Tim Westergren

Co-Founder @SessionsLive. Previous: Touring Musician, Co-Founder/CEO @pandoramusic. Working to help musicians around the world make a living from their art.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Time to get back on Twitter after four years on the bench... A year off, two years investing and one year incubating...

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@sammyandrews Record, record, record. It takes a lifetime to master the craft of recording. Spend money on producers, not studio time.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

After a long hiatus, my band YellowWood Junction is playing a reunion show at the Guild in Menlo Park, CA. Sept 9th. Very excited to jam again after a long detour through Pandora…

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

The secret sauce @SessionsLive is our proprietary growth engine. We spend marketing dollars to cultivate artists’ followings. Typically we 10-20x boost the reach of posts, sometimes more. By adding audience we create growth and sustainability!

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Let's face it...in the world of DSPs the few winners that do exist are undeniably the exception to the rule. The great challenge is how to impact the majority of musicians?

I think we've figured that out: @SessionsLive

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

As streaming services race for the top, musicians race to the bottom.

Unfortunately DSPs will never be able to compensate musicians fairly. It's not evil...the business model just simply does not work.

https://t.co/WlRKbkYUdy #BrokenRecord #Streaming #DSPs #Musicians

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

The fact that it only takes 50 fans on @SessionsLive platform to provide an artist with a livable wage means we're on the right track! Artists...get off the DSP hamster wheel!

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

It's not about getting lucky in the right place at the right time or getting plucked up by the viral thing...It IS about a systematic, methodical path for artists to make more and more money over time.

This is why I created @SessionsLive.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Virtual events are here to stay...period. Now the challenge is turning that into a business.

@RFaughnder

https://t.co/jdTFv5Fxyd

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Every day another livestreaming company joins the fray, but artists don’t need more tools…They need an audience.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Keep coming back to this. Another truth - this service was NEVER about solving a problem for musicians. It was a business opportunity. That's it. And that's fine. But let's not pretend it's anything more.

https://t.co/zWxP28WPP7 #BrokenRecord

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Martin Mills @beggarsgroup has always been a voice of clarity, wisdom and fairness. What he said still holds true. What's the point of licensed and legal if the renumeration is insignificant?

...There are other ways.

https://t.co/4cOim7pBdH

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@rafael_cholo @MrTomGray Re legislation, there’s simply not the $ there to get even if you win. It would be a Pyrrhic victory.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

Hmmm...Where to begin?! There is so much troubling about this, but what's most important is to understand what this means: for services like Spotify, music is nothing more than fuel. That's it. Artists MUST find alternatives.

https://t.co/zWxP28WPP7 #BrokenRecord

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@rafael_cholo @MrTomGray Remember, Digital music was a business opportunity. It wasn’t created and honed to help artists. Businesses are profit seeking, period. I’ve been there. The problem is that those business structures, while legal, don’t have musicians as their master.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@YellowBritCFRC @twestergren @latepaul @MrTomGray And yellow brit road - it cannot be based on recorded music that shares rights with a label. Key is live and new exclusive (and artist-controlled) content, behind a paywall.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@YellowBritCFRC @twestergren @latepaul @MrTomGray No. Tidal was the same business model. Just added a handful of prominent artists as shareholders. Still no economics for each artist. Same basic payouts/rates.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@kat_five @rafael_cholo @MrTomGray @resonatecoop This is cool. I like resonate’s principles. The key (and it seems always the missing piece) is marketing: finding a CAC/LTV formula that creates positive economics on a per fan basis. Sessions does this.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@rafael_cholo @MrTomGray With the caveat that this is self-serving, yes, artists need to offe their own service, like Sessions. You decide what content goes up, when and for how much. Eventually, Spotify is a marketing channel, not a destination.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

@MrTomGray A great thread outlining the challenge. Unfortunately, I don't think existing platforms hold the solution. I've seen under the hood. Need to find direct to consumer alternatives. Wildly more efficient income. Problem to focus on is marketing.

[Tim Westergren @timwestergren]

We know this is coming... The antidote? Live AND interactive performance. Humans ultimately crave authenticity. They will hunt for something real. That's the core of @SessionsLive.

https://t.co/lNFYYt8mlc
#AI #Musicians #FanFic #CyberPolicy