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Avoid These Mistakes With Record Labels

Fri, 15 Sep 2017 21:05:49 +0100

For many artists, landing a record deal is the ultimate goal. Obviously you’re undertaking a Herculean task in trying to get label attention, but here’s some insider knowledge that should help you feel a little better: Here are some of the biggest mistakes made when contacting record labels, learn what you can do to set yourself up as the type of artist labels dream of signing.

1. Not Doing Your Research

This is the cardinal sin in contacting record labels! You wouldn’t believe how many people blindly send their demos out with little regard to whether the label they’re contacting is a death metal label, Christian label or even a record label at all. (Yes, this happens. People send their music to businesses with absolutely nothing to do with the record industry.) Do some research on the artists you love, with a similar sound to you, and find out who has released their records over the course of their careers. If an artist you like is on a major label, look up their discography online and see where they started out. Imagine this scenario: your music has a similar vibe to a hypothetical rapper with a lot of underground buzz, who just signed to Def Jam or a big indie like Rhymesayers. Who put out this rapper’s early stuff? Is there a hole in their artist roster where this artist used to be — a hole you could fill? Sure, submit your demo to the bigger name labels, but investigate the smaller ones, too. Obviously those ultra indie labels are already on the big labels’ radar, or they wouldn’t be scouting their artists. Plus a smaller label might be the better fit for your music, your artistic world view, and your fanbase.

2. Submitting in the Wrong Format

Before you send anything, find out how your potential label partner likes to be approached. Some websites will list a PO Box for physical CD submissions. Others will prefer links to your Soundcloud or Bandcamp, which is pretty much the industry standard these days. If you send a streaming link to your demo, it’s just so much easier for someone to click it than go through the process of finding a CD player, opening the packaging, slipping the CD in, and so on.

Don’t attach MP3 files to your submission either. Sometimes, for security purposes, labels delete emails with attachments right off the bat —if they don’t end up caught in the Spam folder first. MP3 files can also take too long to download and can seem suspicious. Would you open an attachment from someone you don’t know? Probably not.

A couple more tips: if it says “no unsolicited recordings” on their website, they mean it. Find another way in. Do you have any form of personal or business connection to anyone at the label? Can you make a connection? Creating a spreadsheet can help in properly targeting your submissions, and in keeping track of who you contacted, when, and if they replied or not.

3. Not Putting Your Best Foot Forward

Imagine reading your demo submission from a record label employee’s point of view. Most people work at labels because they genuinely love the music, but as we all know, love doesn’t pay the bills. When approaching a label, you’ve got to have killer tunes, but you’ve also got to prove you’re committed to progressing in your career. How can you show labels you’re serious?

Start by making sure your best track is the first one they’ll hear. If you can’t decide on a best track, get feedback. Which song sticks with your fans? Which song do you find yourself or your friends humming? Has a radio show dedicated to local music played one of your tracks on the air? That’s the song you want to showcase. Seek feedback from people you know involved in the music business, who have an ear for what works. Avoid asking people who are too close to you. It’s probably not the best idea to ask your mom, your girlfriend/boyfriend or your best friend. Even if they mean to be objective, they’ve got too much of a personal connection to you, which means they’re less likely to tell you when a song isn’t working, or when you need to go back to the drawing board and write better songs before submitting to a label.

It’s also important to demonstrate a history of playing shows. Let them know you regularly pull in big crowds at your city’s most well-known venue, or you opened for a big act on their Southern California dates. This demonstrates you’re capable of building a fanbase who will support your artistic efforts financially.

You’ll also want to include links to your website and social media presence. This will help the label understand how you see yourself, how you’re marketing your music, and how you interact with your fans.

By: Alison Stolpa

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

4 Things You Should Never Email To Anyone In The Music Industry

Tue, 04 Jul 2017 18:30:35 +0100

I get a lot of emails everyday and to be honest with you sometimes they provide a well needed comedic break in my day. I often read emails and think "Oh my God, I can't believe someone actually wrote this to me!" I thought it would be nice to share four things you should never write in an email and why. These are in no particular order with regards to comedic value.

1-I need your help, please! What does your company do?

