State of the Music Industry

Great video on the Music Industry!

http://youtu.be/y2q5L8kUOtA

True Blue Fan (TBF)

Many artist & their bands can sing & play, but, they are amazed (sometimes mad) when the audiences fail to connect with them.  Artist and bands work on perfecting their play list of songs to sound like the studio version or the 'cover' version they hear. On stage, it's entertainment time!  If I go see a movie and it doesn't entertain, connect, excite me, then most of the time I actually take short naps.  Most artist/band never think about changing up a song to allow it to 'CONNECT' with their audience. And, if you don't connect and create special moments of memory, then, in most cases you will not have won over new fans & you certainly will not have what every artist should strive to have and that is:  TRUE BLUE FANS!  Yes, that is a KSE exclusive.  TRUE BLUE FAN OR TBF IS WHAT EVERY ARTIST MUST HAVE to create longevity as an INDIE touring band.  TBF are those people that will become the most important part of your TEAM.  In short, they are the ones that will show up for your shows with new fans & they are the ones that will buy tickets, merchandise, and leave tips in your tip jar.  As we all know most young inexperienced bands can only tour if they can meet expenses.

Developing into an entertainer takes time, much practice, money, and developing TRUE BLUE FANS!  It's like going from grade school, Jr. High, High School to getting your Bachelors, Masters and your PhD.  After you have completed those degrees, you need continuing updates and training....All Roads that lead to the STAGE must be incrementally improved each year, but, only after an artist has mastered all the baseline stages.  Once this is accomplished, an artist/band will forever be developing their passion for creative performances that make connecting memorial moments that last with their new fans that will change into TBF.

Fine line between self-promotion and the “me, me, me”

It’s really important to not overdose your fans or the press with your promotions. It can be taken the wrong way. Firstly, if you saturate everyone, no one will read your emails or promotions. Secondly, find a way to promote yourself but also add cool opportunities or interesting stores along the way. Then people won’t turn off if it’s just all about you. I love to read gig news emails if it starts with some funny anecdote about what the artist has been up to or a story they want to tell. It grabs me in. Then, in a subliminal way, I’m also fed great gig and music news. 

 It’s hard to be your own promoter, that’s for sure. But if you don’t have someone to do it for you, or you don’t want to use a pseudonym and write in the third person, then go for intimacy. Speak from you, colloquial, and let us into your world. Fans love to know the “real” artist! 

 Don’t’ be afraid to self-promote. It’s a new era, and you can do it. Just watch any language you use that might suggests a focus too much on yourself and please veer away from fancy words like ‘outstanding’, ‘the hottest performer ever’, or ‘ the new Madonna of Studio City’. Try not to compare yourself too much and be your own unique being! Being humble is also important. It’s nice to be glorified, but let others glorify you, not you.

Street Promotion

• Street teams are it! – gather people in cities you will tour, who are fans of yours to help promote you before you come to town. You’ll find that your fans will work twice as hard for you if you give them and their friends some free passes or maybe even CDs.

• Flyer handouts – hand out gig notices and CD release flyers to people on the street, outside other performances. If you play Brazilian music, find a hot Brazilian music concert and flyer away!

• Posters at venues – put up posters at venues you’re going to play at.

• Rallying fans – entice your fans to help you spread the word and offer cool merch, swag and CDs in return. They like to feel special. 

"A body can pretend to care; but they can't pretend to be there."

Indie Female Artist Must Consider, Daily, these Questions:

• Who Are You
• What is your style
• How Is It Special
• How is it Different from Other Artists
• Plans for the next 10 years; stepping stones to success. Need breaking down into 2 year specific increments.  Will need adjusting, dependent on your success and failures.
• Stage Presence
• Fans and True Blue Fans
• Music (Originals/Covers)
• Song Development ( How many do your and your band know; how many sets can you perform at each gig...must know 3-5 sets to get booked at a majority of venues)

These are but a few of the many areas a Indie Artist must know.

Independent Music Promotion on the Web: 3 Steps to Success

Let's face it, the wildfire spread of web-based portals designed to introduce independent music to the world has created a bewildering array of opportunities and costs. So where do they all balance out? When does the cost of signing up to yet another music promotion service yield results? What results are we looking for anyway?

