Music Marketing [dot] com

Music Marketing Podcast #6 - How to Promote Yourself In 3 Easy Steps

This episode of the Music Marketing [dot] com Podcast is a followup to How To Promote Your New Album (Or Anything) In 7 Easy Steps and it will help you to watch the video on that page before listening.

This episode gives specific advice on simple techniques you can use to book more gigs, although the basic "formula" will work for anything you want to do -- sell albums, get people to shows, etc.

If you're looking to better understand music marketing and the psychology behind why some musicians get gigs and others don't, this episode is for you. You'll learn how to "talk the language" of your customer for the best results no matter what you're trying to do.

Other topics discussed:

• Nile Rodgers of Chic
• Daft Punk's album promotion strategy
• The marketing advantage of producers  

You can listen below or subscribe via iTunes.

Marketing Checklist for Musicians

This is a guest post (submit your guest post) by Brian Morris, writes for the PsPrint Design & Printing Blog.

If you're in a local band, or even a touring one, you know you have tons of other bands competing for the best gigs at night clubs, bars, weddings, and other events and venues. Many bands do little marketing, which presents an excellent opportunity for your band to employ proven marketing materials to give you the edge when it comes to booking.

The following serves as a marketing checklist for musicians.  If you develop a creative marketing strategy using the tools described below, you'll land more gigs.

Before we begin, let me say that I definitely understand that local bands often have limited budgets. Chances are, “musician” isn't your full-time job. And depending on your market, you probably don't get paid what you're worth when you play out. In my area, most local bands charge in the neighborhood of $500 for a four-hour set, which means each member (assuming it's a four-member band) makes around $125 per night.

Keep in mind that a good band marketing strategy will earn you more than it costs. The marketing tools listed below will help you: a) land more gigs; and b) increase your status, which means you can land more high-paying gigs. When your band is in high demand, your band can charge top dollar for your services, possibly making more money and working less than you are now.

If you're on a limited budget, I recommend pooling a month's worth of gig fees and applying them toward a selection of the following band marketing materials.

Business Cards - When you meet with booking managers, a business card makes you appear more professional – and they want to work with professionals.

Brochures - Brochures offer more information about your brand, what types of music you perform, accolades or testimonials you've received, pricing, equipment, photos, and links to your website.

Flyers and Posters - Promote upcoming gigs with flyers and posters. Often, you can get venues to pitch in on these – or even cover the entire printing fee in return for distribution.

Stickers - Stickers are cheap to print, they help you get the word out anywhere you can stick them, and your fans will love them. Toss 'em from the stage during your next show.

Vinyl Banners - Hang a vinyl banner from the stage wherever you play to let everyone know what your band's name is. Include your website URL or a phone number so others can contact you for gigs.

CD/DVD Covers and Inserts - Print these to place in CD or DVD cases for audio and video you sell or hand out at performances.

Press Kits - Press kits contain business cards, flyers, posters, stickers, news clippings, press releases, CDs, DVDs and anything else you want to include, all in a pocket folder. Admittedly, pocket folder printing can represent a large investment; if you can't afford custom printed pocket folders, get a bunch of school folders and place your sticker on the front. Give press kits to local radio stations, newspapers, entertainment magazines, bloggers, and television stations to promote your band.

Website - Put up a website or use a third-party service that has a URL you can direct traffic to. Work your website, including a blog, songs, videos, a calendar, and more.

Social Media - Social media is a great way to promote your band; use Facebook and Twitter daily, if possible.

Using these tools will help you to communicate your message with fans and music industry people alike. This will lead to more gigs, more recognition, and more sales of both your products and services.

Here are two "bonus" strategies I also recommend for increasing your visibility and income:

Volunteer and Network - Volunteer your band for benefits to help get the word out. Volunteer at other charitable events, and take advantage of the opportunity to network. Many hires are made based on who you know.

Frequent the places you want to play - Nothing will get you a higher recommendation than being a patron of the venues you want to play in. Make friends with the bartender, and you can get a quick connection to the person who does the booking.

Now get out there and make something happen!

