Music marketing.doc

Music marketing.doc

congratulate Tom for winning the contest Here's what Tom has to say about music promotion:

"I am in a band Freewill

It looks like we will be changing our name, as we've refocused our sound, and have learned a lot reading newsletters like this one We are working on material for a CD

As Freewill, we never had a live band, so we relied on message boards to spread the word Westuck to genre specific boards, and with our type of music,(progressive metal) that is the best type of promotion Those fans are fanatic about "their" music and have a strong desire to get their hands on new stuff all the time Being that the progressive scene is still mainly

'underground' so to speak, most bands of this style are relying on word of mouth and dropping words on message boards and newsletters, and exchanging links with other bands and joining web rings

I have found that their are a lot of cool bands out there who are willing to exchange information and success tips among each other Instead of looking at everything like a competition, at times

it is more helpful to join forces and help spread the word of other bands you like It usually tends to be reciprocal and it builds good relations within the community of our genre itself

In our case, our style has progressed a changed enough to warrant a name change, and we arecurrently building a knowledge base and a list of contacts; anyone who may be helpful to us once we're ready to start spreading the word There is just a mass of information available if you are patient enough to find the good stuff Most importantly, I think, is to think and act as professionally as possible at all times Be polite and courteous, even when others aren't Building a good reputation never hurt

If there is anything else I can do for you let me know Thanks for the cool tips and interesting read."

Sincerely,

Tom Clark

Freewil

Music Promotion Success Story!

by Damien ReillyIrie

December 18, 2000

Hello Everybody, I recently put to work a number of Guerilla tactics I've learned over the course

of this year I organized, promoted, and did publicity, for the band I manage, GiantFella's

release party on December 2nd The party was a tremendous success, not to mention an important case study for myself since is was my first time attempting these tasks

I began in the beginning of November by putting together the press kits for the band including a press release, bio, b&w 8x10, cd, and song lyrics I also was busy putting together a media contact list I sent out 30 kits to CMJ, Village Voice, NY Press, Aquarian Weekly, Good Times Magazine, and other publications around New York The follow up calls weren't so bad I left about 15 messages and got through to the other 15 I made a few follow up to the follow up and got Good times Magazine from Long Island to come review the show I almost had the AquarianWeekly and most others said they would at least submit the cd to be reviewed

Throughout the month I was constantly handing out flyers, stickers, and sample cd's some with

up to three songs that are not on the band's recent release which was promised for free at the party I also put up posters at bars at scattered locations around Manhattan that would attract a clientele that would be interested in GiantFella's music I sent out countless e-mail and a postal mailing was done as well I posted the release and show announcement on mi2n and some online message boards I hit the Blue's Traveler show at Roseland on 11/22 and handed out more flyers, stickers, and cd's I constantly was constantly in promo mode the entire month!

The party saw 200 people in a 220 capacity venue I booked an opening band

(http://mappari.com) that brought 40 people,181 paid to get in which was a record for the venue,the reviewer from Good Times came and was very impressed, and a friend of mine submitted

an article in the Vos Valley News

Out of the 200 people there the band and myself knew about 40-50 people, 40 were from the opening band and there was over 100 people no one recognized I did speak with some that came from the Blue's Traveler show, some people signed the mailing list, and everyone got a copy of the new cd and a web site sticker The place was rockin, everyone had a good time, andeveryone was happy The opening band had a great time and wants to continue doing shows with GiantFella which will definitely help So a little hard work created a lot positive energy for the band and everyone there that night

Now I've just got to keep up and multiply everything I did by 10 and the band will be at a whole nother level

The following people I thank for sharing your knowledge and services: Curtis Waller, Mike Randolph, Beth Krakower, Anne Leighton, Steve Zuckerman, Derek Sivers, Dave Hooper, Carolyn Ballen Thank You!

Effective Post Card Mailings - Direct Mail

by Marc Gunn, Bard

January 9, 2001

We all know that off-line promotion is just as vital as on-line promotion But what other means of

"off-line" promotion can you do other than mailing out your Flyer or Newsletter? Alot We could

go into Media, Radio, Television and others but that is another topic in itself Postcards are the

"new" wave of off-line promotion, or direct mailings The costs incurred are far much less than those of traditional direct mailings Postcards, leave out the extra extra’s sorta speak, no

envelopes, no envelope stuffing, and the postage is half the cost of first class postage on a standard letter, while still obtaining first class handling through the US Postal Service

I myself, have had rather good results from my postcards mailings, and wanted to share some tips with you on how you can successfully promote your website, CD, or event effectively with Post Cards

Don’t do what many postcard mailers do: They put a terrific design and/or headline on the picture side of the card and nothing but the address on the address side, and many people never see the eye-catching design or headline All they see is the address side - the side that’s facing up when the mail carrier delivers it Because people always look at the address side of a postcard to see whether it’s for them, they may decide to throw the card away without turning it over That’s why BOTH sides of a postcard should sell The address side is where you want to put your headline or attention getting graphic

The disadvantage of a postcard is that space is limited You must be able to deliver a very concise message that elicits the desired response from the recipient: You need to gain

attention, stimulate interest, provoke desire, and make the prospect take action That’s alot for alittle postcard to accomplish That’s not to say it can’t be done; its just more difficult Postcards are a good way to build awareness and stimulate interest You’ve really got to hit the nail on the head

Watch your own mail You probably get tons of postcards in the mail from magazine publishers, web host companies etc., urging you to subscribe or "try" our service These postcards are among the best being used today, study them carefully, keep them Even other Artists Post cards that you pick up here and there, Keep them, study them Then sit down and ask yourself the following: 1) what about this card do you like? 2) Colors used? 3) What’s written on the address side? 4) What stands out more than anything on the card a graphic, text, or color Onceyou have studied the cards you now have, you will have a better idea of what you want your

cards to look like Ask yourself, what am I trying to accomplish? Website traffic? Selling CDs, or announce a event? Take all these into consideration, prior to finding the printer or graphic designer to develop your post card These are the exact questions they will ask you.

Then once your ready, get them designed and printed Two great companies that I have found and have used are Digitalwork.com and 1800postcards.com/ Both of these companies run specials, so when you see the special snag it you will save money

Living the Dream: One CD at a Time

by Marc Gunn, Bard

June 30, 2001

I read somewhere not too long ago that someone was lamenting that artists are putting out too many albums without spending enough time promoting them Well, I hate to say it, but my group, the Brobdingnagian Bards, is guilty of such a crime

You see, when I started The Bards a couple years ago, I knew that bands needed a product So

we recorded our first album, Marked By Great Size, bought a CD burner, and started producing

the CDs ourselves to sell at gigs

Six months later, we released our second album, Gullible's Travels By this time, we'd only had

a few decent reviews of our first album, but we'd sold a couple hundred CDs after playing at numerous Renaissance Festivals Now, our second album was underway

We recorded it, and got a whopping one review for the album But with extensive gigging we sold a couple hundred copies of this album

Six months later, we completed our third album, Songs of the Muse By this time, we starting to

wonder if we were stretching ourselves too thin Andrew was duping all the CDs while I was getting them printed And his burner wasn't quite fast enough to keep up with the demand for CDs But it was about this time that we got started on mp3.com, and we got introduced to DAM CDs, a much easier way to produce CDs when you have several, but can't afford to mass produce any

All of a sudden, the reason for our recording CD after CD made sense We could get paid for people listening to our music, and the more music you have the more money you made Talk to Ernesto Cortazar and 303infinity if you disagree

Now, we could order CD one-offs from MP3.com, sell them at gigs for $10-15, and make a nice profit while our music climbed the charts But did I promote "Songs of the Muse"?

Well, we started recording for our next albums (yes, plural) at the beginning of 2001 We've done some minor promotion of our album, and quite honestly, SOM is the best of our albums, and now our first mass-produced CD So yes, we should do more promotion for it, and we are But no, we are still not spending all of our extra income promoting this or another album why? Why are we recording more albums.

Well first, Songs of the Muse was recorded to meet a very specific market It's an all

instrumental album, and was designed to get us wedding gigs, which it does quite nicely

But the other reason we don't is because we are meeting our goals making a living

While some are after a record deal or becoming the next pop star, we are on a journey Yes, I'd like to be a pop star Sure, I wouldn't mind having a record deal But our music is still evolving

We have a long way to go before I feel we are ready for that record deal or super-stardom The first step is making a living

That's what living the dream is all about You have to take care of the basics first In my case, it involves getting out of debt, building a regular income, building a following, and one day earningenough from the music to quit my day job so I can become a full-time musician Does it matter that our first few albums may never be heard? No It doesn't Those first albums will be

Collector's Editions once we get there ;)

Once those goals are met, then I can work on my dreams of super-stardom Yes, I am working

on those steps now I'm not gonna find a publicist to promote us unless we are guaranteed a decent return on our money But I will continue to get our music to local publications, slowly but surely And one day, you're gonna read a message from me saying, "I am now living the

dream!"