The key is to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich.

What is the main drive for independent artists promote their music on the web? The fundamental incentive for web promotion is the opportunity to get your music heard by people who might otherwise never know that you exist! If people know you exist they can become fans and repeat-listeners. Which of those fans buy CD's and downloads? Targeted listeners.

The most important goal of web promotion is to attract targeted listeners.

Any independent artist who says they use the web to sell their music has missed the primary target - attracting targeted listeners. Attracting targeted listeners should be every independent artist's first priority. Remember, you don't sell your music - listeners BUY your music. It's a buyers market. The more targeted listeners you have, the more sales you make - provided you are systematic in getting your targeted listeners.

The best way to get targeted listeners is to be systematic.

Many artists tend to approach their web promotion thinking that since they have a website and have signed up to a couple of artist showcase sites, that the listeners will just come pouring in. Yes you have managed to target some potential listeners, but you still have to shout, "Hey, over here...you'll like the sound of this!" A systematic approach to getting listeners to hear your music will attract and maintain their interest. But remember to make sure you have the content ready for the listener to enjoy.


Sites rich in content will retain your targeted listener.

In the independent artist's case, the rich content is the music. This may seem like old news, but look at the amount of independent artist websites that give the visitor loads of info about the band but very little (or hidden) ear candy. Music should be the first thing a visitor gets. At the very least they need an obvious link to where they can listen to your music. And not just one or two tracks but a variety of your music. Independent artists have to remember they have not had the radio exposure to model the presentation of their music after more well established acts. Listeners need to be convinced they like your independent music before they will buy it.

So the question is how to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich?

Tips for Targeting

The best targeted listeners on the web will be those that make it to your website. Find a way to know who they are. Setup a newsletter and make it easy to sign up to it. People interested enough to want to receive news about you are your hardcore web fans, keep them happy.

The next best group of targeted listeners are those that hear your music on other sites. Try to pick sites that allow listeners to link to your site. If they like your music they might click on that link to visit your site. You can then find out where these visitors are coming from. Find a good web statistics package that lets you know which sites your visitors are being referred from. Take note of those sites and focus your efforts with them accordingly.

When choosing sites on which to promote your music, check to see if they offer any individual stats relating to your music. Like how many track plays or page views you and your music receive on their site. This way you can check in periodically and monitor your performance with these sites.

Systematic Steps

The key to being systematic is organization. Keep a note of all the sites you use to promote your music, a brief description of what they do and how much it costs. Try to get into the practice of monitoring all of them regularly. Take note of which sites are getting better results than others and focus your efforts accordingly. You might pay for minimal promotion on one website, while another gets you loads of listeners for free. Naturally you'll want to put more effort into updating the sites that are getting better results.

Provide a link on your website and newsletters to all of the sites you use to promote your music. Remember your website visitors are your hardcore web fans and are the most likely to check out and spread the word about your spot on other websites. So encourage them to visit your profile on other websites. At the very least it raises your stats on those websites - making your music look more popular!

Try to create a ring of sites that link to each other though the content you supply. For example, you might have your music on your own website and two other showcase sites - Site A and Site B. Your site should without a doubt link with Site A and Site B. Site A should link with your site and Site B, Site B should link with your site and Site A and so on. What if these sites don't allow you to setup links to other sites? Put a web address in the areas where they do allow you to supply content. Like biogs or descriptions.

The ultimate aim of linking all your sites is to provide your listeners with a variety of access points to your music, as well as access to the different ways various sites may deliver your music. Remember to link to your specific page on the site and not just the site itself. Your site linked with a site that play your tracks on Internet radio, linked with a site that sells your downloads, linked with a site that sells your CD's provides for a powerful combination of exposure.

Be Rich

Without money! That is the challenge that most independent artists face. The conventional approach to selling music is that it should not be too readily available to listen to, should the incentive for listeners to actually buy albums be undermined. This has persuaded independent artists that they should limit web listeners to low-quality snippets of streaming audio.

Independent artists have to remember they don't have the resources and finances to support the "shotgun approach" of spraying their music across radio and music television. Big artists have big companies behind them that need to recoup the costs of mass media exposure, and therefore try to limit the extent to which listeners can sample their music on the web. Listeners have already heard the music and are trying to find a copy of their own.

