tips

theentreprenettegazette

Why do we often feel like a magazine editor holds our future in their hands? Will we ever feel comfortable pitching ourselves? Believe me, I am right there with ya! Pitching ourselves is just about the hardest thing for most people – no matter what your business is. I think the biggest tips I [...]

knowthemusicbiz

John P. Strohm is a transactional entertainment and intellectual property attorney with the firm Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose LLP . John’s practice focuses on the representation of musicians, songwriters and independent record labels. Prior to becoming an attorney, John was a professional musician and producer for over a decade. He performed and recorded as [...]

musicians.about

Whether you have a tour manager or are going it alone, a concert tour itinerary is your life-on-the-road BFF. The tour itinerary should have all of the information you need about your shows, accommodation and more, all in one handy place. Not sure how to put one together? This template will help. But first, a [...]

kleerstreemmusic.posterous

If more artists had post mortems as to why a recording session tanked, they might discover the winds of defeat can sometimes be blowing before anyone even steps into the studio. Musical pre-production is often discussed as a necessity when making records, but it seems as if administrative and strategic plans are often given little [...]

latimesblogs.latimes

Meet Eric J. Lawrence. If you’re a musician, he can be one of the most important people in your life. Lawrence is in charge of one of the most critical avenues to an independent rock band’s success — getting your songs played on KCRW-FM (89.9). As the music librarian at KCRW, his job is to [...]

musicianwages

Copyright is a form of intellectual property law granting exclusive rights to the creators of intangible assets, such as music. Under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which the US signed in 1989, copyright is granted the moment the intellectual property becomes fixed in a tangible form. In other words, [...]

blogs.sonicbids

I’d suggest every musician delete words like “typical” and “standard” from their vocabulary. Nowadays everything is up for grabs and negotiable to the extent you have leverage to do so. And again, your relationship with a possible manager is just that: a relationship. Having said that, my “typical” deal/contract always starts out the [...]

futureofmusicbook

In order to find your audience you must consider several details. The first is to accept the fact that you cannot market to the majority; you can’t afford it, and even if you could you would fail because of issues related to frequency of contact with these gatekeepers (i.e. radio/press).Take the Mavens and Early Adopters [...]

knowthemusicbiz

Promote music on www.amazon.comArtist Central enables musicians, record labels and managers to upload official content to www.amazon.com artist stores. You can upload MP3s for free streaming, official photos, videos, a biography, a Twitter feed, and a page banner. Your content will be featured before any content already on the musician’s artist store.
VIEW DETAILS HERE

americansongwriter

Share has become an important word in the Information Age. For musicians, especially, it’s become a bittersweet concept, as an artist’s main product (audio recording) has lent itself – because of its small file size – most rampantly to sharing. It’s created extreme devaluation of a product that the public used to buy like milk [...]

musicianswidow

Before I met my husband, I would randomly wonder how, exactly, you get a job as a touring musician. It’s not like the jobs open are listed on Careerbuilder.com or Monster.com. Do you have a resume? Do you fill out an application? How does this work!? I’ve discovered being a touring musician straddles two phenomenons: [...]

albertam

Before my current job, I did some unpaid work as a music journalist for a music magazine, reviewing local gigs, as well as new releases and upcoming talent. Working in a Leeds office, I was writing an online blog and producing regular magazines. I would first like to say that Leeds is an amazing area [...]

diymusician.cdbaby

Michael Zapruder is an award-winning musician who serves as Music Curator for Pandora, the Oakland-based internet radio service based on the Music Genome Project. As curator, he directs all aspects of music collection, curation, and cataloging for Pandora’s stations. Zapruder has been with Pandora nearly since the inception of the Music Genome Project and was [...]

grassrootsy.wordpress

Think of pitching yourself to media, venues, and industry reps like pursing a relationship. Don’t be annoying. So you’re trying to get your foot in the door. Are you making an obnoxious amount of attempts? Don’t do it! Don’t leave 5 message on his/her voicemail…especially if they haven’t called you back. In the same way, [...]

