Jamie Scallion's Blog - Posts Tagged "spotify"
Why Spotify?
When it came to releasing the music from The RockAteers my partners (The Script) and I had extended discussions. Should we sell it? Should we release an LP or an EP? Would we tell people it was a real band or from the pages of a book (The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries)?
Our decisions were made far simpler when we started a dialogue with Spotify. They were immediately drawn to the idea and their eagerness to support an entirely new project in its infancy and their instinct to partner up with something that broke new ground was refreshing to say the least. We went for it and the enthusiasm was instant. They helped inform our project immediately, by making considered and adept suggestions. They advised we seed various playlists with one song and let people discover the music in a very organic way. They also suggested we link our book through their new merchandise partner (Topspin). It was perfect. They advanced our aims and were instrumental in making our dream a reality by giving our fan base exactly what it wanted, and had wanted since the book had been released some months prior; to hear the music.
The most satisfying thing for us was seeing the play count shoot up and our social networks lighting up with positive feedback. Along with Rovi Corps, who wrote the band an amazing bio, Spotify helped to set up a great looking landing page on the platform. We decided to leave the question of whether this was a real band or not ambiguous, so the page looking like any other bands was vital. We found ourselves answering people on The RockAteers’ social pages as the characters in the book, which was a great deal of fun. Of course, scratch the surface and you found out the band were fictitious. But no one cared if anything it just made the more eager to investigate the book and project over all.
When we mentioned in a meeting that we are passionate about teenage literacy and asked where our future lyricists are going to come from if our teenagers aren’t picking up books, again they were engaged, thoughtful and eager to help bring the issue to the fore.
It is just the start but already we have over 40 thousand unique plays and hundreds of new followers.
Our decisions were made far simpler when we started a dialogue with Spotify. They were immediately drawn to the idea and their eagerness to support an entirely new project in its infancy and their instinct to partner up with something that broke new ground was refreshing to say the least. We went for it and the enthusiasm was instant. They helped inform our project immediately, by making considered and adept suggestions. They advised we seed various playlists with one song and let people discover the music in a very organic way. They also suggested we link our book through their new merchandise partner (Topspin). It was perfect. They advanced our aims and were instrumental in making our dream a reality by giving our fan base exactly what it wanted, and had wanted since the book had been released some months prior; to hear the music.
The most satisfying thing for us was seeing the play count shoot up and our social networks lighting up with positive feedback. Along with Rovi Corps, who wrote the band an amazing bio, Spotify helped to set up a great looking landing page on the platform. We decided to leave the question of whether this was a real band or not ambiguous, so the page looking like any other bands was vital. We found ourselves answering people on The RockAteers’ social pages as the characters in the book, which was a great deal of fun. Of course, scratch the surface and you found out the band were fictitious. But no one cared if anything it just made the more eager to investigate the book and project over all.
When we mentioned in a meeting that we are passionate about teenage literacy and asked where our future lyricists are going to come from if our teenagers aren’t picking up books, again they were engaged, thoughtful and eager to help bring the issue to the fore.
It is just the start but already we have over 40 thousand unique plays and hundreds of new followers.
Lead singer syndrome (Inspiration for Burt)
Now people have read the first book in The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries series (some of you multiple times) I thought I would take a look at the reasons I wanted to write a story like this and share them. I was in a band with three great lads for over a decade. We had some amazing times and of course some tough times. A lot of what I must do as a writer is draw on my own experiences and as a lead singer I had a lot of gold to mine. Lead singers are a fascinating breed and come in all shapes and sizes. One thing they all have in common is a massive ego and this makes it such fun to bring them to life. I was no egg-ception.
I really love writing Burt because he can be spontaneous, idiotic, autocratic and cool all in one moment. Check out these videos we did. I’m loving being the center of attention as you can see. Does it show? When we did these, we were at our happiest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmY5F1...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZDB-2...
There is of course something unique and special between four people who spend all their time touring, writing and hanging out. It forms a bond that is at times unbreakable, like I say in the books, a four way marriage without the sex. Take a look at us here, having fun. We had just finished our second record and we’re as close as anything.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=...