The New Music Marketing Model for 21st Century

by Bard Marc Gunn

January 23, 2001

A year ago, I wrote a passionate article on the merits of charging $15 when you sell your CDs Some of my reasonings included: It's tough for indie musicians and you have a good music, so don't short-change yourself; you can always discount the CD for special reasons (2-for-1 special); and, the "high" sales prices also includes your various expenses I made a few

addendums, but that's the gist of it

But now, if you head over to http://mp3.com/thebards and check out the Brobdingnagian Bards page at MP3.com, you'll notice something kinda hypocritical none of our CDs are priced at

$15! What gives??

Well first let me say, yes, I do still believe in a $15.00 sales price for many artists Certainly, it works best for folk artists, and singer/songwriter types But my reason is not hypocrisy it is a dramatic change in our marketing plan.

You see, when we started out, I knew that the only "real" income available to indie musicians comes from CD sales and merchandising since royalties from ASCAP and BMI are a joke So our plan was to record every 6 months or less and put out new material By then end of last summer the indie process was leaving us drained, and we were thinking we overextended Then along comes MP3.com

One of the things I've been raving about for the past few months is that MP3.com offers a new marketing model by offering "royalties" for listens to your music And if you're getting paid from people listening to your music Then it needs to be readily available right?

Well, we've followed the footsteps of many of the top MP3.com artists and have about 40-50 tracks available on our site and more are coming every week In doing so, we make a solid $20

a day from our site

Now with each listen, the songs are tracked on MP3.com on their music charts You sell a CD, the songs on that CD will rocket up the charts So you want the CDs to sell, because higher charting equals higher payback Thus, our low price on MP3.com

Now think for a second If you have 40 songs on your site like the Hillbilly Hellcats, you're most likely going to make your 15 unique listens because your songs are located all over the charts There are plenty of songs to choose from Thus the new marketing model no longer relies on

CD sales of $15.00, but listens When you realize that you open yourself up to a whole slew of,

in my opinion, simple marketing tactics that will make you more money from listens than selling CDs from your website

I know this all seems simplistic, but the vast reality is most artists on MP3.com are still running their band with an older marketing model that does not yield the highest payback So think about that for a bit, and next week, I have a guest writer who will give you an exciting

promotional idea that could send your listens over the top Then the week following that, I'm going to betray my secret that has my song "Tolkien" at #35 on all MP3.com

Stay tuned Same bard time Same bard channel!

Selling More CDs at Gigs

A Case Study: The Rogues

by Marc Gunn, Bard

November 23, 2001

A few weekends back, the Brobdingnagian Bards performed at the Austin Celtic Festival We shared the stage with some amazing bands, but at the very top of my list were The Rogues

We first met The Rogues last year at the Texas Renaissance Festival Since then I've been a big fan of not only their killer bagpipes and drums, but their phenomenal ability to sell CDs Theywork magic on and off stage and sell tons of CDs

What do they do that is so special?

Well, The Rogues are very proactive when it comes to selling While many bands will setup a table and say, "go to our table and buy our CDs", The Rogues take it a step further They send their sales ladies to their fans

I remember at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival when they played the Pub Sing They began playing music Their Sales Ladies danced to the music Then they picked up their

baskets of CDs, grabbed a couple, held them high, while The Rogues invited the audience to,

"Go buy our CDs." Then the lasses walked through the aisles through the rest of the entire performance

While the rest of us were on stage watching with shocked amazement at our own untouched sales table, The Rogues sold a dozen CDs! They repeated that performance at the Austin CelticFestival

We shared a booth with The Rogues at the festival, and I asked Sharon about how they do it She told me it varies in different parts of the country In Texas, this direct approach works magic In Florida, an older recreational audience gets angry if sales people disturb their show But the key is to realize that your sales team is a PART of the show!

They don't just stand up there silently holding up CDs If they do, they disappear We learned that during our first show this weekend Integrate your sales people into your show Get them to dance in the isles, clap their hands, sing-a-long If they do, the audience will follow their lead This will help them to attract attention to the CDs, and you will sell more

Be proactive Don't wait for your fans to come to you, or they may never! If you go to them, you'llsell more CDs, and make more fans in the process

Confessions of a Master CD Sales Woman

by Sharon Wothke & Marc Gunn, Bard

January 14, 2002

A couple months ago, I wrote The Rogues to ask them directly what it is that makes them so

successful at selling CDs, and why they are one of the top 10 bands on CDstreet selling CDs Sharon Wothke wrote back:

"As head sales person for the band, I think that I would be the one to talk to The Rogues are definitely unique in what they do, and if you will indulge me, very good at what they do

As a sales person, I know that the way the guys play their music definitely is the biggest factor

in their sales quotient When the music, which can be described as infectious, is smoking hot, and everyone is having a good time, the sales are usually pretty good Most people who come

to a Renaissance Festival, where the band still does the lion's share of their gigs, do not come expecting to buy a CD with bagpipe music on it The Rogues have converted many people to this form of music So in other words, they create a unique atmosphere which is conducive to sales

If the guys are doing their job (making great music), it makes my job a lot easier I just have to

be available and approachable to people and looking like a I am a part of the show for people tofeel comfortable in coming up to me We started from the very beginning employing the use of aroaming basket It is very effective and other groups have successfully copied our approach Our sellers walk around holding up the product so people can see them Our sellers try to blend

in with the show and not be pushy, just visible I personally enjoy interacting with the crowd, spoofing off of what is being said on the stage and telling jokes to make the audience laugh And I will talk and be nice to everyone, even if they don't buy a CD simply because I enjoy people and I am trying to be an ambassador for the band They may not buy today, but chancesare they will think about it and buy a CD at another time."

Straight from the Master's mouth What does it take?

1 Great music

2 Great live performance

3 Roaming sales people with baskets of CDs

4 Sellers hold up product DURING the show

5 Sellers blend in an interact with the show

Confessions of a Master CD Sales Woman, Part 2

by Sharon Wothke & Marc Gunn, Bard

February 3, 2002

Read Part 1

Well a great performance and an interactive sales crew is just the start to seling more CDs at

gigs The Rogues also employ other salespeople.

"Our sellers work off of a commission, with bonuses built in when an individual's sales total reaches a certain amount Giving a salesperson a commission motivates them to sell more product than just giving them a flat rate We do have minimum pay for a day's work when the sales are not good In that case the band usually pays $50 day, or a 10% commission of the sales total, whichever is greater

At the more modern venues, such as highland games and celtic festivals, we have found that having a sales table is an extremely successful way to increase sales, especially in combinationwith a roaming salesperson (when using both are appropriate) At pub gigs, we only have a sales table Having someone roam in a tight space like a pub would be seen as too aggressive

or invasive, which the Rogues do not encourage their salespeople to be Friendly competition between two or more sellers is fine as long as there is a feeling of team spirit Our sellers help each other out when one needs change or more stock

The larger the crowds, the more sales people are needed The sheer size of the crowd has a tremendous impact on sales When you get that many people standing or sitting that close together and they are all excited about the music, it is like a ripple effect once the sales start flowing, everyone seems to jump on the buying bandwagon

At one particular show at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, where the crowd was huge, our three sellers were not able to maximize the full sales potential A good indication of my not being able to tap the sales potential that is when I am standing in one spot and have not moved out of it the entire show Just as soon as I finish one sell, another person comes up to buy a CD

I call that standing in a "sweet spot" when people come up to you already wanting to buy a CD

My job then is to try to figure out, as

quickly as possible, what CD or CDs would best suit what they are looking for I always try to point out the fact that they can order more CDs through the website or mail order, or listen to themusic on MP3.com

As a bandmember's wife, I am always trying to promote the band I take business cards from people who want to hire the band for potential gigs and I direct them to my husband, Randy, who is the business manager for the band."

1 Reward sales people with commission

2 Set up sales table for venues

3 Encourage friendly sales competition

4 More people to sell for larger crowds, enjoy 'ripple effect'

5 Take business cards to gigs and hand out at every opportunity

The Rogues use CDBaby to sell their CDs Why? See for yourself?

Selling CDs Online: A Three-Pronged Approach

by David Nevue

March 19, 2002

Recently, a visitor to the Music Biz Academy asked me a very common question; "How can I sell more CDs on the Internet?" Good question, though very open-ended How you go about marketing your music successfully depends on a great many factors This article contains some suggestions where to start

I recommend musicians take a three-pronged approach to selling their music on the Internet The first 'prong' is what I call 'targeting with buzz.' That is, you create a buzz about your music and get people talking about it To do that, however, you need to promote your music where people are already searching for new music to try out That is, instead of trying to bring people

to you (or your web site), you go to where the people are already hanging out Go where the action is, so to speak So, where's that?

