Thursday, August 26, 2010

Support Indie Female Musicians

I don’t condemn anyone who does not or cannot buy local. I’m an ardent supporter of small businesses, and I hope that you will be too, but I’m not going to say you’re wrong if you have good reasons for shopping elsewhere.
All things being equal, I suspect most people would choose to buy local. But each of us has a different price at which local is no longer an option. For some, this point is immediate: they’ll always buy the cheapest option, regardless of other factors. Others — and I know a few like this — will buy local no matter the cost.
Female Indie Artist are Small Business.  I am a HUGE supporter of All INDIE artist and ALL LIVE music, especially female.  Why only female?  Because they have great talent; great songs; and in my opinion, heavily discriminated against in both the music 'label', The 'Venue', and 'Indie' world.  
Don't believe me....take a look at any venue and compare the percentage of booked females versus booked males.  Radio is getting better, but, in no way does their scheduling show a 50/50 split in male/female songs played.  It's more like 80/20 or 70/20.  Yes I know this is what the free market supports and calls for, but, the only way to make it right is for someone, some club owner, some radio station, to change the way they do things.  But, as with most businesses I find it's still all about the bottom line....making money...therein lies the 'catch 22" for most all female artist, especially those in the Indie Live Music Market.
The answer:  All female artist have to work 3 times as hard to build a large following everywhere they go.  Once venues know you will fill their place at a 80-90% level, they will be calling you or your booking agency to schedule you and your band on a regular basis, which normally is every 4-10 weeks.  
In today's Music World 2.0 the biggest asset for success is a large loyal and what we call True Blue Fans.  
So make great music, learn to connect on stage with your audience, and above all make extra daily efforts to know your fans, which in turn they will bring more of their friends to your shows.say you’re wrong if you have good reasons for shopping elsewhere.I don’t condemn anyone who does not or cannot buy local. I’m an ardent supporter of small businesses, and I hope that you will be too, but I’m not going to say you’re wrong if you have good reasons for shopping elsewhere.

All things being equal, I suspect most people would choose to buy local. But each of us has a different price at which local is no longer an option. For some, this point is immediate: they’ll always buy the cheapest option, regardless of other factors. Others — and I know a few like this — will buy local no matter the cost.
Female Indie Artist are Small Business.  I am a HUGE supporter of All INDIE artist and ALL LIVE music, especially female.  Why only female?  Because they have great talent; great songs; and in my opinion, heavily discriminated against in both the music 'label', The 'Venue', and 'Indie' world.  
Don't believe me....take a look at any venue and compare the percentage of booked females versus booked males.  Radio is getting better, but, in no way does their scheduling show a 50/50 split in male/female songs played.  It's more like 80/20 or 70/20.  Yes I know this is what the free market supports and calls for, but, the only way to make it right is for someone, some club owner, some radio station, to change the way they do things.  But, as with most businesses I find it's still all about the bottom line....making money...therein lies the 'catch 22" for most all female artist, especially those in the Indie Live Music Market.
The answer:  All female artist have to work 3 times as hard to build a large following everywhere they go.  Once venues know you will fill their place at a 80-90% level, they will be calling you or your booking agency to schedule you and your band on a regular basis, which normally is every 4-10 weeks.  
In today's Music World 2.0 the biggest asset for success is a large loyal and what we call True Blue Fans.  
So make great music, learn to connect on stage with your audience, and above all make extra daily efforts to know your fans, which in turn they will bring more of their friends to your shows.

All things being equal, I suspect most people would choose to buy local. But each of us has a different price at which local is no longer an option. For some, this point is immediate: they’ll always buy the cheapest option, regardless of other factors. Others — and I know a few like this — will buy local no matter the cost.
Female Indie Artist are Small Business.  I am a HUGE supporter of All INDIE artist and ALL LIVE music, especially female.  Why only female?  Because they have great talent; great songs; and in my opinion, heavily discriminated against in both the music 'label', The 'Venue', and 'Indie' world.  
Don't believe me....take a look at any venue and compare the percentage of booked females versus booked males.  Radio is getting better, but, in no way does their scheduling show a 50/50 split in male/female songs played.  It's more like 80/20 or 70/20.  Yes I know this is what the free market supports and calls for, but, the only way to make it right is for someone, some club owner, some radio station, to change the way they do things.  But, as with most businesses I find it's still all about the bottom line....making money...therein lies the 'catch 22" for most all female artist, especially those in the Indie Live Music Market.
The answer:  All female artist have to work 3 times as hard to build a large following everywhere they go.  Once venues know you will fill their place at a 80-90% level, they will be calling you or your booking agency to schedule you and your band on a regular basis, which normally is every 4-10 weeks.  
In today's Music World 2.0 the biggest asset for success is a large loyal and what we call True Blue Fans.  
So make great music, learn to connect on stage with your audience, and above all make extra daily efforts to know your fans, which in turn they will bring more of their friends to your shows.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