The wheels started to come off when I began to let the influence I had within the band impact on my decision making, and much of that was down to my own ego. Take a look at this video. Why was I flying up to Scotland and letting the other boys get the tour bus?!
http://vimeo.com/9641435
I did a few silly things like this as the band was imploding and of course the other guys were hurt and frustrated by my actions. By mining some of those emotions and being really honest about my own character flaws, I hope I put flesh and bones on the lead singer in the book. Burt has some extreme character traits that don’t exist in my personality and I hope I’ve done a good job hinting at why he’s like this. I’ve known a great deal of singers over the years, some famous, some wannabes and I have used a cocktail of those egos to pepper Burt’s personality. I kind of hope everyone secretly loves him.
I really love writing Burt because he can be spontaneous, idiotic, autocratic and cool all in one moment. Check out these videos we did. I’m loving being the center of attention as you can see. Does it show? When we did these, we were at our happiest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmY5F1...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZDB-2...
There is of course something unique and special between four people who spend all their time touring, writing and hanging out. It forms a bond that is at times unbreakable, like I say in the books, a four way marriage without the sex. Take a look at us here, having fun. We had just finished our second record and we’re as close as anything.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=...
The wheels started to come off when I began to let the influence I had within the band impact on my decision making, and much of that was down to my own ego. Take a look at this video. Why was I flying up to Scotland and letting the other boys get the tour bus?!
http://vimeo.com/9641435
I did a few silly things like this as the band was imploding and of course the other guys were hurt and frustrated by my actions. By mining some of those emotions and being really honest about my own character flaws, I hope I put flesh and bones on the lead singer in the book. Burt has some extreme character traits that don’t exist in my personality and I hope I’ve done a good job hinting at why he’s like this. I’ve known a great deal of singers over the years, some famous, some wannabes and I have used a cocktail of those egos to pepper Burt’s personality. I kind of hope everyone secretly loves him.
To swear or not to swear (a short blog)
I recently asked my twitter pals to guess how many F-bombs were in the second Rock ‘n’ Roll diaries book. It got a huge response. The guesses were pretty high and I was once again thrown into a discussion with myself about whether or not gratuitous swearing in novels is necessary.
I decided yes, all one hundred and ten uses of the F-bomb were required. It all comes down to authenticity and reality. Teenagers f-ing swear and so do I.
What do you reckon?
I decided yes, all one hundred and ten uses of the F-bomb were required. It all comes down to authenticity and reality. Teenagers f-ing swear and so do I.
What do you reckon?
What’s it’s all about Scallion?
I think it’s best to start off by telling you that my life has been one extensive research campaign for this book. My band Office Kicks never reached the highest heights or else you would have heard of us right? We never headlined an arena tour or had a huge hit record but with my pals and partners The Scripts help I was able to see first-hand, fly on the wall style, what it’s like to be in a big band. This added an extra dimension of authenticity. I've seen the pressure, the fun and the lifestyle rock and pop stars enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I did experience an awful lot myself. I played Glastonbury, I supported bands on big tours. My band’s music was played on radio and we made videos that were shown on MTV. It was brilliant fun.
Throughout, what I found most interesting were the interactions between me and my band mates. That’s what I wanted to explore when I started writing The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries. It really was like a four way marriage. It can be tough at times living in each other’s pockets, but it can for the most part be a right proper laugh.
Writing from multiple viewpoints gave the book balance and objectivity. After all Singers, Guitarists, Bass players and Drummers are individuals with various characteristics. The singer in my book, Burt, is a bit of a knob head. My guitar player is a shy introvert, my bass player is relaxed and cool and the drummer is happy go lucky.
I wonder what if you had to be in a band what would you want to be? Singer? Show of hands (comments, tweets). Guitar? Drummer? Bassist?
Along with The Script lads and a brilliant fella named Jim Barry we brought The RockAteers to life. One song that features quite heavily in the book captured people’s imaginations in particular. Some lyrics from the song below.
Satellites
Verse 1
Someone give me hope
Something I can see
Something I can touch
Something I can breathe
Chorus
Give me all your satellites and all your stunted cigarettes
Give me life and give death and give me all your worry lines
Give me ups and give me downs, it don’t matter how you do
As long as you believe in me and you
*
It was important we convey how Egg really feels in the book through his lyrics. He has a lot of angst and insecurities and we needed to get that down and keep it true to his character. That was a big challenge but also a great deal of fun.
