How to get noticed!

I've been posting a lot of these videos from TruSound because they are compiled from interviews with people who've made it in the music biz.

That doesn't mean that what they say is gospel but it does mean you should listen to what they say and give it a chance before deciding whether to act on their advice or discard it.

This one's great - all about getting noticed. A lot of it is old school and not about online profile, but that aside, what they do talk about is really good.

The one thing many of them ARE talking about is how they created their own scene, starting local and building their visibility in that little niche. This creates the start of a following and fanbase which itslf can become the foundation to build from.

Listen to the guy from Godsmack at 4.30 saying that he and his band focused on a 60 mile area around their home town and they would be at every show (local band or national band passing through) that fit their genre and they'd network and flyer like crazy. Old school networking and promotion that works.

Bottom line - get your music straight, then work your ass off, play shows, flyer, network and build a buzz locally. That buzz will be noticed. Go from there!

How to promote your event

Image by TheArches

I just came across this great site - Digital DJ Tips - written by a British DJ with years of experience.

A lot of the posts are technical and about making club records, DJ'ing and the like, but equally lots are about wider music making and music promoting issues - and the content is really good.

I spent hours wandering about reading stuff and you probably will too.

I could've chosen anything about music promotion but decided to list this 4 part series on hosting and promoting your own events. Of course, this works especially well for dance music and running a club night, but it can be applied to any genre with some tweaking.

Plus a lot of the promotional principles apply to anything!

How to Promote Events - Part 1

How to Promote Events - Part 2

How to Promote Events - Part 3

How to Promote Events - Part 4

 

 

How to promote your album

This is a great post (and free pdf) from the CD Baby's DIY Musician blog.

It sets out a timeline for what you need to do to promote your forthcoming album from 12 months before release (or 4 months as a minimum!).

Although I am not set on the idea that every DIY musician should be setting up to release an album (building a real fanbase by releasing singles or solo tracks, gigging and spreading the word online comes first) until they are ready, when you do, this is a very valuable reference tool.

Releasing a new album takes more than just duplicating discs and throwing a party. You’ve got to get the word out if you want your music to sell. But with so many methods of promotion and so many outlets for music discovery, it can be difficult to know where to focus your efforts. Stay calm! This promotion timeline will guide you through, step by step, breaking it all down into bite-sized chunks so you can get out there and start generating press and buzz.

Get it here.

 

Task checklist for promoting your band

Don't know what you should be doing to promote your music on any given day?

Live Unsigned do:

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:

Get the checklist here.

Online music promotion overview

Good little article on the basic steps you need to take to get the most out of your online music promotion.

I'm a massive fan of the approach talked about here in approaching blogs as part of your promotional foundation (don't forget @cbracco's brilliant eBook on this).

Think of your online media campaign as equivalent to gigging. Playing in front of lots of small audiences will build up to a larger fanbase. This in turn will get you gigs in front of bigger audiences and so on. In the same way, start with the smaller, niche blogs and e-zines to gain the exposure that will make larger sites take notice of you.

Be prepared to give stuff away. This will remain true for the whole of your career, but particularly at the beginning. People will only pay for stuff if they want it. If they’ve never heard your music, they won’t know if they want it yet.

The internet is brimming with free tools and opportunities for promoting your music, in a way that just wasn’t possible with traditional media. A little bit of know-how (and a lot of time) can get you a long way.

I'd actually recommend interacting with the blogs that you find using theirs and Chris Bracco's methods for a while before emailing them, but the principle is a key one that all artists should be embracing.

Read the post here.

Indie advice for the DIY band

Had to post this since the manager of this band is an old mate of mine and I jumped when he appeared on my screen giving advice!

Attack! Attack! are building a following all over the world using the web as a main thoroughfare to their music but it all started with building a local scene.

Well worth ten minutes of your time, covering how a band can come togther from various members in a local scene, how the internet is central to all promotional effort, and, most importantly how concerted effort will get you noticed!

