Note: stinson, Radical Notion (independent media), or any of the other properties we own are in no way partnered with Topspin Media or the Berklee College of Music. This blog post is not an official review, as stinson has never had any first-had experience with using the Topspin platform. We in no way receive any compensation for writing this post. In fact, Topspin and the Berklee College of Music don’t even know we’re publishing this.
Truth be told, in many ways I wish Radical Notion (independent media) was Topspin Media. But I know we’ll get there eventually, as many aspects of what Topspin does (along with building on that via our own unique offerings) are what we have our sights set on for developing into over the long term.
In any case, Topspin has partnered with the Berklee College of Music online school to offer a course in direct-to-fan marketing, “Online Music Marketing With Topspin.” This is the second time they have offered this course, the first being a great success.
Direct-to-fan marketing is where the future of the music business is, and if you’ve followed me and what I’ve been constantly preaching for the last few years, you know that I’m a huge advocate of the types of ideas people like Seth Godin, Terry McBride, and Ian Rogers (among many, many others) share.
The Topspin platform is a huge game-changer for all of these things. The internet has changed everything, and Topspin has built the platform that gets you exactly where you need to be to achieve relevancy in this new age. This course is a great opportunity to learn from key idea-sharers at Topspin and Berklee, and to get hands-on experience using the Topspin software (which comes free with the course enrollment).
And if this is the first time you’re hearing about Topspin, here’s a list of artists which are currently using the platform: http://www.topspinmedia.com/for-fans/for-fans-2/ Some key artists being David Byrne/Brian Eno, The Pixies, Arcade Fire, and Metric.
Lastly, I need to disclose something really important: I’ve never had any first hand experience with the Topspin platform. However, through building Radical Notion (independent media) and researching relevant ways of marketing artists as the music industry evolves into the 21st century, I have become familiar enough with Topspin and the principles their leadership subscribes to, to know and trust that-given the opportunity-this tool and course is something which every musician, label exec, artist management team, and music marketing team should be taking advantage of.
Here’s the info on the Topspin Blog: http://www.topspinmedia.com/2010/03/register-for-the-next-music-marketing-with-topspin-course-at-berkleemusic-com/
I’m seriously hoping that I can enroll in this course myself (got a lot on my plate at the moment), so hopefully I’ll see you there!
//stinson (find my other blog here: www.producernotes.com; on Twitter here: @stsn)
