Current Digital Trends in the music industry
Posted in: Music Business
Current digital trends in the music industry could be everything from the way we record the song to the media which we put the song on to and even the way we promote the music. Because of the digital age we live in multimedia is now the norm. The trend is to DIY as opposed to finding a label to scoop you up as in the days of past. On account of this digital technology available to the consumer, everyone has the tools within reach to record and produce their own album the way they envisioned it from the start. No longer do you have to wait for some fancy studio to allow you in the front door.After you have recorded your cd baby from your living room couch all while drinking a case of Mountain Dew it’s now time to promote this thing by yourself. Build your own website with digital downloads available with a digital sign-up sheet for your mailing list. After the site is built go and get some fans through Facebook, Twitter, and even MySpace. Follow this up by submitting your mp3s to all these podcast stations that are excited to receive your indie music.After you have done all this use that digital phone of yours to keep connected with your fans through apps. After you have your loyal following jazzed up about that new release of yours, start booking your own tour with that powerful little computer in your hand. Point the venues to your digital website and digital press kit online and try and save a dime by telling them to jump on the latest digital trends in the music industry. Save a tree and go digital. That was so yesterday in regards to an 8x10 glossy and a demo CD. No one sends hard copies anymore? Do they?After you have booked that tour don’t forget to take advantage of the other cool features on that digital monster you hold to your ear and text all your friends with by taking some cool footage of your road trip and a live performance of your band rocking at the club.Post all of this on YouTube and tell your story of how you made it famous with all the cool media outlets available to the indie artist these days. Then fire off one more text or tweet or write on your wall and have the fans all download your hot single from iTunes at once so your song soars to the top of iTunes top downloads.Here is to a new matrix for the independent musician. I am looking forward to seeing a live stream of your next performance through my iphone.
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Why most indie artist fail
Posted in: Music Business
Why most indie artist fail is a simple reason, they don’t realize they are a small business owner. You may be amazing on your instrument, sing like a song bird from heaven, have great stage presence and everyone tells you that they have never seen talent like you before. So why are you still spinning your wheels in the muck and mire of the hundreds of garage bands in your own neighborhood?The indie artist needs to develop their business tools as well as their playing chops. Understanding how to network their connections is going to be the key to their success. But before they start this they must understand their own business better. For example: they must think of their music as their brand they are selling. This means they must identify what their brand is and what is their demographic they are targeting. Are you a screemo band? If so then you are hitting the middle school and early high school kids that struggle with the emotions of becoming an adult. You are relating to the transition from a child into adult hood.Maybe you write love songs. Your target market is going to be probably woman and somewhere between 25 and up. Your audience drinks coffee and wine. Why do I say this? Well, once you identify your brand and target your audience you begin to understand where to put your energy at. You can put your flyers up in coffee shops and wine depots if you write love songs or acoustic projects. If you are a punk or screemo band that is not going to be very wise to put up your bands flyers in a coffee shop now is it? You need to find a skate shop, maybe a tattoo parlor to put up your advertisement.You need to take control of your music’s or arts future. Do it yourself mentality is so vital to your career. Talk to your band mates and see who knows something about graphic design and have them take care of the website and flyers. You need to stay connected to your audience after shows so they won’t forget about you. Remember it takes a small business about 2 years to gain name recognition. That goes for bands as well. The number one mistake new bands make in the beginning is to forget to build their mailing list. This needs to start from day one.This list is your life blood to your career. This is how you get returning fans to shows; build loyal followings that buy your latest cd release. Don’t forget to start his list from the very beginning and send out an email at least once a month. No more than two though. Don’t bother them or they will get annoyed with you.The newsletter should let them know what is going on with you. Are you in the middle of recording some new material? Do you have a show coming up? Answer the basics of any good article. The who, what, when, where. Why, and how.Run a contest for your next show, whoever can write the greatest review of your band wins a trip to your next show in the famous gig van, gets to hang out with the band after the show and hang out at the all night diner with you. Give them a free CD etc. Let’s talk about your website with a little more detail for a moment. A bands web presence is very important for their success. This is where the fans get to hang out on their time. Your site should include the following:1. Upcoming shows2. Mention new songs, albums, and merchandise3. News about some recent success ( A