grassrootsy

We’re Revamping…

Hey all,

Grassrootsy is undergoing some changes. Some things are being changed. And some things are becoming better. Give us just a little bit of slack. In the meantime head over to www.grassrootsy.wordpress.com for the latest posts.

Thanks!

Follow Grassrootsy on Twitter!

While you wait for the next Grassrootsy post, follow us on Twitter! We’re tweeting daily with…

1. links to great articles
2. retweets of fellow artists
3. interesting thoughts and facts on pursuing music
4. creative marketing ideas
5. new promotional websites and resources you’ve probably never heard of
6. DIY ideas

How to Create An Invoice

I thought I’d revisit a blog from last year: Money: Ask and You Shall Receive…Sometimes. There have been a number of really great reader comments on this post.

So yes, learning to ask for money is important. And whether you’re being contracted by an individual or an organization, it’s absolutely imperative to have something in writing.  Most of us have unofficial email records with correspondence on payment details; but here’s a post about taking it one step further.

Why Invoices Matter
I have to admit, I don’t do the best job at creating invoices on a regular basis. In many cases, an organization or college will send me a contract (with included payment information), which eliminates the need to create one. But occasionally, I’ll run into a considerably sketchy situation with someone I don’t know or trust. And in these cases, I put together an invoice. If you don’t know how credible your employer is, you should have something in writing so that they don’t cheat you of your money.

Invoice Essentials

1. Contact Information: Have your contact info and the info of the person/organization hiring you. Include your name, email, number, and address (not residential). Leave out your address if it is residential.
2. Performance Details: Include date, time, and location of  the event. Include the duration of your performance.
3. Agreed Payment: An invoice is a bill. Make sure your employer knows how much you are billing him/her. Make sure they agree on this amount.
4. A Signature: Email or snail mail a copy of this invoice to your employer before the event. Make sure you get back a signed copy before you hit the stage.

Examples & Articles

• ***Here’s a generalized example of one of my invoices –  Invoice Template (replacing the logo in the top corner with you’re own).
• ***Google “Invoice Template” and find something that works for you
• ***Article: Create Invoices, Get Paid
• ***Article: How To Create An Invoice

Things to Keep In Mind

• ***Consider putting a payment deadline on your contract. In other words, ask that you receive payment upon completion of your performance…or no later than 2 weeks after your performance. You decide.
• ***The contract doesn’t have to be cluttered with information. Just the need-to-know facts.
• ***You don’t have to have a logo on your invoice but it just looks more official.

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"So What Did I Do Wrong?"

So here’s a new segment called “Ask Grassrootsy”. Got specific questions about pursuing music, about promoting yourself, about anything relevant to this blog?  Send them in!  Your feedback is also appreciated. After reading an “Ask Grassrootsy” post, feel free to also post you comments and recommendations.

In this first installment of “Ask Grassrootsy”, many of the original names have been made anonymous for good reason. It’s also fairly long, but read it and you’ll learn a thing or two. I promise.

THE BAND : Midway Fair via frontman Jon Patton
THE SCENARIO: I had a problematic gig recently that I thought would make a good topic for Grassrootsy. I greatly value your advice because many of the promotional ideas you’ve posted have worked at least somewhat well for me and my band. I really am frustrated because I can’t figure out what we did wrong.

I developed an idea for a show called “Poets and Lyres” with other songwriters, where we would all talk about some aspect of our songwriting in a way that would be easily understood by regular audience members, with the intent of connecting the listeners with the lyrics. We teamed up with a local Hostel that would give it a nice house concert feel in a room with really great acoustics. Small donation-only cover charge with 100% going to the artists.

A friend of mine, Mike, helped out and got a well-known songwriter on board fairly early in the proceedings, which was nice because his band gets very large crowds.  Mike also convinced the leader of one of the best folk-rock bands in my city to do the show. This part sounds okay so far, right? This folk-rock group also has a good-sized crowd at their shows.  But then I tried to confirm the date, time, play schedule, and equipment needs with them and couldn’t get a response.  I couldn’t get in contact with them except to go through Mike. This was fairly frustrating, because I’m under the impression that musicians should at least make some contact with the organizer for an event they’re playing. My plan to get the lineup cemented two months in advance to get lots of promoting done was down the drain and we ended up with only three weeks left when the dust had settled.

I developed the promotional materials (posters and a press release), sent them out to list servers, and posted them to all the important events calendars (radio stations and the City Paper, etc). The Hostel was helpful in getting the event posted to their web site, hanging posters at colleges and local businesses and libraries, calling local independent radio to have it announced on the air, and so forth. I also sent it out on our mailing list. We told as many people in person as we could. The Hostel let all of its guests and potential guests know.

But the headliner did absolutely NO promotion for the show. I mean none. I’m just mystified. He’s got a band web site and a MySpace and he didn’t even put the show on his calendar. He didn’t even post something as simple as a Facebook status. He got a third of the donations even though the only person there to see him (who I think was his girlfriend) rode in the same car with him. He even booked a second gig for later that night and was leaving right after his set.

But this is what frustrates me the most: A bunch of people got up and left right before my band’s set. Both artists left before we’d played a note. So did their fans.  The only ones left in the audience were my band’s friends and family, all of whom have been to our shows. A handful of Hostel guests came in during our set and stayed the whole time.

Although I and the venue did what we thought were a lot of things right as far as promoting, my band got almost nothing out of a couple dozen hours of work I put into this single show. I didn’t get any local listeners because none of them stayed for our set. I didn’t get any networking benefit out of it because the other two musicians left before we played. Essentially, I could have done nothing except make a couple of phone calls to my friends and family and had exactly the same crowd.

THE QUESTION: How do you handle local musicians who are on the next tier and are in the same genre as you but just give 1% or less when they’re working with you — and don’t even give you the courtesy of listening to you when you’re playing a show together?
***************************************************************

ANSWER:  First of all, John, you did everything right. You had an excellent goal to book the show with plenty of time for promoting.  Unfortunately, outside factors (i.e. other people) made the process much harder than necessary.  Here are some things to consider:

1. Book Shows with artist who actually care. I’m all about splitting the bill with bigger names; but I’ve found (all across the board) that I’d rather do a show with a “small” name that cares more about the event and the spirit of working together with other local musicians. In many cases, “smaller” names don’t play out as much and for that reason, they get more pumped about a gig and will do everything they can to bring a turnout.  In some cases, they may even bring a larger turnout that a “big” name.

2. Make sure an artist is “on board” before you confirm the show with them. Nothing sucks more than doing 100% the work and only getting 30% of the financial credit.  I have a list of artists I don’t work with specifically because they don’t chip in on the workload. I love their music, but disagree with their work ethic.

3. Put yourself in the mind of the other artist(s). To give the others the benefit of the doubt, realize this; a show that is big for you, might not be big for another group…especially if they’ve been in the game alot longer. They’ve likely been moving up the tier and might be used to doing bigger events. Shows have different levels of significance to different people.

4. A busy artist simply cannot promote every show: An artist will usually work to promote the biggest show of the month. The bands in your above scenario were probably thinking “we want a big crowd at 1 show instead of two small crowds at both shows.”  I personally run into this problem alot. I play roughly 10-15 shows a month and I honestly don’t have the time or energy to put into every show. Either way, they should have at least listed it on their websites.

5. Don’t be afraid to be cutthroat. Sometimes you need to kick someone off the bill. I’ve had it happen to me before. I told the booker that I couldn’t promote the show as heavily as he wanted. He told me he would have to look for another artist who could devote more time to promoting the event and guaranteeing a good turnout. Makes sense, right? And if the band you’re working with doesn’t communicate with you from the beginning of the process, that’s a clear sign that you shouldn’t work with them.

Hope the above tips help, Jon.  I’m also eager to know what suggestions Grassrootsy readers have. Leave them as comments.

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An Interview with Joe Squared – Things Every Venue Wishes You Knew

Joe Squared - Voted Baltimore's Best Pizza

Todays interview is with Daren, booker of Baltimore’s Joe Squared and member of Disco/Pop/Hip-Hop Group, Claire Hux. Daren shares an overwhelming amount of knowledge with readers about how venues run and how to book and successfully promote your show. The below information will certainly make you re-think the way you or your band operates. It’s a long, but excellent post. Take the time to read it. Your comments are welcomed.

“Indie artists really need to learn the art of promoting themselves. It’s part of being indie.  It’s like paying your taxes, you don’t want to do it, but it’s the price you pay for a civilized society.”   ~Daren of Joe Squared

1. Tell us a little bit about Joe Squared. Joe2 is an interesting venue. It’s a high-quality pizza/salad/pasta-type restaurant and bar during the day and then becomes a music venue, bar, and lounge at night. Joe Edwardsen (founder, owner) is an amazingly ambitious and intelligent guy that decided Baltimore needed a “different kind” of pizza place (back in Nov 2005, when he opened).  They just had Dj’s at first and I was lucky enough to be one of his first customers. The band I was in practiced next door and we would go in there and get wings or chicken fingers. They only had DJ’s on Friday and Saturday. Haha. I actually remember asking him if they had any openings and he politely denied me. Fast forward to about a year later. I ended up working there as a delivery driver part-time to fund my music dream.  Since I was a dj/engineer/producer, I knew how all the gear worked and in my spare “down” time I would organize the DJ booth. I finally got a regular dj gig there. Haha!  I became attached and would yell at all the DJ’s that didn’t put everything back the right way.  Joe finally got his live music license (summer 2007), and thats when we started booking bands.  We started out with just a few bands a week with regular DJ slots.  Now we book up to 6 days a week with only one DJ night (“Dig” on Tuesdays). We’ve revamped and upgraded everything and have figured out a system hat works. Only took us 3 years. Ha! Our venue is odd because we are a restaurant first and then a venue, so we know it would be awkward to charge a cover for people who are sitting…and we have a regular “bar crowd” that we would hate to turn down. So the 15% of the bar rule (artist get %15 of sales) came about; which from my experience is a bit higher than most venues. But we really love our artists. We’ve found that blues, garage, rockabilly, bluegrass, jazz, acoustic, and rock acts have really enjoyed playing at our establishment and we get alot of those genre’s asking to play.

2. What does a venue expect from the artists it books. This might be a no-brainer, but indulge us? Alot of indie startup acts don’t know how the system works; so here is a quick rundown. We are on the lower end of the totem pole when it comes to venues. We are a step above a coffee shop but a step below a venue like Ottobar/Sonar (that deals specifically with bands). Because of that, there is no independent promoter (the middle man). When you get to higher levels, there are promoters that run tours and/or bring in big artists (Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Jay-Z).  They are all booked by promoters. It’s rare at that level that the venue is booking the act directly.. and if they do, they have an in-house promotion team. With that said, the promoter is responsible for bringing bodies through the door. It’s then the venue’s job to get those bodies to drink their alcohol. The venue makes 90% of it’s money off alcohol/drink sales (hence why all ages shows are expensive). A cover is just that: to cover the cost of the band, the lights, the sound person and the security/door people. Most riders/contracts from big bands/acts have the performer getting a guarantee and then a large percentage of the door AFTER cost. So that’s MAJOR incentive to bring more people through the door and pay that cover for the promoter and the band.

Now with lower end venues, there aren’t that many promoters running around doing small venue gigs. They just aren’t profitable for the promoter unless they are doing 10 a night. And  even then it’s a mess. So the venue really requires the band to wear 2 hats – the talent AND the promoter. This is tough because most bands are just musicians. They don’t practice their instruments for hours a day to also go out and learn how to promote, advertising, and marketing themselves…with no money involved…which makes it even harder. So because of that, alot of bands that are amazingly talented do not bring people through the door, don’t get any fans, and don’t make any money. Neither does the venue. It’s a shame and it hurts my heart. But indie artists really need to learn the art of promoting themselves. It’s part of being indie. Unless you have a rich uncle or a crazy hungry, sociable best friend or girlfriend,you have to do it yourself. It’s like paying your taxes, you don’t want to do it, but it’s the price you pay for a civilized society.

So basically, we really need you guys to bring heads through the door. We the venue can’t do that. Most venues don’t have built-in crowds that just come to every show. Most venues are “destination” venues, meaning people don’t just walk in and out of them like a bar on a busy main street. They actually go to them and stay there all night. Joe squared is awesome because from 9-11pm we have a great and slightly drunk dinner crowd and if you work it right you can increase your fan base (and money) if you play to those people. Alot of bands unfortunately don’t see that and it’s a shame.

3. As someone who is constantly communicating with artists, what do you feel is the biggest shortcoming of independent artists when it comes to booking and promoting an event? Well I answered this a bit with the last answer. I’d say a huge short coming is emailing a venue and saying “we are so good, check us out… we are blah blah blah, and have done blah blah blah”. MOST VENUES DON’T CARE HOW GOOD YOU ARE! They care if you have a draw. Yes they don’t want to book trash, but an average band that brings 200 people to any given city will get booked anywhere verses an AMAZING band that brings no one. It sucks, i know. But this isn’t basketball. It’s not talent based. Music business is temperature based (how hot are you). I know i know, i sound like Ari Gold, but this is something I’ve learned – you gotta have a draw to be worth anything to anyone. The more people you can bring, the more leverage you have. You gotta give something before you take it. So when emailing venues, talk about how you can team up with a local band or two and bring 30 REAL people.  Don’t BS and lie to the venue. We have a 25% rule. Whenever a band says they will bring 50 people, we just assume it will be 12 or 13. Then we don’t usually want to do business with them again because they exaggerated their draw when we could have put on another like-minded band with a draw that could have made the night profitable for everyone. We are a business and business’s are in business to MAKE MONEY. We all love art and the scene and helping people, but capitalism means that we need money to keep the place running, and to pay the cooks, and to keep the bar tenders from quitting and working at another bar.

Also, try to be as professional, informative, and to the point as possible. When you are reaching out to a venue and “selling” your band (because that’s what you’re doing), you need to have value. Package your act well. Try to get high-quality recordings and high quality videos and pictures on your MySpace site…or other websites. I honestly spend 15 seconds on something and then decide whether I should keep listening/reading/or sifting through their page. Get GOOD press pictures, not weird low-budget ones that you took in your garage. It’s not expensive to look legit/professional… maybe a few hundred dollars. It takes money to make money.

Also, please check your email AT LEAST once a day, if not more. Email is 100% necessary. Don’t wait 2 weeks to answer a venue. Booking is a tough task and things get moved around quickly and easily. We like to book 2-3 months in advance, so you need to get back to us as soon as possible. All band members should check their emails too (so you can run it past them).  Ha! I could go on for days… but you get what im trying to say.

4. How can venues and bands (or singer/songwriters) work together to guarantee a good turnout?
I think the best way is to communicate. We try to offer the best and low-cost advertising for our bands. I wish we could do more (and we are getting better at it), but our demographic is so wide that it’s tough to hit up every possible “patron”. The best thing to do is get repeat fans. If people are jammin’ out to you in their seats or on the dance floor, give them a free download card and get an email address or something.  And be personable  - talk to them on the mic or in person. That is HUGE. So many musicians just want to play their instrument and go home. It’s not 1978. Yes it’s music business and the business is run because of the music; but with business you need money. People= money.  It’s not hard. It’s a grind, but what the hell in this world isn’t?

We are big about promoting inside of Joe Squared and Station North. Station North, the area where Joe2 is located in Baltimore, is very very destination. People rarely just “walk into” joe squared because it looks cool. So if people are there, we want them in again. We did go around the city and flyer but after a few days the flyers would be ripped down or something dumb. It became a waste of money for us. We of course do alot of online promotion and work with the local papers. Radio time is debatable. How many people listen to the radio? Facebook (is huge), twitter, etc, etc. Even though they are getting super saturated, it’s a necessary evil. I could go on about this too!

5. Any final words for the aspiring artist?
You know the saying: “talk to the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk”?  Well… I’m in an indie group and everything I’ve preached I do. It’s helped to be inside the monster and see how things work on a micro level with Joe Squared; but it’s hard… really hard.

LINK UP WITH OTHER BANDS and PROMOTERS in your area. You might get paid less, but it will make the show better, and the chance of booking another show there will be higher. And playing in front of alot of people is always better than playing in front of no one. Music is still priority, but there are so many more things that go into it. If you really want to play this indie game, you gotta play by the rules in 2010.

The Venue & The Artist – The Ultimate Partnership

"I've emailed 15 times! Why aren't you returning my messages? Your venue sucks and my band is cancelling our show!

On Wednesday, I’ll be interviewing Daren, booker and promoter for Joe Squared, a pretty cool, hipster venue in Baltimore, MD. Joe Squared is a venue (one of the few) that puts as much energy into promoting its events as the artists it books. They’re cool people and they’ve got great tips on how artists can make the best of their event.  Today’s post shares tips on how to get the best out of your relationship with a venue…from the artists perspective.

Its happened to all of us – you’ve got a really great show coming up at ABC venue, but ABC venue is terrible in keeping up with communication and isn’t as excited about your show as you are. How do you both get on the same page?

1.  Offer Your Commitment. Once the date is confirmed, prove that you are committed to making this event as successful as possible.

• example: “Hi Jay. Thanks for the confirmation. I plan to have  the artist lineup completed by next week. I’ll get back to you with the name of the other bands. I should also have artwork completed by the 1st of the month and will follow that with getting the word out.  Can I drop posters by your office in the near future? Please let me know how many you’ll need.”

2. Don’t hassle. Remind. What? They haven’t put your event up on their website yet? Assuming you booked the show 1-3 months in advance, give it a few weeks or so, after the booking, and then contact them.

• example:   “Hi Jay, I noticed our show isn’t up on the calendar. Just wanna make sure we’re still confirmed for the 25th”

3.  Put a Face to Your Name. If you can go by the store, do so.  If the venue owner or booker meets you, they’re more likely to respond to your emails in a timely fashion. Also, remember that some people still prefer phone to email. If you’re not getting any responses back via cyber space, try a friendly nudge via the phone.

4.  Don’t do it if you’re not excited about it. There are a number of legitimate reasons you might not be excited for a show. Perhaps the venue doesn’t value its artists. Or perhaps there’s too much work for little or no return. If you’re not pumped to play, DONT DO THE SHOW! your lack of excitement will most likely reflect itself in your promotion (or lack thereof). It won’t do you or the venue any good.

These posts will help you too:

• Lets Be Realistic, k?
• Planning Ahead – The Key to a Successful Show

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Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #4

Leah Smith

To read the first three posts in this series, visit
Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #3
Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #1
Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #2

Artist #1: Leah Smith
It’s a simple little thing, and I’m surprised more artists don’t do it.  If you’re like Leah Smith, you’re probably playing different types of venues for different types of people.  Have you ever visited an artist calendar and wanted to know more information about a specific show? Most artist post the facts – location, date, time…etc. BUT most artists do not include  background information on a show.  If you want more people to come to your show, tell them what they should expect. Take a few seconds and post a few lines about the show. Include:

• who you’re playing with (i.e. other bands on the bill)
• what the event is about (benefit?, themed event?, part of a bigger event?)
• why people don’t want to miss this show
• a website linking to where they can find even more information.

When people know what they can expect, they’re more likely to come.
On a side note: Musicians don’t forget to continually visit other artist pages.  Check out their calendars and see where they’re playing. The posted information will help you get gigs.

Artist #2: Yours Truly
I’m not used to being handed business cards by bands.  In fact, i don’t know too many bands who actually have business cards. I was part of a show last month and struck up a conversation with Eric Downs, drummer of Pittsburgh band, Yours Truly.  He told me his band had played earlier that evening. I apologized for missing them and he responded by handing me a card and saying “No worries, you can just listen to us online.”  My response?  Wow, Good one! You’ll definitely end up on Grassrootsy.”

Read up on promoting your music through business cards and other methods: Drawing Traffic to your Website(s)

First Impressions are Lasting Ones

Do you make a good first impression on the people you meet? On first time visitors to your website? Consider the following thoughts and determine whether you’re hitting the mark.

In a recent post I created for my friend, Ken Mueller’s, Inkling Media blog, I wrote:

“Social media is all about making information travel to a large number or people in a little amount of time. This  requires thinking ahead – being prepared. When you post information on your Facebook Page, what do you hope to accomplish? When you send people a link to your website, what will they find when they get there? Will the available information be what they’re looking for?  [read full article]

Tips for Creating a Good, Lasting, Fist Impression

1. Content, Content, Content: Don’t invite people to join your Facebook Page unless there’s actually something on your page.
2. Is your website really a website? Just because you have a domain name doesn’t mean you have a website. If the information hasn’t been updated, the site is useless.
3. Be Patient: Wait till you’ve put up a handful of posts before you start spreading the word about your blog.
4. Use Links: My biggest pet peeve is when an individual or a company sends me information about an event they’re having but doesn’t provide a link for more information.  If you have a link, people will click it.
5. Remember: NO ONE wants to visit an empty website. That’s like going to the grocery store full of empty shelves.

More thoughts on making a good first impression

• Looking Professional Even When You’re Not (or are you? i just can’t tell!)
• Making the Best of a Bad Situation
• Perception is Reality

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Is Myspace Dead? Well…

Andrew Belle

Ok, there are a rumors that Myspace is dead. And yea…I sorta believe that.  But, it’s important to remember that people will go where the information is. A website is a website. Many artists are still treating  Myspace as their official site…and for good reason. Myspace is fully customizable and I truly believe this is its one saving grace.

So here are some great tips for making Myspace your fans choice for information

1. Information is information. If your content is timely, informative, and easy to read, people will keep coming back.

2. Make it look like NOT Myspace: There are tons of ways to change the format of your page. Take advantage of its flexible use of HTML. And here’s a plug for my good buddy Dan Prokop. He designed JD Eicher’s Myspace page and it’s pretty fly.

3. Have Essential Information:  Any especially important information you would have on a website, should go on your Myspace page – merch, shows, bio, videos, contact info, things that make you look good.

4. Clean it up: Comb through your account settings and change things. Disable html posts from other users.  Don’t let “friends” clutter your page with their graphics. Instead of showing 20 of your top friends on your page, just show 8 or 4.  Less is more. Keep it clean.

5. Domain Forwarding is highly recommended. If  you can’t get your act together to get an official website, at least buy a domain name and have it forward straight to your myspace. I went on tour with 3 friends last fall.  We didnt have time or energy to create and official site but instead bought a domain name: www.4ontour.net and had it forward to www.myspace.com/thefourontour. We found that more people liked the idea of visiting www.4ontour.net more than the Myspace url.

6. Don’t give up Facebook or anything. This isn’t some plea to try and bring Myspace back. But i still firmly believe that Myspace is a legitimate social networking site. It’s the number one place I personally go to listen to new music and find artists to split gigs with. And remember, even if people aren’t adding you as their Myspace friend, it doesn’t mean they’re not visiting your page to get information.

7. Myspace Pages that hit the spot! Here are a few great examples

• Andrew Belle: www.myspace.com/andrewbelle
• Joel Dobbins: www.myspace.com/joeldobbins
• Anomie Belle: www.myspace.com/anomiebelle
• JD Eicher: www.myspace.com/jdeicher
• Seth Glier: www.myspace.com/sethglier

How about you? What are you thoughts on Myspace and its decline? Do you think it’s still legitimate?

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Bandize: A Tool for Band Management

Not able to post anything thorough today, but i want to make you all aware of something a friend passed on a few days ago. It’s a new band management tool called Bandize. It’ll be introduced at this years South By Southwest and it’s extremely appropriate for the readers of Grassrootsy. Here’s a great introduction: Bandize: Manager Your Band Like a Business

I’ll do some more reading up on it in the next few months and likely post an in-depth review or “analysis”. In the meantime, here are some past reviews on other notable resource. Read up!

