MC: You’ve used crowdsourcing in the past, specifically with the compilation EP you released on Milk! What are your thoughts on crowdsourcing and that whole experience? Do you think crowdsourcing is the future or merely a fad?
Barnett: Yeah, the first Milk! compilation was crowdsourced. I looked at it more as a pre-order, to be honest. People that were going to buy it, all they did was pay the price of the pre-order and then that funded the vinyl to be pressed. It felt a lot easier that way. But it doesn’t seem like there’s that many going around anymore. There was a period last year where, like, everyone was fucking crowdsourcing everything. People were crowdsourcing their lunch.
I haven’t seen one for ages. They make sense, especially in that artistic process where you need the money at the start to do the recording or the pressing or whatever and you don’t see the money until people buy the product. So it kind of makes sense if you don’t have the money up front. As a pre-order, it makes sense. When it’s just asking for money for stuff, then that’s a bit weird.
MC: Yeah, there was even a guy who was crowdsourcing potato salad. What has the experience of penetrating the American market been like? How has your songwriting benefitted from your international status and worldwide touring experiences?
Barnett: I just look at everything as an experience. Everything is great for songwriting, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. I just try to keep my eyes and ears open and there’s always something around to think about. Yeah, I guess this year’s been a lot of extreme experiences, so it’s been good, I guess.
MC: Did you start Milk! initially as an outfit for your own music? What has the experience of creating and running an indie label been like?
Barnett: I started it just to release my first EP and then it grew. I had no money when it started, so it just kind of grew by itself and word-of-mouth. It was really kind of nice and natural. It’s a nice community of people. I released some of my friends’ music. It’s still so small and grassroots. It’s right out of my house, which is kind of annoying sometimes. I like having that connection to it. It’s my own little platform to do my art and that’s why I started it. It doesn’t need to be some huge thing, you know?
MC: This is our SXSW issue. Have you ever performed at SXSW? Have festivals and conferences been fruitful for you in terms of expanding your audience?
Barnett: Yeah, I did it last year. That’s the only time I’ve done it. The first time we played overseas was at CMJ in New York, so I guess that’s a similar thing, right? I can’t compare them to what they used to be, because I never went to them. The discussion is always around that they’ve changed and how they’ve become huge commercial things, but I don’t know. We did a bunch of shows and they were fun. I saw them more as shows, not as showcases. I didn’t really feel like I was there to prove anything to any industry people. I was just there to play shows to people who were interested. So it was fun. It was just like normal gigs.
MC: Your videos have a unique, cinema verite style. How do you come up with the concepts for your videos?
Barnett: I’ve worked pretty closely with friends for most of them. Half of them or so I had the idea and took it to them and then we kind of workshopped it and made it happen. It’s different to songwriting. It’s visual, obviously, and it’s just kind of fun coming up with an idea. And then, I guess, in the Internet age video is so shareable and everyone wants to post shit everywhere.
MC: Would people have noticed you without that exposure?
Barnett: It’s hard to say, but I think videos add a lot. They add some kind of size or dimension, that visual. People hear your record, but then they see your face in a video. You put a face to a voice. I think a good video is a really great thing.
MC: Tell us about your manager and how you work together to move your career forward.
Barnett: We talk about everything and make decisions and then stuff happens.
MC: It’s that easy, huh? Who is your manager and how did you decide on that person?
Barnett: His name is Nick [O’Byrne / Look Out Kid] and he saw me playing years ago and then we got together. We’re good friends, so there’s that kind of level of trust and respect for each other. It’s good. He kind of does the boring stuff and then we make decisions on everything together. It’s a pretty good relationship.
MC: Over the course of your career, have you taken any missteps you’d like to warn other artists about? What sort of things do you wish you had known before getting out there?
Barnett: I think that sometimes you need to make mistakes to grow as a person, as an artist. I think everything kind of happens for some reason or another. So it’s kind of hard to say. I just try to trust my instinct, which sometimes goes against the obvious or what your brain tells you or goes against money that’s being offered or whatever. I just try to trust my instinct to know what the right thing is.
Contact Katie Nelson, Grandstand Media & Management.