I wonder do any of you know what Egg is saying in the chorus “Give me all your satellites and all your stunted cigarettes”?
He gives it away in a later line. It’s all about ups and downs. Satellites are in space (up) and stunted cigarettes are butts crushed into the pavement (down). Egg is trying to say that we can go through anything as long as we stick together. The song is also subtly eluding to the fact that, just like Burt, he's in love with Bex.
It’s the first song he plays to the band and as I said before he’s a loner, is bullied and very shy. But he is musically very gifted. The moment he sings Satellites is a pivotal moment in the book. He finds his voice, literally.
So, that’s a little of what it’s all about. You might need to read the book and listen to the music to get the full three sixty experience.
Throughout, what I found most interesting were the interactions between me and my band mates. That’s what I wanted to explore when I started writing The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries. It really was like a four way marriage. It can be tough at times living in each other’s pockets, but it can for the most part be a right proper laugh.
Writing from multiple viewpoints gave the book balance and objectivity. After all Singers, Guitarists, Bass players and Drummers are individuals with various characteristics. The singer in my book, Burt, is a bit of a knob head. My guitar player is a shy introvert, my bass player is relaxed and cool and the drummer is happy go lucky.
I wonder what if you had to be in a band what would you want to be? Singer? Show of hands (comments, tweets). Guitar? Drummer? Bassist?
Along with The Script lads and a brilliant fella named Jim Barry we brought The RockAteers to life. One song that features quite heavily in the book captured people’s imaginations in particular. Some lyrics from the song below.
Satellites
Verse 1
Someone give me hope
Something I can see
Something I can touch
Something I can breathe
Chorus
Give me all your satellites and all your stunted cigarettes
Give me life and give death and give me all your worry lines
Give me ups and give me downs, it don’t matter how you do
As long as you believe in me and you
*
It was important we convey how Egg really feels in the book through his lyrics. He has a lot of angst and insecurities and we needed to get that down and keep it true to his character. That was a big challenge but also a great deal of fun.
I wonder do any of you know what Egg is saying in the chorus “Give me all your satellites and all your stunted cigarettes”?
He gives it away in a later line. It’s all about ups and downs. Satellites are in space (up) and stunted cigarettes are butts crushed into the pavement (down). Egg is trying to say that we can go through anything as long as we stick together. The song is also subtly eluding to the fact that, just like Burt, he's in love with Bex.
It’s the first song he plays to the band and as I said before he’s a loner, is bullied and very shy. But he is musically very gifted. The moment he sings Satellites is a pivotal moment in the book. He finds his voice, literally.
So, that’s a little of what it’s all about. You might need to read the book and listen to the music to get the full three sixty experience.
The Sun Newspaper Article
Prologue
I really have had a fascinating January. Book Two is almost finished, I wrote an article for a national newspaper, I gave my first ever talk in a School and I’ve been on the twenty first century authors programme. I’ve also been chatting with a brilliant and very gifted American writer about the process (dabs brow) and an equally ace and successful blogger.
Giving yourself the time to get into the connecting space (networking) has become an vital part of being an author. I love it. I love writing the books but equally I love chatting with people who have read the book (or not to be honest because it gives me a chance to employ my sales technique, honed over many years) and with other writers, bloggers or people in the industry.
As I confessed in an earlier blog, the life of an author is very different from the life of a lead singer, the fundamental difference being social.
Basically when you’re in a band you’re surrounded by people twenty four seven. When you are writing novels you are not. Its why I think I enjoyed the author programme so much. I had a chance to share, listen and talk about being a writer with other writers.
Equally I loved going into a school (with the very fantastic Bali Rai, if you haven’t read any of his books then do). Having the opportunity to talk face to face with my target audience was so rewarding. I am going to do a lot more of that I can tell you.
The discipline of writing an article for a national newspaper was also very interesting and challenging. Take a look at the article published in The Sun in Dec 2013. It’s a subject very close to my heart.