• Kickstarter
• Bandcamp
• Gig Masters
• Paypal
• Ourstage
• The Sixty One
• Better Than the Van
• You License
• Artist Data
• Pump Audio
• Indie On the Move
• Champion Sound

Oh, and in a matter or weeks, I’ll begin guest-blogging for Artist Data.

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What's the Worst That Can Happen? Really.

Melody Gardot

Someone will say “No” to you.  That’s pretty much the worse that can happen is. But somehow that  holds so many artists back from reaching their full potential. “No” should never deter you from trying to do something you think is impossible. Here are some thoughts/ideas of seemingly outlandish things that you may think are out of your reach.

Getting a review in a  major (or semi-major) publication
I think its important to have some experience and credibility (i.e some type of “claim to fame”) under your belt before trying to get a huge review.   But when you do have some quality information to feed the press, send over a short query letter to the appropriate editor to see if they might be interested in a write-up.  Visit “How to Score Reviews of Your CD” for more on this.

Having your demo played on the radio
Some music scenes are very supportive of their local artists.  Some are not. But if you want to be played on the radio, look into independent radio stations. You have a greater chance of being played on independent radio than commercial radio.  And don’t just send in your demo.  Visit the website and find out if they have any specific protocol for local artist.  Figure out who the local music DJ is.  For many stations, DJs have special call-in hours during the week where you can call them and talk about your project.  Having them hear your voice is a great way to break the ice before sending in your CD.  Visit  the “The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways” post for more on this.

Make sure your demo is quality!  Don’t send crap because it won’t get played.  And make sure your demo is well-packaged.  Don’t send a song burned onto a CD-R. Does your artwork (on the disc and on the packaging) look professional?  You want them to take you seriously.

Set Goals
Seriously set goals!  Then write them down.  When you have concrete goals, your words/thoughts/dreams are closer to actually happening.  Set practical goals. If you’ve never performed, make a goal to do at least 1 show/month.  If you want to have a strong fan base in your city, make a resolution to be on top of as many events as possible.  Always be aware of what’s going on. Immerse yourself in your local music scene.  Visit the “New Year, New Ideas” post for more ideas on setting goals and stepping up your game.

Opening for a national touring artist
National acts are coming through town all the time…and they’re not always playing in huge venues. Sometimes they’re playing in  clubs,  lounges, listening rooms, and art spaces. You’d be surprised!  If you know of a venue in Pittsburgh that regularly hosts national artists, why not contact their booker and ask them how they choose openers?  In some/many cases, national acts set up a tour with their own hand-picked openers. Consider contacting the artists booking agent directly. Refer to the “Stay Informed: Read, Watch, Listen, Go“ for tips on how to be aware of what your local scene has to offer.  Remember that opening for a national act is really a great thing to add on your “resume”

It doesn’t always work
Last summer I found out about singer/songwriter Melody Gardot.  She’s huge in Philly and has a great national following. I found out that she would be playing at The World Cafe during the same weekend I planned to be in town.  After searching her site I found her agent’s email and shot him a message.  I talked about myself in 3rd person (bad idea…b/c he totally saw through it)  and suggested that I would be a great opener for Melody that weekend.  He responded promptly, said they already had an opener, and wished me the best of luck.  No hard feelings…just felt stupid since I talked about myself in 3rd person in attempts to sound more official.  

If you’re good at something and you keep doing it, and then keep doing it, you will eventually get where you’re going.

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Reader Comments & Suggestions #1

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMePMCOHE4&eurl=http://mctill.com/&feature=player_embedded]
MCTill & Wonderbrown = The Kings of Tradgedy
Both use humor in emails ewsletters (and videos) to keep their readers engaged.

I thought I would put this blog up because alot of you have posted some really great comments in response to past blogs.  Some people might never see these comments so why not put them all in one post. Below are my favorite 5. Please continue to comment anytime you have something meaninful and helpful to say to the people who visit this blog! Special thanks to KleerStream Entertainment who has consistently given some great tips to aspiring singersongwriters and bands.

1.] Posted by Samual Lewis in response to “Email Marketing – Making Sure People Read What You Write”
“Make sure to provide value in every email, even a good laugh will work. You want to engage your audience and earn their trust. Also frequency of sends is extremely important. During this recession, many companies are turning to more cost effective means of marketing, and email should definitely be one of them.”

• Samual makes such a great point!  Here is something my friend MC Till put in his last email.  It’s personal, its hilarious, and I’m sure  it definitely made people visit his website.  Chances are, you will too…
  
• “ps- don’t check out my new website…mctill.com It won’t be worth it. For real. Don’t even think about it. Okay, are you thinking about it? Stop. Well, uhm, I guess if you are still thinking about it then just copy and paste mctill.com into your browser, hit enter, then get ready to ‘X’ out. Okay, if you really want to, check out the video or the quotes or blog or whatever, I’m saying, its whatever you want to do. Really, I’m not trying to promote it or anything. I mean, its just a website that promotes what I do. So, really, don’t even bother….unless of course…you really want to. Then, go ahead. mctill.com“

 
2.] Posted by KleerStream Entertainment in response to “Take Advantage of the Holiday – Make Some Dough, Yo!“
I totally disagree with you about CD Baby, especially for Indie Artist that want more exposure. The global exposure you get on CD Baby is well worth the $4 / CD they take for selling your CD. New artist need all the exposure they can get & CD Baby is but one way to gain more exposure. New artist are always told to go play for nothing to gain exposure, so, why are we worried about CD Baby taking $4 for each CD they sell? 

We recommend artist sell CD’s any place they can….if you are selling on 5 sites you are generating revenue & revenue is one of the main driving forces that keeps a artist / band playing & touring. As long as you get $2.50 – $3.00 / CD you are still making money & in the music business every dollar earned is a plus in our book. One of the worst things you can do in the music business is to ‘limit’ yourself. I would never recommend one of our artist to turn down global exposure for $4 a CD. Don’t assume all the sales you gain from any site will be pick up on another site, because they will not. 

•  
  • In response to this post about CD Baby, Kleerstream has made an excellent point.  I think its great to have your music on CDBaby as well as on your own site.  You may make more money by selling the CD through paypal but CD Baby does in fact provide excellent connections that sometimes pan out.

3.] Posted by Teed Rockwell in response to “Take Advantage of the Holiday – Make Some Dough, Yo!“
CD Baby is worth the money. Don’t forget that if you do your own shipping, you have to pay for postage, packaging, take time to go the store to buy the packaging materials, and do the labor of packaging, labeling, and dropping packages off at the post office. CDbaby also prepares your inventory, which makes it easier at tax time. I hired somebody to do this before the internet existed, and it cost me a lot more than four dollars a CD. in fact, I had to quit using that person because it was too expensive. CDbaby does it cheaper because they have it automated. They also are heavily linked in. I got the best paying gig in my life from somebody who saw my CDbaby page.

•  
  • Ya, its true that you have to handle shipping if your using a service like paypal. But if you don’t mind, then do it!  Handling my shipping allows me to be more personal with fans.  I usually leave notes in the package like “Hey, thanks for buying a CD!” or “Hope to see you at next week’s show!”

4.] Posted by Cling in response to Tips & Tricks for the Holiday and Any Day
Why not send an EPK?

•  
  • Having an EPK through Sonicbids is a great idea.  EPK = Electronic Press Kit.  I talk regularly about having a press kit which basically includes a bio, press photo, demo (or CD), press release, and any other relevant information.  Sonicbids offers a way to create a press kit online. Saves paper, saves money, saves time.  Check out Sonicbids to learn more about creating one.  But also realize that some people like to have hard copies. I think its important to have hard copies on hand.  On Monday, I’ll talk more about Sonicbids…the good and the bad. 

5.] Posted by KleerStream Entertainment in response to Helping Yourself #3
We always tell artists, their networking / building a true fan base is much like someone campaigning for President of the USA. Artist are the ones that must meet, greet, shake hands, hand out business cards, etc. They must take advantage of any time they are out in public, whether it be in a grocery store, club, coffee house, etc. You never know who you might be shaking hand with….so network like your career depending on it, because, it really does.

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Sonicbids & Electronic Press Kits (EPKs): the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Clare Reynolds

Sonicbids more or less introduced the world (and independent artists) to EPKs – Electronic Press Kits. EPKs provide a cost effective way for musicians to submit their music to potential booking agents, venues, festivals, reviewers, radio stations…etc. 

An EPK allows artist to post, a bio, pictures, press, upcoming shows, audio, video, and even sound requirements for gigs.  You could easily use a sonicbids as your website. But keep in mind sonicsbids is not for fans. It exists to get you gigs and publicity.   Here’s a really excellent looking EPK by Australain artist Clare Reynolds.

Here are Sonicbids essential facts…

The Good
Sonicbids exposes artist to thousand of opportunities every year. Sonicbids sends opportunities straight to your mailbox, making you aware of…

• Regional listings:  festivals and venues in your area that are currently accepting EPKs for upcoming concerts.
• Music Licensing: agencies that line up music-for-tv, music-for- movies, music-for-commercials…etc
• Labels/Agencies: looking for fresh talent to manage
• New Magazines/Podcasts: accepting new music for possible review and radio play
• the list goes on and on.

Sonicbids also makes information about opportunities available on its website. You can only try for these opportunities with a subscription.

The Bad
Sonicbids charges $5.95 per month for artists to subscribe (I think they charge you in 1-year incriments but I could be wrong).  Depending on who you are and how much $ you have, $5.95 might not be much. But keep this in mind, for every opportunity the Sonicbids emails you about…if you choose to submit your epk to it, Sonicbids will charge you an additional $5-$10 additional.  For example

• 1.) Sonicbids sends an email saying ABC Magazine is accepting submissions from brand new irish-pop artists. You decide to submit to ABC Magazine. It cost $5 to submit.
• 2.) Sonicbids sends another email saying the SXSW (South by Southwest) festival is also looking for irish-pop artists to play on their mainstage.  It costs $10 to submit.

In total, you have spent $15 submitting to these opportunities.  This does not gaurantee that you’ll get a review, or the opportunity to play on the mainstage. It simply means your EPK will be reviewed.  This is the #1 reason I am not a fan of Sonicbids.  Indie artists can end up spending hundreds of dollars a year on sonicbids submissions. This is the ugly part if you’re broke and don’t win out on any of the things you bid for (That’s why it’s called Sonicbids).

At the same time, you never know what will happen.  You might just get that SXSW gig and gain thousands of new fans instantly.  Sonicbids is great when it pays off, but realistically it does not always pay off considering that there are possibly hundreds/thousands of people submitting to the same event, podcast…etc. 

A Loophole that sometimes works
Just because an opportunity has been sent to your inbox via Sonicbids, does not mean you have to spend that $5 or $10 to submit through Sonicbids website.  Try this: if ABC Magazine is looking for new music to review, go to ABC Magazine’s website and try submitting on your own!  Some submission are exclusively through Sonicbids.  But you’d be surprised at how many gigs you can try to secure without having to pay extra $$$.  Think of Sonicbids emails simply as a way to make you aware of existing opportunities.

And Don’t Forget Hard Copies
Keep in mind that you can’t always use an EPK.  Some bookers (outside of the Sonicbids abyss) prefer  to have hard copies.  Why? Because its more tangible and it also shows that you are willing to make the extra effort…not just point someone to a link.  Don’t be afraid to spend money to mail an occasional hard copy of your press kit.  See the How to Score Reviews of Your CD post for more on this.

I’m interested in any additional comments you all have about Sonicbids. Have you had good/bad experiences?
If you’re interested in using Sonicbids, head to the website, and familiarize yourself with everything it has to offer.

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Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #1

B. Reith

This post  probably isnt anything new in relation to other posts on this blog.  But here’s a spotlight of some artists you may/may not have heard of who are doing some interesting things to make a  name for themselves.   I think the best way to get better at what you do, is by surrounding yourself with people who do it better.  And if you don’t know them personally, well…go to their websites and read up.  Hopefully you find some of the following  ideas useful.

Artist #1:  B.Reith

B.Reith. Think the clever lyrics of Eminem mixed with the smooth voice of Justin Timberlake and the occasional Fender Rhodes/horn combo for a pseudo jazzy undertone.  B.Reith is my hero because he’s versatile.  While I would never ever encourage an artist to create music solely for the audience, I think its great to have variety of music in your performances.  I’m not suggesting that you go out and learn a whole new genre of music. I’m suggesting you work in an occasional mellow song if you’re a hard rock band.  Or consider crowd participation once in a while. Or how about this…set aside your electric guitar for two songs and remind people that you play the piano. I dunno…just some suggestions.  Keep your audience interested and make them realize that there are many dimensions to your music.

Theresa Andersson

Artist #2: Theresa Andersson

I’ve only known about  Theresa Andersson for two weeks but I’ve become a super huge fan!  Anderson has gained a reputation as being The One Woman Wonder according to NPR.  The thing that stands about Anderson is that she has developed a trademark for herself.  People know her as the person who can play every instrument and create a full sound on stage all by herself and with the help of a loop machine.   You have to watch this video to see what I mean.

Consider having a trademark…Maybe its an awkward thing you do on stage.  Maybe it could be the fact that you play with your feet propped up on a card table like you’re in your living room.  Or maybe it could be that you always wear a different hat to each show.  Cameron Blake uses a real typewriter as one of his instruments. That’s an awesome idea.  Have something that sets you apart for other artists and I guarantee that will become a major part of how your fans view you.

Joel Lindsey

Artist #3: Joel Lindsey
Joel Lindsey is proof that you can make it as a full-time artist in your city, if you’re good at what you do.  The British-born Pittsburgh artist has only been living in the United States just shy of 18 months and already he has networked his way to playing most of the major and minor venues in the city, established a non-profit that raises money for charities through a monthly artist showcase called Best in the Burgh, and hosts a weekly Open Mic Night at Pittsburgh favorite lounge, Club Cafe.  I think my favorite thing about Joel is that he is extremely hard working…willing to do whatever it takes to be accomplished.

The problem with some artists is they feel they are wasting their time if a show isn’t a “big” opportunity.  That couldn’t be any further from the truth.  The more you play, the more you get booked!  Keep doing as much as you can as often as you can and it will definitely pay off.  When people see that you take yourself seriously, they will also begin to take you seriously.  Read the Helping Yourself #1 post for more on this.

Feel free to suggest other artists who stand out and I’ll be sure to consider them for another similar post. And  THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING! (that’s your little hint)

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Be Good to Them and They Will be Good to You

Amber Rubarth

Obviously, its common sense to treat people with respect.  Common sense aside, consider going the extra mile in your communication with the people who ultimately hold your career in their hands.

 
Ask Questions:
The #1 way you can show you care about a gig is by regularly communicating with the booker.  Don’t be one of those artists who only makes noise when you’re on stage and when trying to get your money.  Let’s assume you’ve been asked to play at an event.  Getting asked to do a show is great b/c chances are whoever’s asked you will be doing all the promotions.  This will likely be a stress-free event for you except for the showing up part. 

But that doesn’t mean you should do nothing.  Suppose the event you were asked to do is a college gig.  Here are some questions to ask (other than the obvious date/time stuff)…

• ***Is this just for college students?  Can I let my non-student fans know?
• ***Is there a website I can point people to for more information
• ***Is there any way I can help promote this show
• ***Here is a publicity photo and brief bio if you can incorporate it into  your promotions  (don’t even ask…just give this information. Universities have such a wide reach.  The more students see your face before a show, the more likely they are to come. Take advantage of the fact that a University could almost immediately boost your popularity on the world wide web…aka increased web traffic )

 You increase your chances of getting asked back to a venue/school/special event when you take the time to show you care about making each opportunitya success.

Sound Guys
Don’t ever be mean to the sound guy   They hold your whole set in their hands.  That’s all.
Other Artists:
I’ve written other posts on this.  See the Helping Yourself #3 post for more. In short, genuinely put yourself out there as someone who isn’t just in it for yourself.  Also just spend time with other artist and know that when you play off each others’ constructive criticism, it will help you get a head.  Derek Sivers recently posted a blog about how to become a full-time touring artists.  He feautes Amy Rubarth, an artist from Reno who talks (in part) about how being immersed in her local music scene and hanging around other artists has helped her become a national touring artist.

Please leave additional suggests below. Thanks!

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Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners #1

Let me preface this post by saying…If you have any better or additional suggestions, please comment below.  Who doesn’t need ideas on saving $$$?

Recording
Finding cheap recording rates is a very difficult thing. Studios can charge anywhere from $25 to $100 an hour (or even more).  When you’re looking to record a project, make sure to ask other musicians who they used and if that person/studio was any good. Many studios offer tours and/or trial period…where you can record a free song and decide if you’d like to stick with them for the full project.  Definitely take advantage of this. Don’t jump into any type of “contract” just because you wanna have a CD in the next 3 months. 

Take advantage of craigslist and a starving college kid   It’s not too hard to find a music production student in need of a senior project.  What better way to get a cost-effective quality recording for a great price.  Keep in mind that the University’s equiptment is probably top notch.  But of course this is not the best option for everyone…especially if you’re looking for someone with years experience.

Posters and Flyers
Did you know that if you’re a member of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) you get discounts on copies at Kinkos?  I love this perk!  Why would you want to be a part of BMI? Well here’s a thorough, simply explanation.

Club Flyers is used widely by musicians.  Club Flyers prints free 4×6 postcards for your event.  1000 postcards for free (as long as they can include their website on the card).  All you do is pay for shipping.  You create custom artowork, send them the file, and they do the rest.  There are tons of other similar websites and services.

Again check out craigslist.com.  There are local printing companies in your area that probably have fees at a fraction of a larger company’s cost.  And suppose you’re not good at designing flyers.  Find someone on craigslist who can do the work for you at a really great price. College students are soooo great for this.
Gigs & Gas
Carpool. duh!  And if a gig is not paying  you, don’t be afraid to ask them to at least compensate you for gas. It never hurts to ask.
Keeping Records
If you plan to include you music income in your taxes, make sure to keep track of the $ you spend on music-related things because its all deductible.  I wrote about this in my “The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways” post.  MusicBizAcademy also has really great tips on how to do this. While you might not be saving money initially, you will be in the long term.

Craigslist is Your Best Friend!
Craigslist really is a musicians best friend.  I’ve found musicians to accompany me at my shows in a last minute bind. I’ve found a PA system for a fraction of the cost. I’ve found photographers who want to do free photo shoots just to build up their portfolio.

The Best thing is to spend some time online reading up on all the resources that are literally at your fingertips.
Hope the above helped. If you have suggestions, please leave them as a comment. Thanks!

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Creating Content – Giving People Something to Talk About #1

Cameron Blake

Creating content can be hard to do when you’re just starting out.  How do you get people to visit your website or myspace if you have nothing to put on it?  How do you get your CD reveiwed if you don’t have any way to prove its worth listening to?  Here are some ideas…

Endorsements 
Don’t have a review? Why not get a whole bunch of mini reviews…i.e. endorsements.  An endorsement is basically a short line or paragraph that gives credibility to a person, cause, or thing.  If you’re a local artist, why not ask some well-known personalities in your city to write a one-liner or short paragraph about your music.  If you know the Mayor, a Sports Figure, the CEO of a major corporation, or a relatively famous musician, ask them if they will take a few minutes to write  something brief and positive about your music.  Here’s an example:

• “Blake is a budding performer who aspires to be more than simply another graduate with a Masters in Music. In years to come, I can really see him as a seasoned professional in the world of singer/songwriters. He not only sings, but he can play the violin, harmonica, piano and the guitar. (Just to name a few). Taking his songs to new heights, Blake ties in every instrument brilliantly with his Irish like crooning. (I swear listening to some of his songs whisks me away into a bar in the heart Ireland where folk music reigns). His debut album, Over and Over, personifies what Cameron Blake is all about. The songs tell stories and each one symbolizes something important the artist wants to share with listeners. (I personally love Where the Blossoms Fall. I think the song is a beautiful addition to my list of great folk music).”   –Megan Johnson (bmoretunes.com) 

If you can’t get a magazine to review your CD, consider asking a writer to send you a comment about your music or use what someone has said in passing.  Here’s the play-by-play of an ideal situation:

• Suppose you send an email to  Joe Smith (fictional name) of the popular Mojo Republik e-zine asking him to review your CD
• Joe responds to your email and says, “Thanks for submitting to our magazine but we aren’t currently accepting independent music.  But I  gotta hand it to you, I’ve never heard anything as eclectic as this!” 
• Snatch that quote in bold and put it up on your website and myspace.  Joe said it so it counts. Put it on your myspace and make sure people know that you have a nice endorsement from someone who writes for a credibible magazine. That carries some weight. It would look something like this:

“I’ve never heard anything as eclectic as this!” 
- Joe Smith (Mojo Republik)

Try to get as many solid endorsement as possible. Put them in a visible place.

Media
As I’ve mentioned in so many other blogs. Its so important to always have something fresh on your website that will keep people coming back for more.  Read the “Drawing Traffic to your Website(s)” post for a more thorough explanation.

• Pictures: Are you playing in a new city? Take pictures of your trip and your show.  Post the pics in a photo album. People love pics (I’m one of them).
• Blogs:  This is a simple way to create content. Make sure people know they can subscribe to your blogs if they’re on myspace.   More on this in “The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways” post.
• Videos:  More on this in “A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have…“ post.

It takes time to create hype around your name but if you keep creating content, you’ll soon get to a point where its less work to promote yourself because other people are doing the work for you. See “web presence” post for a better explanation of this.

More ideas to come tomorrow! 
By the way, Cameron Blake’s music is innovate and excellent. Check him out.

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Creating Content – Giving People Something to Talk About #2

Matt Wertz

To read the first part of this blog, visit Creating Content #1. Here are some additional ways to create content for your website(s).

Widgets
I used to be extremely skeptically of using widgets on my page but everyone is using them these days and they are such a great way to simply beef up your page(s). What’s a widget?  I’ts basically a small representation of something bigger.  For example, if you have a photo album on Photobucket, Photobucket will create a slideshow box that will fit compactly on your myspace (or anywhere else for that matter). This is a widget. 

Check out Matt Wertz’s myspace page.  He uses widgets by iLike, Flektor (to create a poll), Slide (to show of his pics in a slideshow).  Alot of artists are using Eventful.  If web surfers click on the famous “demand it” button, that lets an artist know that fans want them to visit their city.  It’s a helpful tool that will likely encourage to travel outside of your comfort zone.

 The fact that major signed artists are also using these applications, gives them more credibility.  The only problem?  Well, its not the ideal situation to have another company’s name or logo on your information but sometimes its the easiest route…especially if you don’t have much html knowledge to alter code.

Realistic expectations
Getting reviews is a huge part of getting your name out there…because its always flattering when someone else is doing the talking for you. I talked about this yesterday in Creating Content #1.  But because so many musicians are trying to get their music heard by some major magazine why not try for a small magazine. Put down People Magazine and go for something small. Even if the smaller mag only get 100 readers a month, who cares!  Chances are they will have a more personal touch.  They’ll probably get back to you within a day or two and they’ll probably spit out a review 10x faster than the average major publication.  BeatCrave is a really great start-up publication with a really professional look.  Just b/c a zine is in its growing phase, doesn’t mean it’ll be tacky, unreliable, or not worth persuing.

I’ve also found that in working with newbies, they are willing to support you in a way that established media will not.  Newbies will link to your website even if you don’t advertise with them.  Newbies will allow you to do special promotions (like a contest) with their readers.

