Uke Heads - New Collaborative Album with James Hill

[don_b]

Lots of it went towards various items in order to make the album. A big chunk of it was paying the artists for the three YouTube videos. Also the plan isn’t for this to end after the album has now been produced and eventually released. Plans are in works to keep things going with the people who already purchased. Depending on what those “things” may be if people are interested they will still be able to purchase and join in on the Uke Heads journey.

Edit: I just wanted to add that I think that people seem to be looking at this all wrong imo. People are focusing on the NFTs and money. This project and experience is and has been much more than digital art/NFTs and trying to get rich.

Yeah, you are correct. There are multiple ways to look at the project. From an artistic perspective there are things to talk about other than money and the items for sale, marketing, etc. From a business perspective, there is kind of only money to talk about, and marketing, and items that were sold. No disrespect. I was interested in the business perspective, so that’s what I mentioned. I had tried to point that out to avoid offense.

From an artistic perspective, I think the project is a great idea and I have no doubt that the participants’ experiences are unforgettable. I am someone who is a fan of James Hill and if I had $187 laying around when the project was announced, I probably would have bought one and participated.

 

[Olmeck]

Yeah, you are correct. There are multiple ways to look at the project. From an artistic perspective there are things to talk about other than money and the items for sale, marketing, etc. From a business perspective, there is kind of only money to talk about, and marketing, and items that were sold. No disrespect. I was interested in the business perspective, so that’s what I mentioned. I had tried to point that out to avoid offense.

From an artistic perspective, I think the project is a great idea and I have no doubt that the participants’ experiences are unforgettable. I am someone who is a fan of James Hill and if I had $187 laying around when the project was announced, I probably would have bought one and participated.

No worries I wasn’t offended. I was just making an observation of what most of the replies in this thread seem to be focusing on.

 

[Olmeck]

Album listening party tomorrow! Getting closer to the release. I believe it’s still estimated for an October release but it’ll be nice to hear the album from start to finish tomorrow.

 

[don_b]

Album listening party tomorrow! Getting closer to the release. I believe it’s still estimated for an October release but it’ll be nice to hear the album from start to finish tomorrow.

Congrats!

 

[Olmeck]

I realize I’m extremely biased but I think this is truly a special album. I think many will like it, even people that don’t play the uke.

 

[Olmeck]

Thought I would provide an update on this as I’m approximately a week away from traveling to New Mexico to spend 3 days with James and 29 other Uke Heads. We will be recording live versions of 7 out of 10 songs on the album. I will also be getting an early copy of the album on CD. The tentative plan is to release the album in February. Very excited for this trip and getting to meet James and fellow Uke Heads! I’ll be sure to post an update, post trip, about the experience.

Also in case you missed it James recently launched a direct off shoot of the Uke Heads project/album. It’s free to join, record, send your recordings, and get on the potential album! Just head to uketropolis.com and sign up for UkuLoudly. The first recoding is due at the end of this week!

 

[Olmeck]

Uke Heads is out today on all major streaming platforms and digital shops! Hope you all enjoy! I realize I’m way behind on my experience but the short version is it was incredible! We spent most of the days at Heidi Swedberg and Daniel Wards house practicing and eating amazing meals! It was something I’ll cherish forever! I’ll try to provide a more detailed experience when I have time. Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[MagdaD]

Uke Heads is out today on all major streaming platforms and digital shops! Hope you all enjoy! I realize I’m way behind on my experience but the short version is it was incredible! We spent most of the days at Heidi Swedberg and Daniel Wards house practicing and eating amazing meals! It was something I’ll cherish forever! I’ll try to provide a more detailed experience when I have time. Hope everyone is doing well!

This project was well worth it and here is a short video of our celebration at Heidi Swedberg and Daniel Wards house practicing in New Mexico last October. Everyone who participated in this Uke Heads Project considers it an incredible opportunity and we will have this community for the rest of our lives. https://vimeo.com/magdazine/ukeheadsgathering2023?share=copy

 

[MagdaD]

No worries I wasn’t offended. I was just making an observation of what most of the replies in this thread seem to be focusing on.

LOL. Yeah, very surprising that people seemed upset without actually looking into the project and process. Those of us that participated will never forget the experience. It looks like we might have a Uke Heads 2.0. Stay tuned and maybe join us.

 

[Imeling58]

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one with complicated feelings on this one.

When James first started discussing the project during one of his podcasts, I thought it sounded extremely interesting. The idea of a collaborative album really appealed to me. Then towards the end he started in on the NFT aspect and my heart absolutely sank. I don't really see a point to involving NFTs in this project.