Let me break this down for you because there is so much wrong with this statement. First of all you're emailing ME and you don't even know why! You are flat out telling me you have no idea who I am or what my company does. This just tells me you did a google search and spammed as many companies as you could with the same email. I've responded to emails like this with "How may I help you?" and I get responses like, "I don't know what do you do?" Just makes you cringe, doesn't it?

2-My music is the best thing you've ever heard!

Are you smiling yet? Does this look familiar to you. I know I've used statements like this but it was 20 years ago when I was pretty ignorant to the business. You never ever tell someone how great you think you are. Be humble and let them form an opinion. 99% of the music attached to emails like this is pretty bad.

3-I have something that is better than anything you've ever worked on before.

My first thought is: awesome, another one! My second thought is usually laughter. Even if this is true, why would you basically tell who you're emailing that everything they've done up to meeting you is crap? This is basically what you're saying. Again, be humble, let people form their own opinions, good or bad, and be easy going. No one likes a pit bull in their face.

4-Yo i gots some jams u gots ta here.

Don't send an email like you're texting a friend. I get it, I txt all the time and I abbreviate things so they look like a foreign language. You should not do this in an email to anyone you do not know. It's not cool, not at all. It screams "lazy and stupid!" Even if you're not, this is what poor grammar says about you.

By:James

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

Amateurs Vs Professionals

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 00:59:04 +0100

AMATEURS

Manipulate.

PROFESSIONALS

Make their counterparts believe the behavior/solution is to their advantage. No one likes to be manipulated. They don't mind being influenced, even if it benefits others at the same time. They just don't want to be a pawn in the game.

AMATEURS

Love publicity.

PROFESSIONALS

Want to stay out of the news. And if they're in the news, they like to control the story. Which is why professionals hire expensive PR people, because those PR people know the players, they can influence them and trade horses with them, because they both know they'll see each other tomorrow.

AMATEURS

Know it all.

PROFESSIONALS

Are always learning. If you don't learn something important every month, you're hanging with the wrong people, if you're hanging with people at all. The web is a fountain of information, but professionals will tell you stuff one on one that they would never put in writing.

AMATEURS

Bitch about the game.

PROFESSIONALS

Play the game, and try to change what they dislike over time.

AMATEURS

Boast.

PROFESSIONALS

Don't talk about their accomplishments unless they come up in the conversation naturally. They don't need to advertise, they're already the person.

AMATEURS

Burn the wrong people.

PROFESSIONALS

Burn the right people, if they burn anybody at all. Burning relationships can demonstrate power, but don't piss off the CEO unless you've got a chip to play against them.

AMATEURS

Need to win all the time.

PROFESSIONALS

Know if you never lose, you never really win. If the deal is one-sided, if leverage is overused, it will come back to haunt you.

AMATEURS

Are all flash.

PROFESSIONALS

Are subtle. They fly private, but they don't tell you. They drive a BMW or a Mercedes, not a Lamborghini. They blend in, they don't stand out.

AMATEURS

Believe life should be fair.

PROFESSIONALS

Know that life is inherently unfair. And sometimes you have to grease a palm or work a relationship to get what you want.

AMATEURS

Think they're better than everybody else.

PROFESSIONALS

Never forget where they came from and are aware they can go back there, so they might act entitled, but they usually go out of their way to be nice to the little people.

AMATEURS

Can only see what's in front of them.

PROFESSIONALS

Are always looking over the hill, around the corner. They're searching the unknown to see where it's all going, so they can be prepared when it arrives.

AMATEURS

Think nothing changes.

PROFESSIONALS

Know that everything is constantly changing, they're not wedded to the past. They don't lament the death of Main Street and manufacturing, they're all about the data.

AMATEURS

Put all their eggs in one basket.

PROFESSIONALS

Spread the risk. They know the only person who wins all the time is the one who does not play.

AMATEURS

Have false modesty.

PROFESSIONALS

Own their success. They're confident.

AMATEURS

Expect to win right away.

PROFESSIONALS

Know that success is elusive and hard fought and that a momentary blip of success at the advent may be just that, momentary.

AMATEURS

Are afraid.

PROFESSIONALS

Are self-assured. They roll with the changes. They don't get thrown off guard. They're cerebral. They don't fly off at the handle. They absorb the loss and figure out how to punch back.

