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.

"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. 

Making True Blue Fans

So how DO you make fans today?  By making something so creative or good that people pay attention.  That's the major label formula.  They want to sign you AFTER you've gotten everybody to pay attention.  But if you make that deal you're shortsighted, because all the label can do is get you on radio and TV, two dying media, meanwhile taking too much of the upside and paying very little in advance.

In other words, one Funny Or Die clip is better than hours spent working with Dr. Luke. That's the secret of OK Go.  The videos were so creative, they were passed from hand to hand via e-mail, IM and the Facebook wall.

Yes, the words of the poets are written on the Facebook wall, the subway's passe.

So instead of handing out fliers, e-mailing everybody you know to listen to your music, the game is to stay home and create something so good, so interesting, that when it's posted online, people won't be able to stop sending it to their friends.

It's not even about genres.  There are no limits online.

And catchy is catchy.  I may have only heard Rebecca Black's "Friday" one time through, but the chorus is stuck in my head.

So stand back, take a deep breath and change direction.  Don't play by the old rules. Today you've got to be really good or really creative or both.  Your song must connect in one listen.

That doesn't mean you can't keep trying, you can't keep uploading songs and videos, but the sheer mass, just staying in the game, won't help.  You're now an inventor, looking for that one breakthrough product.  When you succeed, your history is unlocked and your fans can wallow in your past.  This is the opposite of the major label paradigm.  There's the hit and..?

Indie Music SUCCESS = ENDLESS HOURS OF WORK

Indie Female Success is dependent on how much time you will consistently dedicate to being pro-active to promoting and developing your career.

You should be thinking: Today is the first day of the rest of your life/career. Achieving your goals means taking all the necessary steps in a prescribe order. This will prevent repetition and redundancy on this Indie Road you travel. Sometimes your 'steps' will be short; sometimes they will be long, but, remember every step takes your forward towards achieving your dreams.

As an Indie Artist it's difficult to know what your next step should be, let alone know when your next paycheck will come. Every new fan; every new gig is progress. Each day there are many things to do. Most days your preparation is doing the same things over, but, with the goal of improving or doing them better.

Independents wear many hats because for a long period of time, they must do everything themselves. If this isn't your calling, you may want to think extensively about seeking another career, either inside the music market or outside it. Just Remember: The harder you work the luckier you get!

Creativity

To live the life of a creative person is a rare gift. This alone should be enough motivation to do whatever it takes to have it become a reality. Surround yourself with creative people with whom you can share dreams, goals, insights, strategies, resources, etc. You want people around you who encourage, think positive, inspire, and who will give you candid inputs, both good and bad. Be patient, for non-patience has been the downfall of many potentially great artists.

Artist Branding

As 2010 draws to a close KSE(KleerStreemEntertainment) hopes everyone had success and everyone is looking forward to continued success in 2011.  Success means different things to most all of us and is measured in 'degrees' as related to enjoying what you do while being able to pay the bills and buy a healthy salad or a Big Mac....dependent upon what you enjoy eating.

Branding is what an artist should be doing in order to 'stand out' to those who may come in contact with you, your music, and all your merchandise. Above all TRUE BLUE BRANDING taps into emotions.  Why? Because emotions drive most, if not all of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience.  It's an emotion connecting point that transcends the product.

A great brand is a story that's never completely told. It's that never-ending story we know of; a story that keeps us wanting more and more. A True Blue Brand is a metaphorical story that's evolving constantly. When your brand stagnates; you loose....your fans loose.

Stories create the emotional context people need to locate themselves in a larger experience.  The larger experience is YOU constantly delivering performances, music, and lyrics that connect with TRUE BLUE FANS and all potentially NEW TBF.  Always ask yourself: Is What I'm Doing each day consistent with building a better TRUE BLUE BRAND?  If not, it's time to think about how you are spending your time versus how you should better spend your time.

Brands, especially True Blue Brands are not built in a day....they perpetuate like a snowball rolling down a mountain in 'slow' motion; a mountain with no bottom. Your brand allows you to continue; to be remembered; to preserve from oblivion.  If done effectively it continues into infinity. 

THIS IS THE "ESSENCE-OF-YOU" WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.

---end

Music and Social Media Networking Events

Yes, they can help out a struggling INDIE artist as long as they realize most of these events are attending by establish social networking gurus.  Most of these gurus are there to 'protect' their turf against outsiders.  By this I mean, there are groups of well know music folks around America that do the 'scratch' my back and I'll 'scratch' your back routine.  Any new person or group with as good or better ideas is shunned on and talked about in 'negative' ways.  Many of these successful ones, forget at one time they needed help and were given help.  Yet, instead of being mentors, they choose to be obstructiveness.  