The first place I recommend any musician start promoting their music is MP3.com Though some independent musicians feel MP3.com has 'sold out' (actually, they literally have) to the commercial record industry, the fact is that for pure exposure it's the place to be MP3.com is a huge magnet for music-loving traffic Perform a search at Google for 'music' and MP3.com the

#2 site listed Search for 'mp3' and it's the #1 site You just can't find a better place to put your music right in the path of cyber-traffic With proper

promotion, you'll have hundreds, even thousands of new people listening to your music every day For example, for January 2002, I was able to generate over 50,000 plays of my songs Andthat was with just basic, simple, inexpensive promotion That exposure resulted in more CD sales, lots of email from new fans, and more importantly, name recognition Once you've

mastered MP3.com, you can start setting up shop at other, similar sites such as Vitaminic.com, GarageBand.com, CDBaby.net, Ampcast.com, JavaMusic.com and others

The second 'prong' to increasing CD sales on the net is what I call 'targeting by site.' With this option, your objective is to create a web site that targets the people most likely to be interested

in your music The question to ask yourself is, 'what are the people who are most likely to buy your music already searching the Internet for?' Once you have that answer, design a web site totarget that specific audience Then, promote your web site using tried and true web site

marketing techniques (see spider-food.net for search engine promotion tips) In this scenario, you don't focus on promoting your music per se, you focus on promoting the web site Then, since your web site is attracting visitors that tend to enjoy your style of music, you advertise yourmusic on your specialized web site, marketing directly to those targeted visitors

The final 'prong' is where you will create long term fans; your own 'official' artist web site This personal web site is the place where you will provide your fans with complete details about your act You'll include song lyrics, news, CD info, pictures, a discussion board, chat room, sheet music, whatever you can think of Your official site is the place you will drive traffic to from prong

#1 and prong #2 It's where, ultimately, long-term fans (and friends) are made and, if it's

well-designed and updated frequently, it's the place your fans will keep coming back to Here's a tip:

if you have more than one CD, sell them in 'bulk' Give your visitors the opportunity to buy more for less I currently have 5 CDs, and give my visitors the option of buying all 5 CDs for $50 Guess what? Most of my orders from new customers are for the entire collection So, if you haven't yet purchased a domain name for your act, do so I recommend using DirectNic.com, where you can purchase a domain name for $15/year

All three of these prongs work together in tandem The first (targeting with buzz) not only sells CDs, it creates buzz, name recognition, and career opportunities where none were before My time on MP3.com has directly resulted in song licensing opportunities, as well as a distribution deal with a Korean record company The second method (targeting by site) allows you to target visitors who have a predisposition to your style of music Maybe they didn't search the Internet looking specifically for new music, but as a result of their search they did discover you, and with some keen marketing strategies you can gradually, over time, turn some of these casual visitorsinto fans Finally, the third 'prong' is where you keep them coming back, your own, official web site There, long-term fans are made Think of prong #1 and #2 as a funnel, that channels your visitors to prong #3

I'm sure you're thinking this is a lot of work You're right, it is, and it's only the beginning There's

a lot involved in marketing and selling your music online - much more than I can go into in this short article But, hopefully this will whet your appetite and inspire some creating thinking If yourmusic is truly good music, and you (and others) really believe in it, there are many marketing and career opportunities for you online You just have to dig them up, and be very persistent about it

One Fan to Fire Up the Furnace

by Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards

March 27, 2000

We live in a high-speed world We want every thing now Sadly, the "I want it now" attitude doesnot working in the field of marketing Marketing is all cafefully planned, that's why you must assume the position of the bard

Bards of old traveled the world and weaved their musical webs to whomever would listen If there were even one person, then the bard would cast his spell And in the world of music you have to build your fan base one fan at a time

I remember my first band I hooked up to sing with this glam rock band a decade ago We were about to play in the rec room of our dormitory There were a dozen people and I was excited It was my first opportunity to play on stage, when the drummer declared, "If there aren't more people, I'm not playing." I was devesated It awoke me to something a number of bands

have arrogance And it started me on the bardic path

Since then, I've made every opportunity to play to individuals I was down in San Marcos, Texaslast year and my partner hadn't yet arrived A couple came in looking to hear some "Irish" music.

I played "An Irish Lullaby" for them The woman was in tears by the time I ended Her husband?

A music writer for the local paper Needless to say, we got a spectacular review of our first album!

You see, every person is important And the more the each individual adores you, the more likely they'll tell their friends and bring them out to shows And the sad thing is no matter how hard your try to bring a crowd, sometimes they don't come out So make each show the best it can possibly be for the one or two people in the audience They will appreciate it, buy your album and tell all their friends

One devoted fan is worth a hundred casual listeners And you never know That one listener could be your ticket to success!

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& Music Biz News

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Who Needs Flyers? How to Generate a Flood of Local Web Site Traffic for your Unsigned Band

Seems every time I read an article about music promotion, they seem generally the same thing

"Play in your local market with a fifty mile radius of your hometown."

That's actually pretty smart advice If you can build a buzz in your region, that local buzz will eventually spread outside of your market into others

But there's a problem It is no easy task for any unsigned band to build that buzz Take my hometown, Austin Whew! I can't tell you how many bands there are here The market is

flooded Getting through the clutter is pain in the arse

Guess what? I learned an untapped secret to break through the band clutter, earn you web traffic all from your local region And you will generate good-will in your community

Here's the secret

Write reviews of local businesses

I wrote a short review of a small Irish pub just outside of Austin called the Irish Dragoon Pub They had no website So I gave them one and added a few kind words

This past St Patrick's Day the owner of the Dragoon embarrassed me He took the microphone before we started playing Not only did he talk us up to the audience, but he thanked us for the kind review that "put the Irish Dragoon on the map"

You can do the same for ANY business wherever you're playing And it's easy Here's what you do

1 Pick a local business you want to support

2 Write a short review about that business Don't just say it's cool Tell your readers what you've bought there before to make it more personal

3 Put that business name in the title of the webpage For instance, "Irish Dragoon Pub in Killeen, TX"

4 Add a small banner with your next gig listed

5 Submit that webpage to the search engines

That's it More than likely, you'll come up easily as one of the top 10 sites listed

To improve your search ranking, add additional links to that webpage on your website and others And don't forget to let the business know that you appreciate them Send them a link to that review as well

SPECIAL NOTE: While this is a great way to bring in a bunch of random traffic It's not targeted.Meaning those who DO come to your site, more than likely will have little interest in your music, UNLESS the business you write about attracts your type of fans So do a little bit o'research andgood luck!

http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/biz/startbusiness.htm

Can You Afford Distribution?

By Chris Standring - A&R Online

Back to The Academy

I get many e-mails from artists and groups asking me about distribution They say "We have a band and we're playing locally and getting good crowds and we sell our CD at gigs We started our own label and need to get distribution so we can sell in all the stores How can we do that?"

The odds are that you cannot afford to have distribution

Let me explain why

Most inexperienced folks believe that a distributor is the pipeline to the people In theory it is, but

in practice it is not A distribution company is only as good as the record companies promotionalpower Yes it is important to get your CD in the store, but it is much more important to get your

CD OUT of that store It's as much the record companies job to do that as it is retail's A

distributor can only try its hardest to convince a retail store to take your CD To secure shelf space a record company needs to present all its marketing commitments (and honor them) so retail stays confident that it can shift units

Let's face it, record stores are saturated with product Why on earth would a store take a CD if itisn't sure it will get sold The kind of things that retail needs to see if it is to readily accept your product is:

 Radio Play

If a single is being worked at radio (through an independent radio promoter) and getting spins, this might be enough to convince a store in that neighborhood to take your record.The amount of demand for the record will determine the amount of units the store takes

 Retail Price And Positioning

Visibility in a record store is everything! If you were to buy an "end cap" (those displays

at the end of an aisle), or a month on a listening station, or rack display, this is enough toattract the attention of a store However, it has become increasingly competetive even when you pay for this!

 Touring

Playing live shows can help create a demand for a CD and this of course is key

All labels have what they call a "one sheet" - a hand out sheet with bullet points outlining their marketing strategies and promotional commitments This is the first step, but then those

commitments have to be met These commitments are extremely expensive

If a label refuses to spend promotional money on their act a number of things can result;

1) The CDs remain in the store buried amongst the thousands of others waiting to be found 2) The CDs after a matter of weeks, get returned to the record label.

