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Music Promotion on CNN

A band called Handsome Furs partnered with Sub Pop and CNN to do a Web series about its tour of Asia. Band members filmed it themselves using Flip cameras.

Get more info here.

Any touring band should be doing this!

Post thoughts below...

U2 on YouTube (and a Lesson for Your Music Business)

U2 is steaming their Rose Bowl show live on YouTube this weekend.  Even major players are embracing the power of online (and free) content.

Very smart of them to do this.  Releasing free albums online is old news.  This is the next step.

What YOU need to think about is not streaming your live show, although that wouldn't be a bad idea, but how you're going to be the first at something similar.

Nobody remembers who was second.

Post thoughts below...

You know you are too old to play gigs when...

From my email inbox...

1. It becomes more important to find a place on stage for your fan than your amp.
2. Your gig clothes make you look like George Burns out for a round of golf or Dolly Parton with no bosom.
3. All your fans leave by 9:30 p.m.
4. All you want from groupies is a foot massage and back rub.
5. You love taking the elevator because you can sing along with most of your set-list.
6. Instead of a fifth member, your band wants to spring for a roadie.
7. You lost the directions to the gig.
8. You need your glasses to see the amp settings.
9. You've thrown out your back jumping off the stage.
10. You feel like hell before the gig even starts.
11. The waitress is your daughter!
12. You stop the set because your ibuprofen fell behind the speakers.
13. Most of your crowd just sways in their seats.
14. You find your drink tokens from last month's gig in your guitar case.
15. You refuse to play without earplugs.
16. You ask the club owner if you can start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.
17. You check the TV schedule before booking a gig.
18. Your gig stool has a back.
19. You're related to at least one member in the band.
20. You don't let anyone sit in.
21. You need a nap before the gig.
22. After the third set, you bug the club owner to let you quit early.
23. During the breaks, you now go to the van to lie down.
24. You prefer a music stand with a light.
25. You don't recover until Tuesday afternoon.
26. You hope the host's speech lasts forever
27. You buy amps considering their weight and not their tone or "cool" factor.
28. Feeling guilty looking at hot women at the audience, 'cause they're younger than your daughter.
29. You can remember seven different club names for the same location.
30. You have a hazy memory of the days when you could work 10 gigs in 7 days and could physically do it!
31. Your date couldn't make it because she couldn't find a babysitter for the grandkids.
32. The set list has to be in 20 point type.
33. Your drug of choice is now coffee…
34. It seems impossible to find stage shoes with decent arch support.

Thoughts?

Let's Talk About Your Music...

It should affect people like the music from this guy. Results like this build careers.

Behind the Scenes of a Big Ass Tour

If you were ever wondering what it takes to put on a huge show...

One Man Band

Another unique street performer...

Cover Songs, Customer Service, and Your Music Business

I'm a Mac guy and have a few programs by Yellow Mug Software.  Just got a new Mac and wanted to use my old keyboard, so recently got one of their programs, Sizzling Keys, to add more functionality to it.

The exact key I wanted wasn't an option in Sizzling Keys, so I emailed a request that it be added.

Just got the new version...and it was.

That's good customer service...and something you can model when you do a live show.

Whether you're in a cover band or not, people are always asking you to play other people's songs.  That's how it works.

The funny thing is, almost 80-90% of these requests are for one of ten songs.  It's the Pareto principle at its finest.

My suggestion for handling them...

1. Tell the guy asking for the song, "You know, we don't normally play cover songs, but I'll check with the guys and see what we can do..."

2. Play it...immediately.

He's impressed, feels like you listened to him, and you have a fan, who is more emotionally involved with you than he was previously.  He feels like you care.  Plus, your band looks great, since you made things look so easy.

Questions for you:

How do you handle cover song requests?

What are the songs you are always asked to play?

Answer below...

How to Leverage the Songs and Popularity of Famous Musicians

Just got this in my email box and think it's an excellent example of musicians, just like you, leveraging the songs and popularity of others to bring in people who might not normally come to see a show and do it at a higher price point...

