ARISING ARTIST

8 Reasons Why You Need to Have Your Own Website

2011-04-04T12:37:00.001+01:00

Original post from Music Think Tank by Michael Brandvold

I was asked to write a guest blog on the topic of why it is important to have your own website. Well for whatever reason the blog was never posted and episode two of The Music Biz Weekly podcast reminded me that I still have this blog and that I should post it. This is a topic that I am passionate about. Let me make this clear, you must have your own website. Let me say that again… you need to have your own website.

Great social networks will come and go, and they are all important. You should be active on as many as possible. They are all great places to extend your website, extend your brand and presence. But everything should come back to your website.

It’s 2011 and you would think it is obvious why you need your own website. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had where the other party says “I have a MySpace page, or I have a Facebook page or I have a Reverbnation page… I don’t need a website.” Or how many people have their own website, but spend all their efforts driving everyone to Facebook. All they seem to care about is how many Likes they can get. You should care about how many visits you get to your website. Some people don’t look at a website as a significant part of their business or brand. They may see it as a afterthought, something they guess they should do. If you were to open your own restrauant is the building and location that last thing you would think about? It is your future, everything you hope to achieve depends on it. Your website is your bit of real estate on the internet and it will be yours potentially forever. Make sure you treat your online presence with all the seriousness you can.

Here are some important items to keep in mind.

1. Own your domain and site

Easier said than done, but you should make every effort to retain ownership of your domain name and website. Don’t change the Administrative Contact for your domain over to someone else unless you absolutely must. Try to avoid signing contracts that when they are terminated leave your domain and website under the ownership and control of another party. If that occurs you will have no control over what happens and you won’t see any revenue from a website with your name on it. During a contract you can let someone else manage and operate your website, but do not let them own it.

2. Do not redirect your domain to MySpace or Facebook

You should be using Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation or any of a dozen other social network sites to generate traffic to your website. To redirect your domain to a social page is to give your traffic to somebody else, for them to monetize and you to not share in the revenue. Traffic on the internet is money. When you are finally ready to launch your own website how do you plan to get everyone who is going to Facebook or MySpace back to your site? You have already conditioned them to just visit Facebook or MySpace.

3. It is your brand which you own and control

Your domain and website is your brand and you have full control over it. You decide how you are going to be presented. Use MySpace or Facebook and you are not the brand, they are. You will never be more important than their own brand. They will always come first over your brand and your desire to promote your brand. Don’t let someone else control what you can do with your brand.

4. What is the future of MySpace, Facebook?

Ok this will date myself, but I remember when AOL was “it”. When everyone was trying to establish their business on AOL. Everyone was advertising their AOL Keyword. Where is AOL now? Ok, how about Geocities? Everyone was building their website on Geocities for free. Nobody wants to invest any money in their website and Geocities let them get online for free. Where is Geocities now? And just how good were all those free websites? Or what about MySpace? Everyone knows about MySpace. Just five years ago they were “it”. Everyone had to be one MySpace. Everyone was growing their friends list on MySpace. We were all spending time customizing our MySpace page, blogging on MySpace. Where is MySpace now? MySpace recently announced a partnership with Facebook in hopes of breathing some life into the ghost town. What is the point of all this you ask? Do you know where Facebook is going to be in five years? I don’t think they will disappear, but they sure could change. Don’t put your future, your brand, your money into the hands of another website. Tomorrow they could be the latest fade or worse sold to someone who has different plans. In the case of Facebook, why would you send your traffic to a website that requires registration for any sort of interaction. You don’t get to gather that registration information, Facebook owns it. You are sending your fans to Facebook, for Facebook to market and make money from.

5. TOS, Terms of Service – you want to define them, not the lawyer from another website

This is directly related to #4. Don’t set yourself up on a site that the Terms of Service, TOS, clearly state they do not support content you might wish to post. Anything of a adult or sexual nature is going to get deleted by Facebook. Nikki Sixx recently tried to post a image from the new Sixx AM album and Facebook kept deleting it. Even in rock n roll you might have something that Facebook feels is too sexual. MySpace and Facebook are clear examples. You spend your time and money establishing yourself and sending your traffic to Facebook or MySpace and then one day you log in and your account is deleted. What happened? Your content was most likely reported by someone and without any notice your account and work is gone. Build a website where you decide what is appropriate and what is not. Don’t let the lawyer at some other company decide if they like what you are doing. I am not saying to not use Facebook or MySpace, I am saying DO NOT make them your primary website. Use them as traffic sources to your website.

6. Sales – you can keep a bigger piece of the pie

You want your own website so you can sell whatever you want, and keep a bigger piece of the pie. Although selling on other sites is possible there are usually hoops you need to jump through, and back to #5, what you are selling might be against the TOS and be cause for your account to be deleted.

7. SEO

Good luck trying to manage the SEO on a Facebook or MySpace page. If you have your own website you have full control over your SEO, over how the search engines will see you and what your target keywords are for your brand. If you have a strong presence on the various social network sites with links back to your website, Google will see those links and give you some SEO juice.

8. Stay on the cutting edge

With your own website you can experiment with all of the new internet technologies and tools when they are released. You are not at the mercy of a corporate giant who will decided when and if they want to adopt a new technology. If you build a WordPress based website you can play around with 1000s of plugins that add new functionality to your website. One click and you are streaming audio, one click you have a podcast being served through Apple iTunes. One click you have a events calendar.

Your website should be the center of your online universe, with all the various social networks revolving around it. Use the social networks to send traffic to your official website. Use them to be social, to interact with your fans and customers. Don’t spend your time and money to build up another website, spend it on your brand… spend it on yourself!

(Michael Brandvold is a 20 year music marketing veteran who has worked with unsigned indie bands and international superstars. Michael owns Michael Brandvold Marketing a site dedicated to providing tips and advice for musicians.)

10 Pieces of Essential Content For Your Band's Website

2011-03-30T16:30:00.001+01:00

By Hilary Brown. Original post from Music Think Tank

If you’re a musician or in a band that’s trying to get your music out to the world, your website is a valuable marketing tool. Your website helps your fans, bloggers, and journalists find out who you are, what you sound like, and where you’re playing. It’s important that your website contains content for all types of visitors, from fans - current and potential - to booking agents and media outlets. Below are ten essential elements that every band’s website should have.

Relevant information.
If you have an album out, include easily accessible info about when it came out or will come out, the track list, and the label. Post a tour calendar with upcoming shows so fans can see when and where you’re playing, how much it costs, and where they can buy tickets. Be sure to include links to the venue website, ticket sales, other bands who are playing, and your Facebook Event.

A current bio.
Your bio is your opportunity to tell your story, share your history, and talk about your influences and accomplishments. Press and bloggers often refer to band bios when writing features and reviews, so it’s important that your bio is current, interesting, informative, and versatile. Can your current bio be used on a venue website to promote an upcoming show? Does it convey the message that you want to your fans? If not, it’s time to refresh your bio.

Reliable contact info.
If journalists or bloggers have questions, they expect to easily find reliable contact info on your website. If you have a PR/publicist contact, list who it is and how to contact them. If you don’t have a PR contact, list who to get in touch with and how.

Hi-Res PR photos.
Journalists (bloggers, web editors, print editors) who want to cover a band usually accompany any given post with a photo, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out which photos are for the press. Be sure to have high-resolution photos available on your website for journalists and bloggers.

A way to showcase your music.
Your music is your art, and anyone visiting your site is going to want to hear it, so make sure you have a way for them to listen and sample it. You can share your music on your website with a music player, embedded tracks, or MP3 downloads.

Merchandise.
If you have merch and music for sale, let your fans know where they can purchase it. If you have an online store (iTunes, Bandcamp, CD Baby, Amazon) that’s separate from your website, be sure to link to those online stores. Also, if your music is for sale locally at coffee shops and/or local record stores, be sure to list those addresses too.

Sharing features.
Think of your website as your home base and all of your other digital presences as extensions of that presence. Each social network potentially has a unique audience, demographic, and benefit for your fans (with some crossover). That’s why it’s important to integrate, or at least link off to all of your digital touch points from your website.

You also want your fans to be able to share the content on your website with their friends. Social bookmarking plug-ins to allow your fans to easily share content from your site on their favorite social networks. With over 500 million users, a Facebook Like Button, Like Box or Activity Feed is a no-brainer. Want to keep your fans in the loop on what you’re working on? Be sure to add an RSS button or “subscribe via email” widget to your site, so that your fans can subscribe to your posts.

Newsletter signup.
Even if you’re not regularly sending out a newsletter (yet), you should have way for your fans to sign up for one. Newsletters are a great way to directly reach your fans and create a more personal connection with them about new releases and upcoming shows. We recommend MailChimp, Constant Contact, orFanBridge. In addition to having a newsletter sign-up on your website, you should be collecting e-mail addresses at every show.

Videos.
The key to getting your music heard is always building more fans and attracting new people through creative marketing. Music videos are just another form of creative marketing for your band. They allow you add another layer to your artistic capabilities and capture the full attention of your audience by combining your audio with visuals. Music videos also make your band look more legitimate and professional, help you stand out, provide your fans a sneak peek at what they might experience at your live performance, and give any prospects a more personal look at you as a band.

Google Analytics and Feedburner.
Want to know where your fans are coming from and find out what parts of your site are getting the most traffic? Google Analytics can provide this information. Using such analytics can help you measure your website performance, help you drive traffic to your site, and cater to your fans’ online behavior. FeedBurner’sservices allow publishers who already have a feed (RSS) to improve their understanding of and relationship with their audience. Once you have a working feed, run it through FeedBurner and realize a whole new set of benefits.

A daily/weekly/monthly checklist for your band

2011-03-16T13:02:00.002Z

Original post from Live Unsigned blog

It’s really easy to spend lots of time online and not actually get anything done to grow your audience. A simple daily check list can keep you motivated and stop you spending three hours staring at a twitter #catjokes hashtag. Better to spend an hour a day getting stuff done for your career than a whole day achieving nothing.

The following is an example of things you can do regularly to make things happen (and it goes without saying your music has to be brilliant and remarkable for it to work). Some bands may do things at different times (i.e. only blog once a week or post videos more often) but this is a general example of a social media tasking sheet for a band.

Read more here

SEO Band Names: How To Choose A Band Name So You Will Be Found Online

2011-03-11T16:24:00.001Z

Original post by Chris Bolton from Music Think Tank

Make it easy for your fans to find you online.

Choosing a band or artist name that is search engine optimized (also known as SEO) can help your career down the road.

Yes, many bands have managed to achieve success in spite of unsearchable band names (the band Girls come to mind), but why not make it easy on your fans and choose a name that is easy to search for and find?

Many musicians have discovered (the hard way) that an unsearchable band name can hurt sales, reduce concert attendance, and frustrate fans.

And it’s not just major search engines like Google and Bing that you should be concerned about. A poorly chosen band name can make it hard for fans to find your music on iTunes, your videos on YouTube, and your band profiles on social networks like MySpace and Facebook.

Below are some dos and don’ts for choosing an SEO friendly band name. Just remember, these are only suggestions. The real keys to musical success will always be rooted in hard work and great music with mass appeal.

SEO DON’Ts

Don’t use common names, words or phrases
Common names and phrases are often searched for. So it’s difficult to place at the top of search results for these terms. Avoid band names like Blue, Harmony, Hot and Cold, or El Nino. These sorts of everyday names and phrases present an uphill battle for good search results.

Don’t get too creative with spelling
Using creative spelling will actually increase your search engine ranking, but only if your fans spell your name correctly. Take the band Gorillaz. Gorillaz fans know how the band name is spelled and therefore don’t have a problem finding the band online. But if I heard of Gorillaz from a friend, and didn’t know they used an “z” instead of an “s,” I might search for “gorillas” with an “s” and find myself knee deep in articles about big hairy monkeys.

Don’t use special symbols %@#!
Do you know how to put an umlaut over a ü when you type it into a search engine? Chances are, a good portion of your fans don’t. Many special characters will be unrecognized or ignored by search engines. Also some special characters can be misinterpreted by computer programs as code and it can cause errors. Keep this in mind before you name your band: < bl@st% >

Don’t piggy back
If you name your band The Katy Perry Experience you may get some traffic from Katy Perry fans who stumble upon your site, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to buy your music. Collateral traffic isn’t always the best quality. Also, popular news about Katy Perry may often supplant your good rankings and there’s always the possibility you get sued or the world gets tired of Katy Perry.

SEO DOs

Use more than one word
A single word band name will only be easily searchable if your band name is very unique such as Jamiroquai of Fugazi. But a unique band name can be hard to spell. Why not use a cool juxtaposition of a few common words such as Arcade Fire, Daft Punk or Kings of Leon. This way you can have a unique name that almost anybody can spell and easily find.

Test your band name in Google
Let’s say I’d like to call my band Unicorn Bluff. Let’s search for that name in Google. For a more accurate result, I’ll put “Unicorn Bluff” in quotes so that Google only searches for those two words strung together. In this case, there are only 307 results for “Unicorn Bluff.” The top results are related to a unicorn poster. This looks promising. There are no Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, or music related results on Google’s first page of results. My only concern with this band name is that “unicorn” has been a popular word in recent years for band names. So I might also do a search for “unicorn band” to see what my competition looks like.

Research Your Domain Name
A good domain name that is close to your actual band name will make it easier for people to find you online. If my band name is Unicorn Bluff, my ideal website is www.unicornbluff.com. Unicornb-forever.net would be less than ideal because it does not contain both keywords of my band name and it may be hard for my fans to remember.

If my first choice wasn’t available, I might go with:

www.unicornbluff.net

www.unicornbluff.co

or

www.unicornbluffmusic.com

Make sure to check on the availability of domain names while you do your research. A good domain name will make it much easier for your fans to find you.

Trademark Your Band Name
Once you’ve found the perfect SEO friendly band name, you should trademark it so nobody else can lay claim to it.

When will the band start making money?

2011-03-02T15:51:00.002Z

Original post by Live Unsigned Blog

Many musicians refuse to do anything unless they are paid. This is completely understandable if you are playing covers, doing sessions or TV work etc. However if you are looking to build an audience this approach will slow you down. Ian from Topspin Media (who has worked with David Byrne, Moby etc) recently said:

“Our advice to artists is to not attempt to sell ANYTHING until you have at least a couple of thousand people on your email list.”

You can’t make money from an audience you don’t have (and as we have said before an email list is essential). You probably also need at least several thousand connections across a few social networks (not Myspace, social networks that work) that you are actively engaged with. This will most likely take years, so it requires a serious investment of time and hard work to build this literally one person at a time.

Read more here

When do you need a manager?

2011-02-24T14:00:00.001Z

Original post from Live Unsigned Blog

A lot of artists are looking to get someone else to take over the business side of things allowing them get on with the music. Often they want a manager to “take them to the next level”, but this isn’t really how it works. It is useful to have a manager in the sense of someone speaking on your behalf, to help push your career through interactions with the industry, but only if they are the right one. You only need a manager once you are ready, when your product is good enough and you are a great band with a decent fan base. You still need to be hard working and interacting with your audience through social media, this is expected of all musicians now.

The way to get a good manager is to keep doing what you are doing, building a grass routes fan base online and through playing gigs (promoted on Live Unsigned). Building an audience one person at a time. Eventually you will hit the point where you will be approached, as long as your name is in the right blogs and print press and you are playing the right gigs. Try and keep doing as much as possible yourself for as long as you can, the more well known you are and the larger your fan base the more chance you have of getting decent management.

....Read more here...

Is YouTube Destroying or Saving Music?

2011-02-21T13:59:00.001Z

By Alan Lastufka. Original Post by Music Think Tank

A few weeks ago Wired posed the question “Is YouTube Bad for Music?”. Their article asks if music fans’ access to almost limitless free music via YouTube is hurting revenue for artists by undercutting premium streaming services, and of course, iTunes/CD sales.

