Posted: Sep 13, 2021
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post written by Logan Crowell, Founder & President of HOME, Helping Our Music Evolve.
"SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS FEELING THAT THEY COULD BE DOING MORE… THAT THEY ARE JUST SEEING THE ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’ IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF. Before we dive into specifics about how one can become more productive, let’s first understand what it means to be productive..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 7, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Bruce Wawrzyniak, who runs Now Hear This, Inc. and www.InterviewTipsCourse.com.
"It has come to my attention that there’s a whole generation barely even using email...regardless of your age, if you think you’re missing out on opportunities, it might simply be because (gasp) you did send one email and then gave up, moved on, when you didn’t hear anything back. The simple fact is, if it’s important enough to you, a second email should be sent when sufficient time has gone by (in other words, not the next day) and that simple follow-up could make the difference in actually getting a response."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 30, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Hovey Otis.
"Now that bars, venues and festivals are opening up, we as musicians are hungry to hit the stage. But, lots of musicians (myself included) had a rocky 2020. Here are a few tips to reignite your creative flow, collaborate, start recording, and get back into the music world!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 23, 2021
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Kristen Ford, Nashville based indie rock act with a passion for music business and a book on DIY touring in the works.
The East Room is one of 13 Nashville venues where either "Proof of a Vaccine or Negative Covid Test" is required for entry...All of New York City has this policy, as well as all NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) venues...Music festivals such as Folk Alliance and Kerrville already have similar policies for future events. This means regardless of your local rules and regulations, or your personal views on vaccinations, touring artists need to be ready for this policy change.
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 16, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Carla Malrowe for Bandzoogle.
"A brilliant band photo is one that captures the style and story of the music, expresses the characters of the musicians, and bears elements akin to the genre. It is impressionable, professional, unique and authentic. Brilliant photos sell the total sonic experience that awaits the listener...Here are the do’s and don'ts when it comes to putting together your band photoshoot project."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 9, 2021
Category: Show Booking
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**Guest post from Vinnie Hines, Co-Owner of Artist Collective AKA @ac_vinnie.
"Kyle Weber of Indie On The Move is one of the most seasoned booking experts in the country!...We've truly recommended this super affordable platform to countless artists and use it ourselves regularly...In this episode, you'll get a clear vision of the booking landscape in 2021 and beyond with some great tactics to be seen!"
Posted: Aug 2, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Nick Voorhees, founder of Melody Nest.
"It’s absurd to think that the “starving musician” stereotype proves to be true more often than not. Producing, composing, and engineering songs to a professional standard is inherently valuable because thought-provoking sound is necessary to the human experience, but many musicians find themselves broke regardless. It’s usually not due to a lack of talent or drive, but because musicians tend to be un-blissfully ignorant of the abundance of digital opportunities available within their electronic reaches. It doesn’t have to be this way." View Full Article
Posted: Jul 26, 2021
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post by Vince Martellacci of ForgeCollective.
"There are three main ways musicians can go about getting their music on playlists, ranging from old school to modern...They are: email outreach, digital submissions, and social media relationship-building...all three have their place, and all three work."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 19, 2021
Category: Royalties
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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"Facebook recently released a new tool for indie artists to share their music in a much easier way. The social media giant announced their partnering with TuneCore and Distrokid early this summer. Cyber PR discusses what this means for indie artists and what the new partnership entails." View Full Article
Posted: Jul 12, 2021
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Melanie Kealey for Bandzoogle.
"As restrictions are starting to ease in some parts of the world, we thought it would be beneficial to have a conversation with Kyle Weber (founder of live show & tour booking platform Indie on the Move) and Kristen Ford (singer-songwriter and touring artist) to gain some perspective on how artists are going about booking or re-booking tours..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 6, 2021
Category: Touring
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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!
"I've been playing shows FOREVER, yet I ALMOST NEVER see bands bringing these 10 ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL items to their shows! Make your life on the road 100% better by keeping these ten items at the ready!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 28, 2021
Category: Merch
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**Guest post by Michael L. Moore, a vinyl record enthusiast with a passion for R&B and soul music. He is the owner and editor of Devoted to Vinyl and recently wrote about his newfound appreciation for synthwave music on vinyl.
