Tips For Music Plan of Action If you an unsigned musician at any stage of your career, its really going to help you to plan things out, so here I have out together a crash course for a music plan, getting started as a soloist or a band, it can be pretty blinding to know what to do next, I think its really important to have a plan, and keep in mind the bigger picture..So you’re main objective, it could be record deal, it could be get a gig, it depends where you’re at. The Idea is read this, and it will hopefully give you a crash course to write youre own music plan.
Initial steps(things you should think about first)
• Write a plan
• List out all possible music opportunities i.e. Addresses and companies in the local area, Record all Name, Address Contact and Phone Numbers
• Research internet resources
• Build a Proper Website please see for tips http://1979blues.googlepages.com
• Advertise
• Get a recording
• Plan Covering Letter
• Write a band biog
Your going to need a really well written Email or cover letter, ready for when you approach venues, radio stations and record companies, Here is an example of the type of email I have used in the past:
HiMy name is Andy, i am contacting you because i am looking to see if you can help me bring my music to a wider audience, I am a soloist, guitar and vocals, if you like the sound of Tom Waits, Nick Drake, and the Beatles, mixed with Nirvana unplugged, then you'll more than likely enjoy my tunes. Please if you could find some time, maybe ten to fifteen minute to see what i am all about, i have some Music hosted on my website www.bleedinghands.com "Promise Land", "Some Day" and "Katie" are possibly the best examples of what i can do, any feedback on the site or the music is always appreciated.
I was hoping you may be able to provide me with ideas, or with any potential opportunities to be heard? i have already made a large amount of progress, playing live on Silk FM and soon ALLFM, I’ve been reviewed numerous times, including by the BBC Manchester, and my gig history speaks volumes of my ability, including playing some of Manchester’s most prestigious venues including, Night and Day Cafe and Dry Bar, I’ve played in Nottingham, London and Liverpool, and around the UK, last year i had a mini tour of Poland. All of which i have organised myself.
Please could you let me know if it is possible for you to assist me in someway, your professional opinion is extremely valuable, and if you could tell me the best way to get in touch, or if possible recommend anyone that may be able to help me? and possibly forward this email to them instead? Many thanks and i hope to hear from you soon....
RegardsAndy Some Basic things to think about Forming A band (for none solo artists) Create a Posters advertising for band membersThink about the Initial meeting, Where, and what do you need to find out about them1) What Music they are currently into.
What bands have they been in beforeWho are they?What they want to do, ambitions, how often the can practice? For solo artists and Bands It’s a good idea to consider your approach, who are your influences, etc, you’ll get asked this a lot, here are some initial things to think about:
• Visual image i.e. Wearing Sunglasses?? Or no shoes
• Define your approach, Blues Folk Approach – Think Beth Orton, Tim Buckley, Dylan, Bragg
• Asses you strengths
• These could include, Cord Patterns, Blues licks, Short riffs, Lyrical content, Stage presence, Friendly attitude, not up myself, real, Audience communication Next consider the things that will make you different from your competition?
This could include things like, Style Pop/Rock songs, Honesty, Own songs/covers, Lyrics, Chord Sequences Then break down you act, you need 3 words to describe you act e.g. Blues, Smiths, Ashcroft maybe. Stylish, Melodic, simple Writing SongsHere are some pointers you might wish to consider when thinking about writing or composing songs, this will help you to become more dynamic.
• Rhythm
• Slow- Fast – Movement with power of song
• Mood
• Movement Dynamic
Overall just be your self, don’t try to emulate, but empathise, music is a personal experience, if you want to get more out of it, put more in. Why become a musician?
Here are some starter reasons
• Artistic acclaim
• Spread Vibe
• Because I can Think about what restrictions you may have and how to overcome these challenges. Budget is usually the main one. How to choose and effective Set lists – Practice and record various set lists once you have decided on/written your songsRecord Various Sets at 30 60 90 mins, and listen back, see how they sound, which songs work together, (these don’t yet need to be studio recordings)One way to test how well songs go is to use media player, make up play lists including the different songs you have recorded At any point you may be usually asked to play, 30 minutes, 60 Minutes, or 2*45 minutesPrepare and rehearse before accepting workAlways ask about expected playtime!!An Effective set should include some of the following elements
• Contrast + Shape
• Loud- Quiet
• Fast – Slow
• Rhythmic – Melodic
• Dense – Sparse
• Relaxed – Tense
• Serious – Humorous
1st song Impact + confident about playing Build up set to a climax point ¾ of the way through then final number can be more intimate or sing along save quieter numbers for later. If not enough of own songs do covers.
Always have an encore in mind can repeat first number repeat what audience enjoys Advertising
Things to think about
• Press releases
• Forth-coming engagements – gigs
• Recording sessions
• Record releases
• General news and gossip about the act
• Brief band biography
• Economic clear and entertaining Sending your Demo
• CD is cheapest
• 3 best songs (possibly your favourites)
• Display contrast + Professionalism
• Opening first song must make impact style and character
Before recording in a studio meet the engineer, play him rehearsal tape of song to help set up... Think about designing an eye catching CD cover Name and number on both!!! Reasons your demo may be rejected:
1. No Contact Information (name, address, email, and phone number on both CD and Case)
2. Lack of Originality
3. The Music Is Good, But The Artist Doesn't Play Live
4. Poorly Recorded Material (if the world is going to hear your music, make sure it’s a decent recording)
5. Best songs are not identified (send only 3 or 4 songs and highlight the best ones)
6. Sending Videos – Keep it simple!
7. Sending Unsolicited Recordings – Check first before you waste money sending CDs that people don’t ask for!
8. Sending The Wrong Music To The Wrong Label - do your research to find out what the venue/label you approach is interested in
9. Musicians Can't Play – Practice harder!!!
10. The Music Shite
How to write your Bio Before you begin to write the bio, be sure you have "taken an inventory" of your background, accomplishments, goals, and objectives as a musician, and remember who you are writing the Bio for: A&R Reps at Record Labels, Media Contacts, Booking Agents, and Management Contacts. These professionals in the music business are busy individuals, who may deal with dozens of "wanna-be's" every week, so make your bio informative, upbeat, and filled with useful comments, descriptions, quotes, and motivational language that can make them want to listen to your music, and help you on your musical way. When you are ready to rock n’roll, writing the Bio using this outline can keep you focused and organized. 1st Paragraph:
Start with an introductory sentence that clearly defines the essential band/artist name, your specific genre of music, where you are from, and perhaps a positive quote about your music from a contact you have made in the music business.
2nd Paragraph:
This section should address the immediate purpose of the Bio. What are you doing at this time? Mention a current activity you are involved with. If a new CD or Tape is coming out, that should be the main topic of the first sentence of the second paragraph. In other word, a reason why the Bio has been written should be clearly stated early on. Hints about any promotional activities that will be occurring to support the CD/Tape is also useful in this paragraph. 3rd and 4th Paragraph:
At this point, information on any other band members can be introduced, and background information on the forming of the group, past experience, accomplishments, and recognition issues can be addressed. If you have developed a plan for your career path, additional paragraphs elaborating on this type of can be written, that demonstrate how your current project is part of a larger career development plan.
Ending:
As stated earlier, the Bio should not waste words. For a new artist 1 page is sufficient to get the job done. For more experienced artists, a page and a half to two pages should be the maximum length. So, ending the Bio in an efficient way should be the aim; use another quote from a gatekeeper who supports the artist, or summarize the 2nd paragraph information, reminding the reader of current activities. Misc things to remember
• Need a roadie to help set up gigs
• Must be familiar with material and control on stage sound levels
• Location – Time
• Access – when to arrive and set up
• Address – type of music expected
• Merchandising supplement gigs by selling T-Shirts Badges or cassettes
• PA is there a house PA small venue 100-200 Large 500 – 2000K
• Wardrobe – Simple but striking additions to normal clothes Finding Work
• Approach friends and contacts
• Beg to play
• Mail shot Marketing pack to all local venues
• Mention if have lots of friends
• Follow up with a phone call or personal visit
• Take note of names to target and build up a rapport
• Accept any criticisms constructively
• Invest a great deal of effort with little reward
• Patience and Perseverance will reap rewards eventually
• Undertake early work for little or no reward – training
• Pay to play – Avoid like the plague! Publicity packs should include
• Demo Tape
• CV
• Reviews
• Flyers
• Posters
• Introductory letter
• Badges? Key Fobs? Beer mats? Create a database of possible venues within reasonable travelling distanceAddress, Telephone and contact if possible. A Final Reminder!
• Record sets and listen back.
• Keep all information for your website/bandspace
• Get Some good Art Sorted
• Proper Gigs
• Try to Re-gig Place!!
• Keep On Recording all the time..
• Keep applying to radio, Record Labels Etc Post three best songs,, spread web address as much as possible.
• Get your own Equipment!!
