IOTM Blog
Posted: May 16, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by One Submit, the ultimate music submission platform.
"Over the course of the years, I have learned that there are very important and valuable skills in particular that make a big difference and, from experience, have helped me continue to improve. Surprisingly, it's not time management skills, networking skills, or even improving your songwriting skills or talent that will launch your art career. So, what is the most important skill you'll need to become a successful artist?"
Posted: May 2, 2023
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Michelle Kicherer (@MichelleKicherer), writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, Willamette Week and others, instructor, and artist advocate.
There are a lot of things that can prevent getting your music into journalists’ and labels’ ears. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for press, labels and the public to listen to your music. The best way to do that is to have everything really easily accessible in your email pitch, your website and your social media.
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 25, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post by StarFarm, Streaming That Makes Sense for the Artist.
"If there’s one thing that has been a constant in the music industry, it’s change. From the initial format, the 78 RPM record, which was created in the early 1900’s to today’s streaming platforms, the music business has undergone radical changes that have presented both new opportunities as well as challenges. Today’s music environment is no different and if anything, the challenges have never been greater for musicians. To better understand, a brief history of music distribution may be helpful."
Posted: Apr 19, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Musician Indie Coalition, Business-Based Artist Development Experts who help DIY Musicians develop, launch and scale their music careers.
"When it comes to pursuing a music career, we’ve all been brought up to believe that becoming a professional artist or band is just one lucky encounter or chance meeting away – that if an artist focuses all their efforts and resources on creating great music, they just need to get it in front of the right industry professional and they’ll get signed to a record label. From there, a manager or label rep will take care of the business side of their career and the artist can go on doing what they know and love: writing and recording music, playing shows and interacting with fans. This is what we call ‘The Getting Discovered Mindset’ and it is all too pervasive among aspiring artists...I’m here to tell you this is NOT the correct way to approach your music career."
Posted: Mar 28, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Just Rijna, a guitar player based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In addition to teaching private students, he is also the founder of a guitar educational site, www.stringkick.com.
If you make original music, you know how difficult this question is to answer ["So what kind of music do you make?"]. You’re right in the middle of the project and familiar with all the influences, contrasting genres, and subtleties that have made their way into the music. How do you summarize all that in a couple of sentences? What’s more, as musicians we have trained ears that simply hear different things than the average listener. This makes it even more tricky to communicate what your music is about. So in this article, I’ll share a few tips that will help you nail down your pitch.
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 14, 2023
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Musik and Film Promotions.
"You read articles that give "the truth"-- that say Indie Artist can't get airplay, Right? -- WRONG! It's a BIG world out there! Musik Radio Promotions has charted artists in the top 10 in many charts around the world...Indie Artists are playing on thousands of stations - some on TENS of thousands. How, you ask?"
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 7, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Ryan Donaldson of Boombox.io.
"The ability to collaborate remotely has given musicians and music producers the freedom to create, share, and develop ideas as never before. By connecting with other creatives from different parts of the world, it is now possible to bring together a unique blend of sounds and styles that can result in something truly special...In this article, we want to explore how remote music collaboration can be the key to growing your audience and achieving success as a musician."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 21, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Jack Sutherland, 20 Year Web Development & Music Marketing Lead and Founder of Band Pioneer.
"The Internet has drastically transformed the music industry over the past 20 years. The tools we record it with, the strategies we use to promote it, and even the distribution of profit has all been revamped due to the Internet. And this transformation has opened up a lot of new opportunities for bands and solo artists to control their own destinies."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 7, 2023
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency and Indie Gigging.
"Merchandise sales make up a significant chunk of revenue for many artists. Concert goers are willing to spend money on all kinds of apparel and novelties as keepsakes to support their favorite artists. Simply put, if you’re a touring artist and you’re not selling merch, you should be! And if you are already selling merch, these tips and tricks will help you stay organized and sell more!"
Posted: Dec 7, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.
