THE PERNIKOFF BROTHERS
RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM & LET FANS SHARE IN THE REVENUE
VIA THEIR OWN NEW SOCIAL MEDIA/MARKETING SERVICE CALLED “TUNESPEAK”
“Listen 7 days FREE! Tell your friends on FACEBOOK & TWITTER. Every time 3 people buy it (including you), Pernikoff Brothers will pay you!”
–Message at TUNESPEAK
For any new band in the modern age, getting their music heard and purchased, particularly in a full album, no-singles format, is the biggest challenge.
St. Louis-based indie rockers THE PERNIKOFF BROTHERS–whose debut album ON MY WAY marries the inventiveness of the Dave Matthews Band with the brotherly magic and harmonies of the Avett Brothers–are introducing an innovation they are hoping will enable them to accomplish this.
Welcome to TUNESPEAK, an online peer-to-peer music marketing/distribution service built on top of social media. Users of TUNESPEAK are incentivized by the band with cash and rewards to tell friends about music they’ve discovered. THE PERNIKOFF BROTHERS–guitarist/singer TOM PERNIKOFF, bassist/singer RICK PERNIKOFF and drummer/singer DAN GERMAIN–are not only the creators of TUNESPEAK but also the first band on the service with the release of their debut album ON MY WAY–recorded and mixed by Ben Fowler (Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rascal Flatts) at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville.
Here’s how TUNESPEAK works:
- Listeners can stream the full album for seven days free, buy/download, and share with friends on Facebook and Twitter.
- A fan is compensated by the band with 1/3 of the profits every time he/she helps sell three albums (digital downloads). Fans tell friends on Facebook or Twitter and then collect money owed from the band via PayPal or check and also have the option to donate their earnings back to the band or the music industry health charity, MusiCares.
- Fans will soon have the option to collect non-monetary awards like merchandise, concert tickets, meet & greets, etc.
“We’re a band first and foremost,” says TOM PERNIKOFF. “Everything we do starts with our music. We created Tunespeak so we can give back to the fans who help spread the word about our music, and so far the number of people listening to, telling their friends about and buying our album on Tunespeak has far exceeded our expectations. We have yet to begin our summer tour and we’ve already attracted more fans through Tunespeak than we anticipated. Right now, we’re the sole band on Tunespeak but we designed the service to support many bands. We plan to add the first set of new Tunespeak bands in Q3 of 2011.” **See more quotes below from TOM about TUNESPEAK.
Working with WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOR, the PERNIKOFF BROTHERS will kick off their summer tour in July.. It will include a performance at the Sandestin Music Festival on August 12 and 13 in FL and support shows for Toots & The Maytals in Bloomington, IN on July 12 and Detroit, MI on July 13, along with dates in other major cities. ***See all tour dates @ www.pernikoffbrothers.com
Tom Pernikoff Talks More About TUNESPEAK:
What are some Tunespeak Principles?
Discovery is Key: We want to facilitate “real word” music discovery in order to build a genuine fan base. We want people to see us live or hear about us from a friend before they spread the word on Tunespeak. 7-Day FREE Preview: We want fans to have the option to live with our music before they buy it so we allow them to stream the entire album from their computer or iPhone for 7 days free. Buy the FULL Album: As both artists and music consumers, we believe in the art of “the album”. We’re not interested in selling singles. Personal Promotions: We encourage our fans to share with specific friends, and ask that they include a personal message as well as suggest a song they think their friend will particularly like. We also limit the amount of Facebook posting to encourage more thoughtful promotions. Fans Over Sales: We do sell our music on Tunespeak, but we give a decent cut of the profits back to the fans who help us get our music out there. For us, it’s more about turning fans on to our music than seeing a short-term bump in album sales.
Does it work?
Yes. We are learning more about Tunespeak and our fans every day, and we can say that in the early stages of the service, we’ve seen, on average, a 20X exposure rate. That means for every 1 fan promoting the Pernikoff Brothers on Tunespeak there are, on average, 20 potential fans discovering and listening to our music.
We’re not reporting data yet but we are watching it closely, and in last 30 days the number of people listening to, telling their friends about and buying our album on Tunespeak has far exceeded our expectations. We have yet to begin our summer tour and we’ve already attracted more fans through Tunespeak than we anticipated.
Is this a band or a business?
We are a band first and foremost. Everything we do starts with our music. We created Tunespeak so we can give back to the fans who help spread the word about our music. Will it be available for other bands?
Yes, Tunespeak will be available for other bands soon. First, we want to prove that it works. We feel that we’d be doing a disservice to other bands and the music industry as a whole if we didn’t vet the service first as a touring band. We see Tunespeak as a supplement, not a substitute, for bands with great albums, who play regularly and who are actively growing their fan bases. Long term, Tunespeak will give fans the power to help their favorite bands reach the next level. We plan to add the first set of Tunespeak bands in Q3 of 2011.
Praise for THE PERNIKOFF BROTHERS:
“The three-piece makes appealing, acoustic-based blue-eyed soul with muted harmonies. The two brothers take turns on instruments and lead vocals, but Tom Pernikoff’s light-sandpaper voice provides the basis for “sounds-like” comparisons with national acts: Jamie Cullum without the piano or Ray LaMontagne with human contact.”
—Katie Moulton, Riverfront Times (St. Louis review for support show for Harper Simon at Off Broadway)
“The Brothers play a sweet blend of catchy, up-tempo folk pop drenched in two and three part harmonies. Their playing tonight was top notch with Toms guitar work shining brightly above the rhythm section. As great as the playing was, the vocals are what really stole the show. All three have excellent voices and the harmonies were on the mark and tight without sounding unemotional and over-rehearsed.”
—Mark Champion, KDHX St. Louis (review of support show for G. Love @ the Pageant)
PERNIKOFF BROTHERS tour dates are as follows:
DATE CITY VENUE
Sun 7/3 St. Louis, MO Fair Saint Louis
Sat 7/9 Ste. Genevieve, MO Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary
Tue 7/12 Bloomington, IN The Bluebird
Wed 7/13 Ferndale, MI Magic Bag
Fri 7/15 Toledo, OH Frankie’s Inner City
Sat 7/16 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
Thu 7/21 New York, NY The Living Room
Fri 7/23 Lancaster, PA Lizard Lounge Chameleon Club
Sun 7/24 Cambridge, MA The Middle East – Upstairs
Tue 8/9 Nashville, TN The Basement
Fri 8/12 Destin, FL Funky Blues Shack – Baytowne
Sat 8/13 Destin, FL Events Plaza @ Village of Baytowne Wharf
Sat 10/1 St. Louis, MO John Burroughs School
Mon 3/5/12 St. Louis, MO Schlafly Tap Room