sold out show, a good review from a magazine)4. Links to any kind of press you have online5. Photos from recent shows, studio sessions6. Announce upcoming projects you are working on (This keeps their interest in returning)7. Quote any interesting things that are funny or memorable that a fan said or did or even a band member.Your tabs should be something like this on your website –Contact – your email address, phone number etcTestimonials – Quotes from fans, venues, booking agents, festivals, magazinesMailing list info – have an easy to understand sign up process, let them know how often you will send them something and you will never give their info away or sell it for spam.Bio- This can be about the band, or separate band member bios or all the aboveInformation for bookers – stage plots, contact for booking, press ready photos, downloadable flyers for the venue to print out for promo.Music – mp3’s to download and cd’s to buy – allow them to play the music on the site to bond with it.Photos – pictures of the band both studio, live shows, and on the road.Links – link to any blog, ezine, podcast that features you. Cross promote!Blogs – journal your experience to offer more perspective for the fanVideo – You have to have video now! Use your camera on your phone it doesn’t have to be pro quality. There is no substitution for multimediaSo there are some basics to get you started. One more thing to think about is niche marketing. Music is more competitive now than ever with the home recording studio era. Everyone is producing his or her own music now and trying to make it big.There are thousands and thousands of bands out their trying to do the same thing you are. So how can you separate yourself from them? Try writing songs that target a subject or tell a story that people are interested in. Recently this lady wrote an entire album about sail boats. She got her album featured in a sail boat magazine and the album sold like crazy. I just co/wrote a song with a friend of mine for a film that was about the homeless. We then pitched the song to helping hands, and homeless shelter programs like united, and because it was so niche specific we are getting all kinds of interest. This same interest brings attention to your entire music catalog. Well without writing an entire book I hope some of these concepts will help the indie artist not to fail. Take care and good luck on your next project.
Do record executives know a hit song
Posted in: Music Business
Do record executives know a hit song?Do they care to know? I honestly don’t think they care enough about music to research the finer points of what makes a hit song. I guess the question for them would be will it make us money? Is that the definition of hit song? Will the people buy it because they like it? Is that a hit song? The point is that they have a money making template in the industry right now and they are not going to stray away from that. Test have shown that it takes a listener around 40x’s before he or she begins to bond to a song. Thus the reasoning behind slamming a new single down our throat 10 times an hour on the FM dial when the big recording executives release another one of their units out the Wall Street door.The idea is that if you are in a middle of a heart wrench break up and their song is on the car radio dial you will somehow emotionally bond with it. You just had the best day of the summer and their song was playing you will tie in that emotion every time you hear it.So my question is this. Is it a hit song if it sounds pretty much like the other hit song that played the year before? David Cook sounds a little like Chris Daughtry, Chris sounds a little like Nickleback, etc. They will not stray too far from that money making template.No big record exec thought Dave Mathews was a hit when they first heard him because he did not fit that money making template. However, Dave had the foresight and initial drive to give his music the test of time. His independent musical entrepreneurship paid off. His audience grew steady throughout his career. He was not under the pressure of the Major Label make a hit this month or your cut from this deal mentality. With time he had such a loyal fan base outside of the major record companies they big record executives came to him with humble hearts and asked if he would allow them to have a piece of his pie. He said no for many years until they gave him a deal he couldn’t resist. So in his case they didn’t know what he had till he showed them by packing venues all on his own without their help.The labels will not sign real talent right now because they now are under the make money for me now ideology. The new fresh talented artist will not have time given to him for his audience to appreciate his new art. So unless you sound like Pink, Kelley Clarkson, John Mayor, Jack Johnson, David Cook, Black Eyed Peas or someone else that is on top of the charts you will not have a chance for your single to be considered a hit song. Of course this is all my own ninety eight cents worth. But the talk of a hit song the industry today seems almost pointless. A great song and talented artist would not make it in todays music scene. Aeorosmith took almost 7 years before they wrote “Dream On”. I don’t think they would have that kind of time today. The majors won’t give a band or artist much time to be out there for us to bond to his ways of writing. Just like the Dave Mathews example at first we may not like it. Then over a year or so we may start to develop and broaden our musical taste buds. Our pallet will mature over time being exposed to great art. But the big executives in the record industry will only give us what they want. We get spoon fed music from the industry hit making machine. Thank God for internet radio and those tiny little satellites up in the air!
