How To Find A Music Publicist You Can Trust

You’ve decided you need a music publicist you can trust to help you promote your next album release. You’re nervous. There are stories you’ve heard from bands who hired a publicist who took their money and disappeared, or maybe the publicist stuck around but made huge promises they simply couldn’t deliver.

The result? Thousands of dollars down the drain.

I’m not telling you this to scare you, but to prepare you to hire a publicist you can trust so it doesn’t happen to you. There’s always some sort of inherent risk in hiring a music publicist, but there are also some things you can do to increase the chances of hiring the right publicist for your band’s needs — and one you ultimately trust.

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Less Is More: Why You Should Pitch Your Music To Fewer Publications

This article appeared first in Sonicbids. 

Logic dictates that the more music bloggers you reach out to about your band, the more coverage you’ll receive.

Not necessarily.

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Indie Artists: Should You Give Your Music Away For Free Or Charge?

This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog

As a musician, you’ve probably been told over and over again that recorded music simply doesn’t have any value anymore. Ever since Napster shook up the scene in the ‘90s, it’s been getting harder and harder to convince music fans to pay for music, and it seems that by 2016, most artists and labels are giving up on the idea of trying to make money from album sales.

The problem with this argument, however, is that not everyone agrees that music should be free. If Taylor Swift and Adele are refusing to give into the world of streaming music and free downloads, can’t other artists take the same route as well? After all, we need to make a living somehow.

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DIY Musicians: Trying To Do Everything Is Hurting Your Chances of Success

This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog

Pretty much every indie musician I’ve talked to has two big problems: there’s just too much to do, and despite putting a lot of time and effort into their career, they feel stagnant, like they’re not making any progress.

In this article, we’re going to solve these two problems with one stone. If you want to go further, I have a time management and productivity ebook as well as a goal-setting ebook that you can download for free to keep the momentum going in your music career.

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7 Basic Design Principles To Clean Up Your Band's Website Without Coding

This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog

About once a month, a friend approaches me with the same question: “Will you help me with my website? I keep tinkering with it, but nothing I do looks good enough.” As a web designer by day, it breaks my heart when I hear that my friends are struggling with indie budgets and WISYWIG editors, trying to fit everything they possibly can into the predefined templates of create-your-own-website services.

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5 Crucial Factors You Have To Consider Before Moving To NY Or LA For Your Music Career

This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids blog.

Every musician wants to base him or herself in buzzing surroundings that promote plentiful opportunities for creative collaboration. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many artists who aren’t from major cities around the country have lofty aspirations of hitting it big and moving to Los Angeles or New York City. Yet all of the motivation or talent in the world cannot hide the reality that not every artist is ready to make this next step. There are multiple factors in play that are necessary for every artist to put into perspective before making such a momentous decision. So before you pack your bags with visions of accomplishing all of your wildest dreams, be sure that you refer to this list and are honest with yourself by evaluating each factor when determining whether or not you’re primed to make the big move.

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