How to Get Your Music Listened To (via Email)

As you'll know if you've read my book, Six-Figure Musician, I am constantly analyzing product packaging, stage banter, email copy, and other marketing material for great examples of what works.

Today, I got an email from a guy on my mailing list that's not only a good example of what works when it comes to getting attention, but also shows the #1 way I know to make sure you have a successful career in the music business.

Hey David!

Riley Soward here.  I'm really interested in going into the music
business, and I watched your videos back in the day and I'm currently
half way through your book about making six figures as a musician!
While I have no musical talent, I'm hoping to make my best friend,
Zach Gospe, into a successful professional musician by being his
manager.

So my buddy, Zach Gospe, who is sixteen years old, just recorded an EP
with five songs. The quality is quite high, and we used pro-tools, so
when I saw this email I figured I'd send you the music.

This guy is still under the radar, but he's been blowing up on
Facebook at our high school and he's gaining popularity.  In the first
two days–even though his music was online for free–we sold 40 copies
of his CD to kids at our school.  He's quite talented, and it would
mean so much to me and to Zach if you checked out a couple of his
songs on his soundcloud.  You could be the guy who "discovers" Zach
Gospe!

Anyways, I really appreciate your time and everything you have done
for the music business.  The link to his soundcloud is below, you can
download all the songs for free if you want.  All five songs on his EP
are original songs by Zach Gospe.

https://soundcloud.com/zach-gospe

I've ranked the songs for you so if you only have time for a few
songs, you know which ones to listen to:

1) On The Wall
2) Miles From Midnight
3) I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
4) State I'm In
5) Follow Me Awake

Thank you so much, and I really hope to hear from you soon!!

Best wishes--
Riley Soward

P.S. We made some pretty cool looking CD's and CD cases, so if you
want a hard copy, I'll send you one for free.  Just let me know!

Why it works:

1. Riley is familiar with my work. This message was sent as a response to something I emailed him (via my mailing list) and he mentions also having seen videos of me.
   
   You wouldn't believe how many emails I get which basically say, "Tell me what you can do for me." Unless you're going to somebody who is selling you a service, chances are a request like that will get ignored. Do your research ahead of time.
   
   
2. He has a musician friend who is only 16 years old. Not quite the novelty of a 9-year-old who plays drums, but still something that stands out enough to grab my attention. Beyond that, it reminds of when I was 16 and trying to make it in the music business, which for me, makes me more likely to write back and try to help him.
   
   Obviously, not everybody is going to be 16, but there is something about you (or your artist) that will let you connect equally well. Again, do research ahead of time, as this might help give you a clue that will help you to establish a better connection.
   
   
3. He makes it about me.
   
   Sure, Riley is wanting my attention for his artist, but he gives me a good reason to make that happen, which is that I can be the one who "discovers" and gets credit bringing Zach to the world.
   
   
4. He shows appreciation.
   
   Riley, instead of making the email all about him or his artist, brings it back to me by thanking me for "everything."
   
   
5. He makes it easy.
   
   I like Soundcloud. I think it's a great way to listen to music, since all I need to do is click on a link and play it through my web browser. But in the event that doesn't work for me, Riley offers to send a CD. That may seem like a small thing, but most musicians don't want the extra work and never offer the option.
   
   Beyond that, because there are several songs on the page, he ranks the songs he wants me to hear. This is good idea, but also something that I feel I can improve on...
   
   The rank is fine and you'll be successful with an email like this, but if you have a similar situation yourself, I'd suggest replacing the "ranking" with something like this...
   
   "Listen to 'On The Wall' for his best song."
   
   One song. That's it.

Why? Because the fewer options you give people, the more likely they are to go in the direction you want. Too many choices confuse people.

When it comes to songs, there are several on the same Soundcloud page, so I can obviously check them out, but only giving me one suggestion to start with really emphasizes where he wants me to go. It also greatly increases the odds that I'll get the page in the first place, since it's less of a time commitment after I click on the link.

When I started in the music business, before CD burners were common and we sent music samples on tape, I'd put one song on a cassette. If somebody liked it, they'd call for me and ask for more. Rather than  send another package, I'd tell them, "I have two more songs are on Side B."

