Brad Sucks: Small Business Blog of the Day

Here's the plan...sit in a room with a guitar and keyboard and write songs. Also, get totally geeky with the computer and learn all about websites, blogs, podcasts, MP3s, and peer-to-peer networks that will act as distribution channels for the music.

Give the music away. In fact, encourage others to give it away, download it, comment about it, talk about it, remix it, and most of all, hear it.

Finally, get famous. Not real big world famous (at least at first), but famous enough so the music is heard by the right people. Perhaps advertising people. Collect some decent paychecks from licensing the songs for commercials and radio play.

Oh, and if your name is Brad, call your band Brad Sucks.

What it is
Brad Sucks is a "one man band" presumably from Ontario. I presume he's from ON because the band appears to have played live only in that province.

Features
MP3s, streaming audio, logo and t-shirt contests, concert and appearance updates, band information, and lots of personality.

Favorite Post
Back in February Brad was looking for a new logo for the band. Rather than search for a graphic designer and deal with all the hassles that naturally leads to, he created a contest and his fans made the logo for him. Later he did the same thing for a website redesign. Here's the logo post:

There are 24 hours left in the Worth1000 Brad Sucks logo contest. 52 entries so far and I’m looking very much forward to seeing them.

Further Comments
This is the best example yet of a blog that really involves its readers. Brad has been doing this a long time and fantastically understands his audience and how to use them to help promote his music, make them feel involved, and ultimately listen to everything he records. When you start exploring this website it becomes much more a conversation with Brad instead of reading about Brad, and that creates a connection to the music in a dramatically personal way.

Finally, all of Brad's music is FREE. Just visit the music link to listen to it. And yet, people still buy his CDs. He even thinks this is weird.

From the Brad Sucks 'about' page:

Why would I buy your music when you give it away for free?

Well I don't know, but people have been doing it and I hope they continue. Maybe they like a CD to hold in their hands, maybe they just want to support artists, maybe it's just flat-out pity.

Tags: brad sucks

Comments

[John]

Brad Sucks is awesome! I stumbled across his music about nine months ago and I'm hooked.