Posted: Apr 10, 2017

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Debbie Stanley, a professional organizer, South By Southwest 2017 speaker, and owner of the consulting practice Thoughts In Order. This post is an excerpt from her book The Organized Musician.

 

"Being organized isn’t just about having a tidy closet, being on time, or keeping up with email. The consequences of disorganization can be severe for indie musicians, including damage to or even destruction of your relationships, and, by extension, your career...Of all the habits that either build or erode relationship equity, a surprising number are related to organization. Let’s look at some habits that are likely to undermine your relationships..."

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Posted: Apr 3, 2017

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Corina Corina, NYC based Singer, Songwriter, Blogger.

 

"I have a love/hate relationship with touring. For all the incredible memories I have from years on the road, it was also stressful, exhausting and emotionally taxing. I've read hundreds of DIY music blogs about touring that emphasize the importance of self care but only begin to scratch the surface...Here are a few things I’ve learned in between downward facing dog and gas station coffee..."

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Posted: Mar 27, 2017

Category: Promotion

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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.

 

"A lot of music biz teachers will tell you that you should commit time to releasing cover songs on YouTube because you’ll get all kinds of organic growth and attention. This is a proven strategy that has been working for several years. But, especially now that so many musicians are applying it, I’m not sure it’s all that it’s cracked up to be anymore. And it’s not as simple as picking songs you like and recording your own versions..."

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Posted: Mar 20, 2017

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Bobby Borg, originally from Music Marketing for the DIY Musician.

 

"Great interviews don’t happen by accident. Both parties, the interviewer and the interviewee, need to do a great deal of preliminary research. In fact, preparing your complete interview in writing before the interview can serve as helpful research for the busy interviewer and provide additional content that can be posted on your artist websites..."

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Posted: Mar 13, 2017

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post written by Wes of Bandzoogle.com.

 

"SEO is one of those mysterious and challenging topics for musicians who want to use search engines to promote their music, and who understand how powerful it can be. If SEO matters to you, but you're not sure where to start or how to do it: we have something great to give you..."

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Posted: Mar 6, 2017

Category: Facebook

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**Guest post written by Josh Klemons, digital storyteller and strategist of Reverbal Communications.

 

"If you spend time on social media, you’re probably familiar with Facebook Live, a relatively new Facebook tool that allows you to broadcast live—in real time—directly to your audience...Facebook, at least for the time being, is extremely committed to this tool and is offering all implementers a powerful free gift for using it: guaranteed exposure and engagement! Here are 5 ways to use Facebook Live to greatly expand your band’s reach..." 

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Posted: Feb 27, 2017

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright of Dozmia.

 

"Releasing music requires a huge amount of work, which makes it easy to miss something important. In addition to promoting your new release – sending it to radio stations, getting bloggers to write about it – there are some important things to take care of on the administrative side. Here’s a checklist of all the boring things you should take care of when releasing new music..."

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Posted: Feb 21, 2017

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post by Garrison Snell of Crosshair.

 

"Placement on playlists is the digital equivalent of radio placement, except that playlists aren't limited by geographical location AND they can be used to work your song into bigger playlists...Influencer marketing (placing stuff with influential digital celebs) is still the most organic form of promotion and word of mouth..."

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Posted: Feb 13, 2017

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Vinnie Hines of Artist Collective.

 

"There’s a place where that musical dream can still become a reality. The beautiful part of it is that it’s a rapidly growing industry based completely around good times, scenic views and constant entertainment. It’s the cruise ship entertainment industry, and this is how you “get in"..."

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Posted: Feb 6, 2017

Category: Social Media

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**Guest post by Doug Beney, lead editor of MIDI Lifestyle.

 

"You've been improving your skills for months, spending countless hours slaving over your DAW, perfecting every slight detail in your mix. Finally happy with your track, you publish it on Soundcloud, sit back, and.....Crickets...What I hope to provide you with today are some quick, practical improvements you can make in how you promote your music that will actually get you results..."

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Posted: Jan 30, 2017

Category: Recording

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**Guest post by Dane Myers, CEO of Custom Tracks, a virtual recording studio that offers low-cost session musicians and studios to artists around the world.

 

"Whether you're just getting started or you're a seasoned studio vet returning to make your next production, figuring out what a new album costs can be tricky. Here are some things to make the picture a bit clearer..."

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Posted: Jan 23, 2017

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Niki Walker, lead videographer of NPR's Tiny Desk series. Originally posted on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest Tumblr.

 

"The Tiny Desk is essentially the opposite of a concert venue or a music video. There’s nothing to hide behind except a real, tiny desk, in a real, very-active office. In some ways, our look is easy to replicate, because it’s all about the music...A lot of people film their Tiny Desk Contest entries on their own, so we thought we’d share a few things we’ve learned by filming almost 600 of these things..."

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Posted: Jan 17, 2017

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright of Dozmia.