Although we no longer use cassettes to send out music, you'll benefit from "one song per cassette" thinking. For example, giving somebody a link to a single Soundcloud song (like this "On the Wall" link), rather than the "library" link listed above, and trusting that if they want more, they'll know how to click on the username and see what other songs are available.

One more thing, which is about the way Riley is breaking into the music business in general. He's getting in with a guy on the ground level, jumping in, and learning as he goes. As his artist grows, he is also growing. And the artist, Zach Gospe, is smart too, because while his manager might not be the most experienced, he has something you can't buy -- passion.

How to Promote Your New Album (or Anything) in 7 Easy Steps

Daft Punk has a new album, Random Access Memories, coming next month. The promotion around it is brilliant. I've already written about it once.

Check out the following video from their "Collaborators" series. This is an interview with Nile Rodgers of Chic as well as an A-List producer, who was involved with the album.

I love this video because it's a great example of a basic sales outline you can use to sell anything -- gigs, albums, merch, or whatever.

Here is why it works... I'll break down the steps and give examples of how they're used in the video.

1. The Problem is Established - The world is in turmoil. What are we going to do?

2. Establish Credibility - Don't know who I am? Check out the Gold and Platinum records... And listen to this Diana Ross song I wrote. You probably danced your ass off to it back in the 80s.

3. The Problem I Mentioned Earlier Has a Solution - At least it had a solution... We know what "great artists" would do in this situation. 

4. Agitate the Problem - Remember when music was cool? Yeah, that was a long time ago. Too bad there aren't any of those "great artists" around these days... You're missing out, so let me tell you about how it used to be.

5. Establish Credibility Again - Music was tough back in the day. I got good fast and became such a badass, I was able to work around any problems.

6. Pass Along That Credibility - Daft Punk is as good as I am. And as good as the great musicians I've worked with -- David Bowie, Duran Duran, Bernard Edwards, etc. 

7. Offer the Solution - Daft Punk is going to solve the problem I mentioned earlier with their new album. Music has been saved. You're no longer missing out.

This basic outline can be used to sell anything. It especially works here because the message about Daft Punk is coming from a third party with mega-credibility. That is optional though -- you can do this on your own.

For best results, remember this... Whatever the problem, you are always the solution!

4 Tips to Get More Done

This is a guest post (submit your guest post) by Laurel Staples, who blogs about how creative people can quit their dayjobs and go fulltime at TheDayIQuit.com.

If you can never seem to get anything done, or are always snowed under with too much to do, then this article is for you. The following tips and techniques will aid you in completing those tasks -- be they trivial items, or life changing projects, enabling you to get back on top of things.

#1: The Task Sheet

If you don’t write things down, you probably won't do them. If you take the time to write a list of tasks that you need to complete, you’re far more likely to begin them. Simply jot down what needs doing, and start with the tasks that take priority.

A good system to use is the "Personal Kanban." This involves using three columns, and writing the tasks on colored sticky notes. The three columns are "backlog," "doing," and "done."

All sticky notes start in the backlog column. Once you start one or more tasks, the related sticky notes moves to the "doing" column. Once complete, the note moves to the "done" column.

#2: Eating the Elephant

This works well with tasks that you either hate doing, or when things seem too big to achieve and keep getting put off for another day.

You may have heard the question before: "How do I eat an elephant?" The answer is: "One bite at a time."

If you writing songs, but know it needs to be done, try breaking the task down into time segments. Instead of thinking, "Oh, I have to write a song," think "I’m going to write, but only for 11 minutes."

It’s much easier to to motivate yourself to do only 11 minutes of work. You’ll also find that you’re likely to carry on doing the task, even after the time has elapsed. It’s also quite surprising how much you can get done in 11 minutes!

Another way to tackle difficult projects is to figure out each activity that comprises the whole, and make each an individual task. For example, instead of working on a "song," break the task down into smaller elements:

1. Song title
2. Chord changes
3. Riff
4. Hook
5. Bridge

Even if you do only one of these tasks, progress has been made. 