Conversely, listeners haven't had a chance to listen to independent artist through conventional media. Therefore independent artists can't assume that people will buy their music off of a website if they don't get a chance to really listen to it. If people have already heard an artist's music, and like it, the value they pay for is in owning a copy they can play whenever they like. If people have not already heard an artist's music, the value is in being able to sample as much of the music as possible.

So being rich is providing your listeners with as much of your music as they want to listen to before they buy it. Now you don't have to make all your tracks available for free download, but you can provide good quality, full-length streams that impress the listener and enhance your sound. Not tight-fisted snippets that lose the listener because they are lo-fi and over before they attract the listener's interest.

Being rich is also making your music available in a variety of formats for different audiences. Telling fans that your music can be heard via Internet radio, on-demand streams, mp3 downloads and mail order CD means you can appeal to listeners who prefer more than one type of media. You can also use your web promotion to go beyond simply plays and sales - consider licensing.

Licensing your music for use with television, film, advertising, websites, video games and other multimedia will open up your listening audience, provide revenue and introduce a degree of professionalism to your career that attracts the notice of industry reps and A&R. Adding this depth to your web promotion helps to enrich the presentation of your music and retain targeted listeners.

So remember:

a) maximise your targeted listeners, 

b) be systematic in obtaining them, 

c) retain them by making sure your own site and other sites are rich in content. 

Ideas for Booking More Gigs

As you've read numerous times if you've spent any time on this blog, gigs are the live-blood of a band, especially in this day and age. Regardless of your skill or place in the music business, you've got to play in front of people to stay musically fresh, improve your show skills and make money. 

I assume that you have strong songs plus a fantastic live show, here are a few simple things you can do to get more gigs:

1. Create a YouTube channel for your band.

Upload a live performance video on YouTube that represents your band at its best. Include a phone number and e-mail address too, so that anyone who wants to book you can contact you easily. Say something like “Contact ________ to book us for a live show.” To show professionalism and interest, try your best to respond to every inquiry within 48 hours.

2. Print up nice business cards

…with your band name, links to your music, live videos, and a phone number and e-mail address that can be reached for booking purposes. Also, include a link to your website so they can learn more about you. You’d be surprised how many bands STILL write down their phone numbers on dirty napkins and torn pieces of paper. Wherever you go, tell people who you are, how good you are, where you are playing next, and how easy it is for them to book you directly.

3. Go watch other bands that sound like you.

If there are any bands in your area with large followings, get out to a couple shows and become friends with other bands. Ask the bigger bands to let you open for them, maybe in exchange for some kind of help like designing a website, flyer, banner, etc. The harder you work for a band bigger than your band, and the more respectful you are to them and their efforts, the more likely they will consider you for an opening slot. Talk up how good your band is and why you are better than similar bands in the area.

4. Tell your fans how easy it is to book you.

Wherever you play - the street, house party, club or major venue, make sure your fans are aware that you’re willing to play anywhere. Use the Live Music Machine’s booking and calendar widget. Put it on your Facebook page, MySpace profile, personal web site, etc. and tell your fans to go there and book you for their private events, house parties, etc. After playing a gig, you should walk around the audience, engage people, ask them what they thought of the show, and let them know you are available to play live anywhere they want you too. Telling them that will definitely help you stand out from the pack.

5. Get guerilla.

Set up wherever there is a crowd of people who might like your music and play for them. Club, high school, venue, and stadium parking lots. How many tailgate parties do you think would love some free entertainment? Play outside clubs where bands are playing that fit in with your style of music. Those people waiting in line are going to be bored, so playing a spontaneous gig right on the spot will definitely make an unforgettable impression.

6. Don’t forget the old school.

Hand out flyers and post cards at events that have a link to free stuff and a way to book you for a gig.

7. Network with key industry people at events and conferences.

Radio PD’s and DJ’s, club owners, band managers, label executives, and others all attend music conferences quite regularly. Say hello to these people, maybe buy them a drink or dinner, but don’t make a nuisance of yourself. Respect their space and don’t try shoving a CD in their face two minutes after meeting them. Introduce yourself casually, let them know who you are and where they can see you play. If’s it’s a club owner, tell them you would love to come in during the day and do a free audition for a free gig. Just make sure you can get a place to sell your merchandise if you nab a gig. Offer to play at places that may not always host live music, like restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and malls.

