Music Marketing [dot] com

YouTube Facts for Musicians [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you've been wondering whether or not you should start putting content on YouTube...

500,000,000 Downloads

Angry Birds is pretty much everywhere these days. The characters were popular Halloween costumes, there is a board game, there are t-shirts, and the game has been referenced in American television shows such as Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, and The Simpaons.

The franchise has had over 500,000,000 downloads.

So now what?

Obviously, people are searching for "Angry Birds" in Apple's App Store and elsewhere. And obviously, people love the game... So why not take advantage of the momentum?

That's exactly what Wisconsin-based musician, Mr. Billy, decided to do.

But taking the idea one step further, he recorded everything on an iPhone!

I contacted Billy for a quick interview and got the story of how it all came together...

What's your background?

My family has been in the music business for four generations. I started playing and writing at age nine. I spent about 20 years playing and touring with my own bands. In the late 90s, I retired to start a marketing business using the skills I learned from keeping my bands employed and selling CDs and merch.

Why music for kids?

When my son turned five, he took me to show-and-tell, but I didn't know any kids' songs, so I just sang some classic rock songs. To my surprise, his teacher suggested I could do kids music for a living.

So I did some research and found that, at that time, there were a few kids' folk musicians in my area, but no kids' rock singers. So I decided to create a new niche locally and it just took off.

Where did you get the idea for a song about Angry Birds?

When I got the new GarageBand app for my iPhone, I started messing around and it sounded so good that I decided to write a "real" song and put it on iTunes over the weekend.

I've been following the success of bands like Pomplamoose using current pop culture as a marketing tool and realized that my target audience (kids and parents) are really into Angry Birds. I actually wear Angry Birds t-shirts to my gigs!

Angry Birds and iPhone also seemed like a good match and potential headline for press. 

Talk more about your writing and recording process...

The song took an hour to write, including researching Angry Birds on the web.

I recorded it on eight tracks using only GarageBand sounds, the sampler (that's my voice doing the bird and pig sounds), and loops. I played guitar into the GarageBand amp models and sang directly into the phone (no mics).

I sent it to my computer, had my son draw some angry birds, drew myself in cartoon form, uploaded the whole thing to CD Baby, and ta-da!

Any advice for musicians breaking into the children's music market?

I just want to say that since shifting from rock to kids rock, I have done just about everything I dreamed of my whole life... I play all originals, I only do covers if I want to, and I play to people that actually come to see me. I'm the center of attention, which is what I've always wanted to be, I've been on TV, I've been on radio, I do interviews, I've won several awards, and I've been flown to shows... You name it. 

As far as advice... Kids music is great, but you have to actually like kids, period. Know what they like and what the parents love and try to find a common ground. I was lucky, I never changed my musical style or performance style... Just the words are different and there is no swearing at the show!

I do 200+ gigs a year at libraries, schools, and concert events. I write and record songs specific to each of my markets. In 10 years I have released 15 albums and various singles like Angry Birds.

Make music that people actually want to buy and listen to... stuff they NEED...and you will succeed. 

Download Angry BIrds (the song) now!

Visit Mr. Billy online.

Promote Your Band (with an iPhone App)

This is a kick ass idea by Starbucks that would be perfect for a band...

Instead of using a cup to activate it, use a CD or an image on your website. And instead of having cartoon characters, use the members of your band.

Need somebody to program your app? Try Elance.

Thank You!

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to say thanks for reading this blog, listening to the radio show, and otherwise supporting me and my music business activities.

Some of you have been with me a long time, since 1995, when I started this company in Memphis, doing street and radio promotion. I was 22 and still in college.

And I've been doing ever since...

You come to me because I deliver marketing techniques and information that works. I know it works because, before you read it, I've tested it myself.

Over the last 4-5 years, with the "traditional" music industry being turned on its head, I've been working on some great stuff to help you sell more music, get more people to shows, and make more money in the music business. I've found a lot of opportunities in current situations that many people feel will be the death of the music business as we know it.

The music business is not dying, it's simply changing... And those who can roll with the changes will be just fine. In fact, the majority will be better than they are now.

I want you to be one of the musicians who grows with this changing (and expanding) business, not one who is destroyed by it.

So here is what you can expect from me in 2012:

• My New Book...Free - Yeah, I know I've been promising this for the last few months, but I've got a lot to say and I keep adding to it. What started out as a short "manifesto" is now about 50,000 words. It's unlike any music business book you've ever seen and is a mix of psychology, technology, marketing, business, and sales, all designed to help you make money as a musician. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.
  
  
• 100 Music Business Mentors - Features with 100 music business professionals from A&R, to music placement, to studio musicians, to hit songwriters. How they got where they are, how you can do it, and more...
   
  
• Monthly Meetups - This Internet thing is cool as hell, but in no way does it take the place of actually getting together with other musicians and music business professionals in your area to network, swap gigs, form partnerships, and do business. Already have this set up and rolling in a few test markets and will be expanding it to your location in the upcoming year.
  
  
• Live Events - With the exception of a few private events, I've pretty much stayed off the road for the last few years. In 2012, I'm back on it...and coming to a town near you.

More coming...

Again, thanks for your support and being part of this with me. I'm looking forward to a big 2012 with you!

Is Your Video This Good?

I haven't seen your video, but I'm going to guess no...

What it takes to make something like this...

22 months
1357 hours
30 people
2 ladders
1 still camera
288,000 jelly beans 

How it was made...