#3: Rewards

Rewarding yourself for a completed task can be excellent motivation. If you're looking forward to something you enjoy, then the work does not seem so difficult or boring. How you reward yourself is entirely up to you. It can even be small items, like a nice cup of coffee, or a short break to watch something on TV. Or perhaps something bigger, like buying that item you’ve been wanting for a while.

Self discipline is important here. Make sure you don't grant yourself the reward until you have actually completed the task. Most times, the reward is much sweeter if you work hard for it.

#4: Your Energy Level

Your energy level and mood has a big impact on getting stuff done. If you’re in a bad mood, or feel tired and lethargic, you'll be a lot less likely to be motivated to do anything.

To quickly improve energy levels, exercise is a must. You don’t have to do anything too strenuous or committed. In fact, doing just 10 pushups or jogging in place for 60 seconds can work wonders, and can be done at practically any time. A morning workout routine that gets the blood pumping can give you a great start to the day.

On a long term basis, other things that dramatically affect your energy levels are sleep and diet. Remember how great you feel after a good nights sleep? It may be that you need to get to bed a little earlier each night to take advantage of this more often.

As for diet, too much processed or sugary foods will cause low energy levels. These types of food can give a slight boost to your energy at first, but you'll "crash" shortly afterward.

Have you ever noticed how tired you feel every day after lunch? Again, drastic changes are not needed -- just try not to go overboard on the sugary or starchy foods, and try to add more fruit, nuts, and veggies to your meals and snacks.

Using even one of the four techniques listed above will help you overcome procrastination, and finally get things done. You’ll be amazed at how the mood can lift once you’ve completed things that have been on the back of your mind for so long, sometimes without you realising!

Music Business Goal Planner (Get it Free)

On Episode #5 of the Music Marketing [dot] Podcast, musician Shannon Kennedy asked about finding a balance between working on music and doing the business tasks that need to be done to grow your career. 

Since then, she has posted her thoughts on Balancing the Business and Creative Aspects of Music as well as designed a free music business planner to help you get clear on your music business goals and start taking action.

In my book, Six-Figure Musician, I talk about the importance of getting clear on your goals. Without clarity, you could end up anywhere. Only when you know what you want can you go after it.

I love Shannon's music business goal planner because of its ability to help you break down large goals into small steps which are more easily managed. This won't take long, maybe an hour or two if you're not already clear on your goals, and will save you hundreds (if not thousands) of future hours by getting you focused.

Want to attain your goals in the quickest way possible? That's where very specific, consistent action comes in...

Get a spiral notebook and write down three "action steps" for each goal that you will take today. Then do the same thing tomorrow and every day.

For example, if one of your goals is "Play 100 gigs this year," every day, write down three action steps that will help you to do this. It will look something like this...

1. Call 3 booking guys and talk about gig opportunities.
2. Make contact with 3 bands about opening gigs.
3. Call 3 people (club owners, managers, bookers, fans) from past gigs to get testimonials for booking video.

NOTE: See Six-Figure Musician for more information about putting together a booking video and how it will help you to get more gigs.

Writing down three action steps for each of your goals on a daily basis will keep your focused on your goals and make the most of your time and energy with activities that are focused on results.

Do it!

4 Big Music Marketing Ideas

This is a guest post (submit your guest post) by Shaun Letang, a music industry consultant out of London. You can find more about him at Music Industry How To.

I'm going to share with you four mega-tips that could instantly change your music career for the better! All four tips are focused on your mental approach to music marketing, as without the right mentality, it'll be a lot harder to launch a successful music marketing campaign.

1. It's Not All About You

This is probably the biggest point of the article and one that a lot of musicians still haven't realized:

If you want people to buy in to you, you first have to benefit them!

As a music adviser, I've seen countless promotions by musicians in various forms. One thing a lot of them have in common is they focus purely on themselves. For example,"I want to become a big musician so I'm going to let everyone know about me."

Thinking like this can kill a music career.

Ask yourself, if someone came up to you saying, "I'm going to be the next Jay Z / Mariah Carey / Justin Bieber, buy my music," would you go on to listen to them?

No, my guess is you wouldn't. And neither would most people. So try and steer clear from portraying those kind of messages.

