tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82847217151933261372024-02-20T20:40:02.579-06:00Female Artist Development Artist Development covers many areas of an artist's music career. A career being defined as a combination of both creative and business items which must be planned and managed professionally. Done correctly will assure continual progress towards a successful music career.
kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-32006288767507497342015-07-01T13:05:00.002-05:002015-07-01T13:05:40.489-05:00Artist Networking http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/3-areas-of-networking-that-successful-artists-master.html<br />
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<span class="posted-by" style="white-space: nowrap;">BY: <a href="http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/author/bwaard" style="color: #8d8d8d; text-decoration: none;">BRANDON WAARDENBURG</a></span> | <span class="post-comments" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/3-areas-of-networking-that-successful-artists-master.html#comments" style="color: #8d8d8d; text-decoration: none;">POST A COMMENT</a></span> | <span class="print-item"><a href="http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/3-areas-of-networking-that-successful-artists-master.html?printerFriendly=true" style="color: #8d8d8d; text-decoration: none;">PRINT ARTICLE</a></span></div>
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<em>It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.</em></div>
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You’ve heard this worn out cliché before.</div>
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Now, I won’t disagree (that much) with it, but I will say that we give waaaay too much credence to the last half of the phrase and exactly zero to the first half.</div>
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If I changed it to suit my purposes it would be <em>“It’s not what you know, it’s what you know</em> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">about</span> <em>who you know.</em>”</div>
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I realize this sounds creepy - like ‘sitting-in-a-tree-watching-through-someone’s-windows’ creepy - but before you get all weirded out, come up in the tree for a moment and see what it looks like from my perspective.</div>
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You see, I believe the original phrase neglects the fact that knowing someone is really hard work. It takes years of interest, dedication and follow-through to get to know someone, especially…</div>
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<li>What their interests are</li>
<li>Where they spend their time</li>
<li>What groups/institutions they belong to</li>
<li>Their phone number even</li>
<li>The names of their spouse, girlfriends or kids</li>
<li>What makes them tick</li>
</ul>
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We see the “<em>it’s who you know</em>” and immediately fill ourselves with excuses. We say about the guy who got the private gig we didn’t, “He cheated, he knew the business owner.”</div>
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We scream, “I’ve been robbed!” when a band hires their friend to play drums for the tour instead of choosing you - even if you were a long shot.</div>
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But this is EXACTLY what networking in music is about; building friendships with a purpose.</div>
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This might be hard to hear but the people who got what you wanted simply played the game a little bit better than you.</div>
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That’s not a reason to be angry.</div>
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It’s a reason to take notes and be motivated.</div>
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So, in that vein, I’m going to show you 3 areas that successful independent artists <em>need</em> to master and then I’m going to give you an opportunity to see a <strong><a href="http://www.apparatus.ca/bonus-content-networking-contacts-landing-page/" style="color: black;">behind the scenes video</a></strong> on the system I use to manage my contacts. Make sure you read all the way to the end.</div>
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<strong>Networking with Venues</strong></h2>
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For indie artists, venues are initially the most fruitful connection…</div>
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<li>They’re good for getting you a gig on a regular basis, which helps you build a fan base and credibility.</li>
<li>They become an opportunity for ‘trust builders’ with other artists. This helps you build relationships with artists, which we’ll get into later in this post.</li>
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I also generally throw booking agents and promoters in with venues on this one - basically anyone in a professional music capacity that means they spend a lot of time out at shows. These people are great to have in your back pocket as they have a long list of contacts themselves and a long list of potential opportunities flowing their way. Truthfully the more people you have who book and schedule shows in your contacts the more opportunities you’ll have as a result.</div>
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Using your venue contacts to line up a gig for another band is single-handedly the best way to build relationships with other artists. When I look back at the work I’ve done with artists, I see the following flow time and time again…</div>
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<li>Venue needs 1 or more artists for an upcoming gig</li>
<li>Venue reaches out to me</li>
<li>I can’t do the show but I specifically mention someone that I know who would be a great fit</li>
<li>Venue/promoter/etc. wants to save time and almost always takes recommendations</li>
<li>The artist plays the show and then returns the favour later down the road</li>
</ol>
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Use your venue contacts to build relationships with other independent artists.</div>
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Lastly, building relations with venues opens up the door for the “we need an artist pronto!” emergency. The ones where you can shine by jumping into the line-up at a moment’s notice. We’ve all heard of big acts rolling through town and the opener comes down with larengitis, gout or something equally gross , forcing the promoter into an immediate frenzy. They rifle through their Rolodex looking for a replacement.</div>
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Wouldn’t it be great if you were top-of-mind in this scenario?</div>
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<strong>Networking with Artists</strong></h2>
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Some artists treat music as a competition…</div>
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<li>Who can get the most fans</li>
<li>Who can 1-up your last show</li>
<li>Who can sell more albums</li>
</ul>
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It’s either arrogance or fear that drive these misguided people. Successful artists recognize that collaboration will get you muuuuuch further than competition.</div>
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Those that treat the space as collaborative…</div>
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<li>are happier people and better spoken about in the scene,</li>
<li>are more successful at landing gigs,</li>
<li>are able to efficiently reach the right fans,</li>
<li> and have less body fat and a more active libido.*</li>
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<em>*this one isn’t real. </em></div>
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Think of it this way; who do you want to share a bill with? Generally it’s…</div>
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<li>Someone famous</li>
<li>If not someone famous, then <a href="http://www.apparatus.ca/build-music-industry-relationships-can-proud/" style="color: #8d8d8d; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">someone you know well</a></li>
</ul>
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Build your network of artists and you’ll have a lot of friends to share bills with. This means you’ll have more people calling you to play with them - increased exposure to paying gigs - and more people to call when it’s your turn to set up a gig.</div>
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So how do you fill your contacts with artists?</div>
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<strong>1. Be intentional about building relationships with bands by meeting at least 1 person from each band you play with</strong> - Get to know the people who are playing the same sized venues and to roughly the same crowds as you. These are your “peers.”</div>
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<strong>2. Make a list of bands/artists that are at the next level above you and create ways to network with them </strong>- Starting in your home town, make a list of artists that are playing at the next level and creatively find ways to network with them. One of the best ways I’ve found is to work with a venue to set up a gig and offer to line up the artists. Reach out to big names on your list and invite them to headline, then throw your band on as an opener.</div>
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<strong>3. Please, for the love of all that is good, follow up with your contacts</strong> - I’m pretty sure this is the cardinal rule of networking. If you don’t actually maintain relationships with your contacts, then what good is having them?</div>
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And don’t forget the little tip from above: the fastest way to build relationships is to set someone up with a sweet gig.</div>
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<strong>Networking Via Self-Promotion</strong></h2>
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In all my experience I’ve never understood why independent artists don’t see self-promotion as a networking tool.</div>
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Think about it this way; networking with venues and artists is <em>active networking</em> while self-promotion is <em>passive networking.</em> Self-promotion is a way for potential contacts to <em>find you</em>.</div>
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Maybe the reason most of us don’t promote ourselves well is that we’re taking the humble route (or maybe it’s just because you’re Canadian like me) and we’re bread to think that self-promotion is arrogant. Or perhaps you’re the opposite and see self-promotion as a weakness.</div>
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But when done right, it’s a very effective networking tool.</div>
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I think of self promotion as raising my hand and saying “I’m here.”</div>
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So, how do you promote yourself for better networking opportunities?</div>
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A lot of this is tied to how you promote yourself as an artist to fans and the way you use your social media and <a href="http://www.apparatus.ca/musicians-website/" style="color: black; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">your website</a>.</div>
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<li>Communicate that you are open to opportunities on your social media pages</li>
<li>Start an artist networking group for your town on Facebook</li>
<li>Offer to teach other artists something you’ve learned</li>
<li>Do something consistently that showcases your abilities and post it to social media</li>
</ul>
</div>
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Here’s an excellent example: One person that I’m coaching had the simple idea - that is also proving to be incredibly effective - of posting 15 seconds of video to his Instagram feed EVERY DAY of him playing a different beat on the drums.</div>
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It shows a) how awesome of a drummer he is and b) how seriously he takes his profession. After only a couple weeks doing it, he has added 100 followers to his account. It’s simply a matter of time before some interesting opportunities pop up because of this little consistent action. (I haven’t asked him permission to link to it yet, but I will and if he says yes I’ll link to it here).</div>
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Provide Value</h2>
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In all aspects, networking is about providing value. If you can consistently provide value to other artists and venues while looking valuable in your self-promotion your network will blow up in no time.</div>
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How to network better</h2>
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Alright. You’ve read this far and it was a lot of information. You must be one of those unicorns that takes networking seriously.</div>
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Here are the bonuses I’ve put together for you:</div>
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<li style="line-height: 19.5599994659424px;">A video walk-though showing my system for storing and managing contacts (a system that is free and anyone can use)</li>
<li style="line-height: 19.5599994659424px;">A networking check list that takes this post and makes it hyper-practical</li>
</ol>
</div>
kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-36276920408773000662014-10-07T11:39:00.000-05:002014-10-07T11:39:15.715-05:00Lots of great advice for anyone in or thinking of getting into the Music Business, especially females.<br />
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I Am Womack, Hear Me Roar</h2>
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ONE OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S BIGGEST STARS WALKS AWAY FROM THE NASHVILLE MACHINE TO SING THE KIND OF SONGS SHE HEARD GROWING UP IN EAST TEXAS.</div>
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<span class="frill" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.05em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by</span> <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/contributor/andy-langer-0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Verlag 7r', 'Verlag A', 'Verlag B'; font-size: 13px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 0.075em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">ANDY LANGER</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/issue/october-2014" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.7272720336914px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">OCTOBER 2014</a></div>
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PHOTOGRAPH BY LEANN MUELLER</div>
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<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="drop-cap" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: 'Sentinel 4r', 'Sentinel A', 'Sentinel B'; font-size: 85px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 500; line-height: 70px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 12px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">H</span>er seated posture is perfect. Her hands are tightly clasped and laid squarely in her lap. Then, singing from her diaphragm—the way the great ones do—Lee Ann Womack reminds us that her voice is just as disciplined. Immediately, Womack’s suite at Austin’s tony Hotel Saint Cecilia, designed as a tribute to the decadence of the Rolling Stones’ <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Exile on Main St.</em> period, is transformed into a house of worship. When she sings “Send It On Down,” a song about the intersection of God and the bottle, and gets to the hook—“Jesus, can you save me from going crazy?”—the dozen of us in attendance look on reverentially. There are no camera phones, no movement. Just silence. She’s so inside the song—each line struck with a precise fusion of righteousness and weariness—that even before her brief, four-song set is over, we’re left with an indelible takeaway: if all you know about Lee Ann Womack is the schmaltzy megahit “I Hope You Dance,” then you probably don’t understand her at all.</div>
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This modest get-together held for the benefit of a handful of journalists may seem an odd choice for a high-wattage star who has won a Grammy, six Country Music Association awards, and five Academy of Country Music awards and sold more than six million records. For years the Jacksonville native traveled with the sort of entourage modern country stars believe they’re supposed to travel with. Label representatives. An assistant. Publicists. Hair and makeup people. Press and documentary-video crews. Once, the story goes, when she misplaced her driver’s license, her publicist persuaded TSA personnel to let her board a plane by matching her face to an album cover.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For this brief promotional trip, though, Womack was downright giddy about doing things the rest of us do because we have to: booking her own flight from Nashville, renting a car on her own, and making her own hotel reservation. “It’s like being seventeen and getting your first car,” says Womack, over coffee at Jo’s, a casual spot in the shadow of one of downtown Austin’s gleaming new skyscrapers, the day before her performance. “And then you take your first road trip and there’s that exhilarating feeling of ‘I’m out here, by myself. I’m responsible.’ This feels normal. And exciting.”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s not lost on Lee Ann Womack that you probably just rolled your eyes a little. But she isn’t trying to sell her current situation as a woe-is-me story. In fact, she corrects her friends when they use words like “bold” or “brave” to describe her departure from the Nashville hit-making machine and her embrace of the world of independent labels and self-promotion. You don’t deserve a pat on the back for being yourself, says the 48-year-old, especially when it took so long to do it. But to understand why her new album, <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Way I’m Livin’,</em> released on the small but respected bluegrass and Americana label Sugar Hill Records, feels like freedom, you have to know where’s she been. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“When I was little, I listened almost exclusively to men—George Jones, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard—singers who sing in their true voice, so when they talk to you or sing to you, it’s the same,” says Womack, whose father deejayed at a string of East Texas country radio stations when she was growing up. “It’s not like ‘Now I’m going to perform!’ Merle picks up his guitar and it’s like he’s talking to you, only really pretty. I’d like to think I’m one of those singers, singing in my true voice.”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After graduating from Jacksonville High School, in 1984, Womack spent a year at South Plains College, in Levelland (“It was basically a bunch of hippies that wanted to play music; it was the best thing I ever did for myself”), before decamping to Nashville, where she interned for a while in MCA’s A&R department. In 1990 she married Ricky Skaggs’s bassist, Jason Sellers, and had a daughter, Aubrey. Womack took a job at a day-care center to make ends meet. “I didn’t just <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">think</em> I would be a country singer,” she says. “I knew it, almost like I’d already seen the movie. But when I was pregnant with Aubrey, I thought I might have blown it. I knew it was going to be tough to compete with a kid at home.”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite her reservations, Womack never quite gave up; she spent the little free time she had writing songs and showcasing in tiny Nashville clubs. And in 1996, 31 years old and heading for divorce, she signed a seven-album deal with MCA’s Decca Records. “It was the Nashville fairy tale, if your fairy tale involves a ten-year wait, a marriage, a child, and a divorce,” she says. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As a little girl, Womack dreamed of sitting next to Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty at award shows. Instead, by the time she got there, Shania Twain and Toby Keith were her peers. And while there are some traditional country songs in her catalog, there are just as many examples of her swinging for the fences with a glossy, overproduced pop ballad. “I’m guilty of playing the game,” she admits. But she argues that there’s a difference between selling out and doing the job you were hired to do.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I was raised to honor responsibilities,” says Womack. “I signed a contract to make commercial music that Decca could sell. I wanted to do the best job of it I could do for them. At every turn, I tried to give them as much as I could without giving away too much of myself. But my husband [producer Frank Liddell, whom she married in 1999] says it’s like being a bar of soap: they’re just going to keep going and going till there’s nothing left.”</span></div>