These so-called gurus, in the music industry, continue to try and impede anyone that encroaches on their so-call rights-of-passage turf.  Which, they will soon learn, as the major labels do, their obstructiveness will be steam rolled by the new and ever-growing music independents around the world.  INDIES that realize they and they alone are in charge of their success.  INDIES that by doing a lot of research can learn and do anything anyone can teach them, albeit taking longer, but, it can be done.

The last point  "thinking outside a music box."  Music industry networking events are all the same people with the same information, which can become rather boring and may even make you think: I am making no progress and these events are hardly worth my time. Finding a lack of respect and a lot of clatters in those music events, you decided to start going to non-music-related events, such as general social media networking events. Of course, you talked about your music to people there and ended up getting a great deal of attention from them. Getting peoples attention is the first step into acquiring True Blue Fans.  And, we all know, True Blue Fans, are the bottom line to have a successful and lasting music career. 

SUMMARY:  Looking back at those experiences, you point out a great advantage that you learned about how to effectively use social media "early." Also, you realized that all industries were related anyway. Your current goal is still to find things "early."  Early will help reduce your road's length to success!

--end

Branding

If you take the ‘e’ out of emotion, you’re left with a word that is synonymous with action. Small wonder then, that when it comes to human behavior, nearly all of the voluntary stuff is fueled by some sort of feeling that comes from within. Whether it’s a fist pump into the air or in someone’s face, our actions occur only in the presence of emotion.

When people fall in love with brands, they don’t fall in love with its face. They fall in love with what lives at the heart of the brand. And emotional appeals can’t be forced or contrived and be successful. When they come from the heart, people will respond in kind.

These days, successful brands have a set of attributes that include:

Human - Can people relate to your brand as though it were a person? What are the personality traits of your brand? If it were a movie character, what would it look like? Is it a man, woman or child? Is it young or old? And how do these traits reveal themselves in your marketing?

Engaging - How many ways are there for people to interact with your brand? Are you producing content that doesn’t look or sound like advertising? Are there ways you could be entertaining your customers? What kinds of experiences do you provide for your audience besides a buying experience?

Authenticity - Does your marketing accurately convey the spirit or soul of your company? What kind of promise do you make to your audience about the kind of experience you provide? Do you make good on that promise during all possible interactions with your audience?

Relevance - Who, specifically is your audience? How would you describe them in human terms? What is the purpose of your brand in the lives of these individuals? How does it fit into their every day existence. Does what you offer increase their likelihood to feel positive emotions toward your brand?

Tension - What kinds of ideas do you present to your audience that challenges their current thinking about the world? Is there enough drama in the content you put out into the world? Can you identify the audiences “enemy” and somehow insert your brand as a hero?

If you have covered all of these bases in the development of your marketing, you have established a strong foundation for building an emotionally charged brand with which people can identify on a deeper and more meaningful level.

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. 

Giving It Your All

Working 24/7 is a given if your an Indie Artist/Musician.  Success = time + total commitment to becoming Indie/Independent. Most doors will be closed.  But, there is always one that will open if your pursuit is endless.

Be ready to work you tail off.  Through your work and efforts you will 'learn'.  You will learn about many new areas of the music business, because, for the Indie Artist, Music is a business...A REAL BUSINESS. 

As an Indie Artist you have total control and can't blame anyone else but yourself if things don't go right or don't get done. 

As a woman Indie artist, the effort required to become successful will require 3X the effort. 

All problems should be view as OPPORTUNITIES OF ABUNDANCE!

Flexibility means you must be patient, for patience is the key to Indie success.  Hone your craft until your music shines and your band is 'tight' on all songs. 

If what you are doing is not working, most likely it will not work until you discover other means to monetize you and your music.  To me that key is in building a base of True Blue Fans.  These are fans that promote you and your music 24/7 and they spend a minimum of $100 / year on you.

The stage is but one place where you connect with existing fans and make 'new' fans.  Failure to connect is opportunities lost to build your True Blue Fan base. 

Remember the only limit in music success, is YOU!

--end

The Role of a Booking Agent

This blog details when to expect that you are ready to garner the interest of a booking agent.  Until that time, it is up to you to build your base, buzz, and brand.  Online gigs can help you keep track of and manage that process with automated tools (press releases, contracts, tour itineraries), a national directory of venues, colleges, festivals, fan management notification tools, and widgets to automatically post your show dates to all your social media sites.

Every performer wants a booking agent. Who wouldn't? Someone to set shows up, negotiate the fee, keep an eye on legal issues, deal with any problems that might be on the horizon, coordinate a logical succession of dates that create a nice tour, all for a fee that usually hovers around the 15% mark.

Wow, you don't even have to pay them upfront? They just take a cut? Unfortunately, however, like anything good in life, connecting with a viable booking agent takes time, effort, and dedication. The first thing a musical act must do when considering a booking agent is to take a long hard look at the demand for their music. This is different than analyzing the quality of the music, the themes of the music, the cool stage show, or the vibe of the performance.