Later on, YouTube responded, stating that “Free Music Can Pay As Well As Paid Music”. YouTube retorted that their monetized views via AdSense and In-Video ads were putting millions of dollars into musicians’ pockets every month. (well, more accurately, into the record label exec’s pockets, but that’s a discussion for another article).

The more interesting debates seemed to happen on various music industry blogs who weighed in on the discussion with their own oped pieces.

This is not another one of those opinion pieces, this is a fact piece.

The Facts.

I am a musician. I am also a YouTuber. I upload and monetize all of my music and music videos on YouTube. I’m by no means a super star, but my videos have been viewed millions of times on YouTube, and I’ve earned thousands of dollars from YouTube against ads on those views. In fact, I’ve earned just as much from YouTube as I have from my music CD and download sales.

YouTube currently brings in half of my income from music. And as the owner of an online music label that works exclusively with YouTube musicians, I can tell you the same is true for everyone on my label.

YouTube is an amazing promotional tool when used properly. The sheer size of the site in content and visitors is astounding. Now before you trail off into a rant about cat videos and skateboarding dogs, know this: 8 out of the top 10 most viewed videos of all time on YouTube… are music videos. Music fans are there and they are gobbling up any videos they can find related to artists and genres they like.

5 Tips for Gaining Fans (and Money) on YouTube:

So here are a few tips for musicians looking to turn YouTube from a negative into a positive for their careers:

1) Don’t just sing, talk. Every music blog for the past decade has droned on about connecting with fans. What better way to do that than to sit down for a face-to-face conversation? Well, okay, face-to-screen conversation, but vlogging in between posting music videos is not only a fantastic way to engage your fans, but it means more content being uploaded to your channel, which means your name and face stay fresh in your fans’ subscription boxes.

2) Views equal dollars. The more videos you upload, the more repeat viewers you will have. If someone subscribes to your channel, every time you upload a new video, it shows up on their YouTube homepage. Don’t be annoying about it, but find creative ways to split up your content between multiple videos. For one example of how I personally did this, read my article here on Video LPs.

3) Collaborate with other musicians on YouTube. You might hear a lot of old time rockers reminiscing about the time their band opened for KISS or Led Zeppelin. Tapping into more popular bands’ fans is a great way to make a name for yourself. When I released my last album, I called in a few favors from some of my musician friends and had a different artist cover every single song on my album before release day. I was able to tap into the audience of ten different artists (some smaller, but most much bigger than myself) and their fans got to hear one of my songs being performed by an artist they already enjoyed. That kind of recommendation is priceless, and all it really cost me was a few emails.

4) Join, don’t just distribute. I see companies making this mistake all the time on YouTube. YouTube is a community. If you simply treat it as another distribution channel, you’ve already lost. Use the same practices on YouTube that you do on twitter and facebook; answer comments, reply to messages, watch other people’s videos and interact with them, blah blah blah. What starts off as a “marketing plan” will hopefully turn into more. Every musician I work with on YouTube has become my friend. We have conversations outside of sales stats and trends. And they’ve enriched my life beyond YouTube AdSense dollars.

5) And finally, include a Call to Action. If you’re going to bother building an audience and making videos, make sure that audience knows what you want from them. Include calls to action at the end of your videos, in video descriptions, and in the branding materials of which YouTube Partners get to take advantage.

Only YouTube.

Why should you listen to what I have to say?

In less than two years’ time, my record label sold over $1,000,000 of music using YouTube as our ONLY source of promotion. No radio, no music blogs, no nation-wide tours and no marketing department. Our artists simply made videos on YouTube.

Some about music, some not. And things aren’t slowing down, our latest release, “This Is Me” by Charlie McDonnell, sold over 3,000 physical CDs on preorder alone, and had iTunes sales to match.

Were it not for YouTube, we’d still be a bunch of kids playing ukeleles in our bedrooms, working day jobs.

Everyday is Valentine's day for you and your fans

2011-02-16T14:23:00.002Z

Original post from MusicMarketing.com

February 14, was the official Valentine's Day, but you should be celebrating it today, tomorrow, the next day, and every day when it comes to the relationship you have with your fans. Every day, all day.

Way too many bands think of their relationship with fans as a one-way thing-- them broadcasting a certain message to the fans. For a long time, that was great. It worked because doing things any other way wasn't a viable option, fans knew it, and they put up with it, even though they wanted more.

But now, communication is instant. You post a message on Twitter and it goes out to hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people instantly...and they can reply...instantly. Same for posting something on a blog or Facebook.

What are you doing with all the messages that come your way? If you're not using them to build long-lasting, two-way relationships with your fans, you're leaving money on the table.

Communicating with fans is easier than it ever has been. There is no excuse for you to avoid it.

Don't know what to say? The first thing I suggest is letting your fans know how important they are to you...

Here are five ideas you can implement right now to do just that:

Free Show - Send out a free ticket for your next show to everybody on your list, letting them know you appreciate that they signed up. Most people travel in groups, so anybody who comes will likely bring a paying customer with them. This will get people talking about your gig to their friends and start the conversation about how great you are, fill your next show, and make you more money.

Free Drink - Similar to above, but send out a certificate that can be redeemed for a drink ticket at your next gig. Let's say the show is $10. Even if the drink costs you $10, which it won't, that's money going to the bar, which will make the club staff happy and give you a better chance of coming back again.

Meet and Greet - You're a rock star, so act like it. Rock stars have a "meet and greet" to connect with fans. It doesn't have to be formal. Just let people know you'll be at the club a little early, hanging out before the show. This doesn't cost you anything, has a high perceived value, and will help fan loyalty for years to come.

A variation of this is to combine your meet and greet with a free drink. That will really nail down the relationship and loyalty you get from fans.

Free Music - Exclusive "Fan Club" CD? You should be doing several of these per year. The most people consume your music on a regular basis, the more likely they are to support you. Again, something to combine with a meet and greet.

Exclusive Merchandise - People love stuff that not everybody can get. Giving fans a limited edition t-shirt with a design now available anywhere else gives them bragging rights and you'll get some great free promotion from it.

There are a million variations of this idea... A favorite of mine is designing something you throw out from the stage, just to people on the front row who make a lot of noise. This lets everybody know it exists, which makes something rare even more valuable, encourages audience participation, and gives attention to the t-shirt recipient, before the shirt is even worn.

Bottom line here is to let your fans know you appreciate them and to do it often. There is no way to mess this up, so just do something!

10 Things Every Musician Should Do Online Every Day

2011-02-11T17:01:00.001Z

By: Michael Brandvold. Original post from Music Think Tank

Do you or your band have a daily online routine? You better. At the speed this world moves you can’t afford to miss even one day of what is happening. Your competition is not sitting still, so you better be out there. But as a band you have to find a balance that is not going to hinder your ability to be a band. You need to write, rehearse, record, perform… if you don’t do any of those things, being online won’t mean much.

So I thought I would take a look at my daily online routine and maybe you can apply to it your routine.

1. Quick Email Scan – When you wakeup, you’re a band, so whatever time of the day this might be is fine. Grab your iPhone or smartphone and do a quick scan of your email for anything important or urgent. Respond to those very urgent emails right away. You will know what they are when you see them.

2. Clean out garbage email – Get out of bed, get yourself some coffee, breakfast, whatever you need to get going. Sit down and open your laptop, clean out all the garbage email you received overnight. Even with spam control all our inboxes get filled with crap. Get rid of it now so you only have real messages to deal with.

3. Review all new Twitter followers – Twitter will send you a email for every new follower you receive. Do a five second scan of those new followers. No profile picture, no website link, no profile description, nobody follows them; delete the email and go on to the next one. If they have these items go check their profile in Twitter. Do a quick three second scan of their tweets, if it interests you follow them back. If they are clearly a music fan, a fan of your band, a fan of your style of music, a fan of similar bands… follow them back and send them a quick Direct Message thanking them for following you. Do this for everyone who is following you.

4. Do a Twitter brand review – While in Twitter check for new Mentions of your Twitter ID. Check for any of your tweets that have been retweeted. Review your saved searches. Basically you are doing a review on who is talking about you on Twitter. Personally reply to everyone who mentions or retweets you. The searches could be for your real name, maybe your site URL, album title, anything. The key here is to get involved in the conversation!

5. Facebook initial review – Review any friend requests. Check Notifications. Check Facebook Messages. See what is happening in your Facebook world. Just as you reviewed Twitter followers, do the same for Friend Requests. Do you have any friends in common? Are they clearly a music fan, a fan of your band or a similar band? If you accept their request, send them a quick message, or leave a wall post thanking them for the request. Check all your notifications. Who Likes your posts, left you comments, etc. Respond to comments that have been left. Check your Facebook messages. Same sort of review you give to your email can be applied to Facebook. Delete the garbage and respond to those that are important.

6. Facebook News Feed Review – Do a quick review of your News Feed’s Top News. This will let you see what stories have the most activity. Leave comments and Likes on anything you like or anything that could help promote your band. Then switch over to your News Feed’s Recent News. This is a full list of everything all your friends have posted. Again, leave comments and Likes as you see best. Review everything since you last logged in. The key here is to get involved in the conversation!

7. Facebook Page Review – Same drill, review all posts by fans. Review all comments. Respond to EVERYONE who left you a post or a comment. The key here is to get involved in the conversation! See a trend here? You have to talk with your fans on Twitter and Facebook.

8. Back to email – Respond to any important emails. If using Gmail which I highly recommend… Star important emails you need to follow up on later.

9. Review your RSS feeds – Switchover to Google Reader or your RSS reader and do a initial review of important feeds. Look for new, interesting and important stories. You can Star them in Google Reader to come back later for a full read. RSS feeds are the fastest way to keep up with new content added to your favorite websites, without having to visit every single one of them. You only visit the site when you find a new story that interests you. Be sure to review RSS feeds from other bands, see what they are doing.

10. Check your web or blog stats – I bet most people never do this. This is so important, do not ignore it! Stats will tell you what your fans like and don’t like. Where they are coming from and where they are going. Be sure to look at these few numbers daily: Total traffic, Top stories, Referring sites, Top searches inside your site and searches that delivered you traffic and top exiting links (what links to external sites are being clicked). Google Analytics is a great free web stats tool to use on your website. WordPress.com Stats is a great plugin for a WordPress site that delivers great stats. Numbers don’t lie, so pay attention to them.

Now go write a song!

At some point during the day as the saying goes… rinse and repeat this entire process.

10 Ways to Trade a Song for an Email Address

2011-01-21T11:47:00.002Z

By: Brian Hazard. Original post from Music Think Tank / Passive Promotion

I measure my success as a recording artist by the growth of my mailing list. The best way to get someone to subscribe is to offer something in return, and a great song is a powerful incentive. Here are ten techniques to negotiate that delicate exchange:

1. The classic squeeze page. You’ve probably stumbled onto one of these before: a fine-tuned infomercial-style pitch with a clear call to action and no exit links. The sole goal of the site, often just a single page, is to generate conversions. In our case, a conversion means “squeezing” an email address out of a potential fan. Seamus Anthony describes the method here and demonstrates it using his own music here. It may do the trick for first-time visitors, but returning fans have no clear path to explore the rest of your content.

2. The homepage squeeze. Identical to the classic squeeze page, except for a small link that takes you to the rest of the site. Returning fans are forced to opt out every visit - an annoying speed bump. Then again, if the free song is rotated often enough, it may encourage repeat visits. Theoretically, a site could use cookies to bypass the squeeze page for return visitors, but I don’t know of any service or WordPress plugin that does it.

3. The “free mp3 download” page. This is my current strategy, but there’s definitely room for improvement. An SEO friendly “yourbandname.com/free-mp3-download” URL and clever use of keywords can pull in traffic from Google searchers trying to freeload your music. While a simple “free mp3s” link in your site’s navigation isn’t distracting for repeat visitors, it’s easy to overlook. Still, I’m not going to force my fans to jump through hoops every time they want to post a comment.

4. The fan club. Thomas Dolby offers two full EPs exclusively to registered members of his forum. This soft sell approach encourages die-hard fans to join the conversation, but I doubt it pulls in much new blood. If your focus is to satisfy your existing fanbase, fan club exclusives offer a surefire way to retain their love and devotion.

5. The widget. Your mailing list service should provide a widget to gather fan addresses (I use ReverbNation’s FanReach, but FanBridge is another great choice). You’ll obviously need it for the squeeze page of your site. If you’re still sporting a MySpace page, you’ll want to embed it there as well. On sites where you can’t embed a widget, you can link directly to the signup form. ReverbNation and FanBridge provide every artist with a landing page to send potential subscribers to (for example, mine is here).

6. The Facebook page. As far as I know, you can’t embed a mailing list widget directly onto a Facebook page. Fortunately, RootMusic and ReverbNation have Facebook applications to run their all-in-one profiles, including mailing list signup, in their own tab. You can also build a custom HTML landing tab in Static FMBL, which isn’t as hard as it sounds. I’m using Facebook ads to direct potential fans to my FMBL tab, which encourages them to download songs from the Band Profile tab, courtesy of ReverbNation’s My Band application. Embedding a mailing list widget directly on my FMBL tab would streamline the process, but it’s beyond my technical abilities.

7. Viinyl. The slogan for this new service, currently in beta, is “one song, one site, one URL.” I’m auditioning it at colortheory.viinyl.com. It’s slick, simple, and direct, allowing the listener to focus on the featured song with minimal distractions. On the flipside, it doesn’t offer a clear path to the rest of my content. Whether or not that’s a fair trade remains to be seen.

8. NoiseTrade. Speaking of fair trades and horrible segues, NoiseTrade isn’t as streamlined, but it offers a high degree of control. Artists typically give away an entire release in exchange for an email address and a Facebook or Twitter update linking back to said release. Fans have the option to tip up to $100 (you get 80%), so it’s essentially a “pay what you want” model.

9. Tweet for a Track. A variation on the same theme, Tweet for a Track does pretty much what you’d expect. Fans enter their email address, which is passed on to the artist, and then share a link back to the song’s TFAT page on Facebook or Twitter. You can see it in action here. The catch is, they charge a minimum of $24.99 to share your fans’ email addresses with you.

10. Bandcamp. The backbone of my entire operation. Bandcamp offers up my discography to the world for sale, streaming, and sharing. Even if you don’t have anything to sell, you can host as much music as you’d like for free download in a variety of audio formats. You choose whether or not to require an email address on a per-song basis, and it doesn’t cost a penny if you stay below 200 downloads per month. Another great feature is their Facebook-embeddable widgets, which play right from the news stream.

Getting folks to subscribe is the easy part. The hard part is holding on to them! Nurture those new fans by communicating with them on a regular and consistent basis, and don’t think about selling anything until you hit 1000 subscribers.

Brian Hazard is a recording artist with sixteen years of experience promoting his eight Color Theory albums. His Passive Promotion blog emphasizes “set it and forget it” methods of music promotion. Brian is also the head mastering engineer and owner of Resonance Mastering in Huntington Beach, California.

How to Manage an Effective Street Team In the New Digital Decade

2011-01-19T13:05:00.002Z

By Erik Koral. Original post from Music Think Tank.

One of my New Years resolutions was to do a bit more blogging and provide the music and marketing communities with some cool tips in navigating the web and managing your street campaigns.

I have been in the marketing field for over 10 years now and running FanManager for 6 years, so I wanted to post some of my observations and let you know what has worked and what hasn’t.

The entry below will cover everything you need to know about online street teaming in this new digital era. Although physical street teams are still important and relevant for many hard touring bands, online street teaming is becoming much more prevalent.

HERE IS WHY…

1) Ease of Reaching Fans. It has never become so easy to reach tens of thousands of people in just a few minutes. In today’s ADD culture, people want instant bite sized bits of information. People are tuning out billboards and traditional advertising and are much more willing to listen to a recommendation of a new track, video, or concert from a friend. This is why platforms like Twitter and Facebook are so important today.

2) The Green Movement. People are becoming “Greener” and online marketing leaves absolutely no carbon footprint. There is nothing more disheartening than seeing handbills and other marketing materials littering a venue, plus there can be fines for blatant disregard of public property.