By:Bob Lefsetz

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

Creating Small Goals for Maximum Success in 2017

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 04:49:16 +0100

1. Get real about where you currently stand

Maybe you're an artist who just released your debut record and hoped to have it picked up by an indie label. You need to start by asking yourself whether that's a realistic goal at this point.

What's the success rate of other artist achieving that goal? Could you realistically accomplish it in the time frame you hope? Be honest with yourself about your current status before setting pie-in-the-sky goals.

2. Evaluate your assets

We do this when starting our publicity campaigns. We take stock of the selling points the artist has and what we can do to help take them to the next level.

Maybe they've had notable guest artists or an established producer work on their record. Maybe they're on tour with an established band.

If they're at ground zero, we need to look at whether we can sell them based on the music alone or the story they can tell, questions that you should ask yourself, too.

3. Look at what's achievable

Now that you've identified your assets, it's time to look at what you can achieve based on where you stand and what you have going for you. If you want to play a major festival but don't have a lot of fans or enough experience playing in front of a big audience yet, then look at smaller festivals that are more open to artist at your level.

If you want to be covered by Stereogum, but have no press coverage to date, look at blogs dedicated to discovering new artist. You can find these on both a big and a small scale. You're going to have to be ultra realistic about why someone would want to support you in order to be realistic about what you can achieve at this stage.

4. Set weekly goals

Now, look at what you hope to achieve on a weekly basis. When you micro target your goals and make them more achievable, you tend to be smarter about your approach.

Although counterproductive to casting a wide net, you'll probably achieve more in the long run by doing less and only focusing on what has the greatest chance of success.

By making my goals achievable, you're also more apt to create momentum from successes. Every day, take one first step toward your weekly goal until you've achieved it.

5. Evaluate your weekly success

At the end of the week, evaluate whether you achieved your goal. If you've achieved the goal, make a list of three reasons why. If you haven't, look at three reasons why you didn't and one step you can take to improve it in the next week.

To dream big, you need to start small. The greatest successes are often made by small, smart steps.

by James

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

Arrogance, Is It Crippling The Growth Of Indie Artists?

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 04:53:34 +0100

I get sick and tired of artists telling me that they are already doing the things necessary for success, when in fact; most of them haven’t the foggiest idea what music business success looks like. When you don’t know, then your objective should be humility, and within that state of humility you will allow yourself to be open to not only constructive criticism, but also opportunity.

Nowadays, a lot of artists have grown accustomed to writing checks with their mouths that their asses can’t cash. Moreover, artist arrogance is not a new phenomenon it has existed ever since the people who cut the checks told average musicians that they were superstars. Nevertheless, artists like Kanye “I am Michelangelo, I am Walt Disney, I am Steve Jobs” West have gotten more and more famous for being high off their own supply (rants) rather than their music. Sure it is arguable that Kanye West is in fact a genius; however, at least he has a string of hit records to build his argument on. As for you….not so much! The first rule of being a drug dealer is never get high off of your own supply, but many artists who aren’t even qualified to be Kanye’s assistance’s assistant’s assistant rapper seem to believe that overconfidence is the recipe for the day…not the case!

My colleagues and I (other music industry professionals) find it quite comical, yet tragic that so many unsigned or indie level artists are so overconfident that they fail to FOCUS ON THE BASICS LIKE BUILDING A FAN BASE THAT DOESN’T CONSIST OF “LIKES” AND “RETWEETS”, perfecting their live performance, or better still, making music that is relevant and breathtaking.

I get it, generation Y are lazy geniuses, but paradoxical as that may be, I haven’t met a genius who had to tell you he or she was a genius, but never exhibited the actions to substantiate the claim. Nobody likes a smart ass or a know-it-all, which begs the question, if you know everything there is to know about making it in the music industry, why are you broke and unknown?

Case and point, I asked an indie artist at a recent music conference, what I could do to help him further his music career; the artist looked at me as if I had said something offensive about his mother. His reply, “I’m already on my grind, and my team and me have started a movement.” WTF?

Okay, if your team is on the grind and you’ve started a movement, then where the fuck is all of your fans? Oh, my bad, your fans are only in cyber space, which makes them as fake as the cubic zirconia chain you are wearing and as fake as your grind, your movement, and your team!

BELIEVE ME, I CANNOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP!

