PROSEED: Well it's more than just putting it on a myspace page and blowing up peoples profiles up, man. I never really understood marketing, I never really understood that there was a distinction between exposure and retainment. I spent $2,900 on city paper ads back when I put out "Quintessential," and that's when I had website. I don't even think I had much of a mailing list, I may have had some sort of a mailing list program that came with my web-host, but I didn't know what the first thing I was doing with it. So right there is a big loss. With all that money I spent on a city paper ad, and number of unique visitors at that time, who are those people? I have no idea at this point. So to answer your question it's just really about understanding. After 10 years of performing in the city of Pittsburgh, I'm finally understanding the things I need to do as far as micro-marketing of getting your music out. I understand it at this point. Which is a shame because I've been doing this for 10 years now. But at the same time I feel like my music is quality now. I always had a confidence about what I was doing but I can look back at every album I've put out including "Broken Body Walkman Shop" and know the flaws, know the mistake I've made, but I don't feel that way about this album. I'm perfectly comfortable about this album, there's not a moment where I cringe, it sounds great. I'm happy with the content, I'm proud of it, it's a mature album. Really it's the first day of my new life so to speak as being a hip hop artist.
TTAD: So what are some of the things you've done, I know you went and made some videos to hype it up, what else?
PROSEED: Well prior to this storm I was in the process of doing the whole cd baby thing, so I'm doing digital distribution that way. As far as other things it's really a word of mouth social networking. Then for the show we have coming up the 27th I'm gonna do small budget for a Reverbnation promoted thing and to try to an ad trying to get the whole promoted blanket. Which is them hitting up Youtbue, they hit up Facebook, and try to promote the show for a week. That's the other thing that I've learned, and this is partly my fault, and it's also party the whole shift in the music industry. When I started out there wasn't a Facebook, there wasn't stuff like that. That's the whole learning process right there. The fact that micro-marketing is where it's at now. You don't spend thousands of dollars to get it in print based media, you spend tens and hundreds of dollars if that to just get word of mouth and spread it like wild fire like that. The other stuff does not work, you need to aggregate what you doing in multiple places.
TTAD: When we filmed "Depth in Shallows", you were like thaw worlds biggest nancy boy, with like walking around the steps and stuff. What did you do your entire childhood? Did you have any hobbies that involved the out doors?
PROSEED: (laughs) That's funny dude, my friend is always making fun of me for that. He's actually tearing down a den for an old lady, and his mother actually asked him who can he get to help, she said, "what about Derek?" He said, "nah mom, nah, he's not really the laborist type." I get made fun of all the time for that. I dunno man, I mean we had a farm, my grandfather had a farm up in the Meadville area. We still have land up there but outside of that, no I guess I was never an outdoorsy person. I was a boy-scout for a little bit.
TTAD: How far did you get?
PROSEED: Oh not far. It probably wasn't past 5th or 6th grade. Definitly wasn't past grade school.
TTAD: Yo your child hood group Solid Ground Entiertainment, you're about to be last of the Mohicans. You hear Kid A is hanging it up?
PROSEED: I know man, but you know what, I don't honestly believe he's hanging it up. He goes through these depressing stages and then he comes back, He's said stuff like this in the past I think. Maybe not as blatant and as explicit, but I don't think he's gonna hang it up. He just needs something to re-inspire him.
TTAD: How much more you think you got in you? You're about to be done with school pretty soon right?
PROSEED: I'm done with school. I got my masters last spring. I'm working with kids in a school district out my way, it's in an after school setting. But hanging it up man, that's not soon. I'm definitely at my point where I'm like, "man, I'm getting tired of this. " But every artist has probably gone through that, especially when you're not receiving the attention you think you deserve. But at the end of the day I'm still doing it because it's fun, and I'm still doing it because it's fulfilling to me, and it's art and I always wanna do something art related. So hanging it up, I'm not ready to do that, man. Especially with this album, I'm so confident with this album. Especially if the right ears hear it, it's gonna spread a heck of a lot more than anything I've ever done in the past in the past. I'm not saying I'm gonna blow up with this. But I think it's finally gonna hit something. It's hopefully gonna spread through blogs and everything. I'm trying to get into podcasts, of course I'm not trying to get it on commercial radio or anything like that but I'm trying to make some impact this time around.
TTAD: What are your goals for this album, it seems like you're pouring a lot into this album, what do you expect out?
PROSEED: to be brutally honest with numbers, I'd like to see can I do 200 cds within a year. Can I do 400 downloads within a year, and a good chuck of that is something with payment. With Bandcamp I'm doing the pay what you want price on it. It's a small goal, but to be honest I've never hit that in the past. I put 1000 cds out with "Quintessential" and I have 7 or 8 boxes with dozens of copies in my parents den.
TTAD: Are you gonna do a lot more shows to try and get it out?
PROSEED: Well to do shows, I wanna do outside of the city. They been talking to me in Fortified PhonetX about a bi-monthly thing, but I don't like the idea. Not to ids their idea, but I wouldn't like the idea of doing a bi-monthly. I think you really soak up quickly the turn out of doing something like that. I think I would be more effective in Pittsburgh if I did a show every 3 or 4 months.
Yeah, I wanna do shows do shows outside of this city. It doesn't have to be large cities, I'm doing a show in Erie in May. I wanna go back out to Youngstown, I did a show there last May. I'm down to shows I just don't wanna do a show once every month in the city of Pittsburgh and see the same 15 faces. That's really where you have to take it if you're gonna get anywhere. And I know you been doing that a lot, you been grinding on the shows going all over the place. And that's really what it takes man. But the fact that you gotta go on this one month tour, I'm not sure if that for one, is absolutely necessary for everyone, and two it's frankly not feasible for me. I have a full time job. But I'm more than happy to go out on the weekend and drive a couple hours out. There's plenty of people in PA and it's surrounding cities and states.
TTAD: What's up Surface Level Records, that's something you started with FPX right?
PROSEED: Yeah, I'll be the second release out on that label. Honestly it's still not officially a label. I'm gonna do trademark and start out with that for protection purposes and because it's kind of cheap to do it that way. But yeah I'd like to see that as a slow road long term sort of a thing man. If there is ever a time when I hang it up maybe it will be the time when I decide to do something else but still related to the music. When I'm helping some younger act get their music out, publish it or something like that. Yeah, that's a learning process too. Everyone has their logo and their name, but not everyone has the logistics down on what really makes a label. And I think we're all kind of on the same page in working towards that. And trying to create brand, because once you create a brand you create that label and you create that name. And like everything else, your combing networks, your combining the peoples you've reached, and that's a sure shot way of growing the audience as well.
Proseed
http://www.musicbyproseed.com
https://www.facebook.com/musicbyproseed/
https://soundcloud.com/musicbyproseed
@musicbyproseed
interview by Cody Jones/Stillborn Identity
https://www.facebook.com/stillcody
stillbornidentity.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/stillborn-identity
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stillborn-Identity/154438521280723
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@CodyJonesSTLBRN