3) The record store takes less units from the same artist's next CD, often refusing to stock it

altogether

The last point is interesting A brand new artist can generate much more excitement in the retail marketplace than an artist with a failed record The label with the new artist, providing they

stump up their promotional dollars and have a good several weeks at radio before they go to retail, can distribute a good amount of units in the marketplace The artist with a previous recordthat "bombed" however, will need to do a good deal more convincing in order to get the stores

to take more product

So my big question is; "Can you afford distribution?" To get a record in every store via a

reputable distributor immediately puts you in competition with major labels who have gobs of promotional money they can drop if they need to

My advice for independent artists is to localise By all means try to get your CD in retail stores, but do it yourself Strike up a relationship with the store buyer and offer your CDs on

consignment Don't give them any risk When you do gigs in that neighborhood make a point of telling your audience that they can buy your CD in such and such store (even if you sell CDs at your gigs!)

Do what you can to get some radio play in that area too This, along with your live shows, might create a certain amount of demand to shift enough units for each retail store to take you

seriously and want to continue to support you From time to time record stores will do "in store appearances" with independent artists and this will allow you to build a stronger relationship with

a store, and sell a few units In a perfect world that store may even add your disc to a listening station for a month to help generate some business I have seen this happen many, many times They understand that it costs labels thousands of dollars to do this and that indies are operating on a shoestring They very often want to help if they believe in a band

Having said this, retail pretty much wants to deal only with distributors and labels However, they will support a new artist if they like them Walk into your local store and ask to speak to the buyer Give him your CD, be nice and see what happens

Remember, don't just think about getting your CD IN the store, think about how you might get it OUT!

-Chris Standring is the CEO and founder of A&R Online He is also a contemporary jazz guitarist presently signed to Mesa/Bluemoon Records The music is marketed at NAC and Urban AC radio For more info on Chris' recording career go to his personal website.

The Musician's Action Plan

by Kathy Brackley - Katcall Creative Studio, Posted July 15th 2003

Back to The Academy

Why am I here? Where am I going? How am I going to get there? These are some of the important questions you should be asking yourself As with anything in life it's a good idea to setgoals for yourself and have a plan of action

One of the things I often see are musicians who are looking for a quick fix "I've made a CD and it's soooo good that it's going to sell itself!" think again You could be the most talented

musician the most "kick ass band" but your CDs are not going to sell themselves Nor are A &

R people going to show up on your doorstep if they don't know you exist

Take the time to create an action plan, not only will it will help keep you focused - you'll know exactly where you are going and how you are going to get there Let's use baseball as an example; the players do not just go out on the field and play - they have a game plan If their game plan doesn't work, they re-evaluate it and make adaptations If they didn't have a game plan, what do you think would be the result?

Before you begin, it's a good idea to know what your rights are as a musician and how to protectyour music These factors will likely come into play while you are promoting yourself and your music If you are not sure, I highly recommend taking the time to do some research

The attached Musician's Action Plan Workbook (PDF) includes:

 Action Plan Worksheet

 Follow Through Worksheet

 CD Tracker Worksheet

 Action Plan Review Worksheet

 Example Action Plan

STEP 1: DEFINING YOURSELF

The first thing you need to do is sit down and do some serious thinking You should have a binder or notebook where you can keep all of the information you are about to accumulate Before you start, print a copy of the Workbook (PDF Download) Ask yourself the questions below and write down your answers in the workbook When answering the questions be as specific as possible I've included an Example Action Plan at the end of the Workbook for your reference, use this as a tool to help you get started Below you will find the list of questions which are included in the workbook along with some examples

1 What is my idea of success? e.g Is it just playing music and simply being happy with that,

getting a record deal, selling 100,000 copies of your Cd, being world famous, etc

2 What are my goals? What do you hope to achieve? Keep your goals realistic and specific

e.g This year I want to sell 500 CDs

3 What can I do to reach my goals? Now that you've set your goals, how can you help

yourself to reach them?

4 What is my plan of action? Now that you have clearly defined your goals and things you

can do to reach them, how will you set them into action?

5 What am I willing to sacrifice? This one will require some thought e.g time, your values,

your music, etc

6 What am I *not* willing to sacrifice? e.g your values, your music, etc.

7 What am I willing to compromise on? Look at your list of things you would not sacrifice, is

there anything that you might compromise on?

8 What resources do I have at my disposal? List all your resources; you may not realize how

many you actually have Resources can be people, information etc

9 Where can I find the information I need? e.g This can be your resources, or places you

have yet to explore

10 What am I going to need help with? What can't you do yourself that you'll need some

assistance with This could be anything from mailing out your CDs, to promoting them, creating

a press release etc

11 Who are the people that can help me? List as many specific people as you can.

12 How much money am I prepared to spend? How much money are you willing to spend on

the goals you've chosen

13 How much time am I willing to invest? This can be a specific amount e.g., two hours, a

day or it can be general - whatever amount it takes to achieve your goals

14 How and where can I make contacts? Again look at your resources and the people that

can help you Do some research, find online discussion lists, message boards, etc then list them here

15 When do I plan to reach these goals by? (date)

STEP 2: FOLLOWING THROUGH

There is no point in having an action plan if your not going to follow through Now look at the part of your action plan where you answer "What is my plan of action?" Now it's time to start doing these things Keep a notebook with the following information, add in any other informationyou'd like to keep track of (There is a Follow Through Worksheet included in the Workbook.)

4 What was the end result of this contact? Example: Company X will take three copies of my

Cd to sell in their store

5 Notes: i.e What did you think of this company/contact? Did they make a comment that stood

out in your mind? What was your overall impression?

STEP 3: FOLLOWING UP

Keep tabs on who is selling a lot of your CDs and who isn't It's a really good idea to keep a notebook and write down: the name of the company, how many CDs they requested, how manythey have sold, the date etc There is a CD Tracker Worksheet included in your Workbook

Also, it never hurts to follow up after some time has passed Approach the people who passed

on your CD A great way to do this is if you have something new happening like a gig i.e "I'll beplaying at the Five and Dime on April 5th" Now that you've made a few contacts, joined a few discussion lists etc you will probably have new places and ideas that might work well for you Keep track of them, contact them if it interests you and then follow through (step 2)

STEP 4: MEASURING YOUR SUCCESS

When you completed your action plan, you wrote the date you'd like to achieve your goals by When that date arrives, it's time to look over your action plan and see how you did

Below, are some questions to refer to Again, write down the answers and keep this together with your action plan After you've answered the questions you can begin to build a new action plan or expand on the old one Your goals may have changed through the process

1 Did my plan of action work?

2 Did I reach my goal(s)?

3 What didn't I do that I should have?

4 What worked for me?

5 What didn't work for me?

6 What have I learned in the process?

7 What have I accomplished/gained?

8 Were my goals realistic?

1 What are their fees and are there any 'hidden fees'?

2 How will they promote me and my music?

3 How much time are they willing to invest in me?

4 How will this help further my career?

5 Do they help protect my rights as an artist?

6 What are their credentials/background?

7 What are their goals?

8 Do they have a good track record within the industry?

9 Who are they affiliated with?

10 What are their affiliates credentials?

11 What are the other options available to me as an artist?

12 How do they compare?

13 What are the pros and cons of all my options?

14 What are the legalities involved?

15 Do I have to sign a contract/agreement?

16 If yes, how long am I tied into the agreement/contract?

17 Is their offer non exclusive?

18 Do I understand the terms of the contract?

19 Have I researched all possible avenues?

20 Do I have enough information to make a sound decision?

21 Am I getting good value for my money?

The attached Musician's Action Plan Workbook (PDF) includes:

 Action Plan Worksheet

 Follow Through Worksheet

 CD Tracker Worksheet

 Action Plan Review Worksheet

 Example Action Plan

Kathy Brackley has had a passionate interest in the arts since childhood; particularly music and writing In addition to providing Music Publicity for Indie Musicians and Labels (Katcall Creative Studio), her current adventures include being Editor-In-Chief of Artists Studio Magazine,

freelance writing for various publications, and advancing her studies in Public

Relations/Marketing In her spare time she feeds her passion for music by playing flamenco guitar

The Overall Picture

of Music Marketing

by Bryan Farrish

Back to The Academy

There are two options for your independent music in the music business: You can either try to

be your own record label (and/or PR firm, music company, entertainment agent, etc.), or you can partner with others who will do the work for you if you pay them Either way, you need to know who does what

A Record label, PR firm, music manager, music publishing company, entertainment agency, music distribution firm, entertainment lawyer, music magazine, and most any other entity in the music industry are all part of a "mass media" wheel that generates airplay, publicity, gigs and record (CD) sales All this is part of a record deal (from a record label), or, it can be used to get

a record deal Alternatively, you could decide just to keep as much of it in-house as possible, thus creating your own operation This is a realistic option if you will be in the business for five

or more years, and you are willing to work at least 30 hours a week at it

A real record company handles four basic areas of music marketing: Radio, PR (public

relations), gigs, and music retail The radio portion is what this entire site is about; radio is the most complicated part of the music industry, and the most expensive part of the budget of a major record label If you hire an independent radio promoter, they can also help a little with PR,gigs and retail, provided the airplay campaign is large enough

