April 18, 2013 This is a very different blog post than you’re used to getting from me. But after the events of this week, I feel compelled to share this with you …
October 15, 2012 If you know anything about marketing, you already understand that having a growing email list of fans can be your most powerful promotional asset. But, like any good tool, you have to know how to use it.
One of the great challenges with email is getting people to open and read your messages. It’s not the end of the world if your fans see your emails pop up in their inboxes but don’t have the time to open them. At least they see your name and are reminded of who you are.
But your real goal is to motivate fans to open your emails and further interact with you. So how do you do that?
Marketing, Marketing Strategies tagged Email, Marketing July 19, 2012 Most of the time, playing in the middle won’t serve you well. You blend in or stay stuck in a homogenous pattern. Sometimes, playing the extremes can help you cut through and serve the needs of a different audience.
Let’s consider what people use to watch television. In the middle are a lot of average-size TV screens. But on the edges you’ll find extremes. On one end are the huge flat screen TVs and home theater systems. On the other are iPods and smart phones with tiny screens that play video. They all serve a need and appeal to certain people at different times.
February 20, 2012 Everyone wants attention. You want it too, right? Of course, you do.
In fact, that’s the first crucial step in marketing: getting people (specifically, your ideal fans) to simply notice you among all the noise and chaos of their busy lives.
October 28, 2011 In the same way that there is an art and craft to songwriting, there is also a craft to writing and using language in general. And these word-related skills can play a big part in how effectively you communicate with fans - especially online.
June 13, 2011 This past week — completely by accident — I discovered a surprising way to use Facebook to share and sell music. I’m sure some of the more astute Music Think Tank readers already know about this, but I bet most of the musicians who browse these pages have no clue. So as an author, teacher and fellow musician, I feel a duty to pass on this valuable tip. What’s this all about? Well, if you’ve used Facebook at all, you know that the site allows users to easily upload and share photos and videos. That’s great. But there’s no built-in mechanism to easily share audio files — meaning your music!
Facebook tagged Facebook, sell, social media May 14, 2011 Thousands of artists, bands and music companies have a Facebook fan page these days. Perhaps you do too.
But way too many of them screw up big time when it comes to using a fan page effectively. (Of course, I’m sure YOU don’t fall into that category … or do you?)
Watch this new video clip and find out if you’re making any of these major Facebook music promotion blunders.
Haven’t created a Facebook fan page yet? Then you REALLY need to watch this so your first fan page gets off to a great start …
April 7, 2011 Here’s a quick story about change that might surprise you …
Leo and Harry knew firsthand that new technology has the power it turn the status quo on its head.
They were part of an economic boom in the music industry that allowed songs to spread faster and more efficiently to more people than ever before.
The movement they were part of had the additional effect of encouraging amateur musicians to participate in music in ways they had never been able to in prior years. The wave Leo and Harry helped create affected the entire music industry.
However, within a short period of time, an even newer technology came along that disrupted everything. The stable business model these two men built and profited from began to crumble.
March 15, 2011 John McCrea, lead singer of the band Cake, stirred up a reaction when he told NPR’s Melissa Block that he is skeptical about the future of music as a vocation.
“I see music as a really great hobby for most people in five or 10 years,” he remarked.
Keep in mind this was part of a segment about Cake’s historic new album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in January. It was historic because the album earned the coveted ranking by selling just 44,000 copies — the lowest amount for a No. 1 in the 20-year history of calculating record sales.
I’ve been seeing a lot of articles and blog posts lately about the doom and gloom of the music biz — including depressing news about the state of independent music. There have been references to the failure of direct-to-fan as a business model, and the harsh realities that aspiring musicians, managers, and promoters face.
Really? Give me a break!
December 2, 2010 In the spirit of holiday gift giving, I’d like to give you a new, six-page report called “10 Success Strategies for DIY Musicians, Managers, Promoters and More.”
Use this direct link to the PDF file to open and print it. (If you want to access it later, be sure to save the file to your hard drive or favorite ebook reader.)
I encourage you to share this free report with anyone you feel could use it. After all, that’s why I published these 10 DIY music strategies - to inspire and empower music people who really need to GET these principles.
The Road to Success tagged DIY, music business, musicians, promoters March 17, 2010 Have you heard of Chat Roulette? It’s the latest web site to create a major buzz in a very short period of time.
In a nutshell, Chat Roulette allows anyone with a webcam to log on and randomly be connected live with other people on the site one by one. If you don’t like who you’re connected to, you click “Next” and get another random paring.
It’s been widely covered (and made fun of) in the media. But I, along with a lot of online marketing people, thought it was a flash-in-the-pan novelty site with no possible self-promotion value. How could you possibly make use of such random connections?
February 22, 2010 Does that seem like an odd question to ask? Read this and I think you’ll agree there are many times when you simply lie to yourself about the workings of the music business and how to find success in it. And it’s costing you big time!
January 11, 2010 People who succeed at greater levels don’t have some secret code and aren’t immune to the everyday obstacles we all encounter. What they do have is a different mindset and a different approach compared to the masses that get lulled into accepting stagnation as a way of life.
Since this is such a widespread issue (and one I wrestle with myself), I wanted to share my version of the Cycle of Success
November 12, 2009 Everybody wants to know the easy, proven steps to music success. Therefore, most experts offers tips and strategies to help you reach your goals in a positive light — including me.
Well, it’s time to shake things up and serve a new audience — which explains why this post takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the dark side: How to destroy your music career in seven easy steps …
1) Give Away Your Personal Power
The first step to destroying your music career is to realize that your destiny is in the hands of other people and circumstances beyond your control. Fully embrace the fact that you need to be in the right place at the right time to get your “lucky break” and be “discovered.”
Know that industry people and music critics must deem you worthy of success for you to have value as a musician. Also, cling to the belief that all the answers are “out there” somewhere and out of your control and you will be incredibly successful at failure.