INDIE INDEPENDENT

Not every female artist is cut out to be independent or as I refer to them: Indie Independent. Which means you are beholding to no one except yourself and your music.  I believe in today's Music World 2.0, Indie Independent is THE route for 90+% of all artist.  But, before you decide Indie Independent is for you, ask and answer these questions extremely honestly:

  1. Have you done everything you can to be as good as possible?
  2. Can you trade dreams of being a star for the reality of making a living from your music?
  3. Are you willing to bend with suggestions from others?
  4. How much time are you willing to devote to your music, including touring?
  5. Can you commit you life to your career and to no one else, except God?
  6. Can you be a Team Builder?
  7. Will you commit to doing everything yourself (in the beginning), and not assuming someone else will do things for you?
  8. Will you accept and commit to your True Blue Fans, knowing without them, you are nothing in terms of becoming a successful live music/recording/touring artist?
The most important thing you can do for your music career is to hone your craft.  Be the absolute best you can be each day....tomorrow be better than you were today and today be better than you were yesterday.  Don't waste your valuable time on anything that doesn't improve your craft and where you want to go.  

Play LIVE at every opportunity, even if it means playing for tips and merchandise sales only.  If you can't cut it live, success may not be in your future. 

One of the most important things for an artist to become, in addition to having a great voice and great songs, is to become a great communicator.  Can you, with comfort, look at your audience and make them feel 'special'.  It takes practice and spontaneity to make your fans feel they are connected not only to your music, but, to you as well.  Never be in such a hurry as to leave your fans wanting to be part of your career.  

If your songs cause fans to sing along, dance, or for the very personal songs, that causes them to 'stop' in their tracks and listen, then, you are most likely on your way. 

STARTING A FIRE

The story begins online, just like it used to begin in clubs.  Sure, you need music.  But that's just the kindling to start a fire online.

Have you ever built a fire?  If you load up the big logs first, it doesn't take.  You've got to start with very small twigs.  You've got to nurture the flame, blowing air on it or gently using bellows.  Then you lay on increasingly large pieces, not getting to logs until you're just shy of a conflagration.  That's how you build careers today.

1. Focus on the music.  You need at most four songs.  Any more and you confuse the audience.  Less is okay, but you want to encourage a story, you don't want to appear a one hit wonder.

2. As you gain traction, you put out more music.  You don't worry about selling the original music to everybody on the planet, at this point you only focus on your core.

3. You make the music available.  Don't try to monetize it at first, that just slows down the process of building your career.  People can hear it streamed online, and they can download it and trade it.

4. Interact online, and don't talk down to your fans.  Don't tell them you're the next big star.  Hip-hop bluster is passe.  Be thrilled that they're interested in you and your music.  Tell them everything they want to know, and more.  Put up pictures of your girl or boyfriend.  Tell them what you do every day.  If you've got a family, don't hide it, reveal it.  Your goal is to humanize yourself.  Artifice is so seventies.  The Net community is about sussing out the truth.  Give them the truth and your honesty will endear you to them.

5. Don't ask your fans to spread the word.  Don't ask them to be street-teamers.  Don't have a street team!  If they like your music and you treat them well, they will spread the word just like a kid tells his mother about his new best friend.   They won't be able to hold back.  There's no money in it for the fan.  So let him retain his dignity.  Let him believe he's your best friend.

6. Don't alert the mainstream media.  That comes last.  Once you've built something, once you've got a story.  Kind of like Dispatch playing Madison Square Garden.  If your story is not interesting to those who don't care, don't tell it or sell it.  Like I said, I'm not interested in vampire books, but the phenomenon intrigued me.



This is ass-backwards to the way it's been.  In recent scenarios, music has come last.  It's been about image.  It's been about marketing.  So there's no traction, no connection with the consumer/fan.  With looks being everything, "artists" have become models.  Pretty faces with no depth.  And you wonder why the "Hills" stars are more famous than most musicians...  Because musicians don't have that something extra, the music that sets them apart!

