I spend as much time as possible at my home in the Catskills, but I\u2019m based out of NYC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I oversee the sales team at Lyte<\/a>. Lyte is an overlay to a venue\/event\u2019s primary ticketing platform (Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Etix, Eventbrite etc.) that offers features and tools that create a better fan experience around buying\/selling tickets. Our classic product is our secondary exchange that gives fans the ability to return tickets and join a waitlist for sold-out tickets they missed out on with real, legit tickets. We have another product that offers a better on-sale experience to fans with features like group transactions, payment plans and flexible (returnable) tickets. We\u2019re proud to power events\/venues like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Bottlerock Napa, Newport Folk Fest, Bowery Ballroom, 9:30 Club, and Levon Helm Studios.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this current COVID-19 climate we\u2019re living in, we\u2019re rolling our sleeves up and trying to help as many festivals and venues as possible. We\u2019ve taken pieces of the Lyte platform and created a solution to help with postponement and cancellation while preserving cash flow and giving fans options. You can read more about our solution here<\/a>. We\u2019ve also doubled down with venues and helped launch NIVA (National Independent Venue Association)<\/a> with the goal of US government funding for venues. I\u2019m sad that COVID-19 brought us to this situation, but I\u2019m happy that Lyte is able to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lately, I\u2019ve been catching up on music released between 2004-2013. During that period, I was producing radio for Little Steven\u2019s Underground Garage on SiriusXM and listening to music through a very different lens. Our format at Little Steven\u2019s Underground Garage was anything that influenced the Ramones and anything that was influenced by the Ramones. That included early rock n\u2019 roll, doo-wop, girl groups, punk, power pop, folk, etc. I was listening to a lot of new music based on whether it fits in the format or not. Of course, I also listened to music I liked outside of the LSUG format, but I feel like I missed a lot of records from that period. Here are some new (old) finds for me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And because I\u2019m always listening to new music too, here are some new finds that I\u2019ve found during the pandemic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a number of labels, sites, radio stations, and friends that I rely on for recommendations. I appreciate algorithms but trust my personal sources more. Here are some of my go-to\u2019s:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vinyl and streaming now. Until last week I still listened to CDs in my 2006 Subaru with a 6 disc changer. My Subaru died in front of Albert Grossman\u2019s Bearsville studio in Woodstock, NY last week. I had the same 6 CDs in the car for about the past 5 years which included the War on Drugs, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, Apples in Stereo, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and the Phil Spector Christmas Album. That was the soundtrack to my 2006 Subaru. I have a massive cd collection boxed up that fills an entire closet. I haven\u2019t opened it in 5-6 years. Not sure when I will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like streaming because of the convenience. But lately, I\u2019ve been trying to support more artists by purchasing their catalogues on Bandcamp. Weirdly, I still stream their music on Spotify after I buy it. Again, out of convenience. But hopefully, my fractions of pennies per stream will someday buy my favourite artists a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a kombucha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I used to have a big vinyl collection but I\u2019ve now slimmed my collection down to a case that holds 200 records. One memory of mine is going into one of my favourite bars called Tubby\u2019s in Kingston, NY and noticing their vinyl collection. I remember asking how they curated their collection and the owner said, we picked out our 200 favourite records that fit this room. No matter which record we pick, it feels right. I also had an experience in an Airbnb in Montreal where there was a small vinyl collection. As I looked around the apartment I realized that these 50 records were the perfect collection for this particular place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These two experiences made me rethink accumulating records. If I buy a new LP, then one needs to leave. That\u2019s my goal with my 200 LPs. They\u2019re the soundtrack of my living room in the Catskills. If I lived in a different house I\u2019d probably need a different set of 200 albums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of my music consumption happens either in my home or on hikes now. One demand I made from my wife when we purchased our house was to have a Sonos speaker in each room. So we\u2019re constantly flinging music to various rooms of the house. It can be interesting sometimes to walk from one room where I\u2019m listening to jazz to another where my wife is listening to French pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I go for hikes, I tend to download a couple of albums to my iPhone before I leave and bring my AirPods Pro for the hike. It\u2019s a great way to eliminate the paradox of choice and focus on what\u2019s downloaded on my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This used to be my life. I\u2019d get piles upon piles of promo CDs sent to me every day when I was producing radio for SiriusXM. I was constantly looking for leaks for other albums so that we could be one of the first plays for a new song. I get fewer promo emails now and THAT\u2019S OK. Ha!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also appreciate it when a publicist or radio promo company has done their homework and applied a personal touch. They know what I like or when I tell them why an artist wasn\u2019t a fit, they improve their \u201cWhat Craig Likes\u201d algorithm. Sadly, there aren\u2019t nearly enough industry folks that consider what the person they\u2019re sending music to actually likes. But there are some good ones still and I stay on their email lists for new music recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember a conversation with one of my publicist pals about focus tracks and how that\u2019s often the way you discourage a big-name talent from playing the music. You don\u2019t tell Bob Boilen or Little Steven which tracks they\u2019re going to like. You send them the album and ask them what the single should be. That convo has stuck with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a friend sends me pre-release music though, I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s a platform or experience that checks all of the boxes for me. Soundcloud seems to have become the standard. The fact that I can now listen to private links through Soundcloud\u2019s app is an upgrade to me. I don\u2019t mind Bandcamp either, but again it\u2019s not a perfect experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DISCO seems to be more the type of interface that I appreciate. I like the integrations with Dropbox and Box. I love the EPK feature and the ability to create my own playlists, notes, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think my biggest frustration with listening to music digitally is the revenue generated for artists. I really think we\u2019ve created inequality as we\u2019ve moved away from physical to eCommerce to subscription. There are fewer artists making enough revenue through streaming platforms and they now need to work even harder to create content, tour, and always be releasing new music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s good and bad. I think the average listener looks at streaming platforms as \u201cthey get all of this music for a $9.99\/month bargain.\u201d The better fans purchase t-shirts and vinyl to support artists. I\u2019ve worked with artists who have gone on the road and had fans come up to the merch booth looking to support them but they already own every t-shirt and vinyl they\u2019re offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe benefits of digital. Convenience. Price. Shareability. Algorithms delivering recommendations. I think there are a lot of positives outside of the economics.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve basically turned artists into apparel and record shops. It would be nice if a model like Patreon stuck, but I think most artists look at it as \u201cyet another platform that I need to create more content for an update.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this COVID-19 world, we\u2019ve got artists playing for tips again which is pretty wild to think about too. Although some of my friends have done really well with the tip model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits of digital, I\u2019ve touched on throughout this interview. Convenience. Price. Shareability. Algorithms delivering recommendations. I think there are a lot of positives outside of economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is something I struggle with, to be honest. Locally downloading to my phone via Spotify is one way. Purchasing music on Bandcamp is another way. I also have a playlist of 30 tracks I\u2019m digging<\/a> at a given moment on Spotify. Give it a follow if you want to see what\u2019s currently in my ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I still send friends new music that I think they\u2019d like via text, WhatsApp, email, etc. I\u2019ve also hosted listening parties for friends to experience a new album with me in these COVID-19 times. That\u2019s been pretty fun. I stole the idea from Tim Burgess from the Charlatans UK and his Twitter parties. Listening parties were something I loved in the city. I feel like that could become a \u201cthing\u201d again.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are you listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you discover new music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where do you do most of your music listening?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n