Tag Archive for 'music marketing'Page 4 of 5

How To Get Your Music On Music Blogs

published
on May 26, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in DIY, music, music business, and tools for musicians
. 11 Comments Tags: , , , .
This is the first post in a series of guest posts by MusicNomad, a musicians advocate organization that researches, reviews and ranks thousands of companies in the music industry to filter out the ones that help musicians the most.
Music blogs are the new A&R scouts for the music industry. Music fans and record labels use influential music blogs to filter out and find new music, and as a result, all developing artists must now leverage the music blog scene to succeed. Some music blogs write about popular music and give reviews, gossip and MP3’s, but the most influential ones are usually written by one blogger who writes about music he loves and does not follow the mainstream music scene. Music fans on these sites go there because they have the same musical tastes of those bloggers and want to discover cool new music. As a result, if your band is lucky enough to be positively reviewed on a music blog, it can bring new fans to your shows and websites. This should sound familiar to Evolving Music readers, as it shares the same underlying principal as the Niche Music System.
Well how do these bloggers find new music to write about? They go to record stores (yes there are still a few around) and ask the clerks what is new and cool. They ask friends and check out lots of live shows. And, they take music submissions through their sites. The challenge is that most bloggers have no time to listen to everything submitted, so the chances of them listening to your music and getting put on their blog are slim.
However, MusicNomad has compiled a great list of do’s and don’ts for submitting your music that will increase your chances of getting mentioned:
Do’s

  1. Make sure you check out the style of music the blogger likes and send your music to only those bloggers that like your style/genre.
  2. Personalize the email and refer to something you read in the blog that you liked. Mention some of the bands the blogger likes and that you are in the same genre as them.
  3. Tell the blogger some cool bands you think he will like and in your signature, put your band’s myspace page, etc and tour dates.
  4. Use the subject line to draw attention to something important, such as you are touring through the blogger’s town or you sound like one of his favorite bands.
  5. If you are touring through the blogger’s town, let him know and ask him to come down and check you out.
  6. Send MP3 links
Don’ts

  1. Don’t show up at their home or place of business, they don’t like stalkers.
  2. Don’t send CD’s unless they specifically ask for it.
  3. If you are a rap artist, don’t send your MP3 to an indie rock blogger and vice versa.
  4. Don’t use all caps in your email to them…there’s no need to yell.
In the end, most bloggers write about music they like and share it with readers who have come to respect them for their recommendations and taste. These influential bloggers help promote artists and bring people to their shows. They also get pleasure in helping the bands they like and bringing new fans to them.
About MusicNomad
MusicNomad is a musicians advocate organization that tries to make sense of the vast and fragmented music industry through researching, interviewing, reviewing and ranking thousands of companies in the music industry and filtering the ones that can really help musicians. They then do write ups on the companies, rank them and give you a direct link to their website. There are also tips, news and articles for musicians to explore. The website is free to use and focuses on fighting for the underdog, independent musicians!

The Musician As An Entrepreneur

published
on May 14, 2010
by
gregrollett
in DIY, future of music, music business, and tools for musicians
. 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Music Entrepreneurs

I wanted to kick off a series of guest posts on Evolving Music by taking a look at a mindset adaption that I truly feel is needed in today’s new music economy. The mental state that I see most artists that I speak with, read about or work with is the one that is looking for someone to take them from point A to point B because they are talented.

This approach can pose a real problem towards growing a business in today’s industry.

As a musician you need to compose a great sense of music/work/life balance. What this means is that your creative and artistic side needs to be nurtured and come first. Without hit songs there is no opportunity to advance in this business.

The next step is utilizing your available time to the best of your availability. We all want time to relax, kick back a few drinks or whatever vice/habits/daily rituals you have. The objective is to balance this out with actual work that is going to progress your music career. This includes playing out live, building local contacts, updating web properties, creating products, leveraging social networking sites, talking with fans and soaking in an education on technology and business.

This is where the mindset of an entrepreneur kicks in.

Think about it. Think about the brands and companies that you emulate. Their CEO’s and figure heads all work their asses of to accomplish a goal which is to essentially grow their company. Their focus is on many things – not just looking for the one investor who will dump in a bunch of money and let the entrepreneur cash out.

Assemble A Team

The next step in this mindset is to begin building and assembling a team to help you in the areas that you may be weak in or have no interest in. The cool thing is that there are a ton of web properties that can help you, and almost become a team member.