More on realistic expectations
Also look into underdog online podcasts and smaller scale media opportunities like local community TV, and even radio on the AM dial.  Be willing to do the “insignificant” things b/c they will open doors.  Chances are, if you’re doing something on TV or radio, they’ll be able to give you your DVD footage or LIVE audio for use on your website(s).

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Writing a Press Release – PR 101

WAZ (scroll down to read WAZ's PR about airplay on Grey's Anatomy)

Press Release:
An announcement of an event, performance,
or other newsworthy item that is issued to the press.

Having a press release might not be something that you need…not yet. But having a release alway helps to make you look a little more serious than the average musician.  If you’re just starting out, consider building your resume a bit before creating a press release (so you have something noteworthy to talk about). 

The Basics

• 1] If you don’t like to write or don’t trust your writing, have someone else write your press release. Either way, make sure to have at least two people in the picture. One person to write the PR. A second person to proofread and edit.
• 2] Press releases shouldn’t be more than one page. If its too long, don’t expect the recipient to read the whole thing. If its too short, don’t expect it to be taken seriously.
• 3] Write in third person.  Make it readable. Don’t put too much information to the point that its cluttered.
• 4] Keep the recipient in mind while writing your PR.  Certain information will only be relevant to certain media outlets.  For example, lets say: “Jane Smith’s won third place for “best song” in her county’s annual songwriting competition.”  You can’t expect this line to carry much weight if you’re sending the press release to National or International media.  You can however expect it to carry more weight if sending to media outlets within your city…especial if the annual competition is recognized as a major affair.

The Layout
Consider having a 3 paragraph press release. 4 paragraphs aren’t bad either. It all depends on what you have to say and how you have to say it. 

Headline: What is your PR about? Are you releasing a new CD? Are you performing at a major festival. Is your song being used at part of the soundtrack of a TV series? Here are some one-line headline examples.

• “Local Artist to Release Debut CD at Hard Rock Cafe”
• “Jane Smith’s ‘Midnight Blues’ to appear in Season 4 episode of Greys Anatomy”
• “Jane Smith Band headlines at SXSW  festival.”

Paragraph 1: Paragraph 1 should clarify the headline.  Explain your headline in fuller terms. Make it interesting so people don’t write-off the rest of the release. (See Paragraph 1 in the PR below)

Paragraph 2: Paragraph 2 can give details about whatever your talking about as well as share facts to build your credibility towards readers. ( See Paragraph 2 in the PR below)

Paragraph 3: Paragraph can give more non-essential details about the CD release…things that are worth knowing but not necessary. (See Paragraph 3 in the PR below)

When its all said and done, your Press Release should look something like this.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Local Artist to Release Debut CD at Hard Rock Cafe”

Cincinnati, OH – February 9, 2009 -  Hard Rock Cafe might not be prepared for the CD release of Cincinnati artist Jane Smith on April 1st (7pm). The multi-talented guitarist, pianist, and trombone player is a one-woman wonder who has taken Ohio by storm and will likely do the same on the 1st.

In just 5 years, the folk-experimental artist has impressed her way into the hearts of the independent music scene. Smith’s music has been called an experimental, progressive, and edgy combination of retro folk with the occasional acoustic sentiment. In a recent write-up,  the New York Times is quoted as saying, “The most refreshing thing is when a new artist emerges from the indie music scene doing something that’s never been done before. If you don’t know Jane Smith yet, you will.” Others, including BeatCrave and Patrol Magazine have said that Smith is “a one-of-a-kind musician” and “the new face of good music.”

Smith blames her lack of creativity for her creative sound.  When asked to explain she said, “I know it sounds unconventional but I start most of my songs with a blank slate…no preconcieved thoughts or topics.  I just put a whole bunch of sounds together and call it a song.”  The opener for her CD release, pop musician Joe Jackson, has a slightly more structured method so attendies can be sure to expect a wide variety of entertainment on April 1st.  Doors open at 6pm.  Tickets available at www.janesmithmusic.com and Hard Rock Cafe.

###

Contact:
Jane Smith Music
(address should go here if it is a business address)
www.janesmithmusic.com
info@janesmithmusic.com

Here’s a look at a few other press releases by independent artists 

• “Singer-Songwriter WAZ Featured on Grey’s Anatomy” 
• “New CD Release from Siji – Adesiji“
• “Trombonist Ron Westray making waves with New CD …“

Here are a few other links on How to Write Press Release

• How to Write and Send a Press Release  by MuzikBiz Academy
• How To Write & Send a Press Release by Indie-music.com

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Where, When & How to Send Your Press Release

About.com has an excellent article called “When Should I Send Out my Press Release.” It gives very helpful ideas…some of which I’ll repeat in this post.

Before You Write the PR
Even before you have your PR written (see “Writing a Press Release – PR 101” post), put together a list of contacts you want to target. Don’t be afraid to cold call or email. And ask them how far in advance before an event they like to receive information.  Some people will say a few weeks. Some will say a few months. Brainstorming a list of contacts before you write the press release will also help you to decide what information should be included in the PR. Tomorrow’s post will touch on who to send a press release to.

Where to send the PR
Aside from including a release in your press kit, make sure to post it online. There are tons of free PR services. My favorite is PRCompass.   Here’s a link to a press release I posted several months back. Its good to have your PR available online to reach out to a larger audience. You never know who’s reading and PRCompass will keep track of how many people have read your release.  Make sure to have a link to the pr from your website. Or just put the PR right on your site(s) including Sonicbids. 

When & How to send out the PR
Based on the answer you get from the media you call/email, this will let you know when is most appropriate to send a release. If at all possible, do not mass-mail your PR to a whole bunch of people.  And don’t send it out blindly.  Make sure you know the name of the person whose inbox you want the release to reach.  Send the release via email.  Don’t send an attachment.  Simply include the PR in the body of the email or provide a link where the recipient can go get more info. Or you can do both. Something like this:

Dear So&So,
My name is Jane Smith and I’m writing to make you aware of a CD Release I will be having inMarch. When we talked on the phone a few days ago, you mentioned you like to receive PRs at least two months in advance.  Please consider the below Press Release and let me know if I can send additional information.

Thank you for your time.
Jane

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Local Artist to Release Debut CD at Hard Rock Cafe”

Cincinnati, OH – February 9, 2009 -  Hard Rock Cafe might not be prepared for the CD release of Cincinnati artist Jane Smith on April 1st (7pm). The multi-talented guitarist, pianist, and trombone player is a one-woman wonder who has taken Ohio by storm and will likely do the same on the 1st.

In just 5 years, the folk-experimental artist has impressed her way into the hearts of the independent music scene. Smith’s music has been called an experimental, progressive, and edgy combination of retro folk with the occasional acoustic sentiment. In a recent write-up,  the New York Times is quoted as saying, [see full PR at www.janesmith.com]

 
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More on Sending Press Releases – Good Tips from Great Sources

Asobi Seksu

This is the last entry of three entries on writing and sending Press Release. Check out the other two:

• Writing a Press Release – PR 101
• Where, When & How to Send Your Press Release

Other Great PR Sending Tips
I found some excellent resources online with additional tips for writing/sending PRs.  Its worth reading

• Put wings on your Press Release: Media-Savvy Distribution Tips
• Smashing the Myth of the Press Release (really great article discussing the fact that talent is more important than a press release. If you don’t have quality music and you don’t have a story to tell, then your PR won’t really get you a whole bunch of write-ups)
• 8 Simple Steps to Formatting a Proper Press Release (this is such an excellent post and will really lay it out for you)

Free sites to Posts your Press Release
Here are just a few that look good aesthetically.  Most of these require that you start an account (also free).  Your PR will be posted but not heavily targeted to any particular audience.  But these sites also have paid services. If you pay, you can have you PR distributed specifically to people who are more likely to be interested in your music.

• PRCompass
• PR.com
• Topwirenews
• FreePressRelease.org
• There are  many more where this came from…

Other random things

• Have a logo at the top right corner of your press release. This adds to giving your PR a professional look.  This would probably be best on hard copies…and hard to translate on online copies.
• A PR gives the facts.  Don’t write a CD Review of your band and call it a PR.  No opinions, just facts.
• Make sure that your 1st paragraph makes the rest of the PR worth reading (think i mentioned this in another post)

Lastly, this band is kinda cool: Asobi Seksu.  I found their press release online today.  Their PR is titled “Asobi Seksu Record Release Party May 3″ but the PR doesnt say anything else about the realease…not even a start time.  Its also more of a CD review than a release.  Don’t mean to bash anyone but I just thought I’d give an example…  

Remember to check out the two other posts in this series…

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An Interview with The Lost Sea

The Lost Sea

The Lost Sea is an indie folk/rock band based out of Pittsburgh PA.  They currently receive over 600 song plays daily on their myspace and last week they were ranked #1 on ReverbNation’s folk charts. Go TLS!  So i thought I’d email frontman Sean Atkins to get some ideas on how they spend time promoting themselves.   Here are some tips that should help you to better promote your band/music.

1.) What do you think is the single most important thing an artist should do to promote themselves better?
work harder than anyone else around you ever could.. and if you think you’re working too hard.. work harder. investigate every avenue – internet, touring, ads, etc. -  sometimes you just have to be persistent and if you think you’re doing everything you can, and you’re not getting anything.. then you’re not doing enough, being passionate means being willing to suffer a great deal and risk everything you have.  if you’re really serious about ‘making it’ then you will suffer for it. spend all of your money on it, practice all day, get online and add people on myspace all night, if it’s not consuming you, you’re not even scratching the surface as an independent artist… especially when there are a million other people out there working toward the same goals. 

2.) Was there one specific moment where things really started to pick up for your music? If so, what was that moment?
i guess it was around the time that i began to be more and more committed to being a musician, and seeing every other aspect of my life deteriorating. that’s when i knew i was spending way more time writing songs than hanging out with friends, or maintaining relationships, or going out on weekends… but the more time i put into it, i found, the better i became.  it really makes sense when you hear stories about those historic musicians that would just sit in a room and play music all day long…and we foolishly wonder what makes them so great.

3.) How important is it for you to use the internet to promote yourselves?
well, i think it’s a double edged sword. obviously you have to try to reach people with the internet.. unfortunately, online communities are so over saturated with bands bothering people to check them out all day, that most online community members tend to just ignore bands/music related things. this technological age has made it possible for even novice musicians to promote themselves, and play themselves up on myspace… which in turn makes people not care about bands on myspace, the quality varies too greatly.. and it’s too hard to weed out the good bands from the garbage when it’s mostly garbage, in mine and most people’s opinion. the number one compliment my band gets is “i almost didn’t listen to you b/c i thought you were like every other band on myspace, and i’m glad i took the chance”  -  so i think that reflects what’s really going on a lot more accurately than someone might think.

4.) What is your biggest frustration with being an independent artist?
i guess money things. that’s really all labels have to offer anymore. they’re like taking a loan out for marketing, touring, etc. that and occasionally creating a namesake that a larger indie might, like for sub-pop- when someone says “oh i like a lot of bands on sub pop, i’ll check their new signing out” which obviously has worked out for bands like fleet foxes and blitzen trapper this year.

5.)How did you get ranked first on Reverb Nation’s Folk Charts? (or what’s your best guess)
well, i created a profile a long time ago and just never really used the site until last week. i logged on randomly and saw that there were rankings now… we were already like, number 6 or something and i just wanted to be number one.. so,i took songs that people like by us off of myspace and forced them to use reverbnation to hear them. in 3 days we went from 6 to 1.

The Lost Sea Online:
Official: www.thelostsea.net
Myspace: www.myspace.com/thelostsea
ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/thelostsea

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Helping Yourself #4

Meiko

Read the other blogs in this series:
Helping Yourself #1
Helping Yourself #2
Helping Yourself #3

Today I went to re-visit Derek Sivers’  ”Nobody’s going to help you“  blog. Make sure to read this blog if you haven’t already.  Its got some excellent thoughts and excellent reader comments.

Here’s comment by a frustrated reader…

Response # 6,780 by Karsten Schwardt

• “If I want to write and record my music, and have work and be there for family, there is simply no time left at the end of the day to promote my music or be my own booking agent. So I am excited and frustrated all at the same time. Excited because of everything I learn by doing it myself and the opportunities that exist. Frustrated because a promotion and publicity campaign is a full time job, and I don’t even enjoy doing it much. So I will write my music, record it best I can and put it up for the world to see. If they only knew where to look…”

 Frustration… 
Its a frustration shared by far too many artists.  By the time you’ve put all of your creative energy into making and performing your music, you don’t have much time or energy left to promote it (espec. if you have a family).  And if marketing isn’t your favorite thing, then you might not do it that well.  I wish I had an easy answer for this. The whole premise of this blog is to help you become better at promoting. But if you don’t like it…well Grassrootsy can’t do much fo you.  Check out “The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways”

Reality…
The truth of the matter is that if you are passionate about what you do, you will use all means necessary to share it with the world.  You’ll play out as much as possible, pay out as much as necessary, and work to make connections with people who love your music.  If you have a good product, let people know it exists.  No use spending so much money to make a CD if no one will hear it. 

Encouragement…
I strongly reccomend listening to Music Business Radio podcast - specifically the December 17, 2008 interview with indie/folk/pop artists Meiko.  Meiko and her manager Mike Savage talk about  her trek from no-name Open Mic artist to someone who now has over 6 million hits on her myspace and a record contract with Myspace DGC Records. This podcast is especially useful b/c Savage and Meiko talk about how they share the job of promoting her music and how they capitalize on once in a lifetime opportunities to keep the momentum going. MBR is free on iTunes.
 

"Just Do It"

Download Free on iTunes. It's worth listening to

Perhaps the theme for this week’s posts should have been “Just do it” or “Pep Talks w/ Joy“. I dunno. But I’ve recently had several conversations with artist who are frustrated by the amount of work they’ve put into a project and the fact that no one knows the project exists.   I’ve read An Interview with The Lost Sea  a few times since Monday and I’ve read several more comment posts on Derek Sivers “Nobody’s going to help you blog” since yesterday and here’s my final pep talk. 

Stop Waiting
Stop waiting for a big break because even if you do get one, you’ll have to put in twice as much work to keep the momentum going.  Its the little opportunities that create big ones and if you can do well with the little, the bigger things will come in time. Just be consistent.

Seriously take Sean Atkins advice
If you haven’t read An Interview with The Lost Sea, make sure to check it out.  Sean says…

“sometimes you just have to be persistent and if you think you’re doing everything you can, and you’re not getting anything.. then you’re not doing enough, being passionate means being willing to suffer a great deal and risk everything you have.  if you’re really serious about ‘making it’ then you will suffer for it”

I’d been working full-time for three years before I decided to quit my job and do music full time.  I took a 50% pay cut, I am spending more money investing in my art, and I am working so much harder than I ever have.  Some people reading this think I’m insane (I think I’m insane too…depending on the month).  However, I’ve made more progress in the last 8 months (of being a  full-time musicians) that I have in the last 3 years.  When you are willing to devote time and money to something you believe in, you will see results. And if you dont…well at least you tried.

Remember that Music is a Business
Music is a commodity that you are trying to sell. If it weren’t marketable,  we wouldnt have music in commercials, in movies, at clubs, in the elevator, grocery stores, weddings…etc. When I think about this, I realize the world literally needs music to stay lively.  If you have what someone needs, you need to market it.  You have to somehow convince your potential buyer that you are better than your competitors.  You have to convince yourself that your product is worth selling.  100% of that has to do with having a product you are proud of- whether this is a peroformance or a tangible CD.  Just do it.

I (again) strongly recommend listening to Music Business Radio’s weekly pocast. Its created for artists like you and I who are trying to”make it”.  They interview other artists, industry execs, agents….etc

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Jumping the Gun – Booking for the Spring and Summer

The Powder Kegs (busking on a street corner)

It’s the end of February…the perfect time to begin booking for the Spring.  February has always been a busy month for me as this is the time I start planning my April shows.  And April has always been the busiest performance month for me b/c bookers are finally taking advantage of the good weather and trying to set up as many outside events as possible. Here are some tips for making sure you have a successful Spring/Summer season.

Set a Goal…
Try to get as many outside gigs this year as possible.  Spring and Summer are really the best times to get exposure for the simple reason that your audience is easily doubled/tripled/quadrupled by the fact that a show is outside.

 
Using resources to find good outside gigs
As mentioned in the Stay Informed: Read, Watch, Listen, Go post, it is so important to visit local community sites and read local papers to see what’s around the corner. Its easy to find out about upcoming arts festivals if you’re subscribed to various local newsletters or listening to local radio. Its definitely worth visiting the myspace pages of your music peers to see what gigs they’ve scored.

Creating Your Own Outside Event
This is one of my favorite things to do.  All you need is a sound system, a couple artists and space (a good central spot).  Suppose there’s a restaurant with a nice outside patio or a mall with a huge walkway. Find out who’s in charge and find out what you need to do to make it happen.  If you have to prove that you’re professional enough to make it work, prove it.

Doing events on a College campus are a plus!  A University usually wont let you use their facilities unless its in conjunction with one of their organizations. Soooo…find an student organization and ask them if they’d be interested in working with you to put on an event for the students – maybe a benefit or an end of the semester type thing.  Sky is the limit.

The great thing about creating your own outside event is that you don’t have to spend as much time promoting. You can almost always count on drawing people in with musuc.

Farmers  Markets
Do not underestimate the Farmers Market crowd. You can make an unexpected amout of income at a Farmers Market. People are there specifically to shop and buy produce so they’re already in a buying mood. If you provide a tip jar and CDs, they will come through.  Farmers Market attendees are generally artsy people who like to support.  So start looking into local farmers market. If they regularly book musicians ask them how you can get on the list.  If they don’t have music, ask if they would consider it. Offer to bring your amp, mic and stand and reassure them that they don’t have to put any effort into it.   Also, make sure to setup in a prime spot

Busking
Busking many times gets a bad rap. But if you sound good, busking is a really great way to make money while playing for tons of random people. Pick a quality street corner, open your guitar case and play your heart out.  Bring a small card table and display your CDs, business cards, and newsletter sign-up form.  You’ll look less like a person who wants quick cash and mor like a distinguished musician.  If you ask a business if they will allow you to perform in front of their storefront, they might say yes.  And if you need power, they’ll probably let you use their outlets as well.

Revisit old gigs
Did you play a really great outside gig last year?  Ok, so contact the booker from that event and ask if they will consider having you back.

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Making the Best of a Bad Situation

the ideal audience...i think

Having just played a couple shows in the last week where thing didn’t go 100% as expected, I thought I’d write this post.  Here are some ways to make the best of a bad situation:

When there are only 5 people in the audience
Obviously your promoting did not pay off. This has happened to all of us at one time or another (and it will probably happen again).  Having a small audience is definitely a downer…especially when you’re expecting 50 but there are actually alot of perks.

• 1.] Fewer people to please:  Engage in an ongoing conversation with the people who did care to come.  Take requests if you can. Play “Free Bird” .  Take time to tell the stories behind your songs.  This is often hard to do with a huge audience.  I find that people like my songs better when they know the stories behind them.
• 2.] Remember: Don’t punish your attendies by giving them a crappy show.  Small crowd should never equal crappy show.
• 3.] Create Energy: It’s easy to be pumped for a show when there are tons of people.  Make sure to keep the energy up and never give off the impression that you’re boring yourself. 

When the sound system and sound guy are terrible
Sounding good on stage is such a huge deal.  Even if your CD sounds good, people will judge you based on your live performance.  You’ll also make less (or no) money on CD sales if your liver performance is a disaster. So first apologize to your audience and just mention that you’re having technical difficulties (don’t call out the soundguy on stage). If you can’t eventually clear up the situation, let you audience know where your next gig is if they’d like ot hear you under better circumstances.  Basically don’t let people go home thinking you’re a terrible performer simple b/c you didnt come off as sounding good.

Here are a couple things you can do ahead of time to prevent the above from happening:

• 1.] Do your research: Stop by the venue ahead of time to check out the PA.  If you don’t like what they have, bring your own setup.
• 2.] Come prepared: If you can’t stop at a venue prior to your show, consider having your own quality microphone. I know several musicians who travel with a personal mic.   Your vocals can make all the difference at a show…even if everything else sucks. Come with an amp. If a venue is small enough, just use your amp instead of going through the PA. Ya, the sound might be smaller but if the PA sucks, go for the better sound.

When the audience doesn’t seem interested in your set
Feel out the audience and environment.  If you’re at a bar, you probably won’t be successful in trying to make people listen to you.  If you’re  at a venue and most everyone is sitting in the back of the room, ask them to move up.  Distance can make all the difference at a show. In this case, make engaging your audience your biggest concern. If the room is out of control, change up your set list a little and work in a song that requires crowd participation.  Most of all, realize that there are three types of audiences

• 1.] Active listening audience: Listens to you intently and is engaged
• 2.] Passive listening audience: Most likely a bar scene or restaurant scene.  You’re basically wallpaper music 
• 3.] Active-Passive listening audience: Zones in and out. Listens sometimes. Talks other times.   

Hope this helps.

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Making the Best of a Good Situation

Tyrone Wells

Promoting yourself is like adding links to a chain. 
When one opportunity is over, make sure it has the potential
to lead to another.

Today’s post is all about capitalizing on a good thing. As I mentioned in the Just Do It post, when something good (or big) happens, you can’t just stop there. You have to put in so much extra work to keep the momentum going.  So while its hard to be a “young” artist, its sometimes just as a hard to be an artist who’s been in the game for a while.  You have to be on top of things at all times. You have to make harder decisions, you have more “fans” to keep in touch with…etc

Here are some great ways to keep the momentum going when things are going good (think of it like a ball of hay that gets bigger and bigger as it rolls down a hill and collects more hay).

p.s. don’t forget to read yesterday’s post: Making the Best of a Bad Situation.

When A Great Opportunity has been passed on to you…
When a really huge opportunity has been passed your way, this is the perfect time to boost your credibility.  Lets say you have a chance to open for a national touring act. 

• 1.] Let people know:  Get the word out.  Of course tell the people in your newsletter. But you also want to tell the people who will potentially book you for future shows. If you have a list of PR contacts and bookers, send out a general email out.  Make sure to BCC (blind carbon copy) the contacts. Make it discreet so they don’t know you are sending an email out to a whole bunch of bookers.  Something that looks like this.

Greetings All,

Just want to let you know a really great opportunity has opened up for me. I’ll be opening for national recording artists, U2, at the IC Light Amphlitheater on May 2nd.  Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to this point my career.  I hope you can make it out to this event as it will hopefully be a turning point in my career.

Thanks again! 
- [name]

• a few days later, you might want to send an individual email to some of the people on the PR list to ask if they will consider doing a write-up or interview on the concert.  Definitely don’t try to book radio/tv/print interviews through a mass email.

• 2.] Use a big gig to get other gigs:  Call or send an email.  (calling is probably better) That letter would look something like this…

Dear So&So

My name is [name] of the group [group name]. Our ensemble will be in Pittsburgh in June opening for Over the Rhine at the Carnegie Music Hall. I would like to inquire about booking a supporting show in the area at Hard Rock Cafe.  Are you currently booking? What is your submission process.

Music samples are available at www.[groupname].com

Thanks for your time,
-[name]

When You’ve really connected to your audience…
If you’ve had a great show, do everything you can to keep the relationship with your fans strong.  I played a college show yesterday with Tyrone Wells and learned alot from him.  Wells takes all the time he needs to tell stories on stage.  His set was roughly 50 minutes and by the end of the show his audience felt like they knew him.  Before getting off stage, Wells asked the audience to consider buying his CD since that was the easiest way they could support him.  Beside the fact that his music was good, I strongly believe people bought his CD  and merch b/c they felt like they connected with him.   

