I can explain to you only one think, if you need my music I can working with you only by contract, not free.
America the money country and no body working here free. I not
volunteer, if you have good deal with good money I can work ,if not,
this is O.K. for me too.
Good luck you Michael
This guy seems to be on my "free marketing help" mailing list. So as far as his statement about nobody working for free, he's wrong there. Or is he?
I have free stuff, like this blog, because I like to help musicians, but it's also lead generation for me, which brings people into my paid services.
I do this because most musicians feel they can't afford me...or simply don't know me. Once they see the value of what I've got for free, many want to hire me...even though I only take on new clients by referral.
The point is, it's not a bad idea to give something away for free, as long as you have a plan to monetize it. So don't be afraid to do that. A free download costs you almost nothing, but could mean big returns for you with more album sales, more people to your shows, and more connections.
Earlier this year I met a guy named Chet Holmes who wrote the New
York Times best selling book "The Ultimate Sales Machine."
Now what's also very cool is Chet's daughter won the "Best Music
Video Of The Year" award and is launching her debut single on
iTunes today!
So, Chet decided to bribe you. You go vote for his daughters song,
get a copy of his new book AND he'll give you over $10k in free
marketing training programs!
I already own the book, but I just got another copy so I could get
the bonuses. You can get your copy here NOW:
"Bum Rush the Charts" was a similar concept, which was pretty successful at getting the single being promoted to move up the iTunes download chart. Book authors and organizations like the Church of Scientology have used the technique for years. TBN does it every time they release a movie to theaters, selling out show after show, thanks to bulk ticket sales of church youth groups and congregations.
The basic concept works. Get enough people to buy your stuff at the same time and the industry will take notice...or at least give you a glance.
But the industry also wants other things... A good product, artist development, and a knowledge of the system and how it works.
If this were the NYC Marathon, would you accept a winner who found a shortcut and didn't run the entire race?
I'm not saying that you have to bust your ass for 20 years and attend the "School or Hard Knocks" to make it, but at the least, know a bit about how the game is played before you jump in.
As far as the product and artist development goes, take a look at the video and you tell me what you think. "Best Music Video of the Year?"
I certainly respect that she's at least putting something out. Most people don't even do that. But when putting something out, you've got to be aware of what else is out there. Does it really match the quality of other independent music videos and the songs behind them?
As far as the promotion, it's my opinion that this promotion falls flat for a couple of reasons...
1. Lack of clarity and an emotional "reason why." Sure, the incentive of "$10k in free marketing training programs" is great, but this deal is like mixing apples and oranges. The song has nothing to do with the book or marketing.
2. Lack of understanding about how the music business works. Look at this copy, which is from the page linked above...
"If you really want to show the suits the power of the internet, click here and call a radio station to request this song: 'Don’t’ Leave Me Yet' by Amanda Holmes."
Nice concept for 1995, but these days, the "suits" know all about the power of the Internet.
And it seems like the pot calling the kettle black, when you have some businessman in a suit trying to buy his daughter a place on the charts. I'm all for leveraging what you've got, but at least bring something to the table that is up to par with what the "suits" are releasing.
This is insulting to music buyers too! People buy music because they want to be entertained...not because they want to "show the suits" anything.
And the knowledge of how things in this business work gets worse...
The link takes you to a nationwide list of radio stations with the message:
"Call radio stations in your area and request that Amanda's song be played
and you could personally help put her on "America Top 40" with Ryan
Seacrest. They base their ranking by radio station requests and sales of the
song on iTunes.
We think it's wonderful to put out a strong song like this and we thank you
if you agree.
If we don't have a radio station in your area, please call one in Los Angeles or New York, the more calls the better. :-)"
Are you kidding me? First of all, American Top 40 does its charts based on Mediabase, which has nothing to do with sales on iTunes.
And would radio people even know who you're talking about? Has this song even been serviced to radio?
This thing would have worked a lot better had the sales message come from the daughter.
Something like...
"Have you ever dreamed of being a singer? I have. When I was little, I remember singing along to my mothers Carly Simon records. I knew every song by heart.
I still have that dream. For the last three years, I've been writing and recording music and now, I've finally released my own record.
My father is a very successful businessman. He has always been very supportive, but didn't just want to spend money and 'buy' me success. However, he's agreed to give you $10,000 worth of marketing education, to help you with your dream, if you'll spend $1 to buy my new song via iTunes and help me with mine..."
Just saw this one come through as a comment to an earlier post...
i have a radio promotion company wit distribution thats willing to give my company 75 percent of the retail price and take my single and promote it to the national chart radio stations i just need somebody to invest into my company
Not exactly sure if he's talking about radio promotion company that is going to charge him 75% of the normal cost of promotion or, considering he mentions distribution, if there is some other kind of deal, where he's able to keep 75% of the retail price of albums sold. Either way, my point is this...