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Womack’s traditional-leaning 1997 debut earned her a Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music. The blood was in the water. “Once they sell that many records on you,” she says, “they want to do it again.”</div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But the business, she noticed, started getting less and less country. “Eventually they’d let me cut some of the kinds of songs I like, but they wouldn’t put them out as singles,” she says. “The whole time I was saying, ‘One day. One day. One day it’s gonna be driven by the music, not by the marketing and radio departments.’ But it was never ugly. I was trying to do my best, and they were trying to do theirs.”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Three records in, “I Hope You Dance” changed everything—except the pressure to produce more hits. It topped the country chart and helped sell three million copies of the album of the same name. Womack sang what would go on to become a wedding standard at the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize concert and the 2004 Republican National Convention. “The little girl who wanted to be a country star got to be a country star,” she says, although it wasn’t quite what she imagined.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You think being rich and famous is going to make you happy,” says Womack. “And it didn’t. It can be part of what makes you happy. I wanted to sing; that’s what makes me happy. But after ‘I Hope You Dance,’ I spent very little time singing. A lot of time talking. A lot of time smiling. And a lot of time pursuing things for other people’s agendas. These aren’t things you picture when you’re a little girl.”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Instead of using her newfound clout to make the records she’d always hoped to, Womack folded under the pressure to keep crossing over with 2002’s slick<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Something Worth Leaving Behind.</em> The rootsier <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s More Where That Came From </em>(2005) was a step in the right direction, but a couple of years after 2008’s <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Call Me Crazy</em>—the last record she officially owed Decca—things got interesting. In 2010, during his tenure as chairman and CEO of Decca’s parent company, Universal Music Group Nashville, the well-regarded label veteran Luke Lewis gave Womack carte blanche to make the record she’d always wanted to make, no strings attached. With Liddell co-producing, she cut <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Way I’m Livin’</em> in two 3-day sessions. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Before Lewis could figure out the specifics of its release, Universal merged with Capitol/EMI, and he was replaced by longtime Capitol Nashville chief Mike Dungan. Almost immediately, Universal shifted focus to an even more hit-driven approach and asked Womack if she’d consider going back to cut a radio single or two to include on the record. She thought about it and declined. And in a move that was, by all accounts, a rarity for the music industry—and a sign of respect for someone who always pleasantly honored her end of a deal—Dungan arranged for Womack to leave the label with the unreleased album. She owned the masters, free and clear.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then, she says, time got away from her. What she imagined as a three-year gap between record releases became six. She played the occasional gig but mostly raised her kids (she has a second daughter, Anna, with Liddell) while she considered and, again, declined offers from major Nashville labels that thought they could do something with <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Way I’m Livin’.</em> Ultimately, she went with the independent Sugar Hill, whose artist-friendly ethos appealed to her sensibilities.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For all those complications, <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4i', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Way I’m Livin’</em> doesn’t sound terribly threatening. In fact, much of it wouldn’t sound out of place on a Miranda Lambert or Kacey Musgraves record. And there’s a reason for that: Liddell co-produced all five of Lambert’s albums. But Womack isn’t jumping on some country-grrrl bandwagon. The raw, unadorned songs she and Liddell chose for the record feature characters so rough-hewn and sad that even Musgraves might shy away from them. Womack describes the tracks—one written by Austin’s Hayes Carll and two by Austin’s Bruce Robison—as “songs that tear holes in life.” The characters who populate the album question their faith, their identity, and, just as often, whether or not to ask the bartender to pour one more. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I don’t look for dark songs,” she says. “But I’m drawn to them. I think it’s the way I was raised. There was a lot of church—services every Sunday, youth group on Wednesdays. And football games on Friday nights. We ate at the same table every night. But later, I also spent a lot of time in bars, a lot of drinking for entertainment. And I saw a lot of folks using happiness as a mask. When somebody comes through the door acting like they have the world on a string, the first thing I think is, ‘I bet she’s miserable.’ ”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Womack doesn’t seem the least bit miserable about the fact that her days as a country radio star are likely behind her. “I’d probably look foolish trying to play that game,” she says. One of the best outcomes she could hope for is to learn the answer to this question: What if the most honest album of your career reached the smallest audience of your career? Womack says she’s excited to shift from playing hockey rinks and the rotating stages at rodeos to the theater circuit, where people she loves, like Lyle Lovett and Patty Griffin, play to audiences that come to hear the music. She’s got a few shows scheduled, but she’s willing to wait and see what kind of demand there is for more. For the moment, she says she’s thrilled by the uncertainty of it all.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm 4r', 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16.3636360168457px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“One thing that I had when I started was a real strong gut,” she says, “and the more success I had, the more of that gut I lost. And I feel like I have it back again. I don’t have anything planned. None of it. But I have a gut feeling it’s all going to work out.” </span></div>
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kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-91931100758694808612014-05-02T09:17:00.002-05:002014-05-02T09:17:54.383-05:00Dave Kusek, Founder And Former CEO Of Berkleemusic, Launches New Online Course For Independent Musicians<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px;">
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<span class="small" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><b>Email:</b> <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=charlie@layersmarketing.com" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">charlie@layersmarketing.com</a></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px;" /><span class="small" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><b>Website:</b> <a href="http://newartistmodel.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://newartistmodel.com</a></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px;" /><span class="small" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><b>Music:</b> <a href="http://twitter.com/davekusek" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/davekusek</a></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px;" /><span class="normal" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />Dave Kusek's New Artist Model ( <a href="http://newartistmodel.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://newartistmodel.com</a> ) online course for independent musicians will start its first class on Monday, February 17, 2014. The 8-week course will be offered as a Master Class featuring personalized and individual coaching from Dave Kusek (<a href="http://twitter.com/davekusek" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/davekusek</a> ) and also in a self-paced Essential Class.<br /><br />The first class offering will be limited to 200 participants. Musicians can view several sneak preview videos with Dave Kusek at<a href="http://newartistmodel.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://newartistmodel.com</a> and<a href="http://newartistmodel.kajabi.com/sq/33329-get-the-life" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://newartistmodel.kajabi.com/sq/33329-get-the-life</a> . Musicians can enroll now at <a href="http://newartistmodel.com/enroll/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://newartistmodel.com/enroll/</a> .<br /><br />The course's curriculum will help musicians create a career plan, how to build a team, how to book gigs and tours, how to collaborate in the digital era, how to make money and manage it, understand copyrights and licensing and publishing, time-management, crowdfunding and financing projects, digital marketing strategies, and how to build an audience and network. A full syllabus is available at <a href="http://newartistmodel.com/the-course" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://newartistmodel.com/the-course</a>.<br /><br />"In the digital era, independent musicians have enormous opportunities to manage their own careers, but musicians themselves need to think more like entrepreneurs and coordinate and manage a wide variety of activities," states Kusek. "The idea behind this course is to teach musicians skills and knowledge to fully manage their careers, from planning through execution. After they have finished the course in just short eight weeks, musicians will be better prepared to orchestrate all the pieces and people who will help them succeed."<br /><br />Dave Kusek has worked in the music business all of his life with independent musicians, songwriters, performers, and educators. In 2005 he co-wrote one of the best selling music business books, The Future of Music (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0876390599/futureofmusic-20/104-9870276-1729555" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0876390599/futureofmusic-20/104-9870276-1729555</a> ), which has sold over 50,000 copies around the world. Kusek helped to get the MIDI technical standard started long ago and was a pioneer of digital music at Passport Music Software, where he helped hundreds of thousands of musicians create music.<br /><br />As the founder and former CEO of Berkleemusic ( <a href="http://online.berklee.edu/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://online.berklee.edu</a>), the world's largest music school, Kusek helped teach tens of thousands of students from around the world. Berkleemusic won the award for the Best Online Course eight years in a row from the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). Kusek taught music business at Berklee College of Music for 14 years and has worked with tens of thousands of musicians to help shape their careers. He has helped artists, songwriters, performers, promoters, managers, label executives, publishers, booking agents, and A&R reps looking for guidance.<br /><br />New Artist Model is an essential online course and Success Framework for independent musicians, performers and songwriters. It teaches musicians to understand the dynamic music business ecosystem, how to build a team to support your goals and create opportunities in the marketplace, how to leverage multiple revenue streams including publishing, touring, merchandise, and recording, how to develop an online presence to grow and monetize your relationship with fans, how to understand the impact of copyright law and protect yourself and your music, how to budget and finance your projects, and how to get access to resources and people that can help grow a vital musician's network.<br /><br />To get similar training from Berklee Online or Full Sail University, musicians would need to take certificate or degree programs costing tens of thousands of dollars and 2-3 years to complete. With New Artist Model, musicians can do it all in 8 weeks at a fraction of the cost.<br /><br />New Artist Model offers both an Essential Class with access to the online course as well as a Master Class with personalized and individual coaching from Dave Kusek himself. </span>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-7821664844887838262014-04-01T15:12:00.000-05:002014-04-01T15:12:08.812-05:00Artist Promotion 101<br />
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Is there a mindset for self-promotion that you think leads musicians to more viable careers?</b></div>
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<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Self </i>promotion in general is hard for people. We were told from a young age, “Don’t brag,” so we’ve been programmed to avoid it.</div>
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I think you hit the nail on the head with the word “mindset”. Here are some mental shifts I think can help shed a different light on the process of self-promotion:<span id="more-1437" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">• Think opportunity, not obligation</i></b>. Your work is more than a good idea or a way to make some money; it’s a benefit to those you serve. Instead of thinking about how difficult, unpleasant, time-consuming, and costly it is to market yourself, shift your attention instead to how eager you are to let others know about what you offer.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">• Think connection, not activity</i></b>. Self-marketing is about making connections with people who may need what you offer. It’s not about just keeping busy racking up sales. Put the focus on connecting – building a bridge – not just the end result.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">• Think communication, not manipulation</i></b>. Often people think self-promotion is about being cute and clever, creating a lot of hype or sizzle, <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">especially</i> in the entertainment business. Worse, they fear it’s about being manipulative. Sizzling, cute and clever hype may attract attention, but it doesn’t build trust, respect, or value.</div>
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Instead of worrying about being cute and clever or manipulative, think about getting your message across. Shift your attention to what it is about that you do that’s important to those you’re communicating with. Think about how you can communicate your message to them in terms they’ll understand. Think about how you can help them see the benefits of what you offer.</div>
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In a counter-intuitive way, <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">self</i> promotion (and a viable career, in general) begins with <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">others-</i>promotion. It begins with generosity.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. What mistakes do musicians make, regarding promoting their work? Are there common ways that they waste money?</b></div>
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Some common ways musicians waste money in promoting their work are:</div>
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• Making it <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all </i>about the music and not minding the business end of their career. We all know of the stories of artists who were exploited by industry players. What’s not often said is that it was the inattention and ignorance of the artist regarding how industry dynamics work, that often led to the exploitation. The solution is educating yourself about how business works, tapping into the awesome free business resources on the web, and doing your own business with an artist’s hand – in other words, arrange and conduct your business activities with the same attention you give to your music. I wrote <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Self-Promoting Musician </i>to address this very thing.</div>
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• Exhausting all funds on recording, packaging and manufacturing, and leaving none for promotion and marketing. The solution is smarter budgeting and, perhaps, delaying a recording project until you are financially ready to deal with the whole enchilada.</div>
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• Taking a “spray & pray” approach to marketing. Similar to trying to hit the bulls eye on a target with a shotgun rather than arrow. This wastes gobs of time, money and energy. The solution is researching and thinking about where the best touch-points are in the marketplace for your music projects.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. When should an artist hire a manager?</b></div>
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Depending on the kind of project the artist is working on, a manager can enter the picture fairly early in an artist’s career. We see a lot of early artist/manager match ups at Berklee. For example, earlier this year freshman student <a href="http://www.shunng.com/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 1px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Shun Ng</a> (an amazing thumb-slapping guitarist) teamed up with local manager Ralph Jaccodine which led to an audience (and development deal) with Quincy Jones’ company; the duo <a href="http://www.karminmusic.com/us/home" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 1px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Karmin</a> found their manager in fellow-student Nils Gums and together they built a powerful visibility strategy. These relationships came together while these artists were students.</div>
