February 14, 2018 If you’re a musician, you’re probably using social media in some way to promote your music, invite people to shows, and stay in touch with your fans. We do this so often, we end up going through the motions of engagement without thinking about how the activity affects our SMARTER goals or how we can apply some more creativity to these tools.
October 27, 2015 Musicians make similar mistakes all the time. When they repeat these kinds of things, it not only hurts them in the long run, but they’re often bewildered as to why things don’t go as well for them as they should.
Career tagged mistakes, music career, music marketing, networking March 9, 2015 Perhaps the biggest impact on your live performance is how you approach practices and rehearsals. Many artists use the two terms interchangeably even though there are some differences.
January 13, 2015 Divas. These days, that word is usually treated with disdain. We associate it with arrogance and haughtiness. We all know a few artists who have a ridiculous sense of self-entitlement. And though they might take themselves very seriously (and maybe a few of their fans too), the rest of us will laugh behind their backs.
June 19, 2014 When I was in my MBA program, I often learned more about business from business owners (and running one myself) than the instructor. Usually, the people out in the field have a different perspective than those who are teaching. With the music industry, you have experts who come at it from many different angles: managers, lawyers, record labels, promoters, booking agents, publicists, journalists, solo artists, bands, studio musicians/session players, academics, consultants, and more. One of my favorite ways of learning is to study how other people are approaching their music career. Another is to look completely outside of the music industry itself.
When I want to improve on something specific, I often see what other successful artists are doing. This can be anything from a website layout, social media posts, biographies, and press kits to music videos, color palettes, song formats, and live performances. I often keep a portfolio of these artists’ work to monitor trends, key words, and imagery. It’s like having a list of reference songs in the studio when recording and mixing: the collection becomes a good point of reference to compare against.
June 5, 2014 It’s no secret that often in the world music, it’s more about “who you know” than what you know. The industry generally favors pre-existing relationships, whether you are looking for a venue, a sponsor, a review on your new album, or a slot at SXSW. Like it or not, networking can often make or break an act.
Today, focus on taking a few steps closer to your goal by working on your contacts. Here are some of my favorite tips on networking:
Start With a Goal in Mind: Before you haphazardly contact just anyone in the music industry, think about what you want to achieve and who some of the people are that might be able to help you. You might also think about how you can help them in return. Most of the time, you’ll make new contacts in social situations but you can also be strategic about who you want to meet and why.
February 3, 2014 Last week, I was talking to an artist about potential shows for their first national tour. As a relatively new band, they didn’t know what kind of turnout would be there in several of the markets, even though they’ve had some prominent national press. Naturally, without a solid tour history, many of the promoters were unwilling to provide a guarantee – they only offered door deals to the band. The band told me that the shows needed to have a good turnout or money to make it worthwhile. Of each show, they asked me, is it worth it?
The week before that, I was talking to an aspiring author who was finishing up his first novel. I recommended talking to an editor to help with grammatical structure, word choice, and pacing, which is especially important for works of fiction. However, when he saw the price range of professional editors, he asked me, is it worth it?
January 20, 2014 When most people who want sponsorships think about their ultimate goal, it involves money. They’re looking for someone to fund their event, to pay for their tour, to raise money for their charity, and so on. When many business think about sponsoring someone, it ultimately involves money as well: even if it is an incredible cause, at the end of the day, they want to know how sponsoring will help them get more customers. Each party treats the sponsorship as a transaction. However, I believe it is important to shift the definition from “a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (typically sports entertainment, non-profit event, or organization) in return for access to the exploitable, commercial potential associated with that property” (IEG, 2000) to something more equitable: a partnership.
January 8, 2014 Author Zig Ziglar was often as saying, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”
Your music career is no different. Unless you have a target that you are reaching for, you’ll just continue down random pathways hoping to get somewhere. How will you know what successful looks like if you haven’t defined success for yourself? You need to begin by creating (or revisiting) your goals.
There’s a popular business acronym that says goals should be S.M.A.R.T., or Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. In a band, I think goals should be SMARTER, because they need to include Everyone and be Revisited often.
November 6, 2013 Do you sometimes feel that your band’s draw is languishing? Are you tired of seeing the same people at your shows and want to play to a new crowd, even in your hometown?
If you’re like most musicians, you know that you absolutely can do better, that you have more fans out there than who actually show up at at the venue, and despite always receiving positive feedback, you don’t know why more people aren’t showing up. Here are some tips on building some momentum back into your tour dates so you can increase your band’s draw:
1. Find a Different Angle for The Show: It’s easier to get more people to show up if it’s your band’s first show, when you’re releasing a new album, it’s a tour kick off, or when it’s your final gig. Obviously, it’s because your fans realize those as special occasions and want to be there.
September 25, 2013 Networking.
For most musicians, this is something that most know they should do but feel uncomfortable with or don’t know how to approach. However, it’s something that can open the doors to better shows, a record label, a new sponsor, or even more fans. Here are some things I’ve learned over the years about networking:
1. The Value You Bring to Others: Many networking events can feel like a shark tank, with people fighting to get business cards out and meeting the right people. It can often be inherently selfish, people seeing who can help them get what they want. However, networking is about building partnerships, so you can often stand out by finding ways to deliver value to other people, whether that is simply connecting other contacts to one another or helping someone solve their problem. That’s far more effective than finding ways to show off or impress others.
July 25, 2013 There’s a lot of great advice out there about how to book a tour but I haven’t found many things about how to survive on tour. Going out on the road can sometimes be a dangerous affair: long hours on the road with little sleep, many late nights, financial risks, etc. Here are 5 easy tips to remember that can save your band’s tour:
touring July 16, 2013 These days, merchandise sales make up a pretty big portion of most touring acts’ income. The staples of CD’s, shirts, and stickers have become even more important as income from performing has gradually dropped. There are many tips out there of what bands should order and how they should sell their products, but there doesn’t seem to be much on how to get the best possible pricing from vendors, how to calculate prices, or how much product should be ordered before a tour.
Merch, Merchandise June 26, 2013 “The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” - Tom Bodett
Music schools might be great for really helping you fine-tune your musicianship skills, but there are some lessons that they don’t cover which you’ll need to know for your career. Here are six things that you should know that aren’t covered in curriculum:
