By Nick Jean
“Never work for exposure” is one of the fundamental rules for beginning artists and designers. The opposite is often true for independent musicians, however. Exposure is one of the most valuable assets one can acquire. More exposure means more fans. More fans means more exposure. Eventually the cycle feeds back on itself to the point it’s possible to fully monetize your music and make something that resembles a living off of it.
Those early steps are where sites like NoiseTrade get involved. In exchange for an email address and a postal code, a listener can get access to reams of new music from acts of whom they may be, or more often aren’t, familiar.
“Great music is its own best marketing tool… There’s no better way to build your tribe than by letting the music speak for itself,” NoiseTrade says of their system. And for those who join that tribe, they also offer the option to “Tip” the artist, creating something of a pay-what-you-want system for the music. The biggest difference is that by offering the music for free and calling any money given a tip, they have helped negate the guilt many fans feel when taking an album for free from a pay-what-you-want offer.
There are all shapes and forms of sound available on NoiseTrade. If you’re looking at acts you’ve not yet heard, they offer a “For Fans Of” section with other similar acts to make your “shopping” easier. You can also preview any of the music right on the page just by clicking on the song title.
We’ve picked out four full albums and a sampler from some great Canadian acts you can get immediately. Click on the album art to grab the download.
Les Jupes – Some Kind of Family
Winnipeg’s gloomy Les Jupes released Some Kind of Family last year. This is not a pick-me-up kind of record. Save it for when you’re looking to wallow in the dumps. It’s the perfect soundtrack for when you just want the world to go screw itself.
NoiseTrade’s For Fans Of
The National, Frightened Rabbit, Nick Cave, M83, Joy Division
Rebekah Higgs – Sha La La
Dreamy synths, reverberating, foggy vocals and a hint of Doo-wop make up this 2013 release from Halifax’s Rebekah Higgs. Sha La La isn’t the longest album you’ll find out there, but every one of the six tracks is packed with excellence. Guaranteed you’ll be looking for more from Higgs.
NoiseTrade’s For Fans Of
Cat Power, The Crystals, Best Coast, Feist
Lauren Mann – Dearestly
Hopefully you’re already familiar with Dearestly, the surprise record Lauren Mann dropped last month. As we previously mentioned, Mann is in the midst of a massive cross-country tour. If you didn’t grab this folky pop masterpiece then, grab it now and listen to it repeatedly so you can sing along when she plays near you.
NoiseTrade’s For Fans Of
Joni Mitchell, Brooke Fraser, Florence and the Machine, Copeland, Eisley
PS I Love You – Muster Sessions
Turn your calendars way back for this one. It was six years ago that Kingston noise-rockers PS I Love You release Meet Me at the Muster Station. You’ll notice, however, that isn’t the name of the album above. This is actually their 2012 release wherein they’ve packaged all the tracks from Muster Station as they were recorded live at radio sessions while touring the album. The intimate setting produces a softer sound you may not expect from one of Ontario’s loudest bands, but it’s certainly one worth tuning into.
NoiseTrade’s For Fans Of
Joni Mitchell, Brooke Fraser, Florence and the Machine, Copeland, Eisley
Craig Cardiff – Love Is Louder Sampler
While this sampler may only be two songs, hear us out. Craig Cardiff is one of the hardest working songwriters in the country. If you don’t believe that, check out the rest of his repertoire on NoiseTrade. He has 16 individual releases available on there, each with two or three tracks. Each of those downloads represents an EP or LP he has released. On top of all that, he’s constantly touring, playing in any venue that will take him, even your living room. Check out his upcoming shows (54 of them between now and next May) on his NoiseTrade page, too.
NoiseTrade’s For Fans Of
Nick Drake, Sufjan Stevens, Wilco
Yow, listening to do. Thanks, Nick.
Good morning!
Yes, much listening.
Good morning everyone!
Good morning.
This is great! Thanks @Nick:)
Incidentally, Ben Caplan & cohorts are in studio q this morning; last half-hour.
Good Morning, great work on the blog Nick!