After the show Tyrone spent over an hour simply talking with students.  You’ll be so suprised at how many of your shows will come from the people you meet from an audience.

Also, make sure to pass that newsletter signup form around.  If you’ve really connected with the audience, they will sign up.  And don’t wait a week to send a follow-up message.  If possible, send your subscribees an email that night. Thank them for coming. Thank them for signing up for the newsletter. Remind them they can buy the CD online if they didnt get it at the show. And tell them when the next show is.
 

When You know you’re about to get mad hits on your myspace…
Lets suppose an online magazine has just intereviewed you and plans to post the interview next Wedneday.  They plan to include a link to your myspace.  Put yourself in the shoes of a websurfer.  When they come to your myspacee (or website) what will they see? 

• 1.] Will it look professional.   Does your default picture represent you and your music?  See Looking Professional Even When You’re Not (or are you? i just can’t tell!).  Is the layout of your site clean? See Drawing Traffic to your Website(s).
• 2.] Will you have material that will keep them interested? Do you have any videos for people to watch. They read the interview but they’ve never seen you perform. A video is the perfect way to get people to come out to a concert. If they like what they see, they’ll make a trek out to one of your shows.

Hey! If this blog helps you, please let others know about it. Thanks!
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Creating Value: Is your Music Worth Something?

Ok, so the point is…if you’ve got something to consume, you need consumers.  Consumers can be music purchasers, show attendees…basically anyone who is willing to be spoonfed your tunes. Stuff it in their faces! (jk)

The number one question is How do I get people to buy me?  Here are some suggestions

Giving Value to Yourself
This is not a “you’re beautiful just the way you are” posts, but if you don’t think very highly of your music, you can’t expect others to do so.  If you honestly don’t think your music is great, take a couple months to focus on making it great. Don’t play out until you’re a confident musician.  When you’re talking to potential bookers on the phone, sound like you know what you’re talking about.  When you’re sending emails make sure you don’t have spelling mistakes and use grammar.  Ask yourself  “If I were someone else, would I take me seriously?”

Giving Value to Your Performance:  First, Best or Different?
When someone comes to your live performance, do you offer something that other artists do not?  Is it easy to find a replacement for you or are you one-of-a-kind?  I was listening to an old Music Business Radio podcast and Keith Mohr, Founder and President of Indie Heaven says…

You have be First, Best or Different.  First is already taken. You’re probably not gonna be best, so you better be different. And people will gravitate to different.

Giving Value to Your CD
Much of this post references my very first post on this blog: “Perception is Reality“. The best way to give value to your CD is to have professional packaging.  Of course there are duplication companies like Dicsmakers and Oasis but if you can’t afford to spend $1,000 on 1000 units (especially if there isn’t a huge demand for your merch) maybe you should consider doing something low key. 

Adding value doesnt always equate to spending alot of money. Head to Walmart and buy a pack of jewel cases.  Once you have CD artwork, head to Kinkos and have the artwork printed on glossy paper (that you can slide into the jewel case.  Make sure the artwork is well done and cut properly according to the dimensions of the jewel case.  Or find a local company who will do a short print run for you..maybe just a quanitity of 100 units.

Giving Value to Your Profession
Have a real website.  Anyone can have a myspace these days but if you actually invest time and money into a real website  you look more serious.  You can also put tons of more information on a website than you can on myspace.  Looking professional also gets you out of the dive bar and coffeeshop scene. 

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Starting from Scratch: What it takes to Release a CD

really great concept album cover

very simple and clean

looks like its from the 80s. and too much info on the cover

great artwork that matches title

Here’s a question someone asked me last week.  It definitely deserves a blog for those of you who are spanking new to this music thing.   Some of these questions have been answered in this blog but here is some depth

Q: I’m interested in putting together a small CD for my fans with two or three songs on it because I’ve been getting alot of requests on where to buy my music.  So my question to you is how do I go about this?  Obviously I know I record the CD in the studio and make copies; but where do I take my photos to be made into a CD cover?  Is there a place where I can ship it and get it done all at once?  Does that include the printing on the CD itself?  And last, but not least…how do I setup something on my myspace page that allows people to purchase the CD right then and there if they wish?  Kind of like what you have on yours?

Recording
So yes, the first and most important peice of the puzzle is obviously getting your project recorded.  Visit the “Cutting Costs w/out Cutting Corners“ post for some clever ideas on how to go about finding someone to help you get this done.

Photography & Artwork
Think about the songs on your CD.  Is there’s a theme? What’s the title of the project? Let the artwork reflect that.  If your CD is about shipwrecked relationship, maybe you should have an image of a floating log or a boat crashing against your face. I dunno…  Your call.  I think photography and graphic design should be taken very seriously.  You can’t judge a book by its cover but you can certainly buy one at face value.  People will invest in something if they think its worth it.  And if it doesn’t look valuable, well… read the “Creating Value: Is your Music Worth Something?” post.  See above images for a quick critique of CD artwork (these are just my opinions).

If you decide to have your face (or body) on the cover, find a photographer. Usually if you ask around (i.e. other artists, friends, or family), you can easily find a photographer.  Most bands have had to take pictures at one time or another.  Referrals are best b/c you might get a cheaper rate, but if you find someone whom you’ve got no connection with, they have no reason to cut you a deal

I still also think doing a simple search on craigslist is a legitimate way to find a photographer, graphic designer, and even a recording studio. 

Duplication & Packaging (has alot to do with artwork)
Once you’ve got the image(s) for your CD, work with a graphic designer to determine placement.  Is this going to be a CD in a simple jacket, jewel case or are you going to have several panels?  Depending on what you decide, you will have more atwork for the front, back, inside…etc. I got these images from www.Discmakers.com.

 As I’ve mentioned in the past, Dicsmakers and Oasis are the most popular Cd duplication companies for indie artists. They can handle your artwork as well and do an all-inclusive package but it’s pricey and I don’t recommend having them do your artwork.  But people love Dismakers b/c they set up your digital distribution through iTunes, Napster, Payplay…etc.  It’s a great perk. 

Oh yea…Keep it simple
If you’re doing an EP (i.e. a CD with just a few songs) don’t go all out. Just do a jacket.   You definitely don’t want to go broke over an ep.  But the music should still sound like quality. You still want others to respect your music.

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Alternatives – CD Packaging, Production, & Distribution

IndyPendy: big savings for not so big musicians

This is continuation of yesterday’s post: “Starting from Scratch: What it takes to Release a CD“.  Read that past to get ideas on CD recording, artwork, photography, and packaging.

Now, lets say you don’t want to go the Dismakers or Oasis route (even though they handle digital distribution and other great hookups).  Lets say you just want to do a short print-run of maybe 1-200 discs…, here are resources for you.

Indypendy (Packaging and Production)
Check out Indypendy.com. Its a very simple company that does very simple work at a very cost-effective price. 
They handle CD and DVD duplication at a fraction of the price compared to other companies (but don’t handle things like digital distribution).  And always FREE shipping.  You can ask for proofs ahead of time to make sure you’re getting quality in return. This page will give you a run down on some of the things they offer. 

Indypendy especially came in handy 6 weeks before I released my CD.  I wanted advanced copies to send to media but I didnt want to spend so much money on packaging.  For roughly $100 I had them print my artwork on the face of 100 discs and and send it back to me on a spindle.  Here’s what it looked like. I burned the music onto each CD (from my laptop)  and put the CDs in plastic jackets before sending out to local media. 

Local companies (Packaging and Production)
Be sure to check into local duplication and production companies in your area.  There are so many short-run companies who can print a small (and large) quantity of your project.  Sometimes cheaper. Sometimes not.  Do your research.  These companies may not handle other things like digital distibution and setting up accounts on CDbaby, but they can be especially good at a speedy turnover time. And sometimes the fact that it is in your neighborhood means you can pick it up and not worry about shipping.

Tunecore (Digital Distribution)
The website spells it all out. Visit www.tunecore.com to find out how to submit your music to iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon…etc without the help of Discmakers or Oasis.  There is a fee to submit your music but once the music has been added to any/all stores, you get 100% of the profit made off digital sales.  Go check it out
I’m sure there are other companies that offer a way to get digital distribution.  Do your research and search the internet.

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Selling Your Music – Setting up an Online Merch Store

K-Drama

Be sure to read the first two posts in this series

1.)  Starting from Scratch: What it takes to Release a CD
2.) Alternatives – CD Packaging, Production, & Distribution

So once you’ve got the recording, artwork, and packaging done, its time to decide on ways to get your music out there. We talked a bit about digital distribution resources in the above links.  Now, here’s a deeper look into paypal…an easy resource for selling hard copies of your music (other than the obvious CDBaby).  Read more about CDBaby in the CDBaby vs. Paypal post.  (make sure to read people’s comments at the bottom of the page) 

Paypal is wonderful
Ya, I’ve talked about it before…and I don’t mean to sound repetitive but  Paypal is an incredible resource for small business owners, artists, musicians…etc. It has helped me incredibly in the last 10 months…to give my music store a very clean, simple, proffessional look. My best suggestion for you is to visit their site and look into all they have to offer.  Its FREE to setup and paypal takes a very small percentage of every sale.  They currently take 63 cents from every $10 CD I sell.  This is worth it to me. 

Paypal is professional
Paypal allows your customers to pay through credit card and sends them a confirmation email to let them know that the transaction went through.  Paypal also send you and email to let you know someone has purchased your product. You then have the responsibility of mailing your product to the customer.

Paypal is simple
With Paypal you have several options of how you’d like to setup your store and you’re given the html code to do this…  Artist K-Drama  has a really excellent paypal store on his site.  You wont see that notorious yellow button    b/c he’s simply exchanged the button image for his own creation.  But his store is very straightforward and allows you to add various CDs to your cart by clicking “Add to Cart”.  If you visit my store,  you see I’ve used a drop down box option which is great for making more space on a page and compiling information.

All the html code is provided by Paypal so its straightfoward…but if you need help incorporating into your site, ask your webmaster (its really easy on myspace).

If you are aware of other online merch stores, please post a comment. I wanted to spotlight others, but after visiting 10 random artist websites this evening, is was apparent that paypal is most popular.

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Less is More: Keeping it Simple On Stage and Off

Ben Hardt & His Symphony

My old college professor, Lloyd Corder (check out his marketing site), says “the best writing in the world is on the back of a DVD cover.”  Why? Because the writer basically has 1 paragraph to convince you that the DVD is worth renting or buying.  This is so true! 

If you can’t be accurately and effectively summed up in a few sentences, then maybe its not worth saying.  This same principle can be applied to alot of things.

Less is More on Stage
If you have a 30 minute set and you have to decide between 6 or 7 songs, go with 6.  It’s better to leave your audience wanting more than having them grow tired of your set.  Read your audience and determine whether they are bored. Even if they’re not, think about ending while your audience is still 100% in tune with your music.

Don’t Send a Book
What do your pitches look like? When you’re trying to impress a venue booker, are you telling them every notable accomplishment you’ve ever had or are you sending a short email with need-to-know facts about yourself and your music?  Are you telling them everything on your website or are you sending them a simple link to your website?  Make sure to check out the ”How to Score Reviews of Your CD” post for more tips on keeping your emails simple.  Believe me, email recipients will appreciate and be more likely to respond to your email if it’s to-the- point.

Quality Is Better Than Quantity
I have a friend of a friend who spent $20,000 on a 10-panel insert for his CD (paying someone to do the artwork, and spending the$ to print the booklet).   I still haven’t wrapped my brain around this.  Try every single method possible to keep things as cost effective as possible.  If you can do a 6-panel or 4-panel insert, you wanna go that route.  (Hint: make the lyrics smaller…duh!)

The same idea goes for your band. If you have  3 people in your band, you have fewer people to make sound good.  You don’t sound bad b/c you need another guitarist or keyboardist. Work with what you have and make it tight.

The same also goes for playing out.  If you are only booking 1 show a month (as opposed to 10), you need to make sure that one show is a great show.  For everyone who’s been waiting a month to see you,  they need to know that your one show is worth the wait and they need to get their money’s worth.  Pittsburgh artist Ben Hardt does this quite well. Even with the fact that he is based in Pittsburgh, he probably only does one show every 4-6 weeks. And he always bring it with a full band and a full string quartet.  Its that one quality show that everyone goes to b/c they know its gonna be good.

Hope these suggestions helped.  Feel free to offer your own.

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Random Tips & Tricks #2 (an html tip)

Here’s a  random html tip that I’ve found especially useful in the past  year.  It’s a short post but I think/hope you will find it useful.

Use target= “_blank”  as often as possible
target= “_blank” is a piece of html code that opens a blank screen (a.k.a new window) when people click on any particular link.  Using this piece of html code is especially helpful in keeping people on your site for a longer amount of time.  Here’s a demonstration…

Lets say you have a link on your website to a review you got in an online magazine.  The code would look something like this:

CODE 1
 Hey guys, check out my latest review on<a href= “http://beatcrave.com/2009-02-04/cd-review-joy-ike-good-morning/”  target= “_blank”>BeatCrave</a>!

Looks like this… 
Hey guys, check out my latest review on BeatCrave!

(click the BeatCrave link. notice that a new window will open)

CODE 2
Hey guys, check out my latest review on <a href= “http://beatcrave.com/2009-02-04/cd-review-joy-ike-good-morning/“>BeatCrave</a>!

Looks like this…
Hey guys, check out my latest review on BeatCrave!

(clink on BeatCrave link above.  Notice that the link opens on this page instead of in a new window…thus directing people away from this website)

The goal is to get people to stay on your website as long as possible…to keep the intrest strong. So if you have a line of html  (similar to what’s above), make sure to use target= “_blank”. 

By the way, if you didn’t know how to write html for links, now you do. Simply copy/paste what I’ve written above, remove my URL and put in your own, and change BeatCrave to something else.  Tomas Vera  has some really great easy-to-follow instructions for people who are new to html. Go!

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A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #2

To read the first blog in this series visit: A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #1

A Good Bio:
Just like a good press release, a good bio should be written in 3rd person.  The idea of being personal is great, but you should have some place online where people can go to get solid facts about who you are and what you do (whether its your myspace or official website).  If you’re not good at writing in 3rd person, ask a friend or someone you trust to write it for you. Or simply take some time to brainstorm all the important facts about your music career and compile those facts into a bio as if you are writing a blurb for someone else.

If you like the personal approach, consider having two bios – one formal and one informal. Put the formal bio on your official site. Put the personal bio on your myspace.  Or include a few personal quotes in your bio.  Kate Gaffney does this on her official site. Also check out her myspace bio.

At least one video of your live performance
Never trust an artists recording.  Recordings can be so polished and overproduced. This is why its important to have at least one video on your myspace with a live performance. I don’t remember where I read this statistic, but I’ve heard that artists are twice as likely to get booked when they have video footage . Why? Because it gives venues and bookers a realistic idea of what to expect.  Gaffney also has live footage on your site.

A Way for Others to Promote You
People like to promote the artists they listen to.  Here are some steps for doing this

• 1.] Create a promotional banner. There are plenty of sites like BannerCreator that help you make banners for free.  Or use Photoshop and make your own.
• 2.] Put the banner on your website.
• 3.] Put additional code below the banner that allows people to copy/paste the code for your banner into their own myspaces.  Visit FlashBannerNow for a quick tutorial on how to do this.

Speaking of…here is an example, of an animated gif I just created.  Visit the Random Tips & Tricks #1” post to learn how to make an animated gif. 

p.s. If grassrootsy is helpful to you, copy /paste the below code onto your myspace. Let others know! Thank You! 

• for your myspace
• <a href= “http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmdyYXNzcm9vdHN5LmNvbQ==”><img src=”http://www.joyike.com/grassrootsy/grassrootsybanner.gif”></a>
• for your website
• <a href=”http://www.grassrootsy.com”><img src= “http://www.joyike.com/grassrootsy/grassrootsybanner.gif”></a>

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Improvising…Because We're In a Recession, Yo! (Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners #2)

yummy!

A friend of mine is super cheap!  She likes to make butterred popcorn by coating raw kernals with butter, putting them in a brown lunchbag, sealing the bag, and sticking it in the microwave.  I think its funny but give it a try and tell me if it works

So…in light of coming up with alternative methods, here are some brainstormed ways to save money and save time- the biggest commodities in life. 

 
Pick a Good Spot
Show location can have alot to do with how much time you put into promoting a show.  If your booking a show at a hole-in-the-wall venue that no one’s ever heard of, you’re gonna have a much harder time getting fans to show up. Pick central spots- places that have plenty of foot traffic. When you pick a “bad” venue you have two jobs -  1.) convincing people the show will be good, and 2.) convincing people the venue will be good. If people already know the venue,  that’s half the battle.
 

USB Drive…yeah its a pretty clever idea
Why not put your music on a USB drive instead of a CD?  I recently found out about this from a local Pittsburgh band, Vindell.  Here’s how it works:  have your band’s logo or website printed on the outside of a USB Flash Drive.  Order them in bulk (lets say 100).  Once you get them, put your bands mp3s on the drive and sell them at your shows.

These days, CD sales are phasing out and digital music is the way to go.  People can have your music on a flash drive, transfer it to their computer (or ipod or whatever), and still have tons of space left on the flash for every-day use (saving term papers, if their students).

You can also put videos, press kits, wallpapers, extra songs that aren’t on the CD  and any other multi-media stuff about your band on the flash drive.  The creative possibilities are endless! 

Check out some really incredible Flash Drive ideas at FlashDealer.com.  But I know if you look harder, you can find cheaper prices online.

• note: the production cost of a flash is actually more expensive than a CD but if people plan to buy your digital tracks off iTunes anyways, why not sell a flash drive and keep iTunes from taking that percentage. And you’ll also be able to offer various types of data that iTunes cannot. Not to mention, you’ll have you website printed on the outside of the USB forever.   (You should still have your music on iTunes though)

Relationships
I strongly believe making solid relationships is the best way to save time and money.  When you have people talking about you (world-of-mouth) and telling their friends about your shows, you don’t need to spend nearly as much time, energy, or money promoting your events.  Building relationships isn’t an overnight thing though.

Also, check out Monday’s blog, A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #2, for an idea on how you can have your fans help promote your music.

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More Clever Merch Ideas

Yesterday I got overly excited about the idea of selling your music by way of the USB flash drive. Read “Improvising…Because We’re In a Recession, Yo!“  So I thought I’d highlight a few more interesting (but different) merch ideas.  I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list in future blogs.

The Standards  (not so interesting, but familiar)
Most bands tesd to go with T-shirt, stickers, and buttons. I still think these are great options…especially stickers b/c those stay in place for a long time.  Posters are another popular option.  If you think someone would actually want to buy an autographed poster of you, do it!  Production costs are fairly low for this. 

Notebooks
Not the most likely merch idea…but everybody needs something to write on…even with the fact that computers are taking over. Check out www.Branders.com to see what it would look like if you had your band logo or website on personal-sized notebooks.

Tote Bags
This is probably something that the chicks will like more than the guys. Why not put your logo, website,  a quote, or something funny on the side of a tote bag.  There are so many tote bags out there, so whatever you write on the side, make it clever.  Tote bags are relatively cheap when purchased in bulk.  www.Leaderpromos.com has some really great tote designs (and even makeup bags too).

Key Rings
People carry their keys everywhere and so the chances of this being a good seller are high!  www. also has some really great keychains.  Be sure to look around on other sites for the best deal.Branders.com

Also, read a little more about branding your band through merchandise via these articles
***SinFlip: Brilliant Band Merchandise Ideas To Make Money With
***On Stage: Merch Madness 
***Bob Baker: Top CDs & Merch Sales Tips

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Thinking Outside the Box – Thinking like a Record Label

Last week Sean Atkins of The Lost Sea came up with a really great idea for artists in Pittsburgh –  The Digital Mixtape. An online compilation CD with up to19+ songs by indie artists.  Web surfers can go to a website, download the mp3s and be exposed to several artists they’ve never heard of (and a few that they have).  Each artist on the compilation spreads the word about the mixtape and the end result is hopefully a larger, shared fanbase among all artists. (p.s. read a recent Grassrootsy interview with The Lost Sea)

You’ve seen this model before.  Record labels do it all the time!  They create a sampler of several artist on their label and send to radio stations, fans, clothing corporations, and music distribution companies. 

Mindset
Independent artist are often set back by their frame of reference.  They often think they can’t do something b/c they are not as large or as rich as a record label.  Not the case. In fact,  its sometimes easier to do things as an independent.

Take for example, The Digital Mixtape.  If you already have a website, it costs absolutely NO money to upload some mp3s and send people a link to download the music.  You spend $0 pressing CDs and everybody wins out.  Indie artists are also more willing to give away a free song and there are no corporate loopholes to jump through or contracts to sign.

So here are some more ideas for how you can be effective as an indie artist by thinking like a record label…

Cross promotion
Think about the artists that you perform with on a regular basis. Each time you promote your show, you are promoting them as well. Go the next step.  Put their website on the flyer/poster.  In your newsletter (about that particular show), include a link to their site.  Ask them to do the same. Put a link to their website on yours.
Its always better to have someone (other than you) talking about your music.  Labels adopt this pretty regularly.  For example, they have their newer artists go on tour with their bigger named groups…etc.

Podcasts and Online Radio
Back in the day (and even still today), radio stations would send hard-copy demos of new music to their database of stations…or to a network (i.e. KISS Radio) and then that network would review the music, pick the songs it liked, and send to the stations it owned. 

Being an indie artist doesnt mean you can’t get radio play. It just means you have to find new ways to be heard.  Podcasts and online radio are the new wave of the 21st century. They level the playing field for all artists.  In fact, most podcasts and online radio station are created by everyday people like you and me – and they’re more willing to give independent artists a chance.  Sub-Rock Music is an excellent example. 

Also, submitting to these outlets takes little or no money (as most ask to be sent an mp3).  Its a win win situation. Every once in a while you will still need to mail in a hardcopy.

Hard Release Date
If you visit Kenna on myspace, you’ll see that he has a timer counting down to his next CD release.  As of right now he is 154 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes, 40 seconds away!  Can you imaging thinking that far in advance!  Did you ever wonder how music companies build hype around a CD. They pre-promote…they get the word out months ahead of time. They make sure that everytime you hear about an artist you like, you’ll learn a significant fact about them. If you think about it, everyone knew Coldplay was coming out with a CD months before it even dropped.

Most indie artists wait till the last minute.  They wait for the CD to arrive at their doorstep before doing anything about it. Think outside the box.  Every month closer to your CD release, build a little more buzz. Bust your but so you don’t miss your release date. And if you have to push the date back a couple weeks, don’t be afraid to do that. Better to have a great project than one that’s on time.

Visit the How to Score Reviews of Your CD post for ideas on drumming up publicity for your CD release.

Here’s another post on mimicking.
If you have other suggestions, please post them below. 

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Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #2

Wisdm O.N.E.

To read the first post in this series, visit Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #1

Artist #1:  Wisdm O.N.E
Wisdm O.N.E.  If you keep in mind the fact that your music travels much faster than you do, it will hopefully make you think twice about how much emphasis you put on the production quality of your CD.  It took me a while to understand this concept.  My first ep was a trainwreck.  Besides the fact that I was just re-learning the piano, I didnt mix or master the CD.  The levels were all jacked up and some songs were louder than others.  When I listen to Wisdm O.N.E.’s music I hear 100% quality (this is my opinion, of course).  But his tunes are rock solid- well produced and will easily blend in with the quality of radio singles.  More people will hear your music on myspace than will ever see your live performance.  The production of your music carries alot of weight.