• Reasons? - Personal Communication popularity artistic endeavour rebelliousness Restrictions? Budget/Equipment
• Impact on Audience? Climax/Variety/Relevance
• Stimulus?Every Day Events, Personal Experience Trends Literature
• Politics Philosophy Humour Advice Fun
• Set Standards be Ambitious but realistic
• Start with idea rehearse and develop further The main point is work hard, the internet is full of useful resources, for writing band bios, etc etcKeep at it an you’ll get there in the end!About the authorHi I am Andy, I’m an unsigned musician, and I have spent the last three months developing a website, as part of marketing and generating awareness about my work in the music industry. It as been a hard trail of lots of useful and lots of useless information. So I have tried to summarize the best things I learnt in an article, (which you have just read) Hopefully it was of use to you, and will save others that are following in my path time and energy when deciding how to develop content for a website.
Many thanks for reading
Andy
If you wish to visit the website discussed in this article, and see an example of how I have applied the above, then please visit www.bleedinghands.com or if you wish to comment on this article please contact me through my home page either at the aforementioned, www.myspace.com/bleedinghandshughes
Or by email: bleedinghands@gmail.com
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
How To Be A Professional In The Music World
We all love to listen to good music. What if we are able to create our own music and add that extra effect, zing and personal touch? Music software is your perfect friend for this. Here is an account of all you want to know about music software and downloads.
Music software - the new buzzword in the music world, which makes most of us experts in the field. Whether you are a professional, a student or simply pursuing a hobby in music, you are bound to feel enamored by the enormous potential of music software. It allows you to create your own album and songs with that extra zing and class. With music software, you can download, copy, edit, mix and match music to play it to perfection. This will make you so special in the eyes of your sweet heart. What else you can aspire for? Internet has come as a boon for all music lovers who want to enjoy nice music at a fraction of otherwise exorbitant costs of CDs and albums. By downloading music software, you can create your own private album. In fact a large number of websites offer free music software, which is quite handy for beginners. So the old adage that ‘there are no free lunches in the world’ does not apply - at least not to the music world. Music software allows even amateur music buffs like us to experiment and create our own music. You can add effects, waves, echoes and reverberations to the music. All this makes your music more peppy and adds a feeling of freshness to it. Let us begin with the minimum requirements for making a start. You need a PC with 1 GB RAM (though lower end versions such as 256 MB RAM are also fine to begin with) and 80 GB hard disk (If you have less, never mind- you can add it later on). Your processor speed should ideally be 3.8GHz or more. This will allow you to work seamlessly across software and give you that extra power and speed to work on your music. You also need to have an internet connection to download music software and other stuff. Broadband connectivity is great and is now affordable. With broadband, the speed of your download increases and you can ride the music mania. Music software helps you in setting up and jazzing up instrument sounds, editing and converting music from one format to other such as WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG, CDA, VQF, AAC etc. You can add a good sound card which will have a great effect on quality and modulation. Music software also helps you in ripping music whereby you can copy audio files from CDs to your PCs and then work on it. As you learn the basic tricks, you may go in for other software such as MIDI converter, controller and sequencer, Jukebox, MOD trackers, software synthesizers, patch editors, multi-track recording software and samplers. Computer aided composition music software also takes you to a different world altogether. It is an intelligent software which helps you in composing, creating arrangements, giving notations and structures to your music. It also gives that extra jazz to your music and makes it more professional. Music software has made it possible for us to be on our own. No wonder you are seeing people getting more and more professional in the field and creating waves with their wonderful and aesthetic performances. You too can join the bandwagon. It is simple and does not cost much. Let us begin with a small exercise. Just browse the internet and download music and your favorite songs. Create an album and gift it to your dream date. Then sit back and enjoy the positive spin offs that your crooning brings!
The author loves making music. You can now set up a home recording studio easily and use to make your own music. Digital music recording is now very simple with the use of many available software. Learn terminologies through an online music dictionary before you start.
Music software - the new buzzword in the music world, which makes most of us experts in the field. Whether you are a professional, a student or simply pursuing a hobby in music, you are bound to feel enamored by the enormous potential of music software. It allows you to create your own album and songs with that extra zing and class. With music software, you can download, copy, edit, mix and match music to play it to perfection. This will make you so special in the eyes of your sweet heart. What else you can aspire for? Internet has come as a boon for all music lovers who want to enjoy nice music at a fraction of otherwise exorbitant costs of CDs and albums. By downloading music software, you can create your own private album. In fact a large number of websites offer free music software, which is quite handy for beginners. So the old adage that ‘there are no free lunches in the world’ does not apply - at least not to the music world. Music software allows even amateur music buffs like us to experiment and create our own music. You can add effects, waves, echoes and reverberations to the music. All this makes your music more peppy and adds a feeling of freshness to it. Let us begin with the minimum requirements for making a start. You need a PC with 1 GB RAM (though lower end versions such as 256 MB RAM are also fine to begin with) and 80 GB hard disk (If you have less, never mind- you can add it later on). Your processor speed should ideally be 3.8GHz or more. This will allow you to work seamlessly across software and give you that extra power and speed to work on your music. You also need to have an internet connection to download music software and other stuff. Broadband connectivity is great and is now affordable. With broadband, the speed of your download increases and you can ride the music mania. Music software helps you in setting up and jazzing up instrument sounds, editing and converting music from one format to other such as WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG, CDA, VQF, AAC etc. You can add a good sound card which will have a great effect on quality and modulation. Music software also helps you in ripping music whereby you can copy audio files from CDs to your PCs and then work on it. As you learn the basic tricks, you may go in for other software such as MIDI converter, controller and sequencer, Jukebox, MOD trackers, software synthesizers, patch editors, multi-track recording software and samplers. Computer aided composition music software also takes you to a different world altogether. It is an intelligent software which helps you in composing, creating arrangements, giving notations and structures to your music. It also gives that extra jazz to your music and makes it more professional. Music software has made it possible for us to be on our own. No wonder you are seeing people getting more and more professional in the field and creating waves with their wonderful and aesthetic performances. You too can join the bandwagon. It is simple and does not cost much. Let us begin with a small exercise. Just browse the internet and download music and your favorite songs. Create an album and gift it to your dream date. Then sit back and enjoy the positive spin offs that your crooning brings!
The author loves making music. You can now set up a home recording studio easily and use to make your own music. Digital music recording is now very simple with the use of many available software. Learn terminologies through an online music dictionary before you start.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Independent Music Promotion on the Web: 3 Steps to Success
Let's face it, the wildfire spread of web-based portals designed to introduce independent music to the world has created a bewildering array of opportunities and costs. So where do they all balance out? When does the cost of signing up to yet another music promotion service yield results? What results are we looking for anyway?
The key is to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich.
What is the main drive for independent artists promote their music on the web? The fundamental incentive for web promotion is the opportunity to get your music heard by people who might otherwise never know that you exist! If people know you exist they can become fans and repeat-listeners. Which of those fans buy CD's and downloads? Targeted listeners.
The most important goal of web promotion is to attract targeted listeners.
Any independent artist who says they use the web to sell their music has missed the primary target - attracting targeted listeners. Attracting targeted listeners should be every independent artist's first priority. Remember, you don't sell your music - listeners BUY your music. It's a buyers market. The more targeted listeners you have, the more sales you make - provided you are systematic in getting your targeted listeners.
The best way to get targeted listeners is to be systematic.
Many artists tend to approach their web promotion thinking that since they have a website and have signed up to a couple of artist showcase sites, that the listeners will just come pouring in. Yes you have managed to target some potential listeners, but you still have to shout, "Hey, over here...you'll like the sound of this!" A systematic approach to getting listeners to hear your music will attract and maintain their interest. But remember to make sure you have the content ready for the listener to enjoy.
Sites rich in content will retain your targeted listener.
In the independent artist's case, the rich content is the music. This may seem like old news, but look at the amount of independent artist websites that give the visitor loads of info about the band but very little (or hidden) ear candy. Music should be the first thing a visitor gets. At the very least they need an obvious link to where they can listen to your music. And not just one or two tracks but a variety of your music. Independent artists have to remember they have not had the radio exposure to model the presentation of their music after more well established acts. Listeners need to be convinced they like your independent music before they will buy it.
So the question is how to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich?
Tips for Targeting.
The best targeted listeners on the web will be those that make it to your website. Find a way to know who they are. Setup a newsletter and make it easy to sign up to it. People interested enough to want to receive news about you are your hardcore web fans, keep them happy.
The next best group of targeted listeners are those that hear your music on other sites. Try to pick sites that allow listeners to link to your site. If they like your music they might click on that link to visit your site. You can then find out where these visitors are coming from. Find a good web statistics package that lets you know which sites your visitors are being referred from. Take note of those sites and focus your efforts with them accordingly.
When choosing sites on which to promote your music, check to see if they offer any individual stats relating to your music. Like how many track plays or page views you and your music receive on their site. This way you can check in periodically and monitor your performance with these sites.
Systematic Steps.
The key to being systematic is organization. Keep a note of all the sites you use to promote your music, a brief description of what they do and how much it costs. Try to get into the practice of monitoring all of them regularly. Take note of which sites are getting better results than others and focus your efforts accordingly. You might pay for minimal promotion on one website, while another gets you loads of listeners for free. Naturally you'll want to put more effort into updating the sites that are getting better results.