How can you draw people in instead? One good way is to get them involved.

Competitions work well, as everyone likes to win at something. Asking people questions and getting them involved with decision marking is another, as everyone likes to feel their opinion matters. And finally, letting your music do the talking.

Get your music on platforms that play your kind of music, and letting it be the first thing people hear of you. This will make for a much easier "sell."

2. Un-Targeted Promotions Are A Waste Of Time

I feel promoting your music is an essential part of any music career. After all, if you don't let people know your music exists, how are you going to get your sound heard right?

That said, not all things you can do to promote your music will be beneficial. You must make sure your efforts are target the right people -- people who will be interested in what you're doing.

Who are the people who have proven to be fans of your type of music?

Spending your time promoting to people who have no interest in your genre is a waste, and is time that would be better spent reaching places where your target audience hangs out. So look for those places and focus any marketing campaigns there.

3. Marketing Is An Ongoing Process

The music marketing cycle never ends!

The moment you stop marketing yourself is the moment your music career starts dying. (Click To Tweet This)

Competition in the music business is fierce and the market is crowded with talented people. New artists are always fighting for the attention of fans, and if you don't keep your fans entertained, they're get their entertainment elsewhere.

When you stop marketing your music, your reach significantly lessens. The compound effect needed for successful marketing takes a big dip and you lose momentum.

So don't stop.

As a musician, you should always be marketing your music in some form or another. Even if you've only got three songs, keep promoting them. Avoid thinking, “I recorded that song six months ago and I've already promoted it. I can't push it any more, it's old.”

If you've never heard something, it's not old. And, regardless of how hard you're promoting yourself, most people have never heard your music.

Never stop the marketing process, or aiming to reach new fans.

4. Marketing Your Music Costs Money

This is worth repeating. Effectively promoting your music costs money!

Yes, there are hundreds and even thousands of free ways to promote your music, but if you can promote your music a lot more effectively in terms of both reach and speed of implementation by simply paying money, why wouldn't you do that?

"What if I don't have the money for this?"

A common question... My response is, "How are you getting your music recorded?"

Hiring a studio (or purchasing a home studio), music distribution (physical or digital), and artwork (graphic designer fees, design software) all cost money. So if you can find the money to invest in these things, you can find the money for promotion.

Even if you have to push your release date back a couple of months so you can save enough to effectively release your single or album, make it happen! You'll give yourself a much better chance of success. The worst thing that can happen is to put your time, effort, and energy into music that nobody is aware of, so do everything in your power to make sure this doesn't happen to you.

And it doesn't end there...

The above things are important to remember if you want to make the most out of your music marketing efforts. That said, in the same way you should never stop promoting your music, you should never stop looking for new tactics and strategies to get your music out there! 

I hope you found this guide useful, and I look forward to answering any additional questions you may have in the comments below... 

How to Make a Hit Record (Then Sell The **** Out of It)

On May 4th, I'll be giving a presentation called "How to Write and Publish a Book in 90 Days or Less (Then Sell The **** Out of It)" at PodCamp Nashville. While this isn't a "music business" presentation per se, I'll be going over some great info of interest to musicians when it comes to channeling the creative process, overcoming resistance, and releasing your project in a big way.

The event is free of charge. If you'll be in Nashville on May 4th and want to attend, sign up now.

In addition to my presentation, you'll also want to attend:

• How to Quit Your Job, Be Your Own Boss, and Never Look Back with Laurel Staples
• How to Gain More Followers on Twitter with Eric Stephens (of SESAC)

This is a good opportunity for you to connect with like-minded, creative people. If you're at all interested in blogging, social media, and online marketing, I think you'll get a lot out of it.

15 Ways to Keep Your Music Career (and Creativity) Moving Forward

Daft Punk has a new album, Random Access Memories, coming next month and the duo says that electonic music is having "an identity crisis." 

The duo, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, has been working on their new album since 2008."After three records, there was a sense of searching for a record we hadn’t done," Thomas told Rolling Stone.

"Electronic music right now is in its comfort zone and it’s not moving one inch," Bangalter says. "That’s not what artists are supposed to do."