musicbizcenter

Okay, maybe this isn’t a brand new resource but I first heard of likeZebra.com today when I received an email from an acquaintance telling me about a contest on the site to win a Margaret Cho CD. The site caters to the independent and unsigned bands, offering online promotion a boost with a social [...]

musicnomad

In the new era of music marketing and fan relationships, bands need to be creative when it comes to finding ways to raise money from fans to record albums as well as ways to have a deeper relationship with your fans by offering non-traditional music products. Check out the resources and tips on this page [...]

musicians.about

If you’re a musician, what is the number one, most important thing you will do for your music career today? No, not tweet or Facebook or blog or engage in a debate whether the internet is good or bad or contact the press - it is working on your music. Wait..what…huh? But what about your [...]

helium

It is no longer necessary for independent musicians to seek out a label to put out their music. With the advancement of technology and the internet superhighway, it is entirely possible to produce and market your own music without a middleman. The first thing you need to do is write and produce a few songs. [...]

miccontrol

Are these pictures odd? Yes! Are they funny? Hell yes! And while each image is a stereotypical portrayal of each type of fan, there is a common trend that all of these pictures share - these overly dedicated (some may say obsessive - keep this in mind, it will benefit you greatly!) ’super-fans’ are apart [...]

knowthemusicbiz

It seems the way money flows at a record label is largely a mystery to most artists who haven’t worked in the music industry for an extended period of time. It’s always interesting to lift the veil a bit on an unknown. Let’s take a look at one side of the economics of an indie [...]

musicgoat

Hey bands, solo artists and promoters! Are you looking to get your music heard by a targeted audience of people who would love to become your fan? Dumb question I know but check out this promotion over at Grooveshark that I am taking advantage of to promote my music
Basically, they are willing to give you [...]

musicdish

Growing your Brand from the Ground Up. So you are a musician trying to navigate the complex path to build yourself into a sustainable brand? Where do I begin? What are the steps in the New Industry Model? How can I move forward? How can I survive? How can I cut through the clutter? These [...]

musictalksedu

2 Common Examples:
1. You’re offered 10% as an Artist
[Side Note: Make sure it says of the Retail Price! If it says "Wholesale", make sure you get 20%!!!] Why not ask for your rate to rise each album you release by 1/2%? Why not ask that your rate goes up 1/2% for “Gold” and anothet 1/2% [...]

knowthemusicbiz

Dave Huffman is a musician and author of The Indie Launch Pad blog where he uses the insight he gained as a full time indie to share thoughts and advice for those wanting to enjoy an indie career in music as well. Follow him on twitter:@davemhuffman So, you’re doing a lot of things right – [...]

musicians.about

When you are trying to get your music career off the ground, there is a lot of cold calling - or rather, cold emailing - involved. As you reach a more comfortable place in your music career, you’ll discover that that part of the job never really goes away. Knocking on cyberdoors just comes with [...]

Musformation

Bob Cramer and Phil Antoniades from Nimbit discuss site features and fan interaction strategies at New Music Seminar 2010. Coverage from Musformation.com

spinme

We’re actually talking about a few different kinds of ways that labels and artists make money, and Cash Money Records is a pretty interesting case study of how a company can grow from the ground up into a vertically integrated entertainment conglomerate.
First, let’s talk about royalties. Depending on your role in the recording, you could [...]

musicianwages

Creating a budget for a new album means figuring out not only how much money you’ll need, but also how much time it will take from your first rehearsal to release day. After releasing a number of my own albums and answering questions from many of my friends doing the same, I’ve been caught off [...]

spinme

If you’re a friend, a family member, or a fan enlisted to take on management duties for a musician, reading books about the business might not be enough to get you up to speed on what you really need to know. While you might think working for free is beneath you, it’s also essential to [...]

futureofmusicbook

As we have seen, there are many different ways to make money in music today. In the past few years, much has been said and written about the 360 degree deal, where an artist/writer enters into a business partnership with a company and gives the company lots of rights to recordings, songs, merchandise, and touring, [...]