3) The Power of Fans. The technology is developing at such a rapid pace and sharing content is a seamless process now. The power of fans to create viral sensations through word of mouth is unparalleled and traditional media is struggling to keep up with the change. The power is back in the hands of the passionate fans out there.

Here are our tips on how to get this done right…

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STREET TEAM

Create a FUN name for your team so more fans are encouraged to join. Ex: “Shapeshifters” for the ALO Street Team and “Flight Crew” for the Moonalice Street Team.
Blast out to your email list to look for members
Blast out to your social networks to look for members
Have a sign up box or banner that directs to a street team landing page on your website, Myspace, blog and other social networks
If your numbers are low, put a “refer a friend” program in place where each new person recruited gets the original street team member rewards

WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR YOUR ONLINE STREET TEAM

Animated banners. As many as possible. Typical sizes are 300x300, 368x100, 728x90
Ability for fans to grab HTML code, code for forums, and easy Facebook “share” and Twitter “tweet this” Buttons.
Widgets for Collecting emails (TopSpin), Tours, Album Releases (countdown clocks are very cool!), or overall mini website types of Widgets.
ReverbNation is a great place to make Widgets for FREE and track your hits!
HD Live Videos and Music Videos on YouTube or Vimeo that can be easily spread around and embedded into blogs, web sites and HTML friendly communities.
Create a digital landing page for your street team if you can so they have an “asset depot” of sorts.
Avatars, Wallpaper & AIM Icons.
Admats promoting an album, specific show, or tour.

WHAT YOUR ONLINE STREET TEAM SHOULD DO

Host animated banners and widgets on their own Social Networking pages/blogs and other profiles which click through back to the band’s Web site, fan club ticket pages, or other purchase links.
Spread the word about your band, tour, event, and album on other like-minded message boards, in chat rooms, local music lists, and other forums.
Comment on blogs writing about your band or like-minded artists.
“Like” items across the web so it shows up in your Facebook news feed
Invite people to Facebook events and also to Facebook band pages with the “Suggest to Friends” button.
Tweet and Re-Tweet message on Twitter.
“Digg” News Articles
Tag photos on Flickr
Share YouTube/Vimeo Videos, on Social Networks, Forums, and Groups. Comment on Videos
Email friends admats and forward other show advertisements
Recommend music on sites like iTunes Ping, iLike, Last.FM, Pandora, Blip.FM, etc.
Post show advertisements on Craigslist, Event Brite, etc.
Write favorable reviews of your music on Amazon, I-tunes, and other E-commerce sites.

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR ONLINE STREET TEAM

Send out missions once a week that focus on different areas of the internet. Week 1 can be Facebook missions. Week 2 can be Twitter missions. Week 3 can be forum missions, etc.
Require screen shots with examples of online work for points and other rewards.
Make easy to obtain goals for the team like “reach 5000 members” or “comment on 5 blogs.” Make sure missions take the team no more than 20 minutes per week.
MOST IMPORTANTLY : BE NICE! Remember that these are VOLUNTEERS, not slaves. Shower each street team member with kindness and you will see amazing results. Make sure they know that the harder they work, the more they will get in return.
Thank everyone for their hard work at the end of the tour or campaign so they want to come back and help again!

HOW TO REWARD YOUR DIGITAL STREET TEAM

Online street team rewards can range from simple things such as free down loads and tickets to shows to huge rewards for big bands like an iPod loaded with a band’s music, VIP Fly Away for 2 people to a show, signed Guitar or Box Sets.
People that REALLY go above and beyond should be invited to band sound checks and backstage to meet the band.
Anyone who does “some” work but not enough for a free ticket should at least get a free download or CD so they feel like their work was worth something.
Make 100% SURE that no names are left off a guest list and double check with your tour manager to make sure no ball is dropped at a venue. Nothing is more frustrating to a hard working street team member than being left off of a guest list after they did all of that hard work!
Online campaigns work best as competitions for the most points. Top 10 point winners get the biggest rewards

—

Erik Koral is the President/CEO/Founder of FanManager, a full service digital marketing firm in Los Angeles. The company specializes in street team management, social media campaigns, viral marketing campaigns, and creative services. Some clients include Depeche Mode, Shakira, Infected Mushroom, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Umphrey’s McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Harmony Festival, and many others. Please Contact FanManager if you want a proposal or pricing to run your digital campaigns in 2011.

Digital Music Strategy Guide

2010-12-15T17:12:00.002Z

Virginie Berger's guide to a good digital music strategy provides some useful insights into the essential online profiles bands should be using, how to use these, the importance of establishing an email database, understanding SEO and stats and all sorts of goodies. Enjoy!

Virginie Berger's Digital Music Strategy Guide

(Via Make It In Music)

Is Money Limiting Your Band’s Growth?

2010-12-07T15:25:00.000Z

Original post from Music Think Tank

You might have assumed from the title of this article that it would be about techniques of acquiring funding to pay for the overheads of running a band, or exploring where best to invest your marketing budgets. Not today I’m afraid.

Today I’m going to challenge the other side of the coin and suggest that money is bad for your band.

To clarify that statement in more detail, my opinion is that focusing on short-term methods of monetising your music career too early on is counter-productive when trying to build a successful and sustainable music career. The classic example is that by selling your music exclusively on iTunes opposed to offering it to fans free of charge fewer people will consume and share your song. One of those people might have gone on to become a loyal monetisable fan, but by focusing on trying to squeeze a few pennies out of them in the short term, you lose the chance, or at least significantly limit the possibility of increasing your bands growth rate and financial value over the long run.

However, I see money as an enabler and a vital ingredient (to some extent) in accelerating a band towards a successful music career. So, in other words, I think your band should try to make money and operate as a business, but you shouldn’t let your perception of money get in the way. Ultimately, your value as a band is determined by the depth of the relationships you have with fans and the quantity of those relationships, neither of which can be bought directly.

Less money forces you to be smarter

In some ways, this statement would provide good reasoning for why most of the smartest marketing campaigns are coming from the lower budget indie artists / labels rather than the majors. Unfortunately I have no evidence for it, but it’s something I believe is true in this instance.

I’ll use myself as an example. I don’t come from a wealthy background nor do I have a big pot of cash, so when I want to make a design change to The Musician’s Guide that requires coding or design work beyond my knowledge, I learn how to do it myself because I know it will make me better at what I do in the long run – by having less money, I have become more valuable. The same principle applies for bands, sure - you can pay other people to do all your marketing, recording, management, and booking, but you won’t learn the valuable transferable skills.

I know, I know “but we don’t want to spread our selves too thin”, “shouldn’t we focus on just getting our songs as good as possible” – I’ve responded to some of the common counter arguments in a blog post about time management here, but what I’m getting at here is perception.

If you perceive that you need more money to help you market your band in bigger ways through radio promotion channels, TV adverts, and paid interviews, then find the nearest dripping wet salmon and have a friend slap you with it. You don’t need money for marketing – when I recently ran a blog series on ‘how would you spend a £500 song release budget’ music marketing gurus Jon Ostrow, Dave Huffman, Brian Hazard, and myself all failed to spend the full budget, simply because we all identified that the best marketing is funded by a combination of your time and passion, not money.

When you perceive money as being a non-essential item to your bands success, suddenly the pressure falls in the hands of song quality and marketing ideas. Both of which are free, of course.

I have a question to wrap this up. If two bands were hypothetically releasing an identical song and one was given £10,000 to market the song starting tomorrow, and the other band were given 10 days of brainstorming time and no money, who would you place your money on to come out with the more successful marketing strategy?

—

This article was written by Marcus Taylor, author and founder of The Musician’s Guide, an artist development project that offers musicians resources on succeeding in the music industry, including downloadable music contracts, lists of music venues, and a variety of musician training materials.

Click here for comments

Take It Away

2010-12-01T17:03:00.001Z

The lovely folks at Take It Away have featured us on their site and newsletter today!

Have a look at what they have to say here

Take It Away is an Arts Council initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing music. Through take It Away, you can apply for a loan of up to £2,000 to purchase a musical instrument, and pay the loan back in nine, interest free monthly installments.

Check them out here!

The Importance Of Great Website Visuals

2010-11-30T14:53:00.000Z

Original post from Hypebot.

"You've heard it before. Keep fans on your site. Visuals are important. The first is straightforward. Don't bring fans to your site and send them to Myspace. Your site is yours, while Myspace is not. Likewise, if fans find you on Myspace, give them a reason to visit your site. That way, you can take ownership the relationship and not lose out if anything ever happens to your Myspace page. Second, it's imperative to have good visuals.

Whether they be YouTube videos or otherwise, fans should have something to watch. It keeps them interested and gives them a reason to hang around your website longer than if they read your last news update and left. Good visuals also serve to solidify the image of an artist in the mind of new fans and help them further recognize what they look like. This brings us to the team behind the cinematic electro pop artist called Oh Land. Not to waste a first impression, they've launched a new website for their artist that features her music videos both as a background on the website and player that features four song selections.

This website redesign instantly exposes new fans to Oh Land's unique visuals and captivates them upon their arrival, giving them something to watch while they click around. View several of Oh Land's recent music videos below. As well, if you visit her new website here, you can look at the videos within the integrated player. In incorporating good visuals so deeply into the online experience, it also gives fans a reason to share the entire website over single videos."

An unavoidable point with regards to the impact of visuals made by Hypebot here. However, it is also worth considering the importance of website accessibility from mobile devices. More and more fans are logging on via smartphones, and websites designed in Flash like this one, simply don't work.

So, Arising Artist's verdict on this one is: Think hard about the best visuals for your website, but DON'T FORGET about making it mobile friendly!

Understanding Your Fans

2010-11-12T12:56:00.000Z

Original post from Music Think Tank

It is common knowledge that establishing, building upon and maintaining a fan base is one of, if not the most important goal of any emerging artist who is looking to use their music to forge a sustainable career.

But in order to make sure that your efforts are maximized and your fan base grows properly, it is important that you understand that not all fans are equal.

‘Fan’ is a metric of measurement of a persons dedication to your music.

While everyone likes to say they are a HUGE fan, the reality is a little different: your fan base will range from the mildly engaged Listeners to the overly-dedicated Superfans.

Although creating legitimate and valuable relationships with fans is important, it is also extremely time consuming, especially as your fan base begins to grow. Therefore it is crucial that you understand who your fans are, in terms of dedication, so that as you invest more and more time into establishing and maintaining relationships with fans, you continue to see an increasingly beneficial return in terms of on and offline influence, engagement and sales (both music and ticket sales included).

The Friend
Lets get something straight: a friend can certainly become a fan, but is not by any means, an inherent fan.

When any artist first begins creating their music, the friends are the initial support system: looked to for feedback, to attend the first shows, to help spread the word, etc. And in most cases, friends are more than happy to do these things. But ultimately, these people are supporting YOU because you are a friend, and not necessarily supporting your music as a fan.

The Bandwagon Fan
Bandwagon-ers are those who join into a fan base simply because it is the popular thing to do. Often doing more speaking than anyone else, many bandwagon fans will be the loudest in the room, trying to prove that they belong. While this sounds great, these fans are ultimately less interested in you and your music than they are the other fans and their own sense of belonging.

These are short-term fans who will add little value to your fan base and unfortunately will most likely disappear as quickly as they came.

The Listener
These are passive fans that they will enjoy the music as others share it or post it to their blogs, but ultimately won’t take the action needed to seek out and listen to the music on their own time.

Don’t misinterpret these fans though, as The Listener is truly the lowest level of fan that you do want to put your effort into. With a little effort, a listener will most likely become a hobbyist.

The Hobbyist
Unlike Listeners, The Hobbyist fans are actively seeking new music from new and existing artists. These are fans who may have stumbled upon a song they liked and decided to look into the band a little further. However, for the most part, this research is done just to find a place to stream music or download music for free.

The lack of willingness to purchase music right now is because these fans are still unsure about the need to experience the music on a long term…

Most fans fall into this category, which is unfortunately why music sales have been declining year after year.

The Committed
The Committed fan is someone who buys all of the music and sees the artist/ band perform when they come to town. These are fans who will engage with artists on a regular basis through social media and will sign up for the official mailing list just so they can remain up to date on any and all news.

These are the fans that can be counted on to check out and even share blog articles, youtube videos and even tweets. Typically fans that are committed to your music will be similarly committed to another artist as well and it will show through their Facebook and Twitter updates. In other words, these fans should be highly valued and time should be spent creating real relationships, as these are the fans who will likely convert their friends to become fans as well.

The Superfan
The Superfan is the golden egg. These are the fans that can launch a career. A Superfan will buy an album, then buy it again when a special edition is released. A Superfan won’t just go to a show, they go to as many as they can. A Superfan is beyond a dedicated fan- they have established an emotional connection so strong with the music that it becomes a piece of who they are.

Superfans take their fandom to the streets, and are the best candidates for street team and tribe members. If you find yourself with a Superfan who is almost religiously following you and/or your music, do absolutely everything you can to empower them to continue to build your fan base for you. These are the fans you WANT to give exclusive music, behind the scenes videos, backstage access, etc. as they will be the most likely to reverberate any value you give to them back to the rest of the fan base.

No fan is cemented in a specific category. By identifying what sort of value your fans are looking for, you can continue to build relationships with the Committed and Superfans, meanwhile continuing to refer back to the well of listeners, hobbyists and committed fans in hopes of creating more loyalty and dedication throughout.

Original post

Touring Tips

2010-11-12T12:14:00.000Z

Some food for thought on touring, courtesy of Billboard's Touring Conference.

Touring executives sat down at Billboard's annual Touring Conference and Awards to give advice to up-and-coming artists about the basics of touring. Here are some excerpts from this afternoon's panel, How to Tour and Make Money (Even If No One Knows Who You Are).

-- "The oldest and truest trick in the touring business is for bands to start where they live. Be weary of creating a national audience from scratch." (Andrew Mains, VP of artist relations and marketing, Topspin Media)

Panos Panay, founder/CEO, Sonicbids, offered a counterpoint to that claim, saying, "Nowadays, with the Internet, audiences are becoming global. Maybe your biggest fan base isn't down the street -- maybe it's across the globe."

-- Many panelists noted that meeting agents and industry folks who will help you reach fans on tour is extremely important. Panay offered this insight: "The most important people for baby bands who are touring to meet are other bands. It's the surest way broaden a fanbase -- by swapping shows."

-- On the topic of smaller bands playing alternative venues, like house shows, CutMerch president Steve Gerstman said, "Rock clubs don't want to hear from a band if it can't being in at least 50 people."

-- "An intimate connection with fans in a young age group is invaluable. I encourage playing youth events and high schools -- you will find fans who will support you more than you'd believe." (recording artist Laura Warshauer)

-- When touring smaller markets, view it as an investment in the future. "Plan on going back to every place you had success, and figuratively, leave something of value behind," Mains said.

-- On the lack of tour support from record labels. "It is possible for a band to make it work on tour without tour support from a label -- all of our bands have done it." (John Chavez, agent, Ground Control Touring)

-- "More consumer brands are, in a way, stepping in to replace label funding," Panay said.

-- Tour merch. "Beyond making money on merch, you want someone to be a walking ad for your band," Panay said.

"Merch is two things: You need to make money, but on the other hand, it's important to create a bond between band and fan. Offer different kinds of merch for fans of all commitment levels," Gerstman said.

Original post

Albany Down Play Live at The Albany!

2010-11-10T15:47:00.001Z

10 Merchandising Ideas for Bands

2010-11-04T11:51:00.001Z

Original Post from Live Unsigned Blog

Merchandising, from T-Shirts to Posters to Notebooks is a vital income stream for bands, even more so in the age of free music. Give your audience an opportunity to support and promote you by giving them high quality things to buy.

1 – Use Cafe Press or Zazzle for small runs of merchandise. Both these services (and others) offer the opportunity to upload a design and get it printed onto a variety of items from t-shirts to hoodies to mugs and even babygrows. It works well for small runs and its a fast easy way to add merchandise to your website by creating your own custom Zazzle/Cafe Press store. You don’t have to keep items in stock as they are produced on a bespoke basis but the amount you get in commission from each sale is relatively low. Great for a new band looking to sell their first merchandise.

