Posted: Sep 24, 2019

Category: Marketing

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**This post originally appeared on the Disc Makers Blog for indie musicians by Randy Chertkow & Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Reprinted with permission.

"Your best social media strategy is to entertain your fans throughout the year rather than just drop an album and disappear. Create a strategy to make your fans anticipate your every release — music, videos, merch, and more — and attract new fans in the process."

Posted: Sep 16, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"The first episode of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Sep 9, 2019

Category: The Lefsetz Letter

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**Guest post by Bob Lefsetz of The Lefsetz Letter.

"Don't wait for help, do it yourself. Just like you can record and distribute yourself, you can promote too. If you're waiting for a manager to start, don't...Decide who you want to be. A hobbyist, a touring musician or a superstar. This affects your path..."

Posted: Sep 3, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Jake Shane, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who resides in Spain. He makes his living as an independent artist by touring around Europe. His fourth album will be released in October, 2019.

"A recent article by Larry Fitzmaurice titled “17 Indie Artists on Their Oddest Odd Jobs That Pay the Bills When Music Doesn’t” is by turns comforting and deflating to the indie musician...Contrastingly to me, none of those artists makes their living exclusively from music, and many of them actually lose money touring. So, what does this mean for musicians in general, and me specifically? Well, a variety of things, but I’ll limit myself to three important factors..."

Posted: Aug 26, 2019

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Mark Smith, owner of Musical Instru.

"Let’s face it - a promo photo is an extremely powerful part of music, with its ability to catch the attention of fans, bookers, music journalists, and the industry in general. However, while the capabilities of a promo photo can’t be overstated, it all depends on the amount of care you exert into its production. To be honest, your promo photo is just as capable of effectively telling your story as your music, but that’s only if you get it right..."

Posted: Aug 19, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars Artist Services.

"A few weeks ago it occurred to me that I had recently seen multiple posts on Facebook from artists and songwriters asking for information on how to “jailbreak” devices like the Amazon Firestick and the Google Chromecast...Jailbreaking those devices allows users to download applications so they can watch pirated content like movies currently in theaters. I had a big problem with this..."

Posted: Aug 12, 2019

Category: Health

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**Guest post written by Electra (The Rock-n-Roll Health Chick), an Integrative Health and Nutrition Consultant and Coach, specializing in the health of musicians.

"Bad mental health robs us of enjoying our lives or caring about what we’re eating and drinking. Bad mental health can also cause disease and makes us feel worse all over. So, I’d really like you to work on all of the health tips I mentioned, including this one! After all, your mind runs the whole show!"

Posted: Aug 5, 2019

Category: Health

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**Guest post written by Electra (The Rock-n-Roll Health Chick), an Integrative Health and Nutrition Consultant and Coach, specializing in the health of musicians.

"No one likes a hypocrite, and I want to feel great as well. I’ve been having the lemon and salt water in the mornings and more fruits and veggies. That leads us to the second most important change you can make to think and feel your best...EAT WELL."

Posted: Jul 29, 2019

Category: Health

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**Guest post written by Electra (The Rock-n-Roll Health Chick), an Integrative Health and Nutrition Consultant and Coach, specializing in the health of musicians.

"Even when you’re a rock god, your mental and physical health can go either way. We all need a little help sometimes. So, I’m going to share the Top Three valuable and doable actions that will help you think and feel your best while you’re on the road, playing a gig, practicing in your room or just watching your favorite band. If you don’t take care of your body and mind, you won’t be able to think, write, perform or live well."

Posted: Jul 15, 2019

Category: Music Streaming

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**Guest post written by Tatiana Cirisano, originally featured on Billboard.com.

"Spotify is drawing heat from artists and music execs for an ad campaign that urges listeners to "dance like nobody's paying," a pitch for its free 30-day Spotify Premium trial..."

Posted: Jul 8, 2019

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Ellisa Sun, Jazz/Soul musician formerly based in San Francisco currently full-time RVing across the USA.

"8 months ago, me and my partner/percussionist Ken quit our day jobs, sold our stuff, and hit the road in a used 30-foot Winnebago to play as many shows as possible...Here are 16 types of shows we’ve played. Remember, my experience will be different from yours."

Posted: Jul 1, 2019

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post written by Dave Cool of Bandzoogle.com.

"An electronic press kit (EPK) is essential for making a strong first impression on promoters, bookers, media, and other music industry professionals...You can use your EPK to help you get more press, more gigs, and come across as a serious artist."

Posted: Jun 24, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Nick Cesarz, drummer, producer, and blogger from Milwaukee, WI. Nick is the editor and owner of DrummingReview.com, a website dedicated to helping drummers choose gear, learn how to play, and guide them through the music industry.

