able to do it the right way. Hilde: Visual effects is an important part of music. What makes a good album cover? Martin: I think two elements need to be present to make a good album cover, the artistic element that is there to represent a whole, all artists need to think about how they make the image of themselves complete - Lady Gaga is a good example of this, and there needs to be a punchline, the cover has to hit, instantly, draw attention to itself. It needs to stand out when on a shelf with dozens of other albums, but Iʼd recommend to save the weirdest and most out-there pictures for the inside of the cover. There must be a balance between art, integrity and commercial success. The most perfect cover made is in my opinion Nine Inch Nails Year Zero. Itʼs kind of a pixel image and hard to really interpret. It looks a little bit like an alien hand reaching down, it got me to the extent where when I listened to the album while looking at the cover, the songs took on a new meaning. Another side of visual effects are videos, but honestly do people even watch them anymore? Ninety percent of the ones who watch videos do so because the video is made by an artist/band that they already know and love. Videos as a promo tool is not very effective anymore, unless you go for a really controversial video that will get you a lot of media coverage. This way the controversy of the video can be regarded as an artistic promo stunt. A good example is 30 Seconds To Mars “A Beautiful Lie”, it has a message, and the song is kind of reborn through the video. Itʼs esthetically beautiful and they made the genius decision of filming on the glaciers of Greenland, from what little experience I have it looks technically very well made. Hilde: How do you make use of social media in promoting your band/music? Martin: I use 100% social media. Most of the people coming to my shows have gotten to know Vintervila through twitter/facebook etc. This kind of promotion is really alpha and omega for independent artists especially, or my mom would probably be the only one buying my songs.
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Street teams are a good concept as well, but I think sometimes they are used the wrong way, and not being as effective as they could be. With some bands there is so much competition within the different divisions that that itself becomes the main issue, not the actual promotion of the band. A street team could be very useful for getting radio play time etc. Hilde: How do you think the changes in the music industry have influenced the music scene? Martin: Live shows have become the main source of income, you need to get out there and play, meet fans/ audiences more than before. The twoway communication you get from that
is the most important way to develop as an artist or a band. People that never or rarely get out of the studio miss out on this opportunity. Because the live shows have become so important the whole industry has become a lot more professional. You can no longer keep going like Rolling Stones did in the 70s, you need to nail the performances every time or you will lose audience, and with the range of technical equipment that exist today, you need to be a good singer/talented musician. You canʼt depend on being “covered” by bad sound anymore. Iʼd say that the music has become more real. A lot of artists think that you no longer need a record label the same way you