Seems a bit odd getting back to work after the holidays! Back into the swing of things again now though and really ready for a super busy and successful year ahead! I began the year by visualising exactly what I want to achieve in the coming months. I’ve said this before, but having this written down really helps me focus on what I need to be doing and helps me to break down these goals into smaller, manageable chunks.

So….what’s Mystic Meg got in store for Sharabang Music for the beginning of 2010?

Contracts. BLIMIN’ CONTRACTS! These must be drawn up to be signed by the end of next week, the very latest. These are taking so much longer to do then I had planned. As there’s no real template for the sort of contracts I will be using, it’s very hard to know exactly what to include.

Sort out artists. I have a number of fantastic artists designing art work for Sharabang’s bands at the moment. I am meeting with these in the coming days to see how things are coming along. I hope to have the art style defined and getting moving on individual art pieces for each track as soon as possible.

Have website beta done by mid-February. This is quite a bit later then what I had originally planned. In fact, pretty much everything is taking quite a bit longer then I had hoped! I think this is firstly because I was being too optimistic with my first targets and timings. I’m trying to get things done to an outstanding quality, but spending as little as possible. This is going well as I am big pleased with what I have sorted already (logo, initial web design ideas, etc.) but to get these things sorted whilst spending as little money as possible is taking longer then expected.

Have web site fully up and running by Mid-March. This will be with the ability to stream/download songs for free, purchase collectors CD and Vinyl, T-Shirt’s etc.

Have full tour in place with two Sharabang Artists playing together for April (ish).

By mid 2010, I want to have a minimum of 4 bands music up on the site, with merchandise and extras to follow.

Lots more to add, but keep following so you can all pat me on my back when I’ve met them all!

Labels: 2010, fishbowl1, matt, new year, planning, setting targets, writing contracts

Been a busy boy this past week! Went to London for a couple of meetings with my web designer and another band I'm trying to get on board. So....how'd it go? The meeting with the band turned into a real nice dog walk around Camden! Gave us a good chance to talk about what I've got in store for Sharabang Music and what I can do for them.

They're definitely interested, which is fantastic news! I've loved this band since I went to their first ever gig a fair few yonks ago, and have followed them massively ever since. They are truly phenomenal! Many times before, it looked like they were going to 'make it', whatever that may mean..but it never quite happened. I wholeheartedly believe this is due to not having the right people behind them, but Sharabang could really achieve something special with this band. The deal I will be entering into with these guys will be a different one to that of my other artist I'm in talks with. It's going to be slightly more complicated to sort out, but everyone keeps telling me how starting out in business would never be easy! So, once again, it's time to properly sort out these contracts.

What's making things really tricky is that as I am creating a new and unique business model, there is no 'standard' contract or template for what I'll be doing. Today is a Thursday; my aim is to have everything I want from the contracts written out in plain English by Monday. So check back on Monday to see if this target was met!

Also met Steve Lamacq and had a good chat with him about this band! He loves them and is big keen to hear their new material! Would be good getting ol' Lamacq on our side! Once again, won't be announcing who this is until contracts sorted, but may treat people to an exclusive listen to a work-in progress of Sharabang Artist 2 soon!

Web design....spent about 5 hours with our designers creating ideas for the overall look and style of the site. Really happy with what we've come up with. I had no idea about how we would go about getting started on this side of things, but Matt from the designers was excellent at drawing out what I wanted and turning these into great designs. For me, this was really important, finding a company to work with that would listen to my unstructured ramblings and thoughts and use their expertise to pick out what would work and turn my rambles into a reality. Next step is for me to work out exactly what I want each page to have on it. Want to set another target here.....going to aim to have this done by Wednesday...looks like it’s bye bye weekend this week! Hopefully I’ll report back saying both targets met. Let’s see, eh!?

Labels: deadlines, fishbowl1, matt, setting targets, website, website designer, writing contracts