Indie Marketing Tool” by Hypebot, the Chicago-based ArtistData has created a lot of buzz recently. Rian Rochford of Universal Motown / Universal Republic says “ArtistData has provided a priceless tool enabling us to provide accurate and up to date artist info in the most efficient way possible”, and the site has also been awarded a Chicago Innovations People’s Choice Award.

Founder Brenden Mulligan was interviewed by Tim Jahn for part iof his Beyond the Pedway creative businesses series. Here he speaks about the about starting of the company, and also how artists and startups are alike.

Having only recently discovered ArtistData, I am still learning how to best use it for my music career, but can already see the possibilities of being far more efficient, and also being able to reach new markets and create new opportunities with the tools offered. It is always exciting to see new companies emerge in this ever-changing new music industry, and I feel that ArtistData is sure to be a part of that.

If anyone has any use of the website, please contribute! Post your comments here in the music jobs blog.

Lee Jarvis.