 

This is the last part of "50 Ways to Promote Your Music and Grow Your Fanbase".

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Posted: Jan 9, 2017

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright of Dozmia.

 

This is a continuation of last week's post "50 Ways to Promote Your Music and Grow Your Fanbase - Part 1".

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Posted: Jan 3, 2017

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright of Dozmia.

 

"Succeeding in the music industry is hard work. You're competing with literally millions of people crawling their way to the top. However, most of these people don't know how to effectively market themselves or their music...Instead, set yourself apart from the crowd by learning all you can about different music marketing tactics, and treating your music career as a business. Here's a list of 50 music marketing strategies to get you started..."

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Posted: Dec 19, 2016

Category: Social Media

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, the author of How To Make It in the New Music Business. It originally appeared on Ari's Take.

 

"I get it. It’s so annoying every time a new social site pops up or updates their platform and then you have to completely relearn it (or start to lean in). The DIY world was a hell of a lot simpler when there was just one social network that mattered: Myspace. But those years are behind us. Let me help you make some sense of this all before we dig into it..."

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Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Louise Dodgson, Editor at The Unsigned Guide.

 

"Working with a booking agent is a topic we’re often asked about by artists and bands who wonder whether they should still undertake all gig bookings themselves or acquire the services of an agent who can bag those lusted-after festival slots and tour supports. Do I need an agent? At what stage should we approach one? Will a booking agency even work with an unsigned or emerging band? If you’ve ever wondered about any of the above, this blog is for you!"

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Posted: Dec 5, 2016

Category: Marketing

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

 

"What I am going to talk about in this article is rooted so deeply in common sense yet so few bands actually do it. Your live show will ALWAYS be your most powerful tool when it comes to marketing your music, your merchandise, your music brand, and getting people to sign up for your e-mail or text lists..."

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Posted: Nov 28, 2016

Category: Music Festivals

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**Guest post written by Amanda Kenyon of Blue Crane Music, a New England based artist management, booking, and consulting service dedicated to helping musicians grow their careers.

 

"I recently attended my first music industry conference. It was such a valuable experience that I decided to share five reasons every musician needs to attend a music conference. It pulled together emerging to big name artists, talent buyers, agents, songwriters, radio show hosts, and more. I went home with not only good memories, but a stack of business cards and excitement for newfound opportunities...Here are the top 5 benefits musicians can gain from attending a music business conference..."

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Posted: Nov 21, 2016

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Jonathan Sexton, CEO of Bandposters.

 

"Touring and building a fanbase is hard, and its a ton of work. It takes a lot of organization, dedication, and hard work to be the band that rises above the rest. The fact is, there are so many things that can go wrong, and it starts from the time the show is booked until the time that the gig is over and you are trying to re-book the club..."

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Posted: Nov 14, 2016

Category: Marketing

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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.

 

"When Tom (Myspace) and the gang fell behind in the social race, Facebook successfully jockeyed for the top social spot, but was slow to adapt to the segment of music marketing that their predecessor had cornered so adroitly. It never felt as personal. Third party plugin apps confused us. And even though Myspace was on its last legs back in ’09, it feels like Facebook still hasn’t caught up. Certain bands are more active on Twitter or Instagram, or else funnel the bulk of their resources into apps, email campaigns, or good old-fashioned websites. Bands’ pages can be tough to find, navigate, or engage. But for all its problems, we’re stuck with the ‘book' for the foreseeable future—for better or worse."

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Posted: Nov 7, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Jonny Carroll, a touring singer-songwriter from Grand Rapids, MI, as featured in his blog.

 

"In my short time burning the pavement that is independent vocational musicianship I’ve come to observe the artists who, regardless of genre, possess some traits for being wildly successful at making it into a flourishing career. The common denominator between them is simple..."

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Posted: Oct 31, 2016

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post by Brian Penick as featured on the SOUNDSTR Blog.

 

"Editor’s Note: This infographic is intended to visualize the world of General Licensing and how proposed changes could affect songwriters and music licensees."

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Posted: Oct 24, 2016

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, the author of How To Make It in the New Music Business. It originally appeared on Digital Music News.

 

"I’ve been lucky enough to have my songs placed about 30 times over the past 6 years in TV shows, films and commercials. Well, luck really had little to do with it. There’s very little luck involved in the music industry. Lazy people like to say that it’s all luck. That’s just plain ignorant. There’s no such thing as a “lucky break.” There are little victories. There are opportunities. There are people working their asses off behind the scenes..."

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Posted: Oct 17, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.

 

"This week I finally got around to watching the Steve Jobs movie. He was a complicated man for sure. It wasn’t the most feel good film I have ever watched. But I must say there were several scenes that apply to many of the things I try and discuss in this music blog. I was surprised how much Steve Jobs referenced musicians when talking about his quest to democratize the computer. It was pretty cool..."

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