You're building a fan club.  You don't want to let everyone in, you don't want everyone to come.  When the nerds are partying, they don't want the athletes crashing, with their beer and belligerence.  You're building a community of nerds.  Nerds will build your band.  If you're not interested in nerds, you'd better be Christina Aguilera, with a big voice and Top Forty airplay.  Nerds need music to get by.  They don't have enough of a social life.  Their life is online.  Nerds come first, then the popular kids, then the general public.  You want people with plenty of time, to sit online and spread the word.  Kids who know the ins and outs of the Web.  This is your audience.  Don't play to the last row, don't play to people who don't care.  Chances are you're a nerd too, if you'd only admit it to yourself...  You're playing music because you have trouble talking, meeting the opposite sex.  Your online nerd-base wants to embrace you...  LET THEM!

And if you're good, the casual user will find out about you and your music in the long run.  Because mainstream media NEEDS a story, and you will have one.  But since the publicity does not come overnight...  Since you drove across the country, stopping in shopping malls and bars before you rocketed to the moon, your original fans will not abandon you, because they've invested time, they've got knowledge no casual fan can have.  They're bonded, they're dedicated.  They will keep you alive after your mainstream fame has dried up.  But they won't stay with you if you switch allegiance, to all those people the nerds decry, in quick order.

But it all comes down to creating something people like.  And what people like most is not slick, not glossy, over-produced songs written by guns-for-hire, but straight from the heart original numbers.  You don't have to create a new genre.  But you do have to be good.  Pick up on a tried and true genre and give it your own twist.  A brother and sister can be the new Carpenters.  Scruffy kids can be the new Beatles.  Don't reinvent the wheel unless you have that ability.  

Clive Davis is right in one regard, you've got to have your hit.  A hit is something that is irresistible, not a track that is driven to the top of the chart by big company money.  Create your hit, and you'll get a fan base.  But, from there, know that you're the leader of the gang.  But the gang is more like a Boy Scout troop or a group of Brownies.  But, Boy Scouts and Brownies desire to break through into adulthood.  You're going to help them, by giving them the tools to show the rest of the world that not only do they matter, they're aligned with the best stuff out there, and they've been dedicated from the very beginning!

THE 3 C's of Web Presence


Consider these three C-trends:

COMPETITION. The web is no longer the property of the elite, the tech-savvy or the big companies. Any ten year-old kid with a modest knowledge of how the Internet works can set up a website in less than a half-hour! This means that the barriers to entry are almost non-existent.

Note: If you aren't building your web presence, odds are your competitors ARE.

CHOICES. Customers have more choices than every before. This means they are going to seek out the best. And in their minds, the “best” probably means “the first hit on Google.” So, without a powerful web presence, you’re going to end up on page 11 of a search that never got finished. The customer just picked the first company on the list and called it a day.

Note: If you ain’t first, you’re last! 

COMMUNICATION. Instant messenger, email, widgets, search engines, blog directories, social book marking software, RSS feeds, widgets, blog comments … these are just a few of the way customers are going to seek you out. See, the nature of the web allows people to obtain information according to THEIR needs and THEIR learning style. So, if there’s only ONE way to get a hold of you, Mr. Earthworm, you’ve just alienated a LOT of potential customers!

Note:  If they can’t get a hold of you, they’ll just move onto the next guy.

Considering these 3 trends, there’s no doubt about it: you need a web presence.

Great Songs = Success

Success begins with great songs. Without them, all the talent in the world won't give you the best chance of becoming an INDIE success.  If fans like them and sing along, you pretty much know you have a winning combination of  song and artist.

One of the most important things you must do is study and perfect your craft.  Daily incremental improvements are extremely important to becoming all you can be.

Always know you are not as good as you think and only your fans can and will determine your worthwhileness. Road test your songs.  Tweak them until they shine.  If you don't know how to make your songs connect with fans, seek the advice of professionals.  I highly recommend Tom Jackson Productions.  Amy Wolter is one of his consultants that does a great job with artist and bands. http://onstagesuccess.com/

Don't be a great musician singing to an empty venue. Just because you record good/great tracks doesn't mean fans will love you or your music. What most artist/musicians lack is how to truly entertain an audience at a live show/concert.   It takes a lot more than sound and performance skills.  To build and continue building your fan base, (True Blue Fans) you need to be so entertaining that your existing FANS want to show you off to their friends. This is but one piece of the large music puzzle where artists are falling short across all genres and success levels.

Most any decent singer can become an artist, but, to become a successful artist you need the best team you can afford.  Invest more of your money in the training you truly need versus in the things/items you think you need to become successful.

--end