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In general, though, artists must take the reigns of their own career and build enough visibility and success first on their own before they can attract the appropriate management. It’s also important for artists to understand that managers (as well as booking agents) tend to work on commission. So, until an artist is generating enough commissionable income, it will be hard to attract their interest.</div>
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I think the smartest approach today is to find someone who has complementary skills to yours and who believes in your music and your artistry. Rather than base the reward on commission percentages, create a profit-sharing partnership where both have ownership in the project for a set term, say three years. Work it like a business partnership.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Have you seen any particularly creative approaches to marketing or PR that paid off? If so, what is the replicable lesson to be learned from it?</b></div>
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Sure, I can give both an online and offline example. For online, Berklee alumnus, Greg Arney, wanted to start a private guitar instruction service while still a student. How does one get a guitar instruction service off the ground in an over-crowded market like Boston where everyone and his brother offer lessons? Greg saw an opportunity in Google. While most people were hanging fliers in supermarkets, Arney decided to learn how SEO (search engine optimization) works. He created a<a href="http://bostonguitarlessons.net/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 1px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">web page</a> and used his SEO chops to ensure that when someone searched on the keywords “guitar lessons Boston,” his page would appear first in the results. Soon he had more students than he could handle and he began referring some to other instructors. A rising tide lifts all boats. The lesson?: As far as the web goes, you are what Google says you are, so learn how to design your web presence so you show up in results the way you want to.</div>
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As an offline example of creative marketing and publicity, <a href="http://www.zoekeating.com/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 1px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Zoe Keating</a> provides some cool inspiration. Do people expect to see a cellist at a nuclear commemoration event thrown by pyromaniacs in the middle of the desert? Or at a Ruby on Rails (information architect) conference? Keating’s unusual alliances and bold moves led to massive publicity via a National Public Radio (NPR) interview, resulting in about $10,000 in download income. The lesson?: seek out creative alliances which intersect with some of your other interests or skills. Being unusual, they tend to attract media attention, giving your music project more visibility, greater demand and, hopefully, more reward.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5. How do you think artists should monitor/measure their success?</b></div>
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I was discussing this very topic with a class yesterday. “Success” is one of those putty words. Its meaning seems to bend with the unfolding phases of one’s life.</div>
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I see “success” as the gradual realization of a worthwhile goal. If you set a long-range goal and reflect that goal in your activities each day, then I think you are “successful”.</div>
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In other words, success isn’t <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">some</i>day, it’s <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">every</i>day.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6. What easy, cheap thing an artist should do right now that is likely to have a significant impact?</b></div>
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One thing is clear about all career paths today: the demands on our time, energy and resources are at an all-time high. Technology and globalism have lowered the barriers for market entry, creating more competition on every front and a 24/7, always on, style of work that is stretching people to their limits.</div>
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So, in light of this, I’m going to recommend three easy and cheap ways artists can have more career success each day of their lives. Ready? Drink a gallon of water every day, take ten minutes out to stretch your body, and deep breathe while you’re stretching. Do these three things for yourself every day and I guarantee you will have more strength, be more creative, and have a powerful new focus in your work.</div>
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Water is a true miracle. It is 60% of our bodies and 70% of our brains. If our thoughts are electric pulses, if atoms have positive and negative charges, then we want to ensure there’s enough conduction to enable these processes, right? That’s where water comes in. Add extension (stretching) and oxygenation (deep breathing) and you open further channels in your body and mind to these conduction powers.</div>
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These three things are so basic. Yet, in our rush to get through our days, they can easily be forgotten. I put the challenge out to all music careerists – give yourself these three gifts every day and watch what happens. I dare you.</div>
kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-64100709193653913752014-04-01T14:49:00.002-05:002014-04-01T14:57:13.619-05:00Ways For Artist to Earn More Money<div style="text-align: center;">
Cash Generation<br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.559999465942383px;">The music industry has undergone a sea of changes since the days of vinyl records and cassette tapes. While the current mobile downloading setup offers plenty of convenience for the average consumer, it can spell financial ruin for musicians and producers dependent on record sales. After all, illegal downloads still eat into profits, with the</span><a href="http://www.riaa.com/blog.php?content_selector=riaa-news-blog&blog_selector=Nobody_Stole_Pie&news_month_filter=3&news_year_filter=2010&searchterms=nobody%20stole%20pie&terminclude=&termexact=" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.559999465942383px;">Recording Industry Association of America</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.559999465942383px;"> (RIAA) reporting that piracy caused music industry profits to fall from $15 billion in 1999 to just $8.5 billion in 2009. In order to survive in this environment of piracy, musicians must think outside of the box, taking advantage of social media, mobile technology, merchandising and, of course, live performances. Together, these elements can spell great profit, even in an age of iTunes and illegal downloading.</span></b></div>
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<strong>Offer VIP Packages for Concerts</strong></div>
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Critics of social media may complain of young people wasting their lives behind computer screens, but the truth is, music fans still love attending live shows. You still can profit handsomely off of traditional concerts, but if you're looking to amp up returns on your tour, consider throwing in VIP concert options. These could include special meet-and-greets before or after shows, or even private performances for your most dedicated fans. Many will gladly pay two, three, even four times the going rate for your concert if it means getting up close and personal.</div>
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<strong>Sell Merchandise at Live Shows</strong></div>
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Music fans love showing off their favorites, be it through social media or old-fashioned band tees. The great thing about old school merchandise sales is that they can be incredibly profitable, particularly if you take on a multi-faceted approach including both online and in-person sales. Selling band merch is easier than ever, thanks to useful services such as <a href="http://payments.intuit.com/mobile-credit-card-processing/" style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">Intuit QuickBooks</a>, and the various on-the-fly payment systems that are available in the form of an app. Be sure to offer a wide array of products, so as to entice as many fans as possible to invest in the cause. These could include posters, clothing or vinyl records, which still retain a surprising level of popularity among music aficionados. A<a href="http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/band-merch-101-what-to-make-how-to-make-it-how-to-sell-it.html" style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">Music Think Tank post from last year</a> suggests asking fans on Twitter and Facebook for merchandise suggestions, and then holding a poll to determine which options would garner the most interest.</div>
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<strong>Build a Dedicated Following With Social Media</strong></div>
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The greater your social media following, the better chance you stand of benefiting from merch sales and VIP packages. Examples of musicians building dedicated fan bases through social media include Justin Bieber and Lily Allen serving as two of the most successful MySpace musicians. Today, the focus is on Facebook and Twitter, with several musicians also benefiting from the use of Soundcloud, a social network aimed directly at 'sound creators.' According to “Tech Crunch,” <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/29/soundcloud-now-reaches-250-million-listeners-in-its-quest-to-become-the-audio-platform-of-the-web/" style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">Soundcloud currently boasts over 250 million users</a>, many of whom share their favorite bands and singers with their friends through the site's popular social networking setup.</div>
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<strong>Launch a Kickstarter Campaign</strong></div>
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If you're really struggling to make a living in the music industry, consider asking your fans through help by launching a <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/9-ways-musicians-actually-make-money-today-20120828/kickstarter-19691231" style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">Kickstarter campaign.</a> According to “Rolling Stone,” this approach has helped to fund numerous musical projects, including the recording of new albums and the launching of nationwide tours. To make the most of your campaign, you'll want to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter; diehard fans will gladly contribute if it means that you'll be able to continue to develop new music and perform your hits for the adoring masses.<br />
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......From Music Think Tank </div>
kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-11374667311812219322014-03-25T21:00:00.000-05:002014-04-01T14:52:15.698-05:00What Being A Woman In Music Is Really Like ..... (Excellent Article)<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-top: 1em;">
<a href="http://blog.midem.com/2014/03/emily-gonneau-what-being-a-woman-in-music-is-really-like/" name="144fbb93fdb7658e_1" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" target="_blank">Emily Gonneau: What being a woman in music is really like</a></div>
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Posted: 25 Mar 2014 02:00 AM PDT</div>
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<img alt="Emily Gonneau" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjsypI-MPbcF2-nLVz9bJAcZ3tCpj86tSRdV8jvY-LcI6zk1vEE80gvQD6D8mNB8h7rEyw_6SQrNbOZlBZFfjeInSZ_ZrEV1HGhKUXZSh-lbr6LRaSAP7NJw_TeW_a1YtmqumHHcVSzdgXKxZNbMKI1glXRrAPlh1UEe1Ckp2n3yPWxaj8CxEqsT_CqmlQ1g9SNDdT7cxgBF8Ig1Yl5l-iYLjdElsxV=s0-d-e1-ft’écran-2013-07-01-à-14.20.22-365x243.png" title="Emily Gonneau" width="365" /></div>
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It has to be said: the progressive stages of acceptance leading to the writing of this specific article have taken me very much by surprise and are nothing short of an initiatic journey.<br />
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After many stops, starts and twisted circumvolutions, I became aware of the impossibility to treat the topic any other way than sincerely and personally. It was also the only path I was deeply reticent to tread because it being so close to home, so ‘out-there’, I was exposing myself to being shouted into silence by the usual suspects: a horde of people online I don’t know but ever-ready to disqualify my own voice and deny me the legitimacy of my word on a topic they are ignorant of, just because I am a woman.<br />
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<strong>Yes, I am a woman in the music industry. And? Well, it makes a difference. A big difference actually.</strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
It’s feeling between a rock and a hard place when you have to promote a female artist according to standards you wouldn’t want for yourself, for a first. It’s having to <strong>compose with a biased system in which the male gaze prevails in pretty much everything</strong>. It’s having to manage the glass ceiling your (female) artist hits when some guy somewhere, not the most honest or competent, has decided to portray her as “difficult” and “aggressive” just because she was being assertive and confident in where she wanted to go.<br />
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An increasing number of female artists are speaking up against the everyday sexism and double standards they face (Nicki Minaj, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/sep/30/chvrches-lauren-mayberry-online-misogyny" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry</a>, Lily Allen, and many more) and that’s a wonderfully inspiring trend to see.<br />
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But the whole industry will not change the way it portrays women and female artists in particular until a majority of our male-dominated industry contributes to either avoid the reproduction of sexist/misogynistic stereotypes; or (more realistically), more women populate the music industry’s ‘behind the scenes’ talent, at all levels, not just the lower ones.<br />
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<strong>We desperately need more women artist managers, record label execs, publishers, tour/live promoters, brand execs, start-up founders and entrepreneurs</strong> because the current status quo only perpetuates criteria for competence and success that imply late nights out away from your kids, talking the talk and dazzling artists into thinking music industry folk should be expected to stand on call 24/7. Look no further: <strong>it’s a freedom of life and lifestyle that only men are really allowed in our current societies</strong>.<br />
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What is the difference when you’re a woman working in the music industry, but not as an artist?<br />
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Not being in the limelight has some advantages (hopefully, this article won’t change that): luckily, <strong>we aren’t expected to flash our breasts countless times in a video for people to remember our song</strong> or listen to what we have to say. We don’t have the press naming and shaming us on the world stage when we’ve had a bad hair day or gone for a swim in the sea with an imperfect yet real body. We are also spared the flood of vicious, hateful, deeply violent comments online that female artists get every single day (cf. Chvrches) because we aren’t in the limelight. Last but not least, we still have the right to our privacy meaning who we date, marry or parent with is not widely covered by… anyone at all. And thank bloody goodness for that.<br />
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No, as women ‘behind the scenes’, we face other issues. Our problem is how we battle daily to stay apparent in this business, to not be dismissed as irrelevant in comparison with our male counterparts on the basis of fallacious beliefs which all stem from widespread prejudice about what women are intellectually and physically capable of doing. More often than not, the arguments justifying these preconceptions are based on hazardous biological notions so rampant they have become ‘knowledge’. As a result, <strong>we women are judged on the basis of our gender and our bodies before we utter a word or thought</strong>. How comforting.<br />
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Being a woman in the music industry really is quite an experience…<br />
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- It’s attending countless professional meetings as the only woman in the room with all other participants making sexist jokes as a systematic preamble to any discussion while <strong>watching you closely to see if you’ll laugh along or flare up like a ‘typical’ woman</strong><br />
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- It’s hearing a label head openly explain to his A&Rs that his <strong>masterplan for a successful female R‘n’B artist’s new album release is to pay her a mandatory facelift and boob job</strong>. Otherwise, she’s doomed (said artist is usually no older than 23)<br />
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- It’s seeing female colleagues labeled as ‘whores’ because they made out with male colleagues at the office Christmas party and ‘attention whores’ if they complain about it. <strong>Women always lose out in the reputation game</strong><br />
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- It’s realising the only ones who got promoted in a team of people you worked with six years ago are the men<br />
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- It’s seeing one of the rare female A&Rs in the industry get belittled and malevolently portrayed as a drunk. Her previous track record obviously wasn’t enough for her boss, who stole her achievements and systematically ‘forgot’ to include her in email loops and meetings<br />
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- It’s having <strong>threats of physical violence shouted at you</strong> by an incompetent self-proclaimed label owner, utterly scandalised you actually expect him to do what he legally committed to after he tried to rip off an artist you manage<br />
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- It’s being told <strong>“Product manager in this industry is a man’s job”</strong> as you integrate an all-male team of 15 people. (May I suggest implementing testosterone checks for all team members upon entering the building every morning? The company’s whole future apparently depends upon this)<br />
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- It’s being briefed army-style on your first day by the label head about the golden rule: <strong>“You mustn’t ever sleep with the artist.” </strong>(Oh dear, I was grossly mislead on the level of fun I was going to enjoy. How unfair we can’t all behave like animals!)<br />
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- It’s being let in on the company gossip by a female colleague with a well-meaning wink informing you that Exec x-y-z thinks you’re “super hot” and wouldn’t mind “bedding you”. (You flatter me. May I suggest updating my job description to include a list of all the things I am apparently expected to accomplish without the help of my brain?)<br />