 

1 killer networking tip for musicians

Image by Richard-G

We wrote a little piece about the need for networking offline as well as online a few months ago.

And then I had a bit of a revelation this morning because of a few gigs and events that I'd been to over the last month.

In the UK, there's a publication that will tell you where all the players in the music industry will be on any given night - there might be one for the US and other countries but I don't know it (Anyone?).

It's very London-centric, but then so is the UK mainstream music busines.

Even if you're a committed DIY musician, you can benefit from networking with people in the music business. If major label A&R men aren't your target, if you hang out in the right places, you'll run into PR people, music bloggers, journos, agents, promoters, producers and more.

It's well worth it.

Go to Record of the Day and right there in the middle of the screen is their 'Gig of the Day'.

It's a given that it'll be in London, but if it's a new band in small venue, you can be sure that it will be teeming with industry bods. Be there. Meet people.

Don't overdo it and shove CD's at everyone. Just be normal and ask questions. Don't immediately tell everyone that you're in a band. Maybe don't tell them at all. Once they've seen you around a bit, they'll ask you!

BTW, you might fancy signing up for their two week free trial as well. The daily email that you then get sent lists the gigs and a lot of their in-depth features are good too. It's paid, after that at £150 per year. Steep, but if you're a UK musician, it's probably worth it.

Another one that is well worth being at is Music Week's Breakout at the Proud Galleries, monthly. Much bigger than most of the RoD tips - 900 plus people - but, generally what is termed an 'A&R fest'!

Of course, wherever you are in the world, if you hear that a local band is attracting attention from industry players, be at that gig - blag the support slot if you can!

Another great article on networking can be found on the ever excellent We All Make Music blog.

I don't agree with it wholesale, but I do agree with it's conclusions about using networking opportunities to ask questions and learn from those in the know.

 

Self-create and then build - plus a free eBook

Image by fotologic

I really like this site - we mentioned another of his posts the other day.

In this one, he talks about taking action. Setting a goal for your band, researching it and making it happen. This is truly more achievable than ever in the modern world where everything you need to find out to make something happen is just a click away.

More accurately, they researched the who, what, when, where, and how to tour over there, came up with a plan, and executed it. They didn’t wait to be accepted as an opener, or look for showcases, or wait for some other opportunity to come along.  They just knew what they wanted to do, researched how to do it, and did it.

Read the post here and be inspired. 

And, since a lot of the post talks about making the most out of gig opportunities at conferences, I might as well point you to this post on Dave Cool's site. 

He's giving away a free eBook about how to do just that! 

This eBook is a comprehensive guide to making the most of a music conference. From pre-conference planning, showcasing and networking, to the post-conference follow-up, it offers a step-by-step look at the music conference experience and how to maximize it from a musician’s point of view.

Well worth getting it for free!

 

 

Getting your music played in stores

I was asked by @volarymusic what I thought of this new service, TuneTailers, yesterday.

"A new way to promote, or just another way to be parted with money?"

I like to think highly of people unless given evidence to the contrary - that despite working in the music business for 20 years!

I think this company have a good idea and we ought to give them a chance to see if it works.

The idea is that you pay (starting price seems to be $50 for 1 month's rotation per store) to have your songs included on a playlist that gets played in selected retail stores.

Maybe that's too steep for a very hard to track return.

BUT, I have defintiely found and locked on to new music when hearing it in a store, hairdressers, bars, dentists, hotels or other retail space.

You know - you hear it, you ask them what it is and often you look it up later and might even become a fan. Have a look at this site that is from the British PRS and PPL (they collect fees from public venues that play music), which talks about the benefit of letting people hear your music in public places.

When we ran a suite of indie labels we always targeted these kind of places with all our new releases and built up a very useful list. Back then we'd mail them CD's and hope that they got played - but it was worth it, even if very unscientific. I'd recommend this still as a way to promote your music - at least on a local level.