Rock Authors plea to teenagers
When I was fourteen I was obsessed with football, music and girls, in that order. The only books I read were the ones I was told to read by school. I didn’t relate to them at all and the fact we had to study them didn’t help. It put me off reading anything else. A few years on and
I’m still obsessed by the same things, except of course not in that order. At least that’s what I’m sticking to, my friends might tell you different.
Nowadays, I find reading for pleasure a necessity. Not just because I write songs and books - I love the detail; there are depths to a good novel that no TV show, video game or film can achieve. Once you’re hooked into a great story it’s another level of entertainment. You get lost in the pages and time flies.
We know now that reading for pleasure increases young people’s vocabulary, boosts their understanding of the world around them and is even credited with supporting good mental health into adulthood. It’s a fact that children who read for pleasure do better in life than those who do not.
On the trains and tubes I see a lot of people reading Kindles. I often peer over shoulders to see what they’re getting into. I don’t see young teenage boys reading, Kindle or otherwise. It occurred to me that the characters in my books are teenagers and that at least half of my target audience are teenage boys. I decided to dig deeper and find out why I wasn’t seeing any teenage lads reading.
Many boys leave reading behind in their mid-teens - way more so than girls. They don't find books out there that engage them as much as other leisure activities, like video games, and they think reading is boring and un-cool. Why not have a stab at changing this? I wanted to write a novel that they could instantly engage with, that could reflect their lives, use the language they use and convey the emotions and dilemmas they deal with. A teen novel like Melvin Burgess's ground breaking Junk didn’t pull its punches. I didn’t want to pull mine. Once I’d finished my novel I started to chat to people. I talked to my partners in the project (The Script). They were equally horrified at the teen reading crisis and far more altruistic than me on the subject. This isn’t just about boys not reading The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries, this is about boys not reading at all. Where will the next generation of writers, poets and lyricists come from? I hope I’m doing something about it by putting The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries out there. I’ve got over a hundred five star reviews on Amazon and readers are telling me they love it – even ones who don’t normally read. I hope we’ll start to see more books on publishers’ lists which reflect real teenagers’ lives; books they can truly identify with.
Let’s get boys reading again! We’ll be giving them an advantage as they grow up and unlocking a whole world of excitement, laughter and wonder. Maybe one day when I peer over someone’s shoulder at their Kindle I might see them reading my book, so I can give a gentle nudge, smile and say. “I wrote that don’t you know.” I imagine they would turn to me and grin. “I love it, can you sign the back of my Kindle?”
Jamie Scallion
Some reading gems for 14+ teen boys to try:
Melvin Burgess - Junk
Robert Muchamore - Cherub series
Dan Tunstall - Big and Clever
Bali Rai - (Un)arranged Marriage
The Knife That Killed Me - Anthony McGowan
Louis Sachar – Holes
Holly Smale-Geek Girl series
Kill your friends - John Niven
I really have had a fascinating January. Book Two is almost finished, I wrote an article for a national newspaper, I gave my first ever talk in a School and I’ve been on the twenty first century authors programme. I’ve also been chatting with a brilliant and very gifted American writer about the process (dabs brow) and an equally ace and successful blogger.
Giving yourself the time to get into the connecting space (networking) has become an vital part of being an author. I love it. I love writing the books but equally I love chatting with people who have read the book (or not to be honest because it gives me a chance to employ my sales technique, honed over many years) and with other writers, bloggers or people in the industry.
As I confessed in an earlier blog, the life of an author is very different from the life of a lead singer, the fundamental difference being social.
Basically when you’re in a band you’re surrounded by people twenty four seven. When you are writing novels you are not. Its why I think I enjoyed the author programme so much. I had a chance to share, listen and talk about being a writer with other writers.
Equally I loved going into a school (with the very fantastic Bali Rai, if you haven’t read any of his books then do). Having the opportunity to talk face to face with my target audience was so rewarding. I am going to do a lot more of that I can tell you.
The discipline of writing an article for a national newspaper was also very interesting and challenging. Take a look at the article published in The Sun in Dec 2013. It’s a subject very close to my heart.
Rock Authors plea to teenagers
When I was fourteen I was obsessed with football, music and girls, in that order. The only books I read were the ones I was told to read by school. I didn’t relate to them at all and the fact we had to study them didn’t help. It put me off reading anything else. A few years on and
I’m still obsessed by the same things, except of course not in that order. At least that’s what I’m sticking to, my friends might tell you different.