"Every industry was deeply affected by this crisis [in 2020], and independent artists were no exception. Unable to sell tickets, go on tour, and earn revenue through merchandise sales, 2020 turned every creative into a “struggling artist.” But 2021 is a new year, and as things slowly open back up, there remains a fairly untapped revenue stream that indie artists should strongly consider jumping into: the world of vinyl records."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 21, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from Marcus Welch, President & CEO of Quadio.
"There are so many talented creators out there who could benefit from the help a label provides - many, many more than you think...finding one another in the vast sea of musicians can be hard. On top of that, the right choice for an artist might be to go at it independently - which is a totally viable strategy for some, and can be leveraged in all kinds of ways with a creative enough approach."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 14, 2021
Category: Recording
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**Guest post by Martin Kristiansen, founder of HomeStudioIdeas.com.
"Getting stuck on unfinished tracks is probably one of the most common issues for producers. I think we all can agree that starting a new track is so much easier than putting the finishing touches on an existing project. Today I want to share 7 tips that you can use to achieve some closure on your music-making. Let’s dive right in!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 7, 2021
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Desi Thorne for Bandzoogle.
"The beauty of digital merch is that you can offer it to fans anywhere in the world. Create some one-of-a-kind items for your online store."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 1, 2021
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Desi Thorne for Bandzoogle.
"To get started, think about the different kinds of band merch you might offer. Items that can be handmade may be difficult to reproduce, but can also be offered for a significantly higher price point. Offering a good balance of custom merch and scalable merch allows you to offer unique merch for all fans at different levels of dedication."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 24, 2021
Category: Social Media
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**Guest post by Vince Martellacci of ForgeCollective.
"While there are so many active niches and interests on Clubhouse, the Clubhouse app space for music interests is an especially wonderful place. That’s because of its exclusivity, which I hope never goes away...But why is it exclusive? What is a room? Is it audio all the way? And how do you get on it?...Let’s examine the hot-button app."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 17, 2021
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post by Christopher Carvalho from Unlock Your Sound.
"Think of a shop. The top of the funnel is the people walking past the shop. The first layer down is the people window browsing. The next layer down is the people who enter. And then the next and final layer is the people who purchase something."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 10, 2021
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Leonard Patterson of Artist Collective AKA @ac_leonardp. This is an excerpt from his new book, 365 Livestream Ideas For Musicians.
"13. Schedule a Facebook Premiere 14. Create an Event 15. Join the Club(house)..."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 3, 2021
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Leonard Patterson of Artist Collective AKA @ac_leonardp. This is an excerpt from his new book, 365 Livestream Ideas For Musicians.
"1. Custom Domains 2. Custom Overlays 3. Partner with Venues..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 26, 2021
Category: Touring
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**Guest post written by Patrick McGuire for Bandzoogle.
"...responsible budgeting is just as important here as it is in any other facet of life. If you’re just starting out booking shows on the road, or if you’ve had bad experiences that have cost you gobs of money in the past, here are four considerations to make so that you can safely avoid going broke on your next tour."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 19, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Clark Colborn, progressive hard rock guitarist.
"Lately I have been studying the paths that successful bands and solo musicians have followed to get to the pinnacle of their careers, thinking that if I understand what worked for them then maybe I can create a similar path for myself...the goal in researching these musicians is to find out how they were introduced to that larger audience, and I have discovered there are two main factors that every single one of these artists has in common."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 12, 2021
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post from Justin Paul, music/career coach, A&R, DJ, and producer.
"First and foremost, talent buyers look at how many tickets they believe (based on data) an artist can sell. The more tickets an artist can sell, the higher the performance fee they can command. Sometimes talent buyers are tastemakers, and they take a chance on an up and coming artist/band that may not have much data available. Typically, those are opening acts or the middle of the lineup. Up and coming artists may even play for free or a smaller amount and are often more suited for club events."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 6, 2021
Category: Royalties
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"The new Mechanical Licensing Collective collects digital audio mechanical royalties from download and streaming services. Learn about the collective and see if you qualify to sign up so you can receive these new music royalties."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 29, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com.
"In the last part of our DIY music business series, we cover the tasks required to get your videos created, recorded, edited, produced, and made ready for distribution. You may be an independent musician, but being independent should never mean that you're alone. In fact, the list of people credited for being part of each release you do will probably get longer as you grow your career and level up the music, art, and entertainment that you release and perform."
View Full Article