So then what? 

The solution for Daft Punk was to borrow both musicians and recording techniques from years ago. For this album, they're using "top-notch session players" who played in classic records by Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock, and Eric Clapton. A promo video features Nile Rodgers of Chic playing guitar. And the way everything was recorded was very different as well -- no "laptop" recording.

"There are songs on the album that traveled into five studios over two and a half years," Thomas says. "They’re vials being filled up with life. Today, electronic music is made in airports and hotel rooms, by DJs traveling. It has a sense of movement, maybe, but it’s not the same vibe as going into these studios that contain specific things."

The promotion is different as well -- TV commercials during Saturday Night Live as well as billboards.

"When you drive on the Sunset Strip and see these billboards, it’s more magical than a banner ad," Thomas says.

Let's look at this and how it relates to your music.

It would be easy to say that electronic musicians using non-electronic instruments, real players instead of samples, and old school ads such as television commercials and billboards is regression.

It's not -- it's transition. And this is always what keeps things fresh and moving forward, even if it involves technology and other elements of the past.

It would be easy for Daft Punk to release the same album again and again. Plenty of bands do that. You may be doing that.

When you have something that works, why rock the boat?

But as Thomas Bangalter says above, "That’s not what artists are supposed to do."

Regression is what happens when you're not moving forward. This is because the world is changing around you, whether you like it or not. And with the world, your fans are changing too.

It's easy to see how an act like Justin Bieber, with an audience of finicky and indecisive tweens, would need to progress in order to keep them interested. But your act, because your fans are older and more set in their ways, is different, right?

Wrong.

Time is speeding up. Attention spans are getting shorter. We have more entertainment options than ever.

This affects everybody, regardless of age. If you aren't moving forward, you're going to be run over by change around you.

How do you make sure you're moving forward? Choose growth over comfort.

Here are 15 ways to do just that...

1. If the band you're in isn't working for you, quit it and start something else.
2. If the demos you're working on for your new album aren't going anywhere, consider ditching them entirely and starting from scratch.
3. Put yourself out there more -- share personal videos in which you let people know there is more to you than just music.
4.  Share new songs before they are "perfect" to get feedback (good or bad) so you can improve them even more.
5. Set a deadline (such as releasing one new song a week for several weeks) and announce it publicly, knowing people are expecting you to deliver.
6. Plan a tour through cities you've never been to.
7. Play a venue that makes you nervous. For some people that could be any venue. It might be busking. If you play house concerts and the idea of playing in front of hundreds of people makes you nervous, do it anyway (or vice versa).
8. Write a song with a partner (or with a new partner).
9. Write a song on your own.
10. Do a solo gig (and if you're already doing solo gigs, do something with a full band).
11. Delegate music business tasks. 
12. Fire band members (or anyone else who isn't working out).
13. Say "yes" to opportunities (like playing with a band that plays a different genre of music, or taking a gig on a cruise ship, or putting your own projects on hold to play in someone else's touring band for a few months).
14. Do something to challenge a limiting belief. For example,  if you really want to play a certain club but is think, "They'll never let me play there," take some sort of action to challenge that belief (such as calling the club owner or sending him/her your demo). Even if you get rejected, the action itself was taking a risk and that risk can help build momentum to take bigger risks that will pay off for you.
15. Make plans to totally focus 100% on music for a certain amount of time -- taking a leave of absence from, or quitting, a job, putting aside all distractions to write, booking a lengthy tour, going to another country to tour, moving to another city, taking time away from naysayers, etc.

Any others? Free free to add to this list via the comments section!

Music Marketing Podcast #5 - Balancing Music and Business

This episode of the Music Marketing [dot] com Podcast is a new format -- listener questions!

A few weeks ago, we asked musicians and songwriters to share their biggest music business problems and ask questions via my Facebook page. This episode centers around a question asked by Shannon Kennedy about finding balance between working on music and doing the business tasks that need to be done to grow your career. 

This episode talks about how to get clear about your music business goals and how to best use your time to make those goals happen.

Visit Shannon-Kennedy.com for more information on Shannon.

You can listen below or subscribe via iTunes.