Provide a link on your website and newsletters to all of the sites you use to promote your music. Remember your website visitors are your hardcore web fans and are the most likely to check out and spread the word about your spot on other websites. So encourage them to visit your profile on other websites. At the very least it raises your stats on those websites - making your music look more popular!
Try to create a ring of sites that link to each other though the content you supply. For example, you might have your music on your own website and two other showcase sites - Site A and Site B. Your site should without a doubt link with Site A and Site B. Site A should link with your site and Site B, Site B should link with your site and Site A and so on. What if these sites don't allow you to setup links to other sites? Put a web address in the areas where they do allow you to supply content. Like biogs or descriptions.
The ultimate aim of linking all your sites is to provide your listeners with a variety of access points to your music, as well as access to the different ways various sites may deliver your music. Remember to link to your specific page on the site and not just the site itself. Your site linked with a site that play your tracks on Internet radio, linked with a site that sells your downloads, linked with a site that sells your CD's provides for a powerful combination of exposure.
Be Rich
Without money! That is the challenge that most independent artists face. The conventional approach to selling music is that it should not be too readily available to listen to, should the incentive for listeners to actually buy albums be undermined. This has persuaded independent artists that they should limit web listeners to low-quality snippets of streaming audio.
Independent artists have to remember they don't have the resources and finances to support the "shotgun approach" of spraying their music across radio and music television. Big artists have big companies behind them that need to recoup the costs of mass media exposure, and therefore try to limit the extent to which listeners can sample their music on the web. Listeners have already heard the music and are trying to find a copy of their own.
Conversely, listeners haven't had a chance to listen to independent artist through conventional media. Therefore independent artists can't assume that people will buy their music off of a website if they don't get a chance to really listen to it. If people have already heard an artist's music, and like it, the value they pay for is in owning a copy they can play whenever they like. If people have not already heard an artist's music, the value is in being able to sample as much of the music as possible.
So being rich is providing your listeners with as much of your music as they want to listen to before they buy it. Now you don't have to make all your tracks available for free download, but you can provide good quality, full-length streams that impress the listener and enhance your sound. Not tight-fisted snippets that lose the listener because they are lo-fi and over before they attract the listener's interest.
Being rich is also making your music available in a variety of formats for different audiences. Telling fans that your music can be heard via Internet radio, on-demand streams, mp3 downloads and mail order CD means you can appeal to listeners who prefer more than one type of media. You can also use your web promotion to go beyond simply plays and sales - consider licensing.
Licensing your music for use with television, film, advertising, websites, video games and other multimedia will open up your listening audience, provide revenue and introduce a degree of professionalism to your career that attracts the notice of industry reps and A&R. Adding this depth to your web promotion helps to enrich the presentation of your music and retain targeted listeners.
So remember: a) maximise your targeted listeners, b) be systematic in obtaining them, and c) retain them by making sure your own site and other sites are rich in content.
Nick Hooper has helped to create Tunetrader, an online platform for independent music promotion at http://www.tunetrader.com.
The key is to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich.
What is the main drive for independent artists promote their music on the web? The fundamental incentive for web promotion is the opportunity to get your music heard by people who might otherwise never know that you exist! If people know you exist they can become fans and repeat-listeners. Which of those fans buy CD's and downloads? Targeted listeners.
The most important goal of web promotion is to attract targeted listeners.
Any independent artist who says they use the web to sell their music has missed the primary target - attracting targeted listeners. Attracting targeted listeners should be every independent artist's first priority. Remember, you don't sell your music - listeners BUY your music. It's a buyers market. The more targeted listeners you have, the more sales you make - provided you are systematic in getting your targeted listeners.
The best way to get targeted listeners is to be systematic.
Many artists tend to approach their web promotion thinking that since they have a website and have signed up to a couple of artist showcase sites, that the listeners will just come pouring in. Yes you have managed to target some potential listeners, but you still have to shout, "Hey, over here...you'll like the sound of this!" A systematic approach to getting listeners to hear your music will attract and maintain their interest. But remember to make sure you have the content ready for the listener to enjoy.
Sites rich in content will retain your targeted listener.
In the independent artist's case, the rich content is the music. This may seem like old news, but look at the amount of independent artist websites that give the visitor loads of info about the band but very little (or hidden) ear candy. Music should be the first thing a visitor gets. At the very least they need an obvious link to where they can listen to your music. And not just one or two tracks but a variety of your music. Independent artists have to remember they have not had the radio exposure to model the presentation of their music after more well established acts. Listeners need to be convinced they like your independent music before they will buy it.
So the question is how to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich?
Tips for Targeting.
The best targeted listeners on the web will be those that make it to your website. Find a way to know who they are. Setup a newsletter and make it easy to sign up to it. People interested enough to want to receive news about you are your hardcore web fans, keep them happy.
The next best group of targeted listeners are those that hear your music on other sites. Try to pick sites that allow listeners to link to your site. If they like your music they might click on that link to visit your site. You can then find out where these visitors are coming from. Find a good web statistics package that lets you know which sites your visitors are being referred from. Take note of those sites and focus your efforts with them accordingly.
When choosing sites on which to promote your music, check to see if they offer any individual stats relating to your music. Like how many track plays or page views you and your music receive on their site. This way you can check in periodically and monitor your performance with these sites.
Systematic Steps.
The key to being systematic is organization. Keep a note of all the sites you use to promote your music, a brief description of what they do and how much it costs. Try to get into the practice of monitoring all of them regularly. Take note of which sites are getting better results than others and focus your efforts accordingly. You might pay for minimal promotion on one website, while another gets you loads of listeners for free. Naturally you'll want to put more effort into updating the sites that are getting better results.
Provide a link on your website and newsletters to all of the sites you use to promote your music. Remember your website visitors are your hardcore web fans and are the most likely to check out and spread the word about your spot on other websites. So encourage them to visit your profile on other websites. At the very least it raises your stats on those websites - making your music look more popular!
Try to create a ring of sites that link to each other though the content you supply. For example, you might have your music on your own website and two other showcase sites - Site A and Site B. Your site should without a doubt link with Site A and Site B. Site A should link with your site and Site B, Site B should link with your site and Site A and so on. What if these sites don't allow you to setup links to other sites? Put a web address in the areas where they do allow you to supply content. Like biogs or descriptions.
The ultimate aim of linking all your sites is to provide your listeners with a variety of access points to your music, as well as access to the different ways various sites may deliver your music. Remember to link to your specific page on the site and not just the site itself. Your site linked with a site that play your tracks on Internet radio, linked with a site that sells your downloads, linked with a site that sells your CD's provides for a powerful combination of exposure.
Be Rich
Without money! That is the challenge that most independent artists face. The conventional approach to selling music is that it should not be too readily available to listen to, should the incentive for listeners to actually buy albums be undermined. This has persuaded independent artists that they should limit web listeners to low-quality snippets of streaming audio.
Independent artists have to remember they don't have the resources and finances to support the "shotgun approach" of spraying their music across radio and music television. Big artists have big companies behind them that need to recoup the costs of mass media exposure, and therefore try to limit the extent to which listeners can sample their music on the web. Listeners have already heard the music and are trying to find a copy of their own.
Conversely, listeners haven't had a chance to listen to independent artist through conventional media. Therefore independent artists can't assume that people will buy their music off of a website if they don't get a chance to really listen to it. If people have already heard an artist's music, and like it, the value they pay for is in owning a copy they can play whenever they like. If people have not already heard an artist's music, the value is in being able to sample as much of the music as possible.
So being rich is providing your listeners with as much of your music as they want to listen to before they buy it. Now you don't have to make all your tracks available for free download, but you can provide good quality, full-length streams that impress the listener and enhance your sound. Not tight-fisted snippets that lose the listener because they are lo-fi and over before they attract the listener's interest.
Being rich is also making your music available in a variety of formats for different audiences. Telling fans that your music can be heard via Internet radio, on-demand streams, mp3 downloads and mail order CD means you can appeal to listeners who prefer more than one type of media. You can also use your web promotion to go beyond simply plays and sales - consider licensing.
Licensing your music for use with television, film, advertising, websites, video games and other multimedia will open up your listening audience, provide revenue and introduce a degree of professionalism to your career that attracts the notice of industry reps and A&R. Adding this depth to your web promotion helps to enrich the presentation of your music and retain targeted listeners.
So remember: a) maximise your targeted listeners, b) be systematic in obtaining them, and c) retain them by making sure your own site and other sites are rich in content.
Nick Hooper has helped to create Tunetrader, an online platform for independent music promotion at http://www.tunetrader.com.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Play It Forward - Viral Unsigned Bands Promotion
Have you seen the Kevin Spacey movie, Pay It Forward? I loved the movie. I'm an idealist. So seeing an "idea" rocketed forward to me is beautiful. And it's a great example of effective Viral Band Promotion.
For those of you who haven't seen it, it's about a boy responding to a class assignment comes up with basically an idea to improve life. Basically, he determines to help three people in a "special, life-changing way". But instead of having them pay him back for his kindness, he tells them to pay it forward, that is, to help three people in a life-changing manner. Then they require the same pay it forward philosophy. It's a beautiful example of... well, network marketing.
