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Post by sharie on Feb 22, 2009 20:31:00 GMT -5
My name is Sharie, and I am the leader of the Minnesota Rocco street team. I am writing this because I have some concerns on the perception of the Ironworks street team.
I have been a part of the street team since the beginning last year and yes, there has been some good and bad. I continue to be a part of the street team because I believe in the label and the bands that are a part of Ironworks. I have belief that these bands and this label can be something great and are hopefully on the road to living up to that. I have such passion for promoting them that sometimes it comes off as aggressive, but that is never my intention.
I understand that this fancorp board is fairly new and kinks will always have to be worked out. However, that being said, some things that are a concern are already beginning to start over on the board. These things of concern aren't so much public as what’s going on behind the scenes in private talks with the main leaders and people that have been around since the beginning. This incarnation of the street team has been around now for almost a year and the moderators have yet to take control or offer any kind of guidance or leadership. I understand that people are helping with this board/street team as a favor and that they have lives/jobs of their own and sometimes get busy or overwhelmed. But with this being a year old now and based on the messages I have received, I'm of the opinion that a little more attention is needed as many questions and concerns are happening and no one is there to help us. Might make the transition and the keeping of the members of the street team easier if there was someone answering questions, offering basic guidance and with everyone’s help, making this fancorp board an excellent promotional tool.
The way this is being looked upon right now is that Ironworks isn't putting too much into this and unfortunately, with no one stepping to take a good grasp of this, its all we fans have to go on. I take the street team very seriously and would hope that Ironworks does as well, and would hope that the person chosen to finally run the street team has as much passion as we do in being a part of it. If it’s a matter of finding volunteers to help, I really don’t think that would be an issue because so many of us would gladly offer our time. I hope you take this email simply as suggestion and an offer of support. Sadly, many have already begun leaning away from the team due to the disorganization and the perception that Ironworks really doesn’t care about the street team. I just don’t want to see that happen.
I have since come to the conclusion that Ironworks has little to no care for the street team and it is just a headache for them and they really don’t have the time that I feel it needs to continue this. The Minnesota street team has in conclusion decided to end it’s partnership with IW fancorps and will go ahead full cycle to support Rocco and BBOP on their own. Since we have been doing the promoting since the beginning and have since continues to do the prompting with no real support from fancorps and IW, It is clear we can handle this on our own. I have said it before I do not want nothing from IW for promoting these bands and this continues to be true. I Love to promote Rocco and BBOP.
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Post by eva on Feb 22, 2009 20:43:58 GMT -5
Spread the Word!! Its been a long time for me since I been here, I wonder why...hmm...this caught my eye once again! I hope people will read this and really speak up! thanks again...
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Post by Fluffy Poodle on Feb 22, 2009 21:21:10 GMT -5
I have to say I agree. The fancorp site has not been very useful. Bit of a disappointment really. It's too bad. But we will still keep promoting the same way we always have for our guys!
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Post by eva on Feb 23, 2009 10:42:47 GMT -5
I agree fluffy, about promoting our guys the old way. Believed that was well organized and successful! I don't think we had problems...
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Post by sabine on Feb 23, 2009 14:30:52 GMT -5
Well said, Sharie. In the beginning I was sceptical but was also looking forward to a better organization and saw the Fancorps opportunities but...in the end..it's about people, right. I wasn't able to accept one of the recent orders to help and hire more people for the IW Fancorps. I cannot do promotion for something I do not believe in. However, Rocco can always count on me and I will continue to support him as much as I can. Because I believe in his music.
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Post by nightingale on Feb 24, 2009 12:11:13 GMT -5
Hi all -
First of all - I apologize for your frustration and applaud you for bringing this to my/our attention. The street team and every member of it, is an extremely important part of the Ironworks team, and I sincerely apologize if you feel I/we have let you down.
I will be the first to admit, there are times when all the other "hats" I wear in the company deter me from making the street team first priority - working on honeyhoney, preparing for Rocco's tour & album release and getting ready to launch Billy Boy the last few weeks, and I am sorry if that's showed on occasion. We've been working on getting a lot of the behind the scenes things lined up and I’m sorry if it seems like I’ve neglected you... Sometimes, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
While I take all of your opinions to heart, I would like to address a few things...First and foremost – I/we do take the street team very seriously. You all are an integral part of what we’re doing and we appreciate and respect every moment you have “worked” to promote the bands, and Ironworks. Secondly – I’ve been working with Fancorps to build up the General Store and to give you all more incentives and rewards, as well as coming up with cool and new “orders” for you all to keep you interested and excited about our artists. For the last year, we’ve pretty much been out of album cycle for all 3 of our artists – which means aside from some one off shows, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on to promote. But now with the Rocco/honeyhoney tour starting and Billy Boy gaining steam – the street team will have many more options for activity...and I’m really excited for what’s to come! You all did a fabulous job on your own - but you were segregated. Fancorps is meant to be a one stop shop for official artwork, promotional materials and the official gathering place of all things street team. What you do with the orders and materials - is up to you. You can do as much or as little as you'd like with the tools we provide here. Lastly, I am always available to you all – open to suggestions, feedback and constructive criticism. (My contact info is below). The street team is a huge priority for me, but unfortunately – with so few of us in the company, some times other priorities need to take precedence. This is not to say that your value is any less or any less important.