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- It’s being advised by your immediate boss that the best way to secure a solid future for yourself is to <strong>get impregnated by a rich artist you work with because “he likes you”</strong>. (A more than welcome “only kidding” sadly never followed)<br />
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- It’s the panic attack you get 3 days after the happiness surge of learning you are pregnant, and then wondering how you are ever going to reconcile two very different lives of company owner and mother<br />
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- It’s the fear that builds up before having to <strong>break the news of your pregnancy to a male artist</strong> with whom you work with and the lucid understanding it’s the very thing that <strong>instantly disqualifies you from ‘taking care of’ said artist</strong>. (Darling, I’ll give you a hint: you’re 30 years older than future-human-being, but if you really want to compare yourself with him or her, my pregnancy might not be your biggest life issue)<br />
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- It’s the number of people who tell you how to do your job despite you founding your own company years ago; or who <strong>advise you to “mother” the all-male 20-something band you manage.</strong><br />
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And so on and so forth. Think I’ve had it rough? Oh no I haven’t. <strong>I’ve had it really easy, actually.</strong><br />
<strong>Because I’m not alone</strong>. I’m lucky to have an amazing husband who supports me and my career choices, who does his all so we both enjoy fulfilling lives and both follow up on exciting professional opportunities. Sure, it takes a more planning ahead but our kid is happy because he sees both his parents are happy.<br />
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<strong>Because I come from a bilingual and super supportive family</strong> that relentlessly told me from day one that the sky was the limit, that I could be anything I wanted to be and do anything I wanted. That structures your mind as a human being and builds your confidence as a woman. Thank you Mum, merci Paps.<br />
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<strong>Because I’m a boring heterosexual</strong>. I’ve never had to lie by omission on topics unrelated to my professional field that would have nonetheless had an impact on my reputation.<br />
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<strong>Because I am white</strong>. I’m acutely aware of how much more discrimination wasn’t thrown my way because of my skin colour and of the staggering amount of racist fetishist fantasies women of colour are projected on and have to deal with on top of sexism and everything I mentioned above.<br />
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<strong>We need this industry to change, and fast</strong>. It’s cruel to see women work so hard, be so passionate and stellar at their jobs and yet accumulate so much lack of recognition while paying such a high personal and professional price just because they are women. <strong>I yearn for the carefreeness of life in which you don’t have to start off battling, deconstructing prejudice and proving your worth before you have even gotten a chance to say a word</strong>. Is it so much to ask, after all?<br />
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Luckily, some people value our thoughts and give us a voice and the space to speak up. Some men believed in me and gave me my big break. midemblog, and James Martin particularly, also have my full gratitude for giving me the complete latitude to choose my topics, tone, thoughts and views expressed, timing and frequency. It’s so rare. All the more because I am no exception: regular contributors and writers of some of midemblog’s most popular (read and shared) articles have been written by fellow female professionals: US manager extraordinaire <a href="http://blog.midem.com/author/emily-white/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Emily White</a>, and fellow Brits <a href="http://blog.midem.com/author/lucy-blair/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Lucy Blair</a> and <a href="http://blog.midem.com/author/alison-lamb/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Alison Lamb</a>. Ladies, you shine, and your ideas are well worth guiding the world.<br />
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<strong>So. Where to from here? And how can men help?</strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
First gentlemen, please realise <strong>we want partners, not saviours</strong>. We want to solve our problems with solutions we came up with ourselves. It’s not just a question of pride, it’s also a matter of adequacy. “So why do you tell me about all this? I feel useless” is usually the next thing you say. Please don’t get us wrong: when we talk to you about the amount of discrimination we confront on a daily basis, we are only trying to explain to you what we feel and think. We are just processing differently. Our feelings and thoughts don’t need to have their validity assessed or approved. Our feelings are valid. Our thoughts are valid. Our solutions are valid. And they way we individually and collectively as women choose to deal with wide-scale discrimination and combat oppression is valid. <strong>We don’t need or want you to tell us what we should be thinking</strong> and how we should be emotionally dealing with something you have never experienced.<br />
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However, <strong>what we do want, what we really really want, is for you to listen to us</strong> (our experiences, our thoughts on sexism in the music industry) with as little prejudice as possible so as to consequently work out for yourselves and at your level how you can best help things change on a daily basis towards full equality between you and us.<br />
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<strong>It’s not laughing at a rape joke; rather, telling the colleague who thought it was a good idea why it’s offensive</strong>. It’s stating that the millionth music video synopsis “glorifying” x-y-z female artist’s beauty and sexiness is not only unoriginal and terribly boring, it’s essentially missing the point of her message. <strong>It’s not ogling another female music biz counterpart or making comments about how ‘fit’ she is in the middle of a meeting</strong>. It’s thinking twice before interrupting a female colleague who is presenting a new idea because she is taking too long or her voice is too shrill, give her space, let her speak, let her finish. <strong>It’s shaking off the habit of organising impromptu meetings at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_24601894" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">6pm</span></span> without a thought about whom it excludes</strong>. It’s expecting your female colleague to say something smart and to excel, not the opposite.<br />
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Because things will never change until men also contribute to our long and tiring journey to full equality. Until men see their interest in giving up the power and advantages they benefit from in a patriarchal society, our voices will go unheard and our frustration grow to unprecedented heights. <strong>A world in which men and women are treated equally will mean there will be less pressure on men to conform to social norms, to violence, to spending their lives living up to imposed standards of what ‘success’ has been defined to be</strong>. They too can benefit from it if they are willing to look over the glasses of their own privilege.<br />
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The story of women in the music industry is a story of legitimacy and entitlement. Or lack thereof. Inferiority leads to illegitimacy, a pervasively deep-rooted problem. Except <strong>there are factually no grounds for being convinced of our own inferiority</strong>. Really, we women should know our place isn’t only at a man’s side, at the back of the room or at the bottom of the organisational chart: it’s right where we want to be and on our very own terms. And there’s no need for us to justify ourselves about it either.<br />
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<em>More about music as a social change driver with <a href="http://youtu.be/ARoqQzJ4VxM" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">will.i.am’s Midem 2014 intervention</a>; followed by a <a href="http://youtu.be/ARoqQzJ4VxM?t=28m15s" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">panel discussion</a> featuring Maureen Ford, Live Nation Network; Neeta Ragoowansi, Women in Music; and Ralph Simon, Mobilium Global & MEF.</em><br />
<em>E</em><em>mily Gonneau is the manager of artists like <a href="http://www.emiliechick.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Emilie Chick</a>, and a consultant for OK Go. Read all of <a href="http://blog.midem.com/author/emily-gonneau/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">her midemblog posts here</a>. You can follow her company, <a href="http://twitter.com/unicum_music" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Unicum Music, on Twitter</a> & check out its <a href="http://www.unicum-music.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">website here</a>.</em></div>
kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-3325652699948353162013-07-30T17:44:00.001-05:002013-07-30T17:45:51.597-05:00Manage Site<br />
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<br />kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-9100914942219135872012-12-28T14:04:00.001-06:002012-12-28T14:04:43.412-06:00Labbler: Does The Music Industry Need A Social Network?<div class='posterous_autopost'><div class="entry-body" style="clear: both; color: rgb(51,51,51); font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.hypebot.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2017d3f3f86a6970c-popup" class="asset-img-link" style="color: rgb(102,102,102); float: left;"><img class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451b36c69e2017d3f3f86a6970c" title="Labbler-logo" src="http://www.hypebot.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2017d3f3f86a6970c-150wi" alt="Labbler-logo" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" /></a><strong>Labbler</strong> is a relatively new <strong>music industry social network</strong> that is now in public beta. It plans to connects "<strong>Artists, Labels, Booking Agencies, Venues, Media and Fans</strong> as well as providing tools for all business needs of these groups." But though the sites looks nice and these groups of people all do need to connect in various ways, it's unclear why they would use Labbler to do so.</p> </div><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(51,51,51); font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"></a><span style="color: rgb(51,51,51); font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"></span><div class="entry-more" style="clear: both; color: rgb(51,51,51); font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> <p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="https://labbler.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(102,102,102);">Labbler's</a> website has a <a href="http://www.behance.net/gallery/Labbler-Music-Community-Interface/2440383" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(102,102,102);">nice design</a> that earned it some <a href="http://www.dailyinspiration.nl/user-interface-design-labbler-music-community/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(102,102,102);">positive attention</a> over the summer.</p> <p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;"></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Quick Look at Labbler Interface</strong></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">Labbler's features are straightforward with profiles, activity feeds and networking tools. Music-specific features include SoundCloud track imports, Beatport data imports and track uploads.</p> <p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">The <a href="https://labbler.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(102,102,102);">homepage</a> includes an extensive list of features and also the primary roles and business pages that can be included:</p> <ul style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><li style="margin: 5px 10px;">Artist</li><li style="margin: 5px 10px;">Label</li><li style="margin: 5px 10px;">Club</li><li style="margin: 5px 10px;">Media</li> <li style="margin: 5px 10px;">Promoter</li><li style="margin: 5px 10px;">Booking</li></ul><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">Though their self-description mentions fans there really isn't a clear role for them to play. In addition, the above categories plus Events are featured as navigation tabs across the social network and this also excludes fans as a category so it's currently not really designed for fans.</p> <p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">That may actually be a good thing since business networking and fan contact seem difficult to mix effectively.</p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">As a music industry network the biggest problem facing Labbler is that artists and business people are already networking through a variety of services including LinkedIn and Twitter. But music industry specific networks have failed to break through and no one has been able to become the LinkedIn or Twitter of the music industry.</p> <p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">That means the challenge of giving people a reason to use Labbler looms much larger than effective design and operation of such a website.</p></div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-36627053959620027182012-12-17T12:10:00.001-06:002012-12-17T12:10:39.313-06:00Music biz avoids fiscal clef<div class='posterous_autopost'><div class="hd" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: arial,helvetica; line-height: 15.300000190734863px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><h1 style="font-size: 2.1em; margin: 15px 0px 5px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: arial,helvetica,MS Reference Sans Serif; line-height: 1.25em;"> <br /></h1><h2 style="text-align: center; margin: 5px 0px 5px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: arial,helvetica,MS Reference Sans Serif; color: rgb(153,0,0); line-height: 1.275em;">2012 was a year of consolidation, digital distribution, litigation</h2> <p /><div class="author" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 20px; padding: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(247,247,247); font-family: arial,helvetica,MS Reference Sans Serif;"><span class="label">By </span><a href="http://www.variety.com/biography/3960" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102,102,102);">CHRISTOPHER MORRIS</a></div> </div><div class="bd" style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: arial,helvetica,MS Reference Sans Serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; color: rgb(51,51,51); background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> As the embattled music industry continued to morph in 2012, a few trends were clear: Players at the top of heap continued to consolidate, digital distribution and streaming became the rule, not the exception, and the court of last resort for those seeking a bigger slice of the changing pie was, well -- the courts (and Congress). Here are some of the deals, decisions and developments that are likely to have an impact on the biz in the year(s) to come.<p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"> </p><center>New owners for EMI</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">After an auction process that took up the better part of a year, and over the loud objections from independents overseas, Citigroup sold EMI Music's publishing unit to a consortium headed by Sony/ATV for $2.1 billion in July, and EMI's labels (minus crucial regulator-mandated divestments) to Universal Music Group for $1.9 billion in September. UMG's label acquisition was the first major music business consolidation since the Sony-BMG joint venture of 2004; the pickup created a behemoth that accounts for some 40% of the U.S. market. UMG will now operate EMI as a separate unit, with former Columbia Records co-chairman/chief operating officer Steve Barnett moving to the top in late November. On the publishing side, former EMI Publishing topper Martin Bandier, now at Sony/ATV, will once again oversee the assets he helped turn into the world's most powerful song concern -- the company holds copyrights by writers ranging from the Beatles to Taylor Swift.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Warner Music Group's exec shuffle</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Now a distant third behind UMG and Sony Music Entertainment among the big three music firms, WMG is a very different company than it was in January, when ex-CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. -- who engineered the 2004 purchase of the unit from Time Warner -- exited the executive suite. With new CEO Stephen Cooper at the helm, installed by Len Blavatnik after his Access Industries bought WMG in 2011, a round of changes came down in late 2012. In September, recorded music chairman-CEO Lyor Cohen ankled WMG after eight years at the top. In November, WMG was reorganized into three divisions -- with Warner/Chappell Music chairman-CEO Cameron Strang given oversight of both publishing and recorded catalog. Finally, early in December, Strang added responsibility for Warner Bros. Records to his duties, as WBR co-president Todd Moscowitz, a longtime Cohen lieutenant, announced his resignation. Strang's elevation fired speculation that changes could be in store for Atlantic Records Group co-chairmen Julie Greenwald and Craig Kallman, also close Cohen associates.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Anschutz Entertainment Group goes on the block</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">In September, AEG, privately held by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, announced it was entertaining bids. The diversified sports and entertainment company owns interests in professional teams (including the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Galaxy) and dozens of venues (including Staples Center and other L.A. Live properties); its AEG Live division, which encompasses Goldenvoice, promotes the annual Coachella Festival, country fest Stagecoach and other lucrative events. Second only to Live Nation Entertainment in size and scope, AEG is expected to command a monumental price of $8 billion-$12 billion. No matter who bids on the firm, a shakeup in the highly competitive concert market can be expected -- that is, if a sale price and cash-and-debt terms can meet with Anschutz's approval.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Internet radio royalties hit the fan</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Streaming radio service Pandora has been at the forefront to get Congress to pass the Internet Radio Fairness Act -- which will reduce licensing royalties Web radio services pay. Alongside terrestrial radio giant Clear Channel (which operates Web platform iHeartRadio), Pandora testified last month at a House hearing for the bill. After having filed suit over the issue against performing rights org ASCAP in November, Pandora is also urging its listeners to write to their congressmen. On the other side of the debate were artists, music publishers and labels, who not only pushed for maintaining current congressionally mandated Web rates, but also for artist royalties for airplay on terrestrial radio -- long resisted by the National Assn. of Broadcasters. As the debate roiled this year, Clear Channel agreed to unprecedented individual revenue-sharing deals with indie labels Big Machine, Glassnote and Naxos for both terrestrial and digital radio, opening another front in a battle sure to heat up further in 2013.