Six Degrees of Music
As we approach the Winter Music Conference in Miami later this month, I am reminded of a radio interview I heard over a year ago with Six Degrees Records co-founder Bob Duskis. What first struck me about the interview was that I heard it on a show ostensibly about cooking and food called The Splendid Table. An inspired booking by the Splendid Table producers since music is such an integral part of socializing, eating and sharing.
Six Degrees is a small, independent label that does an incredible job of leveraging the internet to help promote their artists. They have a weekly internet radio show on Live365, they use YouTube to show off their artists' videos, they have a Facebook and MySpace page, a blog and a newsletter that consistently offers free downloads and other tour and release information. (I am not going to link to every single thing I mentioned. If you're interested, it's all right there on their page.) The point is, they make it easy for you to find them no matter where you might be looking. That is the first rule of internet marketing: make it easy.
Their artists are not household names, but in this age of disposable music, I think we can say goodbye forever to the music icons of yesterday that everyone knew. There ain't gonna be another Mick Jagger or Eric Clapton anytime soon. Six Degrees focuses on Brazilian and other world music, ambient and what they call "intelligent pop music."
This is a tough time to be in the record business but Six Degrees does a lot of things right in my opinion. Gone are the days of browsing through the stacks at Tower Records. Digital music online is great and convenient, but the two main drawbacks are 1) a more impersonal, less tactile experience and, 2) the difficulty in finding what you're looking for. Especially if you're like me and you often don't know what you're looking for.
I might suggest beginning your search with Six Degrees Records.