Check out TuneTailers here. The verdict's out on whether it's financially viable for a DIY musician, but the idea should be used and added to your promotional efforts.

10 things to nail down for your album release party

This is a great post from a great blog - Brian Franke's 'Thinking Aloud'

Brian is a working musician in Washington DC who writes from his personal experience - so he knows what's worked and failed for him! There are great posts all over the site to help the DIY musician and it's well worth digging around for some gems. He also goes out of his way to provide a hub for the DC scene.

This post covers all of those things, talking as it does from his own experience in setting up an album release show.

You just left the studio and recorded the final notes for your album.  There’s the mixing and mastering process for your producer to take care of and the artwork for your album and any merchandise to do–but the real deal is when all of this comes together and you officially release your album at a CD release party.  A lot goes into making a CD release party a successful one and it rests entirely on how well you prepare.

There are many key areas that make it successful that I will discuss below, but to keep it short and sweet I would say the most important things are: be in tip-top shape and form musically when you perform, give lots of lead time to get it ready, have your album ready in CD and digital form on the day of your show, and ask for help when you need it.

I most recently went through this process and while some things were tedious, when my big night finally came, it turned out to be everything I wanted it to be for my fans.  I spent a good three months putting my CD release party together.  That’s not to say yours will take as long.  Depending on what you want to do may shorten or lengthen how long it can take.

But looking back on those three months, these are the 10 key things to do to have a successful CD release party.

Read the 10 key things to nail down here.

 

 

 

Quantum events can lead to success

This is a slightly odd one for us to pass on as it is in some ways at odds with what we usually preach - that you can develop your own success.

That is very much what I believe but this is an interesting article since I can't argue that a quantum event - or as the English would say, a 'leg up' - will clearly speed up your journey to success.

Can you seek out these kind of opportunities? Yes. Hence why we advocate widespread and judicious online and offline networking to boost your following and chances of happening across someone who can really help you promote your music and build your career.

Talk to any successful artist, producer or songwriter, and you’ll discover that each of them struggled at one level until a breakthrough happened and their career took a quantum jump ahead. Just like playing a video game, artists “level up” when a quantum event happens. Quantum events include things like meeting the right producer, getting feedback on your songs from a master songwriter, being signed to a development deal with an indie label, releasing a great single, having your homemade sex tape “accidentally” leaked on YouTube, etc. Everyone’s quantum events are different.

Read the whole piece here.

Viinyl - single track online promotion centre

Great post from BuzzSonic....on his own blog!

Viinyl is a site that allows bands to make a single page site that promotes a single track - with video, music player, sharing, free downloads and email capture. A brilliant instant solution to promote your music.

Viinyl is a cool new service from Canada that enables anyone to create an interactive single song-site within minutes that comes with lyrics, artwork, videos, notes, various download options, promotional tools and analytics.

I was able to upload a track, add a YouTube video, about page and sort out my one page site in just a few minutes here. It’s a great tool for bands and artists who want a way of dishing out a free download in exchange for that all important email, or as a mini EPK or simply as a quick introduction for a promoter, potential manager or A&R.

Check Adrian's post out here.

Top 10 ways to sell and promote music online

Matthew Ebel absolutely nails it in this post on how to promote music online.

Matthew is a working musician who uses all the methods that he can find to promote and sell his music. So these tips come with a dose of real world testing and experience.

I love them as they are bang to the point. Particularly the stuff about getting a domain and a website - you know, like how I've been enouraging you to do that on Friday and today?? It is absolutely essential!

I’m no Ariel Hyatt, but I’ve been told I have some good ideas for using online tools as an indie musician. I mean, heck, I do this for a living. If something I do doesn’t work, I drop it like a bad habit and move on to the next idea. Is this list comprehensive? Hell no. In fact, I’ll probably have better ideas tomorrow. Right now, though, this is the best list I could divine. Here are some patterns I’ve seen over the years:

Read his 10 tips here.