Should You Move to Nashville, NYC, or Los Angeles?

Got this in my email box...

I live in Ottawa, Canada and have been struggling for the past 5 years to keep a band together long enough to build momentum with my music. Every time i start building, some idiot quits for what has become an encyclopedia of reasons. I've heard them ALL. I have a professionally recorded and partially mixed album (which i wrote and co-produced) filled with what people describe as 'bloody awesome' tunes. Mike Turner (Our Lady Peace), Dave McMillan, Jason Pierce, Shawn Lefevbre and Adam Kasper all worked with me on it. People keep saying 'if you can't conquer your city 1st, don't expect to conquer the world', but i can't get anywhere here. 

My question is this: Would you recommend packing up and moving to a better music mecca, or staying and marketing myself as an individual artist (rather than my band), maybe getting interest from an indy label that way and hooking up with the right musicians then??

Good question! Am going to answer it in two parts. The first about the general concept of moving and the second with something specifically regarding Ottawa (and Canada in general)...

I think it's great to be in a "music center" like Nashville, NYC, or Los Angeles. You'll have a lot of opportunity that you won't have in a city without a similar infrastructure of all things music business, such as labels, managers, studios. or other quality musicians.

With that said, you don't have to be in one of these cities to do well in the music business. Sometimes, it may actually be better that you're not, since the "that's the way we do things around here" mindset is common and may not work for what you're doing. I love Nashville as much as anybody, but an inability to think differently from what everybody else is doing has killed off (or changed beyond repair) a lot of really cool projects that simply didn't fit the mold.

So the answer is, "I don't know." But I do know that keeping a band together can be tough anywhere you are. If you're thinking of moving though, I'd suggest a couple of trips to check out where you want to move to-- one during an event such as a music conference or festival and one on a random week when nothing special is happening. I'd also try to connect with "locals" online, via songwriting and musician organizations.

Before doing that though, the first thing I'd look at is yourself... In this case, specifically about how you're connecting with other band members.

From my experience, the best results come from when you're very clear about who you are, what you want, and where you want to go. Clarity if half the battle...at least.

For more info on the subject, check out this episode of Music Business Radio with Chris Pandolfi. He's in a band called The Infamous Stringdusters and talked a lot about keeping a band on the same page and moving forward. And The Infamous Stringdusters has six people, so he knows as much as anybody!

About your specific location...

One of the things about Canada that I love is that you have an audience that is hungry for Canadian acts. It's very easy for many countries, especially one so close to the United States, to get lost in the music that is created here. The upside of that though, is that the "local boy makes good" act can absolutely kill it.

So why aren't more acts conquering Canada? The main one is that it's huge and you're going to have to hit the road to make it happen... That means playing all the little towns from Toronto to Vancouver. If you can though, you can have a long career. Just ask Trooper or any of the other Canadian bands still working after 30+ years of doing it.

Best wishes!

MUSIC WANTED for Feature-Length Documentary Movie

UPDATE: Submissions for the project are no longer being accepted. To be on top of future opportunities like this, please subscribe to the feed.

You've been asking for an opportunity to get your music in film, so...

I'm doing music supervision for a feature-length documentary on the Nashville Rollergirls. It's a story about the team itself as well as the individuals behind it. 

With fast-paced derby action and deeply human elements, this inspirational film follows the Nashville Rollergirls through the loss of their practice space, the move to a new bout venue, injuries, relocation of key players, huge financial pressures, and more. Ever the underdog, the Nashville Rollergirls seek to prove themselves at every turn.

Here's a taste...

As a musician, I think it's a story you'll relate to and be proud to be associated with.

Right now, we're finishing production on key scenes and looking for music that conveys the following emotions:

• fear
• excitement
• anticipation
• hopelessness / darkness
• solemness
• change / transition / evolution
• success / achievement / climax
• hopefulness / eagerness
• pride

All submissions are being done online via the form linked below. You may submit as many songs as you like, but you will need to fill out a separate form for each song.

NOTE: We need a DIRECT LINK to an mp3 file of your submission, not just a general page with a bunch of music on it.

Link Removed - Submissions for the project are no longer being accepted. To be on top of future opportunities like this, please subscribe to the feed. 

Stay in School?

Watch this...

"Put your books first and singing second."

Is this good advice or is she stepping on the dreams of millions of upcoming musicians?

Discuss below...

Want to Sell More Stuff? Steal This Idea!

I subscribe to a lot of magazines, because I'm old school. Unfortunately for magazine publishers, not everybody is like me. In fact, most people aren't like me.

So what's the solution? Increase your subscriber base by getting the people who buy (in other words, the biggest fans) to give away free subscriptions in hope of winning other people over.

Example is below...

It works for big magazine publishers and it will work for you. CDs are cheap, so you could do the exact same deal on your music. $10 for a CD, plus two additional CDs for the buyer to give to friends.

Look, people who want to share your music have nothing to stop them from making copies, so you might as well give those people the "official" version of what you do and encourage word-of mouth around it.

Or try this technique with tickets to your next gig... The more people in the audience, the more likely those people will have a good time. And it's more opportunities for you to win over new fans.

Steve Jobs and the Music Business

It's easy to forget how much impact this guy had on the music business, because he did it in such a big way.

Steve Jobs changed the way the game was played and this industry owes a lot to him. He reinvented the way we record music, the way we distribute it, and the way we listen to it. The computers he developed made it easy for us to connect, share ideas, and promote it.

Thank you, Steve Jobs!