musiciancoaching

The New Music Seminar begins this evening a 6pm. Music conferences have always seemed very strange to me and I’ve come to view them very differently over the years. Below are my experiences at my first music conference and let them serve as perfect examples of what NOT to do. When NYU’s [...]

madalynsklar.blogspot

Is your life working? When things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, it can feel unsettling. But don’t give up on your goals and dreams just because “the time isn’t good”… you can still make 2010 the year you uncover a whole new you for the better!
Even in tough [...]

knowthemusicbiz

Nick Fitzsimons founded Penny Distribution in 2007 and launched sister company Penny Black in 2010. Originally a physical and digital distributor, Penny Distribution and marketing services for its artists and labels. Penny Black is a boutique music licensing and consultancy service representing independent Irish & UK labels catalogue to the media industries for sync [...]

genyrockstars

I’ve lived this feeling dozens of times, and comments I read on other music marketing blogs tell me I’m not alone. It’s the feeling I get when I’m just about to hit ‘send’ to e-mail out another newsletter, the feeling I get when I’m working really hard on some goofy promo video instead of a [...]

musicnomad

Your relationship with your fans has never been more important. They hold the money and are the ones that want to buy directly from you. They love your music and are whom you need to develop an intimate relationship with if you want your band’s career to grow. If used right Email and Email management [...]

wearelistening

1:: How To Increase Your Fan Base
Jango’s Basic Geo-Targeting feature allows you to hone in on those regions where Jango listeners love your music most. If you’ve already run a Jango Airplay campaign, simply check your Geographic Reports in your dashboard for this data. Then, select the cities and states where you have [...]

themusiciansguide.co.uk

If I told you that you could have an advert promoting your music to 100,000’s of people who listen to your genre of music, live in towns you’re performing in or work in the music industry for less than the cost of a portion of chips you’d probably think I was joking, but this is [...]

lookmajor

Welcome to LookMajor.com’s look at what artists all around the world are doing without even knowing it: HUSTLING BACKWARDS. I’ve entitled this series “Hustle Smart, Not Hard”. In this series I will touch on a few different points including A&R Etiquette, DJ Etiquette, How to Put Together a Winning MPK, Promo No-No’s, and Social Networking [...]

independentmusicadvice

The type of product you put out can affect the time you spend on each project, how you are received, the cost, and generally everything else. Here are the pros and cons of releasing a single, album and mixtape:
Singles Pros:
* Releasing a single can be very quick compared to the other [...]

billboard

As the music world becomes more singles-driven, bands that once wrote their own music are now enlisting experienced outside co-writers to craft a radio hit. “American Idol” judge and songwriting powerhouse Kara DioGuardi is credited on more than 100 albums and has either written or co-written hits for Paula Abdul, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Cobra [...]

Tom Hess

Many musicians are aware that making the right music industry contacts is highly important for achieving a successful music career. The problem is that, most musicians really don’t know ‘who’ the right music industry contacts are, where to find them, how to actually transform a ‘first contact’ into a meaningful relationship, and what [...]

musiciancoaching

Part five covered approaching established music managers. Part four went over the art of turning friends into managers. This section will be going over the pros and cons of parents who manage their children (Momagers and Dadagers). Momagers and Dadagers – the upside to moms and dads who manager their musician progeny is [...]

Mello Melanin

This theory can also be applied to the music business as well. There are no overnight successes. There may be artists who seem to have this type of success but what the public does not see are the long hard hours which have been sacrificed to get them where they are today. To prove [...]

keepittrill

The 360 deal reflects the fact that most of musician’s income now comes from source other than recorded music. These include live performance, merchandising and part time stints with “Staples or Starbucks”. In the future these artists can get used to flogging whatever they can fit names on. New Rules If you want a piece [...]

spinme

I get a little worried when a new music manager writes up a goal sheet that includes “attend/work a music conference.” Music conferences are fun, raucous affairs. But many bands treat them as little more than extensions of already overheated local scenes. Very few “civilians” attend, so it’s hard to try to convert locals into [...]