Chatting with…a Flashfwd nominee Pt 5

Posted on | March 2, 2010 | No Comments

You know the drill by now. Next up is “Twitter journalist” Michael Menachem. Also, please note that voting has been extended until this Friday.

1. Tell me who you are in 140 characters or less.

Music mover/culture shaker. Talent eyes/ears. Trailblazer. Influencer. Early Adopter. Content Producer. Arts Advocate. Dreamer. The New A&R.

2. Why and how did you get involved in the music industry?

I was drawn to the music industry from an early age. My earliest memories include Sesame Street and Sharon, Lois & Bram sing-a-long tapes. I was a magnet for popular culture and a range of music styles at a young age, from Motown to Aerosmith to Madonna. By then, I was completely entranced by countdowns and lists and I became a regular listener of “Casey Kasem’s American Top 40” show. The real reason for my interest in the music industry was to develop and help artists and create exposure for the many talented singers, songwriters and producers out there, whether major or indie. For me, the writing has always been about sharing the emotional and cultural impact that a song has with the masses, and in some cases it’s been really rewarding as I have been considerably early in discovering new artists such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna, 3OH!3, LMFAO, Lady Antebellum, Adele, Taio Cruz and more. I hope to channel my background in sales and marketing with my creative juices, ear for talent and my overall ability to recognize a hit or a star and create licensing opportunities for artists to get on larger platforms like film, television, commercials and video games.

3. What’s your idea? Does your idea/your work/your company fill a void in the music industry? Is your idea working? why or why not? Who is doing something similar to you? How are you different/better?

My idea is simple — provide a filtered channel for music discovery to music professionals and fans who are not getting exposure to a range of tunes while realizing the intelligence of the music consumers I reach. I think of myself as kind of a DJ-meets-the-new-A&R but my ideas are valuable and can certainly be used in a real business setting, whether for a consumer brand company, at an advertising agency, music publishing company or perhaps something else. I mix in plenty of artists signed to major labels, but I also try to highlight some of the indie acts that I am impressed with as well. I do this globally on Twitter and I share with a select but large group of influencers and decision-makers on Facebook, many of whom are friends. It is definitely working because I get all kinds of comments and replies that people like songs or videos I am posting.

I would say my idea fills a void because a lot of bloggers are writing about the same music or it’s heavily focused on the indie side of things or the music is kept within a few genres. I touch upon all genres – pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, electronica, Latin, folk, indie, occasionally instrumental, etc. I don’t think content-wise anyone is doing anything similar to me because they just don’t put in the time and effort to step outside of their comfort zone and explore more genres. Between my writing on major artists as well as my interest in indie and up-and-coming artists, there’s a lot to juggle but I enjoy discussing both.

4. What are you doing to promote FlashFwd and getting people to nominate you?

I have sent targeted emails to fans, friends and colleagues alerting them about the Flash FWD initiative as well as posted numerous comments on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. I have encouraged people to take part and have their voice heard by nominating me if they believe in the music recommendations I offer. If considered as a finalist and winner for SoundCTRL’s FlashFWD, I plan to offer my followers on Twitter some contests to win music, signed merchandise and of course there will be live updates from shows I attend in Austin.

If you think Michael has what it takes, here is his info to nominate him:

Nominee name: Michael Menachem
Web site: http://twitter.com/menoxmusic
Email: [email protected]