Well, I left the theatre inspired, thinking, "How can I institute this in my life?" With MP3.com's help, I came up with "Play It Forward". It's a webpage that encourages fans to send e-cards of our music.
More At:
http://bardscrier.com/articles/
The page reads, "Is there a song here that you really like? Play it forward and share it with your friends. Your friends and we will both thank you."
Since posting that link we get an extra 2-5 more e-cards sent every day from people "Playing It Forward". And that is very personal way to get more people listening to your music.
For those of you who haven't seen it, it's about a boy responding to a class assignment comes up with basically an idea to improve life. Basically, he determines to help three people in a "special, life-changing way". But instead of having them pay him back for his kindness, he tells them to pay it forward, that is, to help three people in a life-changing manner. Then they require the same pay it forward philosophy. It's a beautiful example of... well, network marketing.
Well, I left the theatre inspired, thinking, "How can I institute this in my life?" With MP3.com's help, I came up with "Play It Forward". It's a webpage that encourages fans to send e-cards of our music.
More At:
http://bardscrier.com/articles/
The page reads, "Is there a song here that you really like? Play it forward and share it with your friends. Your friends and we will both thank you."
Since posting that link we get an extra 2-5 more e-cards sent every day from people "Playing It Forward". And that is very personal way to get more people listening to your music.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Building a Fan Base for Unsigned Bands, as Easy as 1-2-3
Originally, I was planning on publishing an article by John Wilmott of Celtic Ways. But the "article" was actually a promotional piece designed specifically for the Celtic Ways roster, and was less of an article than I anticipated.
So instead, I'm going to lay out the main promotional idea presented in the article. John was writing about putting on a Celtic version of Club MP3.com, called Ceilidh 2001. For those not familiar with Club MP3.com, it is an MP3.com-sponsored tour of 50 US cities by mainstream MP3.com. Celtic musicians were excluded, so we would do our own.
But in order to make a successful event, we need larger regional followings. Here's the advice John had on building a fan base.
"For those of you who have not built up a substantial fan base I will try to work with you to make this happen and the best route to this is through newsletters. With some of you, you'll need help getting people to subscribe to the newsletters in the first place.
If you are gigging that's the easiest way. Make sure you make it easy for people to leave email addresses on the way in or out of the gig. Even bolder would be to get people to give you the email in the middle of the gig. You might make up an "Email Song" and add a traditional tune to the lyrics and then have someone pass around a guest book where everyone leaves their email address.
If you are not gigging your only option is to visit chat rooms and forums and talk to people and collect email addresses. You could hold a yard sale and have your music playing and collect email addresses from visitors.
Best Buy & others are clearing out old 74 mins CDRs right now very cheap. Put 3, 4, 5 of your tracks on each one and use the paper folders instead of jewelcases. There is a way you can print regular paper and fold to hold a CD too - try it out !!!!
Then go to somewhere where these is people and hand them out free in exchange for their email address. You'll get 100 subscribers for under $20.00 cheaper than placing ads, doing flea markets and paying record stores to promote your CD."
After reading his article, I found a website (http://blankcdmedia.com/) that sells inserts and CD labels in bulk for pennies each. Sure it may cost a small bit to start, but this is one tip that I'm jumping all over.
So instead, I'm going to lay out the main promotional idea presented in the article. John was writing about putting on a Celtic version of Club MP3.com, called Ceilidh 2001. For those not familiar with Club MP3.com, it is an MP3.com-sponsored tour of 50 US cities by mainstream MP3.com. Celtic musicians were excluded, so we would do our own.
But in order to make a successful event, we need larger regional followings. Here's the advice John had on building a fan base.
"For those of you who have not built up a substantial fan base I will try to work with you to make this happen and the best route to this is through newsletters. With some of you, you'll need help getting people to subscribe to the newsletters in the first place.
If you are gigging that's the easiest way. Make sure you make it easy for people to leave email addresses on the way in or out of the gig. Even bolder would be to get people to give you the email in the middle of the gig. You might make up an "Email Song" and add a traditional tune to the lyrics and then have someone pass around a guest book where everyone leaves their email address.
If you are not gigging your only option is to visit chat rooms and forums and talk to people and collect email addresses. You could hold a yard sale and have your music playing and collect email addresses from visitors.
Best Buy & others are clearing out old 74 mins CDRs right now very cheap. Put 3, 4, 5 of your tracks on each one and use the paper folders instead of jewelcases. There is a way you can print regular paper and fold to hold a CD too - try it out !!!!
Then go to somewhere where these is people and hand them out free in exchange for their email address. You'll get 100 subscribers for under $20.00 cheaper than placing ads, doing flea markets and paying record stores to promote your CD."
After reading his article, I found a website (http://blankcdmedia.com/) that sells inserts and CD labels in bulk for pennies each. Sure it may cost a small bit to start, but this is one tip that I'm jumping all over.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Check Out TheTrackShack.com
If you love making music and sharing it with the world (and, let's be honest, making a few bucks along the way), you've probably tried or heard about music websites where you can upload and sell your own tunes. And with a Central Hive full of musicians, trust us: we've seen and tried most of them, too. Many sites offer high registration fees, low profits, ongoing hosting fees and set prices — not too much of an incentive to share your stuff.
But when we found TheTrackShack. com, we were more keyed up than seeing our favorite band play a second encore on the last night of their tour. At TheTrackShack, artists and musicians can set their own prices and get an 80/20 split on sales, compared to the $3-5 and up other sites keep per sale, regardless of price. And we were really excited to hear bands can upload individual production tracks for sale – like just the lead guitar or a song's full mix minus vocals – making it easy for people to remix their songs, sing karaoke to their hits, or, as the TheTrackShack likes to put it, "Frankenstein their music." Jeff Tamelier, co-founder of TheTrackShack, thinks of it as "making your music by the mile and selling it by the inch." Sounds good to us.
I have only ONE free code left. First come, First Served... However, I do have several $10.00 off codes. So email me: terra@twpresents.com ASAP if you want one. This free/$10 off campaign ends JULY 1 2008!
TheTrackShack. com launched in November 2007, which means you'll be some of the first people to build a diverse catalog of music. The site will only be as great as you make it!
There's usually a one-time album upload fee of $24.99 to upload your own CD, Songs and Tracks. But as a special deal, I am giving you a chance to try it for free. So now the only thing between your music and the ears of millions is a few simple steps.
If you're a musician:
* Upload CDs, songs or individual tracks for sale (a CD is limited to 15 songs, with up to 20 tracks per song, totaling 2GB of storage)
* Name your own price for your music, and collect 80% of your sales
* Try TheTrackShack. com for free! One-time fee is usually $24.99, but will be waived for you. (ONE LEFT, offer expires July 1, 2008)
* Get featured on one of TheShack's fourteen streaming radio stations by simply creating a Studio account and uploading songs — they'll take it from there!
* Buy other artists' tracks and create a remix or just jam along with them
* Set up a virtual studio where you can audition new band members or collaborate with other registered musicians
* Have TheShack do all the work for you — send them your CD and they'll separate and upload your tracks and songs for $44.99
* Submit music in a variety of formats, including .aiff, .mp3, .mp4 and .wav
* Include lyrics and sheet music, either for sale or for free, in .pdf or .doc formats
* Check out TheTrackShack's exclusive contest, where you could win studio time in Northern California's newest Class A digital recording studios or Guitar Center gift certificates.
If you're a fan and music lover:
* Discover new artists on TheTrackShack. com's streaming radio stations and featured artist pages
* Buy CDs or songs from your favorite artists, or download their individual tracks (Like the full song minus vocals — karaoke, anyone?)
* Support independent artists and get exclusive tracks you won't find anywhere else
HURRY!
But when we found TheTrackShack. com, we were more keyed up than seeing our favorite band play a second encore on the last night of their tour. At TheTrackShack, artists and musicians can set their own prices and get an 80/20 split on sales, compared to the $3-5 and up other sites keep per sale, regardless of price. And we were really excited to hear bands can upload individual production tracks for sale – like just the lead guitar or a song's full mix minus vocals – making it easy for people to remix their songs, sing karaoke to their hits, or, as the TheTrackShack likes to put it, "Frankenstein their music." Jeff Tamelier, co-founder of TheTrackShack, thinks of it as "making your music by the mile and selling it by the inch." Sounds good to us.
I have only ONE free code left. First come, First Served... However, I do have several $10.00 off codes. So email me: terra@twpresents.com ASAP if you want one. This free/$10 off campaign ends JULY 1 2008!
TheTrackShack. com launched in November 2007, which means you'll be some of the first people to build a diverse catalog of music. The site will only be as great as you make it!
There's usually a one-time album upload fee of $24.99 to upload your own CD, Songs and Tracks. But as a special deal, I am giving you a chance to try it for free. So now the only thing between your music and the ears of millions is a few simple steps.
If you're a musician:
* Upload CDs, songs or individual tracks for sale (a CD is limited to 15 songs, with up to 20 tracks per song, totaling 2GB of storage)
* Name your own price for your music, and collect 80% of your sales
* Try TheTrackShack. com for free! One-time fee is usually $24.99, but will be waived for you. (ONE LEFT, offer expires July 1, 2008)
* Get featured on one of TheShack's fourteen streaming radio stations by simply creating a Studio account and uploading songs — they'll take it from there!