During another conversation, a female artist told me that she wanted to find a manager that could help her advance her career. When I inquired about the current state of her music career, she told me that she hadn’t recorded any songs that were original, she didn’t have an artist website, and she wasn’t going to change her image or sound in order to fit into what the music industry deems commercially pleasing.

YEAH, I KNOW, WOW, RIGHT?

What sound, could she have possibly been referring to if she had never recorded an original song? What image? She didn’t have an artist website, or even a video for that matter, and as for her style, well, I ask again what image?

SHE WAS 100% DELUSIONAL!

In addition, she has nothing to manage, therefore finding a manager is a waste of her time and energy.

Examples like the ones above are why it is of paramount importance that artists today take a good look in the mirror and self assess their lives, goals, and music careers.

Since a man who represents himself has a fool for a client, I expect that artists will self-assess with the same biases that have been the primary causes of their unfounded arrogance. Be that as it may, I have provided an artist checklist that every unsigned artist should use as a career reference point.

Warning, if you do not fit this criterion, you better get your shit together and eat a couple slices of humble pie, before you are told to your face that your talent and arrogance don’t match.

An artist website that offers your original music for sale, and EPK (Electronic Press Kit), contact information, tour/show dates.
A presence on the three major social networks, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with actual fan engagement—-if you have 100K followers, but 6 retweets, everyone knows your fans are FAKE.
Two or more live shows per month—-where REAL human fans show up to see you play.
A Music video—-not shot on an iPhone.
YouTube videos that have a “Call to Action” like go to my website and buy my song.
Original high-quality music—-no covers—-no Mixtapes.
Endorsements by other already successful artists—-collaboration or opening act.
Press—-magazine interviews, radio interviews, television
Music reviews from reputable sources.
Merchandise i.e. buttons, stickers, CD’s, digital download cards or bracelets.
Logo with a consistent branding message.
A sterling reputation as an artists and a person.
Business and marketing plan.
Ongoing Music business education.
Professional business etiquette.
A knack for discovering music career opportunities.

At minimum, these are the things that attract reputable professionals. If you want to avoid the sharks, snakes, con men, and two bit thieves of the music industry then tighten up your game. There are a plethora of services online that can steer you in the right direction, so roll up your sleeves and get to work! Before I go, I imagine that most artists won’t make it to the end of this article because they are too busy playing make believe.

by Sahpreem A. King

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

7 Music Marketing Truths ALL Musicians Should Know

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 04:54:05 +0100

Ever wondered why some super talented musicians don’t get the fanbase and recognition they ‘deserve’, while other not as talented musicians get a lot more exposure and seen in all the right places? Well while there could be a number of different reasons for this, one of the most common is that successful person’s ability to handle the business side of the music industry. More specifically, they probably know how to market themselves well.

Music marketing is that key piece to the puzzle many musicians simply never put into effect

It’s because of this that many don’t get where they could have otherwise been, and why they struggle to make sales, get gigs, and generally move their music career forward in any meaningful way.

The good news however, is if you’re willing to put in the work, it’s possible to learn how to market your music

Before you learn specific tactics for marketing your music though, it’s important you get a good idea of what music marketing is and isn’t. There are a lot of common misconceptions about this among musicians, so have a read of the below to see some truths about what it all entails. I truly hope it gets you on the right path when it comes to how you approach the promotion of your music.

1. Marketing Your Music Is Necessary, But Doesn’t Have To Be Difficult

As someone who speaks to musicians almost on a daily basis, I know that many have the feeling that marketing their music is going to be difficult. This is an understandable fear; most people get in the music industry for the love of the music, and don’t think they’ll ever have to learn how to market in order for them to get their music heard.

That said, if you do want to get your music heard, marketing is a necessary part of things. The good news though, is promoting your music doesn’t have to be hard. Pretty much all of it can be learned, and it doesn’t require a degree in science or maths to put into place a solid promotion plan for your music career. As long as you’re willing to learn and put the work in where needed, after a while marketing your music should become second nature to you. Who knows, you may even start finding it fun. :)

2. Music Marketing Is All About Raising Awareness

A lot of musicians when starting out feel like if they make their music good enough, they will get noticed. That all they have to do is record a good album, make it available to people in stores (or somewhere online) and their music will start making sales and getting downloads.