8. Get creative.

Write up a proposal and present it to the appropriate person at your local school board, offering to do a series of free shows to raise money for the school athletic or band program. Ask to perform during a school assembly when they can provide you with a built-in audience.

9. Find places where bands similar to yours play.

Use ReverbNation’s “Gig Finder” to figure out where bands are getting booked in your area. However, e-mailing clubs with your RPK or EPK usually won’t get any results, because many of these venues have yet to claim their venue pages on ReverbNation. Instead, after finding some good places, print out your press kit and mail it to them, or better yet, personally drop it off it in a nice professional package along with a CD to any decision maker at the club. Follow up with a call within a couple of days so you stay fresh in their minds. If the decision maker has an assistant, get to know that person and you will find that it will be much easier to get in the door. If you email them anything at all, make it your MySpace link along with a concise paragraph stating why they should book you. For some reason, most clubs still feel most comfortable checking you out on MySpace, so play by their rules.

10. Do a gig swap!

If you have a respectable following or are an up and coming band, use sites like Indieonthemove.com and Splitgigs.com to trade and share gigs with other bands who might want to break into your market. Collaboration is key to success in today’s fragmented music industry.

11. Email Addresses

Everywhere you go, wherever you play, whomever you talk to about your band… collect as many e-mail addresses as you can. E-mail is still one of the best ways to communicate directly with your fan base, and develop long-lasting relationships. 

Support Indie Female Musicians

I don’t condemn anyone who does not or cannot buy local. I’m an ardent supporter of small businesses, and I hope that you will be too, but I’m not going to say you’re wrong if you have good reasons for shopping elsewhere.

All things being equal, I suspect most people would choose to buy local. But each of us has a different price at which local is no longer an option. For some, this point is immediate: they’ll always buy the cheapest option, regardless of other factors. Others — and I know a few like this — will buy local no matter the cost.

Female Indie Artist are Small Business.  I am a HUGE supporter of All INDIE artist and ALL LIVE music, especially female.  Why only female?  Because they have great talent; great songs; and in my opinion, heavily discriminated against in both the music 'label', The 'Venue', and 'Indie' world.  

Don't believe me....take a look at any venue and compare the percentage of booked females versus booked males.  Radio is getting better, but, in no way does their scheduling show a 50/50 split in male/female songs played.  It's more like 80/20 or 70/20.  Yes I know this is what the free market supports and calls for, but, the only way to make it right is for someone, some club owner, some radio station, to change the way they do things.  But, as with most businesses I find it's still all about the bottom line....making money...therein lies the 'catch 22" for most all female artist, especially those in the Indie Live Music Market.

The answer:  All female artist have to work 3 times as hard to build a large following everywhere they go.  Once venues know you will fill their place at a 80-90% level, they will be calling you or your booking agency to schedule you and your band on a regular basis, which normally is every 4-10 weeks.  

In today's Music World 2.0 the biggest asset for success is a large loyal and what we call True Blue Fans.  

So make great music, learn to connect on stage with your audience, and above all make extra daily efforts to know your fans, which in turn they will bring more of their friends to your shows.say you’re wrong if you have good reasons for shopping elsewhere.I don’t condemn anyone who does not or cannot buy local. I’m an ardent supporter of small businesses, and I hope that you will be too, but I’m not going to say you’re wrong if you have good reasons for shopping elsewhere.

All things being equal, I suspect most people would choose to buy local. But each of us has a different price at which local is no longer an option. For some, this point is immediate: they’ll always buy the cheapest option, regardless of other factors. Others — and I know a few like this — will buy local no matter the cost.

Female Indie Artist are Small Business.  I am a HUGE supporter of All INDIE artist and ALL LIVE music, especially female.  Why only female?  Because they have great talent; great songs; and in my opinion, heavily discriminated against in both the music 'label', The 'Venue', and 'Indie' world.  