* Buy other artists' tracks and create a remix or just jam along with them
* Set up a virtual studio where you can audition new band members or collaborate with other registered musicians
* Have TheShack do all the work for you — send them your CD and they'll separate and upload your tracks and songs for $44.99
* Submit music in a variety of formats, including .aiff, .mp3, .mp4 and .wav
* Include lyrics and sheet music, either for sale or for free, in .pdf or .doc formats
* Check out TheTrackShack's exclusive contest, where you could win studio time in Northern California's newest Class A digital recording studios or Guitar Center gift certificates.
If you're a fan and music lover:
* Discover new artists on TheTrackShack. com's streaming radio stations and featured artist pages
* Buy CDs or songs from your favorite artists, or download their individual tracks (Like the full song minus vocals — karaoke, anyone?)
* Support independent artists and get exclusive tracks you won't find anywhere else
HURRY!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
How Musicians Can Use Podcasts to Publicize Their Music
As a musician, one of the best ways to start becoming successful in the music business is to build up a fan base.
You need to get your music out there so people can start listening to it and enjoying it. Publicizing your music is extremely important, and while ten years ago it may have been a difficult task, technology has afforded you some very simples ways to get started. One new way that you can start getting your music out there is by using a podcast. Podcasts are excellent ways that you can inexpensively and quickly get your music out there to the public, which is extremely important to your success as a musician.
What Exactly is a Podcast?
First of all, you may be wondering what exactly a podcast is. Basically, a podcast is a type of audio file that is usually created in a mp3 format, and after the file is created it can be uploaded to a server by way of Really Simple Syndication (RSS). You can put anything you want on this type of audio file, whether it is a type of radio show, or even clips of you performing your music. Once a podcast is uploaded onto the internet, it then allows people to use their computers with specialized software to download the file so they can listen to it on their own. They may be able to listen to it on their computer, an mp3 player, or even on their iPod as well. Even though the terms sound a bit technical, the process is an easy one that gives you a great new way to get your music out there to others.
How to Create a Podcast
Believe it or not, creating your own podcast is really quite simple. The following are five simple steps that can help you easily create your own music podcast.
1. Create the Content - The first thing you need to do is to create the audio content for your podcast. It really does not matter what type of platform you use when creating your audio content; however, it is important that you save it in the maximum quality possible so you have a great copy of what you have created. This is especially important when you are dealing with music.
2. Convert to MP3 - Once you have created your audio content for the podcast, you will need to convert the files to mp3 files, since they are the most used type of files for podcasting. When converting your audio files to mp3 files, you will probably want to use 128 stereo bit rate in order to get the best sound, since you are dealing with music, then save it as an mp3 file.
3. Upload the MP3 - After you have created your mp3 file, then you are ready to upload the file to the server. Once they are uploaded, be sure to test them to be sure that they are working.
4. Create the RSS File - Next you will need to create an RSS file, which will describe your pod cast and serve as the link to your mp3 file. You can use a text editor to create this file, and usually it is best to include the title of the file, the link, and a brief description of the file as well.
5. Publish the File - Once you have the RSS file created, just transfer it to your web server, and be sure to validate it using an RSS validator, which you can find online. If it works right, then you are ready to publish the RSS file.
Equipment You Will Need
In order to be able to do a pod cast, you will need to have the right equipment available. First of all you will need to have the right equipment available to suitably record your music. You may be able to purchase software for your computer to do this, or you may want to use a mixing board with a CD burner to do so. You can use computer software to edit your music and to change the levels to make sure that your music tracks sound the best as well. Also, you will need a program to help you convert your music into mp3 files, such a MusicMatch. More than likely, you will also need software that will help you upload your mp3 and RSS files as well.
Where You Can Send Your Completed Podcast
If you do not have your own place to put your podcasts, you can actually find free hosts that will allow you to upload your podcasts to their servers as well. Once you have finished your podcast and you have it online, there are a variety of directories that you can send it to in order to get some exposure. There are many available free directories that will help you with publicity so you can get your podcasts out there. Soon people will be listening to your music, and before you know it you may have a broad fan base all across the world due to using podcasting to publicize your music.
Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions- Intelligent Piano Lessons For Adults Only! " with over 84,400 current subscribers.
You need to get your music out there so people can start listening to it and enjoying it. Publicizing your music is extremely important, and while ten years ago it may have been a difficult task, technology has afforded you some very simples ways to get started. One new way that you can start getting your music out there is by using a podcast. Podcasts are excellent ways that you can inexpensively and quickly get your music out there to the public, which is extremely important to your success as a musician.
What Exactly is a Podcast?
First of all, you may be wondering what exactly a podcast is. Basically, a podcast is a type of audio file that is usually created in a mp3 format, and after the file is created it can be uploaded to a server by way of Really Simple Syndication (RSS). You can put anything you want on this type of audio file, whether it is a type of radio show, or even clips of you performing your music. Once a podcast is uploaded onto the internet, it then allows people to use their computers with specialized software to download the file so they can listen to it on their own. They may be able to listen to it on their computer, an mp3 player, or even on their iPod as well. Even though the terms sound a bit technical, the process is an easy one that gives you a great new way to get your music out there to others.
How to Create a Podcast
Believe it or not, creating your own podcast is really quite simple. The following are five simple steps that can help you easily create your own music podcast.
1. Create the Content - The first thing you need to do is to create the audio content for your podcast. It really does not matter what type of platform you use when creating your audio content; however, it is important that you save it in the maximum quality possible so you have a great copy of what you have created. This is especially important when you are dealing with music.
2. Convert to MP3 - Once you have created your audio content for the podcast, you will need to convert the files to mp3 files, since they are the most used type of files for podcasting. When converting your audio files to mp3 files, you will probably want to use 128 stereo bit rate in order to get the best sound, since you are dealing with music, then save it as an mp3 file.
3. Upload the MP3 - After you have created your mp3 file, then you are ready to upload the file to the server. Once they are uploaded, be sure to test them to be sure that they are working.
4. Create the RSS File - Next you will need to create an RSS file, which will describe your pod cast and serve as the link to your mp3 file. You can use a text editor to create this file, and usually it is best to include the title of the file, the link, and a brief description of the file as well.
5. Publish the File - Once you have the RSS file created, just transfer it to your web server, and be sure to validate it using an RSS validator, which you can find online. If it works right, then you are ready to publish the RSS file.
Equipment You Will Need
In order to be able to do a pod cast, you will need to have the right equipment available. First of all you will need to have the right equipment available to suitably record your music. You may be able to purchase software for your computer to do this, or you may want to use a mixing board with a CD burner to do so. You can use computer software to edit your music and to change the levels to make sure that your music tracks sound the best as well. Also, you will need a program to help you convert your music into mp3 files, such a MusicMatch. More than likely, you will also need software that will help you upload your mp3 and RSS files as well.
Where You Can Send Your Completed Podcast
If you do not have your own place to put your podcasts, you can actually find free hosts that will allow you to upload your podcasts to their servers as well. Once you have finished your podcast and you have it online, there are a variety of directories that you can send it to in order to get some exposure. There are many available free directories that will help you with publicity so you can get your podcasts out there. Soon people will be listening to your music, and before you know it you may have a broad fan base all across the world due to using podcasting to publicize your music.
Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions- Intelligent Piano Lessons For Adults Only! " with over 84,400 current subscribers.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
How To Copyright Your Music To Protect Your Future Royalties
Many musicians confuse copyrighting music with registering music; these are two different things. According to the law in the United States, once you have written or recorded your music in a permanent form, it is automatically copyrighted.
Of course, it might help to first understand what it means to copyright music in the first place. A copyright is a certain legal protection that is offered to those who compose creative works, whether those works are art, music, or the written word. The U. S. Constitution states there are limits one can place on the amount of time the work is exclusively protected.
If you copyright music, this means you (and you alone) have the right to use your work or allow others to use your work. You also have the right to distribute copies of your work. Whether those copies are in the form of written or sheet music or recorded music to the public as well as the right to perform your music for the public.
There is something called Fair Use (more commonly known as the Fair Use Doctrine) that allows anyone to use your written or recorded music for the purpose of research, news reporting, commentary, or criticism. In other words, there are times when the use of copyrighted material is deemed appropriate without the consent of the one holding the copyright.
In some cases, copyrighting music alone is not enough to protect your music, at least not without going through a lot of hoops to do so. One of the things you can do to protect your copyright is provide notice of copyright. This involves writing a simple statement such as using the word "copyright," the date, and your name at the bottom of your sheet music or on the case for the recording or the actual recording itself. CDs are the most common means for recording devices today and a notice of copyright can easily be added to the exterior of your CD or on your label if you have one printed.
Why copyright music? The answer is simple: so others cannot take credit for your hard work and creative genius. For extra protection you may want to register your copyright as well. Registering your copyright will provide you with formal legal documentation of your ownership of your music should anyone attempt to claim rights to your music or dispute the true ownership/authorship of your music.