What genre is more useful: Radio or Television?
Posted in: Music Business
All we have to do is look at Disney in this conversation. They have figured it out in a day and age where artist are having a difficult time filling the seats to make their tours worth the investment. Not to mention the dismal sell of CD's in the era of digital downloads and piracy. Disney on the other hand has the top selling artist year after year and their CD sells are strong. BMI won't even include them in their charts? Why is this? Could it be that they are embarrassed that the kids are selling a lot more CD's than their adult counter part? Or how about Disney artist are selling out tours in minutes while the recording artist from the top four major record labels are having to do double bills and play in smaller venues to survive.My last example will be you-tube. Independent artist now has a chance to be on television sort of speak and get some of this power within their own hands. It does not replace the big networks just yet but you-tube has been more useful to independent artist than the radio for sure.
are Disney artist doing so well? Television! That is how. They have all of their recording artist on T.V. where we get to know them as a person. We fall in love with their personality and then we buy there music because we feel like we know them as a person. Hannah flippin Montana is the perfect example of this. Is she a talented musician? Yes, but not world class. So why does she sell more CD's than anyone right now? Because she is a cutie patutie and her television show lets you see this side of her. She has a great personality that comes alive on television. She has a charismatic energy that just leaps through the set. This would not be the case on radio. You would not see her endearing facial expressions and cute little manor-isms that make a home in most anyones heart. After falling in love with her because your 5 year old makes you watch the show with her you want to go and buy a ticket to see her in person and follow that up with a CD for a souvenir. Ha!
Disney promotes their artist better than anyone. They put them on television 24/7 and this is how they are so productive with their CD sells. Not to mention any other product they want to sell. Lunch boxes, shoes, dolls etc.. Adult artist have a few shows on MTV and they will go on a talk show here and there but they do not have their own show if you know what I mean. Maybe they will follow suite and figure out that Disney has the blue print on how to make a successful artist?
High School Musical, Jonas Brothers, and Hannah Montana is a prime example of the power of television. But their are two other points to show how the powerful media of television or now, streaming video, can launch an artist from non existence to stardom in no time at all. Just take a look at the success of the show American Idol and how Kelley Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are now two house hold names in the music industry. Do you think they would have been as popular if their debut albums were just released on radio air waves and a few late night talk shows? I don't think so. Seeing Kelley and Carrie week afater week is what got us hooked. Seeing them cry, laugh and smile through all the drama is what bonded us to them.
Promoting your independent band
Posted in: Music Business
Great Ways to Promote Your Band
When you tell an independent musician the only way to survive without a major label is to market and promote his music it is like telling him he has terminal cancer. They end up taking that bit of truth as a death sentence. I believe they think this way on account of most artist think that the business side of music is linear thinking, boring and dull. This does not fit in with their out of box thinking and creative personality. Not to mention nobody wants to come across as a bad used car salesmen.
So let's come up with some creative techniques to market your music. When you start to see CD sales increase, hits on your website, and more people at your concerts you will begin to see the fun in promotion. Feel free to play with these tips, have fun and be creative, but more importantly use them.
Creating your story so it is news worthy
Announcing the release of another new album is not going to create much buzz for you and your music. The entertainment section of your local newspaper gets this drab news from every other artist in town. So how do you create a story that is news worthy? What is your news hook? Here are a few examples that might give you some ideas.
I recently helped two sisters out by producing and co/writing their first original song. The song was dedicated to their dad who is in Cuba defending our freedom. The song was written from the girls perspective and reached into the hearts of all the families who have parents that are off in foreign countries while serving the United States of America. This story instantly caught the attention of local radio stations as well as the paper.
So what's your news hook? Do the lyrics in any of your songs tie end to any current events or trends in your neighbor hood? Has anyone in your band won any awards, dated a celebrity or done anything note worthy?
Here are a couple examples of free press that artist received in various publications and the news hooks they used to get it.
1. 12 San Francisco bands got some local ink when they worked together to create a calendar. Each month featured a different band with interesting and humorous facts that happened to each band on various dates. Could you use this angle for your band?