The PR (publicity) portion of the entertainment industry is obtained by hiring a PR firm (or PR person) A large record label has these people on staff, but will still hire out for more push A smaller independent record label sometimes will just try to do its own publicity, maybe by just focusing on some local music magazines Big mass media music magazines, however, will be beyond what an independent music label can get

The gig portion of your music marketing is obtained by partnering with an entertainment agency who book gigs for you (good gigs can get you some PR too.) Small music labels will just try to book their own gigs Note that an entertainment agency for gigs is not the same as an

entertainment agent that an actor would have

For the retail part of the music industry, a record company would hire a retail promoter, whereas

a small independent record label would just call stores on their own Note that this is NOT the same thing as music distribution, which is simply a middleman between the record company and the music retail stores they just take retail orders once the retail promotion person causesthe sales to happen If you have no retail promotions person, you will have no sales, regardless

of the radio that you do

The entertainment industry has a few other entities you will have to work with like the music manager (i.e., personal manager) and the entertainment lawyer While they are not into music-marketing or mass-media details the way a record label or radio promoter would be, they are needed with things like music publishing and general operation once you are on the road (but

probably not before.)

As a final note, below are some miscellaneous terms that some new artists seek info on, but which were already covered above:

Record label company

Music management company

Music distribution company

Radio publicity system

Music industry information

Music industry PR company

Radio publicity campaign

The music industry

Music industry marketing company

Music industry resource

Music industry statistics

Marketing music

Music industry contract

Music industry publication

Music industry directory

Music industry management

Music industry magazine ct

Bryan Farrish is an independent radio airplay promoter He can be reached at 818-905-8038

or at radio-media.com

How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet

by David Nevue

New: 2004 Edition!

Buy This Edition, Get the Next via Email FREE!

PDF Version Has Clickable Links!

PDF $18.95 | Hard Copy $28.95 (+ S&H)

A Message from the Author

Good day to you My name is David Nevue I am the founder of the Music Biz Academy (this

web site) and author of the book, How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet

Let me come straight to the point The Internet is an incredible promotional tool for

independent musicians You can get radio play, grow a fan base, create a distribution channel,

manufacture and sell CDs all online You can use the Internet to create an amazing amount of exposure for your music Wouldn't it be great if literally thousands of people heard your music

every day? What if you could use your web site to sell 50, 100, 200 CDs or more every month? Guess what? It doesn't take a brain-surgeon to make it happen, but it does take a lot of hard

work – and you need to know what you're doing

Therein lies the problem Most musicians just have no idea where to start when it comes to

online promotion and distribution Some get as far as putting up a web site, but stop there Theyaren't sure what the next step should be That's where I can help

Who am I? I'm an independent musician just like you, with one difference: In 2003, I used the Internet to generate over $60,000 in income Hard to believe, isn't it? But it's true Today I'm

doing the "music business" full-time from my home in Springfield, Oregon I now invest my time developing my music rather than spending 40-60 hours a week working for someone else I'm

truly an independent musician.

My intent with this book is to give you the information you need to begin promoting, selling,

and distributing your own music online I'll provide you with proven ideas you can put to use

immediately It doesn't take a ton of money to get started either – that's another great benefit of

living in this digital age

Simply put, in my book, How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet, I'll take you

step by step through the same marketing strategies I've used over the last nine years (since 1995) to promote my own music and run my music business on my own terms

Click here for reviews from my readers!

Cutting Through the Hype

First, let's cut through the hype If you want to be successful promoting and distributing your music online, it's going to take time and hard work Like anything else of real value, you'll get out

of it what you put into it But here's the cool thing: your music career will be in your hands Once

you have the information you need, your future will not be dependent on somebody else doing

their job, it will be dependent on you doing yours How refreshing would that be? You career

won't be at the mercy of a record label, some A&R person, or an agent who may or may not have your best interest in mind Providing your music is quality music and deserving of an audience, you can find that audience online

You need knowledge, pure and simple In How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the

Internet I'll give you good, practical information you can put to use right away to promote and

distribute your music online I will teach you, in a straightforward way, how to get your music outthere without wasting your time on hogwash

Let Me Tell You What This Book is NOT

This book is NOT full of advertisements for other services I really hate it when you buy a book

it turns out to be a 100 page long pitch to get you to spend more money on "consulting"

services! This book is all substance, and contains no hot air!

This book is NOT sparce Yet another pet peeve of mine is when you purchase an ebook and

the pages have 2 inch margins and LARGE type to make the book look bigger than it really is

How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet is 135 pages long, with 3/4 inch

margins and 11-12 point type In other words, I make the most of the space on each page

This book is NOT written by some guy who's trying to make a buck off of your hopes and

dreams I'm a musician, just like you, and I wrote this book for a reason: to help other

independent musicians achieve the same success I have It sounds corny, but it's true

This book is NOT overpriced If anything, it's underpriced As a working musician myself, I

understand finances are tight, plus I know you have other priorities One of my primary concerns

for my customers is to keep my book affordable The PDF version of my book sells for a very

low $18.95, and that includes one free PDF update to the next edition when it's released! You'll

be hard pressed to find an ebook anywhere that sells for less I challenge you to find one.

This book is NOT written by someone with lots of "theory," but no experience I've lived this

book! Everything in it, every idea, suggestion, and strategy within its pages comes from real life experience The marketing strategies in my book are tried, tested, and true

This book is NOT out of date! How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet is

updated twice a year to stay current with the times! The Internet changes constantly, and writing

a book on Internet marketing requires continued vigilance! You can be assured that no other book on marketing music on the Internet is as current, or accurate as this one

Click here for reader reviews!

I've Been Doing This a LONG Time

I started marketing my music on the Internet way back in 1995! Like most musicians still do today, I put up a web page with some sound samples (*.wav files in those days) and just hoped somebody would find me My first year online, I sold just two CDs I wasn't satisfied with that at all! So I began experimenting with different marketing strategies After some failures and a few

successes, I began to see more CD sales I knew I was on to something when I began selling four or five CDs a week! That gave me the idea to write this book, the first edition of which cameout in November of 1997 I've updated this book at least twice a year ever since!

Since that time, I've continued to build onto my success, and over the last nine years I've expanded my online music business to include not only sales of my CDs, but books (like this one), sheet music (transcriptions of my own works), information and advertising Needless to say, the income generated through these music-related projects has made a huge impact on myability to both promote my music and to create more products, like CDs, to sell to fans My discography now includes eight CDs! I could never have accomplished that without the

additional income generated by my web site!

Full-Time Musician Status!

In November of 2001, I finally achieved a longtime dream: I quit my day job at Symantec

Corporation (the makers of Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security) to work in the online music business full-time Now I have more time to work on my music and spend with my family Life has never been better or more fulfilling

Click here for reader reviews!

Use the Internet to Advance Your Music Career

YES, you can use the Internet to create a LOT of exposure for your music YES, you can use the Internet to bring in additional income to invest right back into your music business But can the Internet actually advance your career? The answer, in short, is also, YES!

Just Think About It

Thousands of people could be hearing your music every single day That's what I've been

able to achieve My Live365.com broadcast currently generates over 70,000 listening hours per

month That equates to over 2000 people a day hearing my music! That translates into sales!

And that's just one, single, web site There are many more great places to promote, sell, and distribute your music on the Internet

Hundreds of people could be buying your CDs Wouldn't it be nice to sell 5-10 CDs a week

from your web site? What about a 50-100 per month? Success at that level takes a lot of work, but it is possible if you have the determination One reader wrote me to say that after putting mysuggestions into practice they sold over 3000 CDs from their web site in 9 months! That's over

300 CDs a month!

Imagine all the contacts you'll get when your music really starts getting out there As a direct

result of my time online I've gained distribution overseas and a publishing agreement On a regular basis I am contacted by independent filmmakers wanting to use my music (which they discovered online) for their film projects I am approached all the time about gig opportunities all

across the U.S from people who found my music online

Think about how great it will feel when your fans begin to use the Internet to communicate

with you, to tell you how much they love your music Just look at the email I've received from people at my own personal web site It's amazing the impact your music can have on people if they just have the opportunity to hear it! Best of all, using the Internet, you have the opportunity

to develop important relationships with fans from all over the world These fans can become an extension of you, and many of them will help you get the word out about your music!

Who Needs a Record Deal?