2 – Use a screen printer for large runs of garments. Zazzle etc are great for small runs but if you want to make money on merchandise sales over 20 units (i.e. for a tour) the only way to do it cost effectively is through a screen printing company. If you’re ordering in bulk you’ll save money, although you may need to reduce the amount of colours in your design as this will keep costs low. The main disadvantage is that if you order in bulk you will need to think carefully about the sizes and quantity of merchandise you will need, never easy in the early days of a band.

3 – Have a great logo (and keep it consistent across everywhere). When you think of the great T-Shirts – The Dead Kennedys logo, Grateful Dead, Exploited Skull, Motorhead England etc they are iconic. Is your design simple, effective and memorable?

...Read more here...

The Dos and Don'ts of Touring

2010-11-02T16:00:00.000Z

The Guardian's indie professor is always a useful source of top tips for bands, this week, she gives 10 pieces of advice on what to do, and what not to do whilst on tour.

1) Pack light, but bring entertainment, as boredom is the true bane of touring. Have two books ready: one to impress journalists when they ask what you're reading (perhaps Proust or the winner of some recent prize for fiction), another that you really want to read, like Harry Potter or a band biography.

2) Use your phone wisely. Phones don't have breathalysers, so think before you dial. For you, 4am might be fine, but your loved ones who are about to go to work will not be amused. Never make a phone call on a hotel phone (unless you're in someone else's room): it'll cost more than most bands' collective monthly wage.

3) Speaking of wage, you'll be living on your per diem (which is Latin for "per day"). Usually it's just enough for a round of drinks or a meal. Choose wisely.

4) Tour bus etiquette. One: greet the driver politely and then minimise all contact with him. By now, he thinks of you and your ilk as zoo animals, and you want to keep it that way. He sees his job as making sure you follow his few rules and, if you do, your tour bus might just become that happy den of debauchery you've always dreamed of. The most important commandment of the tour bus is: "Thou shalt not shit on the tour bus." I've been told the rationale of this, which is really not that relevant, but this prohibition is sacrosanct. Never do this, even if it is an emergency. Better to go on the side of the road than deal with the wrath of someone who has descended into madness due to bad smells. Your other responsibility is to make it back to your bunk. Falling asleep or passing out in public space is taken as provocation to prank you, so if you don't want photos of you dressed as an alien circulating on the internet, get back to your own berth.

5) Don't get left behind. I know you think you're essential, but as you start to look the same as everyone else to certain professionals, you need to make sure you're not left at a hotel, a venue, a truckstop or at the side of a highway as you're adhering to the aforementioned sacred rule. If you do leave the bus, place something on the driver's seat so he knows someone has moved. An explicit note would be best – something like: "One of your charges has temporarily left the enclosure but will return shortly." This has the added benefit of being polite and irritating simultaneously – a coup!

6) Dressing rooms are never secure, so hide anything you don't want stolen. Opportunists and drug dealers tend to take anything shiny. Fans want relatively valueless items. And everyone wants your booze.

7) Hotels. Choose up front how you are going to do this. Are you planning to have this be the most expensive hotel bill of all time, or are you not paying for anything? If you choose the latter, don't have the afterparty in your room. This is a rookie mistake. In the party room, guess who's paying for the drinks and the holes in the wall? If you've chosen the expensive route, try and do it when the press are around. This is like blowing up a car in a film: the expense of the destruction is made up for by the entertainment value it provides for the greatest number of people.

8) What happens on the road never stays on the road. Touring is not Las Vegas. Everything you do will, without fail, eventually get back home. A girlfriend might look at a blog where someone mentions that you were seen leaving the bar with a blonde in a tartan skirt and black boots. Also, if you cheat, your friends will know – and if one of them likes your missus he will take this as an invitation to sleep with her. You've read your rock books – now you know why all those musicians stole each other's girls.

9) Always be nice to the crew. Bands come and go but the crew go on forever. They'll be there on your way up and there on your way down. Also, you're at their mercy on stage. You don't want to end up with bodily secretions in your beer, profanity in your monitor mix or a private part rubbed on your melodica.

10) Don't complain. Everyone will eventually drive everyone crazy, but you'll be the first if you start moaning about the size of the seats on the aeroplane, how cramped you are from sleeping on a guitar case, or how bad the food is. The only things you can complain about are fellow musicians or the fact that there wasn't enough alcohol. Otherwise, keep it to yourself. Touring is like being in a marriage with people you don't (usually) have sex with. Sex will make you put up with a lot of things that would otherwise make you kill someone. The way to cope with this tension is to creatively express your hostility through pranks – such as, when your singer expresses his antipathy to Rodrigo y Gabriela, getting the soundman to play their record before the start of every show. If you see the humour in this, you're ready for your tour to start.

Original post

The Make-or-Break Band Photo

2010-11-01T16:18:00.001Z

Original Post from Sonicbirds

If ever there were a globally overlooked and underestimated beast permeating most band promo materials, it is, without doubt, the “band promo pic”. The butt of jokes in many music industry related environments from booking offices to record labels, the “lame band photo” is a creature numerous and unrelenting. I’ve seen a never-ending sea of “brick backdrops” on display in unapologetic “walls of shame” at some of the most prominent hubs of music commerce in the world.

You don’t make excuses for your music. Don’t make them for your pics.

Many bands talk themselves out of the expense of professional shots using rationalizations like “I have a digital camera and my girlfriend takes pretty good shots” or “I’m creative and I can kinda get around Photoshop” and on and on. Good quality, imaginative promo pics that capture the attention and imagination of the “non-musicians” that influence where your band’s image will be displayed (anything from print publications, blogs, marketing promotional materials, etc.) can mean the difference between unexpected exposure in a variety of media or brand limbo.

Clear focus on a good digital camera does not equate to a “good quality” pic. Unless you are a professional Senior Graphic Designer or better, your Photoshop skills will pale in comparison to the experienced designer at the other end of this chain who will be the person responsible, in many cases, for how your image is used or deciding if it is good enough to be used at all. Don’t litter your image with canned effects or text. The designer will be able to call out the name of the canned filter you used by name, laugh at you and skip to the next band.

Your music can open a door and your pic can just as quickly close it. The convergence of media makes this part of your package as important as your music and deserves the same reverence to advance your band to the next stage.

What DOES make a good promo shot?

1) Give people something to remember by making them think.
Four guys against a brick wall or on railroad tracks will turn my brain to mush faster than Algebra. Don’t be afraid to invoke a “WTF” reaction. Take chances on backgrounds, poses, sets, scenarios, perspective, lighting, composition or any combination thereof. Don’t know what some of this means? Your photographer will.

2) Pick the right photographer
We’re not talking about the guy that does portraits at Kmart. Or maybe we are? Maybe getting promo shots that look like the movie poster for “The 40 Year Old Virgin” is EXACTLY the kind of shot that captures the playfulness of your music. That would certainly make me say WTF?! Seek out photographers that work on your local music publications or that are known for taking amazing live shots. You can even look for photographers that have nothing to do with music (there is amazing talent associated with Ad agencies, small and large, that still need to make their bread and butter – be the butter!). The bottom line is they will have an understanding of lighting, perspective, expression and an arsenal of lenses and experience at their disposal. You should expect to pay anywhere from $200-$400. Stop cringing – you NEED this or suffer “the wall”!

3) Learn about file formats
A Low-Res image for web use is 72 dpi (dots per inch) RGB (Red, Green Blue) and can be in formats such as .GIF, .JPG and .PNG, which are the most commonly used. If you intend for images to be used in print media a 72 dpi image WILL NOT WORK.
A High-Res image is for print use, as well as detailed digital manipulation. This would be a 300 dpi file. RGB for web and CMYK for print (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key Black ) and can be .JPG, .TIFF, or .EPS formats. In a digital environment, such as your EPK, this image will seem HUGE on the screen. That is absolutely fine. It’s supposed to.

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EPK’s ON SONICBIDS HAVE AT LEAST 1 TRUE, HIGH-RES PIC AVAILABLE.
This means you must upload the 300 dpi formatted image and check “Hi-Res” check box in EDIT MY EPK. We’ll do the rest.

4) Understand what works best and why
As cool as a blurry, motion shot from a live show may seem, it’s unusable in most situations. Shots of gear or toys or your dog are also virtually useless. I know there are bands that feel like this can be an expression of creativity. Save it for your CD art. For the purposes of your EPK and getting the attention of the promoters and press, a clear shot featuring unobstructed faces will win every time. One of the oldest cornerstones of marketing is “people relate to faces”. A face covered by your rad indie “do” will only create a barrier between you and the person viewing the pic.

The bottom line… an interesting, creative, clear, quality photo can drive people to listen to your music or simply inspire them to use it in a context you haven’t thought of that will drive awareness of your band you didn’t imagine was possible. Trust web producers, editors and art directors, who have worked for years honing their craft, to do what they’re good at. Just give them the awesome content and help them help you. It’s what they are there for and that is your good fortune.

Original Post from Sonicbirds

How To Post A Perfect Press Kit On Your Website

2010-10-26T16:51:00.000+01:00

Original post from Music Think Tank by Ariel Hyatt

"I’m often amazed when I go to an artist’s website, and I look around, and I’m trying to find basic press information and I can’t.

It seems that in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook Fan pages, and constantly focusing on your two-way conversations, we’ve forgotten the important basics.

This is a revised excerpt from my book, Music Success in Nine Weeks, (which, btw 65 artists are blogging their way through I’m proud to say) and it talks about an asset that no matter what we all face with new digital solutions, new platforms and apps that we’re going to be forced to learn, we should always remember: Your press kit.

It’s up to you to post your press information clearly and succinctly, so that you’re easy to find and write about. Posting an accessible press kit to share with journalists and new media makers( bloggers, podcasters, etc.) is good common sense.

Editors need access to your information quickly, because they are constantly under deadline. If you do not make it easy for them to get your information from your site, they may move onto another one of the 50 artists that are playing in their town that same week.

1. YOUR MUSIC – ALBUM OR LIVE TRACKS

Make sure you have some music available at your website or a very obvious link to your MySpace page where people can hear the music instantly. Many newspapers are now including online listings where they include MP3s of artists coming to town, so make it easy for them to grab the tracks to add to their own sites – this is additional excellent exposure for you.

2. YOUR BIOGRAPHY – MUST INCLUDE YOUR PITCH

Make sure you have a short, succinct bio that can be easily located on your site, in addition to the long form one, the blogs and all of the opinions from each band member – which are fun for your fans but not for music writers who will be looking to get quick information. Make sure this bio can be easily cut-and-pasted so writers can drop it into a preview or a column.

CREATE A SHORT VERSION FOR THE CALENDAR EDITOR

Make sure you add your PITCH /USP (Unique Selling Point) as a stand-alone portion to your bio that sums up your sound for calendar editors. It should be no more than 10 words.

TIP: Post 3 versions of your bios

1. Long Form

2. In 50 Words

3. In 1 sentence (10 words or less)

TIP: MAKE SURE THE BIO CAN BE EASILY CUT-AND-PASTED!

Do NOT have your bio in Flash format; make sure that editors can easily cut and paste it right off of your site.

3. YOUR PHOTOS – MAKE THEM EASY TO FIND AND DOWNLOAD

Thumbnails are great for quick and easy loading but are detrimental for use in newspapers. You should always have a few downloadable photos on your site in at least 300 dpi / jpg format.

TIP: Create an easy-to-see link that says “click here for a hi res / low res jpg.” That way photo editors can get to them easily. When the photos are downloaded; make sure they are properly named with your name or your band’s name, so that photo editors can find them in folders and on messy desktops!

TIP: Remember to change your photos a few times a year – so if you play the same markets over and over, you can give the media multiple options for covering you.

TIP: Put the band members’ names from left to right (l-r) under the band photo to give journalists a point of reference. (Many publications publish photos with all band members’ names from left to right to save the writers the trouble of having to ask for the names.)

4. INCLUDE YOUR ALBUM COVER & ADDITIONAL ARTWORK

You also want to make sure you include your cover art in both hi res and lo res (jpg format). This way if your CD is being reviewed, the reviewer can download the artwork to add to the review. If you have additional assets like band logos or graphics add them here as well.

5. INCLUDE PRESS CLIPS OR FAN TESTIMONIALS IF YOU HAVE THEM

What you say about you is one thing…. However: What others say about you is trusted in a different way. So, if you have articles that were written about you or great quotes to add from fans – do it! (if you don’t just ask your fans to contribute to your site – they will be happy to do so)

FINAL TIP: Sonicbids is a fabulous place to build and maintain a perfect press kit and you won’t need a web designer to help you – so build your perfect press kit there, link to it and VOILA!"

10 Ways to Book More Gigs

2010-10-20T13:37:00.000+01:00

Orignal post by Music Think Tank

Assuming that you have strong songs and an kickass live show, here are ten simple things you can do to get more gigs:

1. Create a YouTube channel for your band.
Upload a live performance video on YouTube that represents your band at its best. Include a phone number and e-mail address too, so that anyone who wants to book you can contact you easily. Say something like “Contact ________ to book us for a live show.” To show professionalism and interest, try your best to respond to every inquiry within 48 hours.

2. Print up nice business cards
…with your band name, links to your music, live videos, and a phone number and e-mail address that can be reached for booking purposes. Also, include a link to your website so they can learn more about you. You’d be surprised how many bands STILL write down their phone numbers on dirty napkins and torn pieces of paper. Wherever you go, tell people who you are, how good you are, where you are playing next, and how easy it is for them to book you directly.

3. Go watch other bands that sound like you.
If there are any bands in your area with large followings, get out to a couple shows and become friends with other bands. Ask the bigger bands to let you open for them, maybe in exchange for some kind of help like designing a website, flyer, banner, etc. The harder you work for a band bigger than your band, and the more respectful you are to them and their efforts, the more likely they will consider you for an opening slot. Talk up how good your band is and why you are better than similar bands in the area.

4. Tell your fans how easy it is to book you.
Wherever you play - the street, house party, club or major venue, make sure your fans are aware that you’re willing to play anywhere. Use the Live Music Machine’s booking and calendar widget. Put it on your Facebook page, MySpace profile, personal web site, etc. and tell your fans to go there and book you for their private events, house parties, etc. After playing a gig, you should walk around the audience, engage people, ask them what they thought of the show, and let them know you are available to play live anywhere they want you too. Telling them that will definitely help you stand out from the pack.

5. Get guerilla.
Set up wherever there is a crowd of people who might like your music and play for them. Club, high school, venue, and stadium parking lots. How many tailgate parties do you think would love some free entertainment? Play outside clubs where bands are playing that fit in with your style of music. Those people waiting in line are going to be bored, so playing a spontaneous gig right on the spot will definitely make an unforgettable impression.

6. Don’t forget the old school.
Hand out flyers and post cards at events that have a link to free stuff and a way to book you for a gig.

7. Network with key industry people at events and conferences.
Radio PD’s and DJ’s, club owners, band managers, label executives, and others all attend music conferences quite regularly. Say hello to these people, maybe buy them a drink or dinner, but don’t make a nuisance of yourself. Respect their space and don’t try shoving a CD in their face two minutes after meeting them. Introduce yourself casually, let them know who you are and where they can see you play. If’s it’s a club owner, tell them you would love to come in during the day and do a free audition for a free gig. Just make sure you can get a place to sell your merchandise if you nab a gig. Offer to play at places that may not always host live music, like restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and malls.

8. Get creative.
Write up a proposal and present it to the appropriate person at your local school board, offering to do a series of free shows to raise money for the school athletic or band program. Ask to perform during a school assembly when they can provide you with a built-in audience.