Hello!

It's this coming Saturday night, July 18th, that The Long Players will perform their summertime LP pick of '09. We're talking Prince's 1984 multi-platinum classic, Purple Rain. It's been exactly 25 years since it was a summertime smash and we're ready to take it on.

While Prince and his band, The Revolution, were already stars from successful albums like Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999, THIS is the LP that kicked Prince's career into overdrive. The uber-success of the Purple Rain movie along with mutli-format radio hits like When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U. Purple Rain and Let's Go Crazy took this album into the stratosphere with sales (to date) over 13 million.

You might think it's our ambition that's in the stratosphere by tackling an album with so many layers of production and 80's styled dance grooves. We're up for the challenge with the usual help from the talented guest singers we call on to play these albums live and in sequence!

First and foremost, we're very pleased to welcome back to the LP'rs a frequent guest artist/guitarist who PARTICULARLY fits this bill..Dez Dickerson from The Revolution! We have several talented female vocalists joining us this time around.. Lari White, Shelly Fairchild and Melissa Mathes. Melissa and Trisha Brantley (from Guilty Pleasures) will also be part of the band this time around as background vocalists. I'm not done yet.. We've also got A.J. Croce, Daniel Tashian, Chris Mitchell, Aaron Winters (from the funky Space Capone) and Todd Austin (Toddzilla from Jonesworld) in this esteemed lineup.

This record has great pop songs (Take Me With U, The Beautiful Ones..), full on new-wave funk (Computer Blue) hyper-soul (Baby I'm A Star) as well as all the hits.

We'll be doing a second set of Prince covers in an encore set.

The charity portion of the proceeds for this performance will be going to the Amy Patterson medical fund.

Please come and see us. Saturday night 9:30 PM @ The Mercy Lounge $15. cover. PLUS: Our new t-shirts are here! Get 'em while you can!

The Long Players are: Steve Allen, John Deaderick, Steve Ebe, Brad Jones and Bill Lloyd.

For a related topic, see my post from yesterday.

Thoughts?  Post 'em below!

Never Forget This and You'll Get Plenty of Gigs

Just recorded an episode of Music Business Radio with Ed Bazel of CorporateArtists.com. One of the things we talked about was the various venues for musicians to perform, including clubs, corporate events, symphony events, casinos, colleges, and fairs.

Obviously, being the "original artist" of a hit song is a great selling point to getting these gigs. However, there are plenty of options for other performers.

People are looking for entertainment. They don't care about music as much as they care about experiencing a moment. Ed explained it well when he said he's looking for acts that "suspend reality." If you can do this, you'll always have a gig.

The video below is a great example of what I'm talking about and proves you don't have to have a hit song of your own to put on an amazing show.

Thoughts? Post 'em below!

What Will it Sound Like Live?

When I'm working, I usually have music playing in the background.  Today a band called Jellyfish came on, which got me thinking about the songwriting and recording process.

We're at a time in the music business where it is very easy to go crazy when recording something.  Unlimited tracks, samples, effects, etc.  And there are plenty of people who take advantage of all this stuff, by adding, and adding, and adding things to the mix.  More samples, more instruments, more harmonies, etc.

Here's the problem...  Does it work live?

Live performance isn't the only way to make money in the music business, but it's where most independent musicians and bands make the majority of their money.  And to be successful at it, you have to have material which works well via live performance.

It's great to have a slickly produced record.  It's great to take advantage of new recording technology.  But don't forget that the purest form of connection with fans is made via live performance.  They can hear you, see you, smell you, touch you, and receive a complete experience, not just the aural one they get with a recording.

If you're song doesn't work in a stripped down, able-to-be-played-live way, how are you going to connect like this?

You're not.

If you're musician who plays live, when you're writing and recording songs, ask yourself, "What will it sound like live?"  And if it doesn't work live, don't do it.

Put this into the mix when you're working on a new album and I promise you it will change your career.