Interview with James Penycate from brilliantlyDifferent
Although NYLVI is all about vinyl records we also have a keen passion for what is going on in the rest of the music industry. Today we are therefore happy to bring you an interview with James Penycate, who is running brilliantlyDifferent in London. brilliantlyDifferent is a brand new digital marketing consultancy working with record labels, artist management companies and musicians to create and manage an online brand. They specialize in developing online strategy, social marketing, blog promotions and online PR. So let´s get started…
NYLVI: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in the music industry.
James: I have a somewhat unorthodox history really - I worked through a royalties department at Warner Music whilst studying Marketing before I got a job for a small, now defunct SonyBMG label called Red Ink. I worked on some fantastic campaigns and have some great memories of what was achieved. After 2 years in product marketing at Red Ink i decided I needed to refresher and left to start brilliantlyDifferent. I am working on launching a quarterly electronica club night in East London as well as an MP3 blog; both with trusted musical friends.
NYLVI: You just started a new company, brilliantlyDifferent. What made you decide to start the company?
James: Firstly my experiences at SonyBMG with digital people often left me feeling confused and somewhat frustrated. Nobody was offering the entire package for digital/pr and blogging from the grass roots to the charts and nobody really had an cohesive ideas relative to the demands of the band and audience. I am sure there are brilliant digital music marketing people out there but I had ideas to start my own blog promotions company to fill a void and it’s all developed out of that really.
NYLVI: What is the idea behind brilliantlyDifferent?
James: Really to harness the Internet to promote each and every act we work on. By building a strong, easily identifiable, interactive and informative web presence - making is super easy for fans to find the music, communicate with artists of the music they love and hopefully gain a real insight/connection into artists as individuals.
NYLVI: What are your ambitions for brilliantlyDifferent?
James: I’d like to win awards! As well as continue to grow my brand and educate labels on what can be done. Ideally I am looking to work on a number of acts from their early development to becoming a top ten band. To garner a reputation of brilliance, free thinking creativity and continue to develop forward thrusting campaigns for truly outstanding musical talent. Beyond that - I would like to broaden my portfolio to non musical projects!
NYLVI: What do you think are the key challenges for an artist or label today?
James: It’s the same old problems really, lack of traditional media outlets, difficult barriers of entry to radio/press, saturated retail space (and media) and ever increasing costs. Whilst the web has clearly broken down many many barriers, very few acts can sell over 5000 records without substantial marketing spend. Burial is one…but there aren’t many others.Of course monetisation of content and a more realistic pricing structure across streaming platforms which the industry needs to work as one to consolidate.
NYLVI: How do you see labels and artists adjust to the changes in the music industry?
James: I think the industry needs to learn to call on the help of external and non-music-industry expertise to truly gain a greater insight into consumer habits, the web as a leisure activity and some major research into how teens are using music, how the would use music if money was no object and how music can be valued again. It was good to see Guy Hands look at this for EMI. At present the future seems out of everyone’s hands with mp3 bloggers being feared and the cost of live concerts now through the roof to offset the loss of CD revenue amongst others!
NYLVI: Aside from MySpace, what do you consider to be the most important social services for online music marketing and promotion
James: I think it’s a combination of applications according to the challenges of the campaign. I personally love ping.fm for on the move updates to multiple sites and I feel excited about Bandcamp.mu. It’ll be nice when Muxtape is back live again too. I recently read that blogs account for more sales now than Myspace. Facebook does in some markets actually carry far more weight than Myspace which I find fascinating given then limitations of the platform (meaning ‘fan pages’).
NYLVI: What do you think about the vinyl format? Do you think it will be compatible with the streaming based future of the music industry?
James: Vinyl remains essential for sound quality and as a tangible collectable. Opinions differ of course where the market sits outside of proactive music fans and todays uber minimal society and whilst it is no longer the the format of choice for the masses; the sound of vinyl remains so wonderfully cinematic - and creeps into spaces that a CD could only dream of. I feel that labels should now be offering free download (high quality at 320kbs or FLAC) with all vinyl. For Dj’s, indie kid collectors, whoever and where-ever the market. Does this make music purchasing an experience again? Perhaps not - but it’s a value added argument that should be had.
NYLVI: What music are you mainly into?
James: I listen to about 12-18 hours of music a day - but a few years ago (2004) I was heavily inspired by Sonar in Barcelona and I now listen to a huge amount of electronica, neo-classical and ambient stuff. I’ve really enjoyed records by Portishead, Claro Intellecto, Murcof, Radiohead, plus anything on AI Records, Italians Do It Better or Highpoint Lowlife Records of late.
NYLVI: Top five records?
James:
Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ - RIP Rick Wright
Prince ‘Sign O The Times’
Burial ‘Untrue’
Aphex Twin ‘Selected Ambient Works 82-95′
Everything by Radiohead after ‘Pablo Honey’
Tags: brilliantlyDifferent, Interviews, records, Vinyl