Laura Burhenn

Artist #2: Laura Burhenn
Laura Burhenn does a really great job of painting a picture of herself for her fans. Image.  If you spend some time on her myspace, listening to her music, and checking out her photos you’ll notice one thing…she comes off as consistently simple with a little accent of glam. All across the board.  She’s also got really great photography which helps immensley in giving people insight into who she is.

David Stein

Artist #3: David Stein
David Stein’s got a really neatly mapped out official website.  All merch links on the left sidebar, social networking links on the right sidebar, and important details down the middle.  The website isn’t completely finished but he simply writes “Information Coming Soon”.  Nothing unprofessional about that.  Also, check out his myspace.  Ellen Cherry’s got a great official website too.  Ok, thats my plug of Baltimore bands.

Know other artists who are doing interesting thing?  Comment below.

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Taking Risks: Spending Money, Spending Time

Aaron Strumpel

 
“Many desire greatness who cannot figure out what to do
on a rainy Sunday afternoon” 
- Bits & Pieces Magazine

 “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those
who are doing it”
- Unknown 

And so these two quotes set the stage for a short blog on taking risks.  Lately my thoughts have been geared toward the average American’s pursuit of the American Dream – highschool, college, a 9-5 job, make money, buy a car, buy a house, get married, have kids, repeat the whole process.  There’s nothing wrong with the American dream…especially if that’s what you want.  The goal is to not do something just b/c everybody else is doing it.

So often in this blog I talk about looking at what you are currently doing and taking it to the next step.  You can’t expect to go where you’ve never been if you’re doing the same things you’ve always done.  Taking Risk is the only way to reach new heights and people do it all the time…b/c they have to.  Examples: starting a new business, bringing a girl home to mom and dad (even if you know you’re rents wont like her:), investing in a fund (probably not too smart at this particular time in history

Risk:
exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance

here are what I think are the two biggest risks for an artist…

Spending Money
Calvin College, in Grand Rapids Michigan, holds its annual Festival of Faith & Music  (FFM) every April.  This year, they began a “bandspotting” contest giving indie artist a chance to submit their music to share a bill with a major national act as well as be  on the FFM Compilation.  Submission cost only $50.  Aaron Strumpel of Boulder, Colorado (pictured above) won and will be sharing the stage with Over the Rhine and Lupe Fiasco. Talk about a sweet return! 

Spending money is usually the biggest risk that artists dont want to take…and for good reason!  If you don’t have it, how can you spend it?  But if you can find of a handful of things that are worth investing in save up that money.  If you think about the fact that Aaron will get to play for thousands of students next weekend, get his music on FFM’s compilation CD, and share the stage with major musicians with connections, Aaron is getting a 2000% return on his $50.   Not to mention that he’ll make additional money off CD sales, mp3 sales through iTunes, and getting plenty of hits on his myspace.

Spending Time
When you’re working 40 hours a week elsewhere, its hard to committ time to your music.  I’m not suggesting you quit you job…especially if you don’t realistically think you can do that.  But what about going part time and devoting more time to your music.  Spend a few more hours each week looking for gigs, learning about new resources for musicians, and actively promoting your music.

Giving your time to music (promoting, not just playing) is a huge sacrifice that most people don’t consider a sacrifice.  But think about: we as Americans would more readily give our money to an orphan than hop a plane over to a third world country to literally help that child. That’s why they say time is more precious than money.

Here’s a great blog on risk by ArtistEmpowerment.com.

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Getting into the College Market

Student Organizations
The great thing about the college market (from my experience)  is that much of the booking is in the hands of the average student.  Student Organizations are your key to performing at any given college.  Organizations are always holding fundraisers, benefit concerts, parties, galas, cocktails…etc.  There is so much potential in the college market.  Play a show, do well, and you’ll probably get referred to some other organization because a friend of a friend saw you at your first gig.  Its endless, really.

So, how do you get in to this loop? You’ve got alot of options…

• 1] Do a little research: Do you plan to visit Philly in the fall?  Start now.  Look into local colleges…like University of Pennsylvania, for example. Find out a little more about their various orgs. Send an email to various organization presidents and ask them to consider you/your band for any events they plan to have in the new semester (ya i guess its ok to send a mass email if you accumulate several contacts).
• 2] Use what you already have/know: Alot of my fans are college students so I always ask them to keep me in mind if any of the organizatons they belong to are planning upcoming events and looking for entertainment.  If you already have fans in college, ask them to pass your music on  to their orgs.  This has been the most successful approach for me. Its all about the power of suggestion.
• 3.] Plan a benefit concert: Team up with your local colleges Habitat For Humanity, for example.  Ask them if you can put together a benefit and raise money for their cause.  Most orgs would willingly accept them.  Once you get the go-ahead, have your band, and a couple other bands do a show at the University  – maybe the Student Union, outside, or a venue on campus.  If you’re raising money for the organization, they will definitely tell their members, who will tell their friends…and you’ll get a great turnout.  The key is to do the event on school property.  p.s. don’t plan a benefit just because you want to get exposure. hopefully you actually want to raise money and promote the cause.

National Association for Campus Activities (NACA)
In the grand scale of things, NACA dominates the college market.  NACA has relationships with over 1000 major Universities in the United States, and through membership, creates connections for musicians (and booking agents) to book gigs with campus organizations and college venues. 

Annual membership for a self-represented artists is $351.  NACA then holds regional conferences where you have an opportunity to attend workshops, meet college event planners/bookers, and perform at their showcases.  Bookers take on the role of  “scouts” at these conferences and scout out talent for their schools. 

You will still need to pay seperately for these coferences, and entering into the showcase, but from what I hear, its  competley worth it!  Even if you spent $300 for conference fees, you could easily make that back in one college gig secured through NACA.  This recently happened for Nelly’s Echo.  He was able to get 9 college bookings by performing at last March’s Mid-Atlantic Regional conference showcase.

Take the time to read more about NACA.  Remember…sometimes you gotta spend money to make money.

Check back on Wednesday for another post with more facts and tips on college booking.

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More On College Booking

• • Quick Note: You can catch   me today (Wednesday, April 1st) on Pittsburgh Business Radio, 3-4pm EST.  I’ll be talking about persuing music as a business.  Listen online @  www.prrradio.com

 Read the first post in this series: “Getting into the College Market”

Other than NACA and Student-Led Organizatons…
Other than NACA and student-led organizatons, most colleges have an Event Coordination Office.  For example, University of Pennsylvania calls it SPEC: Social Planning & Events Committee.  In their recent planning of UPenn’s Spring Fling, they simply sent out a “Call for Artists” via Sonicbids.  If you’re visiting a University, be sure to contact the school’s events department to see what their booking process is.

Keep in mind that the busiest time for college booking is the Fall (plenty of semester kick-off events for organization) and the Spring (plenty of events to celebrate the end of the year).   Some events aren’t planned months in advance, but many are.  So here are some tips for college booking.

• 1.] Call Now:  Before the Spring semester winds down, reach out to the University.  Look into various organization and the schools event coordination office to learn more about how they book.  When Fall comes around you’ll be ahead of the game.
• 2.] Be Aware: Know when the Fall semester begins.  Make sure you know the dates of the first week of classes and plan to do a “Back to School” concert on campus that Friday or Saturday.

The Advantages of Doing College Shows
Here are few things that make college gigs worth persuing

• 1.] financial compensation: There’s a rumor that colleges can pay a musician better than any other type of gig. I think its true (yes, that’s where your tuition went).  Be sure to ask your contact at the school if there is compensation. You won’t always get paid but  it never hurts to ask. Monday’s blog will deal with how to ask for money so check back.
•  2.] Getting to open for larger acts: It may take some time (or it might never happen), but every once in a while you’ll get a bone thrown your way. Pittsburgh Funk/Rock group, The Jungle, has had many such opportunities…including opening for Gaving Degraw at University of Pittburgh’s Bigelow Bash.
• 3.] Great way to spread your name:  Most University events are free for students and well marketed. Students are great with word-of-mouth…largely due to facebook and their lips

Feel free to add your comments, suggestions, and tips.

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Money: Ask and You Shall Recieve…Sometimes

the theoretical bags of money available to artists

Money-related issues are undoubtedly the most-shared frustration among all independent artists.  Its hard to fund your art while also trying to fund yourself through your art.  This post offers suggestions on how and when to ask for money

Asking for Compensation
Don’t be afraid to ask for money!  If you’re providing a service to people, you shouldn’t be ashamed or feel awkward about asking to be payed for your service.  I also don’t think you should be stingy and refuse to perform just becuase you’re not getting paid.  Its really a case by case thing.

When asking for money, be tactful.  The way you ask will sometimes make all the difference in if you get paid and how much you get paid (believe me).  Here are a few examples.

• Bad example:
  Hi Jamie,
  Thanks for asking me to do this gig. I’d love to.  How much will I get paid?
  Thanks,
  -Sydney
• Good example #1:
  Hi Jamie,
  Thanks for asking me to do this gig.  Can you let me know if there is any payment for the artists involved?  Since I am persuing music full-time, this is always necessary for me to ask
  Thanks,
  -Sydney 
• Good example #2:
  Hi Jamie,
  Thanks for asking us to be a part of this event. We’d love to play!  Please let me know if there is compensation for participating bands.  We would truly appreciate this.
  Thanks,
  -Sydney

You may receive a response from the booker 1.) telling you that its not paid, 2.) asking how much you normally charge, or 3.) offering you a specific amount.

When to Ask…When not to
I don’t know that there’s a general rule of thumb for this.  Again, I think it is a case by case thing.  If the organization asking you to perform is not making any money off of a specific event, then maybe you can forego making money as well.  For example, if all the money is being raised for a charity, this might be a good time to pass on asking for money.  But still ask if you can put out CDs. 

If the venue you’re playing at is charging a cover, making money at the bar and not giving you a thing, then you should certainly address this.  It’s just not fair.

If you have any good tips on asking for money, or disagreements to the above post, feel free to add your comments.

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Planning a Tour: Making it Worth The Trip

Brooke Annibale

New venues and fresh audiences are usually worth the hassle of touring but below are some ideas on how to get the most out of your trip.

Do Your Research
Nothing sucks more than playing for an empty audience in a new city…especially since you’ve driven so far.  Do your research to find out the best places to play?  If you’re going to New York, contact NY artists and ask them to recommend venues. Ask them to recommend locations that are central and bring in foot traffic.  This will make it
easier to promote (you don’t want have to work extra hard trying to get ppl to come out to unfamiliar, hard to find spots). 

Take advantage of craiglist.  If you’re going to Portland put a posting on the Portland craigslist page.  This is how I’ve planned most of my trips and I’ve always been suprised by how willing people are to help.  Here’s an example…

• Example: Hey all.  Our band is coming to Portland in a few months and we’re currently looking for good venues in the area. Can you suggest any places that book rock bands.  Any help you can give would be much appreciated!  You can feel free to check out our tunes: www.myspace.com/notreal

Plan Ahead
Plan 2-3 months ahead.  Even if people recommend good venues, keep in mind that the good venues are usually booked 2-3 months in advance.  Trying to plan a tour 1 month in advance is not impossible, but very difficult.  Read Planning Ahead – The Key to a Successful Show for detailed tips on how to successfully promote a show.

 
Collaborate
This summer I’ll be hitting up Philly, Ohio, and Baltimore with good friend and Pittsburgh aritst Brooke Annibale.  The initial planning of our trip has made me realize how much easier it is to work together with other artists in addressing money issues.  Traveling with at least one other artist cuts your gas/toll expenses in half…as well as easing the burden of promotional efforts.

 Also, try to split shows with artists that are already in the city you’re visiting.  For example, if you’re touring in Philadelphia, contact a local Philly band or artist to see if they wanna split a show with you. Chances are they will bring more ppl out than you will b/c they live and play more regularly in the area.

Here’s an idea…
Consider spending 3 days in a city.  Pick one city that you really like and setup a show every evening. ?Why not? It’ll give you a chance to really build a fanbase in a short amount of time.  Plan to visit the city often (maybe every other month or every three months) to develop the fanbase and really make a name for yourself in that area. The more you visit that city, the easier it will be to book…and eventually you’ll get better shows.

If you have other touring suggestions, please feel free to post them as a comment. Thnx!

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Incredible Resources You've Never Heard About #1

www.youlicense.com

In the last month, some new and interesting websites have been passed on to me so I thought I’d do a post on new and underrated music resources for independent artists. If you are aware of other resources please post them in comments…and give Grassrootsy readers a short description of what the they’re all about it.  If they’re really great, I’ll do a more extensive post on your suggestions in the future. Here goes…

YouLicense.com
What an incredible idea! YouLicense.com is a website specifically created for independent artist who want to license their music for commercialas, movies, and any/all types of media. How it works: Visit the website to create a free acount.  Upload your music (up to 10 songs). You are given the freedom to sell your songs at whatever amount you like.  YouLicense takes only %9 percent commission.

For example: Lets say you have a techno-pop song on your page.  A new sneaker company needs some music to use in a commercial they’re making to advertise their shoes.  You list on your page that you are willing to license your song for $2,000.  If they agree to this, YouLicense allows them to pay you through the site in exchange for the song and takes $180.  You keep the rest ($1,820). 

Companies can also post “Opportunities” which are brief detailed descriptions of the type of music they are looking for.  You can then respond to them with your song. Its a more proactive approach.

YouLicense is an incredible resource b/c producers are always looking for material for training videos, podcasts, movies…etc.  Its also been very difficult for independent artist to get into the licensing industry and this makes things so much easier.  Not to mention the fact that you get paid for your work and your music will potentially reach a much larger audiences.  Love it!

Thanks to Jim Dispirito of Rusted Roots for letting me know about this.  There is so much more to YL, but I still need to do more research.  If you end up using YouLicense, please post a comment and let us know how it worked for you.

ArtistData.com
ArtistData is all about making life easier thru data management. In short ArtistData takes information about your upcoming gigs and sends it to all of your networking sites.  How it works: Visit the website to create an account.  Type in information about your upcoming shows.  ArtistData will then send that information to Myspace, Facebook, Eventful, Twitter, LastFM, PureVolume, Showclix, Sonicbids…etc.  The list goes on.   

ArtistData is still a very new site from what I’m told but the concept is genius and its web layout is clean and easy to use. Thanks to Brooke Annibale for the word on this. 

Again, If you’re aware of other resources please post them in comments…and give Grassrootsy readers a short description of what the they’re all about it. 

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An Interview With Brianna Lane

Brianna Lane

Folk/Americana artist Brianna Lane is an independent musician based out of Minneapolis, MN.  She’s the author of three self-released, full-length albums and tours full time.  She’s opened for several National touring acts including Dar Williams and The Weepies.

Brianna is one of the few artist I know who has had success with acquiring patrons (i.e. individuals and organization who fund her music financially).  Check out what she has to say about promoting your music, touring, and getting financial support.

1.) What do you think is the single most important thing an artist should do to promote themselves better? 

Networking is key.  Weather it be through MySpace, Facebook, Twitter or the like, reaching out to fans, friends, and other folks in the industry is essential. Some people are very talented at promoting themselves out in public at live shows as well.  It’s important to know your comfort levels in self promotion because if you present yourself honestly and genuinely you are more likely to receive positive feedback. Be open to new ways of networking and try to be aware of how others like to communicate.  I find that it’s helpful to network with other musicians via MySpace but Facebook is better for connecting with some fans on a more personal level.  Twitter is still kind of lost on me but I know that people like it and use it so I’m learning to do the same.

2.) The biggest frustration among most independent artists is finding the money to produce their music and fund tours, promotion, etc.  You’ve had some luck in finding patrons (i.e. people to sponsor you financially).  How did you go about doing this? 

I must say that a lot of it comes down to luck. Although, the more time I spend touring the more people I meet and the more people I meet the more opportunities there are to find people who are passionate about the arts and willing to fund artistic endeavours. 

3.) Do you find people are generally willing to give you money?  And do you eventually pay it back?

I do have a few personal loans with fan-friends (people who I have met through my shows who have since become friends of mine). Sometimes I’ll work in trade and write songs for folks or place their names in my liner notes. I have witnessed a lot of generosity over the years that I have spent on the road.  When people hear that I am living my passion and making music a way of life they are open to supporting me in many different ways, sometimes financially.

 
4.) You’ve had a chance to open for national touring artists like Dar Williams and The Weepies to name a few. How do these huge opportunities come around? 

The first two dates that I did with Dar came along because I knew someone who worked for her managements company at the time. They needed an area songwriter that they could trust to do the job as the opener.  Truly a dream to open for her- and on the same stage where I first saw her play ten years earlier!  Also, I knew Deb Talan (one half of The Weepies) before opening for them and we talked about sharing shows for years before it actually happened.  Through nurtured connections with either venues, promoters, or artist, opportunities arise that are hard to pass up.  It’s astounding, humbling, and inspiring to play with talented musicians. I am very grateful.
 
5. )From your website, it looks like you have a General Booking Agent and a College Booking Agent.  At what point did your schedule pick up to the point that you could hire people to handle your booking? 
I still handle the majority of my booking although I’ve hired others to take the reigns from time to time.  Since being an independent musician is more than a full time job it’s important to find good help whenever you think you need it.

I should close by saying that this message is sponsored in part by Paul Loyd…he’s just this guy. 

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Getting Others to Help You Promote Your Music

Jenny & Tyler

Getting outside help is hard!  The truth is, if we could simply get 2 people to tell 2 friends, to tell 2 more friends, every artists music could potentially take off. But its not that easy. And even if it did work, only a percentage would become die hard fans.  So here are a few ideas for ya…

Recruiting  a Street Team
They exist!  There are people out there who do love your music enough to help you get the word out about shows.  In most cases, you just need to give it time.  You won’t develope hardcore fans like this overnight.  And its likely that these hardcore fans will come when you’ve made a connection with them at a show or online (i.e. random conversations and seemingly pointless banter).

So how do you find your street team?  I think Fanbridge offers the best solution so far. Fanbridge gives people an option of subscribing to a “fan” list and a “street team” list.  In other words, “street team” subscribers will receive additional correspondence from an artist about what they can do to help get the word out.

Another option is to create a Facebook Street Team Group.  Facebook is becoming the leader in effective communication to large audiences. Once you have your group created, you can easily correspond with all members. Lets say you’ve created a facebook event for a show in Philadelphia: Use facebook to figure out which Street Team members live in Philly. Talk with them and make them ”administrators” of the event. This will give them the ability to be more hands-on in getting the word out.

Street Team members are also more likely to organize events in their cities and bring you in to perform.

Using Incentive
Try to give Streem Team members incentive for helping you…stickers, posters, a free CD, put them and one of their friends on the VIP list for a show…etc. It means alot to fans when they know you appreciate their support.

Speaking of Incentive, I recently split a show with Nashville duo Jenny & Tyler and came across NoiseTrade on their website. Noisetrade is  an application that allows music listeners to buy your music or reccommend it to 5 friends.  If they choose to reccommend instead of pay, they get the songs for free but at the same time, an artists music gets passed on to 5 new potential fans.  It’s a cycle that keeps on going and going and free music is great incentive for people to spread the work about your tunes in this framework.  NoiseTrade has an initial startup fee but I’ve heard great thing about the program so definitely check it out for more details.

Using html
If you check out last months post, A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #2, you’ll find that one of the easiest ways for others to promote you involves offering banner code.  This doesn’t involve any work other than the initial setup.  Site visitors can snag the html code and put your bannner on their own page(s).  Here’s an example for grassrootsy.  And yes! Feel free to copy/paste the below code on your site! 

• for your myspace
• <a href= “http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmdyYXNzcm9vdHN5LmNvbQ==”><img src=”http://www.joyike.com/grassrootsy/grassrootsybanner.gif”></a>
• for your website
• <a href=”http://www.grassrootsy.com”><img src= “http://www.joyike.com/grassrootsy/grassrootsybanner.gif”></a>

 Visit www.myspace.com/joyike to get an idea of how this will look on a music page.

If you have any other ideas, please suggest them in comments.

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little things that make a BIG difference!

TJ Cornwall

Whats the basic rule of thumb? Don’t take anything for granted. Yes, artists are generally big dreamers, but that doesn’t mean you overlook the simple, practical things. If anything it means you need to pay even more attention to the small details in order to make the big things better.  Here are few things that are extremely important in my opinion.

Test everything
Before sending out an email to your subscribers, make sure you send yourself a copy.  Put yourself in the shoes of a recipient.  Is the email readable and broken into small paragraphs so that its easy to digest?  If you were a fan, would the email layout be appealing and worth opening?  Read the Email Marketing – Making Sure People Read What You Write post for tons of other great tips.  This same concept applies to laying out your website and myspace…etc.

The really small thing(s)
Who knew that a small thing like Twitter could make such a difference in the 21st Century.  Some people don’t “get” Twitter. I still don’t “get” it but I know its the simplest form of communication the internet offers.  Write a one-liner, click “send” and it goes out to all your followers.  Within a few seconds I can get out an insignificant or very important peice of news to anyone who is following me. 

Why do small things like this make a huge difference?  Well, its important to realize that when you have committed fans, they want to know everything about you. And they want to communicate with you.  If they already have a copy of your CD, the next best thing is having a chance to get a sneak peak into your life via blogs, twitter, facebook status changes, the list goes on and on.  And when they can directly communicate with you, it only enhances their feeling of really “knowing” you.  Building relationship is really what its all about.  I’ve been following TJ Cornwall on twitter for a few weeks and he does a really good job with this.

I can also tell you from personal experience, that after sending out a quick msg on twitter or facebook saying “hey, I’m going to So & So’s Open Mic at 7pm” people have decide to come out!  Twitter works. And  people are more likely to read a short twitter msg than a 300 word blog.  Twitter is basically catering to the average persons short attention span. Sad…i know!  But it works!

Scoping out the room
The first thing you should do when you get to a venue is determine the most visible, central spot to layout your CDs.  This is a very simple thing that makes a huge difference.  Alot of artists prefer to hold onto their CDs until the end of their set…but believe me keeping your music in a visible spot gives show attendees a chance to to eye it and decide (throughout the course of the night) whether they want to invest in your tunes. Read the Looking Professional Even When You’re Not (or are you? i just can’t tell!)  post for more ideas on displaying your merch. 

Setting Goals
Ya…its really a matter of just writing it down. For more on this  check out the What’s the Worst That Can Happen? Really post.

If you have other small/BIG suggestions, please post in comments.

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Creating a Killer Marketing Plan for Your Music

Convey

While visiting Artist House Music  (and incredible music business site) today, I came across a really rock-solid marketing plan by Boston-based Band Convey.  It prompted me to put up this post.  Make sure to check out Convey’s Marketing Plan when you have a chance.

The key to having a killer marketing plan is being practical.  Yea…you’re supposed to have goals…and they can even be hard to reach goals. But make sure that you intend to put in enough work…so that even if they are hard to reach, they’ll still be attainable.

Have a Budget
As it’s been said many times in this blog, money issues are the hardest part of pursuing music.  Having a budget doesn’t necessarily make things easier but it will help you to keep a clear cut account of what your funds are going into. How much are you willing to spend on PR material (i.e. press kits, posters, cds, display…etc)? When you have a defined limit, you’ll be able to make careful decision on what expennses are absolutely essential.  Budgets will especially benefit bands.  Its good for a band to corporately decide when/how/what they will spend their money on.

Plan Ahead (ya, there’s so much about this concept on Grassrootsy)
There’s plenty to read on this.  Check out the Planning Ahead – The Key to a Successful Show post or Planning a Tour: Making it Worth The Trip.  There’s no greater way to make a show or CD Release a success than planning ahead.  Convey plans to have their CD at their doorstep a full 4 weeks before the release date!  Their giving themselves a month to submit their songs to iTunes thru Tunecore.  That’s impressive for an indie artists.