Don't believe me....take a look at any venue and compare the percentage of booked females versus booked males.  Radio is getting better, but, in no way does their scheduling show a 50/50 split in male/female songs played.  It's more like 80/20 or 70/20.  Yes I know this is what the free market supports and calls for, but, the only way to make it right is for someone, some club owner, some radio station, to change the way they do things.  But, as with most businesses I find it's still all about the bottom line....making money...therein lies the 'catch 22" for most all female artist, especially those in the Indie Live Music Market.

The answer:  All female artist have to work 3 times as hard to build a large following everywhere they go.  Once venues know you will fill their place at a 80-90% level, they will be calling you or your booking agency to schedule you and your band on a regular basis, which normally is every 4-10 weeks.  

In today's Music World 2.0 the biggest asset for success is a large loyal and what we call True Blue Fans.  

So make great music, learn to connect on stage with your audience, and above all make extra daily efforts to know your fans, which in turn they will bring more of their friends to your shows.

All things being equal, I suspect most people would choose to buy local. But each of us has a different price at which local is no longer an option. For some, this point is immediate: they’ll always buy the cheapest option, regardless of other factors. Others — and I know a few like this — will buy local no matter the cost.

Female Indie Artist are Small Business.  I am a HUGE supporter of All INDIE artist and ALL LIVE music, especially female.  Why only female?  Because they have great talent; great songs; and in my opinion, heavily discriminated against in both the music 'label', The 'Venue', and 'Indie' world.  

Don't believe me....take a look at any venue and compare the percentage of booked females versus booked males.  Radio is getting better, but, in no way does their scheduling show a 50/50 split in male/female songs played.  It's more like 80/20 or 70/20.  Yes I know this is what the free market supports and calls for, but, the only way to make it right is for someone, some club owner, some radio station, to change the way they do things.  But, as with most businesses I find it's still all about the bottom line....making money...therein lies the 'catch 22" for most all female artist, especially those in the Indie Live Music Market.

The answer:  All female artist have to work 3 times as hard to build a large following everywhere they go.  Once venues know you will fill their place at a 80-90% level, they will be calling you or your booking agency to schedule you and your band on a regular basis, which normally is every 4-10 weeks.  

In today's Music World 2.0 the biggest asset for success is a large loyal and what we call True Blue Fans.  

So make great music, learn to connect on stage with your audience, and above all make extra daily efforts to know your fans, which in turn they will bring more of their friends to your shows.

STARTING A FIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE 3 C's of Web Presence

Consider these three C-trends:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great Songs = Success

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

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

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

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

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

--end

Artist Press

kleerstreem

 

Positive articles written about you are invaluable for building awareness.  If you can't get articles written about you, at lest try to get quotes about you.  Start locally and continue to move outward from your base.  Asked local DJ's to play your music and to give you one liners. Build up a quote sheet for your press kit and for all your social media sites.  Use these letter and quotes every time you can; if you do there is a great chance of a domino effect....newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and TV...they will think you are incredible!  And, the bottom line, is everything will lead to more fans that will come out to see your shows.

Be Who You Are

Okay, I said  I would talk about how you can build your community in the offline world, by thinking like a music fan. 

It sounds redundant, but it’s not.  These days I see a lot of bands who claim to be passionate about their particular brand of uninspired music; I’ve seen songwriters claim to be able to write whatever genre is selling at the moment; I’ve seen musicians “re-invent their sound” so that it fits more readily with what’s currently “happening.”  All these things are horrifying to me.

Music is a passionate art form, it’s not a way to achieve celebrity.  You, as a musician, have got to believe with all your heart and soul in the art you create, and it needs to be 100% an extension of who you are.  A personal statement that is so infused with your sense of being that it could not have been created by anyone else.  And, conversely, that no matter what you try and do, this sound - and only this sound -  could possibly be the sound that you create.  

Don’t try and guess what “the market” will want, don’t copy what’s already out there, and don’t try to fit your sound into someone elses mold.  In fact, don’t focus on what others are doing at all, focus on what you’re doing, and let the others focus on you.

Believe it, and live it.  All day long, every day.  If you’re making country music, be a country star, all the time.  Don’t just “put it on” before you get on stage.  Punk rocker, metal maniac, rapper, folk singer, indie-rocker, country boy/gal, crooner, whatever.  Please be true to yourself, express your own voice, and mean what you say. 

