Music Marketing [dot] com

Pink Ribbon PR Nightmare - What Musicians Can Learn From It

Every musician needs to watch what is happening to the Susan G. Koman Foundation. This is exactly what will kill your music career.

To summarize... Koman cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, some people got pissed, Koman reinstated funding to keep those people happy, and now almost everybody is pissed.

Comments the organization's Facebook wall:

"When I heard you dropped Planned Parenthood.....I made a donation to the Koman charity......and today I called visa and had it canceled.....what a fraud organization you are......on the national Susan G Koman website you have women wearing pink t-shirts which read....we celebrate life but then you monitarily support abortion which kills life.....unbelievable!!!!!"

"I applauded you for defunding PP. Now that you have caved in, you are to be pitied for lacking the spine to confront baby killers."

"I will never give this organization a dime! Planned Parenthood is primarily an abortion factory!"

"Do you realize next year all this controversy will return? READ THE PRESS RELEASES. The only thing Komen changed their stance on is the policy to not fund orgs under investigation. They will honor this year which they said from go...next year PP will be "eligible" for a new grant...this is just a back pedal to save a little face...I ain't biting this slimy hook!"

"If I didn't think SGK would change their mind again I would write them a check. Ill just send it straight to planned parenthood."

"Susan Korman-You are spineless and never again will I donate to your cause. You are just as bad as the baby killers of Planned Parenthood!"

Remember this...

You cannot please everybody.

Try to do that, which is what Susan G. Koman is attempting, and you'll end up right where they are. Everybody will be skeptical of you and nobody will be happy.

You're much better off taking a stand, isolating some people, and giving those that are left exactly what they want.

Bon Jovi is Dead (or Alive)

The true power of "social media" was unleashed earlier today when a rumor spread via Twitter and Facebook that Jon Bon Jovi was dead.

Here is how he handled it...

And thanks to Twitter and Facebook, the rumor is dying as quickly as it was born, with over 47,000 people sharing the above photo within five hours.

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.

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...

Do You Have Fans Like This?

Michael is 24, he lives in Seattle, and he wants Billy Idol to play his birthday party. To make this happen, he's doing anything he can to get the word out and raising a lot of money for charity.

Needless to say, this is the kind of fan you want.

Cultivating the "Superfan" is just one of the many things I'll be covering in my upcoming book. Until then, check out Play My Birthday Billy Idol for examples of the lengths Michael is going to in order to make this happen.

On a related note, if you're interested in Ron Jeremy playing your birthday party, he's up for it...

Why I Respect Rebecca Black

Rebecca Black has certainly stirred up a lot of people. Look at these comments...

"why would i want to buy your shitty album anyways, what a waste of cash! no thanks i dont wanna get ripped off by a hypocritical slut like you!"

"keep on dreaming you slut, you'll never be famous, you only enjoy sucking my dick"

"you god damn trash bag titty whore! go die!"

"Everybody report her for profile image violation and flag her videos and wat not if yal really want to get back at her"

We review music from new artists every week on Music Business Radio. You wouldn't believe the amount of emails and calls we get from musicians who disagree with our comments.

And I get it... It's tough put yourself out there and be critiqued.

That's why I respect Rebecca Black. She's taken a lot of punches for her "debut" song, Friday, which many fans as well as critics have called "the worst song ever."

Many people would have given up. I think most people would have.

But instead of going back to doing whatever it was that she was doing before any of this happened, Rebecca Black is back with a new song...

Regardless of what you think of her music, I think there is an important lesson for both musicians and non-musicians-- get back on the horse.

Is this a pop masterpiece? I don't know. It's not bad though and it absolutely shows improvement over what she released just a few months ago. Is she can keep that up, she'll get where she wants to go.

And so will you...

You Missed a $251,100 Opportunity

Being first matters. People remember the guy who wins the Gold medal, not the Silver.

And being first pays off...

A Seattle-based band needed money to record an album. Instead of doing the "normal" things that indie bands do, like get jobs, charge up credit cards, or get loans from relatives, they got on eBay and auctioned the naming rights for the band to the highest bidder.

The result is that the band got $251,100 from BuyStock.net and is now known as Buystock.net Band.

Why so much? Because being first matters. Because the kind of publicity BuyStock.net can get from something like this is worth $251,100.

Unfortunately for you, nobody is going to care about the next guy to come along and try this... It's been done and can't be repeated.

The good news is that there is something that hasn't been done yet and it's likely worth just as much money, if not more.

So go do it!

2,200,000 Views on YouTube...in Two Days!

Total viewings as of this post is over 7,800,000.

3/18 UPDATE: Here is an interview she did with Good Morning America:

Discuss...