9. Find places where bands similar to yours play.
Use ReverbNation’s “Gig Finder” to figure out where bands are getting booked in your area. However, e-mailing clubs with your RPK or EPK usually won’t get any results, because many of these venues have yet to claim their venue pages on ReverbNation. Instead, after finding some good places, print out your press kit and mail it to them, or better yet, personally drop it off it in a nice professional package along with a CD to any decision maker at the club. Follow up with a call within a couple of days so you stay fresh in their minds. If the decision maker has an assistant, get to know that person and you will find that it will be much easier to get in the door. If you email them anything at all, make it your MySpace link along with a concise paragraph stating why they should book you. For some reason, most clubs still feel most comfortable checking you out on MySpace, so play by their rules.

10. Do a gig swap!
If you have a respectable following or are an up and coming band, use sites like Indieonthemove.com and Splitgigs.com to trade and share gigs with other bands who might want to break into your market. Collaboration is key to success in today’s fragmented music industry.

BONUS TIP! Everywhere you go, wherever you play, whomever you talk to about your band… collect as many e-mail addresses as you can. E-mail is still one of the best ways to communicate directly with your fan base, and develop long-lasting relationships.

What Promoters Want From Bands

2010-10-15T13:03:00.000+01:00

From Live Unsigned Blog

What are promoters looking for in a band? From a promoters perspective the bottom line is they want a full venue. The way they achieve this is by booking bands that are proactive in getting people to the gigs. You could argue (quite fairly) that it's the promoter's job to get people to the gig but this happens very rarely, so it's better for everyone for you to make sure you have an audience to play to. A proactive effort is beneficial to all concerned, promoters talk to each other and your reputation can grow.

Before booking a gig
It has to be a given that the you have a tight well rehearsed set. Ensure when you approach a promoter that you have a good press kit with blog quotes and a really good recording of your music and mention venues you have played before. The traditional method is to start local and work outwards to places further from where you live (and don’t play the same place too often). Think about how you can make the gig a special event – perhaps a CD release party, a seasonal tie-in, a one night must be there event. Band plus support isn’t good enough, who’s going to talk about that?
If it's your first gig get some friends down to practice and really perform in the practice room. You need to walk on stage with complete self belief. Think not only about the songs, think about how you will perform them. Think about the set list and the overall dynamic curve of the set as one coherent piece of music. Start big and noisy, drop down to a few quieter songs and finish even bigger is a proven winner.

6-8 Weeks before the gig
If you want the gig to be featured in the local print press and radio now is the time to get in touch. If you are making the gig an event try and get a chance to speak to someone in the local press about it. Send them chocolates, remember their name and be remarkable. What can you do to stand out from thousands of other bands? What is your story? It should be all about the music but people need a story to hang it on.

4 Weeks before the gig
The first step to building a following is getting your friends to the gig. Use a listing on Live Unsigned and a Facebook event initially. See if you can Ustream the event (make sure you add this to your Live Unsigned listing if you can) to allow your web audience to see the gig. Make sure all the people in the band invite their friends and ideally try and get your friends to invite their friends. Mail out to your mailing list about the gig. Invite any local bloggers and press and sort out your guest list with the promoter.

1 week before the gig
A week or so before send out a message to all potential guests on the Facebook event. Post a blog about your preparations for the the gig, the stage outfits, the set list and keep people in the loop. Post a video of your rehearsals. If there are any gigs on in the area by bands similar to yourself try handing out flyers to the people going in and out. When Black Flag toured in the 80’s they constantly used these Guerrilla Marketing techniques to build a following. Henry Rollins’ Black Flag tour diaries are full of this stuff. Ask your fans to help spread the word on Twitter and Facebook and on their blogs – you will get better results if you they spread the word for you, rather than trying to push it yourself and coming across as spam.

On the day before the gig
Tweet about the gig and update your Facebook status about it – do a last minute blog about the event. Make sure you are musically ready and all your equipment is good to go (use a check list of what you need to take).

The day of the gig
Turn up early and make sure you are friendly to the sound engineer, the promoter, the venue staff, other bands and crowd. You are there to make friends and build a reputation, not wander on and play a half hour set. This is a great real world social networking opportunity. Are there any friends you can text to remind them about the gig? Ensure you are using your Twitter and Facebook status to talk about the gig, you can probably get away with tweeting about it more than you can Facebook status updates. Remember to tell people about your mailing list/website when you play and get the email address of people who enjoy your set and sell them a CD.

After the gig
Email the promoter to say thanks and make contact with the other bands who played. Email and message your friends and fans to say thank you for the support. Make contact with any new people who have joined your mailing list. Write a blog about the gig and tell the world how great it was (or wasn’t), be honest!

Focus on really looking after a small fanbase rather than spamming others, so they will tell their friends. This will lead to long term organic growth, building up as you go.

Original post from Live Unsigned Blog

A Tale of DIY Success #2

2010-10-15T11:51:00.000+01:00

...This time with a little bit of luck thrown into the mix.

Scotty James took to the streets, knocking on doors, busking on people's doorsteps, requesting $10 a song to raise money for his first album. In late August, Scotty happened upon another door, a door which belonged to John Ioannou. John Ioannou told Scotty that he ran a music company. Blown away by the performance and his evident hard work, John set Scotty three challenges:

1 - Take Nelly's "Just A Dream", come up with an acoustic Scotty James version of the track.
2 - Serenade girls at colleges and universites (John wanted to see their reaction to Scotty and his music)
3 - Sing to people on the bus

Less than a month after Scotty first knocked on John's door, they met with a producer, and he's now in the studio recording his debut album, funded by John, as he met all of his challenges.

John ends by saying (here comes the cheesy line) "That's proof that opportunity really does knock!"

Originally posted Hypebot

A Tale of DIY Success

2010-10-14T13:24:00.001+01:00

A recent blog post by Bob Lefsetz featured Hollorama's video for their track 'Americanarama' which was quickly becoming something of a viral hit thanks to taking a lead from the likes of OK Go and their choreographed videos of late.

Then, a few days later, one of Hollorama's members got in touch. Thanking Bob for the mention, and letting him, and the rest of his blog subscribers, how they've got to where they are:

"Hello Mr. Lefsetz
I am a longtime reader of your column, first time writer. I wanted to say thanks for talking about us last week. Besides getting a whole bunch of new people to take notice of hollerdo, it really meant a lot to me personally to have you talk about what we are doing.

We are a DIY band through and through. I would love for you to get to know our band a little more.

-We come from a small town in Ontario called Manotick

-We have been touring relentlessly for 4 years

-For our first american tour, no-one wanted to book us. So, instead of booking shows, we drove as far way from our homes in canada as we could get. We would then show up at venues where a show was going on and tell them we were 2000 miles away from home, had a gig booked down the street but it somehow feel through. "Would you guys mind if we played a short set here tonight?" IT WORKED! We played countless shows this way.

-Since we rarely got paid more than a few drinks and sometimes pizza, we needed to make gas money.

-We had a laptop with the the tracks to our demo CD. We would go to best buy, get a CD burner and a couple spindles of blank cds. We would burn a hundred demos in the parking lot and then return the CD burner to Best Buy. we would then put the demos in ziplock bags. (hence the name of our first record....record in a bag)

-Once we had a stash of demos we would drive to the nearest mall and set up shop in front of Hot Topic (probly the most shameless thing we have done for our band). We would stand there for hours, with discmen and demos asking anyone who would stop to take a listen if they wanted to buy a demo in a bag. We could sell the discs for 5 bucks and still make $4.50 to put towards gas.

-We did this for 2 years. Anything to avoid having a real job, right?

-In febuary 2009, we released our first full length album for FREE online.

-That same month we invented the RESIDENCY TOUR. We took the old concept of playing a residency one day a week at the same bar and made it psyco. We booked 7 residencies for the month, one for each night of the week. Every Sunday of that cold February we played in at the same club in Boston, every monday at Piano's in NYC, Tuesday was Lacolle Quebec, Wednesdays- Hamilton ontario, Thursdays - Toronto, Friday - Ottawa, Saturday - Montreal. Repeat 4
times. 28 shows in a row. over 12,000 miles of crap canadian winter driving in 28 days.

- In febuary 2010, we started our own record label to release "record in a bag" in stores in Canada. Although every distributor we talked to said it was impossible, we were finally able to convince one (Arts and Crafts) that we could literally package "record in a bag" in a ziplock bag filled with goodies. So far we have sold over 10,000 copies of it in Canada. With no label support, our first single "Juliette" went top 5 in mainstream Canadian alternative radio.

- Things began to take hold in Canada and we soon became privy to the Canadian grant system for touring acts. Still, when they gave us a budget to play a showcase in China, we took the budget and stretched it for all it was worth. We turned it into a 3 week tour deep into china. We recorded a song in mandarin chinese and released it on the internet in China. We were able to return for another tour 6 months later.

-We can play our instuments. We play live and we play live alot, hundreds of shows a year, we sweat. We take requests. We play covers we don't know. We play for the audience, as much as eachother, because without them we would still be in back Manotick, working jobs we hated. We play anywhere anytime. It is what we love more than anything.

-We listen to good bands (Petty, Roy Orbison, The Clash, Booker T, Paul Butterfield, John Prine). We have a strong conviction that pop music does not have to suck.

- We are 4 best friends (2 of the guys are brothers). We intend to do this for a long time. We want to have careers and catalogues that we can be proud of. Personally, i think, our song for the video you talked about is not nearly our stongest. Since then we have written a whole bunch more, and like anything else, they are getting better with practice.

-I truly believe we have a few songs on our album that really have heart and are really about things. i'd love for you to listen to our record, because although we are happy with what the video has accomplished creatively and exposure-wise, we are a rock band and the bottom line is that we make songs.

it is for these reasons that i would like to invite you to see us live when we play in Los Angeles later this month.

thanks for reading

sincerely

-Menno Versteeg

ps. Would you mind sending me your address so i can mail you a copy of "record in a bag"?"

While it goes without saying that this approach won't work in every circumstance, it is testament to what hard work, determination and persistence can do for a band.

Fan Funding Your Project

2010-10-12T13:36:00.001+01:00

Original post from Live Unsigned Blog

"Recently there has been a lot of talk about fan/crowd funding for bands, this is essentially the idea of getting fans to pay in advance for the recording and production costs to make albums. This allows you to be free of record company/bank debt. There are sites like Pledge Music, Kickstarter or Rocket-Hub that can run the whole thing for you or you can do it fairly easily yourself. Its an idea that is becoming more and more popular. It really gets fans involved from the beginning, even some of the bigger acts are starting to use this model from Gang Of Four to The Duke Special to Public Enemy!

When planning a fan-funding campaign the first thing to do is work out how much money you need to raise for your project. Don’t go too high with your target and always try and keep your costs low, on many of the fan funding sites if you don’t raise the full amount within the alloted time you get nothing. One of the advantages of doing it yourself is if you don’t make the full amount you still get to keep what you have made.

You need to think realistically, do you really have a committed enough fan base/friends and family to make it work? Its not really about how big your mailing list is, its more about how connected your audience feels to you. You may have a few really loyal fans that want to spend hundreds of pounds on you because they are really excited about hearing your next record Make sure you explain what you are raising the money for – post some demos of tracks you are working on and some video explanations, really make the effort to involve your audience. Make it so its you and them against the world.

...Read more here...

10 Ways to Show Fan Appreciation

2010-10-11T15:15:00.000+01:00

In a recent post, musicmarketing.com gave some ideas on how you can let your fans know that you appreciate them, coming down to the little things like saying "thank you":

"They come to your shows, they buy your albums, and they wear your t-shirts. They are your fans, and you love them as much as you need them. Show how can you show them that you appreciate their support and dedication? Here are ten ways!"

1. Give Out Free Music
Everybody loves free music, and your fans would love a free MP3 or two that they can download from your website. You may even make brand new singles available before your CD release to your dedicated fans who register on your site. This is a great way to show appreciation and find out what the interest is in your upcoming album. If you don’t have a website yet, consider handing out CD’s or even mini-CD’s with a couple songs on them at your shows or other venues. Music is what it’s all about, after all.

2. Make a Badass Website
Give your fans a home on the internet to come and find out everything they need to know about you and your music. Your website can be interactive, informative, and fun. Include links to your blog, music and video from your shows, a place to buy your CD’s and merchandise, a press kit, band member profiles, and pictures. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune—there are lots of ways to get a website going up and running even if you’re not a web developer—but the more you are able to put in to your site, the more benefit you (and your fans) will see from it.

3. Online Forums for Interaction
There are message boards for every possible subject you can think of—from dirt bike racing to religion to Chinese cooking. These forums allow people with a common interest to meet up online and “hang out” together online to discuss their favorite subject as well as other topics of interest. These forums take on a real community feeling and can be a great asset, keeping your fans entertained. You’ll also be able to read conversations between fans and find out what they like—or don’t like—about your music. Most people feel much more confident posting their opinions anonymously on a message board and you’ll have a chance to read some really honest feedback.

4. Respond to Fans Who Write and Email
Unless you’re a platinum selling artist, you probably don’t have millions of fans. This gives you the opportunity to really connect with the fans you do have, especially the ones who take the time to send you an email or post on your MySpace page or blog. Set aside an hour or two each week to respond to your people who contact you online. They will be thrilled to have a personal response from you—even if it is just a quick one line message like “Thanks for your support!”

5. Free T-shirts
The power of a free t-shirt is the stuff of legends. It is incredible what people will do for a free shirt, and giving them out to your fans is a great way to show them how much you appreciate their loyalty. Not only will they enjoy having a new addition to their wardrobe, but if it looks great they will wear it everywhere and advertise your band for you. It’s really a win/win situation. Put as much effort as you can in to making it cool—something people will want to put on and wear around in public.

6. Offer to Play an Event for Free
Consider having a contest and offering to play a party for free for the winners. Who wouldn’t love to have a live band at their next block party or birthday? A contest is a great way to generate interest in both your band and your website—and playing a personal show for a loyal fan is just about the ultimate prize for someone who loves your music. You can also play a local charity event or fundraiser as a way to contribute toward the success of an organization you care about. You’ll have a place on all their marketing and advertising which is a great way to get your name out in public eye, too.

7. Give Out Free Passes to the Show
For every show you play, keep a pocket full of free passes and make sure you hand them out liberally. Give some to DJs to give out to their listeners, and offer some in a random drawing on your website. Free passes give your fans extra incentive to show up at your performances, and you may even gain a few new fans, too. If you don’t have a cover at your show, offer a special table that is reserved for your guests or consider planning a ‘dinner with the band’ promotion.

8. Do Interviews
Taking an hour out of your week to sit down with a loyal blogger or reporter can show your appreciation for the people who promote you for free. Giving a blogger the ‘inside scoop’ on your next CD or show is a great way to help them help you—they will be able to offer information that no one else has, and you will get plenty of publicity.

9. Hang Out After the Show
Spend time after the show meeting the people who have come to watch you. There’s no need to make it a formal event; just grab your beer and walk around. A simple, “Thanks for coming to see the show” will suffice and you never know who you will meet. This is a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with your fans and make your show memorable—something they will go to work and tell all their friends about the next day.

10. Say Thank You
It’s simple, but effective. Say “Thank You”. When you are finished playing, when someone emails you, when someone writes a blog post about you, and when someone volunteers to hand out flyers. Having the attitude that you are grateful at all times is the key to showing genuine appreciation to your fans.

Original post

10 Places to Play Gigs

2010-10-08T14:11:00.000+01:00

Playing live doesn't mean you're restricted to grubby venues with flat beer, Live Unsigned's latest article gives some more interesting ideas on where to play, and how these can help you promote your band.

Are you bored of playing the same local venues as everybody else? Looking for a way of getting press by doing something special? Here are some places you can play that are unusual and interesting both for musicians and audiences. Get people talking and make things interesting (some of these ideas may require approval by authorities/local councils!) and remember to put a listing on Liveunsigned.com so people know about it :

1 – House Concerts – a big thing in the US and growing around the world, house concerts involve having a band play in your home. Hosts invite guests and ask them to make a donation for the artist, often the host provides a bed and food for the musicians. Many bands use house concerts as a way of filling days off between gigs and connecting with their most loyal fans. Why not email out to the people on your mailing list and ask if anyone is interested in hosting a concert in their home?