2. Silverwolf Records got coverage for its Homeless Project, a compilation CD of songs about the homeless. Does your CD have a noteworthy theme?
Blurbs and short takes
While pursuing a featured article and a review for your new album is a must don't overlook the power of blurbs and short takes. Everyday there are hundreds of music magazines, ezines, and local papers that need to fill certain editorial sections with music related items of interest. Here are some ideas for that:
1. I once put on a show with another local artist who had their own independent label as well. Their label was called Home Slice Music and mine was New Destiny Records. We put a theme to the show and called it a Slice of Destiny. Combining your efforts with other bands, record labels or a group of sponsors and adding a theme opens the door to more exposure.
2. I remembered working on booking my band at this venue who only booked national acts. After nearly three years of persistence they booked me and my band. I used that as a noteworthy bit of news for my local paper.
3. How long has your band been together? How many gigs have you played? How many CD's have you sold? These are all possibilities for your band to make headlines with. Something for you and your fans to celebrate.
4. I remember hearing this story about a band that got pulled over by some local police searching them for marijuana. They told this story to the paper and used it to book a tour. They called the tour "Got Weed?" They ended up using something that could have been forgotten into a great marketing tool.
Take matters into your own hands
Don't wait around for things to happen, make them happen for yourself. Conceive, create, and organize your own musical event. Here are some ideas:
1. Create a CD release party with you and other artist in your area who just released a new CD. Find a local venue or a music store that supports local and regional music. Offer some free, cheap, food and soda. Have someone be the designated speaker and host for the evening. Introduce each act separately and play one to two tracks from their new album. Open up the floor to allow the guest to ask questions about the band members, songs and the process of making the CD. Offer special discounts to those who attended that may want to buy a CD that evening. Try and promote this to the local paper as a safe and easy way for local music lovers to sample the areas music without bar hopping.
If you can't tell by now I am a big advocate of working together with other musicians to create a scene. Musicians and bands should be more of a family. I hate how some areas treat music as a sport by competing against one other instead of working together.
2. Try putting together a multi act unplugged show at an unexpected venue. Try to think of places that your target demographic will hang out at. Such as: Boys and Girls club if you play pop music that appeal to a young generation. Perhaps skate shops if your music targets that demographic. Other ideas could include: Borders bookstores, art galleries, the mall, Christian book stores, new age retailers, hip clothing stores, etc.
You are an independent business
You have to realize as an artist that you are an independent business owner. If you grasp this you will start to think like one and find your part in contributing in your local community.
For a town to thrive the local business owners have to help each other. A local sandwich shop is going to cater to the lunch hour of other local business. The local print shop is going to help out as well with the marketing of other local business.
How do you fit into this? Maybe you area a smooth jazz guitarist or a pianist and your music seems to relax people. Perhaps you can see if there is a massage therapist in town that wants to take a listen to your music. Give them a copy to try out on their clients. Have it playing in the background while the clients are receiving their message. If they like it you can have your CD for sale in the massage therapist office. Maybe your music is new age. Try finding a local bead shop, or rock shop. See if they want to play their free copy in their store and have your CD on display?
Create a musical series
For example if you are an instrumental artist living in Aspen Colorado try making a four part series with the first release entitled Winter in Aspen, followed by spring, summer, and autumn. I have heard of other artist doing well with this concept. It seems local distributors like the idea based on the fact they will receive another product from this artist. If the buyer likes what they hear on the first release it will also encourage repeat customers. Plus they know each release can generate more sales of the other CD's.
Consider the series concept when you are in the planning stages of your next recording project. This out of box thinking also makes a great media hook. Your music will stand out from the rest when it comes to an editor making a decision on what story they will print.
Making the most out of your live shows
Fliers are a long time tradition for bands at live shows. However I have found them to be tedious work with little rewards. If you are going to hand out something at the live show try making it a little more interesting so they will not toss it into the garbage.
Try putting your web address on it with a secret URL that will expire 2 days after the show with free downloads, huge discounts on Cd's, as well as an informative page telling them where they can buy all their gear: Hats, T's, Stickers, etc.
