3 Critical Reasons Why a Facebook Profile Can’t Replace a Fan Page

Quite often, we at Cyber PR® have musicians who approach us with the same questions: “I don’t have a Facebook fan page, but I DO have a personal profile and everyone tells me I need to get a fan page. Why do I need a fan page if I already have hundreds of friends on my personal page?” This is a very common scenario for independent musicians and unfortunately a personal profile just won’t cut it as an asset in your overall arsenal of marketing tools. While I’m sure we could come up with dozens of reasons to avoid using a personal profile as a marketing tool rather than a fan page, there are 3 critical comments to a fan page that I’d like to shine a light on:

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MusicThinkTank.com Weekly Recap: Why Albums Make Little Sense For New Artists & More

Where

The Music Industry

Thinks Out Loud

• Leena Sowambur: A Little Music Industry Career Advice
• Mark Knight: Where Is Everyone? Why Albums Make Little Sense For New Artists
• Music Think Tank: Top 10 MusicThinkTank Posts Last Month

Top 10 MusicThinkTank Posts Last Month

1. The 4 Best iPad Apps That Can Make You A Better Musician
2. How To Make Your Music Career Highly Profitable And Sustainable

MORE:

3. How To Sell Your Music On iTunes - The Important Facts Some Leave Out

4. How to Get Endorsements or Sponsors for your band, tour, record, etc.

5. The Best Social Media Site for Bands

6. How to Find A Music Manager

7. How Much Money Should You Aim To Make From Music? And How Much CAN You Make?

8. What Actually Drives Music Consumption

9. Getting Sponsors For Your Music

10. A&R Tips: The Art Of The Press Kit

Where Is Everyone? Why Albums Make Little Sense For New Artists

Mark Knight the founder of Right Chord Music explores the perils of taking time out to make a new album for unsigned bands.

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A Little Music Industry Career Advice

Last week I asked a question on my Facebook page which was:- “QUESTION! For anyone looking to get a job in the music business. I’m looking for 7 questions that you would like answered as to how to get a job in the music industry. What would you like to know?” I got a couple of questions back which I thought I would answer in blog form as the answers would be too long for Facebook comments so here there are – incidentally if anyone else has a question that they need help with please post it on my Facebook page and I will answer it for you.

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MusicThinkTank.com Weekly Recap: What Actually Drives Music Consumption & More

Where

The Music Industry

Thinks Out Loud

• Simon Tam: Making New Fans in Unexpected Places
• Chasson Gracie: What Actually Drives Music Consumption
• Brian Thompson: The Last Chance Saloon - Where Dreams Go to Die 
• Shaun Letang: How Much Money Should You Aim To Make From Music? And How Much CAN You Make?

How Much Money Should You Aim To Make From Music? And How Much CAN You Make?

Ever wondered what kind of income levels are achievable as a musician? Well read on, as that’s exactly what we’re going to be looking at today.

Below is one of the chapters taken from my new book ‘The Independent Musician’s Survival Guide’. I know there’s a lot of misconceptions about how much money can actually be made from your music career, so I thought it’d be valuable to share this chapter and help you gain a more realistic view of what is achievable. There’s no hype or half truths here, this is as realistic a evaluation as you’ll likely get.

If you find this information useful, please share it on your favorite social networking sites and link to it from your site. Thank you.

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The Last Chance Saloon - Where Dreams Go to Die

“This is my last chance, my last kick at the can.”

i heard those words today… and it stung.
don’t say that.
ever.

The Last Chance Saloon,
a funeral parlor 
for ambitions not achieved.

saying these fateful words means:

…you’ve already created a conscious limitation for yourself.

…you’ve already thrown up a barricade you won’t maneuver past.

…you’ve already signed a death warrant on your future potential.

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What Actually Drives Music Consumption

I created the conceptual model to understand the independent variables that help predict music consumption, along with predicting how much change in those independent variables can impact one’s consumption of music in a way that leads to revenue for an artist, an artists’ label et al.

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Making New Fans in Unexpected Places

Whenever I write an article about sponsorship or marketing, I always talk about finding your unique, target audience. As bands, we usually focus on the genre: people who like certain acts that resemble our music. Sometimes, we base it on the subject matter of the songs or even the band’s image image. However, have you considered just connecting fans who have a similar personality or interest as the band members? Using our passions and some concentrated effort, we can make new fans in some unexpected places.

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MusicThinkTank.com Weekly Recap: The Best Social Media Site for Bands & More

Where

The Music Industry

Thinks Out Loud

• Simon Tam: The Best Social Media Site for Bands
• Marcel Williams: How to avoid serious mistakes when choosing an agent
• Jamie Leger: Focus = Independent Artist Success OR Failure…

Focus = Independent Artist Success OR Failure…

Do you ever feel like modern society is like a million screaming kids with A.D.D. unleashed at a Chuckie Cheese?

We’re just bouncing off the walls, interrupting each other, there’s no order, we just go and fling ourselves into the next unconsciously interesting experience…

A successful artist was just an artist who did the right things, the right way, and didn’t quit.

I’ve never met a dumb musician. Seriously.

So is it the structure, the discipline, or the determination?

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How to avoid serious mistakes when choosing an agent

Role of an Agent

If you want to succeed as a live act in the music industry, you will likely need an agent. Agents strive to find great gigs for their clients at good venues and earn a nice commission in the process. Although they are also often involved in commercials, television events, tour sponsorship and other areas, music agents don’t generally have quite the same status or influence as those in the film business. This article contains some useful information on selecting the right agent for you.

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The Best Social Media Site for Bands

I often get asked: what’s the best social media site for bands? My business clients ask the same thing using different words: what is the best marketing channel to promote my brand? The idea that there is a magic formula or single solution to take care of all your needs is a misnomer. Where you should be promoting and the tools that you should be using should revolve around one main concept: where your target audience is. It’s as simple as that.

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