"It's a phone call conversation I wouldn't wish on any of my enemies: getting dropped from a record label. Being let go from a record company is a sad tale that many acts endure throughout their careers. Today I'll explain what it's like and how you can reduce your chances of having this unfortunate conversation."

Posted: Jun 17, 2019

Category: Social Media

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

"The main graphics banners on social media is one thing that we need to get correct to make a big impact [on social media]. The only problem is that each platform has their own way of displaying these graphics...Let’s start with sizes for each platform."

Posted: Jun 10, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Sophie D’Orléans, singer and keyboard player for The Sophistocrats (Canadian Smooth Jazz band).

"After spending 3 years and 4000km away from home, I wanted to move back to my hometown. I left my mountainous college town knowing that all my musical connections would be very far, yet it was what I needed to do for my personal growth. Trying to keep a ‘band’ together at a distance has been challenging in ways I didn’t suspect, while other difficulties I had predicted never happened."

Posted: Jun 3, 2019

Category: Fans

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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency.

"In this digital age of music streaming and social media, it is easier than ever to objectively measure an artist’s reach and influence. Whether you like it or not, every social media site and music streaming platform is collecting loads of data about their users. This information can be used to your advantage to draw powerful insights about your audience."

Posted: May 28, 2019

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Scott Cooper, talent buyer for Testarossa Winery and Sam's Chowder House and previously syndicated music journalist for newspapers across the country.

"As a Talent Buyer...I only book via email. Emails are a traceable record of who said what and the details of the agreement. Sometimes I can even tell if I want to book the band just by how well or poorly the email is formatted. So what to include or exclude in your email? There are certain things I want to see and other things I don’t want to see..."

Posted: May 20, 2019

Category: Fundraising

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**Guest post written by Dave Cool, Director of Artist & Industry Outreach at Bandzoogle, originally featured on Hypebot.com.

"The demise of PledgeMusic and the hundreds of musicians left in its wake are a sadly familiar story for music industry veteran Dave Cool of Bandzoogle. "The company takes on millions in investment to support rapid growth," writes Cool. "Flashy headlines ensue." But when things fall apart, too often it's the unsuspecting musicians that suffer."

Posted: May 13, 2019

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Ellisa Sun, Jazz/Soul musician formerly based in San Francisco currently full-time RVing across the USA.

"200 days ago, my partner Ken and I left our home base in Oakland, CA to spend one year full-time RVing and playing as many shows as we can to build an audience, learn about the industry, and hopefully earn enough money to survive...the following 10 Things I’ve Learned are more focused towards DIY Musicians like myself..."

Posted: May 6, 2019

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post written by Dave Cool, an excerpt from Bandzoogle’s free online guide "How to make a website for your music".

"If you’re actively promoting a new album or looking to book more gigs, you’ll need to have a specific EPK or Press Kit section on your website to centralize information for media and bookers. With an EPK page, they can quickly find all the details they need. So here are the essential elements to include in your EPK..."

Posted: Apr 29, 2019

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars Artist Services.

"You know how difficult it can be for bands to create leverage when trying to negotiate better guarantees from venues? Well something is happening in Pennsylvania that is going to make that even more difficult ... and musicians nationwide should be keeping an eye on this because it is something that could spread to other states."

Posted: Apr 23, 2019

Category: Songwriting

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**Guest post written by Chris Huff, originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog.

"If you are interested in writing lyrics with depth, you need a deep artistic well to draw from. All output requires input, and as a lyricist, I recommend you begin with words."

Posted: Apr 15, 2019

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Ellisa Sun, Jazz/Soul musician formerly based in San Francisco currently full-time RVing across the USA.

"100 days ago, me (Ellisa Sun) and my partner Ken Michienzi decided to leave our homes in Oakland, CA, purchase a used 30-foot Winnebago, and hit the road to play shows throughout the USA. Here’s what we’ve learned so far..."

Posted: Apr 8, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Matt Star as featured on The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

"Have you ever thought of yourself as the owner of a corporation? Guess what… you are. If you’re a working musician, a session or touring player, your company is called YOU, Inc...Knowing what you have to offer and what it is worth is the first step to creating a sustainable career..."

Posted: Apr 1, 2019

Category: Merch

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**Guest post written by Imri Merritt aka M, originally featured on the Rush Order Tees Blog.

"In this post, I’ll go over some of the tried and tested band merch, explain what they are, and why they are popular. This should give you some ideas for creating customized swag that will excite your fans and bring in some bucks. They asked me to list 10, but I’m turning it up to 11."