You can't really expect somebody to invest money in your business if you're not willing to invest your own money (or at least time and sweat equity) first.
Now, it's quite possible that this guy has put a ton of his own money into his music business, but the comment above, which I've posted in its entirety, doesn't let people know that. And even if he hasn't invested money, I'd still like to see something which says he's invested time and effort...and let's me know I'll get something in return for my investment.
A better pitch...
David-- I've got a band which plays music similar to New Order and Joy Division. We've pressed 3000 CDs and sold about 2500 of them, mostly via live gigs. Right now, we're doing about 6 shows per month and we work 10 different markets, with a plan to increase to 15 markets via gig swaps and college radio promotion. Looking for somebody who would like to invest in our band with a loan of $5000, which would enable us to finish our current recording project, which is in progress, and step up live gig promotions. This person would own a percentage of master recordings for our new album and, depending on the agreement, we could pay back the loan as early as 18 months.
Just a rough idea of something, which is more specific. And this is all it would take for you to get the money you need from friends, relatives, or others you already know. No reason to go with somebody who is already in the music business, although it may make it easier for you to sell the idea.
I'm not looking to invest money in bands specifically, but I'm always looking to invest money in something where I'll get a return on my investment. Most people are. Find them and go for it.
With that said, it will probably be better for you to just get a straight loan. No reason to worry about handing over a percentage of your copyright.
Use what I said above and take a look at this service...
I get emails like this all the time, so there is obviously a disconnect between a lot of musicians and knowledge about how the industry works. This guy is from Liberia, but I get similar requests from US-based musicians, so it's not a cultural thing.
Does this sound like you?
HI DAVID,
you are my old friend if you can remember,but you always let me down fanacially always when i ask you for some funds to help my self,you always ignore me. you should have got my album by now,but your hands are too thight. give and see what GOD will give you. i am struggling and finacially zero. so please try to send me some funds. my new album is great but no sponser,no money to help it come out.
its a great house music. some companies in the USA are asking me to send it to them. why not help me for God sake. i will inreturn send you some of my works. nothing moves untill we move. the law of physics.
please respond
regards
[NAME REMOVED]
What can I say? Probably nothing to this guy, although I did respond and advise him to send his music to the companies which are interested in it. But to everybody else, I have a lot to say, specifically...
1. This isn't just about you. - If you're trying to get money from somebody, you need to sell them on the benefits of giving you that money. What's in it for them?
Usually, when people give you money, they do it because they want to make more money. There is more to this than just good music.
2. When you help yourself, others will help you. - In theory, you believe in your music more than anybody else. Nobody cares about your career as much as you do, right?
If you don't believe in your music enough to invest money in it, how can you expect other people to invest in it? Even if you're broke, at least make the attempt. Stop waiting around for other people.
This guy mentioned physics in his email and that is actually a really great analogy...
Inertia is the resistance an object has to a change in its state
of motion.
It's a lot easier to get something going when it's already moving. In other words, when you start selling records, playing shows, and doing all the things you say you want to do, it will be a lot easier for somebody to come in and help you with those things, since they won't have to start from scratch.
I've always said that it's easier to take a band from 10,000 records to 100,000 records than it is to take them from zero to 10,000.
But zero to 10,000 isn't that hard. You just have to start. All it takes is one record, then two...then you start to see the momentum you're building. And sales will get easier and easier for you as you build on things.
Got this email today, which I thought was interesting...
heloo,
pls my name jibola toriola a member of ur
site pls i worn a parkage on the the internet and am not an america
resident but i sent it to ur adress pls kindly do me a favour and sent
me the pakage or didut the amount these cost u and buy me a sony
ericson k700 or send me the parkage. pls send this to (No 174,Bamgbose
str lagos island lagos state Nigeria)pls this is due to the situation
in my country,kindly help me out. NOTE_this is not a fraudulent act or any internet fraud am a proud citizen of Nigeria.
Yours Faithfuly,
Jibola Toriola.
I'm going to overlook the fact that Nigeria is known for "419" emails, which encourage people to send money in exchange for transferring millions of dollars (which doesn't exist) from Nigeria to the United States. I don't think this has anything to do with one of those "opportunities."
I do think that it's an interesting example of emails which come in asking for help though...
On one hand, I think it's great that Jibola is asking for this. Like the Bible says, "Ask and ye shall receive."
But on the other, I don't feel that Jibola is really doing all (s)he can to get this phone.
Regardless, most people will need a little more info to know what the person is doing now in order to even consider a request like this. They need to know a "reason why" you need help...and they need details, more than just a general comment on the situation in your country-- especially when your country is known for fraud.
In short, I think that it's great that you ask for help, but if you expect somebody to come through for you, it will be helpful for you to let them know you're already working on this and just need a boost to support work which is already in progress, not 100% of the work.
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