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Is a digital song new or 'used?'</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Can digital music files be re-sold legally? That is the question at the heart of a lawsuit filed in January by EMI's Capitol Records against ReDigi, a Massachusetts-based company established as a marketplace for so-called "used" digital songs. Capitol maintains that the company is nothing more than a clearinghouse for copyright infringement which relies on unauthorized copying of music. ReDigi claims its operations are secured under the first-sale doctrine protecting the redistribution of albums and other purchased copyrighted material. A federal judge in New York declined to grant an injunction against ReDigi, but a definitive ruling on the merits of Capitol's case was pending as of press time. A finding in ReDigi's favor could have a negative impact on labels, which enjoy no revenue from such "re-sold" product, and whose earnings have already been wracked in the digital era.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Digital royaltiessuit settled</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">In October, UMG and Aftermath Records settled a long-pending suit filed by Eminem's early production team over royalties for downloads and ringtones. The companies had suffered a setback in September 2010, when an appellate court overturned a verdict in their favor, and ruled that royalties for downloads and ringtones should be computed at a higher rate granted for licenses, and not as "sales." The ruling has been cited as a precedent in more than a dozen class actions and individual suits filed against UMG and the other majors by heritage acts seeking higher digital royalty payments; James Taylor and Kenny Rogers were among the artists who took to the courts this year. It remains to be seen if the "Eminem case" settlement will provide any leverage for those plaintiffs, or if other acts with decades-old contracts will launch new litigation looking for bigger payouts.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Consolidating new distribution models</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The RIAA announced that digital shipment of music accounted for more than 50% of the business for the first time ever in 2011, and unexpected alliances began to manifest themselves in 2012. In March, UMG exited the indie distribution game, selling its Fontana Distribution unit to the San Francisco-based digital wholesaler INgrooves, which reestablished itself as a full-service digital and physical distrib. The same week, digital aggregators the Orchard and Ioda announced their own merger. Further realignment of the digital side of the business can be anticipated in 2013.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>Spotify rolls on</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Now valued at $3 billion, streaming service Spotify continued as the big dog in the online hunt in 2012. In November, it secured $100 million in new funding, including an infusion from Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs and Fidelity Investments. Earlier this month, the Sweden-based company announced it had 20 million users, with 5 million paid subscribers (1 million of them U.S.-based). While some question whether a 25% paid subscriber base represents a workable business model for the service, which draws the majority of its users with a free, ad-supported tier, many observers believe that streaming music will ultimately be the most fertile growth sector of the business.</p> <p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"></p><center>A dance boom -- and two busts</center><p style="margin: 20px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Electronic dance music has been the growth genre on the live front over the past few years, with mega-raves drawing thousands of partiers to large outdoor venues here and (especially) abroad. The business at large has been paying attention: Live Nation bought British EDM promoter Cream Holdings in May and L.A.-based Hard Events in June. However, two of the biggest promoters in the genre took a hit, as Insomniac Events' Pasquale Rotella and Go Ventures' Reza Gerami -- who mounted such massive L.A. dance dates as Electric Daisy Carnival and Together as One -- were indicted in March in a bribery and embezzlement case involving the Los Angeles Coliseum and its officials. Though the men have not yet been brought to trial, their dance music business has effectively exited L.A. for the more fertile, and lucrative, environment of Las Vegas.</p> </div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-35501309712637744632012-12-05T21:56:00.001-06:002012-12-05T21:56:37.608-06:00Kacey Musgraves (Nashville Recording Artist) Universal Music Group .... !!!!<div class='posterous_autopost'><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Come See, Hear, and Support Her While She's In Texas!!</b></div><p /><p /><p /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Kacey_musgraves" height="600" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/kleerstreemmusic/5tSsTi7h0YeEVCPe3O1q2IjBiQ9qnUpUG9LoWQzHd9GTfCaiTI9sM8zgRAJL/Kacey_Musgraves.jpg" width="414" /> </div> <br /></div><p /><br /><p /><div><div>The hard working, UMG, Mecury Label, recording artist, Kacey Musgraves will be at Billy Bobs on Sunday, December 9. Kacey will be in the Headliner Group of: </div> <p /><div>Gary Allan</div><div>Lee Brice</div><div>Joe Nichols</div><div>Kacey Musgraves</div><div>Roger Creager!!!! </div><p /><div>Headliner show begins at 7 PM. </div><p /><div>This entire event begins at 4 PM with many awesome artist. Here's the complete schedule:</div> <p /><div>4-5:15 pm</div><div>Zane Williams</div><div>Jason Sturgeon</div><div>Phil Hamilton</div><div>Hudson Moore</div><div> </div><div>5:30-6:45 pm</div><div>Rich O’Toole</div><div>Deryl Dodd</div><div>JT Hodges</div> <div>Jon Pardi</div><div> </div><div>Headliners 7-8:30 pm</div><div>Gary Allan</div><div>Lee Brice</div><div>Joe Nichols</div><div>Kacey Musgraves</div><div>Roger Creager</div><p /><div>I encourage everyone to come out for a few hours of great entertainment!! Let me tell you Miss Kacey, a wonderful recording artist from East Texas.....ROCKS!! Plus, she most likely will not be back in the DFW area until she opens for Kenny Chesney at Dallas Cowboy Stadium on May 11, 2013.....!! OH, you can make both concerts, as well ..... :) </div> <p /><div>She's a Texas artist that you won't forget.....she rocks!! </div><p /><div>NOTE: Kacey is currently opening for Little Big Town until March 3, 2013....</div><p /><div>Then on March 16th, she will be opening for Kenny Chesney, Tampa, FL., Raymond James Stadium.</div> <p /><div><a href="http://www.kaceymusgraves.com/default.aspx#tour">http://www.kaceymusgraves.com/default.aspx#tour</a></div></div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-56698879695455776982012-11-28T13:58:00.001-06:002012-11-28T13:58:25.919-06:00Political Posts on Facebook<div class='posterous_autopost'><div style="text-align: center;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/kleerstreemmusic/28jlbeVse9utZaLOsG74CWTtGdSzyNQgA60jjTfwEUd80OtpebC8FwDWpomI/318061_10150880417683790_80807.jpg"><img alt="318061_10150880417683790_80807" height="399" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/kleerstreemmusic/drxJW5AmjzHb7AlbVmX2krnlH4gXwYMKdpOKv0O7yn3bqj5rLT590RjhJBb5/318061_10150880417683790_80807.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <br /></div><p /><br /><div><div>I will be 'gearing down' my political post over the next few months. My intentions are to only post significant items, not all the 'garble' coming from all the different news media. </div> <p /><div>I know many of us have more enjoyable things to work on, or at least I do. Mainly writing better blogs and posting at least weakly on the 10 or so blogs I have neglected during the last 18 months. </div> <p /><div>My passion for years is in the country music market, promoting/booking/ helping/supporting all female artists in that genre. </div> <p /><div>I will continue to vote for candidates I believe are the right people. But, my advocating a few candidates day in and day out will be reduced by 50-80%. The main reason is doing what's right for American according to our Constitution no longer appears relevant to 50%+ of voters as well as politicians who are more talk than 'do', in DC. </div> <p /><div>Bottom line, I have always voted for those candidates who I believe will uphold the principles our Founders laid out so eloquently a long time ago. </div> <p /><div>Truth, facts, right versus wrong, God versus Evil, today, appear to NO longer be what a majority of Voters desire or want.</div> <p /><div>I am and always have been a person motivated by success, by ' positive results', which means seeing progress in what you allocate most of your time to, daily. </div> <p /><div>My God save and bless America!! Dittos to the Great State of Texas!!<p />NOTE: I am not leaving Facebook, just moving to the political sideline. Oh I may run out in the middle of the road, on occasions, but, for now, I have no desire to continue standing on that political road. Rest assured when the 2014 and 2016 elections come around, my political activity will increase..... :)<p /> Cheers, my friends. All of YOU are APPRECIATED!! </div></div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-55374613461701732012-10-28T08:56:00.001-05:002012-10-28T08:56:34.748-05:00Folks Raising Big Money, Online, For Many Causes<div class='posterous_autopost'><h1 style="line-height: 26px; color: rgb(40,40,40); margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 0px;">---by Kim Komando</h1><p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40);"> <span style="color: rgb(102,102,102);">10/27/2012</span></p><p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 10px; color: rgb(102,102,102);"></span></p><p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;"> Nicholas Ivie, a U.S. Border Patrol agent stationed in Arizona, was tragically killed recently while on duty.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;"> Billy Sanders, who worked with Ivie at the Naco station, turned to online fundraising to help Ivie's wife and two daughters. His Web page on GoFundMe raised nearly $30,000 in a few weeks and is well on its way to a $100,000 goal.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Raising money online, or crowdfunding, is the new model for everything from music albums to video game consoles.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Last year, crowdfunding platforms helped artists, entrepreneurs and companies raise about $1.5 billion. Fundraising sites will probably double that number by the end of this year.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Some crowdfunding campaigns make headlines periodically by raising jaw-dropping amounts of money. For example, OUYA, an Android-powered gaming console, recently raised more than $2 million its first day on Kickstarter and $8.6 million overall.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks to crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, however, it's easy for regular folks to ask for help funding mission trips or covering unexpected medical and funeral expenses.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">You can create a free personal donation website at GoFundMe in just a few minutes. You can raise funds for just about anything - a creative project, a small business startup or a honeymoon trip.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">It's a great place to bring in money for sports teams, schools, charities and volunteers. The site even raised $46,000 to provide shoes for America's tallest man!</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Many people use GoFundMe to help friends and family members cover the cost of medical, veterinary and funeral expenses. One woman, for example, raised more than $134,000 for her brother's cancer treatment. The donation page for a wounded survivor of the Aurora, CO, shooting reached $140,000 in a day and is now approaching $200,000.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">So how do you get started? First, you create a free donation page. This is an opportunity to tell your story.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Put some thought into explaining why you need the money and how much it means to you. You can easily share this page through email and social media to quickly spread the word.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">GoFundMe has you set a fundraising goal, but unlike other sites you're under no obligation or time limit to meet the goal. Donations are transferred to you as they come in. Fundraisers aren't expected to give away freebies to backers.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">GoFundMe does deduct a 5 percent fee from each donation you receive (4.25 percent for certified charities and nonprofits). Additionally, online credit card processor WePay will deduct 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per transaction. Your donors pay no fees and don't need to open any kind of account.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">To guard against fraud, GoFundMe won't add a donation page to the search directory until it's reviewed and several conditions are met.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">You must connect an authentic Facebook account to the GoFundMe donation page. Facebook accounts that have a low number of friends and no photos will be rejected.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Donation pages are also required to have a photo or video of you or your group - clip art, logos and other graphics aren't allowed.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally, your page must raise $100 in online contributions before it can be publicly listed.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">If you want to make donations, give money only to individuals you know and trust. Pages from nonprofit groups display a Certified Charity banner.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">ChipIn is another site that helps you raise money for personal causes. It requires you to have a PayPal account.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">ChipIn creates widgets that you can plug into your social media pages and, if you're a blogger, WordPress and TypePad.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">You specify your fundraising purpose, a funding goal and a deadline. Viewers click the widget to donate. ChipIn does not charge fees, but money is collected through PayPal, which may charge processing fees.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Of course, you can create your own PayPal donation link. But a ChipIn widget draws more attention. It also provides details about how you will use donations.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Donors Choose is a specialty crowdfunding site just for teachers and parents who want to help them.</p> <p style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(40,40,40); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;">Teachers can request supplies for a specific project or extracurricular activity. Once the goal is met, the site delivers the materials directly to the teacher’s school. Books and tablets are popular requests.</p> </div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-36406932769167443332012-09-15T14:33:00.001-05:002013-07-30T18:02:58.094-05:00Good Advice from Ronnie Dunn<div class="posterous_autopost">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Some people like trying to play the "rich guy card" on me. I grew up poor. I went to 13 schools in 12 years. My dad couldn't hold down a job. I didn't come from a safe or comfortable place. My poor ninth grade educated father made $350.00 a month as a truck driver for most of his life. There were times when we didn't know where our next meal was coming from. My mother took a job as a bank teller for minimum wage. My sister and I were latchkey kids. From an early age I had a dream. I wanted to stand on stage and make people feel the emotions that I felt when I heard Merle Haggard sing. In so many ways that dream was a fairy tale. I could have just as easily walked to the moon. I was encouraged to give it up, fall in line, get a job with security benefits, insurance and a good solid 401K, like decent red blooded, salt of the Earth American's are supposed to do. I was criticized by friends and family members for dreaming big. We call it "outside o<br />
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f the box", these days. I read the expert's probability statistics.... "The odds of making it in the music business were greater than winning a Senate race"...maybe higher ? </div>
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I worked in more than one nightmare bar and beer joint for less than $35.00 a night. I took odd jobs. I slept on a friends floor for over a year, at one point. Many times I worked for free. I didn't take my eye off of the ball. That dream was my only way out.</span></div>
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I taught myself to write songs. I took enormous risks. I pushed myself relentlessly.... far beyond what I thought I was capable of doing.<br />
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I went to the mailbox a few months later and there was a check for more money than I had ever seen. It was enough for a down payment on a small house. My wife continued to cut coupons out of the newspaper to help buy food while I travelled for over 200 days a year for many years after that. </span></div>
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I won't bore you with much more other than to say...... indeed, I've made money. I feel the bone chilling emotion of a good, common man, blue collar anthem from my head to my toes because I am and will always be one. </span></div>