Many musicians look desperately to be signed by a major record label Perhaps you,

yourself have aspirations of "making it big" in the music business But let me tell you something

You don't need a major label deal to have a successful music career If you are seeking fame in

the music business, then yes, you need the backing of big money But, if you're just wanting to

do music full-time and be the quintessential artist, that's something you can do all on your own,

and the Internet can help you reach that goal I'm living proof of that

I want to teach other musicians to use the Internet the way I have Not only to bring in more

income, but to gain significant exposure for your music In How to Promote Your Music

Successfully on the Internet, I will show you how to target an audience most likely to buy your

music I will show you how to convert visitors to your web site into sales, and how to increase your fan base I will show you how to sell more CDs, and how and where to distribute your music online I will also tell you what not to waste your time and money on Basically, I'm going

to use this book to pass on pretty much everything I know about marketing music on the

Internet Whatever your end goal is, if it involves using the Internet to promote your music, this book will help you do that

If you want to create massive exposure for your music online, sell a lot more CDs and use the

Internet to both generate income and advance your music career - this book is for you In How

to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet, I takes you step-by-step through the

methods I have used to find a successful music career online Whether you are just getting started online, or an experienced marketer, you will benefit from my experience

And if you're not sure you can trust me, or you fear I have a hidden agenda, just read out the

many testimonials from satisfied readers! This book delivers the goods

There is Just No Comparison

There are two or three competing books out there about marketing music on the Internet, but only one by an unsigned, indie musician like yourself who actually understands where you're

coming from This is the only book you need to find success selling your music online To

quote one of our readers, other books on this subject "dull in comparison" to this one

"I've read (several popular Internet Music Marketing books named, but excluded here out of respect for the authors) and more prior to this purchase They all dull in comparison I got more valuable info in your book than all others combined." - Jeffrey Sanders

"A million thanks to you for your book “How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the

Internet.” In minutes, it answered questions I’d had for weeks I figure you have saved me months if not years of trial and error." - John Edmonds

"I am an experienced web surfer but I never could have imagined that so much more existed out there than what I already knew I made so much progress after reading it in the ensuing week that I think that the book saved me at least 6 months of toil and trouble on the web." -

Spike Spencer

"I am absolutely loving 'How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet!" I've been looking for exactly the information that you have provided me with, and would have gladly have paid 10 times what I did for it! I haven't been able to stop reading it all night!" - Tim White

I've poured my heart and soul into this book, not only for you, but for myself How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet is, in a very real way, a process I've used to write down

and archive everything I've ever learned

Get a Free PDF Update!

One of the benefits of buying my book, How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the

Internet, is that it's very up to date And when you buy the book for only $18.95 (PDF) or $28.95

(hard copy), you can count on staying up to date! Every person that buys my book via this web

site gets one free PDF update to the next edition! It will be emailed to you automatically! You can even, if you wish, buy the current edition of my book and get lifetime PDF updates for a

one-time charge of only $38.95!

Questions?

If you have any about this book or the order process before you buy, please feel free to write

me and ask! Yes, I'm a real person, and I'm a click away

Yes, It's Guaranteed!

If for ANY reason you are unsatisfied with the book, you may return it for a full refund! But checkthis out! In its seven years of publication, after thousands of sales, I've only had two copies returned That's a pretty good track record!

Don't Miss Out!

For under twenty dollars, you'll have all the information you need to promote your music online

the right way No more wasted time and energy! No more guesswork! You'll have a workable

plan laid out before you Isn't that worth $20 bucks?

A Quick Summary

Among many other things, my book will show you

Where to begin when you have nothing How to start from scratch!

How to build a web site designed to maximize CD sales

How to get your music online The technical stuff made easy!

How to take credit card orders from your site - in just 15 minutes!

How to optimize your web site for search engines (without the hype)

How to register your web site with the search engines (without paying a dime!)

How and where to target customers most likely to buy your CDs, and drive them to your web

site

How to build a street team of fans, put them to work, and keep them energized!

How to write your press release and where to send it online to make an impact.

Proven strategies for selling music online Great ideas just waiting to happen!

Little known marketing secrets that will easily double your CD sales!

How to turn casual visitors into buying customers

How to build and maintain an email list that will bring you business for years to come!

How to launch your own Internet radio station and use it to attract thousands of new fans!

10 things to do right now to improve your Internet sales

The absolute best places to promote, sell and distribute your music online Very detailed What NOT to waste your time and money on! Learn from my mistakes!

How to use advertising to pump cash into your music career A little success can go a long

way

and a HUGE directory of proven resources to help you take you to the next level

These are just a few of the topics covered in How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet.

Order Options

You can order by Credit Card or PayPal Both options will be made available when you click

on the links below You can also order by mail

$18.95 (PDF Document Save Shipping Costs!)

$28.95 (Print Edition, Shipped to You)

$38.95 (PDF Edition + Lifetime PDF Updates )

$48.95 (Print Edition + Lifetime PDF Updates )

When you purchase Lifetime Updates, you receive a copy of the current edition, plus a new

PDF update every time we release a new edition We have been publishing at least twice a yearsince 1997 A free PDF update will be emailed to you for as long as we continue publishing the book (and as long as we have your correct email address!)

I Respect Your Privacy!

All the information you provide during the online order process is completely confidential I won'tgive your information out to anyone! Not only that, I won't call you or email you or contact you in any way unless I need specific information to fulfill your order I will, of course, email you the information regarding your free PDF update! But aside from that, you're not signing up for any

mailing list when you buy my book! If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do so

here But that's a whole different process

Your Information is Secure!

All the information you provide during the online order process is protected by an SSL secured server Your credit card information is encrypted to such a degree that even I can't see it!

Reviews by the Experts

"Sometimes, every great once in a while, a book comes along and just takes you by surprise What you expect to be a mundane, albeit educational experience can make you sit up and take notice if you're not careful This was the case when I read "How to Promote Your Music

Successfully on the Internet" by David Nevue Attention indie artists – if you don't know how to promote your music on the Internet, this is the book for you For those of you who think you know how to promote your music on the Internet, get this book anyway – I promise you'll learn things you did not know."

- Michele Wilson-Morris, MusicDish

"Author David Nevue has created a direct and easy to understand roadmap for marketing your music on the world wide web This book contains fundamentals that major artists, as well as those on independent labels, should read and absorb David goes to the heart of the matter: Music Marketing Strategies That Bring Results! It is a very well rounded catalogue of ideas, and the serious musician will find it an excellent starting point Nevue's practical guide will get you thinking beyond the immediate gratification of hearing your song played a few times on Internet radio, to the more substantial art of selling records via the Internet."

- Joe Viglione, for AllMusic.com

"The #1 thing that impresses me about this book? It's constantly being updated - and

considering the changing state of the net - where a month can often equate to a year in 'real time', that's a good thing to know I found the publication very easy to read David takes you into the world of cyberspace right from the beginning - telling you what you'll need to get started,information on web hosting, domain names, what tools you can use to start making your own killer site - and takes you through to the end where he talks about how to get targeted viewers for your completed web site, how to use your offline material to promote your online presence, etc The Quick Reference guide at the back of the book would be worth the price of the

publication itself, all on its own In short, I will definitely be using this as a reference myself."

- Jodi Krangle, for The Muse's Muse

"Coming across the 'musicbizacademy.com' website was one big find, but once there, finding their excellent study on selling and promoting music on the Internet was the best discovery of the year As far as I know no one has such an up-to-date and accurate description of what it takes to be a cyber marketing expert The best money I ever spent!"

- Christopher Knab - FourFront Media and Music

"David Nevue has clearly spent a lot of time over the past eight years marketing his music on

the Internet In How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet, he shares what he has

learned The result is the finest book on Internet marketing I have read so far If you're

interested in promoting your music online, or you have tried to but with limited results, by all means buy this book You won't find any "get rich quick" schemes here Nevue's methods require plenty of time and effort What you will find in abundance is useful and - better yet - tested advice."

- Steve Moss, for Tunesmith Monthly

"Almost immediately (the first page after the Table Of Contents) we see the question 'Will You Make Millions?' The answer following the question is refreshing in this jaded world of get-rich-quick-schemes and scams 'The Internet is not a shortcut to success, it's simply another tool,and one that can be very effective in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.' The author is up-front with the reality of Internet self-promotion and that is commendable The rest ofthe book is filled with very useful information, including current links to the various tools and research that is used I tested every single link in the book and every one was exactly what the author said it was This, in itself, is quite unusual and again, commendable I will give my personal guarantee that if you follow the plan this book lays down, you will do exactly as the titleindicates and successfully promote your music on the Internet I heartily endorse this book as the best manual on Internet self-promotion that I've read to date."