Doing things with a Bang
Do what needs to be done to show people you are serious about a project or an event.  During that 4 weeks of promotional time, Convey is redesigning their website, their myspace, setting up a paypal account, iTunes purchasing…etc.  Like it says in the Looking Professional Even When You’re Not (or are you? i just can’t tell!) post, when you show people you are serious, they will take you serious.  Doing things with a bang doesnt mean you need to spend ridiculous amounts of money. But it does mean you need to spend ridiculous amounts of time.   There is no way you can do the job well if you don’t spend time maintaining your websites, recording and posting those videos on itunes, corresponding with your audience, and hyping up shows via social networking sites.

 
Market around specific events
It’s nearly next to impossible to build hype if there’s nothing to build hype around. Marketing thrives off of the facts: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. If you don’t have a specific event, tour, or significant peice of news, then you simply become like the other millions of bands on myspace who have their music posted.  And anyone can have music online.

Its worth it to set tangeable goals for your music, then create a marketing plan for any large event(s) you have.  If you’re marketing is successful, then you next step will simply be to keep the momentum going by regular communication (w/ fans and pr contacts), website maintenance, quality performances…etc

Be sure to check out Convey’s Marketing Plan.  See what they’ve mapped out for themselves.  Mimick it and alter it to fit your band’s goals.   Here are some other Grassrootsy posts that are related and relevant:

• Perception is Reality
• How to Score Reviews of Your CD
• Taking Risks: Spending Money, Spending Time
• Jumping the Gun – Booking for the Spring and Summer
• Starting from Scratch: What it takes to Release a CD

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Email Marketing – A Few Things You Should ALWAYS Do

Below are a couple things that I’ve found make for a more successful e-blast to your subscribers.  Be sure to subscribe to other people’s newsletters. You can learn alot from seeing what other people do.  And if you’d like more tips on Email marketing after reading the below, check out the Email Marketing – Making Sure People Read What You Write post. 

Remember…
Remember that many people (especially those using Outlook) have a preview pane.  This means they will see the top portion of your email before they see the rest.  In addition to making the upper-most information in your email the most important, you always want to make it the most interesting…an attention grabber that will make readers want to open and read the full email.

Find Simple ways to Emphasize Important Facts
Are you highlighting everything, increasing font sizes, and using alot of exclamation marks. Just pick the most important fact(s) and do something to make it/them stand out?  Dont!  If you make that one piece of essential information stand out, people will notice and gravitate towards it…even if its at the bottom of the page. I find what works best is bolding something in red…see example.

Using Professional Mailing List Provider (MLP)
Use a professional mail list provider.  There are so many that are available for free or a minimal price.  My top picks would be Your Mailing List Provider or FanBridge, but don’t forget Constant Contact, Zinester, and Listbox.  If you’re more well-versed in web development (or have someone who is), try Phplist.  It allows you to manage your own subscribers instead of going through a mailing list provider. In other words, your newsletters are developed, maintained, and sent with your website having full control over everything. You wouldnt see another companies logo at the bottom of the email, and you’d be able to manipulate html to make your list behave exactly as you want Does that make sense?  No? Ok, head over to www.phplist.com to read more.

One thing I like about YMLP is that people can check out your archives. So even if they are not subscribed to your newsletter, they can still gain access to your newsletter to see what’s going on (I’m sure other mailing list providers might allow this). Visit www.joyike.com/newsletter and click “Archives” see what I mean. 

 Using an official MLP will allow subscribers to easily unsubscribe or update their subscription info. People are less likely to do that if you are sending emails with no official system in order.
 

Check back on Monday for “Email Marketing – A Few Things You should NEVER Do“.

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Email Marketing – A Few Things You Should NEVER Do

Read the 1st half of this post: Email Marketing – A Few Things You Should ALWAYS Do.

Do You like SPAM?
If you don’t like SPAM, then don’t assume others will.  This should be common sense, but I’m surprised by how many people don’t realize they’re spammers. If you’re promoting an event don’t send updates every day or every two days.  Stick with once a week at the most.  Continually sending messages will decrease the likelihood of people opening, reading, and/or acknowledging your information. So don’t do it!

Never Expect Email Recipients to Read Your Whole Email
9 times our of 10, you’ll be the only one reading your newsletter from top to bottom. This is why its extremely important to break your newsletter into small paragraphs of information.  Sending a 500 word newsletter without any line breaks is a huge mistake  and will discourage people from opening/reading.  As mentioned in  Email Marketing – A Few Things You Should ALWAYS Do, do something special to make the important facts stand out, but don’t make everything stand out, b/c it only becomes cluttered.

Quality not Quantity
In the same vein as the last paragraph, give good information, not lengthy information.  If you can get your point across in  only a few words, do it.   If it takes a mouthful, at least make sure all your information is necessary.  This doesn’t mean you cant take the time to be personal, but be tactful about it.

Dont disclose the email addresses of your subscribers 
If you’re using a Mailing List Provider, then you won’t have to worry about this. But if you’re sending emails from your everyday email account, regularly make use of BCC (blind carbon copy).  When you disclose people’s email addresses to hundreds of random people, you can easily lose subscribers’ trust.  This is how ppl get on FWD lists.  For more on this, check out this article: “Sending Mass Emails Without Disclosing Recipients.”

Don’t forget to check out an older post entitled Email Marketing – Making Sure People Read What You Write.

Here’s a really excellent article on About.com with plenty of priceless tips on email marketing: Email Marketing Tips, Tricks, and Secrets.

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Creating a "One Sheet"

Portico

So what is a “One Sheet”?  It’s a music term. Literally its one page of information about you, your music, your acheivements and anything else that is helpful in “selling” your product.  By selling I mean selling the idea of your music and/or selling physical copies. 

Music PR Writer, Heather McDonald says it best…

“A one sheet is a sales sheet that gives information about a new release that may be helpful for labels and distributors in selling the album. It may contain information about the band and the band’s past achievements, information about the recording of the album, the style of the music, the track listing and any other unique characteristics that make it stand out. One sheets are very similar to album press releases used to generate media attention for a new releases, and in some cases, they can essentially be the same document. Keep in mind, however…” [read full article]

Quick Rundown
As Heather mentioned, One Sheets were originally created by labels to send out to distributors.  At the book publishing company I used to work at, we’d create One Sheets for every book we released. Then we’d send these out to book distributors and bookstores.  The point was the give them a short-and-sweet explanation of each project in the hopes that they would want to purchase the product for their store (i.e. a mom and pop store) or their chains (i.e. all the Barnes & Nobles in the US).

One Sheets for the Independent Musician
As an independent musician, you’re probably not at the point where you’re trying to sell the idea of your music to land a distribution deal.  Instead, a One Sheet for you would serve as a mini press kit with all the need-to-know facts.  For example, if you’re trying to land a review, you might email your One Sheet to a publication along with a brief email inquiring about their review process.  Read the How to Score Reviews of Your CD for more on this. One sheets are also great for sending to radio (for airplay) and venues (for booking).

What to Put on Your One Sheet
Think about the most important things about your music.

• bio accompanied by your press photo
• CD facts: title, track listing often acompanied by length of each song, CD Cover image
• contact info: web address, email, number if available
• what others are saying: any endorsements you’ve received, one-lines from reviews you’ve had
• things that make you look really good: great venues you’ve played at (i.e. Heinz Hall), nationally known acts you’ve opened for (i.e. Matisyahu), music licensing opportunities (i.e. your song was used in a Macbook commercial) 

Great Examples
The above is alot of information! How do you fit that all on one sheet?  Check out these excellent examples by…

• Kate Gaffney links to her One Sheet from her website.  Take a look.
• Portico has a really clean One Sheet promoting the band not necessarily a CD.  Take a look.
• Jessica Owen makes sure to mention that her songs were once used on FOX and NBC TV series.  Take a look.
• Brianna Lane doesn’t have a One Sheet persay. But check out her press page b/c it has an excellent example of everything you’d ever want on a One Sheet if it could fit!  Take a look.

Thanks to Pinkle Music for inquiring about One Sheets. Download all his tunes for free at www.pinklemusic.com. Believe me, its really worth it.

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Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #2

Indie on the Move

Check out the first post in this series… Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #1

So here are a few new artist resources that people have passed on to me in the last month.  If you know of any definitely shoot me an email joy[at]joyike[dot]com

Indie on the Move
Indie on the Move is a 100% FREE online resource created by Philadelphia Band Zelazowa. IotM is a database of thousands of venues throughout the United States.  Artists and bands post venues they’ve played at, give contact info and tips on how an artist can book themselves at that venue, and offer a description of a venue. 

So lets say you’re touring in Pennsylvania.  Visit www.indieonthemove.com. Click on the state of Pennsylvania on the map.   A database of venues in PA will pop up.  Click on World Cafe (for example) and here’s what comes up.  Super helpful.  You don’t even need to be a member to glean helpful information from the website or add a venue.  But here’s why you should join…

IotM is especially great b/c it helps artists to easily gig swap with each other.  Don’t know what gig swapping is?  Lets say you’re traveling to Vermont, but don’t know anything about the music scene,  IotM allows you to network with Vermont artists to play a show with someone in VT.  You return the favor and offer them a show in your city, State when they tour. 

Sure there have been many other resources like IotM, but b/c venue and booking information is so time sensitive, it’s especially great to have a FREE database that is constantly being updated. IotM is passionate about helping artist DIY (Do it Yourself).  Since artist can’t always afford booking agents, I’m especially glad IotM exists.  Check it out!

Champion Sound
Champion Sound is like a mailing list provider and then some!  Not only can you store all you fans emails, but it allows your fans to RSVP to events you are promoting. It keeps track of the show attendees and generates a guest list that you can hold on to, or give to the doorman.  Its great for musicians, promoters, and venues. 

Champion Sound provides alot of the same things a mailing list provider does like… stats (i.e. open rates, click rates…etc) ,  and list management (i.e. create different lists for fans depending on their city or social networks).  Visit their features to learn more. 

Champion Sound is free  if you have a small contact list and only plan to send 100 or less emails per month.  But they have pricing options for larger quantities. 100 emails really isn’t much.  So this will definitely be a problem if you are are consistently building your fanbase (especially b/c other services like Fanbridge allow to send 400 emails for free).
If you have used or decide to use any of the above resources, please leave a comment and let readers know your opinions.

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Getting People to Sign Up For Your Newsletter

Joel Rakes

The Newsletter is the single most important part of being a musicians (ya, i’ve only said that 10,000 tims in this blog).  Can you imagine what would happen if major artists didn’t have newsletters? They’d make only a fraction of their normal income.  For example, I get Death Cab For Cutie’s emails in my inbox all the time…and that’s the only way I find out about new CD’s, tour schedules, new music videos, and blogs.  Without that newsletter I have nothing to prompt me to visit the website.  Withought that newsletter, there’s no way for me to excited about their upcoming releases, or first dibs on concert tickets…etc.

You’ve heard me say it so many times on this blog, but you NEED a sign-up sheet at all of your shows. You need it on your merch table. You  need to pass it around.  Its better for people to sign you newsletter than to buy your CD.  An email last alot longer than $10.  If you get an email address, you have the chance to start a “relationship” with your fans.  The lines of communication are open and they will undoubtedly bring more income your way (wether that means buying your CD later, or paying to come to many future shows).

Now here’s some fresh information.  Here are some ways to build that newsletter other than what has already been mentioned…

Be Clear
People are hesitant to sign up for any type of newsletter these days…for the simple reason that there’s so much SPAM out there (see Email Marketing – A Few Things You Should NEVER Do). At your shows, take the time to tell people what they’ll be getting in their inbox.  Tell fans you’ll only email once a week or once every two weeks. If you have fans in several states, make sure they know you will only email them if you’re coming to their area.  And tell people they will be able to opt out of your emails if they decide they’re no longer interested.  And then…prove it.  Send meaningful information in your emails so people know they didnt sign up for crap!

Offer Incentives: Free Song(s)
Philadelphia Singer/Songwriter Joel Rakes has something he called “Free Refills”.  Any person who subscribes to his newsletter automatically gets free, regular downloads of new songs.  Promos like this are extremely effective. When people know they are getting something that others aren’t priveleged to, it adds value to the product.

Also check out the Getting Others to Help You Promote Your Music post for details on NoiseTrade.  Noisetrade not only collects a persons contact info in exchange for free music, but also requires that person to recommend 5 other friends who might like your music. 

Use that html code
Most Mailing List Providers help you generate email signup forms (html code) for your website. Put that code on your myspace, and on your website.  It might even be possible to put the form on every page if it works with the layout of your website.  If anything, its important to put the signup form on your homepage and/or themost trafficked page of your website.

If you have other tips or things you’ve done to build your list, please suggest them.

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Finding Your Niche

Hiram Ring

I’ve been learning lately that having a target audience can sometimes has the ability to open amazing doors and can help your marketing endeavors more than hurt.  Here’s a little more on that.

Finding your niche
Niche can be based on several things:  Are you looking to make fans…

• …in a certain age range: i.e. young hipsters, kids who listen to college radio…
• …who like a specific type of music: i.e. most likely to listen to their local r&b, or rock station
• …who are more likely to dress a certain way or frequent specific social scenes: i.e. the “green ”crowd that regurlay hits up art festivals and social activism events. tree huggers
• …and plenty other categories
  

Why is Finding Your Niche Helpful
Finding your Niche can be extremely helpful when you’re working to build a name for yourself.  It sometimes requires you putting yourself in specific circles for your name to begin circulating among the movers and shakers.  Fo example…

If you feel your music belongs to the art scene and will best appeal to people in the arts demographic, stop into your local art galleries and start talking to the owners and curators. Drop off your business card. Ask them if they need entertainment for their next gallery opening.  They will sometimes book you but it many cases you will have to do it for free.  But if you do this often enough, and your music is good, your name will  begin to circulate…and doors will open into art festivals, benefits, and other artsy type events

Finding a Niche is especially helpful for getting into the brain of your fans. If your fans like folk music, start to become aware of venues that especially appeal to folksy crowds. And book yourself with artists that already have a presence in your local folk scene.  Think like a fan!

What if You Don’t Know What Your Niche Is?
Ask Others.  Ask people who listen to your tunes to best describe your music and who they think is most likely to listen to it.  Think about “big-name” artists you sound like.  Determine who their fans are and aim to make similar types of fans.

Harim Ring is a folk/afro-beat artist from Ghana, West Africa.  His tunes are simply great (that’s my plug).  Aside from that, he seems to be a nomad. You can tell from his photos that he’s always on the move – in the desert, sleeping in the back of trucks…etc. He’d definitely appeal to travelers, hikers, and fellow young nomads. He’s playing a “Music in the Woods” festival in South Carolina in a few months. Perfect for hikers and other nature lovers.  This is a perfect example of finding and taking advantage of your niche

Other Things to Keep in Mind

• 1. ) a niche doesn’t mean you can’t venture into other territory.
• 2.) Finding your niche has alot to do with just being yourself. The types of people you reach directly relates to the places you yourself would hang out at…and it also probably means you’re reaching people who have similar tastes as you.

 Leave your comments and additional advice below. Thanks!

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Innovative Advertising – Some Things To Consider Trying

T. Mitchell Bell

Oh advertising!  Is it really worth it as a musician?  Well, it depends. Where are you advertings? What are you advertising? And do you have money? Of course you want to try to get as much free publicity as possible.  If you can do it for free, definitely go for that option!

When you do get the funds, check into these ideas. The great thing about the following options is that you can advertise at whatever price is affordable for you. 

And in continuation to Monday’s blog, Finding Your Niche, the below suggestions allow you to advertise directly to your niche.

StumbleUpon
Its a great source for people who wanna find good things online.  StumbleUpon doesn’t just focus on music.  It exposes surfers to every type of website in the world. How does it work?  Lets say you wanna get your myspace out to a unique type of listener (See yesterday’s post: Finding Your Niche). Click on StumbleUpon Advertising and create a campaign. As you create your campaign, you’ll see that you can choose what types of people you want to visit your website – everything from people who are history buffs to people who are vegetarian, to people who like kayaking.  Tons of random categories. 

So what if your music appeals most to men, maybe you’d want to pick people who fall into the following categories:  home improvement, mens issues,  video games.  Or if you think your music has ambience that best fits the spiritual guru/yoga type crowd; you might want to pick people who fall in the following categories: yoga, self improvement, ambient music.

You’re also given the option of choosing age range, geographic location and other demographics.  StumbleUpon only costs .05 cents per view.  So you could spend $20 on advertising and that would expose your website to 400 people.  Check out their short video tutorial.

Facebook (and Myspace)
Its much the same concept as Stumble Upon: i.e. target audiences, demographics and all that jazz.  One thing I’ve noticed and like about  Facebook ads is that it allows you to pay for impressions  by the thousands.  So that means, if you set your ad price as 20 cents per 1000 impressions, your ad will show up on the side panel of 1000 facebook pages.  Whether 5 people or 500 people click the impression, you still only pay 20 cents per 1000.   I’ve found that Facebook isn’t as straighforward as StumbleUpon and takes a little time to understand. 

I haven’t tried Myspace advertising, so if you have experience, please comment below.

The Pizza Boy (ya, for real!)
During the week of his CD Release, Pittsburgh artist T. Mitchell Bell stopped into his local pizza store, and asked them if they would be able to distribute flyers for his CD release everytime they had to make a delivery.  AWESOME idea!  They let him do it for free b/c he was a very regular customer! 

Stop into your local restaurant, whether it be a pizza store, or something else.  Ask them if they’d be willing to do the same.  You might have to pay a little something but its a great idea ( they’ll treat you better if they know you).  It’s one of the best ideas I’ve heard lately and I think its probably effective.

Note to the advertiser: make sure you’re actually advertising something like an event, a new CD…etc. No sense in advertising unless you have a product or concept to sell.

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Beating The Summer Slump – Getting People In the Door

One of the biggest challenges I’ve ran into is trying to get people out to shows in the summer…especially when the weather’s nice. It might seem like a trivial thing…but there really are ways to work around this.

Stay Outdoors as Much as Possible
If you can help it, be on the lookout for weekend art festivals…and do as many of those as possible!  It’s a no-brainer that art festivals and outdoor concerts are “the thing” to do in the summer.  Chances are you can book an afternoon gig at an art festival and still lineup an indoor gig that evening if you want.

Your City Paper’s ”Summer Guide” should be out soon if not already.  The Summer Guide lists local community events, art festivals, and other major events.  Check the Stay Informed: Read, Watch, Listen, Go post for even more on this.

And if your show is outside, make sure people know it!

Start Later
Don’t start the show at 7pm if you don’t have to.  Consider pushing the show back to 8 or 8:30…after the sun sets.  It’ll give people a chance to get out of their daytime mentality and slip into an evening mentality.  It really does make a difference. 

Be Pickier
Choose your venues more carefully.  If you’re playing at a restaurant, bar, coffeeshop, check to see if they have an an outside stage or courtyard you can use.  Pick venues that are great summer hang out spots.   Like most cities, some spaces do better in the summer than they do in the winter. Vice versa.

 
Be Part of Something Bigger
Its hard enough to get people out to your gigs at other times of the year.  During the summer, try to be a part of events that are already going on.  Have your band perform at Benefits, charities, cocktails, that are already in place.  The host organization will already be putting marketing muscle into promoting the event and you’ll have to worry less about promoting. Pittsburgh hosts an event called “First Fridays on Penn” where all the Penn Avenue art galleries, restaurants, and business open their doors with live music (all genres), food, and art.  Its a great way for artists to get exposure b/c there are always hundreds of attendees.  Similarly, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust hosts a quartly Gallery Crawl with the same feel but an even larger turnout.  Many cities hold similar events.

 You might also want to read Jumping the Gun – Booking for the Spring and Summer for other ideas.

Staying Connected – For Your Benefit & Theirs

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For many singer/songwriters and bands, the biggest initial challenge is breaking into their city’s music scene.  When there are hundreds of other “competing” musicians, it’s extremely difficult to make a name for yourself.  This is why it is so important to be connected to an organization(s) that already has established connections.

Why Get Involved?
Why not?  Most cities have some type of association for local musicians.  For example, Baltimore has its Baltimore Songwriters Association, and New Orleans has its Indie Rock Collective.  Do a simple online search to see what’s in your city.  Membership for most of these organizations are usually free and they exist solely to futher the music culture in any particular city.  They often offer showcases,  music workshops, compilation CDs…etc.  They pass on opportunities that you might not have found out on your own; and most importantly these orgs are perfect for networking.

Prime exmple:

“AcoustiCafe is a Pittsburgh non-profit that is passionate about creating connections between local and touring musicians, venues, and fans.  Since its inception, AcoustiCafe has been a driving force behind cultivating a much-needed music community in the Pittsburgh-metro area. Not only has it provided a platform of exposure through reputable venues, events, and organizations, but it provides consistent opportunities for networking through open stages, sponsored showcases, and featured events. “

AcoustiCafe relaunched in January 2008 and has grown leaps and bounds in the last 18 months.  This year, because of its growing presence in Pittsburgh, AC was offered a stage at Pittsburgh largest Art Festival – The Three Rivers Art Festival.  They will be showcasing Pittsburgh artists on June 6, 7, 13, and 14.   AcoustiCafe drew its artist lineup directly from musicians who attend their open mics and are actively involved in furthering their cause.

Don’t Use People
Don’t get involved in something just so you can get something out of it.  It doesn’t pay off!  When people see that you only want to take and not give of your time (or skills), you won’t be anyone’s favorite person. Be willing to help plan events in conjunction with your local music collective.  Even if you’re not playing, be willing to attend showscases, open mics, workshops…and try to pass on the information to your fellow musicians. When everybody’s helping everybody, you all get alot more accomplished. This is a fact.

Don’t Have Something in Your City? Start It?
It doesn’t have to be a huge endeavor. You can simply put together an email list or facebook group of local musicians and shoot them emails anytime you hear about a workshop, gig, or event that’s worth sharing.

Here are some other blogs on Networking.  And if you know of Collectives/Organizations/Associations in your city, please post them below…as well as a link where people can find more information.

The Negatives & Positives of Information Overload

Its overwhelming!  The amount of information, resources, social networking sites on the internet is overwhelming.  An independent artist has thousands opportunities and avenues to get their music out there.  If you’re interested in a few of these, check out the following recent recent blogs.

Positive: If one thing doesn’t work, try another
Just because 1 band is using purevolume, doesn’t mean you have to.  Mimicking is great but it doesn’t always gaurantee that what works for another artist will work for you.  If you aren’t seeing results from a resources you’ve utilized, there are 10 more to take its place. Inform yourself on what’s out there and invest time into seeing results. Check out “An Interview with The Lost Sea“ to see what Sean Atkins did to direct his myspace fans to his ReverbNation account. His efforts got his band #1 ranking on ReverbNation.

Positive: You Can do What the labels can ( with less money)
The grassroots movement is huge in every industry (especially films and  music).   Take advantage of your ability to make things viral. Just like a virus, you want your information to infectious – to spread via social networking, which is the new word of mouth.  It may take longer than it would with a label, but you can spread your music incredibly far if you work at it.  Check out Thinking Outside the Box – Thinking like a Record Label for some concrete ideas. 

 
Negative: Anyone can put out a CD
The bar has certainly been raised. In just 5 years, myspace has proven that anyone can make a CD, maintain a website, and promote themselves.  A&R reps are keeping their eyes & ears open for new music (which is a good thing), but the bar has been raised.  There’s so much good music, but there’s also a whole lotta crap!  So unless you stand out and prove yourself, you’ll fall into the pot with everyone else.
 

