2017 - How to Use This Year

The future of music…

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What's Next For Indie Artist Exposure?

Last week I covered online radio’s new royalty rate, which asks all stations to pay the same. It excludes “small webcasters” as a category that receives expensive but affordable lower rates. (I’m about to do inventory at our RadioRow and will let you know the number of dead stations which were alive pre-CRB rate change.)

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When Artist Pricing Logic Makes No Sense

Quick story. In 2002 I was making around 600 radio and TV commercials a year. It paid well because I priced at the value of my time and talent. Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Wednesday Feb182015 February 18, 2015 Short Songs Tell Stories Too! Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Short Songs Tell Stories Too! Do fans listen because of the melody or lyrics? Ask that question at Google (within quotes). Over 9.5 million returns are listed. Click to read more ... 1 Reference Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Feb172015 February 17, 2015 Analyzing an Indie Artist's Goal Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment If your objective as a musician is to grow fans, what is your strategy? It’s a deep thought when given consideration. As an indie artist who produces awesome music, how do you increase awareness of your awesomeness? Click to read more ... 1 Reference Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Jun242014 June 24, 2014 Indie Artists: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment There are different mindsets on owning music today than there were forty years ago. Don’t blame that on anyone in particular. Blame society as a whole. Try to change it and you’ll waste time. Click to read more ... 1 Reference Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Mar182014 March 18, 2014 Indie Artists Using Email Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment If you want to cover this topic in detail, it requires thousands of words; I don’t, and won’t bother. Email is too deep a system, with twists and turns not only from a technical perspective but also etiquette.  Let’s put spam aside with this one note: Email should never be used to contact a person about what you are doing without the recipient requesting it. It may be used for initial contact, though, if the message is one sentence asking for permission to contact in the future and plainly states, “Unless your response is ‘yes’ I won’t contact you again.” Putting out an email blast to names that you’ve gathered from a variety of sources is SPAM. You don’t like getting unsolicited emails anymore than the person who gets one about your music or gig dates. Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Jan282014 January 28, 2014 Getting Heard is Getting Harder Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Not sure if you’re following all the headlines lately. Nearly every day there’s an announcement of another audio platform. Read the press release closely and you’ll find little to differentiate; nearly all claim personalization, wide choice, and song-skipping features. Some speak “playlists.” Others say “curation.” In the meantime, consumers are being fragmented to a point where reaching more than a few at one time is improbable. “Producing a sound sticky enough to draw those people back (while continuing to add a few new persons each day who will also be drawn back) is the goal.” Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Thursday Jan092014 January 9, 2014 Indie Artists in a Business World Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Being an indie artist is a wonderful life, or it sucks! Getting paid to play is a dream nearly all artists follow. The goal is to sell songs and merchandise, perhaps ending with a cushy deal playing a short tour of bars that circle round your town every month. (If you’re one of the few who make it big, there’s a mansion and airplane waiting, with a mob of fans.) “My goal is to rewrite how music is distributed, giving artists a shot at being found and online radio stations a chance to (easily) find quality songs.” All artists aim for the stars - as do folks in other careers. Just be prepared to enjoy the treetops because that’s where the vast majority of independent artists end up. Be in the right mindset and there’s nothing wrong with the view from there. Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Wednesday Oct162013 October 16, 2013 Artists: The Market Changed Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Thought of the following concerning indie artists who want to sell their music - not as a song but as background in radio commercials. It comes from an interaction I had with an artist whom I greatly respect. “It’s not just mass consumption today; it’s mass competition.” Click to read more ... in Music Think Tank | tagged indie artists, play my music on the radio Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Friday Sep062013 September 6, 2013 Indie Artists: Buying Success Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Indie acts need help. They have the talent but find marketing music difficult. Being a musician, with the internet now being a major highway to the masses, means spending lots of time trying to understand what is required to get your name out. Click to read more ... tagged Promotion, Technology, independent artists, independent country artists, independent rap artists, indie artists, indie artist business, indie artists online, marketing, marketing my music, promoting indie artists, using the internet Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Jul092013 July 9, 2013 Artist's Expectations Need to Change, Too Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | 1 Comment I’ll start with a disclaimer made many times: “I firmly believe an artist should be paid for use of their music, after the artist proves their music is worth paying for.” Click to read more ... in artist, managing money | tagged artist advice, expectations Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Thursday May302013 May 30, 2013 New Artist Problem: Music Never Heard Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | 1 Comment Author’s Note: In this discussion of music distribution I mention my own RRadio Music and “Intro to Indie Artists” programs. There are other options to consider. ——————————————— I received another email this morning from a company claiming to pitch music to “hundreds” of industry insiders. I’m guessing they got my name from RRadio Music and believe I’m in need of help with sending out songs because of the hundreds of artists listed there; that’s not the problem for me or the artists. By anyone’s measure there is no lack of new songs. There’s also a huge increase in the numbers of songs submitted to online radio stations and music services. Both of these are important facts. Click to read more ... in music | tagged music distribution, pitching your band Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Thursday Oct182012 October 18, 2012 Redefining the "Hit Song" Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Go to any service that reports “hit songs” and what you read is based on downloads, song sales or spins. How to determine the top spots on a “hit song” list was conceived by major record and radio industry players years ago; with the exception of adding “downloads,” it remains pretty much the same. Major record and radio industry players literally define “success,” and they keep the number of successful music groups low (to maximize profits). The change is this: With an increase in internet music play and sales outlets over the past decade, tens of thousands of quality artists have an ability to reach fans in ways that are not measured. My hunch is that even if there were a universal system, the radio industry and record labels would refuse to acknowledge the numbers. Click to read more ... in song | tagged Hit Song Science Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Copyright © 2018, Music Think Tank. All rights reserved.

