How I've Kept My Band Together For 3 Years

Recently I had two experiences that made me think about how fortunate I am to have a band that has been playing together for three years now. The first was an interview I did with Jason Crane for The Jazz Session, an online show focusing on in-depth interviews with jazz musicians. The second was seeing Chris Botti and his band (which I wrote about here), most of whom have been playing together for the better part of six years.

During the interview with Jason Crane, he asked me how I’ve been able to keep my band together for this long, which is pretty rare in the jazz world. I don’t remember exactly what my answer was (we’ll all find out when my interview goes live in the next couple weeks), but I remember thinking after the interview that I wanted to elaborate on the subject here.

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Your Guide to understanding the Music Industries today.

First, I would like to let you know the music industries are the largest they have ever been. Contrary to the doom and gloom predicted by the press, it is only the plastic jewel cases for CDs that are declining in numbers and some very public copyright lawsuits that reflect some archaic business structures in the industries.

Secondly, it might be good news to you that now is the easiest time to enter the music industries as an artist as due to new technologies introduced at exponential rates over the last decade, we have a plethora of mediums through which to present our art.

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Often Not Found Playlist #2

Welcome to the second Often Not Found Playlist. This week we’re featuring artists from MusicWithoutLabels.com. It wasn’t easy to pick these artists out of all of the artists we have signed up, but these songs are a good representation of all the awesome music and artists we have on board already. Sorry for being a little late on this one, my internet time in Colombia is limited. This usually will come out on Saturdays. Enjoy!

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Need An Electronic Press Kit? Make Your Own!

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in the middle of planning a tour for the Jason Parker Quartet. We’re going out in May and I’m busy contacting venues up and down the West Coast, from Vancouver BC to San Diego. I realized early on in the process that I needed an EPK, or Eletronic Press Kit.

What Is An EPK?
And EPK is just as it sounds - and electronic version of the old press kit. Bands used to send out physical press kits that included demo CD’s/DVD’s, information about the band, photos, reviews and other marketing materials. Nowadays, however, most bookers prefer an electronic version so they can just click a few links, listen to a few mp3’s and make a decision. This is easier for them, and also easier for us.

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IT'S YOUR TURN FOR SUCCESS

The No Label Needed Contest and Series presented by Scion, in collaboration with MetalInsider.net, will help one band leave labels behind and take on the industry all on their own. The series will show readers how it’s done, all while helping one special contest-winning band get ahead in a spectacular way.

From 1/20 NOW EXPANDED through 2/8, unsigned acts can submit demo packages at www.metalinsider.net/nolabelneeded.

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Simple Keys to a REALLY Successful Business

First of all, when structuring your business you have to have the mindset of providing the best value to people. If you are approaching the organization of you business with the mind set of making money, you are going to be sadly disappointed later on down the line.

The money will come later. The sure way to secure that money is by forgetting about it, and focusing on how you can provide the most value possible to your consumers.

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Grammys Got Your Goat...Call Their Bluff

With every twist and turn the music biz takes, there is always a big hullabaloo around Grammy time. The grand ceremony for music’s highest honor always brings out the best and worst around an industry that is way too sexy for its shirt.

There are those who want to pick up the closest thing handy and throw it through their television sets during the Grammys. Urban legend has it, the founder of one of history’s most powerful independent labels actually did throw his shoe through his TV set many years ago.

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Grammys: That's Not MY Music Industry

Watching the Grammy Awards tonight I was struck with one thought: they might call that the Music Industry, but that has nothing to do with what I do as a working musician. I have been a professional musician for 15 years, and it’s been my sole job for 9 of those years. But whatever that was on the TV tonight, that’s not even close to my world.

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E-mailing your way into the recording studio

Working in a recording studio is a dream of many music enthusiasts. Those big facilites with all the gear you salivate just thinking about, let alone having the opportunity to touch and handle. It’s just all so exciting.

So how do you get a job in one of those facilities if you don’t know anybody in the field? Nothing is going to happen if you sit idly by. Just like big labels don’t come knocking on your door with a contract, neither is a recording studio going to come to your house with a job offer. I recently moved to a new city where I didn’t know anybody except my girlfriend. How did I start assisting in the biggest recording studio in town if I didn’t know anybody there?

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How to Turn Your Mailing List Into Money and Enthusiasm

The mailing list is one of the most important tools that an independent artist has to market themselves. Hopefully you make it a priority to capture email addresses at every opportunity.

Here’s one way that you might turn those email addresses into money while helping to establish and sustain a win-win relationship with your fans.

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The Often Not Found, Playlist Worthy Songs of the Week

This blog post will be the first of many that I am dedicating to all of the amazing independent artists I listen to everyday, who deserve way more support than what they’re getting. These actual songs I am taking from my thesixtyone.com playlist. They range from Rock to Reggae to Folk, and in between. All AMAZINGLY talented artists.

Thesixtyone.com by the way, just updated their interface, and it’s much harder to use!…but still full of amazing artists..Enjoy!

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Digital Distributor RouteNote Signs 3 New Online Music Stores - Deezer, Napster, Thumbplay

Good news for all you RouteNote artists out there: today we go live with music distribution to three new music stores - Deezer, Napster and Thumbplay Mobile.

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Changing How Musicians Connect With Bloggers and the Press Release 2.0

It’s been a solid 3+ years as a blogger here at evolvor, and because of that I’ve earned a ton of experience not only in the content development side of things, but also in the PR department. As I’ve continued to grow as a respected mind in the ever evolving digital music landscape, I’ve noticed that many still approach sending out press releases in the same fashion that has been used for years. And that approach, in my mind, is rather stupid.

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Free Music = Free Advertising = Smart Business

Free music is free advertising. The only fool-proof method for artists to grow their following in the 21st century is to cultivate genuine relationships with their fan base. Use the promotional power of free music to help build a sustainable music career for yourself.

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