2 – Skate Parks – Skaters are often into music and skate parks are brilliant places to play for punk and metal bands (and others). Hire a PA and make it an event, collaborate with the skate park owners.

3 – Guerilla Gigs/Busking – Many artists started their career busking but many well known artists still like to play live on the streets, its often referred to as a guerilla gig. Laws on busking and what you can get away with vary from place to place. Tweet about it and get people down, even if it is at the last minute. Amanda Palmer from the Dresdon Dolls does this on her solo tours and it gives her a great chance to connect with fans (especially younger ones who can’t get into over 18’s clubs).

4 – The Launderette – London band Real Fur have converted their local launderette into a pop up venue – great idea and it got them a lot of press. Innovation gets people talking.

5 – Art Galleries – Great for ambient/acoustic artists and a chance to play to an audience you otherwise may not get a chance to play to. You’ll be amazed at the response from the art community if you just ask – offer to play for free and sell CD’s.

6 – Squats – In many cities there are whole squat scenes that attract an exciting art punk crowd. Watch out for an upcoming post on the Live Unsigned blog about squat scenes in more detail.

7 – Shops – Oxfam hold regular charity events in their shops called Oxjam, sometimes having well known bands play. Record shops and book shops often have live gigs. I once saw The Buzzcocks play in Selfridges!

8 – Museums – A friend of mine does regular gigs at the V & A museum in London as an experimental soundtrack to silent films. Museums often hold events, approach them and see if you can provide some appropriate and interesting music. Build relationships with people and see what happens.

9 – Bandstands and the great outdoors – Have you got a generator (or can hire one)? Then head out to the forest, park, bandstand or any open space and play. In London Bandstand Busking organise regular events in the bandstands in the squares of Central London (apparently the council turn a blind eye). Its even easier if you are an acoustic act. Doom metal band Kyuss used to play in the local desert in the early days.

10 – In the back of a cab – OK you’re not going get a big crowd into a cab but the Black Cab Sessions is a great example of people doing something interesting and developing an online following. The idea is people play live in the back of a cab and its recorded and posted on the internet. There are loads of other interesting ideas for “microgigs” from sheds to offices to cellars. Think of something personal that ties in with your vision as a band.

The point is you can play live anywhere there is a space – some acts may need more equipment than others (and its a good idea to keep an eye out for what the local council might say). The more interesting the better as this gets people talking on Twitter and Facebook and makes a great story for the press and bloggers. Ustream and video the event so you can share it with your online audience. Its got to be more fun than another gig at the same pub that everyone is playing at hasn’t it?

What's The Secret to Writing a Hit?

2010-10-07T16:43:00.000+01:00

Original post from The Guardian

How do you write a hit song? Many authors have claimed to know the secret, and software developers have tried to come up with a formula by running thousands of chart-toppers through computer programs. Of course, no one has a definitive answer. But Guy Chambers, a songwriter who has had his fair share of hits, tried to shed some light on the issue at a recent songwriters masterclass at the British Academy of Composers and Authors (BASCA).

Chambers, like most successful songwriters, started out by playing in bands. He was a member of World Party before forming the Lemon Trees, but as they struggled to gain notable success he turned his attention to writing for other artists, including Bryan Adams and Cathy Dennis. Yet, he felt depressed. "The business was really wearing me down," says Chambers. But when he was on the verge of giving it all up to become a music teacher, his publisher introduced him to Robbie Williams, and he knew straight away they had something special. "We'd sit down together. He'd sing at me while I was playing, and I'd suggest the next bit, then we'd go through the lines one by one and edit," says Chambers. "He was such a determined pop star that I had to be as ambitious as he was and raise my game."

The first song they wrote together was Angels. "I got a migraine from overexcitement," says Chambers. "I knew it was a winner." Robbie had the melody for the verse in his head for a while, and the rest of it came together in half an hour. His co-writer attributes part of the song's success to its economy with words, saying it's easy to remember and sing along to. Quite a few people did, and eventually it was voted best single of the past 25 Years at the Brit awards in 2005.

Apart from Angels, some of Chambers's favourite "babies" are Feel and Millennium. "Using the sample of John Barry's James Bond theme from You Only Live Twice was Robbie's idea," he says. This meant they had to give 50% of the publishing/credit to Barry and the theme's lyricist Leslie Bricusse, despite no lyrics from the original being featured in Millennium. Yet Chambers doesn't feel hard done by, citing the case of Bittersweet Symphony, in which the Verve had to give all the publishing to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as much worse. "Jagger and Richards didn't even write the bit they'd sampled – it was part of the arrangement of a cover of the Stones' The Last Time."

Initially, Robbie didn't want to sing Rock DJ, as he thought it was cheesy. "We had the hook, chorus and the title, but he hated my melody for the verse," says Chambers. "So, as a compromise, he prayed to Ian Dury and made a rap. 'No head, no backstage passes' – I can't believe he was allowed to say that on the radio."

The pair never had any real creative disputes until the end of their partnership. Chambers says Robbie moving to LA was a factor in their "breakup", adding that there's no truth to the rumour Robbie didn't like him writing with others. "We simply didn't write enough (once he did), and so quality went down. You have to write 10 songs to get one good one. There's a high wastage to being a songwriter."

What other advice does Chambers have for budding songwriters? "First of all: people will normally say no to you, so get used to that and just move on to the next song." Demos are dead, so only play an A&R person tracks that sound like they can go straight on the radio. Make sure it's loud. Have a good title (one A&R will only listen to a track if he likes the title). If you have trouble getting songs to established artists, find a great budding artist with a good backstory, such as James Blunt's soldier credentials, to be your partner.

Chambers also talks about the importance of finding the right key for an artist, using his Tina Turner song as an example: "She always wants to sing in the highest pitch possible, so I had to rerecord each instrument at the same time as we recorded her vocals." The wrong key may also have been the reason we didn't see Robbie fronting Queen, according to Chambers. "The band approached him after he did a cover of We Are the Champions. I said, 'Robbie can't sing in those keys (that Freddie Mercury sang in)'. But Brian May said Queen songs should only be played in their original key."

Of course, the Robbie split did not spell the end of Chambers's career. He's written for artists including Beverley Knight and Will Young. He recently wrote with Katie Melua ("a fearless lyricist and great singer") for her latest album, and will soon be writing with Rufus Wainwright ("he's dying to have a hit"). But what he's really excited about is a TV project he's doing with Goldie, in which the pair are mentoring 12 children from "challenging backgrounds" to perform their own music.

Some people say that Guy Chambers made Robbie Williams's solo career, others say that Robbie made Guy Chambers. I'd say that they made each other. No books or computer programs can recreate the magic that happens when two perfectly suited songwriters come together. Claiming you have that formula would be to say you have the formula for a perfect marriage. And, as Chambers can testify, even perfect musical marriages hardly ever last.

Why Rappers Make Better Businessmen

2010-10-05T11:45:00.000+01:00

Hip-hop is America's third largest genre today, running ahead of pop, and just behind rock and country. Accounting for over 1 out of every 10 Dollars spent on music, Digital Music News, together with Anthony Accardo of Disney Research, take a look into why the genre is such a successful business model.

1. Guest Appearances Make 1+1=3…
One of rap’s best-selling albums of 2010 – Drake’s Thank Me Later – has more cameos than a Tarantino film. Guest appearances are one of the greatest positive feedback loops in music, not to mention an unparalleled artist development pathway that no other genre has fully taken advantage of.

Take a look (full size image here)– there are no less than seven platinum-selling artists and one developing artist – Nicki Minaj – on this album. Marketing literature calls this "brand alliances," and for two well-established artists, this is an easy way to share fans and cross-sell content. For a developing act, pairing with a big rapper is arguably more effective than an expensive and risky traditional radio campaign.

2. DJs are the Ultimate Tastemakers…
DJs play several roles in the rap and hip-hop community. Most importantly, they bundle tracks and release mixtapes for free. But mixtapes don't take the place of studio albums and shouldn't be viewed as a threat to full-length albums. Instead, most people listen to mixtapes the same way people read magazines or newspapers.

And, DJs are great filters that can act as very influential tastemakers – almost the way that traditional radio jockeys did in the past (just look what DJ Khaled did for Rick Ross). Best of all, most mixtapes are viral and lead to more mixtapes. Free doesn’t hurt either.

3. Recording Processes Are Modularized…
Traditional artists pair with a producer, head to a mountain retreat, and come back with 12-15 songs. Oh, and release an album every two years. Not rappers. Lil Wayne records every night on his tour bus, and rappers can pick from a large and liquid market for instrumentals from the end of the tail (20dollarbeats.com) to rock star producers (J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League). And 12-15 songs? Rappers can spit that out in a month.

4. Hood Support Pays…

(full size image here)

You can hardly listen to a hip-hop song without hearing mentions of different cities, streets, and neighborhoods. But this is more than just hometown pride: active local music communities provide a basis for support and competitive musical invention, and a hyper-local connection with fans. That generates a level of fan ownership and engagement that isn’t replicated in rock or pop.

5. Greed is Good (and Encouraged)…
The willingness of fans, artists and the media to embrace the inherent materialism in rap and hip-hop has obvious benefits. Forays into brand partnerships, merchandising, miscellaneous joint ventures and sponsorships are accepted by fans and generate money to keep funding new artists and material.

6. Hip-Hop Is Oozing With Culture…
When you listen to a Drake track, you hear lines from a T.I. track that has lines from a Lil Wayne track that has lines from a Jay-Z track. No one's copying here, but the analogies and references keep the culture and body of content alive. This sort of interconnectivity goes far beyond "I can hear a Radiohead influence in Muse…" Instead, listeners feel “privy” to the idiom and part of a community.

7. Remember These Psychological Power-Levers…
A large corpus of the rap and hip-hop genre can be boiled down to a small number of very simple themes, all of which evoke emotions tied to purchase behavior. The first is the struggle to overcome poverty, often intertwined with equally powerful and romanticized themes of violence and drugs.

And, sex. In the same way that Budweiser sells beer with images of men drinking Bud and pulling gorgeous women, hip-hop promises the fulfillment of sexual desires in a manner more explicit and emotionally poignant than any Bud ad.

…and, drumroll...

8. Fans Are Continuously Engaged
Rap's level of fan engagement has never been seen before in the music industry. Hip-hop artists produce copious amounts of music that is distributed by third parties, labels, brands and online properties. Look at allhiphop.com, and the artists that release the largest number of free tracks are overwhelmingly the highest selling artists.

Lil Wayne made this statement very loudly in 2008. After an insanely productive 24 months of guest appearances and free material (he gave away an amount of material for free that traditional artists don’t typically produce in their entire career), Wayne released an album that sold over a million copies in its first week. He was first artist to reach that feat in years.

The lessons from this genre are clear, but best summarized by this last item – taking advantage of reduced production costs by releasing more material, more often has enormous benefits in this highly attention-deficit driven online world.

Original post

News 4th October 2010

2010-10-04T15:23:00.003+01:00

Madness Recoup on Power Amp Funding
Investors in Power Amp's deal with Madness have received a 46.9% return over a 19 month period. The deal - the company's first - included the band's album The Liberty of Norton Folgate and a number of tours. Power Amp focus on funding established artists, and recouping investment through a multi-revenue stream - for example from recording, publishing, touring, merchandising, sponsorship etc.

Although Power Amp are currently only funding established artists (Charlotte Church and Carl Barat being the latest additions) Tom Bywater, Power Amp CEO, hopes that once the company proves its capability and reliability, it will be able apply the 'artist-centric' investment model to new artists too.

Album Downloads Hit 50 Million
The BPI and Official Chart Company have released the latest figures for digital album sales in the UK, and after passing the 500 millionth single download last week, legal album downloads have reached the 50 million mark in under four and half years, now accounting for almost 20% (compared to less than 2% in 2006) of all albums sold. In comparison, it took CDs five years to reach this point, and although CDs still account for four out of every five albums sold, Geoff Taylor from the BPI puts the rise in album downloads down to the "choice, convenience and value on offer from digital downloading" and the "confidence" consumers have in downloading.

MySpace Integrates Pledge Tool
MySpace have teamed up with Pledge - a fundraising site which enables artists to make records - to allow artists to create and manage their campaigns via their MySpace account. The move is not a money maker for either party, but instead provides Pledge with access to MySpace users, and conversely, offers artists a new tool. The move hints at what is potentially to come as part of MySpace's restructuring - as Barry Flanigan, MySpace UK says - “introducing more tools and services that let people manage multiple services from their MySpace accounts” in an attempt to rival Facebook, and the more recent Ping.

Music & Fashion: Leave It To The Pop Stars?

2010-10-01T12:44:00.001+01:00

Music and fashion have long gone hand in hand, but this week's announcement that Animal Collective are to launch their own line of trainer - complete with a cassette no less - has sparked The Independent's Gillian Orr to argue that 'credible' musicians should leave the clothing lines to the pop stars.

You're not anybody these days unless you have your own clothing line or collaboration. And plenty of celebrities do: actors, models, socialites and sports stars are all at it. But no-one loves to get involved with the fashion world more than musicians. Apparently, nothing screams "I've made it" quite like underwear emblazoned with your own name.

But recently there has been a disturbing trend of credible musicians going down this route. Just this week it was announced that one of the most acclaimed and exciting bands of the last few years, Animal Collective, have designed their own trainers. This is a band who sung in their hit "My Girls" that "I don't mean/ To seem like I care about material things/ Like our social status/ I just want/ Four walls and adobe slabs/ For my girls." And their own trainer range, evidently.

But they're certainly not the worst offenders. A number of musicians who you think would know better have had some questionable fashion flings. Whatever happened to the music? How can we take your broken-hearted compositions and musings on the futility of life seriously when you're posing for a photoshoot with a model clad in a shirt you "designed"?

Of course, it depends what type of musician you posture yourself to be – and getting away with a clothing line is very genre specific.

Most pop stars, by their very nature, are sell-outs. They were cooked up in an office somewhere, given songs, a look, even a personality. By being a commercial experiment, they already lack any real heart or integrity. Therefore no-one cares when the likes of Justin Timberlake (William Rast), Avril Lavigne (Abbey Dawn) and, erm, Hilary Duff (with surely the greatest named collaboration, Stuff by Hilary Duff) achieve success in the fashion world.

Rappers, too, love a clothing line. There's P. Diddy's vomit-inducing Sean John Clothing Inc, the lucrative Rocawear from Damon Dash and Jay-Z, Kanye West has Past Tell while Pharrell Williams purveys his Billionaire Boys Club. But due to the flashy nature of the hip-hop world, where money and success is everything, rappers positively benefit from such business acumen. It gives them added clout, alongside their obnoxious car and harem of ladies.

But what about the world of so-called "alternative" music? Surely rock and indie celebrates truth and credibility over money and appearance, and any ventures into the fashion world are somewhat incongruous, no?

However, in an interview last year, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, who has received a number of such offers, had this to say about musician/fashion collaborations: "Some people would probably say that it's a sign of a disgusting consumer society. The truth is, that identifying with a pair of sneakers that you find beautiful is really not that different from identifying with a Rembrandt painting or a Beatles song that you find beautiful. The people in the fashion world are as much artists as the people in the music business."

So, who is right? We take a look at some respected musicians' forays into fashion – and separate those who made it out with their artistic integrity intact from those who really sold out. Click here to launch our guide

Original Post

How to Fit Music Promotion in the Rest of Your Life

2010-09-28T17:25:00.000+01:00

You're in a band. You're also at uni. You've also got a job. And a girlfriend/boyfriend, dog/cat/goldfish, mum's birthday next week, friend coming to visit tomorrow, parties to go to - So much to do, so little time. So how can you find time to let people know about your band?

Here are 10 ways to squeeze promo into your everyday life courtesy of Music Marketing [dot] com.

You don’t have to bring your whole life to a standstill just to be in a band. Your music is a part of who you are—so take it with you everywhere you go. Here are some ways that you can promote your band while going about your daily business.