The benefits: You can resell you Ukehead, you "own" your Ukehead image and can do with it what you want.

The downsides: Added complexity (this could be accomplished with a spreadsheet), environmental impact

I get that they have tried to remove as many barriers as possible. I believe they mostly had to implement the "we just wrote down your name and contribution" so that people don't need a crypto wallet in order to be a part of this. If you were going to do that, why not just keep it that way?

I have only had an opportunity to watch two of his four Q&A sessions, so he may address some of my issues, but I just don't see the point of the NFT part. He has said that he wants to prove that this is a viable way for artists to support themselves in the long term. I don't see how this really accomplishes that. It is a one time payment from the folks who buy one, not an ongoing source of income. If the artist wants to raise more money, they have to though this whole thing again with new NFTs. Unless they are banking on the idea that the NFTs will increase in value and the artist can then sell some of the ones that they still have to make some money. In that case they are literally betting on your future income on an "asset" increasing in value. I really feel like having a Patreon (or something like it) is still a better model.

The environmental impact of NFTs (and anything related to crypto) also can't be ignored. It appears that the underlying blockchain tech that he is using (Polygon) isn't the worst when it comes to that and they specifically are attempting to offset their carbon footprint, but offsetting isn't the same as "not wasting energy in the first place." I still feel like a simple list has a smaller impact than any blockchain ever could.

I feel like crypto, blockchains, and NFTs accept bitcoin payments . I have yet to find a compelling case where they are the best solution to any problem. I wish James the best as I do really like a lot of what he does for the instrument and the greater community as a whole but this project is a hard pass for me.

I completely understand your point about the James Ukulele project. As a musician, I was excited about the idea of a collaborative album. However, the NFT aspect of it left me feeling unsure. I appreciate James' desire to explore new ways to support artists, but in this case it seems like a forced measure. While I'm interested in cryptocurrency, NFTs don't always turn out to be the best solution.

A Patreon-like model or selling merchandise might be a more sustainable way for James to achieve his goals.

That said, I still admire James' contributions to the music community. I hope he can find a way to make a collaborative album a success without relying on the NFT.

 

[Olmeck]

Long Overdue Recap (lacking in detail due to the time lapse):

My trip to New Mexico back in October of last year far exceeded my expectations and will truly be a highlight of my life. It was the first ukulele event I’ve ever attended so I wasn’t really sure what to expect although it is different than the standard ukulele event. All of the other Uke Heads in attendance were fantastic people and told me this set a new bar for event experiences. This is due to all of the people involved. Chris Parsons (a co creator of Uke Heads) wife is an event planner and did a magnificent job. Our hosts, Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedberg, were such fantastic people even though we were making a mess of their house. Everyone else involved behind the scenes with cooking, making us swag, setting up the days events, and making sure everything ran smoothly was fantastic.

The days consisted of practice, jams, amazing meals, a live podcast (I made the final cut!) and various activities around New Mexico.

Getting to meet James Hill and seeing how genuine of a person he is was certainly a personal highlight. Just a fantastic human with an unbelievable amount of patience and humility. He really is focused on the music and how to advance it instead of being laser focused on the ukulele compared to some of his contemporaries if that makes any sense. I was able to have a couple of great conversations with him which is more than I would have ever expected.

The big moment was when we played 5 songs live at a restaurant in downtown New Mexico. People started to funnel into the room as we progressed in our playing. The crowd really got into it and was dancing around (we even had a women who was really cheering us on!). At the time I didn’t realize it but James was on point when he told us that we made our first fans. People in attendance bought the cd! The feeling was fantastic and it was great sharing it with my fellow Uke Heads! I met and made some fantastic friends on this trip that I will reflect on fondly.

Luckily James made Ukuloudly as an offshoot of Uke Heads so the magic keeps rolling and others can join free of charge! Check it out you won’t regret it I promise!

 

[Olmeck]

I completely understand your point about the James Ukulele project. As a musician, I was excited about the idea of a collaborative album. However, the NFT aspect of it left me feeling unsure. I appreciate James' desire to explore new ways to support artists, but in this case it seems like a forced measure. While I'm interested in cryptocurrency, NFTs don't always turn out to be the best solution.

A Patreon-like model or selling merchandise might be a more sustainable way for James to achieve his goals.

That said, I still admire James' contributions to the music community. I hope he can find a way to make a collaborative album a success without relying on the NFT.

He already made it. I’m not sure how he measures success but it’s a success in my opinion.