While I can see why people would think this, it’s far from the truth! Anyone who’s tried this tactic before will know that this isn’t the case. All that happens is you make 0 or very few sales.

Being talented and letting people know about your talent are two very different things. As well as making music that people actually want to listen to, you need to get them to give you a listen in the first place. After all, how will people know you’re talented if they don’t give you that initial chance?

New acts are coming out all the time fighting for people attention, to the stage where if you tell people online you make music and give them a free copy of your new album, most people won’t even download it. It’s because of this that you need to convince people your music is worth trying out. This is what music marketing is!

By marketing your music you’re doing two things:

1. You’re showing people that your music exists, and
2. You’re convincing people to give it a try.

If these two things don’t happen, don’t expect your next release to do very well.

3. Marketing Is Often Most Effective When It’s A Two Way Process

While some of things you do to market your music will only involve one way interaction (you relaying a message to fans and potential fans), things will really start taking off for you when you make this interaction with fans two way. By this I mean you don’t always want to be relaying messages to them and then shutting your ears. When you update your social sites for example, as you get more followers, chances are people will often reply to something you’ve said. They want to continue the conversation you started.

What I often see however, are fans replying on musician’s walls, but the musicians not replying in return. Even if they’re asked a reasonable question. While the affect of this won’t be as big if you’re always gaining new fans and have a very big fanbase, when you’re still in the growing stage, replying to the majority of your fans will help you grow a lot quicker.

By getting them involved in your music career, you’re creating more loyal fans who will stick around for a lot longer. When you speak to them, you make them feel like they’re part of your journey. Because of this they’re more likely to support and share what you do.

If you didn’t reply to them however, it’d be more likely they’d become frustrated trying to talk to you, and you continually ignoring them. If then another musicians was giving them more attention, it’s very likely they’d continue following and supporting them instead.

While marketing doesn’t always have to be two way, if you don’t implement a two way dialog somewhere in your music career, you’re going to find it a lot more difficult to build up a fanbase than those musicians who do.

4. The Marketing Of Your Music Is An On Going Requirement

This is a big one. As well as being aware that it’s important to market your music, it’s also important to realize the amount of time and effort that goes into this process. Most people initially think that the marketing process should start when you’re about to release your next album or single, and should end before you start working on your next project. This isn’t strictly true.

The marketing of your music should begin as soon as you’ve a good level of talent to promote. While the degree of marketing you undertake at the time will depend on what exactly you have to promote and what else you have on your plate, marketing should be an ongoing process for as long as you’re trying to become a more successful musician.

5. Getting Others Involved Will Make Your Marketing Efforts A Lot Easier

While music marketing isn’t that difficult once you know how to do it, it still requires a lot of time and energy to do it to the extent needed to make consistent money from your music. Often, doing all the marketing needed alone can lead to much slower progress, frustration, and possibly burnout.

The solution? Getting others involved with the promotion process!

This can be in the form of getting your fans to help you out, hiring a marketing team or knowledgeable individual, or eventually letting a record label largely handling that side of things for you (although it’s still important you learn how to promote your music too so you know if the label is taking things in the right direction for you).

More hands make lighter work; it’s not a good idea to do everything by yourself once you know you have something that people will really take too, So get others involved once your talent level is at a good level and you know what direction you should be heading in.

That said…

6. Initially, No One Will Help You!

That’s right. When you’re a new independent musician, you won’t get much outside help. Ok, so you might get some help from a friend who likes your music, but other than that, don’t rely on record labels or fans to help you promote your music. Why’s that? Simple, because record labels don’t generally work with unproven musicians, and you won’t yet have a fan base at this stage.

In order to move things forward for yourself, you’ll need to learn to market your music, and increase your status all by yourself. Once you’ve done this and have something to show for your efforts (gigs under your belt, being covered in respected place etc), then it’ll become a lot easier to get people to help you push your music further.

7. If You Only Promote Your Music Online You’re Losing Out

Lastly, don’t only promote your music online! I know the internet has made it easy to sit and promote your music from the comfort of your own home. That said, if you only market your music offline, you’re missing out on a load of other worthwhile opportunities!

Gigging is one of the biggest reasons you shouldn’t stick to online music marketing methods. By gigging, you get to connect face to face with your audience, make instant money by selling merch and physical CDs (a lot of gig goers still buy them), and make money from royalties.