1. Cards and flyers

Get stacks of business cards and flyers and keep them in your car and on your person. You never know when you will come across a bulletin board or strike up a conversation with someone who you just know would love your music. A card or flyer gives you an edge because it allows you to leave something behind. Long after your conversation is over, they’ll have it in their hand to remind them to come to your show or visit your website.

2. Wear your own merchandise

Get cool t-shirts and hats made to sell—and then wear them around. It’s hard to miss a walking billboard and if the design is nice enough, you’ll have people asking you what it means and where you got it. You can also put your band’s name and website on the shirt. People you don’t even make personal contact with will see you and have the chance to check your music out online. Just make sure you don’t do anything mean and nasty while wearing your band t-shirt, or this idea could drastically backfire.

3. Talk to Strangers

Some people are naturally more outgoing than others. Even if you’re not the talk show host type, don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone you’ve never met before. If you see someone browsing music in a store, ask if they’ve heard music by a band with a similar sound to yours; or just come right out and ask if they’ve heard of your band and give them a card. Talk to people waiting in line at the store or coffee shop; or just hanging out on a smoke break. You don’t have to be a salesman—but getting your name out there is most effective when it is done face-to-face in a conversational manner.

4. Ask for Help

Ask your friends and family and most loyal fans to help you. Anyone with half a brain knows that making it in the music business is hard. These people care about you and want to see you succeed—so asking them nicely to spread the word or let people know about your shows and your new music is just smart. They’ll go the extra mile to tell other people about you—just because they care. Make sure they have cards and flyers or a shirt to wear—and remember to say thank you.

5. Your Email Signature

Depending on what you do for a living, you could send upwards of 200-500 emails a week—or more! A simple line in your email signature that points people to your band website is one of the easiest ways to get your name out there hundreds of times on a daily basis. Your personal email could even have part of some song lyrics in it or a flat-out announcement about an upcoming show. Just be sure that if you are working for an employer, you keep their email policies in mind before putting anything in your signature. Find out what is allowed, and then do it!

6. Volunteer in the Name of Your Band

You probably volunteer anyway, so why not do it in the name of your band for a little extra recognition? Even if it is working at the food bank for an hour a week—you can announce your efforts on your band’s website and let people know that your band is giving back to the community. You could even organize a regular volunteer effort with your fans or friends and get a big group to go to your favorite charity weekly, monthly, or annually to support their event.

7. Comment on Other People’s Blogs

Blogs aren’t just for moms and angry political pundits anymore! There are millions of blogs on different subjects—including music. Make a list of 20-50 good music-related blogs and read them regularly. Then leave comments for the bloggers along with the link to your band’s website. This is a great way to build relationships online and you’ll generate all kinds of traffic to your site. Plus, you’ll have a chance to read up on the music scene and stay informed on something you love anyway.

8. Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Besides being a great source of income, your day job puts you in contact with all kinds of people—many of whom are NOT in the music business. Why is that important? Perspective! When you’re talking to musicians all day, you don’t get to hear what brings everyone else to shows. Chatting up a guy in accounting or IT is a great way to get an overall idea of what appeals to people musically and in every other way. You’re reaching a group of people who may be totally removed from “the scene” but who might still really like your music, buy your album and come to your show.

9. Always be Prepared for a Great Idea

Different things work for different people. A small digital recorder. A journal or notebook. A day planner. Whatever it is, make sure you have it ready any time you need to jot down a brilliant idea, amazing lyrics, or the contact information of someone you meet. Don’t rely on your memory. Keep your ideas logged and refer back to them. Even if it isn’t something you are going to use right now, it may be something you can pursue in the future…which is even more of a reason to have it written down.

10. Have a Routine

It doesn’t have to be a boring routine, but the key to real success in marketing and promotions is consistency. Have certain days that you read and comment on blogs, update your website, and respond to emails. Plan for specific nights to go out and hear other bands play. Try to spend a couple of hours each week on certain tasks that will give you a regular presence online and off. Try visiting your favorite coffee shop every week at the same time and ask if you can leave a stack of flyers there. They may be more inclined to let you if you’re one of the ‘regulars’.

Original Post

The 12 Types of Artist

2010-09-27T15:58:00.000+01:00

Digital Music News have compiled a list of 12 different types of artists, not in terms of genre, but depending on where in the marketplace different levels of acts fall. So where do you fit in? And where would you like to get to?

The direct-to-fan space is crowded, and that means more options for artists. But it looks like a number of companies are just starting to specialize around different types of artists - an early sign of maturation among competitors.

For example, Topspin is only working with artists that have considerable traction or backing, while CD Baby welcomes any DIY. Nimbit is currently dialed more towards professionals and serious musicians, according to CEO Bob Cramer.

But what are the different types of artists, exactly? That is, beyond the genres and musical styles? Most artists fall into more than one bucket, but here's an attempt to describe the various levels.

(1) The Unsigned, DIY

Do-it-yourself (DIY), and totally direct-to-fan (DTF). Not affiliated, this soloist or band is handling mostly everything themselves. Typically very early stage, with very low levels of income but ample inspiration.

(2) The DTF With a Team

Still direct-to-fan, but with a team of supporters - compensated or otherwise - working the strings in a hopefully coordinated manner. The beginning of a more serious marketing approach, and at a more advanced level, a great model for creating and controlling different distribution, marketing, DTF, and even label partnerships (like Arcade Fire).

(3) The Professional, Gigging Musician

A dolled-up boy band can skip the musical talent. A tenor saxophonist playing jazz clubs in Chicago can't. The professional has the chops to play gigs and make money, and can use DTF platforms to create better fan relationships and even expand income. But these are working folks, so f**k the fame.

(4) The Hobbyist

Maybe a serious musician in the past, now it's just a recreational thing. This sounds like a good market to tap - after all, proceeds are typically coming from a day job, and everything is sort of a toy - whether a new tuba, TuneCore account, or Disc Makers-pressed CD.

(5) The Hobbyist-In-Denial

Essentially, an artist with little chance of generating a serious audience or sales, but carrying lofty aspirations nonetheless. Foolishly looking to quit the day job, if they haven't already.

(6) The Signed Artist

Actually, DTF relationships matter for every tier of artist, but the signed artist has potentially serious resources to draw upon. Depending on the relationship, that means money, creative connections, and access to a (hopefully) knowledgeable team. This type of deal has traditionally been signed with a label, but can involve any company (gaming company, publisher, Live Nation, even an advertiser.)

(7) The Superstar Signed Artist

These are the ultra-elites actually selling out gigs, shifting hundreds-of-thousands of albums, and getting terrestrial radio play. Still less money than before and a tricky terrain, but a lucky spot for any artist these days.

(8) The Songwriter

Sometimes a performer, oftentimes not, this breed of musician is putting songs and lyrics together and hopefully scoring some hits. And, in the process, minting some serious publishing revenues.

(9) The Post-Label, DTF Artist

"Off label" can be a great category, depending on how successful the label was at building the artist in the past. And, some have the luxury of leaving quite successful partnerships - a prime example being Radiohead. Still, far smaller artists have ex-label equity to bank upon.

(10) The Producer

Typically behind the scenes, but oftentimes grabbing the spotlight - especially in hip-hop. Either way, this is a different type of animal, based on lots of connections to a range of different artists. That changes the contractual discussions dramatically, and also introduces a far broader range of revenue possibilities.

(11) The Legacy Artist

The glory days are over, but hopefully the revenues are not. Or, if they are, reunion tours and remastered releases are always tricks to consider. And, reawakening and recreating DTF relationships also makes sense. We're getting the band back together...

(12) The Celebrity-Turned-Artist

A category we could live without. Is the musical world better because of Paris Hilton, Tila Tequila, or Shaq? Exactly.

Original Post

Better Than The Van

2010-09-23T11:59:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, Hypebot reported on a little concept called 'Better Than The Van', a networking site where musicians can connect with generous fans who are willing to lend them a spare room/sofa/floor space after a hard night's gig. Sounds good doesn't it? Check out their video below, and read the original post on Hypebot.

There are currently slim pickings when it comes to places to stay anywhere outside the US, and, as you can imagine, bands looking for places to stay heavily outweigh those that are offered. Better Than The Van are set to launch of a new look website soon though, which will hopefully encourage more charitable folks to sign up to the network.

The Ten Best (and Worst) Cover Songs Of All Time

2010-09-22T17:09:00.001+01:00

Covering songs can be something of a risky business, a tightrope if you will. Get it right and you can be onto a winner, a fan-favourite, maybe even praise from the original artist. But get it wrong, and, well, we've all been to gigs where it's happened...

Over 15,000 NME.com users voted in a poll for Seat's new music show 'On Track With' to reveal the best and worst cover version all time, with Muse coming out on top with their version of Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good', while Britney Spears hits the other end of the scale with her take on 'I Love Rock 'n Roll'.

There's a slight sense of relief in the air given that we're mostly unaware of some of the worst tracks...

See why for yourself:

The 10 best cover versions of all time

1. Muse - 'Feeling Good'
2. The Beatles - 'Twist and Shout'
3. Johnny Cash - 'Hurt'
4. Jimi Hendrix - 'Hey Joe'
5. Nirvana - 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night'
6. The Clash - 'I Fought The Law'
7. Jeff Buckley - 'Hallelujah'
8. Jimi Hendrix - 'All Along The Watchtower'
9. Marvin Gaye - 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'
10. The White Stripes - 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself'

The 10 worst cover versions of all time

1. Britney Spears - 'I Love Rock 'N' Roll'
2. Ronan Keating - 'Fairytale of New York'
3. Celine Dion - 'You Shook Me All Night Long'
4. Take That - 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
5. M People - 'Itchycoo Park'
6. Robbie Williams - 'Song 2'
7. Will Young - 'Light My Fire'
8. Madonna - 'American Pie
9. Limp Bizkit - 'Faith'
10. Mark Ronson - 'No One Knows'

Tinie Tempah's Lanyard Album

2010-09-22T15:33:00.006+01:00

Festival-goers will be familiar with the trusty lanyard, sitting round your neck in times of need when you've lost your way from the arena to the campsite and when strangers almost choke you to get a look at stage times. But now, our faithful guide is taking a leap into the world of the charts.

Tinie Tempah's label Parlophone are set to embrace a new format when they release his new album 'Disc-Overy' via a lanyard.

As well as traditional physical and digital formats, priced between the two will sit the lanyard. This contains a code, enabling fans to download the album, as well as online extras such as a 'thank you letter' from Tinie, wallpaper and online badges which can be posted to user's social networking sites.

Following the success of promotional lanyards distributed to fans at Tinie Tempah's live shows, the label decided to take things one step further, with the album lanyard release set to be made available through high street music retailers, Tinie's website and at his merchandise stalls.

Tinie says the format is an “exciting step forward” and a "new, easy, fashionable and exciting way of legally obtaining" the album.

Sony Launches Interactive Spotify Ad

2010-09-22T14:39:00.003+01:00

Tracks from Mark Ronson's new album will be the subject of Spotify's first interactive ad.

The ad will enable users to switch elements of three tracks ('Bang Bang Bang','The Bike Song' and 'Somebody To Love Me') on and off, creating their own mixes of the songs.

The ad, created by MXP4 marks a step forward from traditional audio and banner advertising to a game-like, engaging experience for users.

Plus, it's really addictive... Play with it here.

16 Reasons to Have Your Own Website

2010-09-21T12:40:00.004+01:00

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, ReverbNation - All serve their own individual purposes and are undeniably great tools, but if you're an artist, one of the first steps to creating your online presence is your own website. Below, are 16 reasons why you should have one (from Digital Music News).

This started as a comment on a Digital Music News story last month, has since been reposted on a number of blogs, and is still getting re-tweeted. It was authored by Constantine Roussos of .music, whose startup is pushing to create and develop the .music domain extension. The top 16 reasons...

1. You own your website.

2. You are branding your artist/band name - not a third party website.

3. You never know if that third party website will exist in the future or be as relevant. What happens to all that work that you put into the third party to help them create THEIR brand not yours (eg, MP3.com shutting down)? How much time was devoted by artists on MySpace the past 5 years? All your "friends" left and unless you captured their email through your official site, then you are in trouble.

4. You control your search engine results. Be ranked #1 for your artist/band name. If you have your own dedicated domain name it is easier and also you can receive search "juice" or "pagerank" to your official page by linking to your official site from social sites as well as others linking to you.

5. It is a long-term strategy.

6. Visitors to your website have a much higher sales conversion ratio than third party sites.

7. You control all the content and brand image.

8. You portray professionalism. Would anyone in the press take you more seriously if you had a website - versus not having one? First impressions count.

9. You can funnel and aggregate all your social media and widgets in one location, where it is convenient for your fans to find information about you

10. Flexibility: you can create polls and add any programming, widgets or any modules of your choice without being limited to third party restrictions.

11. You have no fear of being deleted because you are being too "commercial".

12. You can own your shopping cart and keep more profit for your sales.

13. You can add your own advertising and sponsors on your page.

14. You can offer product bundles and competitions for your fans.

15. You can build credibility with your fans, create a fan club area for your superfans as well as dedicated message boards to interact with your fans.

16. Invest in yourself and not others. Websites are like cheap virtual real estate property. Why wouldn't you invest in your domain name for only the costs of a few Starbuck coffees a year?

OK Go's Unstoppable Dancing Shoes

2010-09-20T16:16:00.002+01:00

Ever since 'Here It Goes Again', OK Go have been pushing the boat out when it comes to their videos, their flawlessly synchronised dance moves becoming a mind bending staple.

And they're back once again, this time with the addition of dogs (and a goat, go on, see if you can spot it) in the routine for 'White Knuckles'. What's that they say? Never work with children or animals? Obviously OK Go are an exception to such rules and seem to have got on so well with the canines that they now have a dedicated page on their website (www.okgo.net/dogs) where you can donate to the ASPCA. Awww.

As mind-boggling (sometimes attempting to work out the moves hurts one's tiny little mind a little too much...) as these videos are, is it turning into more 'style over substance'?

The Musician's Social Media Food Pyramid

2010-09-17T17:32:00.000+01:00

Remember your school canteen? Remember the 'food pyramid' posters neatly placed to yet again remind you not to eat too many sweets and go for the boring veg instead? Yes? Good, keep that in mind.

So you've managed to get through life so far on a healthy diet and now you're in a band, hooray! But your band doesn't quite know how to make use of all this social networking malarkey to reach out to fans.

Here's where the food pyramid comes back - not in a literal sense of advising people on the benefits of healthy diet of course. Music Think Tank have devised this clever little image which takes the idea of the food pyramid, replacing tomatoes, chicken, potatoes, milk et al with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs et al.

Tuck in.

It happens to me all of the time when I teach artists social media.The face goes blank, the frustration begins to settle in and then the artist says it:

“I just don’t have anything interesting to say.”

REALLY?

I’m shocked by this every time. You are an artist; you do things we mere mortals are totally enamored by: you PLAY MUSIC, you write songs, you perform them in public!

So PHLEEASE, do not tell me you have nothing interesting to say. I ain’t buying it.

All you are missing is a System for Social Media Success.

Luckily, unlike sheer god-given musical talent, social media is a learnable skill.

As I was teaching my system to a client in my kitchen a few weeks ago over coffee and bagels and it HIT me… and so I created:

THE MUSICIAN’S SOCIAL MEDIA FOOD PYRAMID!

Remember that chart they brought out when we were in 2nd grade to show us how to eat well-rounded meals? I have re-tooled it for you so you can now participate on Social Media healthily! And you won’t even have to think about it – just follow along…
You wouldn’t eat only bagels all of the time. They are a treat once in awhile, but they are not healthy to eat every day – and a diet of only bagels would be boring!

Most artists are only serving their audiences bagels all of the time. Plain bagels. Over an over again.

Uninteresting.

We want a burger, or a giant green healthy salad, we want some candy, give us protein!

But you keep serving bagels, bagels, bagels!

These are five things that when used in concert with one another can help you ratchet up your social media effectively and manage it easily.