- Jef Peace, for Peacework Music

"It gets two big thumbs up! If you want to put your music on the Internet and sell CDs you're going to need great advice, application and dedication that's where David Nevue's book 'How

to successfully promote your music on the Internet' comes in This spiral-bound tome will set you straight and provide you with a lot of the basic techniques needed to set up band website, promote it and sell CDs Sure, you have to add the sweat and the toil, but you really won't pick

up the information and advice contained in this book in an afternoon's surfing on a few websites.There are years of experience and lessons contained within the chapters of the book Take notice of them As the author says himself, making a dollar out of putting your music on the web takes a lot of effort and dedication And I can promise you that he's telling the truth

- Geoff Nicholson, for Shareware Music Machine

"David Nevue has taken his years of music Internet marketing experience and put together a fantastic resource in "How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet." The book has some brilliant tips I've missed: Newscasting, cross-selling strategies, contests and sweepstakes

(something I implemented on my band's website after reading this book, I have nearly 200 new newsletter subscribers in one months time), referrals, collaborations, coupons, newsletters, press releases, samplers Man, the book is packed! David has compiled more than a "Guide toEffective Music Promotion" He's compiled a book on innovative music marketing, the most up-to-date resource available for promoting your band Order it You'll see."

- Marc Gunn, for The Bards Crier

10 Essential Tips for Making

a Living with Your Music

by Christopher Knab - Fourfront Media & Music - Posted Jan 2004

Back to The Academy

Top 10 Lists are a favorite hobby of our society It’s a fun way to keep up the illusion of the simplicity of things in a complex world So why not a Top Ten List on the subject of Making A Living From Your Music? The following list highlights 10 habits you should develop if you want

to make a living some day, just from your music Remember that there are a million ways to get

to any intended destination From my observations over the years, this list of professional habitsare shared my most successful musicians who truly have what it takes to succeed in this totally unpredictable business of music

1 Find ways to get ordinary people who love music, to love your music.

We live in a time when everybody and their sister can and does make their own music That doesn’t mean however that your music has what it takes for record labels to invest their money and time developing, promoting, and marketing that music Try your music out on music fans like you solicit opinions from A&R Rep These talent scouts of the music business are always following tips they hear from their street connections But remember, your music must truly stand out in some significant, original, dynamic, and creative way 95% of the independently produced CDs out there contain regurgitated ideas that were ripped off from some other more gifted musicians Prove to the industry that ordinary music fans in your city love your music Youcan find this out by giving away sample CDs of your music on the street, (with contact

information included of course.) or putting songs on the many internet websites that allow people to download new music If people love something they let other people know about it

So, you can find out quickly if your music has what it takes to please the public by bringing your music to the people

2 Play live often and don’t worry ( at first) about getting paid for every gig.

You can always tell the difference between a musician who is in it for the money, and a

musician who is in it for the music The dedicated musician can’t not play music every chance they get Money-focused musicians whine about the fact that they can’t get club gigs that pay

anything If you really think that you can make your living solely as a musician in the first three

to four years of your career, you are headed for a breakdown and disappointment Think about it almost every legendary, gifted musician who has made a mark on our culture has been a musician who struggled long and hard at their craft, and never gave up Eat determination for breakfast! Go out there and play on the streets if you have to, play at schools, fairs, festivals, dobenefits to help other people and organizations Offer your services to non- profits, charities, church groups, and any other companies or organizations you can think of Hang out at clubs, look for jamming possibilities, or start your own jam sessions Look around your city or town, and you will see many places and venues where musicians can play As you establish yourself and more and more people show up at your shows, the paid gigs will increase Remember play live, and then after you play live, play live again, that’s what musicians are supposed to do

3 Know your instrument inside-out.

One of the curious developments of the late 1970’s was the huge increase in garage bands, punk bands, rappers, and ‘do-it yourselfers’, who just picked up an instrument, or started to singwith some friends, and 6 months later recorded a record and began to play live Some great music, and new directions in music, came out of that situation But now, 30 odd years later, the novelty of hearing amateurish thrashings has gotten a bit dull

Prior to late 70’s, more often than not, the music that is our heritage was made by musicians who, from the time they took up their instrument, worshipped at the feet of some master

bluesman, jazz player, folk legend, songwriter, or whatever The habit of these inspired

musicians was an appetite for perfection A need to be not just ‘good enough’, but GREAT Whysettle for less Whatever developing stage you are at, go beyond it, re-commit yourself to your instrument or voice Take lessons, or better yet, sit yourself down at your CD player and choose

a favorite guitar player’s record, and listen closely to what they are playing then re-play it, and re-play it again Challenge yourself to go beyond your limitations Who knows, maybe you will fall into some new territory, wherein you will find yourself, your ‘sound’, and increase your chance to stand out from all the mediocrity that is your competition Believe it or not, record labels love to hear innovative, accessible new sounds Actually in their heart of hearts, that is what they are really hoping to hear on every new demo tape, and from every new act they go see at a live venue You see in the business of music, when we hear something new, original, and accessible to people, we can then invest in you with more security, believing that if we put our ‘label brand’ on you, with our talents of promotion and marketing coming to the front, then

we ‘have something’, and your music becomes our music, and we work together to broaden youaudience appeal It’s kinda like a partnership something about ‘Art and Commerce’ they can work together you know?!

4 Protect your investment register your songs for proper copyright protection.

I never cease to be amazed how few artists are willing to spend $30 to register their songs with the Copyright office By the way, these folks are often the same folks who complain about not getting paid to perform their unknown music All I know is that when an inventor comes up with some new product that they think will appeal to a certain type of customer, the first thing they do

is file for a patent on their invention The same reaction to protecting songs should be there for any serious songwriter If you really intend to work hard and develop your career as a musician who writes your own songs, don’t wait too long to take care of this simple, but essential task If you really believe in your unique and original music then take the time to learn the basics of copyright protection From the Internet to the library, there a number of easy ways to learn what

it takes to file for copyright protection Do it now! Go to www.BMI.com or www.ASCAP.com and follow their links on Copyright registration information

5 Design and write your promotional materials so they stand out.

The topic of designing and writing effective promotional materials; bios, fact sheets, cover letters, quote sheets etc is a lengthy one to say the least As far as some tips that can help musicians promote their careers, and contribute to their getting any deal offers, is to make the promo materials as compelling, and informative as possible Take the time to inventory any accomplishments, positive reviews, training and awards, past sales, and live appearance highlights; and organize them into professional written bios etc Having done that, time also needs to be taken to research who to send the materials to, and to ask each potential recipient what type of information they would like to have sent to them No ‘generic’ kits should ever be sent out to any gatekeepers in the music business

6 Know the labels and music publishers you hope to be signed to.

If you were applying for a job with a certain company of corporation, wouldn’t you take some time to ask questions about their stability as a business, their reputation in the industry, and the executives background and experience? The same is true when shopping for a record deal Some musicians get so excited when a certain label approaches them with a recording contract,

or a publishing company offers to sign them Being approached for a deal is a compliment and recognition by a label or publisher that a musician’s music is attractive to them But, to rush ahead without taking the time to learn a few things about them is foolish indeed How have they done with your particular genre of music? What specific ‘points’ are they offering you? Who runsthe label or publishing company? What is their reputation in the music business? How do you like them as people? These and other questions can be crucial in making an unemotional decision about an arrangement that could make or break your career

7 Have your own ‘Entertainment Law Attorney’ to represent you.

The business of getting signed to any deal in the music business has always had, has now, and will always have, the involvement of entertainment law attorneys No jokes will be inserted here,because any relationship between a musician, a record label, a publisher, a merchandiser etc will come down to two attorneys hashing out the contract for the musician and the respective companies It should be pointed out here that when all is said in done with the ‘courting’

process, the musician is never present during the actual negotiations The musicians attorney and the music company’s attorney meet, talk over the phone, and fax their offers and counter-offers amongst themselves This fact serves to remind you that choosing a reputable, ethical, well respected attorney with lots of deal making experience within the music industry is an

absolute necessity for any serious musician who wishes to fight the good fight in the legal arena.

