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Featured on Apr 28, 2011
Brannon McAllister
"Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion."
Bio:
Brannon McAllister co-founded Portland Studios in 2003, and spent several years working in animation, children's publishing, and branding.
In 2008 he turned his attention to web design and album packaging for various Nashville-based musicians. His fascination with digital music led Brannon, songwriter Derek Webb, and others to co-found NoiseTrade, a platform that provides music fans free albums in exchange for email addresses and zip codes, giving artists a strong fan list to support touring and future albums. With over 260,000 users and 110,000 album downloads per month, NoiseTrade is gaining traction with fans and artists alike.
Currently Brannon is focusing his time on a major site refresh that will be launching in mid-May.
- Title: Co-Founder, NoiseTrade
- Age: 30
- Location: Brooklyn
- Contact: @brannonmc
How would you define a good day?
A good day has an early start, a long unhurried time for reflection, and one big project that needs uninterrupted creative attention. When I get going late and spend all day putting out the little urgent fires, I just feel stressed and anxious by 5 o'clock. I'm trying to do better about blocking off parts of the day without self-inflicted interruptions that Scott Belsky calls "insecurity work".
Can you give us some music recommendations that we can find on NoiseTrade?
Great question. The music on the site changes all the time, but a few of the best albums up right now are Sandra McCracken's Gypsy Flat Road, Sleeping At Last's Storyboards, and our own Noisemakers sampler album.
In your year end review of 2010, you mention that one of your goals in 2011 is to “Read. Read. Read. Stay Curious.” The obvious question then is, what have you been reading?
In the mornings, I'm listening to an audiobook called Winston Churchill, CEO, and on the train I've been reading This Will Change Everything. The best book I'm reading is a brand new book by David Gauntlett called Making Is Connecting, all about the impact of everyday creativity from crafting to web apps. Fascinating read.