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IOTM Blog

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How To Determine Your Marketing Budget

Posted: Jan 31, 2023

Category: Marketing

social media marketing budget ask peers symphonic distribution be strategic long-term equality cost-effectiveness priorities branding

**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.

 

Marketing Budget SD


"Effective marketing is a fundamental part of being an artist. Without it, you, your music, and your branding can only go so far. This is where spending the money for thoughtful and dependable marketing comes into play. But how do you know how much money is the right amount to help you achieve your goals? In this part of our marketing journey series, we’ll break down everything you need to know about building a successful marketing budget..."

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How To Survive the Winter Slowdown of the Music Industry

Posted: Dec 7, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.

 

Winter Slowdown Symph Dist


"Every year, from about mid-December on, the music industry becomes a ghost town. People start going on vacation, taking time-off, major label artist releases slow down big time, and for indie artists, it’s no man’s land. And while that, coupled with the frigid temperatures, might be enough to have you want to hunker down and avoid leaving the safety of your home for the next few months, this time of year is actually incredibly powerful for setting yourself up for success. You just have to know how to take advantage of it. Here’s how..."

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14 Key Tips On How To Get A Music Manager

Posted: Aug 23, 2022

Category: Managers

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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.

 

Yona Managers


"Have you reached the point where you need someone else to manage many of your business aspects in order to you to be able to focus more on the creative side of things? Are you unsure of the process for getting a manager that fits your style, location, budget, and interests? You are not at all alone...Not everyone that can manage should manage you. Also, more importantly, not everyone that is looking for management is ready for it."

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Three Tips for Pitching to Busy Music Executives

Posted: Aug 9, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post written by Logan Crowell, Founder & President of HOME, Helping Our Music Evolve.

 

Success


"Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Imagine that your job and your next promotion rides on finding that one in a million song or artist that is going to take the world by storm. IT MAKES SENSE THAT EXECUTIVES AND A&R REPS RELY MORE ON DATA ANALYTICS THAN THEY DO ON THEIR EARS. They can find artists and songs based on the reactions from a huge ‘test group’ like TikTok, which gives them more objective confidence in their decision making than their own ears can. STILL...DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE PITCH."

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How Patreon Alternative Fangage Helps You Create Better Fan Experiences

Posted: Mar 1, 2022

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by David Andrew Wiebe, previously featured on MusicGoat.com.

 

Fangage vs. Patreon


"Looking for a Patreon alternative to create a better fan experience by offering exclusive content? Had thoughts of selling content and paid subscriptions? Wish you had direct access to all your stats and fan data so you could market better? Interested in creating a profitable online fan club? And what if you could do all this on your own, brandable white-labeled website?"

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2021 Holiday Marketing & Content Guide for Artists

Posted: Nov 22, 2021

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Leonard Patterson of Artist Collective AKA @ac_leonardp.

 

Holiday Marketing - Artist Collective


"Regardless of the true meaning of the holidays, one thing is universal. People will flock to the stores, click on shiny objects, and buy. the. stuff. Whether or not you have “stuff” to sell already, here are a few easy-to-implement marketing, content, and planning ideas to help prepare you for the season."

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Musician’s Guide to Marketing Plans: The Nuts & Bolts – Pt. 1

Posted: Oct 18, 2021

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.

 

music marketing plan - cyber pr
"In this ever-changing landscape, we see the same issue consistently: A vast majority of musicians don’t create long-term marketing plans. Artists skip this vital part of their music careers. Plans used to be the responsibility of the record label when artist development used to be a thing or a great management team but very few artists are lucky enough to have either (or in many cases, they don’t want a label). This leaves a void in today’s new music business...You work so hard on new music, dedicating hours practicing, writing songs, not to mention spending large sums of money recording, mixing, mastering, creating visuals, and album artwork only to rush the release with no marketing plan in place."

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20-Plus Ways to Promote Part 2

Posted: Oct 11, 2021

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Bruce Wawrzyniak, who runs Now Hear This, Inc. and www.InterviewTipsCourse.com.

 

20 Ways to Promo - Gimmicks


"...this list of 20-plus ways that you can promote (your music, your podcast, your book) can overwhelmingly be done alone and with little to no cost! So, rather than sit back and say, “Okay, my new release is on Spotify or my podcast is now on iTunes or my book is on Amazon,” promote the little minnow rather than sitting back and waiting for people to find it swimming in the ocean-sized inventory of content on those platforms. Remember that as easy as it is to hire me to be your publicist and do the promotion for you, up until then, when you’re on your own, if you don’t promote, who else will?"

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The band photoshoot checklist - do's and don'ts

Posted: Aug 16, 2021

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Carla Malrowe for Bandzoogle.

 

BZ Band Photo Shoot Main


"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."

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How to Grow YouTube Viewership and Monetize Opportunities

Posted: Feb 15, 2021

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post from #1 YouTube Consultant Derral Eves.

 

Derral Eves - YouTube Consultant


"I understand that a lot of musicians love to share their music in live settings, and why wouldn’t they? In the past year, unfortunately, sometimes the only option for exposure has been online. So...what better time to focus on your YouTube audience than now?...How do you build a bigger audience, foster brand loyalty, and grow revenue?"

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The services and skills you need to promote and grow your music career

Posted: Feb 1, 2021

Category: The Musician Business

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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.