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kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-2779479468828596402012-08-08T13:23:00.001-05:002012-08-08T13:23:59.560-05:00Music Blog About Some Southern Female Divas<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">I am partial to southern and southern-inspired female musicians. My band mates say I talk about them endlessly and their work dominates my playlists on long car rides to our next show. I believe I am a fan of <em>all </em>music, but there is something about a woman that rocks that hits my soul the hardest. In a time when the accessibility of new music is astonishingly abundant, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris are just a few of the greats that remain household names decades later.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">I have been a songwriter since I was 12 years old. At first I didn’t understand what I was doing or why I was doing it other than the fact that it felt good. One thing led to another and, in middle school, I started singing in public; in high school, my band was called The Sandbox Lizards; and as a senior in high school and into college, I embarked on a solo career. Now I am 23 and working on my sixth album, living in Nashville, and constantly working on growing into my full potential as an artist.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">In other words, music is my life and this article has presented me with the opportunity to list some women that helped make me the artist I am. The songwriters mentioned are all women that have given me inspiration, happiness and comfort through their music. While not all of them are necessarily born in the South, their music is heavily influenced by southern culture, and they represent us well. It was no easy task to narrow these down, but here they are, in no particular order.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.bourbonandboots.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BRANDI_BEAR_tour.jpg" style="color: rgb(153,64,5); text-decoration: none;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5368" title="BRANDI_BEAR_tour" src="http://www.bourbonandboots.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BRANDI_BEAR_tour.jpg" height="697" alt="" width="465" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>1. Brandi Carlile</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> I first heard Brandi Carlile on the TV show <em>Grey’s Anatomy</em>. Her song, “The Story,” was played in the intro and really helped her break into the mainstream. The song showcases an unbelievably large voice that seems to easily float out of her tiny frame. I once saw her play a sold-out show at George’s Majestic in Fayetteville, Arkansas. They unplugged every mic and instrument and, over the bustle of people in the bar, her voice rang loud and clear—it was amazing. All of her lyrics are clever, and her melodies catchy.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Throw It All Away” from <em>Self-Titled</em>, 2005</p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>2. Shelby Lynne</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> In 2001, Shelby won Best New Artist at the 43rd Grammy Awards. In her acceptance speech she said, “Thirteen years and six albums to get here.” Shelby comes from a troubled upbringing—when she was 17 years old her father shot and killed her mother and then himself. I gravitate towards the raw, honest personality in her voice and the mixed influence of country and blues in her music.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “You Don’t Have A Heart” from <em>Suit Yourself</em>, 2005</p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5367" title="Jessica Lea Mayfield" src="http://www.bourbonandboots.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2mayfield0630vita.jpg" height="365" alt="" width="570" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>3. Jessica Lea Mayfield</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> Jessica has a kind of thin, sweet quality to her voice that belies her songs’ dark subject matter. She uses very unique instrumentation behind her acoustic guitar songs; in particular, credit must be given to her long-time guitar player Richie Kirkpatrick. That guy can create effects live that are amazingly entertaining, yet fit the dark mood of Jessica’s songs wonderfully.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Kiss Me Again” from <em>With Blasphemy So Heartfelt</em>, 2008</p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>4. Heartless Bastards</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> I have had the pleasure of playing a couple of shows with this female-led, almost “garage rock” influenced band. Erika Wennerstrom has a very unique sound that is perfect for the rock music they create. After a stressful day, their album <em>The Mountain</em> is always a comfort.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Sway” from <em>The Mountain</em>, 2009<br /></p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>5. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> One of the first things that attracted me to Grace Potter was her unique and soulful voice. Since 2005, this group has gone through several incarnations, but perhaps none as drastic as their move to a more 60s rock-themed style and look with their 2010 album “Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.” In June, Potter released a new album, “The Lion the Beast the Beat.” All are worth listening to, however, my recommendations are from her earlier, more vocally-centered work.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Falling or Flying” and “Apologies” from <em>This is Somewhere</em>, 2007<br /></p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>6. Priscilla Ahn</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> Though it’s a generic and overused adjective, ‘beautiful’ is the one that best describes Priscilla Ahn’s music. Her voice is soft and breathy, in the same vein as Norah Jones. The instrumentation, for the most part, is gentle and soothing. This is a singer you can turn on while you nap or take on a long car ride. I first listened to her through a YouTube video where she performs her song “Dream” using a loop pedal to harmonize with herself, creating the most beautiful combination of melodies to pull on the ole’ heart strings. Search for that and listen to this: “Dream” from <em>A Good Day</em>, 2008</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> </p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5366" title="wanda_ace" src="http://www.bourbonandboots.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/wanda_ace.jpg" height="500" alt="" width="500" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>7. Wanda Jackson</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> The now 75-year-old Wanda Jackson has been labeled the “Queen Of Rock.” She first had success in the 50s and 60s as a pioneering female artist, and she’s still on the road touring and rockin’ out today. Her music is a mix of blues and gritty rockabilly at it’s finest, and her voice is a bluesy growl. I guarantee you’ve never heard anything like her during her era or ours.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Shakin’ All Over” from <em>The Party Ain’t Over</em>, 2011</p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5379" title="madi-diaz-full2-gino-101711" src="http://www.bourbonandboots.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/madi-diaz-full2-gino-101711.jpg" height="420" alt="" width="630" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>8. Madi Diaz</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> I first discovered Madi’s music when I moved to Nashville. She is a local songwriter, and I gravitated toward her work on first listen. A smooth voice complements both her “light rock” songs and her upbeat material, all cleverly paired with catchy choruses.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Johnny” from <em>Plastic Moon</em>, 2012<br /></p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>9. Neko Case</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> I first heard Neko through her indie rock band, The New Pornographers; however, she is best known for her solo career, and it’s her solo albums that made me super fan. Heavy reverb, droney guitars and thought-provoking lyrics give her a style that is strong, easily recognizable, and all her own.</p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Where to Start: “Margaret Vs. Pauline” from <em>Fox Confessor Brings the Flood</em>, 2006</p><hr style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);" /> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"><strong>10. Lucinda Williams</strong></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> This 59 year-old Grammy winning artist has released 11 albums and still spends a good deal of her time on the road. Her intelligent, clever lyrics, and the southern grit in her voice earn her a position as one of my all time favorite artists. She’s timeless, and her live performances always feature top-notch musicians that really bring her work to life.<br /> Where to Start: “Can’t Let Go” from <em>Car Wheels on the Gravel Road</em>, 1998</p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> </p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-align: justify;"> <em>Elise Davis is a Little Rock, Ark., native now living in Nashville, Tenn., where she plays live shows and works on material for her sixth album. Look for her on tour this fall, and check out <a href="http://elisedavis.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(153,64,5); text-decoration: none;">elisedavis.com</a> to listen to her music. We asked Elise to write this article because we feel that her name should be on this list.</em></p> <p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-align: justify;"><em></em><em>Where to Start: “Make the Kill” and “Doll” from Cheap Date, 2011</em></p><p style="font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,255);"> </p></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-44783609966822241412012-07-10T18:03:00.001-05:002012-07-10T18:03:46.996-05:00You're In The Music Business.....Time To Be A Business Person<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Like it or not, if you are interested in how to make money with music, you are officially in the music business. Now, the “music” part of the phrase “music business” is not a free pass for showing up late, writing emails with incomplete sentences, smelling grungy for a meeting, and having disorganized finances. The “business” part of that phrase is the part we indie musicians often overlook. You’ve got the music bit covered.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">So here’s the cold, hard truth: you are in a business now, so play the part. As a musician, I see more responses (which lead to more results) when my communications are clear and professional. I tend to be [annoyingly] persistent, so I want to make sure my messages are not annoying to read or decode. When I’m on the other end of those messages, I have an easier time reading a longer email that is well-written than reading a short-hand email, trying to figure out if the writer meant “there” or “they’re.”</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">If I had a penny for every email I get from an indie artist inquiring about career coaching that doesn’t have a greeting, punctuation, or decent grammar, I’d be on a plane to Tahiti right now. I stare at my computer screen, about to book a mentoring session when really, I want to scream, “Have you heard of spell check… or periods?”</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">But alas, my coaching sessions are not focused on proper grammar. They are, however, focused on getting results in your chosen career. And if that choice has led you to the music business, then there are certain things that will give you a leg up and impress those who are looking to purchase, invest in, or promote your music. How you present yourself sends very specific messages.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Don’t flake out</strong></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" /></b>Read emails in their entirety. I had a coaching client send a payment to a completely wrong address because he didn’t read the whole email with the directions. The message this sends: I’m unfocused and flighty. You can’t count on me for important things. You probably can’t count on me to put the money you may give me in a safe place. Being on top of things sends the opposite message: I am grateful for your time and treat you with the respect you treat me. I am a good investment.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Be on time</strong></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" /></strong>People want to count on you. Every minute you are late (and don’t communicate it as soon as you know you will be late) has a negative impact on the person waiting for you, whether they admit it to your face or not. The message you send: My time is more important than yours. I’m difficult, and a diva. Being on time sends this message: I am grateful for your time and this interaction is important to me. You can count on me.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Craft your emails, don’t spit them out</strong></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" /></b>This also goes for phone calls, texts, any type of communication. Show that you care about your interactions by using greetings, signatures, punctuation, generally correct grammar, capitalization at the beginnings of all sentences, and spell check. It can still be informal and have your voice, it just won’t be messy. Anything other than a perfect email says the following: I’m lazy, in a rush, impatient, and you need to work around me. Instead, you could send this message: I am educated, patient, and careful with my interactions. I respect you and what you are doing for my career. You can count on me.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Keep your receipts organized, finances clean</strong></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" /></b>Do yourself and your accountant a favor and keep a folder of your receipts and important papers. I have one from Staples with 10 folders in it- I keep personal and music-biz related receipts separate so I can write off those items come tax time. I have a separate bank account for my music income, and a separate credit card. Many people won’t notice how you pay for your dinner, but the message to yourself is loud and clear: I am a professional. I am organized, business-like, and I have my act together. That’s how I roll.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">==============================</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"> <em style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Cheryl B. Engelhardt is an established pianist/singer/songwriter who has toured the US and Europe, licensed songs to over a dozen TV shows, and who composes music for films, national ads, and CollegeHumor.com. Cheryl is the author of “<a href="http://www.cbemusic.com/ecourse" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(213,119,2);">In The Key Of Success: The 5 Week Jump-Start Strategy</a>,” an incredibly effective, result-oriented eCourse for independent musicians who are serious about breaking through plateaus in their careers. Because you are a loyal Echoes reader, you get a ridiculous 70% discount off the regular price by typing in <strong style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">IHEARTDM</strong> in the “discount code” field.</em></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><i><br style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" /></i>[<a href="http://www.cbemusic.com/ecourse">http://www.cbemusic.com/ecourse</a>]</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"> Cheryl’s <a href="http://skl.sh/KuvR4y" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(213,119,2);">next workshop</a> will be held in NYC in August 2012. For more info, visit her website <a href="http://www.cbemusic.com/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(213,119,2);">www.CBEmusic.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cbe" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(213,119,2);">@CBE</a>.</p></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-27953108558538554732012-06-17T10:14:00.001-05:002012-06-17T10:14:35.395-05:00A Few Father's Day Facts<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif;"> <img src="http://www.mentalfloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/number-1-dad.jpg" alt="number-1-dad.jpg" /></p><p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> <strong>1.</strong> Halsey Taylor invented the drinking fountain as a tribute to his father, who succumbed to typhoid fever after drinking from a contaminated public water supply in 1896.<p /><strong>2.</strong> George Washington, the celebrated “Father of Our Country,” had no children of his own. Researchers believe that childhood illnesses may have rendered him sterile. He did adopt the two children of his second wife, Martha Custis.<p /> <strong>3.</strong> In Thailand, the King’s Birthday also serves as National Father’s Day. The celebration includes fireworks and acts of charity and honor – the most distinct being the donation of blood and the liberation of captive animals.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><strong>4.</strong> A.A. Milne created Winnie the Pooh for his son, Christopher Robin. Pooh was based on Robin’s teddy bear, Edward, a gift Christopher had received for his first birthday, and on their father/son visits to the London Zoo, where the bear named Winnie was Christopher’s favorite. Pooh comes from the name of Christopher’s pet swan (of course).</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><strong>5.</strong> Kurt Vonnegut was (for a short time) Geraldo Rivera’s father-in-law. Rivera’s marriage to Edith Vonnegut ended in 1974 because of his womanizing. Her ever-protective father was quoted as saying, “If I see Gerry again, I’ll spit in his face.” He also included an unflattering character named Jerry Rivers (a chauffeur) in a few of his books.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span></span><strong>6.</strong> Andre Agassi’s father represented Iran in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics as a boxer.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><strong>7.</strong> In 1950, after the <em>Washington Post</em> music critic gave Harry Truman’s daughter’s concert a negative review, the president came out swinging: “Some day I hope to meet you,” he wrote. “When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><img src="http://www.mentalfloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/papa-smurf.jpg" alt="papa-smurf.jpg" /><strong>8.</strong> The voice of Papa Smurf, Don Messick, also provided the voice of Scooby-Doo, Ranger Smith on Yogi Bear, and Astro and RUDI on <em>The Jetsons</em>.<p /> <strong>9.</strong> In 2001, Yuri Usachev, cosmonaut and commander of the International Space Station, received a talking picture frame from his 12-year-old daughter while in orbit. The gift was made possible by RadioShack, which filmed the presentation of the gift for a TV commercial.<p /> <strong>10.</strong> The only father-daughter collaboration to hit the top spot on the Billboard pop music chart was the 1967 hit single “Something Stupid” by Frank & Nancy Sinatra.</p><p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> <strong>11.</strong> In the underwater world of the seahorse, it’s the male that gets to carry the eggs and birth the babies.</p><p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> <strong>12.</strong> If show creator/producer Sherwood Schwartz had gotten his way, Gene Hackman would have portrayed the role of father Mike Brady on <em>The Brady Bunch</em>.</p><p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> <strong>13.</strong> According to a 2005 survey commissioned by TiVo, here are the top ten TV dads of all time: 1. Cliff Huxtable (<em>The Cosby Show</em>); 2. Sheriff Andy Taylor (<em>The Andy Griffith Show</em>); 3. Pa Ingalls (<em>Little House on the Prairie</em>); 4. Howard Cunningham (<em>Happy Days</em>); 5. Ward Cleaver (<em>Leave it to Beaver</em>); 6. Jim Anderson (<em>Father Knows Best</em>); 7. Mike Brady (<em>The Brady Bunch</em>); 8. Tim Taylor (<em>Home Improvement</em>); 9. Reverend Eric Camden (<em>7th Heaven</em>); 10. Danny Tanner (<em>Full House</em>).</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><strong>14.</strong> The Stevie Wonder song “Isn’t She Lovely” isn’t about a woman he’s lusting for; it’s about his newborn daughter, Aisha. If you listen closely, you can hear Aisha crying during the song.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11px; font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><strong>15.</strong> Dick Hoyt has pushed and pulled his son Rick, who has cerebral palsy, through hundreds of marathons and triathlons. Rick cannot speak, but using a custom-designed computer he has been able to communicate. They ran their first five-mile race together when Rick was in high school. When they were done, Rick sent his father this message: <strong>“Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!”</strong> Since then, they have run over 66 marathons and 229 triathlons as a team.