Because while  you can fool people for a short time, the masses catch on quickly, and the only way to achieve career longevity is to continually provide your fans with something real.

BE WHO YOU ARE AND DO IT EMPHATICALLY!!

Prince and Creating Spontaneity

Dez Dickerson and Prince

The former guitar player for Prince was telling me about their rehearsals. If you’ve seen any video of Prince or seen him live, he goes off on jams that appear completely spontaneous. Sometimes they’re so off the wall, you wonder where they came up with the stuff they did!

I asked him, how did you get from that place to this funky thing to this Pink Floyd thing to this breakdown, to this jammin’ stuff — and it all seems so spontaneous? And he said one word…“practice.” In practice they got an instinct, they were jamming, and they went down that road in practice. The idea came to them, they stopped, went back, fleshed it out, and rehearsed it to where it was really tight and they didn’t have to think about it.

Those of us who have just “jammed” know that it might be magical….one night. And then on other nights it’s just terrible. So the key is this: if you understand the fundamentals in your preparation, and you know how to hold the mic, and you know placement on stage, and you know what it takes visually onstage, then they’re in your arsenal and you can use them (be spontaneous with them) onstage. They’ll come naturally – without thinking about them.

Otherwise, you get an instinct, and if you haven’t rehearsed the fundamentals, then you have to think about it, and all the audience sees is you thinking about what you’re doing. And that’s not exciting.

I have a good friend who lives in Chicago. When he flies into town he doesn’t give me a call and say “hey, Tom, lets go down to the library and watch people read!” We don’t want to watch people read. And no one wants to watch people think!

So what we need to do is plan, practice it in rehearsals, and then we can go out and do it. And when we’re onstage, IF we have the fundamentals, then we can follow our instinct, and it’s natural. We’ve done it over and over and over again. It looks spontaneous even though the basics are things we’ve worked out in rehearsals.

On a football team, those players are not just playing their 19th, 20th game of the year when they get to the Super Bowl. Before the Super Bowl, they had six weeks of training, and before that they had a 6-inch thick playbook of plays that the team runs, and they study those plays. The truth is, everyone knows their role. They run the plays over and over and over again. Then the coaches have a game plan.

THAT’S what a live show should be! You’ve studied a playbook, you’ve rehearsed it, and where the spontaneity comes in is that every night, every audience is different. So just like the running back, you don’t run through the same hole every play. You try left, you try right, you try jumping over them, you pitch the ball back…. that’s where the spontaneity comes in.

Everyone needs to know the role they have and the goal of each play. That’s the way a song should be, too. That’s what should happen onstage – a combination of rehearsal and spontaneity. No one is thinking! The running back isn’t thinking when he runs up to the hole, and the hole is closed, “oh, maybe I should run this way” – he just reacts. Why? Because he has the fundamentals!

Having the fundamentals down because you’ve done your wood shedding is the first step. Then planning the show – getting a vision for what you want each song to look like, and what you want your show to look like – that’s the next step.

It’s important to find the balance between form and spontaneity, and to understand the creative process. That means brooding over your songs, listening to them in different ways, planning, getting ideas,…and then working it until it becomes a part of who you are onstage. Something natural, something creative, something unique – and that’s what your audience wants to see!

Evolution of Music

Music 1.0 - the first generation of the music business where the product was vinyl records, the artist has no contact directly with the record buyer, radio was the primary source of promotion, the record labels were run by record people, and records were bought from retail stores.

Music 1.5 - the second generation of the music business where the product was primarily CDs, labels were owned and run by large conglomerates, MTV caused the labels to shift from artist development to image development, radio was still the major source of promotion, and CDs were purchased from retail stores.

Music 2.0 - the third generation of the music business that signaled the beginning of digital music, piracy ran rampant due to P2P networks but the industry took little notice as CD sales were still strong from radio promotion.

Music 2.5 - the fourth generation of the music business where digital music became monetized thanks to iTunes and later, others like Amazon MP3. CD sales dive, the music industry contracts and retail stores close.

Music 3.0 - the current generation of the music business where the artist can now communicate, interact, market and sell directly to the fan. Record labels, radio and television become mostly irrelevant and single songs are purchased instead of albums.