So how about this... I promise to make every effort to restructure the Ironworks team to work more smoothly, efficiently and effectively and I challenge you all to do the same. Instead of turning your back on the Fancorps team, embrace it and make it yours. You all have as much power as I do to help make this team a success.... The only difference is I am the official news filter for the label to keep you all in the loop... So, instead of turning away — use this as a forum to tell us what you’d like to see more of, less of etc. What other materials you need to help your street teaming efforts? What do you need from us to keep you interested and excited to be a part of this incredible team of people who share the same love for music that you do?
I sincerely hope that you all will rise to the friendly challenge with me...
All the best, Meg
meg.mclean@ironworksmusic.com
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Post by sharie on Feb 24, 2009 15:32:32 GMT -5
Meg,
I mean this with as much respect as I can muster at this point. Frankly (and I can only speak for myself), I am tired of hearing the same ole rhetoric "I am so overworked and can’t keep up ", "There are only <insert amount> of us here" , "We're understaffed"...and so on and so on. Same dialogue, just different voice saying it. We, as the loyal handful that have tried to stick it out, have said time and time again that WE are more than ready to help and do what needs to be done. Things seem to fall upon deaf ears UNTIL it comes to a point (like we are now) where people get tired of waiting and begin to walk away and become vocal about their displeasure. Then a message like this is put out and its supposed to make things better. Sad to say...too little, too late and it DOESNT make things better. We are the last to be informed about anything related to Rocco (or any IW band for that matter) and that is a shame. Perception is a very important thing and the perception that you and IW have put out is that our help can be taken or left. So be it. Why should we fans care or even try if the label and its representatives arent?
You have said you are always available, but that is another thing that is not true. Emails to you weeks ago from people either on the IW boards or fancorps have gone unanswered, unresponded to, nada, nothing. We fans arent begrudging you a "life"...by all means, have one. What we are asking (and have been asking) is that we are given a consistent flow of information so that we can help generate interest in bands YOU represent. This is not a hard concept (even to someone not in the business) to grasp. Unfortunately, IW is not a big enough entity to be so careless with the handful of fans they have. We also have lives, friends, children, jobs...things we give up to help get this music out there.
Changes to Fancorps or coming up with new prizes, THIS is the information that should be (and should have been all along) updated to us as well as band happenings (as appropriate) Hell, people were even emailing ME asking if you were still there or not. *shrugs* what could I say because I hadnt heard from you either.
We now know we can do this better and and keep each other better informed than what has been offered to us at this point. Thats great you are setting up a store... wonderful... how about starting with showing us what needs done to begin promo for this tour? Wont much need a store if you have no fans or people showing up at the gigs due to lack of promoting it. Its great to be rewarded but we are doing this for the sake of Rocco and trying to get his music heard and we will work hard on our own to make sure this happens. Time that we could have spent promoting this has already been terribly wasted waiting around for you guys (out of respect for your position).
2 weeks till the record and tour is to start and no clear guidance or leadership and I can tell you from what I have seen in the last few days, the fans are hungry to support him and get this promotional campaign going.
As I stated earlier in the letter, I am moving on from fancorps for any kind of information because too many times we have been asked to be patient and stick with us and it has failed each and every time. Just as you can take us or leave us...we can do the same for you.
Hopefully we would have ALL learned from this...somehow (sadly) I highly doubt it on IW's part if history is any indication.
Thank you for listening
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Post by sabine on Feb 24, 2009 16:17:09 GMT -5
Sharie, with all due respect to your opinion, but that is a pretty pathetic reply (surprisingly you still discuss this topic although you already left Fancorps officially, but that's fine with me)...
I'll pick just one thing that bothered me the most when I read your post:
quote Sharie: "We are the last to be informed about anything related to Rocco (or any IW band for that matter) and that is a shame. "
I think that is nonsense. I wonder what you actually expect. I think it is absolutely up to the label/artist's management to decide WHAT information is given WHEN to the fans/streetteams. There are definitely professional reasons why they withold information, not because they think we are not "important" enough, and I figure neither you nor I are involved enough in the music industry to judge about such decisions (or to judge about anything they do). As fans, we can post our concerns etc but the decision is always up to them. I am convinced that all the problems are not caused by bad intention, or unprofessionalism, or ignorance towards the fans. I figure they're working their asses of to run this little label. If I would think different, I would leave Fancorps. I am very concerned about the upcoming tour and the lack of availability of flyers, of course. MY conclusion is different from yours, though. I stay when things get a little bit tougher, as long as I am convinced it is worth the effort, and I try to find balance. With all the problems I have complained about myself on Fancorps, I still see the potential in Fancorps.
Last but not least, I'd like to say that I have always gotten a reply from Meg even when it took her a bit longer to reply sometimes. That's okay with me. That's why I'd be grateful if you would stick to your own words, you said in your post:"I can only speak for myself". but in the following sentences you continued to write "we".