</p> <span style="font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><p />Read the full text here: <a href="http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/26587#ixzz1y40gnLhw" style="color: rgb(0,51,153);">http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/26587#ixzz1y40gnLhw</a> <br /> --brought to you by mental_floss! </span></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-39728773007986763322012-06-07T12:35:00.001-05:002012-06-07T12:35:07.916-05:00Ideas for Press Releases<div class='posterous_autopost'><div><b> A few</b><b> press release topics</b><b>:</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b> 1. New product or service</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b> 2. New website or significant upgrade to existing website</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div> <b> 3. Involvement with charity work</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b> 4. Making a charitable contribution</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b> 5. Free shipping offer or change to shipping rates</b></div><div> <b> </b></div><div><b> 6. Releasing findings of new study or research</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b> 7. Helpful tips related to your business</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b> 8. News of the weird (e.g. Coffee shop offers excusive $200</b></div> <div><b> gourmet drink)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b> 9. Commentary on or tie-ins to current events</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>10. Interesting trends</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>11. Starting a new sister company</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>12. Receiving an award</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>13. Being singled out for an accomplishment</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>14. Offering free information: ebook, newsletter or white</b></div><div><b> paper</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>15. Celebrating an important company anniversary (e.g. 50</b></div><div> <b> years in business)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>16. Opening a new office or relocating your office</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>17. Changing the company name</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>18. Changing a product name</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>19. Signing a large, well-recognized client (make sure you</b></div> <div><b> have their permission to publish this)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>20. Announcing a media appearance</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>21. Inspirational stories of overcoming major challenges</b></div><div> <b> </b></div><div><b>22. Hosting a seminar or teleseminar</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>23. Sponsoring an event or team</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>24. Partnering with another business or organization</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>25. Hiring a new executive or changing ownership of the</b></div><div> <b> company</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>26. Announcing personnel change: retirement, resignation or</b></div> <div><b> death</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>27. Changing the way your products are made</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>28. Changing the prices of your products or services</b></div><div> <b> (particularly if you're reducing prices)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>29. Developing a new technology or unique procedure for</b></div> <div><b> your industry</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>30. Rebranding your business</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>31. Reorganizing your company</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>32. Hosting a major contest, sweepstakes or promotion</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div> <b>33. Making an outrageous claim (be careful not too sound to</b></div><div><b> gimmicky or salesy)</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>34. Revealing industry scams</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>35. Announcing holiday-related sales and events</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>36. Making predictions for your industry</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>37. Provide expert opinion on important subject within your</b></div><div> <b> industry (think sound bites when creating quotes in your</b></div><div><b> announcement)</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>38. Publishing findings of a recent report, survey or poll</b></div><div> <b> </b></div><div><b>39. Filing of a lawsuit</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>40. Responding to being name in a lawsuit</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>41. New uses for your products</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>42. Receiving endorsements from a major celebrity or public</b></div><div> <b> figure (make sure you have their permission to publish this)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div> <b>43. Offering internship program with local schools</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>44. Establishing a scholarship</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>45. Hosting a tour of your facilities</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>46. New certifications and credentials achieved by your</b></div><div><b> staff</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>47. Providing pro bono work</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>48. Responding to accusations against your company or</b></div><div><b> industry</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>49. Setting a major goal</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>50. Launching a referral rewards / affiliate program</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div> <b>51. Speaking at a conference or event</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>52. Providing free consultations or a free sample</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>53. Taking major steps to go "green"</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>54. Debunking common myths</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>55. Taking your company public</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>56. Discontinuing a product or service</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>57. Filing or Being Awarded a Patent</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>58. Merger or acquisition</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>59. Celebrating an important milestone (e.g. one millionth</b></div><div> <b> customer)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>60. Exhibiting at a trade show</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>61. Stock offering</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>62. Financial or earnings update</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>63. Securing business funding or credit (e.g. VC or angel</b></div> <div><b> investment)</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>64. Tips sheet or feature story (e.g. Top 10 Valentine</b></div> <div><b> Gifts, Effective Tips to Land a Job in 30 Days, Turn That</b></div><div><b> Brown Lawn into a Suburban Oasis)</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>Keep It Focused</b></div><div><b> </b></div> <div><b>Once you find the perfect angle for your story, you need to</b></div><div><b>keep your press release tight and focused. Remember, your</b></div> <div><b>reader has only a limited amount of time to view your story.</b></div><div><b>This means you need to get your message across as quickly</b></div> <div><b>and clearly as possible. Any details that are unnecessary or</b></div><div><b>that don't add value to the story ... get rid of them.</b></div> <div><b> </b></div><div><b>Focus on answering the who, what, when, where, why and how</b></div><div> <b>questions, use good quotes to enhance your story, and let</b></div><div><b>the reader know why your story is relevant and why they</b></div> <div><b>should care.</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>If you have any details that don't seem to fit within your</b></div> <div><b>story, you can always publish a separate release later on.</b></div><div><b>This will allow you to enjoy the benefits of a steady press</b></div> <div><b>release distribution plan, and it will allow you to target</b></div><div><b>different audiences more effectively with each specific</b></div> <div><b>release.</b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>As far as the actual press release length goes, it varies</b></div> <div><b>depending on the story you're telling. However, keep it at a</b></div><div><b>single page or less (about 500 words or less) so you don't</b></div> <div><b>lose your reader's attention.</b></div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-78646539277757002022012-05-29T11:26:00.001-05:002012-05-29T11:26:40.238-05:00Social Networks Do Need Artists/Musicians<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">----from WSJ</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;"> The music industry has become increasingly reliant on the social media. Twitter, Facebook and other services such as YouTube with a strong social element have frequently overtaken the press, television and radio as the primary means of promotion</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">What is perhaps less often reported is how dependent social networks are on music fans for growth. It is not politicians, sports, television or movie stars who dominate the social media leader boards, but representatives of the recording industry. Music and social media just seem to go together.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">For instance, 50% of Twitter users follow at least one musician. The top five most followed accounts on Twitter are all musicians. In fact there are only two people in the current top ten most-followed Twitter accounts who are not musicians, one is President Barack Obama, and this is election year, the other is the reality star Kim Kardashian. And the top five trends of last year were all music-related, according to Tatiana Simonian, head of music industry relations for Twitter.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">Ms. Simonian was brought from Disney Music Group to the micro-blogging social network last October at about the same time as it launched Twitter music. “It now has more followers than almost any other channel on Twitter,” she said “The media team I’m on is there just to get more dynamic content on Twitter.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">She was talking at the International Music Summit in Ibiza, Spain, last week, an industry event where social media now dominate the business sessions. Their representatives are every bit as keen to address the recording industry as the music business is to listen,</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">In the fragmented world of music, the summit is the primary industry event for electronic dance music. Recently that has become shortened to “EDM” perhaps, Ms. Simonian suggested, as a result of Twitter users’ need to abbreviate. “The hashtag EDM is now used up to 3,000 times a day,” she said. “It is the fastest growing genre on Twitter.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">It is a segment, however, which has been focused almost entirely on Europe until the last couple of years. Now it is enjoying a surge of popularity in the U.S. The industry’s poster boy for this success is producer and DJ David Guetta.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">His main fan page on Facebook is approaching 33m Likes. This puts him just outside the top 10 of this chart, which is almost as dominated by musicians as Twitter’s. But it is not simply the figure for the number of fans who have clicked on a button which impresses his industry, it is what he has done with it. He has developed a series of brand partnerships notably with Coca-Cola’s Burn energy drink and car manufacturer Renault from his native France.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">By monetizing his personal brand, quantifiable thanks to social networks, he is showing how a new business model works successfully for the music industry, although there are plenty who dislike his overt commercialism. The point is he is making money after the probably permanent destruction of the industry’s traditional business model.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">For decades that model was quite straightforward. Sell records. Everything else was subservient to that goal. Touring, merchandising, radio airplay and everything else could make a loss provided they led to sufficient sales of vinyl and later CDs.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">The rise of digital media and file sharing has drastically reduced the importance of recorded music sales to the industry. As a result, what were ancillary activities before are now potentially the most important revenue streams.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">Merchandising has moved way beyond the sale of tour t-shirts and now encompasses complete clothing ranges, designer headphones and, in fact, anything that can have a logo put on it. And recorded music frequently exists to promote live performances rather than, as used to be, the other way round.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">This explains why another less obvious social network was making an appearance at the International Music Summit. Location-based Foursquare made clear how important music audience was to it about six months ago when it signed a deal with London-based live music listing service Songkick.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">Omid Ashtari, Foursquare’s director for business development, explained that, before it got access to Songkick’s database, it was only possible to check into a venue. Given that a different promoter might take over the place each night, that is not an attractive proposition for either artists or fans.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">“Now through Foursquare you can not only check into the location, but also into the event,” he said.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">“Artists can offer rewards vouchers, perhaps providing discounts on merchandise, ticket upgrades or meet-and-greets. They can also offer ‘swarm specials’ which means you define a threshold and if more than that many people check in, you can do something like a double encore.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: left;">And, of course, these activities provide a foundation for Foursquare’s growth. “I think there’s a an overlap between electronic music and social media savvy people,” he said.</p></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-77684947894736432012-05-24T14:35:00.000-05:002012-05-24T14:35:48.048-05:00Using Sonicbids to Book Gigs!!!<br />
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Here’s some practical advice for those of you who would like to use Sonicbids to get gigs and what my thoughts are on it, as a promoter.....................</div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Make Your EPK Stand Out: </strong>There’s nothing worse than submitting an incomplete EPK. This includes tour dates. Contrary to what you might think, the EPK is the first thing that the promoter sees, not the submission questions that you’re sometimes required to complete. If you plan on using Sonicbids often (let’s face it, it’s one of the few ways to submit to SXSW, CMJ, or some other opportunities), then splurge a little and pay for the premium account, at least for the months that you’re using it often. Get your elevator pitch down. Grab their attention immediately. Listing the band members in your bio (unless you have a celebrity in the lineup) is a waste of time, same with spending an entire paragraph talking about what you sound like. Instead, focus on what <strong>sets you apart from every other artist</strong>, how <strong>you will make them money</strong>, and a deep understanding of <strong>your target audience</strong>. Use bullet points when possible: if it easier to read and you make every sentence count, promoters are more likely to read it thoroughly. If you are not as active, simply downgrade your account later.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>When Submitting to Gigs, Use the Sort Function: </strong>If you want more time and attention spent on your EPK, then get in line first. When you log into your profile, click on “Find Gigs” and then sort the listings by “Date Added.” Check this often. Artists that get in the door first show initiative and have a better chance of getting in (as opposed to those who submit last, after most of the decisions have already been made). Make it a weekly habit to check your status/messages from promoters and follow up. If you want to try being the last one in, you can always sort for submissions based on their deadline.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Link Your Account to All Other Social Media Sites: </strong>As soon as a promoter opens your EPK in a submission window, your social media stats are featured. In fact, they are shown more prominently than your bio or anything else. Right of the bat, a promoter will see how many fans you have on Myspace, what your Jango score is, and how many fans you have. Leave no stone unturned: even as irreverent Myspace is, a higher number of fans on your profile still looks more impressive than an empty space. To add sites, click on “Edit My EPK” and enter the field in “Other Sites.” Drag the most prominent and active sites to the top. While you’re there. customized your URL. It looks much better to be <a href="http://sonicbids.com/BANDNAME" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">sonicbids.com/BANDNAME</a> than a collection of numbers/letters.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>See What Others Are Doing: </strong>Check out the EPK’s of artists getting the most gigs each week (Track Buzz) so you can see what they’re doing right. Getting gigs helps you get more gigs (believe it or not, the little icons you get for “Booking your first 25, 50, or 100 gigs does stand out and is highlighted to the promoter).</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Keep Up With Your Stats: </strong>If you have a premium account, you get access to your profile stats (Manage EPK>My Stats) so you can see how many views/plays you’re receiving, what parts of your profile are being looked at, etc. However, one of the greatest features is the oft-ignored “Plugins” section on the right hand side. The social media stats/buzz that you see here are the ones that are shared with promoters. If the Twitter Buzz results are pulling up results that are not relevant, make adjustments to the search query so that your music is being talked about (and not something else with a similar name).</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Keep the Gig Calendar Full: </strong>I know, it’s a pain. Shows to enter on your own site, Reverb Nation, Myspace, Facebook Events, etc. It can get overwhelming with the amount of data entry. However, Murphy’s Law suggests that wherever you forget to include your tour dates, that will probably be the area that the promoter looks at. Promoters don’t have the time to following up with each of your sites to see how busy your band is. You might have an extensive tour booked all over the world on your website, but if someone looks at your EPK’s empty gig list, you’re going to look pretty pathetic. If it’s easier, delegate calendar updates in the band to different members – just make sure that the same basic information (show time, entry fee, etc.) is the same across the board.</li>