You must have your copyright registered if you wish to file a copyright infringement suit; it is, in my opinion, better to not only copyright music during the creation process, but also to register your copyright before it could possibly become an issue. Registering a copyright is not a difficult a process. Basically it involves filling out an application, paying a filing fee (check with the U. S. Copyright Office for the current amount), and a copy of the work you want to protect.
Your music doesn't have to be published to obtain a copyright. Music should be copyrighted and registered long before the publication process to protect your rights as the creator of the music. Whether you are dabbling with cute little limericks or writing masterpieces and concertos, you want to make sure to copyright music earlier rather than later for the best possible outcome should any problems arise.
Brian Scott is a freelance journalist who covers copyright law for www.ResearchCopyright.com. Download his free e-book, "Copyright Basics" at ResearchCopyright.com.
Of course, it might help to first understand what it means to copyright music in the first place. A copyright is a certain legal protection that is offered to those who compose creative works, whether those works are art, music, or the written word. The U. S. Constitution states there are limits one can place on the amount of time the work is exclusively protected.
If you copyright music, this means you (and you alone) have the right to use your work or allow others to use your work. You also have the right to distribute copies of your work. Whether those copies are in the form of written or sheet music or recorded music to the public as well as the right to perform your music for the public.
There is something called Fair Use (more commonly known as the Fair Use Doctrine) that allows anyone to use your written or recorded music for the purpose of research, news reporting, commentary, or criticism. In other words, there are times when the use of copyrighted material is deemed appropriate without the consent of the one holding the copyright.
In some cases, copyrighting music alone is not enough to protect your music, at least not without going through a lot of hoops to do so. One of the things you can do to protect your copyright is provide notice of copyright. This involves writing a simple statement such as using the word "copyright," the date, and your name at the bottom of your sheet music or on the case for the recording or the actual recording itself. CDs are the most common means for recording devices today and a notice of copyright can easily be added to the exterior of your CD or on your label if you have one printed.
Why copyright music? The answer is simple: so others cannot take credit for your hard work and creative genius. For extra protection you may want to register your copyright as well. Registering your copyright will provide you with formal legal documentation of your ownership of your music should anyone attempt to claim rights to your music or dispute the true ownership/authorship of your music.
You must have your copyright registered if you wish to file a copyright infringement suit; it is, in my opinion, better to not only copyright music during the creation process, but also to register your copyright before it could possibly become an issue. Registering a copyright is not a difficult a process. Basically it involves filling out an application, paying a filing fee (check with the U. S. Copyright Office for the current amount), and a copy of the work you want to protect.
Your music doesn't have to be published to obtain a copyright. Music should be copyrighted and registered long before the publication process to protect your rights as the creator of the music. Whether you are dabbling with cute little limericks or writing masterpieces and concertos, you want to make sure to copyright music earlier rather than later for the best possible outcome should any problems arise.
Brian Scott is a freelance journalist who covers copyright law for www.ResearchCopyright.com. Download his free e-book, "Copyright Basics" at ResearchCopyright.com.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Music Promotion Using Viral Marketing And Old Fashioned Word Of Mouth. More Plays And Views
Promotion, promotion, promotion is the main thing you have to keep in mind as you attempt to make yourself and your songs known to the world. Simply having a Myspace and playing at a few local scenes is not going to make you famous. Sure, you've sold a handful of CDs, you have a moderate amount of friends on Myspace, and your mom loves what you do, but the goal is to get more attention especially important attention from music executives. To achieve this attention takes promotion of your site.
Myspace is the premier social networking site on the web but using it alone will not draw the required attention to your page. If you notice that you are not receiving the amount of plays for your songs that you were hoping and that your page is quickly going the way of the dinosaurs, it's time to rethink your strategy. Be proactive and tenacious.
Promotional campaigns are important for your goal of being a recognized and possibly famous musician. Myspace is a way of promoting your music for free and this is why so many struggling musicians choose this method, the same is true for Facebook and Youtube. You are able to reach a large number of people, who may become fans, for free everyday. However, without additional help how are people going to know that you even have anything to promote? This is where word of mouth and viral marketing comes into play.
Word of mouth marketing has been around since our ancestors had items to barter. This is a time tested and trusted method used by large companies, corporations, and professional musicians. Take a moment and think about how you heard about some of your favorite musicians? Was it through the radio, TV, the internet, or was it from a friend who told you about them?
Word of mouth is a frequently the way news spreads about musicians and bands. You may have heard a bands name, but usually it wont be until a friend vouches for the band that you will give them a listen. This is how word of mouth works and how it can be used to work in your favor.
Some view this method as old fashioned with the introduction of the internet and advertising methods used there; however word of mouth will never fall into disuse as long as people continue to recommend, and talk about items, musicians, and other subjects of interest.
On the internet word of mouth is referred to as viral marketing and basically works the same way. Blogs, social networking sites, and other places such as forums all work to spread recommendations and news about a variety of items.
Both word of mouth and viral marketing work on the concept that if one person tells another person and that person tells two more people and so on then soon enough people will know about that object of subject to make an impact. This can work in your favor when it comes to your music.
You should ask your friends to mention your band and music to their friends, and tell as many people as you can that you have a new song out and where it can be found and how great it is. Post about it on blogs, forums, and use other sites like Youtube and Facebook to help spread the word and you will be very pleased with the results.
A great way to help entice people to come to your site is by mentioning how many plays you have for your songs. This will convince people that your songs are worth the time and all the buzz surrounding them is dead on. The dilemma is that if you do not have a solid fan base yet, or if your songs play counts are not as impressive as you would like, then you will not be able to use those figures to entice anyone.
Promotional tools are a great way of boosting play counts which will help gain fans, attention, and make heads turn. Back up claims of popular songs by actually having solid and impressive figures.
More plays and views adds an edge to your word of mouth and viral marketing efforts.
Once you are receiving a sufficient amount of traffic to your site, you will have to keep people coming back for more by updating your page, uploading new songs, and keeping up with the current information and be sure to never stop promoting.
TuneBoom Pro is now available beyond the major labels and artists and to the independent artist for the first time. Market your music like TODAYS MOST POPULAR ARTISTS! Everything needed to succeed is here. Use EXACTLY the same strategies used by Todays Mega Superstars at: http://TuneBoomPro.com
Myspace is the premier social networking site on the web but using it alone will not draw the required attention to your page. If you notice that you are not receiving the amount of plays for your songs that you were hoping and that your page is quickly going the way of the dinosaurs, it's time to rethink your strategy. Be proactive and tenacious.
Promotional campaigns are important for your goal of being a recognized and possibly famous musician. Myspace is a way of promoting your music for free and this is why so many struggling musicians choose this method, the same is true for Facebook and Youtube. You are able to reach a large number of people, who may become fans, for free everyday. However, without additional help how are people going to know that you even have anything to promote? This is where word of mouth and viral marketing comes into play.
Word of mouth marketing has been around since our ancestors had items to barter. This is a time tested and trusted method used by large companies, corporations, and professional musicians. Take a moment and think about how you heard about some of your favorite musicians? Was it through the radio, TV, the internet, or was it from a friend who told you about them?
Word of mouth is a frequently the way news spreads about musicians and bands. You may have heard a bands name, but usually it wont be until a friend vouches for the band that you will give them a listen. This is how word of mouth works and how it can be used to work in your favor.
Some view this method as old fashioned with the introduction of the internet and advertising methods used there; however word of mouth will never fall into disuse as long as people continue to recommend, and talk about items, musicians, and other subjects of interest.
On the internet word of mouth is referred to as viral marketing and basically works the same way. Blogs, social networking sites, and other places such as forums all work to spread recommendations and news about a variety of items.
Both word of mouth and viral marketing work on the concept that if one person tells another person and that person tells two more people and so on then soon enough people will know about that object of subject to make an impact. This can work in your favor when it comes to your music.
You should ask your friends to mention your band and music to their friends, and tell as many people as you can that you have a new song out and where it can be found and how great it is. Post about it on blogs, forums, and use other sites like Youtube and Facebook to help spread the word and you will be very pleased with the results.
A great way to help entice people to come to your site is by mentioning how many plays you have for your songs. This will convince people that your songs are worth the time and all the buzz surrounding them is dead on. The dilemma is that if you do not have a solid fan base yet, or if your songs play counts are not as impressive as you would like, then you will not be able to use those figures to entice anyone.
Promotional tools are a great way of boosting play counts which will help gain fans, attention, and make heads turn. Back up claims of popular songs by actually having solid and impressive figures.
More plays and views adds an edge to your word of mouth and viral marketing efforts.
Once you are receiving a sufficient amount of traffic to your site, you will have to keep people coming back for more by updating your page, uploading new songs, and keeping up with the current information and be sure to never stop promoting.
TuneBoom Pro is now available beyond the major labels and artists and to the independent artist for the first time. Market your music like TODAYS MOST POPULAR ARTISTS! Everything needed to succeed is here. Use EXACTLY the same strategies used by Todays Mega Superstars at: http://TuneBoomPro.com
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The Music Industry -- How To Lose Money And Ruin Your Career With A Number One Hit Song?