You all see this. Hopefully NXNE will return more to its roots next year…
NXNE PRESIDENT MICHAEL HOLLETT RESIGNS AS NOW EDITOR/PUBLISHER TO FOCUS FULL-TIME ON FESTIVAL
http://nxne.com/2016/nxne-president-michael-hollett-resigns-now-editorpublisher-focus-full-time-festival/
Interesting that he resigned ‘immediately’ from Now magazine…
You resign NOW!
“NXNE took huge strides in 2016 …”
Yeah. Backwards.
Good afternoon friends.
Thanks for another interesting post @Nick and Our Basement team! I had not heard of NoiseTrade. I will do some exploring…
Cool post!
@Russ, 8:54, I see what you did there. 🙂
Re NXNE, hey, they took a chance on a new idea; sometimes you have to fail big to progress. “Fail fast” is a thing in UX/software development. Or something like that.
They did just that.
Water? Nope.
Have a pallet.
Now you see, if they’d arrived with a few pallets of bottled water…
Hey Benoit: any plans for the weekend? I’ll be there for a soccer tournament…
Wesley, I think I’ll be in town (as opposed to the cottage); probably going to the Black Sheep Friday for some folksy stuff, violin also (3 bands).
Your device’s battery status can be used to track you online: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/02/battery-status-indicators-tracking-online
@Benoit, thanks. I’ll be coming in very late Friday, but there’s a small chance I’ll have some time Saturday or Sunday night. Would like to meet you IRL!
Agreed @WR , hopefully the ‘fail fast’ will be learned from by NXNE. With that should should have had pallets of beer and water, then use the pallets for a huge bonfire at the Port Lands after it gets dark.
Although the bonfire would have made it even hotter out…. still, if the beer is cold enough….
@justin, yeah, that’s the last festival I’ll go to in a parking lot, if I have any say in the matter!
I’m enjoying Rebekah Higgs.
Redacted
Thanks Benoit. If it works, I’ll see if Laurita is available too.
Benoit, I’ve recorded your info if you want to delete the comment… if that’s possible on here.
*phones Benoit*
“Is your refrigerator running?”
Hello all!
Noisetrade is one of those ways I discover new music that we discussed recently. I have downloaded quite a few things from them and even tipped some of them.
If you have a chance to pick up tickets for any of the remaining Tragically Hip shows, I highly recommend you do so. It was a great show and an incredible experience being there. The love the crowd was sending to Gord and the band was pretty remarkable.
How was your long weekend? Or short one?
Hi DarBar. I went to the Mill Race Festival in Cambridge on Sunday afternoon — a folk festival. Of the 4 acts I saw, the only remarkable one was a Turkish fella named Juneyt. Crazy talented, flamenco type stuff.
Good afternoon!
I will be in Regina when the Hip plays in the Peg. I’ll be tuning in to watch the live broadcast on the 20th.
Wow! An old Young Galaxy song, Cover Your Tracks, is playing on R3.
Blast from the past.
@Shonica – Right. The timing was why I got tickets in Edmonton instead of Winnipeg. Can’t do it all! I definitely will be watching that broadcast as well.
@ Wes – Sounds like a good way to spend a day to me. I am going to look up Juneyt as it sounds interesting.
Juneyt didn’t have any CD’s at the festival…. Oh, found him: http://www.juneyt.com/
Just a quick hello before I go to bed and to let you know that I have redacted Benoit’s contact details from an earlier comment as requested
@Shonica – Have you been in contact with Liz (nvp’s wife) at all? She will be in Regina on Friday. My volunteer shift goes until 7:30 so I will have to find you after. I am doing a new position this year and I am not sure how it will work out yet.
Hi and goodnight Garf.
@Wes – He seems like a pretty talented guy.
Darbar, we just followed each other on Instagram a few days ago.
@Shonica – Okay I will let you know or have Liz let you know what her plans are.
I am checking out Nick’s Renovation playlist now. It’s a good one. I love themed playlists!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Well kids. That’s it for another day. Nice to have a place to talk to myself. :-p
yeh
Aw crap I missed BfO’s contact info?
Totally woulda crank called you!:)
Good night!
You would have crank-called my answering machine, more than likely. yes, I still run an answering machine on my land line.
We also run an answering machine in our house