Another thing you’ll want to do offline is chase up opportunities. Email can be a slow process, but when dealing with companies, often a phone call or going to see them in person can speed things up considerably. Not only that, but you have the chance to potentially connect with them in ways others who go through email simply won’t.

Of course, these aren’t the only ways to promote your music offline. Don’t focus strictly on online music marketing, as working within your comfort zone will most likely slow things down for you in terms of progress. So give offline music marketing a go too.

7 Music Marketing Truths, Conclusion

So there you have it, 7 truths you really should know about marketing your music.

These things are important to know before you start implementing specific music marketing strategies, as even the most powerful promotion methods will become less effective if you don’t know when and how to use them.

by Shaun Letang

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

A Hypnotic Way to Get Fans to Open Your Emails

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 04:54:19 +0100

If you know anything about marketing, you already understand that having a growing email list of fans can be your most powerful promotional asset. But, like any good tool, you have to know how to use it.

One of the great challenges with email is getting people to open and read your messages. It’s not the end of the world if your fans see your emails pop up in their inboxes but don’t have the time to open them. At least they see your name and are reminded of who you are.

But your real goal is to motivate fans to open your emails and further interact with you. So how do you do that?

One great technique to accomplish this was revealed when I interviewed Joe Vitale. He’s the author of more than 50 books on hypnotic marketing, the law of attraction, and more. You may have seen him in the movie The Secret, on “Larry King Live” or “The Donny Deutsch Show.”

The interview was wide-ranging, but here’s one nugget of marketing advice that Joe offered related to emails:

Putting a question in the subject line of your email can be a great way to create a “hypnotic” message that compels people to open and read it.

But not any question will do!

The key, Joe says, is to ask a question that can’t be answered unless you dig deeper to find out more. For instance, here are two examples of weak email subject lines:

Would you like to buy my new album?

What’s your favorite love song?

The problem with these questions is that the recipient can answer them and resolve the issue without any further action on their part. It offers no compelling reason to open the email.

However, here is an example of a more powerful, “hypnotic” email subject line question:

Which one of these three beautiful women inspired my latest love song?

A question like that creates a mental state of dissonance. It’s an incomplete thought. And for many people, unresolved ideas compel them to take action to uncover the answer and complete the thought before they move on.

Here’s another example:

Have you ever made THIS big mistake on the dance floor?

See the beauty in a question like this?

It’s similar to when you can’t think of a person’s name that you should know. It often drives you crazy and you can’t concentrate on anything else until you resolve the issue by remembering the name.

Curiosity-inducing questions offer a great way to create a hypnotic message that demands attention. Another related method is to make a provocative statement that doesn’t include all the details, such as:

Don’t let your parents watch this new music video

You could also use the word kids, boss or lover in place of parents and get the same effect, depending on your audience and subject matter.

The point is that the statement creates curiosity and an incomplete idea that begs for a resolution. So start thinking about how you can use hypnotic questions to increase your email open rate.

Important: If you’re going to use tactics like this to inspire action, you should put a priority on delivering an interesting message inside the email. If you mislead people or simply don’t offer a story that’s funny or compelling in some way … they may not trust you the next time you use a strategy like this.

Also, you wouldn’t want to use questions and statements like these with every email you send. Just sprinkle them in here and there when you have really important info to get out.

by Bob Baker

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

8 Effective Ways to Better Promote Your Next Release

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 04:54:33 +0100

There have been a whole bunch of revolutions lately. One of the ones I’m most excited about is the revolution in the area of recording gear and software. I think it’s really incredible how just in the past few years tools have evolved to the point where people like you and I can get REALLY great recordings on our own, in our own homes.

I think a lot of people are aware of this particular revolution and are really jumping on board, which is awesome! But there’s another revolution I want to talk about today that I think a lot of people are missing… and that’s the promotion revolution! Just like in the recording arena, there are tools that are now available to normal people like you and me that we can use to really effectively promote our music.

As artists we spend a lot of time making sure that our songs and recordings sound great, but I see a lot of people that think their work ends there. They get their album done, throw it up on iTunes or Bandcamp, send out a few Facebook or Twitter posts, and that’s it. This is a HUGE missed opportunity for artists. Album releases are a big deal, and with all the hard work you’ve put in to your album, you need to give it the best release possible.

