Posted: Nov 17, 2014
Category: Licensing
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**Guest post written by Jennifer Kes Remington, composer and filmmaker, as featured on Pyragraph.
"So in my quest to throw multiple things against the wall and hope that money comes out of it, I’ve been licensing a lot of my music to library companies...I asked a few other composer friends if they knew of any library companies offhand. On their initial recommendations, I started entering my music into a couple music libraries, and waited and watched as the royalties came in..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 10, 2014
Category: Show Booking
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**Guest post written by Joshua Powell, singer-songwriter, DIY musician, and frontman for Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery, as featured in his blog Fearsome Folk.
"Your bobber just exploded and somebody took the bait. Now it’s time to let out on the line. One of those thirty-four venues replied to your excellently crafted pitch email and now you’re in negotiations to set the stage for your impending show. But the thread of your line is steadily unspooling, and sure, your cast was masterful, but there are other things to which we must attend. We’ll do that here—in the follow-up..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 4, 2014
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Brandon Seymour, musician, SEO analyst, web designer, and social media marketer.
"I know - I'm not the first genius to point out that the music industry is dead. I'm also not the first person to point out that artists have been complaining about this for a very long time. I just can't help but wonder if maybe - just maybe - the music industry needed to die..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 27, 2014
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post originally featured in the DIY Musician Blog.
"Pandora launches free analytics tools for artists..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 20, 2014
Category: Online Presence
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**Guest post written by Randy Young from the Ottawa based rock band Cherry Suede.
"Using storylines to create context for your content boosts its relevance to your audience. The result? More fans, sales, and profits!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 13, 2014
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Carlos Castillo of Schwilly Family Musicians - music marketing strategist, web designer, live performance recordist, international road-tripper, lap steel player, and Captain of the Schwilly Family.
“The first requirement for being successful in anything is to define what success means to you. That is one of the biggest challenges musicians face today. There is no standard to follow..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 7, 2014
Category: Online Presence
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**Guest Post from Bandzoogle.com.
"We cannot overstate the importance of photos when it comes to your website. In fact, we often tell bands that they should spend more money on professional photos than on their website. Great photos can create a positive first impression for potential new fans, as well as for industry and media. But if the images on your website look unprofessional, chances are, people won’t take you or your music seriously..." View Full Article
Posted: Sep 29, 2014
Category: Touring
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**Q&A with Eva Alexiou-Reo of FATA Booking Agency.
This is a great question! I feel that a band should take on a booking agent after they have booked a few tours themselves or if they have a high demand by fans to be in national markets. Since an agent's job is to find and route live engagements, then it should be during a time when there is something going on in those markets...
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 22, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Randy Young from the Ottawa based rock band Cherry Suede.
"As musicians, we tend to think we can do it all. We’re independent artists. We’ve got our music, our talent, our fans—and nothing else matters. Well, at least that’s how it works in theory. The reality is we need help, and lots of it. I don’t care how good you are—there is simply not enough time to do everything and still be a master at your craft, which is the music itself. You need tools and you need to outsource. You need to learn how to run your band like a business, and being resistant to this fact is the fastest way to kill off whatever income—and independence—you have left."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 15, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand. It originally appeared on Ari's Take.
"Of course everyone wants a 5 star album review in Rolling Stone or an 8.7 in Pitchfork, but you have to be realistic about your press pursuits. If you have never received press, there is a very slim chance that you will get an album review in a popular blog or nationally distributed magazine. Your best chance for media coverage is your hometown papers, magazines and blogs or local publications in cities you're touring to..." View Full Article
Posted: Sep 8, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand. It originally appeared on Ari's Take and in Digital Music News.
"Music reviewers know their audience. The average reader doesn't care how you achieved that guitar tone on the bridge of track 3. But if your lead singer went on a spiritual quest for 9 months in the Amazon and came back with 12 songs written on an invented instrument he made out of found objects in the rainforest, now THAT'S a story! When you write your press release or pitch an article, highlight the most interesting aspects of what makes you stand out..." View Full Article
Posted: Sep 2, 2014
Category: Copyright
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**Guest post originally featured in the DIY Musician Blog.
"Copyright law tends to get thrown under the bus in favor of more interesting topics like marketing and social media, but it’s actually one of the most important things to understand as an indie musician...You can leave the finer points of the law to lawyers, but you should have a solid understanding of the basics. Not only will this knowledge help you feel more at ease when discussing contracts, you’ll also be able to secure income streams and protect your rights. Here’s 5 points of copyright that every musician should know..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 25, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Jorge Brea, Owner & Managing Director of Symphonic Distribution.