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Whether you like it or not, Sonicbids is a tool that is being used by many, many promoters, especially larger music festivals. If you are going to use the site, then do it properly so that you can maximize the results. If not, then focus on your own sites that you do well (most of the basic principles remain the same).</div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-3109844396044869182012-05-20T09:57:00.001-05:002012-05-20T09:57:35.953-05:00Emerging New Music Industry Events<div class='posterous_autopost'><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><br /></li></ul><p>3 emerging New Music Industry events you may want to attend:<p />1. Trigger Creative 2012 - June 28-29<br /><a href="http://triggercc.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17,85,204);">http://triggercc.com</a> <p /> 2. Music 4.5 - June 29<br /><a href="http://www.music4point5.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17,85,204);">http://www.music4point5.com</a> <p />3. Future Music Forum - September 20-21<br /><a href="http://www.futuremusicforum.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17,85,204);">http://www.futuremusicforum.com</a> <p /> <br /></p></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-21417399220047146932012-05-09T07:08:00.001-05:002012-05-09T07:08:28.581-05:00Sites to raise money and promote ideas online<div class='posterous_autopost'>by Kim Komando<p /><div><p style=""><span class="print-author" style="font-size: 10px; color: rgb(102,102,102);"></span></p> <p style="">In the past, inventors, innovators, crafters and entrepreneurs had to work hard for funding or to promote their products and ideas. Now, there's the Internet and crowd sourcing.</p> <p style="">Just post an idea or project online and people can contribute small amounts to fund your goals. In cases where you're selling a product, certain sites can give you a like-minded audience to sell to.</p> <p style="">If you're looking for a money-raising site with a large user base, <a href="http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=10094" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Kickstarter</a> is still the go-to option. It's the one that most people know and it supports a wide variety of projects, from movies and art to one-person shows.</p> <p style=""><a href="http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=10093" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">IndieGoGo</a> is another good general option to try for crowd funding. It is especially good for charity and non-profit projects.</p> <p style="">Software, game developers and app developers are using it more frequently as well. If you're starting a software project, this is the place to try first. Additionally, it's open to international users.</p> <p style="">Speaking of international users, if that's your primary audience, or you live outside the U.S., pay a visit to <a href="http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=10095" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">RocketHub</a>.</p> <p style="">Those looking to invent physical gadgets will want to try <a href="http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=11992" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Quirky</a> first. Unlike other sites, you don't just post your idea and solicit funding.</p> <p style="">First, the Quirky community has to decide whether your gadget is actually viable. Only after a successful vote do you move to the funding stage, which has its own unique contribution system. There is also an active inventor community that can help you refine your ideas.</p> <p style="">There is no shortage of music stores online to buy music. Selling music isn't always so easy, though. <a href="http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=11993" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Bandcamp</a> is looking to change that.</p> <p style="">Joining Bandcamp gives you a free storefront to display your music. It's simple for people to buy and download your songs. Interacting with your fans and favorite artists is easy, and there's a large user base, so your music is seen by plenty of people.</p> <p style="">Want to shop around for more selling options? <a href="http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=10878" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Learn some other ways to sell music online</a>.</p> <p style=""><a href="http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=11424" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Etsy</a> needs very little introduction. It's the go-to site for those looking to sell arts and crafts online.</p> <p style="">Joining and creating a store is simple, and it puts your products in front of a like-minded audience. This isn't a place to raise money for a product, but if you have one to sell, definitely give it a look.</p> <p style="">Want to examine other sites that help you sell arts and crafts? <a href="http://www.komando.com/downloads/category.aspx?id=11425" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">I detail some more options here</a>.</p> <p style="">Finding funding and selling products are both important tasks. However, you need to be able to create your product as well. Here are some tools and tips to help.</p> <ul style=""><li>Writing a book is a popular goal for many people. <a href="http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=10748" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Here are some tools to help you write that masterpiece</a>.</li> <li>Before you can sell music online, you need to record it. <a href="http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=9821" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">Learn what you need in a music-recording laptop</a>.</li><li>Before you can start shooting that award-winning short film, you need a camera. <a href="http://www.komando.com/buyguide/index.aspx?id=7820" style="color: rgb(114,114,114);">I tell you what features you want in a great camcorder</a>.</li> </ul></div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-22492333443865166752012-05-04T18:26:00.001-05:002012-05-04T18:26:31.872-05:00Gerd Leonhard: The Best Music and Hi-Tech Futurists In The World!!<div class='posterous_autopost'><div>The Wall Street Journal calls Gerd Leonhard ‘one of the leading Media Futurists in the World’.</div><p /><div>Gerd is one of the best mentor a person can have, especially those of us in the music business. He has been my mentor going on 5 years. He's truly one of the most accurate 'Futurist' in tech and music, in the world. His weekly travels take him all over the Globe and giving great advice to many large corporations. </div> <p /><div>What does Gerd do best??? He tells us what we must know to survive, especially in the music business. His views, to some are very controversial, but, this far, just about everything he's predicted has happened albeit not to the liking of many in the music business, especially the major labels. For example, Gerd was one of the first to advocate the future of free music as well as pointing out why artist and music companies should find other avenues of income.</div> <p /><div>Some of Mr. Leonhard's Resume: </div><p /><div>He is the co-author of the influential book ‘The Future of Music’ (2005, Berklee Press), author of ‘Music2.0’ (2008), ‘The End of Control’ (2007) and 'The Future of Content' (2011).</div> <p /><div>Gerd's background is in music; in 1985 he won the Quincy Jones Award and subsequently graduated from Boston's Berklee College of Music (1987).</div><p /><div>Since 2002, following a decade as digital media entrepreneur and start-up CEO, Gerd speaks at conferences and seminars around the globe on the Future of Media, Content, Technology, Business, Advertising, Telecom, Communications and Culture.</div> <p /><div>Since 2011, Gerd's area of expertise also includes important "green" topics.</div><p /><div>Gerd's keynotes, presentations and think- tanks are renowned for his hard-hitting and provocative yet inspiring, motivational style. With engagements in 43 countries since 2003, Gerd has addressed over150'000 professionals, and is considered a key influencer.</div> <p /><div>His diverse client list includes Nokia, Google, Sony-BMG, Telkom Indonesia, Siemens, Kuoni, RTL, ITV, the BBC, France Telecom/Orange, Deutsche Telekom, The Financial Times, DDB, Omnicom, the European Commission, Nokia Siemens Networks and many others.</div> <p /><div>Gerd is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (London), Visiting Professor at FDC Fundação Dom Cabral (Brasil), and resides in Basel, Switzerland.</div></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-24903990302217716632012-05-03T05:30:00.001-05:002012-05-03T05:30:23.816-05:00True Blue Fans Are Fans Funnelized!<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>---by Seth Godin</p><p>If you have a list of 1000 subscribers or 5,000 fans or 10,000 supporters, you have a choice to make.</p><p>You can create stories and options and benefits that naturally spread from this group to their friends, and your core group can multiply, with 5,000 growing to 10,000 and then 100,000.</p> <p>Or you can put the group through a sales funnel, weed out the free riders and monetize the rest. A 5% conversion rate means you just turned 5,000 interested people into 250 paying customers.</p><p>Multiplying scales. Dividing helps you make this quarter's numbers.</p></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-24145313104374551862012-04-19T12:05:00.001-05:002012-04-19T12:05:00.484-05:00A Woman's Heart<div class='posterous_autopost'><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; float: left;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 0.9166em; color: rgb(102,102,102);"> <br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 0.9166em; color: rgb(102,102,102);"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 0.9166em; color: rgb(102,102,102);"> <br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 0.9166em; color: rgb(102,102,102);">Published on <span class="watch-video-date" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;">Apr 5, 2012</span> by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/AlbieEntertainment" class="yt-user-name author" rel="author" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; color: rgb(28,98,185); text-decoration: none;">AlbieEntertainment</a></p> <p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 0.9166em; color: rgb(102,102,102);"><br /></p><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.09em; line-height: 1.4;"> <p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;">"A Woman's Heart " is from the CD titled LOVED by Trish Foti Genco. Trish is an award winning, classically trained, vocalist; and native of the New Orleans area. LOVED is a collection of contemporary inspirational songs from the Church to Broadway that touch on the theme of God's unfolding grace throughout your journey in life and how to find strength in every aspect of your life. "A Woman's Heart" is available on iTunes, CD Baby and through <a href="http://www.tfotigenco.com">www.tfotigenco.com</a>. "A Woman's Heart" is the perfect song for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Women's Conferences, or any celebration of/for women.</p> </div></div><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 475px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li style="text-align: center; margin: 0px 0px 1px; padding: 2px 0px; border: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span class="watch-likes-dislikes" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; background-color: rgb(235,235,235); text-align: left; font-size: 11px;"><b><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kvuyicEwDuw?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></b></span></li> </ul></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284721715193326137.post-23860974573688350792012-04-19T11:23:00.001-05:002012-04-19T11:23:28.717-05:00An Open Letter to An Angry Reader .... From Musicans Wages Founders<div class='posterous_autopost'><em>By Cameron Mizell on Apr 18, 2012 05:46 am</em><p /><p>Since it’s launch, MusicianWages has been well received by the musician community. Dave Hahn and I have been very pleased to see our pet project grow into an informative hub for all types of musicians. We believe this growth is due to our commitment to integrity and quality content, and as long as we find the articles on our site useful, you will too.</p> <p>Sometimes, though, people get upset and send nasty emails. Most of them are ignored, but I felt this recent one deserved a response. The author is upset because we’re selling some contact lists from the <a href="http://musicianwages.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16e21dc8e0ce06b16b4e9c4e6&id=7439a6322a&e=27356ace68" title="Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Musician" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51,102,153);">Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Musician</a> blog. Since he didn’t include a valid email address, prohibiting us from writing him back, we decided to respond publicly.</p> <p>These lists are the first products we have ever sold from the site, and perhaps all our readers deserve an explanation of why we’ve opened the <a href="http://musicianwages.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16e21dc8e0ce06b16b4e9c4e6&id=8a3f09c867&e=27356ace68" title="MusicianWages Shop" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51,102,153);">MusicianWages Shop</a> after four years of giving away all our information for free.</p> <p>Here is the email from “Joe” and our response.</p><blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"><p>You suck. I have been at your site before and you were all cushy cushy with all the agents. I thought your site was a cool idea at first. But you really don’t have a clue as to what real musicians wages in the real world are. I’ve been pro for 25+ years and know a lot of musicians. And now I see you are selling the list of cruise ship agents. Well there goes any respect I have for you. Obviously your not making enough money as a musician. You’re going to end up working for an agent before too long. Sad. Last time I visit the site.</p> </blockquote><p>Well Joe, sorry you feel that way. I hope you’ll read this response and have a better understanding of what Dave and I do, what MusicianWages is all about, and why we’re selling these lists.</p><p> Dave and I are keep very busy working as full time musicians. Dave plays keyboards and conducts on Broadway, which is one of the best paying steady gigs a musician can get these days. I’m a freelance guitarist playing with different bands, subbing on musicals, and earning income from my own recordings (sales, royalties, licensing, etc.). We’re both members of our local AFM chapter and are well aware of union and non-union wages for a variety of musician jobs.</p> <p>While continually building our careers, Dave and I have written extensively on everything we know about being musicians. We’ve shared all this information for free, on MusicianWages. We are the only people that run the site, and we do it for the love of sharing practical advice and helping others.</p> <p>The website does generate some money, but not very much. We are far better professional musicians than we are professional bloggers! For the last several years we’ve basically been breaking even, making enough to cover monthly maintenance costs and hire professionals to help us with things beyond our skill set. However, we aren’t trying to make a living from this website, we’re trying to make a community of musicians.</p> <p>When the two of us started MusicianWages four years ago, Dave’s articles about working as a cruise ship musician were a central part of the website’s launch. He had written extensively about the gig while playing on ships in 2004 because before he got the gig, there was simply no information online to prepare him for life as a cruise ship musician. His articles filled a void, which has made them very popular, and everybody researching cruise ship gigs finds MusicianWages in the top of their search results.</p> <p>Dave’s only experiences on ships, though, were contracts in 2004 and 2007. I’ve never played on ships. We really don’t have any new information on the scene, with the exception of some contributions by other cruise ship musicians. Nonetheless, that section of the site has always been popular and we regularly receive emails from people wanting to know how to get a gig on a cruise ship.</p> <p>In response to the many emails asking us, “How do I get do I get a cruise ship gig?” and all the resumes and links we receive from readers thinking we can place them on a ship, we decided to create these lists.</p> <p><em><a href="http://musicianwages.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=16e21dc8e0ce06b16b4e9c4e6&id=622a845902&e=27356ace68" title="The Cruise Ship Talent Agency Directory" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51,102,153);">The Cruise Ship Talent Agency Directory</a></em> and <em><a href="http://musicianwages.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=16e21dc8e0ce06b16b4e9c4e6&id=eccbadb6ea&e=27356ace68" title="The Cruise Line Entertainment Department Directory" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51,102,153);">The Cruise Line Entertainment Department Directory</a></em> were both created through time intensive research. The <a href="http://musicianwages.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16e21dc8e0ce06b16b4e9c4e6&id=b390af5ec0&e=27356ace68" title="How Do I Get a Cruise Ship Musician Job? eBook" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51,102,153);"><em>How Do I Get A Cruise Ship Musician Job</em> eBook</a> is a collection of articles from our website compiling answers to the 30 most asked questions about the cruise ship gig.</p> <p>All of the information in these resources is freely available online for those who take the time to do their own research. Because we invested our own time and money compiling the information and presenting it in clean, easy to read eBooks, we decided to make them our first products to sell. We are charging for the convenience, for the time we’re saving you, not for exclusive information.</p> <p><strong>No agents, agency, or cruise lines were involved in or benefit from the creation and sales of these lists</strong>. We receive no commission on any cruise contracts signed by anybody that buys these lists. Most of the money we make from these lists goes back into the site or helps us develop other projects that we hope will help us and our fellow musician.</p> <p>The musician industry isn’t the only place you’ll find these kinds of resources. After college my wife was applying for a very specific job in an industry where she had little experience. She bought a book that taught her about the industry, the position she wanted, and how to prepare for the interview. She studied the book cover to cover, tidied up her resume, nailed the interview, and got the job.</p> <p>Similarly, we believe these lists are a very valuable resource for talented musicians that have everything it takes to play the gig, but don’t know much about it.</p><p>If you don’t want to work on a cruise ship there are plenty of other ways to make a living as a musician. Dave and I both have steady careers on land, as do many of the site’s contributors. We strive to keep MusicianWages full of pragmatic, useful information culled from the experience of professional musicians. This information will <em>always</em> be available for free.</p></div>kleerstreemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04386945667995594653noreply@blogger.com0