Today I want to give you some ideas on ways to turn your album release into a special event that gets people as excited about it as you are!

1. Give it Time

In order to really build excitement about your release, you’re going to have to give it some time. I realize that sitting on finished songs that you worked so hard on can really test your patience, but trust me. Sit down and plan out how you want to build up to your release. You should incrementally release information about it such as the title, track listing, cover, etc. Having a time of dedicated promotion before your release will really help transfer your excitement to your listeners.

2. Set up a Preorder

If you’re using Bandcamp to sell your new album (which I highly recommend), you have the option of setting up a preorder for your new album. You can read the specifics of setting that up here, but basically your listeners will be able to stream one song from your new release, and if they preorder it they’ll immediately get a download of that songs. On release day, Bandcamp will automatically send out an email to anyone who preordered with a link to download the full album.

This is a great thing to include in your pre-release promotion because it gives your listeners a taste of what they’ll be getting in the full release and gets them excited about it. But most importantly, while they’re in the midst of their excitement, it gives them a chance to take action and reserve a copy for themselves.

3. Make a Music Video

Obviously setting up a preorder means unveiling a new song. So why not spice that up a little more and make a music video? Videos are inherently more engaging than just audio, and combined with a preorder you might see a higher percentage of your listeners engaging with it AND the preorder.

4. Noisetrade Promotion

Noisetrade is a similar platform to Bandcamp, but with a few key differences. Anything you put on Noisetrade can be downloaded for free, although there is a “tip jar”. So it’s very similar to Bandcamp’s name-your-price option, and you do get email addresses from everyone who downloads. The biggest difference though is that you can pay Noisetrade to promote your album on their site. There’s a few different options, but basically your album will be placed on their homepage for a week and you’ll be included in one of their bi-weekly emails that goes out to a pretty massive list.

One way to use Noisetrade to promote an upcoming release is to take a select few songs from it and put them up as an EP or sampler. Not only does this serve to excite your current listeners with some new songs, it can bring you a lot of new listeners, especially combined with Noisetrade’s paid promotion like I talked about above.

But how does this get people to buy your new release when it comes out? Well, you do get the email addresses of everyone who downloads your EP or sampler on Noisetrade. You can keep these emails separate within your mailing list service and send them a special email once the album comes out, letting them know that they can get the whole thing. Even better would be to include a special discount code just for them, since they’ve already gotten a few songs from your release!

5. Utilize your Old Releases

This might be more indirect than direct promotion for your new album, but one good way to reinvigorate your fan base and attract new listeners is to extremely discount or give away your back catalog for a limited time. Tell your listeners about it and ask them to share with their friends! If you’re using Bandcamp for this promotion, you’ll get the emails of every new person who downloads your music, and you’ll be able to send them a nice email letting them know about your new album when it comes out.

6. Do a Reddit AMA

Reddit is kind of a weird place, but it’s a very popular place. It’s also well known for hosting AMAs (Ask Me Anything) where people essentially allow themselves to be interviewed by the community. The way AMAs work is that you schedule a time that you’re going to be available, and at that time you start a post, allowing people to comment on it and ask you questions. You can use this within your promotion campaign to give people a chance to interact with you directly and have them ask question about your new release. Your fans love to interact with you, so this will get them excited!

7. Do a Live, Interactive Stream of Your New Album

Another way to build excitement is to do a live, one-time stream of your new album before it releases. One way that you could do this is through mixlr.com, which let’s you broadcast audio to a live audience. Basically you can hold an online listening party and interact with your fans while they hear the entire album for the first time. This is another instance where having a preorder set up will give your listeners an action they can take while they’re excited about what they’re hearing.

8. Submit your Album For Review

While you’re working on all this other stuff in your release campaign, it’s a great idea to submit your currently unreleased album to different music sites for review. Spend some time making a list of all the ones you want to submit to that fit your style and genre, and also spend some time coming up with a solid pre-release “press announcement”. And shoot high here… even if you think a certain blog or site is way above you, send it in anyway! You never know what might catch someone’s ear, and you might find yourself getting a review from a huge site and tons of new interest!