Think about MobBase. They are a web service that allows you to have an iPhone application. They act as a developer, hosting company and partner to push your music onto 40 million iPhones. Although they have branded themselves as a service to musicians, they are really a member of your team.

Other members may include graphic designers, marketers, booking agents, financial people and so on. These team members are there to support you and your efforts in growing your vision. There is not one single person that can handle and grow your entire business, but one you understand that to have a career with any type of longevity, you actually need a business.

Some Hard Ass Work

Your music/work/life balance is not an easy mental state to just sit on the couch and figure out. It’s something that requires a ton of time and effort. The artists that I see making the biggest investment in their careers are the ones that take responsibility for their entire career.

We profiled Rhymefest a few days ago over on GYRS. The guy has created a wealth of good music. This is where it starts. Now it’s all about awareness and monetization. He has crafted a pay-what-you want mixtape. He’s blogging. He’s on Twitter connecting with fans. He is using Facebook to connect with a different audience. He is playing live shows. He is reaching out to popular sites and providing quality conversations for their audience.

In short, he is taking responsibility for his success and his career. That is just one example of the entrepreneur mindset for the musician.

Over the next few weeks we will be exploring marketing and business ideas for your music career in this little guest writing feature. Big shout out to MixMatchMusic for letting me hang out over here and check out the video I shot with MixMatchMusic’s co-founder, Alan Khalfin, about iPhone apps, marketing and design. It came out really cool.

Till next time.

This post was written by Greg Rollett, a music marketing and digital entrepreneur from Orlando, FL. He is an advocate of the New Music Economy and has an awesome community of entrepreneurial minded musicians at Label 2.0. Follow him on Twitter, @g_ro to chat about the music game.

photo credit: Chris-Håvard Berge

Build Your Fanbase Through The Niche Music System

published
on April 22, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in DIY, music, music business, and tools for musicians
. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .


As the music industry continues to evolve, artists are presented with more and more great options for marketing and distributing their music online and through mobile devices. This abundance of choice has left many artists, managers and labels confused as to how to navigate these digital waters, and use digital tools together with classic strategies (like playing shows and selling merch) to succeed.  Direct-to-fan campaigns are a big part of the new model, but before you can effectively engage in these strategies, you need to have a core group of fans that you can actually market to. It’s the classic get 1000 true fans and you will succeed concept, and while you don’t need 1000 fans right away, you do need at least a small group of loyal fans before direct-to-fan activities become viable.

Enter the Niche Music System. Created by Hagop Tchaparian, the Niche Music System is a strategy designed to help you succeed in the music business through the leveraging of music niches. The idea is to carve a small, local niche for your music in order build initial traction and then promote and rise up through that niche to grow and widen your reach. The logic behind this is that for every niche, there is already an existing audience that is pre-exposed to the sound of that niche. So while you may need to tweak your sound to fit into a specific niche, the Niche Music System provides you with a much easier way to build an initial following.

Hagop initially created the system to mirror the processes his own band (Symposium) went through to gain attention, build a core following, play for more people and make more money. Subsequently, he helped implement a similar system in his work with English electronic artist Hot Chip (pictured below) to help them build early traction, rise through their niche and ultimately get signed by DFA/EMI.

The Niche Music System has now been turned into a 12 week video/audio/PDF course designed to help you get people to care about your music and come out of obscurity.  For a great intro to the course, you should take the time to check out the video below. While the course is normally $47/month (for three months),  because you are an Evolving Music reader, you can get it for $27/month! To sign up and receive the discount, click here.

FanBridge: Fan List Management

published
on April 1, 2010
by
Sandra
in DIY, fans, music, music business, social media, technology, and tools for musicians
. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .

We’ve talked ad nauseum about the importance of interacting with your fans via the many social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, via your very own iPhone app, and also via a newsletter. As you fanbase grows, however, you’ll need a way to manage this process. Enter FanBridge. What FanBridge does “is very, very simple: help musical acts email and text their fans.”

FanBridge, which is all about “powering valuable fan relationships,” will help you not only get more fans, but also keep them engaged, and track your analytics so you can see what’s working and what’s getting them excited. After all, that’s what you’re working toward isn’t it — getting (and keeping) your fans excited? Let’s examine their 3 steps: 1) get more fans, 2) excite your fans, and 3) keep your fans engaged.

Get More Fans

Let’s say you’re somewhat organized and established and you already have a list. It’s super easy to add said list to your account. They’ll even do it for you for free if you want. Once you’ve got a list going in FanBridge, then you’re ready to start growing it.