Venues are created and built to make money. When an act can demonstrate the ability to bring people in, it becomes able to arrange the use of a venue's facilities to stage the performance (compared to singing on the street). Because both the performing act and the venue desire money, it is the booking agent who will draw up a set of agreements to manage the expectations of both. The title "booking agent" is used for someone who matches performing acts with the venues and completes contractual requirements. A booking agent is typically one of the following three types:

In-house:  The in-house booker only books for his or her venue, and is mainly in charge of finding bands that fit together with the venue (in theory) and keep it full of paying customers. They may branch out and do a festival or two, but primarily they are responsible for one venue. This is the person who most unsigned bands are dealing with when they first start looking for gigs.

Independent:There is a second class of booking agent. They are independent and looking for bands with some sort of growing demand or large potential. While "potential" is a possible criteria, independent booking agents are not likely to work for free. These types of bookers will book shorter tours in smaller venues. They also may book local festivals, one-off shows, and usually have a few local venues they have a good connection with.

Agency:The booking agent who works for an agency is going to work with bands that have a demand for their music. These agents rarely have to sell the band because any band they work with will already have a solid history. They simply show the venue the results of the last tour and commence negotiation on new tour dates. Agency bookers usually have well-developed networks and contacts with venues across the country or the world. Larger agencies, such as William Morris, will have all sorts of resources to assist the artist – corporate tie-ins, connections to other artists, legal backing, etc. Even the smaller agencies, however, are usually very well run and well-supported. Most performers want to reach this level of booking agent.

THE TRUTH

This brings us to the hard truth. Most performers do not need a booking agent…yet. There are relatively few performing acts that have such a high demand for their work they actually need to pay someone to keep everything straight.

Countless bands and solo musicians are highly frustrated by the lack of demand for their music, and they constantly point to the quality of the performance, claiming that it is so high that people would love it if only someone else could get them in the door. Many unknown bands are looking for a booking agent who will sweep them from obscurity, slap them on as the opener for a well-known band, and the rest will be history. They see the booking of shows as the only thing standing between them and success.

Others might not imagine reaching the top quite so quickly. They just want a booking agent who will cobble together a nice little National or Regional tour to smaller venues and 200 people per show.

Have there been situations where music from an obscure band with no demand found its way into the hands of someone with power, who then dropped them into a nice tour line-up? Yes. Can you expect the odds of this happening to favor you? No.

MOVING UP THE BOOKING LADDER

Booking agents do NOT determine your success in the music industry....You and more importantly your fans do! 

Booking agents exist in part to support artists, but certainly not to create artists. Creating demand can be done in an artificial way using marketing dollars, but music is one of the few things in life that creates demand in a very natural way.

If you can snag an independent booking agent, or even a friend who wants to be involved with your work, more power to you. Some of these types of artist-business teams last for decades and are incredibly successful. We are always more comfortable and more loyal to those who were slugging it out in the trenches with us.

At the bottom level, however, there is much that can be done with in-house bookers. Don't begrudge that you have to deal with the "lowest form of booking agent." Treat them with respect, and play good shows. Play good shows to the point that you can point to ONE venue and say, "I bring a lot of people there every time I play."

Until an artist can say that about ONE venue, spend 6 months, a year, even 2 years building up your show, your vibe, and your audience. A performing act can expect to find a booking agent willing to spend time making the calls, following up, selling the band, doing all the paperwork, and troubleshooting any issues when 15% of your gross amounts to a respectable paycheck for them! Are you a good bet for them? Only you know for sure.

As you perform successfully on a small scale, then access will start opening up at the independent booker level. You may move from one place you can sell-out to a roster of 4 or 5. Now you are getting closer to the point that you need a booking agent. And guess what? When you start needing a booker, you will be shocked at how easy it is to get them to take your calls.

File Sharing, Why It's Here & Not Going Away

The digital music consumption systems and technologies promote different ranges of social behavior in fans; it’s part of the ongoing evolution of social music. Traditional systems and tech encouraged certain conduct, such as the gradual development of musical tastes and the act of collecting music in the physical form—both of which the record industry profited handsomely from. A new age brings new systems, technologies, and behaviors, to think fans and business models are frozen in time—untouched by these changes—is a fool’s errand. So too, there’s more choices in music now than ever and discerning which adds the most value to one’s life isn’t easy. Such an overload leads fans to pursue coping mechanisms like file-sharing. And, when fans fail to make good decisions, they feel burned and look for ways to even the scorecard with the industry and artists that brought those choices. 

That fans are getting more cautious about their purchases is a result of having more risk pushed onto them. To protect themselves from buying something that they didn’t want—they file-share music to mitigate the added risk and are so willing to do so that they put themselves at great legal risk in the process.

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.