The Music Success Formula - Rough Cut

So I got the idea of creating a “back of the envelope” formula that will be a quick way to determine a band’s potential of “breaking through” to the next level, however they define it. This is the potential to be very useful to many musicians, but I need your help refining the idea. Please, poke holes in this so we can strengthen the idea!

What I’ve developed so far is based off the simple equation for force (force = mass X acceleration) except replacing the variables with things related to bands. It would measure, on a scale of 1 to 10, the band’s potential to reach their “fan goal” (which goes into the equation).

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Promotional Tool Idea

With street marketing being one of our most popular services, we’re continually asked for new promotional tools which grab the attention of potential fans here at The Syndicate. The item needs to be eye-catching,  pocket or purse-friendly, needs to make people act, and ideally, is trackable. Not many physical promo items have all of these aspects, but one has solutions to address all of these, and because of that, we end up using and recommending Dropcards. Often.

For example, we’ve used them in many street marketing campaigns, such as Tropicana’s “Rescue the Rainforest” campaign with Cool Earth, where we used FSC- and SFI-certified cards and had Dropcards print unique codes on them for people to redeem to save their own area of the rainforest.  Twin Atlantic, a band from Scotland on Red Bull Records, also used the seeded cards to promote their album “Vivarium” with a code to redeem a free song, unique videos, and other information about the band.

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

While conducting music business industry panels across the country, I’m often asked one question more than anything else: “How do I get an endorsement?” Other variations include “How do I get a sponsor?” or “How do I get free stuff?”

My philosophy is that if this is your point of view, you’re probably already doomed. Sponsors (whether music instrument companies, beer, or clothes, etc.) don’t care about what they can do for you. They care about what you can do for them – or rather, what you can do together. So to begin with, you have to switch the mentality from “What can I gain from this?” to “What can we gain from this relationship?” Below are a few things that I recommend in your approach:

Ask, straight up: There’s a saying that “the answer is always no until you ask.” In the music industry, there are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who wait for things to happen, and those who wonder “what the heck just happened?” Don’t wait for an opportunity. Create it by initiating contact, networking, or asking the right questions that will get you a lead, information on how to get a sponsor, etc. Don’t be afraid in emailing, calling, or scheduling an appointment to do an in-person presentation on why they should sponsor you. That being said…

The Approach: Find a way to be unique, succinct, and intriguing with your ini

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Rock The Biz - watch all about: "Tips&Tricks", "Future Of Music", "Income" and more

Finally all our chapters of Rock The Biz - the documentary about the new musicbusiness in Europe - are online. Feel free to watch here 4 further chapters for free:

Tips & Tricks:

Professional musicians, labels and player in the musicbusiness give hints, on what to focus, go’s and no go’s and many more

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Rock The Biz -The Movie: Chapter 3 "Selfrelease"

In the chapter “selfrelease” european bands, labels and player in the music biz talk about the most important tools, go’s and no go’s if you want to release your music on your own.

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Are You a Beggar or a Rockstar?

What I’m going to write about is what I consider to be the biggest fundamental difference between artists who thrive and artists who struggle to survive. It’s a mindset, a paradigm, a way to view the world. Most bands out there are looking for support. They want you to help them out. Vote for them in a contest. Go to their show. Buy their CD. By you contributing to their cause you will get them far enough to get their big break. When they get their big break then they will have made it and other people will be there to give them all the resources they need and they’ll live happily ever after. There’s just one small problem with that model: It’s an illusion that will keep you trapped until long after all of your dreams are gone. It’s a fundamental misinterpretation of the way that money and value work. This strategy will no sooner make you successful then it will a beggar….

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