This year, I would like to share with you the people and companies that inspire me. There are plenty to choose from, so I had trouble picking the first one.
Luckily, it is January. And January is the month that Eurosonic Noorderslag Conference takes place in my hometown of Groningen. A music conference, one that I have attended for a lot of years. At first as an aspiring musician, later on as a music industry bystander. Which makes it easy to pick the first person to highlight.
Niels Aalberts (also known as @ehpo)
When we thought we were doing pretty wel highlighting the new developments in the Music Industry with our blog Lopend Vuur, all of a sudden we were overtaken by this new blog ‘Eerste Hulp Bij Plaatopnamen‘. With daily posts and keen insight, Niels details all relevant new developments in the Dutch and international music industry. By allowing plenty of room for real life examples from real bands, his blog really has become the main inspiration point for a lot of bands with regards to the way they can take their future into their own hands. The new way.
“If you cannot share, you cannot multiply”
That is one of Niels’s favorite sayings. He is featured in online content all over the place, but not too much is in English. I found this video, shot at last years Un-Convention Groningen (which, not so incidentally, also takes place this week in Groningen).
Kyteman, a succesful story and proof
While storming past our Lopend Vuur by frantically blogging about the Music Industry, Niels also managed one of The Netherlands biggest music stars of 2009: Kyteman. By putting his money, time and effort where his mouth was, Niels (and the incredible team arond Kyteman) proved that it is posible to really Do It Together, without involvement of traditional Major Labels. Kudos for that.
Upcoming: the book!
Niels knows how to talk, but he also is very good at converting the attention he gets into real product. He will be releasing his book “Doorbraak” (Breakthrough) on February 11th, both detailing the story behind Kyteman and documenting the ‘new way to do it in the music industry’. I can’t wait to read it.
Useful links
Niels’s blog Eerste Hulp Bij Plaatopnamen (Dutch)