Here’s Your Social Media Food Pyramid:
(to download a larger version click here)

Use these as a guide and mix and match them to suit your comfort level (just like your diet, eat what feels right for you)

GROUP 1. DIRECT ENGAGEMENT
Like: BREAD, CEREAL, RICE & PASTA
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 – 4 out of every 10 posts

Make sure you’re in a two-way conversation with people consistently

Facebook: See something interesting something on their Facebook pages? Don’t just “like”, write a true comment about it and get more involved.

Twitter: Send messages to people or mention you are with them by using the @ sign and their username (For Example: I’m @CyberPR). Retweet (RT) comments you like by others.

Blog Reading: Create a Google profile and join communities of blog readers. Leave comments on blogs you like.

Video: Bonus! Make custom video comments or greetings with a Flip Camera; post them as comments or contributions. Subscribe to other people’s channels, and comment on their videos.

Location: Create fun spots that relate to your band/ music and check in, interact with others when you are out and about.

GROUP 2: SHINE A LIGHT ON OTHERS
Like: FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 out of every 10 posts

All the best social media users know this and use it well. This takes all of the attention off of you and puts it onto others, and people will appreciate your kindness because you are recognizing them in front of new potential fans and followers and therefore helping them get known.

Quote people you like by sharing their profiles and videos on Facebook and re-post on your blog. Link to articles and interesting things that catch your attention such as videos, photos etc.

#FF (Follow Friday), #MM (Music Monday) and RT’ing on Twitter -
Reprint pieces of things that they’ve written, or link to music players. Review albums – talk about why and how those albums influenced you
by using http://www.bit.ly to track the effectiveness and to shorten your tweets.

GROUP 3. CURATE CONTENT
Like: MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, BEANS, EGGS
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 – 3 out of every 10 posts

Content may be king but content curation is queen!

The best part is you can set up an RSS reader to pull interesting content for you so you don’t have to come up with anything brilliant – just select what you like and share it. And if it’s interesting to you it’s probably interesting to your community

Ask yourself: How do I spend time online? What do I read? Are there sites I visit daily? Add them to the RSS reader (here is a brilliant Commoncraft video that will teach you how to set one up. Then all you have to do is grab the content you like and share (remember to always give credit where credit is due).

Music: Use Blip.fm, Song.ly, Jango, or LastFM to share music

Recipes: Post links to foods you like from Epicurious or TheFoodNetwork

Media: Post book reviews, music reviews or film reviews

Blogs: News, politics, celebrity gossip, parenting, fashion, art, sports – all make good topics for people to connect around

GROUP 4. A PICTURE SAYS 1,000 WORDS
Like: MILK, CHEESE & YOGURT
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 out of every 10 posts

Visuals are extremely effective. And they mix up your strategy nicely.

Take photos using your mobile, post them directly to Facebook or to your Twitter stream.

Make a photomontage using Picasa [http://picasa.google.com], and post it on your blog.

I love Twitpic & YFrog because they are so easy to use and create instant Twitter integration.

Post videos on your custom Youtube channel, embed them on your blog and link them to your Twitter. They don’t even have to be videos that you necessarily make on your own. They can be videos of artists you sound like or play with, videos that make you laugh, or subjects that are thematic to your music and important to you like a charity.

GROUP 5. SHINING A LIGHT ON YOURSELF (AKA SELF PROMOTION)
Like: FATS OILS & SWEETS (Use Sparingly!)
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 1 out of every 10 posts

Of course these are OK to do once in a while, not in an over-hypey, annoying way. Just like treating yourself to a great pastry or some fries: its OK – but not too often!

It is after all, vital to tell people if you have an album coming out, a new track, a show, or anything that’s newsworthy, noteworthy, and important for your fans and followers to know about.

Don’t forget about your specific calls to actions or these won’t be fruitful.

So – Choose from Groups 1-5 and mix it up and soon you will be fully engaging people easily and naturally, without thinking. Just like eating!

(Original post - "The Musician's Social Media Food Pyramid")

Social Networking Revolution

2010-09-16T13:54:00.002+01:00

There once was a time when you'd have to rely on record shops, magazines or, god forbid, listen to the radio to discover new music, now the power of tastemakers has been shifted online, and in plenty of cases, they're no longer needed to act as a middleman between artists and fans. Social networking has enabled artists to stay in touch with fans directly, as The Guardian discuss...

In decades gone by, misunderstood teens with questionable personal hygiene would gather in cramped independent record stores to share excitement about new music, enthuse about rare singles and discover other lost souls with a passion for southern Californian cowpunk.

But with the number of independent record stores in terminal decline and the boundaries of the internet limitless, online music social networks have sprung up to meet the demands of gregarious music lovers who want to share ideas and loves.

Tuesday sees the launch of The Pic-Nic Village, a new social networking site created by Pete Lawrence, founder of the Big Chill festival, which will be funded and run entirely by its users – the most recent of a wave of music social networking sites that is revolutionising the way people discover music. The new social network Meanwhile Ping, launched last week and based on iTunes, has already attracted more than 1 million users, according to Apple. Ping, which focuses purely on music, lets users follow their friends and favourite artists to discover what music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. It is taking on established rivals such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Social networks were putting the power of discovery into the hands of fans, said Dave Haynes of Soundcloud, another social network where artists can share music. "In the past, there were just a few gatekeepers to music, and you had a powerful network of labels, A&R men, radio and TV executives and magazines who decided what you should be listening to. Now, it's so much easier to find out what your friends are listening to or what other people who like the same music on the other side of the world are recommending."

The traditional bearded men behind the counter of record stores, ready with dozens of new music recommendations, haven't gone, he said. "Lots of those men behind counters have just moved online now, broadcasting their tastes and acting as arbiters. Now they can reach a more specific and worldwide audience rather than just the people in their shop."

More artists are using social networking sites to bypass the traditional media. This weekend, rapper Kanye West took to Twitter to tell his side of the MTV Video Music awards controversy where he grabbed the microphone from country music sweetheart Taylor Swift and announced that his friend Beyoncé should have won.

On Saturday he apologised, saying as a result of the debacle he had to cancel his tour with Lady Gaga and lost employees. He wrote: "Man I love Twitter … I've always been at the mercy of the press but no more … The media tried to demonise me".

Music blogger Bob Lefsetz pointed out that historically in music there has been a buffer between star and audience, but thanks to social networking sites the barriers were coming down. "It was like everybody with a media profile had a coach. And if you disobeyed him, you were booted from the team," he wrote. "But now, through the magic of the web, through the magic of Twitter, a celebrity can speak directly to his audience, can tell his side of the story, sans the reinterpretation and the agenda of the media."

Sites enable smaller labels and less mainstream artists to spread the word about their talents, said David Emery of Beggars Group, a collection of independent record labels. "Word of mouth has always been incredibly important to us and now it's easier than ever to get the word out there," he said. Different networks play different roles, he added. "Twitter is great for artists interacting directly with fans, like MIA, who has millions of followers and will do things like make a video on her phone and post it on Twitter. That is so much more powerful than traditional marketing. But Facebook is a powerful method of direct marketing. It's less personal, but fans don't seem to mind that."

By collaborating with big record labels and corporate giants desperate to get hold of users' personal data, social networks risk alienating the people they are attempting to bring together, said Lawrence, whose social networking site for "creatives" launches tomorrow. Pic-Nic Village will be subscription-based but will have no sponsorship, no company with a turnover of more than £5m will be able to invest in it and no stakeholder will be able to own more than 20% of the shares – issues such as privacy, which has proved problematic on social networking sites, will be treated with great care, he said.

The Pic-Nic Village – which will be funded by its users – will try to recapture the community and village feel that was demonstrated in the early days of the Big Chill festival, where ideas were shared on the festivals forums. "Festivals are stuck in the mud, the costs are fixed and one or two companies control the whole business.

"The Pic-Nic village will help people in the community put on events for themselves."

People were becoming more concerned about data mining and heavy-handed marketing, he added. "What we are trying to do is put the heart and soul back into online music communities. People need a place where they can enthuse and discover and they are doing it for the love of it, rather than the profit factor. Music is too important to be left in the hands of the music business."

Merch Table Essentials

2010-09-08T12:34:00.004+01:00

It's no secret that album sales are no longer the staple of an artist's career, while CDs can't be overlooked, fans want something more than just music. Having a well stocked merch table can make all the difference. Music Think Tank offers 15 Ways to make the most of this...

As album sales are becoming a less meaningful component in the overall success of an artist or band, the live performance sector, including ticket sales and merchandise sales, is becoming increasingly important. While the live show itself must be unique in order to encourage repeat customers and ultimately drive ticket sales, the merchandise table has the opportunity to drive significant revenue and first hand, artist-fan engagement. But just having a merch table is not enough, as there are essential elements that must be accounted for in order to make the effort worth while.

Assuming that you have accounted for the typical ‘guts’, such as T-Shirts, CDs, Hats, Stickers, etc. there are essentials to any effective merch table that will do three very important thing:

- Increase your sales

- Increase your long-term engagement with new and existing fans

- Decrease wasteful overhead when investing in the merch for your next tour

Use these following merch table essentials to make sure that you are making the most of every opportunity at every show to make as much money and as many new fans as possible:

1) Mailing List: Far too often overlooked, yet one of the most crucial aspects of retaining fans, the mailing list is an absolute must on any and ever merch table. If someone is willing to invest the time and money to come over to your merch table and purchase your music, your t-shirts or even just a little sticker or button, it means they felt strongly enough about the performance to further their interest. Every merch table customer is a valuable potential fan. Do not let them get away from you.

2) Accept Credit Cards: To be frank, if you do not accept credit cards, you are not maximizing your potential to make money, and are letting potentially valuable fans walk away without your music or merch in hand. There are a few different apps out for the iPhone/ iPod Touch, iPad and Android platforms that allow you to turn your device into a credit card terminal, including the Square, ProcessAway, Merchant Swipe and iSwipe.

3) High Traffic Area: As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Putting your merch table in a high-traffic area is crucial to sales. The increase in passersby will make your table seem more desirable. As more people check out your merch and start to make purchases, the more likely it will be that others will want to check out the scene as well.

4) Lockbox for Money: Professionalism is crucial when dealing with a merch table. No matter how the musicians represent themselves on stage, online or in public, merchandising is purely the business side of the operation. Not only does a lockbox hold one person accountable for any lost cash and discourages outside theft, but It also makes it less apparent how little or how much cash you actually have from the event.

5) The Plug from the band: Make sure the people who are actually listening to the music and who are enjoying it, have the opportunity to at least join the mailing list if nothing else. Announce the table, its location, and that YOU, the artist, will be there and are looking forward to speaking with everyone.

6) The Main Attraction: It is understandable that artists are either exhausted or are ready for more after the show, but nothing helps merch sell faster than putting the artists behind the table. Especially after the band has plugged the merch table and its specific location, it will be a delight for fans to have the opportunity to speak with the artists, get engaged and walk away with a new album and/ or a t-shirt because of the pleasant experience.

7) A Clean Table: Just like any store (think grocery store, toy store, convenience store, clothing store), potential customers connect the appearance of unorganization and sloppiness with that of a weak business. By splitting the table into well organized sections dedicated to each type of merch or even price point, it makes it much easier on the eyes, makes sales much more likely. Also continue to think of a clothing store, make sure you have clean, well folded t-shirts that range in color, size and gender specificity.

8) Bright Colors: Not only should your merch table be located in a high-traffic area, but it should pop out as the sour thumb in the room. Venues are typically dark, so keep in mind that darker colors will be lost into the clutter of the room. Set up a back-drop, use a table cloth and create a banner, all of which should use bright, vibrant colors to catch people’s attention.

9) Prices: Setting the right prices for the available merch is crucial to successful sales. Not only should everything be fairly prices based on the industry standard (which means you MUST do your research when planning the pricing strategy), but there absolutely needs to be merch available at every price point, from $1 dollar up to $100 dollars (or more depending on what you are offering).

10) Inventory Sheet: Organization is key to a healthy business. Using an inventory sheet will help you keep track of sales and will decrease the chances of wasteful overhead for your next tour. You can start to use the historical sales to forecast growth. This is especially important if you do decide to create unique merchandise for each stop on the tour, as it allows you to see where your merch sold better or worse, so you don’t waste money creating unique merch for the wrong places.

11) Unique Collectables: Though this is a much more expensive option to consider, creating unique collectables for each show creates an incentive for repeat purchases from repeat customers. Some fans will be so into your music that they decide to hit every show within a 100 mile radius of their hometown, so why not create incentive for them to hit the merch table at EVERY show they attend?

Ideas for some unique collectables are merit badges with a unique design reflecting each venue, laminated tour passes with specific dates printed on them, high-quality original prints of the show poster (signed by the band AND artist of the poster) and even shirts that specifically reflect the venue, date and city.

12) Bundles: Just like the unique collectables, you want to make sure that you offer unique bundles that can only be purchased from the merch table. The more creative you can get with these bundles, the more likely you will be to encourage a higher volume of sales, as well as repeat attendance to future dates of the tour.

An idea for unique bundles include a unique USB thumb-drive with hand-painted artwork that offers the entire back catalog of studio albums, plus free admission to all shows for the next year. The more unique, limited edition and exclusive you can make these bundles, the more people will be willing to seek them out, not to mention pay a premium for them.

13) Contest/ Drawing: This is a great way to ensure longer-term engagement with fans. The drawing could be for free tickets, a free limited edition bundle of music or even something above and beyond like an opportunity to go out to dinner and hang out with the band.

14) Picture Board: Remember the idea of the main attraction? (see above). Using a picture board is an opportunity for the artist(s) to establish a stronger connection with fans, meanwhile advertising the merch in order to increase sales. Start taking pictures of the artists with fans who are either wearing or holding up newly purchased merch. Then compile a huge collection of the pictures taken and display the picture board either behind the table or to the side of the table. Make sure it is visible and most importantly, make sure to include a band member in the pictures!

15) Branch Out Beyond The Table: Though the purpose of this list is to make the merch table itself more effective, the ultimate goal is to increase revenue and fan engagement. Grab a few friends and have them walk around the venue in a crisp new band shirt with their own mailing list sign-up sheet, some albums for sale, a few t-shirts for sale (especially the one they are wearing) and some FREE stickers or buttons. The idea here is to engage as many attendees as possible and to direct them back to the actual merch table where they can interact with the band members, buy an increased level of merch because of this new connection to the band and will walk away with a great, personal experience from the show rather than just a ‘fun time’.

Using a merch table to increase sales is always good, but if used properly it can be so much more than that. If you are going to take the time, effort and money to plan out and finance the merchandise for your tour, make sure you have taken all of these things into consideration to ensure that you maximize revenue and fan engagement at every show.

News Round-Up 3rd September 2010

2010-09-03T17:28:00.023+01:00

Arcade Fire Launch Interactive Video

Aracde Fire launched their new, interactive video for ‘We Used To Wait’. Using HTML5 technology through Google Chrome, users can enter their childhood postcode and watch a hooded man run through their hometown, counting the nostalgic landmarks along the way. A flock of birds also fly above the streets which can be pushed and pulled around the screen using your mouse. Try it out at www.TheWildernessDowntown.com

Apple Launch Ping

Apple launched their new social networking feature Ping on 1st September. The application is built into the new iTunes 10 and allows users to follow artists and friends, essentially taking elements of Twitter and Facebook and incorporating them with users’ iTunes libraries. All sounds fine right? Wrong, Digital Music News discuss the Top 10 Problems so far.

Axl Rose Gives Some Advice On How Not To Treat Fans

Following the much documented drama at Reading and Leeds Festival, the ever charming Axl Rose lost yet more fans last week as he stormed off stage at the O2 Dublin. Four songs into the set, fans started booing and bottling the band after they arrived almost an hour late for their set. Rose gave them the audience an ultimatum "Here's the deal, one more bottle and we go home. It's up to you. We would like to stay. We want to stay. We want to have some fun." The bottles continued, Rose walked off. Watch a video of the action below...