As you see, there can be a lot of work involved in running an album release, but I believe it’s worth it! Figure out which of these things you want to try out, be creative, and plan it out. I know you won’t regret the effort you put into this, because your music is worth it!

by Andy Othling

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

Networking: Why it’s So Important and How to Do It

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 04:54:44 +0100

Everyone talks about networking and how it’s so important for your business, but when it comes down to it, not many people know how to do it and why it’s so valuable. Here are a few tips for all the new networkers out there.

No matter what your business, if you’re a up and coming musician, a publicist or an accountant, it’s important to know people in your industry. Industry connections, no matter the context, can make a considerable difference when it comes to growing and maintaining your business. People you meet along the way in life can help you to learn new things, and with our ever changing culture, you never know who you will need in your corner in the future.

Now you know why you network, but how do you go about doing it? First and foremost, it’s important to always look presentable. No matter where you are, whether it’s at the office, at a concert, or running errands, first impressions are crucial! There’s nothing worse than meeting your future employer looking like a total mess.

But you can’t always expect people to come to you. So really make an effort when it comes to networking. Seek out places to meet people and engage accordingly. You can always count on conferences and festivals, but with all the access we have in the digital age, tools like LinkedIn can be a great asset for connecting and networking. Join relevant groups and start discussions. Share contact information, and always be sure to follow up with the connections you make along the way. After all, you never know when you might need something down the road.

Networking also isn’t limited to your industry. Be sure to, wherever you are, ask. Ask people what they do for a living, get to know them better and see how they might be able to help you in your business.

by Sari Delmar

Hopefully these few tips clear up all your networking questions and make a difference in all your future business endeavors. And encase you want to connect with us. You can add us to LinkedIn ! We’re always looking to connect!

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve

Performing Music Gets Us High

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 04:54:57 +0100

Non-musicians are always confounded as to why musicians struggle so much for their art. If you look at it logically, there’s really no reason why some of us would give up promising careers in “legit” businesses to groval for a few bucks in an effort to keep on groveling for one more day. And this is all in the hopes of someday “making it,” which usually means that we can continue making music, just without the day-to-day groveling.

But there’s a reason why we do it. Performing music makes us high. Every musician who’s ever gigged has experienced the rush on stage when you played something so cool that they rest of the band would give you that acknowledging smile. Or when the whole band does something at once in such a tight fashion that it’s like thinking with the same mind. Or hearing the whistles and applause at the end of a song. That’s what keeps us doing it.

No matter if you’re just starting out in the garage or a superstar at his peak, you can’t get enough. We all know it on some level, and we all crave it. And it never goes away. Even if you haven’t played in a band in 20 years, it takes about 10 seconds after the first downbeat to get back into it again. And if you’re “retired” as a player, the thought of performing is consciously suppressed because you’re afraid that you’ll miss it so much and get pulled back in. All it takes is just one small taste.

We know we’re addicted, but to what exactly? Now according to a study published in Evolutionary Psychology, it turns out that performing actually releases measurable amounts of endorphines (the body’s natural opiates) during performing. That means we’re not only psychologically addicted, but physically addicted as well.

The study was conducted at Oxford University by Professor Robin Dunbar, who wanted to see if performing music would increase a person’s pain tolerance. Three experimental groups were studied; church singers involved with communal singing, clapping and lots of upper body movement, people in a drum circle, and finally a group of musicians rehearsing. What he found was that performing released endorphines that resulted in “a mild opiate ‘high’ corresponding with a feeling of well-being and light analgesia (the absence of pain).”

I’ve also felt that performing music goes a step beyond the physical to the spiritual, if I can get metaphysical here for a moment. A musician “in the zone” is unknowingly performing a ritual that’s touching somewhere above the physical plane. It’s a place that’s so compelling that we want to go there again and again, but it goes beyond that. We also open this spiritual link to the audience as well, which is why they want to come hear us play. It’s something they can’t easily reach for themselves, and need us as a gateway. Our music speaks on multiple levels, and has the ability to take us and our audience to places unknown.

So keep on playing as much as you can. When done well it’s good for you, and for everyone around you. You are more special than you know.

by Bobby Owsinski

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About site: We attribute our successes to always listening to our clients not as customers who need premium beats but as people who
have dreams and aspirations that we can help them achieve