 

DIY3 Randy Jason


"While you hear a lot about independent musicians and how you can build a music career with a do-it-yourself mentality, doing it yourself doesn’t mean doing it alone. There isn’t a singular music industry. Instead, there are industries that serve every facet of the foundation upon which you build your career, and you have to master them all to succeed and grow as an artist...Today we’ll tackle another subset of roles to help grow your music career: those associated with merchandise and getting media exposure."

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Why Visual Branding Is Important

Posted: Aug 3, 2020

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post by David Figueroa of Avoid Cliche, a musical artist branding company.

 

"You've made your music, but you need to decide how you want to present yourself to the world. Even if you're making music just for fun, it's always good to give people an extra layer of the artistic story, so people remember you. Here I'll explain why visual branding is vital and even get into some fun psychology. Buckle up..."

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Common Visual Branding Mistakes

Posted: Jun 1, 2020

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post by David Figueroa of Avoid Cliche, a musical artist branding company.

 

"When you've got your music ready, you want to send it out into the world for everyone to listen to it, but the worst thing you could do is to send it out in shoddy clothing. It's important that you get your branding right. You only get one shot. Here are some common mistakes that I see over and over again. And how to avoid them."

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How to Get Booking Agents to Notice You

Posted: Feb 24, 2020

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Rachael Rubright of Dozmia.


"...a booking agent has a lot of artists vying for their attention or pulling their interest away from you. So, what can you do to put yourself on that booking agent’s radar? This article will outline some tips to help you get noticed."

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How a Course in Marketing Can Help You Build Your Music Business

Posted: Jan 7, 2019

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Cassie Phillips as featured on The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

 

Marketing Course Music Entrepreneur


"No matter how talented you are, or how much effort you put into your music, getting exposure for your art can be a challenge...To effectively promote your music, you will need to develop your marketing skills. Marketing will allow you to raise awareness for your brand and be better connected to your target market."

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Gain SuperFans with Instagram

Posted: Nov 5, 2018

Category: Fans

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**Guest post written by Evan Price, Music Mentor and Founder of Artist Collective.

 

GainSuperFansIG AC


"Instagram focuses in on content gold like photos and videos. Luckily for us, they are still running an interface with few ads that allows pages to be grown easily. Careers have been built on the back of strong Instagram followings and I’ve seen it work."

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Your Band is Your Brand

Posted: Apr 23, 2018

Category: Marketing

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

 

BandIsBrand


"A huge component of being successful in the music industry has to do with how you market yourself...Creating a powerful brand will help you achieve [lifelong fans]. Your band is the music making machine that will enable your career, and your brand is the face of your music that people will learn to know and love."

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Getting Out Of Your Own Way

Posted: Jan 2, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Joshua Rich, a pop pianist out of Washington, DC.

 

"The best thing I have learned as a performer is how to get out of my own way - to look at myself through other people’s eyes...Listening to others and being open to what your strengths are can be the difference between making it and not..."

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Record Labels Are Dead

Posted: Jul 31, 2017

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Vinnie Hines of Artist Collective.

 

Record Labels Are Dead - Artist Collective
"For ages, there’s been a cliché dream for any would-be musician...You’re immediately bombarded by these different suits throwing you offers from every record label you could think of, and finally, you’ve made it. You’re “signed...It’s all bullshit.”

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5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Your Music

Posted: Jun 19, 2017

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Vinnie Hines of Artist Collective.

 

5 Reasons Invest AC Blog
"It’s almost understood that if you’re a musician, you’re likely unemployed, homeless, broke or all three. I deal with it constantly when people ask what I do for a living. Though I love writing and booking, I will always and forever identify as a “musician.” It’s my passion and my purpose and here’s the kicker: I’m not broke. The reason for that, is that I have approached my music like a business from the get-go."

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Meet the Music Booking Agents

Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Category: Show Booking

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

 

Meet the Music Booking Agents
"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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How to Open For Nationally Touring Artists

Posted: Jun 21, 2016

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.

 

"Nailing big opportunities is one of the major things that kickstarts the career of an independent artist. Sometimes it’s having a video go viral. Other times it’s falling under the good graces of someone who knows someone. But sometimes it’s getting to open for a national touring act and getting your name out to a larger audience of new listeners...here are 7 excellent tips for making it happen."

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Why Bands Should Wear Their Influences On Their Sleeves

Posted: Nov 2, 2015

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Matt Bacon, Senior Campaign Manager at Independent Music Promotions.

 

You look out on the crowd after a high powered set opening up for one of your favorite bands – and then instead of playing another song off your latest release you instead pull off a killer cover of Just Like Heaven...People love artists who pay tribute to their influences.

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The New Music & Entertainment Business: Easier Than You Think?

Posted: Apr 20, 2015

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Deuce Ellis, Buffalo-born and Brooklyn-raised rap renegade. Originally posted by Cyber PR.

 

"Here’s My Guest Blog After Attending the #YourMusic Seminar; maybe this whole thing is easier than you think…First things first, let’s demolish whatever train of thought you may have. Demolish it. Let’s destroy and rebuild..."

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Simple and Effective YouTube Practices

Posted: Jan 12, 2015

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post written by John Waltmann, Client Relationship Manager of Symphonic Distribution.

 

"The countless features and optimizations of YouTube’s platform can seem intimidating, but we are here to provide you with a few basic optimizations on YouTube profiles that can have you looking the part in no time..."

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