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dana
Certified Member
Posts: 195
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Post by dana on Feb 24, 2009 16:20:43 GMT -5
Wait a second, would we even have Rocco's music if it wasn't for Ironworks? Am I missing something?
Omg. I wouldn't dream of having a conversation like this. Lifehouse has been THE light in the darkness for me. There's a lot of factors in place, especially Jude Cole. Rocco has now inspired me too. It has been wonderful and amazing to participate in all this. And honestly I would never spend my time doing the fancorps thing. It's just not interesting to me. But I can easily bring new people to a Lifehouse or Honey Honey or BBOP or Rocco show if I have the money.
That doesn't mean those people will get into them. The music has to speak for itself. Do you think Coldplay or The Beatles have ever had this kind of a conversation? If Ironworks wants their artists to be "Big", the best they can do is give them enough space so that the artists can tap into what speaks to them.
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Post by nightingale on Feb 24, 2009 16:26:44 GMT -5
Again Sharie - I am sorry for your frustrations and I will do my best to correct them.
At this point though - there isn't much more I can say on this without making it seem like I am making excuses, which is not the case. I'd rather just put my head down and get back to work to make sure you all are given the tools and information you need to have a successful street team. I take ownership for my part in things and from here on out, the only thing I can do is make sure things run more smoothly.
As I have said - I am available to you all for feedback, ideas, and opinions - and I welcome them.... this is a street TEAM, and your contributions are more than invited. Hopefully, you'll all stick with us and help the street team grow and I'll make sure that things are on the right track and moving....
All the best, Meg
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Post by sharie on Feb 24, 2009 16:32:04 GMT -5
Sharie, with all due respect to your opinion, but that is a pretty pathetic reply (surprisingly you still discuss this topic although you already left Fancorps officially, but that's fine with me)... I discussed it because megs replied to the topic I posted and I respect that she did and wanted to reply to the new info she said. thanks
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Post by sharie on Feb 24, 2009 16:35:01 GMT -5
quote Sharie: "We are the last to be informed about anything related to Rocco (or any IW band for that matter) and that is a shame. " I think that is nonsense. I wonder what you actually expect. I think it is absolutely up to the label/artist's management to decide WHAT information is given WHEN to the fans/streetteams. completely agree with you on that, I was saying its sad we get our info on google alerst before we get from the Label. And by we I meant the MN street team and the members.
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Post by kate on Feb 24, 2009 19:17:23 GMT -5
OK... this is really weird. I could have sworn I read Sharie's response earlier but it was totally different to the one above! I'm going senile! Anywho.... With 3 bands, all with new albums coming out within 6 months of eachother, plus tours etc, I can fully appreciate the enormous workload for all at IW at the moment. I do believe having a street team is an incredibly effective and efficient (as well as cost efficient) promotional tool that, with a little input earlier in the planning could have taken a lot of the workload off the record label with regards to promoting the gigs and new albums and is a willing and motivated resource that a label should take full advantage of. That said, I do not feel in anyway that the label has to explain itself to the street team or feel obliged to 'answer' to it. The street team is a resource, to be used when and if required. We've all told everyone about the gigs anyway. We don't need fancy banners for it. Many of us are travelling to the gigs and dragging all our friends along the way. I am sure the gigs are being promoted, as that is the job of the promoter! Meg is right - it's a TEAM. (and there's no 'i' in team ) If one doesn't want to be part of the 'team' anymore, then that's their prerogative. If they wish to leave and do their own promotional work for the band, then that's their prerogative too. However, if one was to then start up a 'competing' team, well that would be childish behaviour and contradictory to supporting the bands. It's not a competition, we all want the same. Success for the musicians. And for others to hear them, so that they can get out of it what we got! - Amazing music that played to our hearts and lyrics that moved us, made us feel less alone, maybe more human even, and brought us a whole new group of friends we'd rather not be without.
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Post by nightingale on Feb 24, 2009 19:52:49 GMT -5
quote Sharie: "We are the last to be informed about anything related to Rocco (or any IW band for that matter) and that is a shame. " I think that is nonsense. I wonder what you actually expect. I think it is absolutely up to the label/artist's management to decide WHAT information is given WHEN to the fans/streetteams. completely agree with you on that, I was saying its sad we get our info on google alerst before we get from the Label. And by we I meant the MN street team and the members. Unfortunately Sharie - that's the internet for you. There have been a couple of instances where I have actually learned things about our artists from someone on the street team, and there aren't that many of us working the records, so you'd think we'd know before anything happens! It doesn't happen often, but it has.... lol
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Post by Fluffy Poodle on Feb 24, 2009 19:55:58 GMT -5
Oh my gosh Kate, that pic in your signature is gorgeous!! I don't think anyone is trying to compete, just help. I think we are all just anxious to help the bands out. Some of us get maybe a little too passionate about it maybe. And I don't expect the label to "answer to us" either. Just answer questions related to the actual project when asked. Example, on fancorp if something like a widget doesn't work and it is asked about, answer the question or fix it. Don't just recruit us to a team and then leave us to our own devices. That's when we get dangerous. LOL Thanks for the responses Meg. They are greatly appreciated.
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