Fans that come to your website/blog/myspace etc. need a place to type in their email address so you can add them to your list. FanBridge will whip up the code you need for these forms which, of course, are totally customizable in look and feel. They even have downloadable signup forms for live shows/events that’ll work without an internet connection.

If you are offering a fan incentive, like a free download with signup, they handle everything. You just upload the incentive. Easy.

Excite Your Fans

FanBridge makes converting browsers into buyers easy with simple tools that take visitors to the point of sale for whatever it is you’re selling (i.e. tickets, merch etc.) Whatever actions your fans take are tracked and converted into data that help you understand which of your campaigns are most effective, who is clicking on what, and what you need to do to reach out to your most active fans.

Another important feature is the tour calendar. Your calendar can be part of your newsletter and is also posted on your fan “action page.” Fans can even set reminders about your shows.

FanBridge understands how valuable your fans’ friends are, and gives your fans the tools they need to share your music with them. Viral marketing tools like contests, prizes, “share this” links, etc. are automatically integrated into the system. Remember, the easier it is for your fans to share your music with others, the more likely they are to do it!

Keep Fans Engaged

Artist-fan interaction has become the norm. Finally. It takes a LOT of work to stay on top of all the various ways you are interacting with your fans, though, and you can’t afford to waste your valuable time toggling between twitter clients, facebook pages, and everything else. FanBridge solves this problem by allowing you to communicate with fans across many networks all from a single location.

Email newsletters (which are super important) are a breeze to send out, because FanBridge handles all the backend stuff for you. You simply need to come up with the irresistible content that goes in them.

Another brilliant feature is their mobile text messaging platform. Imagine sending last minute text messages to your fans to remind them about your upcoming show or sending updates from backstage! You can schedule them to send later, too, so you don’t have to worry about doing it live all the time.

This service is priced insanely low for all the cool stuff you get. Seriously. Really cheap.

In case you’re still not convinced you need FanBridge, they’ve come up with 5 simple reasons why you need them: 1) you get superior client service from real, live people, 2) their only priority is making your fan list more valuable, 3) they automate the fan-getting process so it’s working for you 24/7, 4) they do all the analysis so you don’t have to, and 5) you can communicate with all your fans in one place.

Be sure to check out these handy FanBridge resources too:

Tips on Sending Effective Fan Newsletters

3 Fan List Basics for Musicians

How Do I Get More Emails at Live Shows/Events?

Dave Holland Uses Topspin To Bring You Some Silly Dope Jazz

published
on March 1, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in artist/album reviews, music, music business, and technology
. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .
It’s big no secret that artists need to focus on web and mobile initiatives to promote, market and distribute their music in a dramatically changed music industry. Even the major labels now understand that you need to embrace, and not fight, technology in order to successfully engage the modern music fan. But, it’s particularly refreshing to see a legendary jazz musician embrace this concept.
Jazz master Dave Holland has enlisted the help of music technology platform, Topspin, to launch a new digital marketing campaign that includes a solid new website, an array of  widgets, and direct-to-fan distribution of creative bundles and premium offerings. For those of you unfamiliar with Topspin, the  platform helps artists generate direct-to-fan demand using three channels: viral marketing, target marketing, and direct marketing, as well as, providing data-driven feedback.
To kick things off, Holland is releasing a new downloadable Archive Series of  live performances. The first installment is an hour-long, four-song recording from a 2007 European tour with his water-tight quintet. If you’re into moderately acidic, yet organic modern jazz, you absolutely need to check this out! The concert is a nice amuse-bouche for the Dave Holland Octet’s upcoming live release “Pathways,” which is also available for pre-order on Holland’s site. What a great way to give fans some very special content and to build up interest prior to a new release. And, the best part? The 320 kbps MP3 download costs only a buck, and you can stream it for free!
What’s particularly interesting here is that Dave Holland is 1) legendary and 2) a jazz musician. Generally speaking, legendary musicians and jazz musicians think that they are in a special category of artists, where for marketing, promoting and distributing their music, they can just do what they’ve been doing for years — put out records and tour. They tend to think that because they’ve already built a fanbase over the years, that they’re immune from the effects that take place if you avoid using technology to engage with fans. Some even say that their fans aren’t using the web and mobile devices to discover and enjoy music.
But this can’t be further from the truth, and these artists are missing out on a massive opportunity to not only develop stronger bonds with current fans, but to also expand their fanbase. And the longer they hold out, the more irrelevant they will become with the modern music fan. So, Dave Holland, we salute you!