Another idea would be getting a stamp made with your bands website. Have someone at the door stamp all the hands that come on in to your show. Tell them about signing up for your mailing list, and the free mp3's you will be offering them on your site. If they forget about it they will certainly remember it the next day when they see that stamp on their hand. It may take a few days before that ink washes off. Great promotion for you and your website!
Radio promotion for your show
Offer the local radio station free copies of your CD to give away for promoting your show. Stations love freebies to give out because it gets the listeners to call in and be interactive with the Disc Jockeys.
Giving free copies to record stores for in store play
Giving away promotional copies to local record store managers to play is a no brainier. However you would be surprised how many people overlook this one including myself. People go to these shops to do one thing listen and buy music. If you music is playing there is a good chance they will come up and ask who is this artist.
People love limited edition
True lovers of art and music want to get their hands on limited edition volumes. Try this out on your next CD release. Try limiting a small amount of signed copies of your CD's to 50 or 100. Staples have these great certificates for this purpose and you can number them and sign them to make it authentic. Include an 8x10 glossy and some other memorabilia to make it a little sweeter deal. Maybe call it a "Fan Pack." This can truly inspire the die hard fans to order even faster. By making it a limited time offer fans will be more apt to spend money on your new release.
I hope a few of these ideas will spawn the creative juices inside of you. Remember be pro-active when it comes to your musical career. Make something happen for yourself.
When you tell an independent musician the only way to survive without a major label is to market and promote his music it is like telling him he has terminal cancer. They end up taking that bit of truth as a death sentence. I believe they think this way on account of most artist think that the business side of music is linear thinking, boring and dull. This does not fit in with their out of box thinking and creative personality. Not to mention nobody wants to come across as a bad used car salesmen.
So let's come up with some creative techniques to market your music. When you start to see CD sales increase, hits on your website, and more people at your concerts you will begin to see the fun in promotion. Feel free to play with these tips, have fun and be creative, but more importantly use them.
Creating your story so it is news worthy
Announcing the release of another new album is not going to create much buzz for you and your music. The entertainment section of your local newspaper gets this drab news from every other artist in town. So how do you create a story that is news worthy? What is your news hook? Here are a few examples that might give you some ideas.
I recently helped two sisters out by producing and co/writing their first original song. The song was dedicated to their dad who is in Cuba defending our freedom. The song was written from the girls perspective and reached into the hearts of all the families who have parents that are off in foreign countries while serving the United States of America. This story instantly caught the attention of local radio stations as well as the paper.
So what's your news hook? Do the lyrics in any of your songs tie end to any current events or trends in your neighbor hood? Has anyone in your band won any awards, dated a celebrity or done anything note worthy?
Here are a couple examples of free press that artist received in various publications and the news hooks they used to get it.
1. 12 San Francisco bands got some local ink when they worked together to create a calendar. Each month featured a different band with interesting and humorous facts that happened to each band on various dates. Could you use this angle for your band?
2. Silverwolf Records got coverage for its Homeless Project, a compilation CD of songs about the homeless. Does your CD have a noteworthy theme?
Blurbs and short takes
While pursuing a featured article and a review for your new album is a must don't overlook the power of blurbs and short takes. Everyday there are hundreds of music magazines, ezines, and local papers that need to fill certain editorial sections with music related items of interest. Here are some ideas for that:
1. I once put on a show with another local artist who had their own independent label as well. Their label was called Home Slice Music and mine was New Destiny Records. We put a theme to the show and called it a Slice of Destiny. Combining your efforts with other bands, record labels or a group of sponsors and adding a theme opens the door to more exposure.
2. I remembered working on booking my band at this venue who only booked national acts. After nearly three years of persistence they booked me and my band. I used that as a noteworthy bit of news for my local paper.
3. How long has your band been together? How many gigs have you played? How many CD's have you sold? These are all possibilities for your band to make headlines with. Something for you and your fans to celebrate.
4. I remember hearing this story about a band that got pulled over by some local police searching them for marijuana. They told this story to the paper and used it to book a tour. They called the tour "Got Weed?" They ended up using something that could have been forgotten into a great marketing tool.
