Why You Should Get Partners Instead of Sponsors

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.

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6 Big New Years Resolutions For Musicians

2014 is with us. And while there’s a good chance you’ve already made non-music related new years resolutions, have you made any related to your music? If not, today we’re going to fix that!

After my well received 2013 post (still useful today), below are 6 resolutions you can ‘borrow’ to help get your music career on track this year. Feel free to use as many or as few of them as you please. All I ask is that any you do decide to go with, stick with them for the duration.

Challenge yourself to do a few of them, but don’t pick so many that you can’t carry them all out. Ready to get going? Well here they are:

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The Power of a Concert Memento

A ticket stub does so much more than just admitting you into an event. A ticket stub is a filled with memories, emotions and, if you’re lucky, your favourite singer’s autograph. Just one glance at that flimsy piece of paper, and the flood gates are opened. You are submerged in a pool of memories, like which song the band opened with, the moment you made eye contact with the guitarist, the hoarseness of your throat from screaming along with the lyrics, and how, for a couple hours, nothing else mattered in the world. That flimsy piece of paper can become a prized possession. 

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“Pay For It, Or Lose Us – The Challenge Facing Independent Musicians

“Pay For It Or Lose Us” The Microdance’s Alex Keevill highlights the challenge facing independent artists.

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6 Ways to Get More People to Your Shows

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.

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MusicThinkTank.com | October's Most Popular Posts

MusicThinkTank.com takes great pride in being a renowned resource for all who comprise today’s music industry. We appreciate the conversations you start, the advice you share, the projects you promote, and the feedback you share and we want to encourage your continued efforts.

Thanks to our loyal readers and contributors, October was a great month for MusicThinkTank.com - so today, we’d like to share that success with you by highlighting October’s most popular posts. On behalf of MusicThinkTank.com, thank you for your support. We enjoy providing a unique platform where the music industry really can think out loud!

Laura Schneider, MusicThinkTank.com Community Manager

34,708   MTT (Journal) 4,685   MTT - 49 Ways to Get Free Music Promotion (Journal Entry) 4,606   MTT Open - 10 Awesome Independent Record Labels [LIST] (Journal Entry) 3,967   MTT - A&R Tips: The Art Of The Press Kit (Journal Entry) 3,755   MTT - Top 10 Rules For Better Songwriting (Journal Entry)

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Being a Music Industry Professional

There is no doubt about it, music is fun- and it should be. For many, however, music is work. For these people music pays the bills, supports their livelihood, and puts food on their table. For these individuals who work in the music industry whether it be as performers, technicians, music teachers, managers, journalists, or marketers maintaining a level of professionalism is essential.

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Fonts and Branding: How Typography Affects Your Identity in the Music Industry

Typography plays a key psychological role in how people view your music. If you want to attract new fans and retain loyal ones, it’s important to consider your visual representation in print, online and everywhere in between. A picture says a thousand words, but people spend an extraordinary amount of time reading text.

A particular type of font can invoke a wide range of perceptions and emotions, ultimately creating an image of that particular artist. For example, handmade typography and decorative fonts help musical artists stand out from others and invoke a more personal, intimate image. Meanwhile, sans serif fonts, such as Helvetica, are essential for clean visual identities that rely on expert use of white space and simplistic styling elements.

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Progressivism: 4 Easy Ways Artists Can Stay Relevant

Keeping up with the times is something almost everyone struggles with.  It’s a challenge to step out of our comfort zone and try something new.  However, in a professional setting, the only way to survive is to submit to the idea of change.  For musicians, progressivism can sometimes be an especially challenging concept.  However, it is imperative that we continue to adapt to new trends, and stay relevant to our fan base.  

 I’ve picked four basic methods every musician can implement to ensure they are ‘with the times’:

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Think of Your Music as a Service, Not as a Product

As an independent recording artist, do you think of your music as a service or as a product?

When the phonograph debuted in 1877, the traditional service of music (live performance) was transformed into a product (recordings). This product was stored on physical media — wax cylinders that eventually evolved into vinyl records, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, digital downloads, and other formats. This single innovation, through its ability to reproduce recorded sound, forever changed the way we experience music.

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The Influence of Community on The Pluralist Generation and Its Music Consumption

In 2012, we at Gracie Management created a model to predict high music consumption among Millennials and what drives music consumption, which led to great conversation. Since then, we have conducted new research and analysis, this time among the next generation – The Pluralist Generation (Plurals). The Plurals, as coined by Magid Generational Strategies, are those born beginning in 1997 and defined as least likely to believe in the American Dream, affected blended gender roles, last generation with a Caucasian majority, etc.

You can read the Gracie Management full report on the influence of music-based communities on Plurals’ music consumption habits – click here. For a quick take, here are the core findings and implications:

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The 4 Places You Should Be Entering All Of Your Concert Dates To Increase Concert Attendance

Entering concert dates is one of the most annoying parts of playing live. It’s both time-consuming and annoying to keep up with. Thankfully, it gets easier and easier each year to do this menial task. Entering dates into the services we have outlined below increases the chance of getting both fans and potential fans to your shows. Some of them can put them in the places where your fans go to hear and discover your music, where as others alert your fans who have liked you on Facebook that you will be in their town. Entering your dates into these services also increases your chance of being added to local concert calendars in local papers and radio stations. Making sure your dates are always up to date in these four services will increase the likelihood of getting fans out to shows and we will explain why.

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Cut Through the Noise: 3 Simple And Effective Ways for Musicians to Get Noticed

Smart musicians know that their career depends on building a loyal relationship with as many fans as possible. But before you can start to build that relationship, you have to get people’s attention…

So how do you cut through the noise?

Well, here’s a simple rule: What stands out gets remembered and talked about. What blends in gets forgotten - or worse - goes unnoticed.

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MusicThinkTank.com Weekly Recap: The Music Marketing Manifesto. Ten Principles for Success

• Jesse Cannon | 9 Things YouTube Recommends Musicians Do That You’re Probably Missing

•  Simon Tam | 3 Ways Your Band Can Use Creativity to Make More Money

• Mark Knight | The Music Marketing Manifesto. Ten Principles For Success

• Kelland Drumgoole | How Stuff Spreads – Gangnam Style vs. Harlem Shake