"By now it’s apparent that there is a ton of music out there – over-saturation is a term you may hear often these days. For anyone getting involved with the music industry, there is always a need for more exposure and promotion. If an artist or a record label has it, they will sell better, simple as that...Here are 7 quick tips that you can apply to increase your exposure and potential..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 18, 2014
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by John Safari, President and Co-Founder of Orange County Music League.
"A lot of bands complain about the music scene for one reason or another. In my opinion, most of these bands aren’t thinking of the bigger picture, or outside of their band for that matter. I started Orange County Music League to put an end to pay to play. Bands are not a dollar sign. Here are some things that local bands are going to need to start doing in order to build a thriving scene..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 11, 2014
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars.
"When you take into consideration how many singers and musicians complain about the current state of artist-venue relationships, you would think most performers would jump at the opportunity to explore alternative methods of putting on shows and generating income...I'm here to tell you that there IS an alternative live show model, house shows, that many artists ARE having a great deal of success with...So I reached out to somebody for answers..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 4, 2014
Category: Licensing
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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand. It originally appeared on Ari's Take.
"There is no one way to get music placed on TV (or in film). In addition to how I've gone about it, I've spoken with many of my musician friends who make livings on song placements about this." So what is their advice?... View Full Article
Posted: Jul 28, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Erica Sinkovic, CD Baby's Web Product Manager and general music enthusiast, as featured in the DIY Musician Blog.
"Whether you’re an independent artist or signed to an independent label, you’re sure to have a lot on your plate already. Between booking shows, debating merch, planning your next big marketing move, juggling social media-insanity, oh yeah, and writing new material, the last thing you want to add to your plate is a radio campaign...I’m here to tell you: don’t abandon radio."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 21, 2014
Category: Online Presence
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**Guest Post from Bandzoogle.com.
"When reviewing websites for musicians, we generally break down the reviews into 3 categories. For each category, there are certain key things that we look out for...So here’s our 16-point band website assessment checklist to measure how your website is doing..." View Full Article
Posted: Jul 14, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.
"...the question you’re asking is: “How do I get write-ups when nobody knows who I am?” Well I’d like to pose 4 different answers to your question..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 7, 2014
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars.
"Saxophonist Dave Goldberg has been getting a lot of attention lately for an open letter he wrote to operators of venues that host live music. The letter was Goldberg's way of sounding off against venues not paying artists as much money as they feel they deserve. The text, while not hostile in nature, was extremely misguided and managed to ignite another round of firestorms by similarly misguided artists. It was missing a lot of important information concerning why the music scene is the way it is right now and really offered little in the way of how to improve it other than to say venues should simply pay bands more money..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 30, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Alan VanToai of SimpleCrew - the mobile app for street teams. This article originally appeared on the SimpleCrew Blog.
"Street teams are a powerful force for independent artists - they’re a win-win all around. You get to engage your fans, give them a chance to get closer to you and “in on the fun”, and you get to spread the word about your shows." Read on for ways that you can use online and offline technics to power your team...
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 23, 2014
Category: Songwriting
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**Guest post written by Maryann Harman, founder of Music with Mar., Inc, as featured in the DIY Musician Blog.
"As with anything, you should know who you are working with. In the performance field, this is called knowing your audience...you wouldn’t sing a song that lasted more than 2 minutes to a young child. Now, I’m not saying that can’t be done. It would, however, involve a lot of props and movement. When it was over, their attention may have all been spent on that one song...Here are the basics about how children respond to music..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 16, 2014
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars.
"So many artists forget about and fail to take advantage of what makes an acoustic show in a small venue so important to building a fan base. The audience is close to you. The setting is intimate. The audience can see you expressing emotions with your eyes and face. Yet so few actually capitalize on the opportunity." Read on to find out how you can...
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 9, 2014
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Patrick Hertz of Tinderbox Music. This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog.
"College radio is a unique mix of non-commercial stations that range from small-watt student-run operations to huge, vastly influential public and/or community stations. This spectrum allows for most any independent artist to find terrestrial radio airplay – that is, of course, if the music is good..." View Full Article
Posted: Jun 2, 2014
Category: Recording
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**Guest post written by Bobby Owsinski, producer/engineer and best selling author, as featured in his blog The Big Picture Music Production Blog.
"A fairly large project usually has numerous rentals of both long and short term. The trickiest long term rental is always the studio, since if you don’t complete what’s needed on time, then you’ll have to move somewhere else if the studio has booked time after your booking has run out. This can be a royal pain, since it means tearing everything down and setting up again, losing some time and momentum, and your sound, in the process. Here are 5 types of studio time that musicians should be aware of..." View Full Article