The future of Music PR

This is a video of a panel from the recent North Park Music Thing in San Diego which saw a bunch of panels on a range of subjects - we'll probably show you some more!

This one looks at the changes in music publicity that the internet and the changing music industry have brought about.

There's good advice in here on how to find and work with a good music publicist and on how to do it yourself.

The Future of Music PR from North Park Music Thing on Vimeo.

If the embed video isn't viewable - you can find it here.

 

Simple music promotion tips

I'm all for simple. And why should music promotion always have to be complicated?

Well, as this post states - it doesn't.

Getting more gigs, shows, events, etc. for your band is really just a matter of implementing a simple process, making it habitual, and then sticking to it. Below are some practical promotion tips that you can take with you to help you land more gigs, and spread the word about your music.

Read the whole post here.

 

Seth Godin and spreading ideas

Can't believe that I haven't ever linked to a Seth Godin post before!

If you don't know who he is, start with his seminal book on Tribes - how to build a following and engage with them. It's seen as a key text and applies directly to musicians - Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

This post talks about why people spread the word about you in 20 bullet points - clearly a key element of music promotion. Here's the first few:

I spread your idea because...

- it makes me feel generous...

- I feel smart alerting others to what I discovered...

- I care about the outcome and want you (the creator of the idea) to succeed.

Read them all here.

Stand out to achieve music success - but how?

I love this post - it has some great points to get you thinking about how you can promote your music.

It's true that you need to find a way to stand out in order to get yourself noticed and, although great songs, a great performance and great image are all part of this, something unique often catches the eye of fans and industry alike.

The biggest thing that you, as an independent artist or musician, can do to for your own career is to find a way to set yourself apart from the pack. In a world of copycats and knock-offs, this may seem an impossible task. However, hundreds of thousands of artists have found ways to become innovators and leaders rather than imitators and followers. A very effective way that you can do that is to be the first at doing something that no one else has done yet. Here are some examples.

Read the whole post here and get inspired!

How to get the elevator pitch for your band right

Have you heard of the concept of the 'elevator pitch'?

Ariel Hyatt talks about it a great deal and believes that it is a key part of your music promotion as well as helping you to get to grips with what you think about your band and your music yourself.

The idea is that you need to be able to describe your band and music to a stranger in less time than it takes for an average elevator ride - say about 15 seconds.

Photo by ExpressMonorail

Ariel hates the attitude that you can't describe your band because you are unique and don't sound like anyone who has gone before. She's right - come on, be honest with yourself. And your pitch needs to hook a listener in to want to know more.

I saw these two articles that look into the idea a bit more.

How to give your elevator pitch.

How to make your elevator pitch stick.

You can also find this covered in detail plus a whole load more stuff in Ariel's book - Music Success in Nine Weeks.

The Slips - a case study in how to promote your music

I found this article on the Unsigned Guide blog that reveals a lot about how one electronic act pushed hard to get heard.

You can find plenty of tips in there to help you promote your music.

Collecting email addresses, lots of free content, videos, illegal remixing and mix tapes - it's all good.

The Slips are not just another electro/dance outfit. Comparisons to LCD Soundsystem seem to have made their way around blogs (they’ve received good reviews from the likes of Music Week, the Fly and many more) though I find they manage to incorporate the typical “French Touch” that Daft Punk or the more recent Justice are so good at. One thing is for sure - these guys will make you dance!

What’s more, The Slips are definitely pro-active and do not simply hope things will just happen. As they repeated a few times during the interview, “you need to look at every possible channel nowadays”.

Read it on the Unsigned Guide's blog.

Split gigs with bands you don't even know

We looked at the issue of bands needing to find somewhere to stay in order to be able to tour in this post - Fans connect to make touring easier.

But, what about getting the gigs themselves? After all, playing live is the most direct way to promote your music.

Well this new site aims to hook bands up with others who are looking to split gigs. Simple.