Negative: It’s Time Consuming
Its hard to find the best avenue for you that takes the least amount of energy. Some people have an easier time promoting on myspace, some facebook, some purevolume…etc.  Decide whether you want to be on all the major sites or if you want to pick only a handful and concentrate your efforst on pushing those.  There are advantages to each approach.  I personally know I’ll go crazy if I try to add another social networking site to my to-do list.

Please comment, and let readers know what networking websites and resources have worked  best for you.
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Random Tips & Tricks #3

Lauren Zettler

To read the first two blogs in this series visit:  Random Tips & Tricks #1 and Random Tips & Tricks #2 

A Few Promotional Tricks at Live Shows…
Before you perform, put a couple business cards on each table in the venue.  The information might not be important to anyone until you perform.  When they hear you, they’ll pick your card up a 2nd time and consider holding onto it. Remember…people are lazy and you’ll get more accomplished if you bring the information to them instead of expecting them to go to you.  More on this in Random Tips & Tricks #1. Also, carry business cards in your back pocket and give to people when they come up to you after the show.

Don’t have business cards? Try handbills instead. Bring miniflyers of your next gig and put those out and around to remind people of where they can see you next.

Put Your Email Address  in a Visible spot on your Myspace Page
You’d be surprised at how many music myspaces don’t have a bands booking information available.  Realize that not every person visiting myspace has a myspace account…which means they can’t email you through your page if they want to book you, ask you a question or send you fan mail.  If you don’t have an official website and use myspace as your primary page, you especially need to have contact info readily available (maybe even a number). Check out Lauren Zettler’s page for a great example.

Start Twittering
Some people get it, some people dont. Its just like texting but on your computer instead.  Even if you don’t want to actively “tweet”, begin subscribing to other artists tweets. I’ve learned about great resources, good venues in other cities, and upcoming events simply by reading other artists posts.  Yes, I realize last week’s post was about information overload in the age of social networking, but twitter seems to be the new effective thing!  So give it a try. 

p.s. I’m noticing that as each network sites gains popularity, it loses its effectiveness.  This year, Facebook has taken off and become more popular than myspace…but I’m getting so much more spam!  This will most likely happen with twitter in the future, but it hasn’t yet.  Use it while it’s still good
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Lets Be Realistic, k?

Joe Squared: B-more's best pizza and a great venue. Yum!

 
…About Your Draw
Never assume that you’re going to get a good turnout at a show…especially when you’re not actively promoting.  Liz Rueger of Independent Artist Representatives says it best: “You should go into every show assuming no one has ever heard you.”  That said, don’t just expect people to come.

This is especially important to keep in mind when you’re touring. Venues want to know what kind of draw you have. How many people can you realistically bring out to their venue?  Don’t lie!  If you tell a venue you will bring out 50 people, then they’ll expect at least 50 people and hope for more. If you don’t deliver, you probably won’t be booked there again.  If you can only really draw 10 people, then be honest and tell them so.  They will respect your honesty and might still book you especially if you share the bill with 1 or 2 local artists in that city.  Joe Squared in Baltimore is especially great with this.  They will ask you what your draw is, and they will also require you to split stage time with at least 1 or 2 other groups. See Planning a Tour: Making it Worth The Trip for other touring tips.

 
…About How Much Money  You’ll Make
“You’ll probably lose money on your first tour” (another Liz Rueger quote).  When you factor in travel expenses, and the fact that you might not get the greatest venues on your first go-round, the truth is you just might spend more than you make. 

As for CDs, its a big investment to purchase 1000 units of your projec. It might take 1 (or 3) years to sell through it.  Don’t think that just because your music is available, people will buy it. There is money to be made in music but if you’re in music simply b/c you want to make money, you’re in the wrong profession. 

…About Your Commitment
Don’t waste people’s time.  Don’t be that artist who’s extremely dependable one minute, and a no-show the next.  Your fellow musicians are working their butts off to make a name for themselves  and its not fair when you get a great gig at a showcase or as an opener and then decide that you don’t care enough to go (or cancelled last minute).  Several other musicians wanted that spot. 

At the same time, don’t be too serious.  Don’t quit your job unless you know you can really support yourself on your music.

Any other suggestions?  Post them in the comments…

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How to Get Good Google Results For Your Website

Thanks to Tom Ciesielka of TC Public Relations for allowing Grassrootsy to use his latest TC Tip in this blog.  While many of the below tips are directed towards business owners, it is just as applicable to musicians and music PR. Make sure to also check out his PR For Laughs blog!

Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #3

See read the first two posts in this series, visit Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #1 and Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #2

Better Than the Van
What’s better than the van? The couch, of course!  If you’re touring, here’s a stress free way to go about finding a place to stay for the night. BTTV is a network of musicians across the United States (and even a handful of connections in Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia…etc) who are willing to offer your their couch for the night.

Worried about axe murderers and serial killers?  BTTV allows users to leave comments about thier stay at other users’ homes…so you’ll have a good idea of what to expect ahead of time.  Here’s a profile from one of BTTV’s users. They don’t look like they eat people.

For more on blogging check out this blog: Planning a Tour: Making it Worth The Trip.

Pump Audio
Here’s another great music licensing website that seems more promising than You License.  “There’s a lot of great indie music out there, and there’s a lot of TV.”  That’s the basic premise behind why Pump Audio exists. They’re hoping to connect independent artists to mass media.  Who doesn’t want that?

Pump Audio has been around since 2001, and in just 8 years, has developed relationships with networks such as BBC, MTV, NBC, Comedy Central, and VH1.  They also work with ad agencies in offering music for commercials, supply music for films, video games…and the list goes on.  You’ll really benefit from reading their FAQ’s.

• The Good: Pump Audio allows users to join for free and is non-exclusive. You can still work with other licensing agencies while working with them.  They don’t own your music or anything…but…
• The Bad: Pump Audio takes 65% of any income from licensing fees. This means you only get 35%. This isn’t such a bad deal considering the fact that you’re only getting paid because of their help.  Also once you submit a  song to PumpAudio, they will hold onto it for 1 year so as to shop it around as much as possible.  You can still submit the song through other licensing agencies as previously mentioned, but you can’t remove your song from their roster until a year is up.
• The Extra Step: You cannot submit mp3s. Only a CD.  This is probably a good thing. Those willing to go the extra step and submit a CD instead of 1-click uploading are probably the people who are more serious about licensing. And this allows Pump Audio to limit the number of people submitting thus minimizing their workload and focus.

Remember…if you know of other great independent resources, pass them on.

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Music & Current Economic Challenges #1

Kings of Tragedy

If you’re like me, your starting to notice that funding is being/has been cut for many organizations and art initiatives in your city. Fewer art and community festivals and smaller budgets.  That sucks.  If you’re an independent artist trying to make a living, it’ll probably get harder before it gets easier.  

Grassrootsy is interested in knowing what YOU, as a musician, are doing to generate income during these economic times.  Post your comments below (along with your name and website).  The best, most applicable, and practical suggestions will be the content of Wa future post. 

And here are a couple Grassrootsy suggestions…

Offer Incentives for Early Birds
Who wants to pay $10 for live music if they can pay $8, huh? When people know they can save money, they will…especially when its on something arbitrary like music.  Work out something through P’. For anyone who buys advance tickets, they can get into the show for a fraction of the price. If they wait last-minute, they’ll have to pay the full price at the door.

Collaborate With Your Venue
Talk with the store owner.  Ask if he would be willing to give attendees a 10% or 15% discount off their appetizer (or entree) if they buy a ticket to the show.  This won’t always work but it just might. 

Take Advantage of ”Package Deals” 
Good friends, The Kings of Tragedy always try to do this.  If they are playing a show with another artist, they offer the audience a 2 CD deal. If you buy the CDs individually, they are $10 each. If you buy them together, you get both for $15.  So each artist will get $7.50 for their CD instead of ten, but you are guaranteed to sell more and get your music out to more people….ultimately making more money that night than you would have.  Some artists like the idea. Some don’t.

Merch 
Gotta spend money to make it.  Check out the More Clever Merch Ideas post for some great ideas.

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Music & Current Economic Challenges #2

The Seldon Plan

So here’s what a couple other bands are doing to push through these economic times.

The Seldon Plan: “Touring With Jobs
The Seldon Plan says its best: just because funds are limited doesn’t mean you can’t travel.

“The model of touring [involving a bus and several weeks of shows scheduled across the country] is gone. The recession has made it so that bands have to focus on their geographical areas, which is regionalizing music. We’ll connect with people because we share a geographical location.”
- Michael Nestor -guitar/vox/keys (quote compliments of Baltimore Metromix) 

Tour with a job.  Work your 9-5 and go out of town on the other days of the week.  Maybe you can work out a deal with your employer where you’re working semi-part-time or 40 hours on 4 days of the week instead of 5.  There are ways to make it work. 
Be sure to check out The Seldon Plan’s myspace. The layout is great.

The Flying Change: “Power in Numbers”
In a recent interview on Idolator.com, Sam Jacobs of The Flying Change makes an excellent point: 

“We’re looking to do as a group what we might not be able to do alone. So, moreso than in the past, we’re trying to form collectives and build entertainment experiences around those collectives rather than just solo artists.”

This is such an excellent idea. Form a collective.  Work off of each other.  Especially if you’re a solo artists, consider forming some type of partnership with other like-minded artists.  Tour together. Instead of booking a show on your own, book for your collective. Networking is key.

Check out this excellent article entitled Recession-Proofing Your Band.  I learned a great deal from what I read.
And also check out Music & Current Economic Challenges #1

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A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #3

 To read the first two posts in this series check out:

A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #1
A Couple Things Every Artist Should Have #2

A YouTube account
Soul/Electonica artist Chris McDonald has the right idea.  In anticipation of his forthcoming CD, Life of a Salesman, McDonald puts together 3 minute comedic video shorts featuring himself as Sal the Salesman.  Check em out. Not only is this an excellent way to build hype, but videos allow you to engage with your audience in a way that you just can’t do via audio or photo.  Consider opening a youtube account and posting a new video every 2 weeks (every week if you can).  It will pay offf…and will be the best/fast/easiest way for fans to get to know you better.  p.s. videos don’t necessarily have to be about your music…maybe something that just shows of your personality.

The Simplest, Most Straightforward merch store
When it comes to making money, don’t mess around w/ the potential to pull in supporters.  If your information is confusing, cluttered, or too much, you’ll miss out on sales, and web traffic.  Keep it cut-in-dry…especially on myspace.  Check out Mary Bragg’s music store.  Also visit her store on her official site.  It’s incredible and a perfect example of offering perfectly clear/concise information! Her store is powered by IndieKazoo. Check ‘em out. They’re fabulous.

A header banner image on your myspace
Why not? Alot of artists are doing it these days and its just a great way to welcome ppl to your site.  Include an image of yourself or your band at the very top of your myspace. Visit Transmissor’s page for an example.  Why are headers important? Considering that it’s the first thing a person sees when they get to your page, a header is your chance to catch their eye and tell them your most important fact….like the an upcoming major show, or the release of a new CD. Visit Tommy and the Whale’s page for an example. 

To learn how to put up your own image on your page, check out this post on webupon.com: 10 Fun Websites to Create Your Own Free Banner.

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Free Things Your Fans Will Love

Mark Martucci

 Ok, so there’s the ongoing debate about whether it helps/hurts to give away free mp3s to people. Read “What’s Your Motive? Making Money or Making Music?“ for some good arguments.  And while you’re figuring out what you think,  here are some other options of how you can show appreciation to your fans while still promoting yourself.

Wallpapers and other image downloads
Wallpapers don’t cost anything except recruiting someone with graphic design ability.  Hopefully you or a freind can muster up some minimal photoshop knowledge.  That said, people love wallpapers for their computer desktop. 

Check out Mark Martucci’s page (click ‘DLoads’ link at the bottom right corner) for some great examples. He also offers AIM (aol instant messenger) buddy icons for people to use if they want. That’s a clever idea.  Ari Hest does the same thing.  His free media page is really great and offers, wallpapers, aim icons and banners.  Eric Hutchinson’s got some real killer downloads that he calls “buttons” check em out.  He also offers the code so that fans can embed the buttons on their own myspace.

No matter what types of images and icons you give away, make sure to include your website somewhere in the artwork – its all about promotion.

Stickers
Who doesn’t like stickers? Stickers are pretty cheap and a fun way to share your music with people.  Ya, you’ll need to put out a little investment for this, but not much. There are tons of sticker companies and you can probably easily find a local printer in your city.  So far the best deal I’ve found is with Contagious Graphics.  They’ll print 250 stickers for $23 (4in x 1.38in). Other sizes and prices vary.  And by the way…if you go with Contagious Graphics, tell them “Joy Ike” referred you. k? thanks!

If you don’t want to simplygive stickers away, use them as incentive. examples:

• 1.] The first 20 people at this Saturday’s show get a free sticker 
• 2.] a free sticker when you sign up for the newsletter
• 3.] 2 free stickers with every CD purchase

Information and Deals
It’s ok to be partial. Offer deals to the people who communicate with you, sign up for your newsletter, and fan club(s).  Here are some ideas.

• 1.] Create a coupon (via photoshop) that says they can get $1 off the cover charge at your show
• 2.] Send them special codes they can use to download free tunes.  Joel Rakes has a code on the back of his CDs and he says the concept works very well.

If you have any other ideas based on any of the above topics, please post them in comments. Thanks for reading!

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Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #3

Ari Hest

To read the first two posts in this series, visit
Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #1
Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #2

Artist #1: Ari Hest
Brooklyn, New York’s Ari Hest stands out for several reasons.  Aside from his excellent vocals and simple tunes, Ari has found a way to engage his fans by making them a part of the music-making process. In 2008, he made it his goal to write, record, and release one song per week for all 52 weeks.

According to Ari, the concept was a huge success. He gained over 1000 subscribers who willingly paid for each weekly download, but also had people pay for songs individually if they only liked certain ones.  Read all about it here.  Even though the 2008 project is over, fans can and still do buy specific mp3s or all 52 songs in the collection.

And now…for the kicker: Ari’s latest CD, appropriately titled Twelve Mondays, which was released in March ‘09, is a compilation of 12 of the 52 songs – handpicked by his fans. 

If you think about it, the whole year of 2008 was one huge publicity campaign in preparation of his 2009 release.  As Ari continually provided fresh material for his fans on a weekly basis (which kept them coming back), word spread and he was able to maintain the attention of his audience. What a genius idea!

The most important thing about this project was that Ari did not release “crap” on a weekly basis.  Even though his time was limited, he produced excellent music which ultimately proves that people will support you if you’re good and hard working. Visit his myspace.

Amy Kuney

  Artist #2: Amy Kuney
Los Angeles artists Amy Kuney, has found a niche market that the average artist would never think to pursue - middle school and highschool students.  Check out this letter she’s posted on her website:

Attn. All STUDENTS – Fall High/Middle School Tour:

So I’ve been touring middle and high schools and I’m loving it so much that I’m going to do it again in the fall. If you are a student and would like for me to play at your school, please email: Audrey Marshall at Audrey@spinmoverecords.com.

Include the following information:
1. Your Name
2. Your School’s Name
3. Where Your School Is Located
4. Your Principal’s full name and email address

I’ll do my best to make it happen!

While it’s often hard to be completely innovative and think outside the box, aim to be original in your  musical pursuits. That might not necessarily involve singing to 6th graders, but there’s always a way to be different.

Thanks for reading, please continue to pass this on to your fellow music-makers.
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The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways #2

To see the first post  in this series, visit The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways #1.

Ummm…read!
I imagine this is hard for many musician (and not just me),  but you’ll find that when you do take the time to read magazines like American Songwriter, Music Connection,  or BMI Music World (i think you must be a BMI member to get this), you’ll pick up on things that you won’t hear/read anywhere else.  All three magazines spotlight independent artists, discuss music business, and are excellent ways to stay on top of the music industry. And don’t forget Paste Magazine too (though thats probably more for the consumer).  Check out the Stay Informed: Read, Watch, Listen, Go blog for additional ideas.

Respect Other Artists on the Bill
This might seem like a no brainer, but its not.  Last night at open mic, I asked a few musicians what they hate to do and this comment was offered:  “I hate staying till the end of open mic”.  Time doesn’t always permit you to stick around for a whole 3 or 4 hours, but when you do, others will notice and appreciate it.  This all goes back to networking, of course. Don’t just stay for your 2 songs and leave.  Don’t just go to perform. Plan to make connections and get to know others who are making music in your city

The same goes for actual gigs. Stay for the whole evening.  Respect other artists on the bill by playing within your given time frame and clearing your instruments off stage asap.

Give it Away, even thought it hurts!
Some venues take a more active role in promoting their events. Give these same venues a copy of your CD.  If you can get their respective event promoters just as pumped about your music as potential show attendees, they will do everything in their power to help make the show a success.  A venue will also notice that you care about the event when you bring in poster artwork and music.

Compare but don’t Copy
When people ask you what genre you are, give a concrete description and example. No one likes to be labeled.  And yes, its ok to say that you’re a completely original band, at the same time, people work off of familiarity.  Compare yourself to other well-known bands just to generate interested. But also reiterate that you are unique (if you are).

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Step to It! C'mon!

Dana Alexandra

This is a simple post brought on by the lack of time to write something longer and the same question that several people have been asking me lately…”Can you give me any tips for booking college venues.”

Ding Ding!
Well you’re smart if you’re thinking about booking college venues.  If you think about it, the semester starts in 6 weeks! This is prime time to start booking your college venues.  On a quick trip to Dana Alexandra’s calendar last weekend, I was blown away to see that her college tour is fully booked. through the end of the year!  Kind of makes you want to get your sh– together, huh?!

I dunno if Dana is booking her own gigs based off past contacts, or if she’s working through NACA, or working with a booking agent; but either way, she’s got it together…so let’s follow suit!

Read This!
Be sure to read these past Grassrootsy posts.  They’ll give you a wealth of information and point you in the right direction

• *Getting into the College Market
• *More On College Booking

Other Thoughts on College Booking
Consider getting a booking agent…just for colleges.  Look for someone who has experience in booking college gigs. You will most likely need to pay them a monthly fee or a percentage of what you make, but they’ll have the contacts you need and you’ll probably make more money than trying to do it on your own. 

Consider the fact that colleges venues are a unique market.  You have students from all different parts of the country in one room.  The college market is an excellent way to spread your name futher than the city your in. If they like you, students can/will spread your name to their friends on campus and back home.

Because colleges often pay pretty good money to have you play, consider giving your CD away or cutting the price down to encourage students to get a copy.  Because the average college student is broke!

That’s all for now. if you have any tips, post them below under comments.

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Social Networking in 1 Minute

napkin status update

Here are a few things that seriously only take 1 minute, but will ultimately make a load of difference.
A little invite never hurt anyone
Each time someone adds you as a friend on facebook or myspace, send them a link and invite them to join your FB music group or fan page.  You can leave the link as a comment on their page or in a msg.  Something simple like: “Hey, thanks for the add, if you’re interested in knowing more about my music, check out the facebook group: www.facebook.com/myfbmusicgroup I send semi-regular updates and do occasional giveaways.”

It might seem like an insignificant act to add one single person, but if you do this for each person who requests you as a friend, you’ll be suprised at how quickly your FB following will grow.  Don’t have a facebook group or fan page?  Hmmmm…i definitely suggest changing that.

Who’s adding you?
Be aware of who’s adding you. When you receive freind requests (whether its on FB or myspace), just take a minute to check out the person/organizations page.  See what city the individual is from.  If they’re from DC and you happen to be in DC next month, you can lv them a short comment mentioning that you’ll be coming through their town. If an organization or company has aded you, then take a few seconds to see what they’re about. You might learn something or even get the urge to contact them and inquire about more information.

Post something new every few hours
Yep, they’ve all got it now! Myspace, Facebook, Twitter (and others) thrive on status updates. Be sure to post a new update every few hours. Music related or not. People will read it even if they don’t always respond.  If you’ve got nothing to say, just put up a link to your website.

An alarming number of my music comrades have begun to use ArtistData to not only update all their show calendars on various social networking sites, but also to post status updates on those same sites. Read this former post for more information on all that ArtistData can do: Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #1.  Be sure to visit their site as well, b/c alot has changed/improved since that post was written.

If you have simple, quick social networking ideas to suggest, please post them in comment.  To read more about Social Networking and information overload, check out this post: The Negatives & Positives of Information Overload.
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Hey, What Day is It? (Getting Into The Consumers Head)

Are you planning your music marketing according to specific days of the week? You should be?  Check out this post for sure-fire ways to make the most of your online promotions. 

Monday
It’s Monday! Do you know who’s watching you? Monday is considered the day of fresh information. Everything is new new new!  Consider this: the average 9-5er arrives at his/her desk in the morning (please refer to obese man above), turns on the computer, and tunes into msn.com for the week’s political news, reviews on which movie did best at the weekend box office, and anything else that might be hot off the press.  On Monday, people want to know what they’ve missed since Friday (though is probably not much).

Do you take Mondays seriously?  Treat your music like a job.  Try to have something new on your page each Monday. Whether it be a blog, new shows on your calendar, a quick news update, new photos from the weekend’s show, or new video.  The options are limitless and its not like you have to revamp your page every week…just do a little at a time.

Rule of thumb: If you build it, they will come. Read more about this at Drawing Traffic to your Website(s)

Wednesday
In college, my Communications professor told me something I will never forget: most people open their email on Wednesdays. Yes, this has been mentioned on Grassrootsy before, but its worth mentioning again. Wednesday is a unique day. Because it finds itself smack dab in the middle of the week, its the one day that you’re least likely to get “Out of Office” replies. More people at their desk = more people reading their email = more people visiting your website. Optimize on this.  Send your newsletter on Wednesday mornings or afternoons if possible.  Stop by Email Marketing – Making Sure People Read What You Write for more tips. 

Rule of thumb: Send emails on Wed…in the morn or after lunch. Check out Grassrootsy’s additional blogs on Email Marketing here.

Weekends
Stats prove that few erpeople read emails and surf the internet on the weekends, but the people who do are more likely to read through an entire email and will spend more time on your web page than they would on a weekday.  For example, if you sent an email on Wednesday, you might get 100 people to open and they would spend an average of 45 second skimming through what you write.  But on a Saturday, only 40 people might open up the email but spend a full 3 minutes reading it entirely.

So if you’re posting a blog or sending a weekend email, make sure it’s not time-sensitive.  Perhaps you can post musings, and non-essential thoughts.  Take it from msn.com: Their weekend news bits are usually reposts of information that that was already used earlier in the week.

 Rule of thumb: Never send an email on the weekend that you would send on a Monday or Wednesday.

Give it a Try!
So its a new week!  Give the above recommendations a try and post a comment on your findings if you can.  Check Wednesday’s post for ways to take advantage of your faithful weekend followers.

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Copyrighting Your Music

Warning: the world “copywrite” is used roughly10 million times in this blog. It might get old after a while.

Why Should You Copyright Your Music?
The #1 reason people copyright music is to protect their songs from being stolen.  Whether you’re concerned about this or not, its just one of those things you’re supposed to do.  If your music has the potential to reach hundreds or thousands of people (even if you never become famous) you should be copyrighting those songs…b/c people are shady!  If stealing and plagarism weren’t an issue, we wouldn’t  hear about media ownership lawsuits when we turn on the news. But we do.