Nowadays, I find reading for pleasure a necessity. Not just because I write songs and books - I love the detail; there are depths to a good novel that no TV show, video game or film can achieve. Once you’re hooked into a great story it’s another level of entertainment. You get lost in the pages and time flies.
We know now that reading for pleasure increases young people’s vocabulary, boosts their understanding of the world around them and is even credited with supporting good mental health into adulthood. It’s a fact that children who read for pleasure do better in life than those who do not.
On the trains and tubes I see a lot of people reading Kindles. I often peer over shoulders to see what they’re getting into. I don’t see young teenage boys reading, Kindle or otherwise. It occurred to me that the characters in my books are teenagers and that at least half of my target audience are teenage boys. I decided to dig deeper and find out why I wasn’t seeing any teenage lads reading.
Many boys leave reading behind in their mid-teens - way more so than girls. They don't find books out there that engage them as much as other leisure activities, like video games, and they think reading is boring and un-cool. Why not have a stab at changing this? I wanted to write a novel that they could instantly engage with, that could reflect their lives, use the language they use and convey the emotions and dilemmas they deal with. A teen novel like Melvin Burgess's ground breaking Junk didn’t pull its punches. I didn’t want to pull mine. Once I’d finished my novel I started to chat to people. I talked to my partners in the project (The Script). They were equally horrified at the teen reading crisis and far more altruistic than me on the subject. This isn’t just about boys not reading The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries, this is about boys not reading at all. Where will the next generation of writers, poets and lyricists come from? I hope I’m doing something about it by putting The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries out there. I’ve got over a hundred five star reviews on Amazon and readers are telling me they love it – even ones who don’t normally read. I hope we’ll start to see more books on publishers’ lists which reflect real teenagers’ lives; books they can truly identify with.
Let’s get boys reading again! We’ll be giving them an advantage as they grow up and unlocking a whole world of excitement, laughter and wonder. Maybe one day when I peer over someone’s shoulder at their Kindle I might see them reading my book, so I can give a gentle nudge, smile and say. “I wrote that don’t you know.” I imagine they would turn to me and grin. “I love it, can you sign the back of my Kindle?”
Jamie Scallion
Some reading gems for 14+ teen boys to try:
Melvin Burgess - Junk
Robert Muchamore - Cherub series
Dan Tunstall - Big and Clever
Bali Rai - (Un)arranged Marriage
The Knife That Killed Me - Anthony McGowan
Louis Sachar – Holes
Holly Smale-Geek Girl series
Kill your friends - John Niven
Review of TFIOS
The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
When someone follows me on twitter it bounces back a message that asks what their favourite book, TV show and band is. 90% of people that replied, said TFIOS. So I read it and I found it charming, alarmingly honest and dare I say… life affirming.
Whilst reading it I've had a few people say... “I don’t read cancer books.” I kinda get that. I get it can be monumentally sad to read about anybody with a terminal illness. Thing is, and at the risk of sounding like a large baked camembert, this isn’t a “cancer book.” At least it isn't to my mind. It’s a book about triumphant and unfailing love. It is a book about “getting it”. I don’t mean getting sex, I’m talking about self-discovery, I’m talking about realising that leaving a mark behind pales into insignificance versus getting to really love another person and to be loved in return.
A story like this, treated in the wrong way, could have been sentimental syrup but the level of precision and care taken, delivers a profound and compelling punch that is hard to recover from after you've been hit . The dialogue is sharp, witty and fearless. I say fearless because there is a high level of commitment involved in telling a story like this. I.E. You can’t turn away from conveying the terrible sadness of it all. (I'm not contradicting myself. Terrible sadness is life affirming. Without darkness the stars cant shine etc etc)
In addition the author manages to convince me that 1. He is a teenage girl (no mean feat if you’re a 30 year old man). 2. He has cancer. 3. He is deeply in love with a boy. John Green is a method actor.
I remember hearing Radiohead’s “High and Dry” for the first time and thinking, I want to write something as good as that.
Right, that is all. I’m off to read ‘Looking for Alaska’.
View all my reviews
