We chat with Cardiff-based Neil Cocker (@neil_raygun) – an interesting figure all the way from Wales – about creative industries, creative enterprise building, the music industry, social networking and more.
Tell us about yourself and your experience in creative enterprises?
It all started pretty much straight after university when I started making music with a friend, which led to setting up our own record label, which led to releasing music, performing, and touring all over the world. I performed in about 30 different countries, woke up in a jacuzzi in Miami, almost got arrested in eastern Hungary, played in a nuclear bunker in Russia, and drove through the middle of a maximum security pentitentiary in South Carolina. And on top of this found time to run the label, A&R a top ten hit, run global tours for my artists, and release about 50 records for them. Thankfully there were 4 of us, as it would have been an impossible solo task. But it was still a brilliant, whirlwind 6 or 7 years… I’ve spent the last 6 or 7 working on a handful of different projects, including NOCCI, the network of creative and cultural industries, which aims to bring together the world’s creative entrepreneurs and individuals in both online and offline, or real-world, ways. We’re actually in the process of relaunching, so now’s a good time for people to get involved. We’re particularly keen to have more Australian members, simply because you have such a fantastic hotbed of creativity there.
What about Dizzyjam and its relation to the music industry?
Well, Dizzyjam.com came about as a solution to a problem we often had at the label. We would get people asking if they could buy t-shirts from us, but the cost of getting a load of shirts printed in enough numbers to then make it worthwhile selling was often prohibitive. And then there’s the issue of which sizes and colours to get into stock, knowing that you’ll always be left with a handful of shirts you can’t sell because nobody wants an XXL pink shirt with green print, for example! We found a print method that allows us to print really high quality shirts on demand, so I created Dizzyjam.com so that bands, DJs and labels can upload their logo, create a t-shirt online, and then sell to their fans anywhere in the world, without having to spend any money at all. We’ve got independent labels, and bands earning hundreds of pounds through selling their shirts through us. It’s really great to be able to provide a positive revenue stream for the independent music sector, especially as sales revenue is declining.
Investment matters. In the creative industries, not only are we looking to invest in creativity and other intangible assets but we are also investing in an enterprise that can offer commercial returns. What potential is there, what are the challenges faced and what are the resources available that these enterprises can look into?
I think you’ve struck the nail on the head there. Intangible is the word that most traditional investors see when looking at creative enterprise. I’ve had a frustrating time at various points over the years trying to convince the purse-string holders of both private and public money to invest it in creative projects. Even if the individual you’re speaking to can see the value in the proposition, there’s very often far too many boxes to tick in order to qualify for the relevant funding. But we live in an incredibly exciting time where it feels like anything is possible. With crowdfunding, easily accessible and usable web-tools, and a burgeoning sense of global entrepreneurship, there’s no reason that anyone can’t get their project running.
For example, I’m currently setting up a website with a guy in Brisbane who I’ve never met. We came across each other on Twitter and have been playing with an idea for a while, but couldn’t justify the time and expense that was likely required to get it off the ground. But as he’s more technically minded than me, he’s researched and found a modular system that allows us to build the site for free and is now building it in his spare time. It’s saved us several months and several thousand pounds, and we’re on the verge of launching a great online service. And he’s 10,000 miles away, and we’ve only ever spoken on Skype about 3 or 4 times. So I suppose the message is that there are enough tools for even the most technically-illiterate of creatives to get their idea off the ground, even if just in a simple way to test the idea and provide vital market research to take to potential future investors.
I came across Nocci (or is it the other way around?) via Twitter which is a great social networking site. Creative enterprises can delve into the social media space – with your experience of building up a following, what tips do you have for those who are not in this space yet?
Engage, engage, engage. Make yourself useful. Be friendly. The one thing that many people forget is that social media is not just a free means of broadcast. In fact, most people completely overlook the fact that half of the phrase “social media” is “social”. You wouldn’t go to a party and stand up in the middle of a table and start shouting, blindly telling people about how great you are. A smart networker, if that’s what you see yourself as, is someone who goes to a party and listens, laughs, talks about themself when appropriate, swaps business cards with one or two people, then maybe sends them a friendly email a few days later. And that’s how you should conduct yourself in social media. A great example I’ve enjoyed watching recently is the British comedian Peter Serafinwicz (http://www.twitter.com/serafinowicz), who uses Twitter to make up 140 character jokes, entertain his followers, and totally engage with them on a personal level. So when he very occasionally asks something of them (e.g. to Digg the latest video he directed), they are more than happy to help him out in their thousands.
What is your personal, but global, outlook on the future of creative industries and creative enterprises?
I’m really positive about it. There’s lots of discussion about whether the term “creative industries” is one that helps or hinders things. But it’s a terminology that, even though it may be a simplification, has allowed people to talk about it in a unified way, got a sense of “movement” behind it, and got the powers that be talking about its value to the global economy. From my personal point of view I find a lot more organisations, individuals, and governments are coming to me for help in understanding the creative industries, and the individuals who work in it. And with the tools we spoke about before, I honestly don’t believe there’s been a better time to be in the creative industries, particularly if you’re one of the millions of freelancers or micro-businesses that are very characteristic of the creative industries.
Thank you Neil for taking the time in answering these questions. You can keep in touch with him at his personal account http://www.twitter.com/neil_raygun or at his NOCCI account http://www.twitter.com/noccinet.
Questions compiled by Hannah Suarez (http://www.twitter.com/hannahsuarez).
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Posted in Creative industries - global.