Any career development person worth his salt, wants you to have a career that is constantly rising. Hence, that is why you should have three CDs worth of material already written when you approach your career development person or music industry executive. (For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, see my last article entitled "The Music Industry- Here is what a young artist needs to know to be a star.")
A good career development person will survey your material, ask you to throw away the songs that didn't survey well, then ask you to write some more songs, survey again, etc. until he can finally place your songs in an order that results in your first CD being good, your second CD better, and your third CD best of the three. He will do all of this by surveying your material. Some survey techniques are so accurate that they can even tell you where your song will place in the top 40--number 15 or number 35.
Why does your career development person do this? Because you can actually lose money and ruin your career with a poorly planned number one hit.
Now remember, rankings in the top 40 are determined by air play, not sales. So, here is how it works.
If you are an unknown artist, and you release your best song first, and your agents and managers and executives at the music companies are good salesmen, you might start getting airplay. If you get enough airplay you might break into the charts at say number 35. Music stores and major download services, however, probably won't carry it right away, because 1) there are lots of people vying for "shelf" space, so to speak and the music stores are going to wait and see how this new artist does before they commit to giving you any space. (After all you might break in at number 35 and be gone from the charts the very next week.) So let us just say there is not necessarily a mad dash to get your number 35 hit into the stores and onto the shelves; and 2) even if there is a huge demand (maybe you broke into the charts at number 15 your very first week, it is still going to take awhile for the music company to press the CDs and ship them to the stores. (often weeks).
It has happened numerous times in the past that a song will zoom from say the number 35 to the top number 1 spot BEFORE any CDs can be shipped to the music stores. By the time the stores do get the CDs, the song has fallen down the charts and is no longer getting the airplay on its way out (at say number 38) that it got on its way up to number 1. Let 's say the music executives representing you zealously pressed 500,000 CDs when your song was number one, but now that it has finally arrived at the stores it is not getting airplay anymore. People start forgetting about it and the actual sales only amount to say 50,000 units.
The music company loses money on this scenario because the cost to manufacture and ship the 500,000 CDs exceeds what they made on the 50,000 actual unit sales. Now, internet distribution and sales have made it a lot easier to counter this kind of scenario, but it still can happen with inexperienced, and inept music executive making the wrong decisions.
Now here is what an experience career development executive would do. Again he would survey your material and your first release would be a song that he knows will break into the top 40 at about 39, rise to number 30 than fizzle out after that. No one worries very much about getting CDs into stores or anything like that. What this accomplishes, however, is everyone becomes aware of you. The stores are aware of you, the internet downloading services are aware of you, and fans in general are aware of you. After all, a number 30 hit on your first release is not too shabby.
Now your second release is going to be a surveyed song that your career development person knows will place in the low 20s or high teens on the charts. So now all the people that were made aware of you by your first release realize that this is even a better song, that there really is something to you, and the mad dash to get you on the shelf DOES begin. Everyone knows you are not a one hit wonder and that this second release is going to make every one money.
Now imagine what happens when your third release does even better and makes it to number 10 on the charts. Then imagine what happens when your second album comes out. Well the people are lined up to buy it sight unseen, and when they hear it and it is even a better album, when you have three top ten and one number one hits off of it, you career is well on its way to being established forever.
When your third album comes out with your three number one hits. You are pretty much guaranteed to be in the music business as long as you want.
Now imagine the opposite. Suppose you released your best song first and every thing got progressively worse from there. Does a "one hit wonder" ring a bell. Does anyone even remember the names of the numerous groups who have done just that? NO.
So a word to the wise: Use experienced career development people. Survey your material. Do it smart. Do it right. Be successful.
Stan Medley is the CEO of Viscount Productions, Inc. which specializes in career development. Additional information on this topic is at http://www.viscountproductions.com
A good career development person will survey your material, ask you to throw away the songs that didn't survey well, then ask you to write some more songs, survey again, etc. until he can finally place your songs in an order that results in your first CD being good, your second CD better, and your third CD best of the three. He will do all of this by surveying your material. Some survey techniques are so accurate that they can even tell you where your song will place in the top 40--number 15 or number 35.
Why does your career development person do this? Because you can actually lose money and ruin your career with a poorly planned number one hit.
Now remember, rankings in the top 40 are determined by air play, not sales. So, here is how it works.
If you are an unknown artist, and you release your best song first, and your agents and managers and executives at the music companies are good salesmen, you might start getting airplay. If you get enough airplay you might break into the charts at say number 35. Music stores and major download services, however, probably won't carry it right away, because 1) there are lots of people vying for "shelf" space, so to speak and the music stores are going to wait and see how this new artist does before they commit to giving you any space. (After all you might break in at number 35 and be gone from the charts the very next week.) So let us just say there is not necessarily a mad dash to get your number 35 hit into the stores and onto the shelves; and 2) even if there is a huge demand (maybe you broke into the charts at number 15 your very first week, it is still going to take awhile for the music company to press the CDs and ship them to the stores. (often weeks).
It has happened numerous times in the past that a song will zoom from say the number 35 to the top number 1 spot BEFORE any CDs can be shipped to the music stores. By the time the stores do get the CDs, the song has fallen down the charts and is no longer getting the airplay on its way out (at say number 38) that it got on its way up to number 1. Let 's say the music executives representing you zealously pressed 500,000 CDs when your song was number one, but now that it has finally arrived at the stores it is not getting airplay anymore. People start forgetting about it and the actual sales only amount to say 50,000 units.
The music company loses money on this scenario because the cost to manufacture and ship the 500,000 CDs exceeds what they made on the 50,000 actual unit sales. Now, internet distribution and sales have made it a lot easier to counter this kind of scenario, but it still can happen with inexperienced, and inept music executive making the wrong decisions.
Now here is what an experience career development executive would do. Again he would survey your material and your first release would be a song that he knows will break into the top 40 at about 39, rise to number 30 than fizzle out after that. No one worries very much about getting CDs into stores or anything like that. What this accomplishes, however, is everyone becomes aware of you. The stores are aware of you, the internet downloading services are aware of you, and fans in general are aware of you. After all, a number 30 hit on your first release is not too shabby.
Now your second release is going to be a surveyed song that your career development person knows will place in the low 20s or high teens on the charts. So now all the people that were made aware of you by your first release realize that this is even a better song, that there really is something to you, and the mad dash to get you on the shelf DOES begin. Everyone knows you are not a one hit wonder and that this second release is going to make every one money.
Now imagine what happens when your third release does even better and makes it to number 10 on the charts. Then imagine what happens when your second album comes out. Well the people are lined up to buy it sight unseen, and when they hear it and it is even a better album, when you have three top ten and one number one hits off of it, you career is well on its way to being established forever.
When your third album comes out with your three number one hits. You are pretty much guaranteed to be in the music business as long as you want.
Now imagine the opposite. Suppose you released your best song first and every thing got progressively worse from there. Does a "one hit wonder" ring a bell. Does anyone even remember the names of the numerous groups who have done just that? NO.
So a word to the wise: Use experienced career development people. Survey your material. Do it smart. Do it right. Be successful.
Stan Medley is the CEO of Viscount Productions, Inc. which specializes in career development. Additional information on this topic is at http://www.viscountproductions.com
Monday, March 3, 2008
Stage Fright. Why Am I So Scared? What Can I do?
You are not alone if you suffer from what we have come to know as stage fright. I do not believe I can recall any accomplished musician saying they are not nervous at all before a performance. Many are actually terrified and get physically sick prior to a concert. This basis for this is actually a good motivation, we want to be good, we want to be accepted. That is a good thing but being debilitated by stage fright is not. There are some effective ways of dealing with this condition.
The most effective way to manage the phenomenon of stage fright is constant performance. For some this may not be possible or you may just be starting out and you are struggling at the starting gate, so to speak.
If you are just starting out and cannot even imagine performing in front of people yet, find a friendly audience that will accept you no matter what, your family! Perhaps you can pick one to three songs to perform and set it up just like a regular performance; a certain time etc. Have the chairs set out for your family, maybe some refreshments and so forth. It may sound silly, but you will be nervous even though you know they will accept you no matter what you do.
When you perform for them try not to talk to them as they were your family, but make it a little "impersonal" if you will. Pretend they are an audience of strangers. If you make a mistake, keep going .This is very good practice. You will always make mistakes in your life as a musician so get used to it. You need to learn to "roll with it" or even sometimes make something out of it. This can lead also to improvisational opportunities, but we will discuss that in another lesson.
Once this little "concert" is over you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Even if you made a mistake or two, you will feel good about what you have done. I guarantee it! Now you need to continue to build on these performances. Do them more often, invite the neighbours but do not get too comfortable either. you must continue to stretch your self. If you have a teacher for your instrument, the chances are good that they hold concerts for the families of their students. Participate in these. It will do you a world of good!
Once you are past the first stage of performing and are on to performing for larger groups of strangers, there are some other ways of dealing with stage fright. Practice, practice, practice. You must know your piece or pieces of music backwards and forwards if you are to be truly prepared. Even if you do not have to memorize the piece you must know it very well. Memorizing is also for another lesson, but suffice it to say you must constantly practice to overcome any technical limitations on your performance, then you can more easily deal with stage fright as a separate issue. You may have a very real reason to be afraid if you do not know your music!
