Music Biz Chat With Eric Walden

Founder of By The Barricade and Awfully Good Records

Eric Walden has spent the last decade working as an accomplished marketing executive across multiple industries, including music, entertainment, and enterprise. He has helped countless brands scale their digital and social media presence through his work. His efforts have led to record-breaking sales and cost-saving milestones via unique SEO, PPC, and influencer marketing approaches. In addition, Walden credits his creative background for consistently creating out-of-the-box strategies that help artists and brands achieve impactful results.

A lifelong interest in music led to Walden creating By The Barricade (https://www.bythebarricade.com/) a website dedicated to discovering emerging and established artists across multiple genres, including rock, metal, punk, and indie. The site also includes e-learning content from industry experts and leaders in the music realm. Walden’s vision is to empower and educate future industry and upcoming musicians alike.

Walden is also the founder of Awfully Good Records, which released music from artists such as Firing All Cylinders, Filmspeed, and others. Walden’s past and continued work with brands and e-commerce clients always include an all-inclusive approach, which takes each project from inception to completion. His efforts are in-line with the latest digital trends & best practices.

When Walden isn’t leading his fully remote marketing team and building winning strategies for clients, he spends time volunteering as an event planner, executing campaigns for multiple child activist groups.

Hi Eric, thanks for taking the time to chat with SGNB Records! Tell us a little more about your business, artists, genres, services, etc.

Eric: A group of friends & I started reviewing shows and interviewing bands back in 2014 for ByTheBarricade.com. the team wanted to showcase all the awesome local hard rock and metal bands in southern California. That quickly evolved into a record label called Awfully Good Records & a publicity company. After getting more involved with the scene I started hearing the same questions over and over. Questions like, “What’s the difference between a manager & a record label?” Or, “Should bands still release physical albums?” We switched our focus to answering those questions and the site has been growing ever since.

Where do you see the music industry in 10 years?

Eric: I think NFTs are going to revolutionize the way bands create music & get paid. Think of it like Kickstarter where you can support an artist early as bet on a band’s success and benefit if they succeed. Record labels will need to be more than just a big piggy bank once artists can start bankrolling large projects by solely relying on their fans. Patrion is a good start but I’m excited to see all the new ways bands can monetize their art in the next 10 years.

More and more artists are taking a DIY approach to releasing their music. In your opinion, what should they prioritize to get noticed… ie. building a following, performing more gigs, etc?

Eric: For me it’s showcasing value and potential. If an artist books a tour for themselves or self-funds their first release, I’m much more confident that they’ll benefit from a label’s investment & tools. Bands don’t need a million fans to show value, effort alone will get them further than most. A big crossroad where bands get stuck is breaking out of their hometown. Playing local shows every month for a nice paycheck is great, but getting on the road has some serious long-term benefits. A lot of national touring bands are still grinding and I respect them for taking that jump.

What are you currently listening to?

Eric: My Spotify mix has been bouncing between Metal & K Pop lately. Beartooth & Everglow have been my go-tos.

5. How can artists reach out to you for submissions or services?

Eric: Our label & publicity have been on pause since Covid but bands can head to https://awfullygoodrecords.com/contact-us/ if they want to get in touch.

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