"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..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 8, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post written by Don East of Killer Rig Music in the USA.
"No one ever plans on their instrument being damaged or stolen, but the unfortunate truth is that accidents happen all the time. That's why it's important to have insurance for your musical instruments. This way, you can rest easy knowing that they are protected in case of an emergency. In this article, we will discuss the importance of musical instrument insurance, and touch on some of the policies to consider."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 1, 2022
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"One of your band’s best friends should be Google services. They offer lots of free resources that can be powerful for running your band’s business. Did I mention these are FREE? Plus, these resources can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. Let’s talk about how you can use these to help your band run more smoothly."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 20, 2022
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post by One Submit, the ultimate music submission platform.
"Without a doubt, Spotify is the biggest music streaming website on the market. As for 2022, there are currently more than 356 million Spotify users, 182 million of them are paying subscribers. Out of all these users, there are loads of Spotify playlist curators...If you're an artist releasing music to Spotify and other streaming platforms via a music distribution service, the best way for you to get your music heard is by getting on Spotify playlists."
Posted: Aug 23, 2022
Category: Managers
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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.
"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."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 9, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post written by Logan Crowell, Founder & President of HOME, Helping Our Music Evolve.
"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."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 4, 2022
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Evan Price of Artist Collective.
"It's time to stop thinking you have to do this alone. Sometimes we all need a team, a coach, a mentor. It's just hard to admit it, and even then it can be hard to know what KIND of help to seek out. We get it. That's why this blog / video is for you. Here are 3 types of teams to consider if you're stuck and what to expect from each for your #musicbusiness."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 4, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!
"Well, the secret's out..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 28, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post by Sam Saideman, co-founder of artist management and consultant agency Innovo Management.
"2020 wreaked havoc on everyone’s lives, however in my opinion, artists (and freelance creatives as a whole) took the brunt of it. Reminiscing now, it’s clear which artists figured it out and which didn’t, but I want to utilize this piece to discuss ways I saw artists adapt in the hopes that it helps readers dig back into YouTube (and other resources) to learn a part of the industry they didn’t know existed! It’s worth noting, these are not the only ways to build supplemental income or adapt, but merely a few to start with."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 14, 2022
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Atomic Disc, originally featured on their blog.
"Production times for vinyl used to be 2 to 3 months and labels and artists would plan their release campaigns around this. Now, we're looking at 10 to 14 months for vinyl runs...The total capacity of the roughly hundred vinyl pressing plants around the world is about 160 million records per year. The current demand, or orders in the cue, are between 320 and 400 million records...To make matters worse, every stage of the manufacturing process from producers of raw materials, printers of the vinyl packaging, pressing plants and transportation were hit with either shutdowns or slowdowns due to Covid restrictions."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 7, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post written by James Peters of Musical Instrument Insurance in Ireland, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"Commercial air travel can be a stressful affair on a normal trip — and that counts double when you’re bringing along your musical instrument. Between airline rules and regulations, necessary equipment, and accessories, it can seem like an overwhelming ordeal. The good news is there is a way to travel with your beloved instrument without undue anxiety. So, in order to get from point A to point B with your instrument in one piece, follow these simple tips for a smooth and painless travel experience."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 24, 2022
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post written by Logan Crowell, Founder & President of HOME, Helping Our Music Evolve.
"The combination of new technologies, outdated systems, and the global pandemic have ushered in a rate of change that far exceeds any other period in recorded human history. AND IT SEEMS TO KEEP SPEEDING UP. So what do we do about it? We become more flexible… more adaptable… more malleable in our way of thinking..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 10, 2022
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Bear of MusicRiser.com.
"A cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that is designed to work as a medium of exchange. The crypto coins use blockchain technology for transactions, an open-source, decentralized, public ledger that records transactions on the network...I bet you all heard about Bitcoin or crypto until now, and lately, a new concept has been raised, and it's called NFT."
Posted: 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 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 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