Now the day of the performance I think it is best not to practice very much at all. You can wear yourself out and "peak" too early. If you are a singer like I am for example, you can over practice and sound perfect two hours prior to performance but be worn out by the time the concert is here.
Just rest a lot and go over the music in your mind. Warm up, to be sure, but only that. If you know your music you should be fine. I like to take a nap before a performance so I can be rested. If I cannot actually sleep, then just laying down for 30 minutes or so seems to help. Now when you take the stage, remember all of the work you have done, tell yourself, " I am prepared, I can do this! You will be amazed at what you can do if you believe in yourself. Be not afraid!
SimpleMusicSecrets.com Learn to play,perform and enjoy music for a lifetime. Articles,tips and lessons on how to sing,play guitar,piano or band.Overcomestage fright. Be a better musician now!
The most effective way to manage the phenomenon of stage fright is constant performance. For some this may not be possible or you may just be starting out and you are struggling at the starting gate, so to speak.
If you are just starting out and cannot even imagine performing in front of people yet, find a friendly audience that will accept you no matter what, your family! Perhaps you can pick one to three songs to perform and set it up just like a regular performance; a certain time etc. Have the chairs set out for your family, maybe some refreshments and so forth. It may sound silly, but you will be nervous even though you know they will accept you no matter what you do.
When you perform for them try not to talk to them as they were your family, but make it a little "impersonal" if you will. Pretend they are an audience of strangers. If you make a mistake, keep going .This is very good practice. You will always make mistakes in your life as a musician so get used to it. You need to learn to "roll with it" or even sometimes make something out of it. This can lead also to improvisational opportunities, but we will discuss that in another lesson.
Once this little "concert" is over you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Even if you made a mistake or two, you will feel good about what you have done. I guarantee it! Now you need to continue to build on these performances. Do them more often, invite the neighbours but do not get too comfortable either. you must continue to stretch your self. If you have a teacher for your instrument, the chances are good that they hold concerts for the families of their students. Participate in these. It will do you a world of good!
Once you are past the first stage of performing and are on to performing for larger groups of strangers, there are some other ways of dealing with stage fright. Practice, practice, practice. You must know your piece or pieces of music backwards and forwards if you are to be truly prepared. Even if you do not have to memorize the piece you must know it very well. Memorizing is also for another lesson, but suffice it to say you must constantly practice to overcome any technical limitations on your performance, then you can more easily deal with stage fright as a separate issue. You may have a very real reason to be afraid if you do not know your music!
Now the day of the performance I think it is best not to practice very much at all. You can wear yourself out and "peak" too early. If you are a singer like I am for example, you can over practice and sound perfect two hours prior to performance but be worn out by the time the concert is here.
Just rest a lot and go over the music in your mind. Warm up, to be sure, but only that. If you know your music you should be fine. I like to take a nap before a performance so I can be rested. If I cannot actually sleep, then just laying down for 30 minutes or so seems to help. Now when you take the stage, remember all of the work you have done, tell yourself, " I am prepared, I can do this! You will be amazed at what you can do if you believe in yourself. Be not afraid!
SimpleMusicSecrets.com Learn to play,perform and enjoy music for a lifetime. Articles,tips and lessons on how to sing,play guitar,piano or band.Overcomestage fright. Be a better musician now!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Proven Ways To Protect Your Hit Song
Tin pan alley possesses a standard bugaboo for all new songwriters. This is the always-current rumor that publishers, professional songwriters, bandleaders - in fact, anyone and everyone in the music business - is intent upon stealing the ideas of new songwriters. Many new writers are hesitant about sending songs to publishers for this very reason. They are positive that if they allow the song out of their hands before the publishing contract is signed, they will find that the publisher has "copied" the number and stolen their idea. This may seem far-fetched, but it does happen.
The publisher takes every possible precaution before accepting a song for publication to insure that the song is not an infringement upon some other published number. He is usually able to spot an obvious infringement but if it should slip by his notice he knows that it will undoubtedly be picked up by the arrangers on his staff. Sometimes, despite all precautions, the infringement will pass unnoticed and the publisher is faced with an infringement suit. But such instances are extremely rare, particularly when one considers the tremendous number of songs of all types that are published every year.
Both the songwriter and the publisher are protected by law against infringement. Since the main charge in an infringement suit is that one song has been stolen from another, it is plain that both parties must be able to prove when the respective songs were written. The party that can show that his song was created before the other stands a good chance of winning the case. This date of creation can be established by several methods:
1. Take the manuscript before a notary public and have him witness your signature and affix the notary seal to the sheet of music.
2. Put the manuscript in an envelope. Seal the envelope and then mail it to yourself. The post mark will establish the date.
3. Keep the manuscript in the sealed envelope until it should be needed in an infringement case. The envelope should be opened only in court.
4. Secure some reliable and unprejudiced witnesses who can attest to hearing or seeing the number on a particular date.
5. Secure a U. S. Copyright registration.
The last method is, by far, the most satisfactory. Copyright registration simply means that the song has been officially registered as of a certain date, therefore becoming a matter of record.
Although the songwriter is entitled to exclusive rights to his composition, under common law, he must prove, beyond a question of doubt that he had created the song on a particular date. This might be established by the methods suggested above, but these methods are, to a great extent, makeshift, and do not provide definite proof offered by an official copyright card.
Furthermore, if a case is being tried on the basis of common law copyright, minimum damages are not established and must be determined by the court. For these reasons alone, it is preferable to secure an official copyright for the song.
The procedure is quite simple. The songwriter merely has to write to the Registrar of Copyrights, Washington, D. C, and ask for some application cards for unpublished musical compositions. These cards are sent free of charge. One card is required for each song to be copyrighted. The songwriter fills out the card which provides space for the names of lyric writers and composer, residence, name of song, date, etc.
The filled-in card is then returned to "Washington together with a copy of the manuscript and the required fee of one dollar." Within a short time, the songwriter receives an official registration card attesting that the song had been duly registered as of a certain date. This card should be placed away carefully by the songwriter for it provides concrete evidence that his song had been witnessed on a particular date.
If the above procedures are followed, you precious song should be protected from any unscrupulous person intent on stealing your hard work!
Long Lost Manuscript Resurfaces With The Underground Secrets On How To Write A Hit Song And Collect All The Royalties!
Click Here For Free Online Ebook
http://www.howtowriteahitsong.net/
The publisher takes every possible precaution before accepting a song for publication to insure that the song is not an infringement upon some other published number. He is usually able to spot an obvious infringement but if it should slip by his notice he knows that it will undoubtedly be picked up by the arrangers on his staff. Sometimes, despite all precautions, the infringement will pass unnoticed and the publisher is faced with an infringement suit. But such instances are extremely rare, particularly when one considers the tremendous number of songs of all types that are published every year.
Both the songwriter and the publisher are protected by law against infringement. Since the main charge in an infringement suit is that one song has been stolen from another, it is plain that both parties must be able to prove when the respective songs were written. The party that can show that his song was created before the other stands a good chance of winning the case. This date of creation can be established by several methods:
1. Take the manuscript before a notary public and have him witness your signature and affix the notary seal to the sheet of music.
2. Put the manuscript in an envelope. Seal the envelope and then mail it to yourself. The post mark will establish the date.
3. Keep the manuscript in the sealed envelope until it should be needed in an infringement case. The envelope should be opened only in court.
4. Secure some reliable and unprejudiced witnesses who can attest to hearing or seeing the number on a particular date.
5. Secure a U. S. Copyright registration.
The last method is, by far, the most satisfactory. Copyright registration simply means that the song has been officially registered as of a certain date, therefore becoming a matter of record.
Although the songwriter is entitled to exclusive rights to his composition, under common law, he must prove, beyond a question of doubt that he had created the song on a particular date. This might be established by the methods suggested above, but these methods are, to a great extent, makeshift, and do not provide definite proof offered by an official copyright card.
Furthermore, if a case is being tried on the basis of common law copyright, minimum damages are not established and must be determined by the court. For these reasons alone, it is preferable to secure an official copyright for the song.
The procedure is quite simple. The songwriter merely has to write to the Registrar of Copyrights, Washington, D. C, and ask for some application cards for unpublished musical compositions. These cards are sent free of charge. One card is required for each song to be copyrighted. The songwriter fills out the card which provides space for the names of lyric writers and composer, residence, name of song, date, etc.
The filled-in card is then returned to "Washington together with a copy of the manuscript and the required fee of one dollar." Within a short time, the songwriter receives an official registration card attesting that the song had been duly registered as of a certain date. This card should be placed away carefully by the songwriter for it provides concrete evidence that his song had been witnessed on a particular date.
If the above procedures are followed, you precious song should be protected from any unscrupulous person intent on stealing your hard work!
Long Lost Manuscript Resurfaces With The Underground Secrets On How To Write A Hit Song And Collect All The Royalties!
Click Here For Free Online Ebook
http://www.howtowriteahitsong.net/
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