Copyright Your Whole Project at One Time
Because you’re a musician, you’re probably broke. For this reason, consider waiting until your whole CD is recorded, printed and packaged before copyrighting.  Its so much cheaper…b/c instead of submitting songs individual (roughly $35 each),  you can submit a CD with several songs and the submission fee with still just be $35.  Whether you’re submitting a song or a CD with several songs, each submission is considered 1 project.  So obviously, you get your money’s worth when you copyright 10+ songs, their lyrics, the artwork, and the recording all in one $35 hit. Yea, this paragraph is pretty redundant, but hopefully you get the point now
p.s. Fees increase on August 1, 2009 so hurry up and do it now if you’ve been putting it off!

So How Exactly Do You Copyright Your Project?
The Library of Congress is your one-stop-shop for copywriting.  Visit www.copyright.gov.  They offer a wealth of resources on their homepage, including FAQs, current copyrighting fees, and comical video shorts about why copyrighting doesn’t have to be so confusing.

Why Does Copyrighting Always Seems Like Such a Hassle?
Keep in mind that the Library of Congress receives thousands (maybe even millions) of submissions every year.  They recieve copyright requests for music, art, books…everything!  For this reason, there’s alot of reading and many instructions to follow when copyrighting your project. Just be meticulous and follow the rules.  Also opt for online filing.  Its easier and cheaper. But you will ultimately need to mail in a hard copy of your CD so they can keep it on file.

Copyrighting was a personal hassle for me  when it came to filling out details for each song (i.e. who wrote it, who recorded, names of musicians who played on each song, who actually owns the song, who actually owns the recording of the song.).  If I remember correctly, they asked for this information. I also think you are able to skip these data fields if you don’t wish to answer.  It’s been over a year since I’ve filed, so I’ll appreciate it if someone can post a comment and confirm if this is true.

Lastly, here’s a great article by Indie4Life.com titled The not-so-secret world of copyrighting your music.

If you have tips/advice about Copyrighting and or want to offer additional information, please post a comment.  Copyrighting always seems to confuse musicians.
And thanks to Pittsburgh group C.Joy for inquiring about copyrighting. It’s the reason why this specific post exists.  Don’t forget to send in your questions. They’ll probably get answered.

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Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #4

Allison Weiss

I especially love writing this series b/c it tends to get the most feedback from artists.  To see other posts in the “Incredible Resources” series, click here.

Kickstarter
Ok, I ran into Kickstarter last month, and I LOVE the concept. Chances are that you fall into the same category as most aspiring artist - lotta passion, little funds. Kickstarter offers a way for you to solicit pledges from you fanbase in return for a whole bunch of different rewards.

How’s it work?  Lets say you have a goal to raise $5000 for your next CD (to cover recording, artwork, duplication…etc).  Start an account with Kickstarter and start asking your fans to support you. Through Kickstarter, you can raise funds and offer your fans compensation in the form of a free CD (once the project is finished), free admission to 1 or many of your upcoming shows, free merch, or whatever creative ideas you come up with. It’s a novel idea, really. 

I happened upon Allison Weis Kickstarter page today and girls got it together!  She’s raise over $6,000 even though she only aimed for $2000 to cover the first print-run of her project  Thats 314%. Sweet!  Her pledge amounts range from is $1 to $2500 and she offers excellent incentives to her fans depending on how much they decide to give.  She’s aso created an amusing informational video to tell her fans more about the process.  Now, keep in mind that Allison Weiss  is a “well-known” indie artist so she’s got a much larger fanbase (hence more supporters). But also keep in mind that she is independent and does 100% of her marketing. 

Other Need-to-knows about Kickstarter

• ***KS offers a widget that you can place on your website/myspace that automatically updates itself on how far you are in the pledging process.
• ***KS will not let you collect the money until your goal has been reached. So if you have a $1000 goal but only reach $999, you can’t collect the money.  If anything, this will encourage you to be proactive in asking your supporters for $. 
• ***KS allows you to collect the $ through an account with Amazon. Amazon takes a small percentage (though that fee is currently being waived)! 
• ***KS service is FREE!!!  Yes FREE!  So you don’t have to pay anything or worry about them taking a cut from your raised funds.  They’ve acknowledged that they might charge in the future, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Things You Should Keep in Mind

• ***KS is a service much like paypal. They handle the $ but you gotta follow thru.  Don’t collect money from fans and then use it for something else. That’s dishonest and WRONG!  And if you’re gonna offer incentives, you better make sure you keep your promise.
• ***If you like their business model, take advantage of KS while its still free!  If you’ve used KS before, please leave a comment and tell grassrootsy readers of your experience.
• ***I have not personally used KS but I’m seriously considering going this route for my next project.  This post is based off of the information I’ve read. If it is incorrect in any, please let me know. Give it a try for yourself and as previously stated, let us know how it goes!
• ***Start building your credibility.  Even if you’re not in the process of recording a project, start proving that you are trustworthy. When the time comes, people will give you money if they know you will put it to good use.

 Lastly, head to this page to read up on everything you need to know about Kickstarter. Also check out Allison Weiss’ myspace.  She’s a great example to follow.

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Straight From the Mouth of The Big Guys

Over the past 8 months, a few industry execs have come across Grassrootsy posts featuring their products.  See what they have to say about why resources such as Oasis, Tuncore, and Artist Data are so great…

1.] Posted by Brenden Mulligan (ArtistData CEO) in response to “Incredible Resources You’ve Never Heard About #1“
“Thanks for the fantastic writeup. We’re really appreciative. Just a clarification, we have a big list of supported sites and services, and work with them all differently. But we strive to hook you into the important ones and get your information as many places as possible. Take care!”

2.] Posted by Micah Solomon (President of Oasis Disc) in response to “Starting from Scratch: What it takes to Release a CD“
“Here at my company, Oasis Disc Manufacturing, we **include** the opportunity to sell your music at itunes, napster, and dozens of other reputable sites, and the sale of your CD at CD Baby. There is no additional charge. Check out this direct link for more info: http://oasisCD.com/top. Plus we promote your music to more than 400 radio stations on our OasisSampler radio CD sampler in your chosen genre. We have genres ranging from OasisAcoustic (that one goes to more than 700 stations) to OasisUrban, from OasisAlternative to OasisUnderground to OasisRock&Roots to OasisBlues to OasisJazz to OasisAmbient to… You also get the complete radio list it was sent to so you can follow up as you see fit. Again, there is no additional charge for this service.

There is a page I’ve set up where you can get a sample of the Oasis radio sampler for our clients that I mention above and more complete information on the iTunes and other distribution you discuss as well. We can only currently ship these within the 50 united states, for which I apologize, but I would love for you to have them. Here’s the direct link. www.oasisCD.com/request”

3.] Posted by Peter Wells (Senior Vice President of Tunecore) in response to “Alternatives – CD Packaging, Production, & Distribution“
“Thanks for the mention! We really do try to do it right. If you or your readers have any questions about the industry, feel free to write me. Thanks! –Peter (peter@tunecore.com)”

 
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Tips for Touring: Just Some Recent Observations

Findlay Market: Cincinnati, OH (oh...and that's me)

Coming out of a short Ohio tour, I thought I’d write this post based on a few things I experienced.  These  tips also apply to your local shows.  If you have additional reccomendations, please post them in the comments.

Grab a City Paper in Each City You Visit
There’s likely to be a major alternative paper in every city you visit. If it’s Cleveland, pick up The Cleve Scene.  If  it’s Baltimore, pick up The City Paper. If it’s Columbus, pick up Columbus Alive.  City Papers are one of the best ways to find out what’s going on in a city and learn about the most popular venues.  Reading and keeping a copy of the paper (to take home) will help you next time you’re booking gigs in that city.

Ask the Locals
Asking locals is probably a more reliable source than the city paper.  Ask people what venues they visit the most. Ask them what the most talked about coffee shops, clubs, and lounges are in the area.  Locals will tell you things you might not find online…i.e. summer concert series, underground events, local radio stations, independent record shops…etc.  On this particular tour, we met a couple people first hand that were direct links to radios stations and/or publications. Locals also gave us information on upcoming festivals that we definitely might not have stumbled upon online. (p.s. always carry a notebook around)

Don’t Expect Much from the Venue
Never expect a venue to promote an event for you. Just don’t.  You do the legwork.  We ran into several issues where one venue didn’t hang the posters we sent, another venue put the wrong start time on their website (even after repeated attempts of  asking them to change it), and another venue wasn’t so friendly because we were females. “You just never know what you’re gonna get”…is what it comes down to.

Play in Unconventional Places
Check out avialable markets before you visit a town (ex: Reading Terminal Market in Philly).  I’ve mentioned this in a past blog so just refer to  Jumping the Gun – Booking for the Spring and Summer. Outdoor produce/artist markets are an excellent place to promote while on tour.  And if you contact them ahead of time, they will often save you a prime spot at their market to perform. You’ll often have to provide you own sound equipment, but its worth it.  People tip well b/c they’re already in shopping mode…and they dobuy music. Its similar to busking but a little more formal.  Also don’t forget to bring your own merch table.  It will increase sales. I promise.

p.s. Findlay Market in Cincinnati is a hot spot!

If you have any additional tips, please feel free to recommend them to Grassrootsy readers.

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Starting a Band? Here Are a Few Things You Should Do

Grassrootsy often features (and is probably biased towards) solo artist, so here’s something for you bands out there!  Its important to realize that if you’re in a band, you’ll have to figure out a few things that you might not have to worry about (initially) as a singer/songwriter.

Open a Bank Account
This is especially important for a band. You’ll eventually need to pay for the gas you put in your van.  You’ll need to pay for things like flyers, food, merch, and production/packaging of your CD.  Its easiest to have a bank account to make things official, keep records of everything, avoid any future “hey, you owe me money” arguments.

If you are making money at your shows, It might be worth it to put a cetain amout in your account and then divide the rest among band members.

Split Responsibilities
If you’re in a committed band, everyone should do something.  And everyone should agree to do something ahead of time.  Give booking responsibilities to one person, event promotion to another, web maintenance to another…etc. 1 person shouldn’t get stuck doing everything. And if a member is too lazy to help, then you should kick them out. Just a personal opinion  

Come up with Goals
Does your band have a purpose? If you’re doing it for fun, then no problem! Make sure everyone realizes that…so that there aren’t any hard feelings when someone decides to leave. But if you all are serious, make sure each member is committed and doesn’t think this is temporary thing.  It doesn’t matter what you decide. Just make sure you decide it together.

Image also factors into this. Who do you want to be as a group?  Make sure your image is consistent and that each member represents your band accordingly.

Decide Ownership
This is a sticky topic that probably won’t be a big issue unless you become famous.  Make sure you decide on ownership of your bands songs.  Does one person write the lyrics while one person writes the music?  Does that mean the song belongs to just two of the band members or the whole band? If a third band member contributes a line or a verse, does that mean he owns the song as much as the other two guys?  It’s confusing!

So why is this a problem?  Many lawsuits have occured among famous bands over the above debate (i.e. Nirvana). One band member thinks he should get some of the royalties while another band member is collecting all the checks.  On a much smaller level, you might have a particular song on iTunes.  What if the band breaks up? If that song is getting crazy downloads on iTunes, are you still splitting the money evenly between all 4 or 5 members. Check out this write-up on Ownership: “Who Owns a Band’s Master Recordings”

If all of the above is overwhelming…
…then maybe you should go the Norah Jones route where everything is under your name but you bring on musicians who simply want to accompany you and make your music sound better. You should still pay them when you get paid, but at least you don’t have to worry about all the legal and organizational drama. Realize that this means your are not a band so you shouldn’t rely on them to promote your music…etc.

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"Distribution Follows Marketing"

Brooke Waggoner

“Distribution follows Marketing.”   Its a very popular saying in the music industry.  Many artists wonder why they still have 5 boxes of CDs sitting in their basement or why no one’s buying their music on iTunes.  Don’t be deceived, getting your music on iTunes or Napster does make it accessible, but it does not just automatically generate sales.  What generates sales is creating awareness of your product. 

Becoming a Househould Name (or something like it)
It’s just like any other industry.  A food company doesn’t make the big bucks simply because its product(s) are in grocery stores.  But they do generate sales when they advertise on TV and make their product(s) a household name (i.e. Ragu, Dannon, Hidden Valley,  Breyer’s…etc).

Or take, for example, the  music & movie industry. The only reason you know so much about Amy Winehouse or Brittney Spears (and their bouts of craziness) is because they’re always in the news.  What does this mean for you? It means being repetitive – playing out as much as possible, making sure everyone knows how to find you online, thoroughly promoting your shows, continually making new fans, dot dot dot.  Just like that “Active-ON” commercial, you wanna be repetitive until people can’t forget you.

If You Can’t do it, Find Someone Who Can
I recently played a show with someone who told me ”You’re only job as a musician is to write good music and perform it.”  I couldn’t disagree with her more.  There’s nothing worse than being passionate about your music but not passionate enough to tell others it exists.  That’s not only a waste of studio time, but a waste of your money.  Good luck selling CDs.

According to CNNmoney.com, “there were over 75,000 new releases put out [in 2007] and over 56,000 of them sold less than 100 copies.”  Can you imagine?! If you’re actively pursuing music but don’t want to put the time/effort into marketing your CD, make sure you have someone (a publicist) who does.

Want a Distribution Deal?
Everybody wants a distribution deal. But first things first: don’t aim for a distribution deal unless you have a way to generate mass interest. Think about it this way: if Borders orders 500 units of your music, puts a copy in 500 of its stories, and only sells 5 or those 500 CDs, you’re gonna lose that deal.  Those CDs will be pulled and returned to you after a few months.

The best example I know for all of the above is Brooke Waggoner.   Check out this older post for more on her.
As a musician, don’t expect people to magically want/buy your CD. Make sure you have a game plan for letting people know it exists. You’ll know you’re doing something right if you’re at a show and people are buying your CD before you even take the stage.

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Good Marketing for an Upcoming CD Release

TJ Cornwall

A couple independent artists are releasing CD’s next month and have some great self promotion to go along with it. So I thought I’d highlight the efforts of a full time independent artist named TJ Cornwall.  Hopefully this information will help a few of you who might be putting out new projects or just need some good marketing ideas from a peer. 

T.J. Cornwall:
www.myspace.com/tjcornwall

Revamped Website: Check out TJ’s myspace. The layout (created by Hidden Conspiracy Designs) is incredibly beautiful and easy to navigate.  TJ doesn’t have an official site but his myspace is professional-looking and can easily substitute as an official site.  Also notice that the design of his site corresponds with the cover art of his new CD.  Everyting matches, therefore creating consistency.

Countdown Clock: It’s always fun to build anticipation by posting something like a timer.  It might not make the world of difference, but subconsciously, there’s something exciting about counting down to a large event (think New Years Day).

Pre-orders: In addition to building hype for his CD release, TJ is also offering pre-orders of “Stepping Stones”.  People like pre-orders b/c they like to have things “now”.  Giving people the option to pre-order your project is just another way of “Thinking like a Record Label“ and probably increasing sales.

By the way TJ uses BigCartel.  BigCartel helps artiststo create easily customizable shopping carts for their website. Funds go through PayPal. Check out TJ’s cumstomized cart. 

CD/T-shirt Bundle: If you’ve got merch, it’ll probably be easier to sell along with a new CD than on its own.  Offer bundles, 2-for-1 deals, or other special deals while there’s still a whole lotta hype around your new project. It’ll pay off!

Incentive: Now that TJ’s got a new CD, he’s offering a free download of his older CD to anyone who  signs up for his newsletter.  Many artists are doing that these days. Smart move.

Video: Last but not least, TJ has been documenting the making of  his CD, which is an excellent way to engage fans and build anticipation. Check out the first video in the series: “Stepping Stones Recording Video 1“

Also check out another artist, Ben Alper. He revamped his myspace and has his CD already setup on iTunes even though it doesnt release for another month.  Nothing like having a hard copy and digital copy available at the same time.

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Creating a Music Community #2

Tom Waits

 
Creating a music community is vital to sustaining the life of your music career.  Here are a few ways to begin opening up the conversation between yourself and your audience.  And check out this previous post on Creating a Music Community #1.

 On-stage Banter
I went to a concert last year where the headliner didn’t speak to the audience for his hour-long set. It was the most dissapointing concert I’ve every been to.  This might just be an opinion, but people go to concerts to experience what they can’t experience by listening to a CD.  Every fan wants to know their favorite artist better.  They want to get a sneak-peak into who the artist really is.  I’m of the opinion that this can only be accomplished through candid on-stage storytelling, song introductions, and/or random comments.  Check out this excellent article at Music Think Tank (MTT):  Do most fans really want anything from you other than your music?

I’m also realizing that people love independent music b/c indie artists are so accessible.  People love accessibility and artists who will return their emails and actually spend time talking with them at shows.

Allow your audience to chime in
Don’t do all the talking. Let your audience chime in from time to time. Let them pick the songs occasionally or ask questions that require an answer. For example, if you’re about to do a song about a girl, ask  if anyoe has ever had a song written about them. Why not?  Even if the communication is “pointless”, having a conversation with your audience does loosen the air, make you more comfortable on stage, and make them feel like they know you better.  

This guy says it best
Here’s an excellent comment by some guy named Justin, in response to the MTT article…

When a fan hears/sees your music and materials, is there a coherent and intriguing message? Are you exporting a worldview that listeners can understand and be interested by, or are you just playing notes?Industry parlance has created terms like your “brand” or “image” to describe the totality of an artist’s presentation to their fanbase. But terms like that encourage people to think that that sort of stuff is just marketing – a flashy gimmick that is unconnected to your true art, which is just the music. This is to rigid a way to look at things. Artists need to realize that their “music” encompasses more than the notes they play and record; they need to craft an assortment of artistic materials and moments that give CONTEXT to your music.

A good, though somewhat extreme example, would be Tom Waits. His ridiculous image perfectly matches his music, and the guy never breaks character. Who knows if he’s even acting? Whatever. He’s weird, he’s cool, he’s consistent. You can go to a show expecting a new experience with that same twisted personality as there is in his records, or whatever strange media appearances he does. If it relates to the music, then it is PART of the music…[read article and reader comments]

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Grassrootsy Polls the Readers

Please take a few seconds to answer the below questions. It will help in deciding what topics to cover in this blog.
Thanks!

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Statistics Rule the World

Melody Gardot

Its true. Mass media is governed by statistics. Why are commercials for electronic devices and video games more likely to run during sports games? Why do so many grocery and makeup product commercials run during Oprah? How come a network like BET is more likely to show a black family in a car commercial than CMT?  Do I really need to answer those questions?

It’s all about knowing your target demographic and using the information to your advantage. You’re not going to hear an ad to buy tickets for the symphony on your local hard rock station. So, with that said, here are some thoughts on statistics.

 
Statcounter
First, I highly recommend that everyone reading this start an account with Statcounter.

Statcounter is…
“A free yet reliable invisible web tracker, highly configurable hit counter and real-time detailed web stats. Insert a simple piece of our code on your web page or blog and you will be able to analyse and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time!”

Website owners copy/paste the html code provided by Statcounter into each page of their website. This allows them to track what pages are most frequented, what time of the day most people visit thier site, what day of the week generates the most traffic…etc. Last year Iwrote an extremely detailed blog about Statcounter. Check it out: Drawing Traffic to your Website(s)  

Using Statistics to your advantage:

• See who’s talking about you. One of the great advantages of having statcounter or a similar data retriever is that it lets you know who’s linking to your website.  For example if XYZ music blog has written about you, and someone links to your site from their page, statcounter will tell you.   Use this information to contact XYZ. Thank them for the write-up.  Or hold onto their information and contact them for a full write-up when you’re promoting a big event or CD release.
• Find out what people care most about. What links are people clicking the most? Are they going to your iTunes? Are they going to your YouTube? As a YMLP.com user (for sending weekly music emails), I use their stats service to see what type of events generate the most interest to my readership. At this point, I’ve nailed down that my fans frequent art festivals, coffeeshops, and listening rooms more than bars.  This tells me to push these types of events harder. This tells me to go after these types of venues/events.
• Keywords.  You might be surprised at what keywords in google cause your website to pop up.  Wordpress stats for this particular blog tell me that  “Melody Gardot” and “Meiko” generate the most traffic for this blog…because Grassrootsy featured both artist earlier in the year. Go figure! 

In short, statistics are powerful, because they help you direct your efforts and find the most effective way of reaching your target audience. Don’t take them for granted. 

Other Statistic-related Grassrootsy posts…

• Drawing Traffic to your Website(s) 
• Email Marketing – Making Sure People Read What You Write
• Hey, What Day is It? (Getting Into The Consumers Head)

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Executing Your Ideas

10 out of Tenn

All “talk”, and no “do” makes Jack an interesting boy…but just a talker.  The problem with people who have great ideas and no execution is that their ideas either get stolen by others who hear them, or their ideas get dusty on top of a metaphorical shelf full of past ideas.

Everyone’s got dreams they want to make happen…but often times artists feel their dreams are too big and don’t know how to even start. The key is to scratch the surface and allow yourself to act “irrationally” every once in a while.  Here’s what I mean…

What’s the Worst that can Happen?
If you read the “What’s the Worst That Can Happen?“ post from January, you’ll realize that every possibility has two answers – either yes or no. But that’s about it.  It seriously can’t get any worse. You won’t be black-listed for asking to open for John Mayer. If anything you’ll probably just be ignored.  That email or phone call will most likely not be returned   That’s a “NO” just in case you were wondering.

But it doesn’t hurt to ask. Lets say John Mayer is playing at your college.  It really isn’t that bad of an idea to ask if your band can open up for him since you’re students at the school (assuming you don’t suck).  The University of Pittsburgh does that every semester for “Bigelow Bash”.  They have a local band (that has a least one Pitt student) open up for the featured performer.  Pitt has welcomed Jason Mraz, Ben Folds, Lifehouse, Gavin DeGraw, and others to their semi-annual event.

Time & Fear – the two great inhibitors
Most people use the excuse of having time, but if things were to pick up with your music, would you make the time to accomodate the success? Heck ya!  But how can they pick up if you don’t take the time to make them grow?  There’s always a way to find balance between what you love to do and what you have to do.

Fear. It’s a bigger problem than time. You and I both run into people all the time who are afraid to do anything with their music. The problem is, most people don’t realize that it’s fear holding them back.  Fear of not being able to make money. Fear of getting rejected. Fear of failing. Fear of succeeding.

Learning to act big
If thinking big isn’t hard, why is acting big such a huge problem? I recently came across a group called Ten out of Tenn (TOT) that is doing just that. What it if you could tour without forking out so much $ for gas, promotion, sleep arrangements…etc.  TOT is doing this in the most clever of ways. They’re 10 singer/songwriters out of Nashville who have rented a huge tour bus, and travel around sharing each others’ fanbases and communities. They act as each others’ band on stage too. They’re at the point now where they’ve got Corporate sponsors like Toms Shoes, and American SongSpace (a branch of American Songwriter Magazine).  And they also have a compilation CD.  With sponsors, ticket sales at shows (which is usually around$10) and sales from their CD, they’re trip is easily  funded and everything else is pure profit. Just like that!

Imagine if you had all the money in the world to pursue your dreams. What would you do?  Check this past post called “Thinking Outside the Box” and follow the lead of  TOT. Thinking outside the box isn’t hard. Doing outside the box shouldn’t be either.  And…if you act on your ideas, they’ll be mimicked instead of stolen. Check out “4 on Tour“. Its a new group following the lead of TOT.

“I don’t want to hear people’s ideas. I’m not interested until I see their execution.”

-Derek Sivers
(“Ideas are just a multiplier of execution“)

 

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