Take matters into your own hands
Don't wait around for things to happen, make them happen for yourself. Conceive, create, and organize your own musical event. Here are some ideas:
1. Create a CD release party with you and other artist in your area who just released a new CD. Find a local venue or a music store that supports local and regional music. Offer some free, cheap, food and soda. Have someone be the designated speaker and host for the evening. Introduce each act separately and play one to two tracks from their new album. Open up the floor to allow the guest to ask questions about the band members, songs and the process of making the CD. Offer special discounts to those who attended that may want to buy a CD that evening. Try and promote this to the local paper as a safe and easy way for local music lovers to sample the areas music without bar hopping.
If you can't tell by now I am a big advocate of working together with other musicians to create a scene. Musicians and bands should be more of a family. I hate how some areas treat music as a sport by competing against one other instead of working together.
2. Try putting together a multi act unplugged show at an unexpected venue. Try to think of places that your target demographic will hang out at. Such as: Boys and Girls club if you play pop music that appeal to a young generation. Perhaps skate shops if your music targets that demographic. Other ideas could include: Borders bookstores, art galleries, the mall, Christian book stores, new age retailers, hip clothing stores, etc.
You are an independent business
You have to realize as an artist that you are an independent business owner. If you grasp this you will start to think like one and find your part in contributing in your local community.
For a town to thrive the local business owners have to help each other. A local sandwich shop is going to cater to the lunch hour of other local business. The local print shop is going to help out as well with the marketing of other local business.
How do you fit into this? Maybe you area a smooth jazz guitarist or a pianist and your music seems to relax people. Perhaps you can see if there is a massage therapist in town that wants to take a listen to your music. Give them a copy to try out on their clients. Have it playing in the background while the clients are receiving their message. If they like it you can have your CD for sale in the massage therapist office. Maybe your music is new age. Try finding a local bead shop, or rock shop. See if they want to play their free copy in their store and have your CD on display?
Create a musical series
For example if you are an instrumental artist living in Aspen Colorado try making a four part series with the first release entitled Winter in Aspen, followed by spring, summer, and autumn. I have heard of other artist doing well with this concept. It seems local distributors like the idea based on the fact they will receive another product from this artist. If the buyer likes what they hear on the first release it will also encourage repeat customers. Plus they know each release can generate more sales of the other CD's.
Consider the series concept when you are in the planning stages of your next recording project. This out of box thinking also makes a great media hook. Your music will stand out from the rest when it comes to an editor making a decision on what story they will print.
Making the most out of your live shows
Fliers are a long time tradition for bands at live shows. However I have found them to be tedious work with little rewards. If you are going to hand out something at the live show try making it a little more interesting so they will not toss it into the garbage.
Try putting your web address on it with a secret URL that will expire 2 days after the show with free downloads, huge discounts on Cd's, as well as an informative page telling them where they can buy all their gear: Hats, T's, Stickers, etc.
Another idea would be getting a stamp made with your bands website. Have someone at the door stamp all the hands that come on in to your show. Tell them about signing up for your mailing list, and the free mp3's you will be offering them on your site. If they forget about it they will certainly remember it the next day when they see that stamp on their hand. It may take a few days before that ink washes off. Great promotion for you and your website!
Radio promotion for your show
Offer the local radio station free copies of your CD to give away for promoting your show. Stations love freebies to give out because it gets the listeners to call in and be interactive with the Disc Jockeys.
Giving free copies to record stores for in store play
Giving away promotional copies to local record store managers to play is a no brainier. However you would be surprised how many people overlook this one including myself. People go to these shops to do one thing listen and buy music. If you music is playing there is a good chance they will come up and ask who is this artist.
People love limited edition
True lovers of art and music want to get their hands on limited edition volumes. Try this out on your next CD release. Try limiting a small amount of signed copies of your CD's to 50 or 100. Staples have these great certificates for this purpose and you can number them and sign them to make it authentic. Include an 8x10 glossy and some other memorabilia to make it a little sweeter deal. Maybe call it a "Fan Pack." This can truly inspire the die hard fans to order even faster. By making it a limited time offer fans will be more apt to spend money on your new release.
I hope a few of these ideas will spawn the creative juices inside of you. Remember be pro-active when it comes to your musical career. Make something happen for yourself.
