Photo of Jann and Chris Marolf live in Youngstown by Heather Rebecca Heath
Pop Singer/Songwriter Available for Interviews on Unique Approach to the Business of Making Music
In an age when most music professionals are seeking to "re-invent" the troubled music industry, Jann Klose has developed a paradigm that works.
In the two years since the 2008 release of Jann's third full-length album, REVERIE, the songwriter has recouped recording costs a bit more than three times over. Beyond that, he has earned the respect of his peers, fans, and critics as a singer, musician, and songwriter. You can hear his work on TV, in movies, online, and via radio worldwide.
Jann's approach to building his career centers on principles of dialogue, cooperation, and commerce. This cooperative attitude includes the fans.
Jann and his team think both inside and outside "the box." They work “traditional” music business avenues, such as contacting the music industry media and venues. He also reaches out to regional and international leads in government, media, corporate, business, educational, and charitable organizations. He follows up with contacts that previously passed on his offerings. Unlike major labels that cease promotions of most releases within three months, his team continues to promote his career, and still campaigns for REVERIE.
He'll reach out to music lovers at conventions like NAMM through his endorsers LR Baggs Pickups and Martin Guitar. These companies have given Jann an enormous amount of support - most notably the opportunity to perform on stage with Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart, and Roger McGuinn at Martin's 175th Anniversary Concert.
Jann's fans get as involved with his career as they are with his music. Among these fans is Renaissance vocalist Annie Haslam. Along with Renaissance's original keyboardist John Tout, they collaborated with him for a sold out show of the Sellersville Theater, in Pennsylvania. Haslam also invited Jann to open for the group's comeback tour in fall 2009, and he will open for Annie when she again plays Sellersville on December 18 and 19.
REVERIE was funded partly by fan support in a campaign Jann modeled after PBS' fundraising style. He's funding his forthcoming album the same way and calls the method The People Records Project. (http://www.peoplerecordsmusic.com), eschewing the new fan-sourced financing sites like Kickstarter, PledgeMusic, Indiegogo. He proved to be several steps ahead of them! His fan sourcing program includes: for a donation of $40, a fan can get Jann's favorite German recipe, hand-written. A birthday call is $75. Jann and his band will play a private concert in your living room (or any other room you choose, anywhere in the world) for $5000 + travel.
This universal strategy can be applied to all kinds of businesses. It just paid off as an album Jann appears on, HEALTHY FOOD FOR THOUGHT: GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. Independent record producer Kevin Mackie created the album to help fight childhood obesity. He invited Jann to contribute a song, and also included recordings from Julian Lennon, Moby, Tom Chapin, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Uncle Floyd, and Michael O'Keefe. The CD's Production team developed a personal outreach strategy of awareness to the recording and encouraged music industry peers to listen to the album and consider it's recording qualities.
Jann's business partner is music services person Anne Leighton, publicist for classic rockers including such self-managed acts as The Yardbirds, Grand Funk Railroad, and Jethro Tull and Tull's leader, flautist, and vocalist Ian Anderson. Anderson networked Jann with Saori Jo who opened for Tull in 2008 and 2009. This resulted in Saori Jo and Jann planning to tour Germany in 2011.
Born in Germany, raised in Kenya and South Africa, Jann first came to the States as an exchange student in Cleveland, OH. After finishing his civil service in Germany, he returned to the US to start his career. Jann's music has been featured on MTV's Cribs and the soundtrack to the Paul Sorvino film Dead Broke. He performed in touring companies of Broadway shows such as The Who's Tommy, Jekyll & Hyde, and Jesus Christ Superstar. His three albums and two EPs can be heard around the world, on over 130 FM stations, Sirius XM in the U.S., the BBC in England and Prambors Radio in Indonesia.
Jann is available for interviews on this new means of funding a music career.
JANN KLOSE CONFIRMED TOUR DATES DEC. 2010 - JAN. 2011
December 7: NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Winsted, CT
December 18, 19: SELLERSVILLE THEATER w/ ANNIE HASLAM Sellersville, PA
December 20: BRONXTALK, BronxNet TV, Bronx, NY
December 22: CLUB CAFÉ, Pittsburgh, PA
January 28: PETER MAX STUDIO, New York, NY
** CD release party for the Grammy-nominated album, HEALTHY FOOD FOR THOUGHT: GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT
January 29 WDFH Fundraiser, Yonkers, NY
February 12: AN BEAL BOCHT, Bronx, NY
“Doing Time” video and live performances at http://www.youtube.com/jannklose
http://www.jannklose.com