8 Choose a well-connected and respected personal manager.

Self-management is always a valid option in the developing stages of establishing your career

as a musician Much can be learned by taking on the jobs of securing gigs, getting some

publicity, planning tours, dealing with personal issues that arise within the band, and

schmoozing with A&R Reps and various other label and publishing personnel However, there comes a time, usually when the daily tasks of doing the business of being a band takes up too much time, and it is at this time that the services of a good manager can be very useful I have always felt that if any musician or band has worked hard to establish their career, and achieved

a modicum of success, they will have a better chance to ‘attract’ the services of a professional, well-connected and respected manager

Managers who do this job for a living can only take on clients that generate income Making money as a personal manager is no easy task, and many upcoming artists forget that if any moneys are to be generated from their music, it can takes years for the flow of that income to bereliably there So, as a band develops self-management, or gets help from intern/student

manager-wannabees, can help pave the road for professional management

Over the years I have heard several horror stories about ‘managers’ that approach upcoming acts and say that for X amount of dollars, they can do such and such for the artist No this is not the way legit personal managers work Well-connected and respected personal managers get paid a negotiated fee for their services (get it in writing) for any and all business transactionsthey are responsible for (15%-25%) over a particular contract period No musicians should ever pay a fee to a so-called ‘manager’ who will not do any work UNLESS they are paid up front Flim-Flam men and women still abound in this business be forewarned

One of the most important jobs of a manager is to secure recording and publishing contracts for their clients, this is why it is so essential to choose well connected and well respected

managers The music business is a ‘relationship’ business Who know who, and who can get to know who, and who did what successfully for who is what this management game is all about Choose carefully those people who will be representing you in any business dealings

9 Don’t take advice from anyone unless you know that they know what they are talking about.

At the beginning of this article I stated that there are a million ways to do something, and that these 10 tips were just my comments from years of dealing with the business itself and

musicians Everybody has their own list of Do’s and Don’ts and the only real value they have is that they present you with ‘opinions’ about what to do to get established as a musician

To be quite candid, the best rules in the music business comes from the experience of building your own career; learning from your own interactions with the gatekeepers at labels, the media,

management, and booking companies as to what is right or wrong for you For every Do or Don’t there is an exception to a so-called ‘rule’ As I reflect on the advice I sought out and listened to over the years, the most valid tips came from people who walked the walk, and talked the talk If you feel that the source you have contacted knows what they are talking about,and has had first hand experience doing what you want to learn about, that is the only feedback that might stand up over time Choose carefully.

10 Musician Educate Thyself! If you want a record deal, learn what a record deal is, and learn something about the business of music.

Nạve or mis-informed musicians are a menace to themselves Enough already! Over the decades there have been countless stories of musicians who were ripped off by their record labels and music publishing companies Why? Exploitation was the name of the game for a longtime Keeping musicians in the dark was standard business practice However, the past has passed, and today any musicians who sign a record contract (and learns later what he or she signed) have only themselves to blame Even 20 years ago, it wasn’t that easy to gain access tothe inner workings of the music business (There are more letters in the word business than in the word music.)

Not so today There are dozens of outstanding books available on every conceivable topic related to the business of music They can be found in bookstores, libraries, and through the Internet In addition, there are many schools that now offer 2- 4 year programs on the business

of music Seminars, and workshops are available on a year round basis in most major Americancities Consultants, Attorneys, and Business Organizations are all around and so it is only myth, superstition, stubbornness, and immaturity that stand in the way of any musician making a commitment to educating themselves about the business that exists to exploit their music

I cannot stress how important I feel this issue is I am here to tell musicians, one and all, that you have been told many things about music that you did believe “Spend money on quality instruments and equipment” you have done that “Spend time and money on practicing and rehearsing”, you have done that, for the most part (see comments above)

“Spend time and money finding the best recording studio, producer and engineer you can” you have done that “Spend time and money learning all you can about the business of music” well,

no one told you to do that did they?!

It has been said about education that we don’t know anything until someone tells us If that is true, the fault in ‘not telling’ musicians that they MUST spend some time and money on

educating themselves on music business issues is the fault of the businessmen and women who kept their clients uninformed (Ignorance IS bliss as far as the old guard of music

executives are concerned) But, KNOWLEDGE IS BLISS should be the byword for the musician

of the new millennium Please spend some time and money educating yourselves about the music business, a few hours now, can protect your future forever!

-Christopher Knab is an independent music business consultant based in Seattle, Washington

He is available for private consultations on promoting and marketing independent music, and can be reached at 206-282-6116 or by email at: Chris@Knab.com

Chris Knab's new book, 'Music Is Your Business' is available NOW from the Music Biz Academy bookstore.

Visit the FourFront Media and Music website for more information on the business of music from Christopher Knab

A Record Distribution Test

by Christopher Knab - Fourfront Media & Music - June 2002

Back to Music Business 101

I have something different for you this month Instead of writing about the subject of record distribution, and how labels, distributors, and music retailers work together, I have come up with

a True/False and Multiple Choice test for you to take

I have ulterior motives for this approach I am always amazed how many well intentioned, yet supremely business nạve, musicians exist in the world For 10 years now I have been writing articles, columns, and books related to the business of music I am hardly alone in this

endeavor There are now countless websites, publications, workshops, and conferences

dedicated to helping independent musicians learn how the music business operates, yet

countless acts try to establish themselves by remaining ignorant of how the distribution and selling of their music actually works

So, here is a test that will give you some very important clues about the types of deals that exist between labels, distributors and music retailers; as well as some insights into the preparation plans for marketing music products I hope that it inspires you to learn more about the very business that will or will not help you sell the music you have invested so much time and money

in

If you would like the answers to these questions, just email me at Chris@Knab.com and I will email them back to you By the way many of these questions can be answered in such books as: The Musicians Business and Legal Guide, 3rd edition, published by Prentice/Hall (which I contributed a chapter to along with my co-author Bartley F Day) and my own book, Music Is Your Business

One of my best teachers in college told me once that he liked his students to feel somewhat intimidated about the subject at hand because he found that it made them pay more attention in class and more eager to learn I hope this test has the same affect on you

Cheers!

The following questions are True or False statements, or Multiple Choice questions.

1 ‘Marketing Management’ is a term that describes when and how a product will be presented

to consumers, and organizations that deal with consumers True or False?

2 _ are businesses that service the record departments in national and regional

mass merchandise stores, such as Target, Sears, and others

a One Stops

b Rackjobbers

c Indie Distributors

d Retailers

3 _ means that product is placed in a music retailer where the consumer

can see it easily, as well as purchase it at a price that will entice them to purchase it

a Sell In

b Price and Position

c Point of Purchase

d Displays

4 When an artist brings in their record to a retailer and sells it to them, but gets paid only after it

sells; this is known as:

a distribution

b consignment

c discounting

d dating

5 One Stop Distributors usually service non-music chain retailers, like mom and pop and

alternative record stores True or False?

6 Which of the following persons is the main contact between a record label’s distribution

company and the record label?

a President of the Record Label

b The Vice President of Marketing at a Label

c The Label Liaison

d Director of Sales at a Record Label

7 Label Marketing Reps are field representatives assigned to market all product that the label

releases, or are assigned specific types of music to market True or False?

8 A Label Marketing Rep for a major label may contact 40 or 50 store buyers, clerks and store

managers weekly True or False?

9 The best way to determine how many CD’s and Tapes to initially manufacture is to:

a examine the current fanbase of support of the artist

b take a guess

c look for the cheapest package deal you can find

d let your distributor decide

10 is a distributor who sells labels which primarily are not owned or

substantially controlled by the distributor Generally they will maintain an inventory on the entire catalog of every label they sell

11 When estimating how many CD’s or Tapes to manufacture, what percent of the initial

pressing will generally be used for “free goods” to help promote the release?

a 15%

b 20%

c 70%

d 10%

12 An old saying about the music business is “Distributors “carry records’, record labels “sell”

records” True or False?

13 Sell Through is the point at which a record is bought by a customer from a retailer True or

False?

14 Sell In is the point at which a record is sold by a distributor to a retailer True or False?

15 _is the term that refers to a commitment made by a retailer to purchase a

certain amount of product in exchange for a media ad of some kind that advertises a particular recording on sale at a store for a particular price

17 Retailers who purchase product in “Box Lots” pay the same price for those records as

retailers who buy product in lesser quantities True or False?

18 The term ‘incentives’ means deals offered to retailers to purchase recorded products, such

as discounts or delayed billing True or False?

19 Labels usually introduce new artists to the public at reduced list prices True or False?

20 An artist or band’s name should always be near the bottom 1/3rd of a CD cover True or

21 Always send out ‘promo copies’ to radio, the press, and distributors as ‘cleans’ (product that

has not had the barcode area ‘punched-out’) True or False?

22 “Dating” is the term used by a record label when working with distributors and retailers, to

help retailers with the payment of invoices due for product sold True or False?

23 Perhaps the most important first step in preparing a marketing plan is to listen to the music

repeatedly True or False?

24 Advances in computer software technologies have not affected the business relationship

between distributors and retailers True or False?

25 The first exposure that a gatekeeper in the music business has for a new CD or tape is the

listening experience, or the music itself True or False?

26 ‘Non-traditional’ music retailers (such as bookstores, and mass merchandisers) are no

longer playing a significant role in the selling of music product today True or False?

27 Barcodes must be on any music product that intends to be sold in major record chain stores.

True or False?

28 Catalog numbers should appear on the spine of a CD/Record/Tape True or False?

29 Independent labels usually want to affiliate with major labels so that they no longer have to

worry about selling any of their product to distributors and retailers True or False?

30 Affiliating with a major label can maximize the likelihood of the independent label getting

paid for records sold, because the major label’s distribution companies have the strong financialbacking of their parent companies True or False?