Short Songs Tell Stories Too!

Short Songs Tell Stories Too! Do fans listen because of the melody or lyrics? Ask that question at Google (within quotes). Over 9.5 million returns are listed. Click to read more ... 1 Reference Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Feb172015 February 17, 2015 Analyzing an Indie Artist's Goal Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment If your objective as a musician is to grow fans, what is your strategy? It’s a deep thought when given consideration. As an indie artist who produces awesome music, how do you increase awareness of your awesomeness? Click to read more ... 1 Reference Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Jun242014 June 24, 2014 Indie Artists: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment There are different mindsets on owning music today than there were forty years ago. Don’t blame that on anyone in particular. Blame society as a whole. Try to change it and you’ll waste time. Click to read more ... 1 Reference Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Mar182014 March 18, 2014 Indie Artists Using Email Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment If you want to cover this topic in detail, it requires thousands of words; I don’t, and won’t bother. Email is too deep a system, with twists and turns not only from a technical perspective but also etiquette.  Let’s put spam aside with this one note: Email should never be used to contact a person about what you are doing without the recipient requesting it. It may be used for initial contact, though, if the message is one sentence asking for permission to contact in the future and plainly states, “Unless your response is ‘yes’ I won’t contact you again.” Putting out an email blast to names that you’ve gathered from a variety of sources is SPAM. You don’t like getting unsolicited emails anymore than the person who gets one about your music or gig dates. Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Tuesday Jan282014 January 28, 2014 Getting Heard is Getting Harder Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Not sure if you’re following all the headlines lately. Nearly every day there’s an announcement of another audio platform. Read the press release closely and you’ll find little to differentiate; nearly all claim personalization, wide choice, and song-skipping features. Some speak “playlists.” Others say “curation.” In the meantime, consumers are being fragmented to a point where reaching more than a few at one time is improbable. “Producing a sound sticky enough to draw those people back (while continuing to add a few new persons each day who will also be drawn back) is the goal.” Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Thursday Jan092014 January 9, 2014 Indie Artists in a Business World Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Being an indie artist is a wonderful life, or it sucks! Getting paid to play is a dream nearly all artists follow. The goal is to sell songs and merchandise, perhaps ending with a cushy deal playing a short tour of bars that circle round your town every month. (If you’re one of the few who make it big, there’s a mansion and airplane waiting, with a mob of fans.) “My goal is to rewrite how music is distributed, giving artists a shot at being found and online radio stations a chance to (easily) find quality songs.” All artists aim for the stars - as do folks in other careers. Just be prepared to enjoy the treetops because that’s where the vast majority of independent artists end up. Be in the right mindset and there’s nothing wrong with the view from there. Click to read more ... Email Article | Permalink | Share Article Wednesday Oct162013 October 16, 2013 Artists: The Market Changed Tweet Ken Dardis | Print Article | Post a Comment Thought of the following concerning indie artists who want to sell their music - not as a song but as background in radio commercials. It comes from an interaction I had with an artist whom I greatly respect.

“It’s not just mass consumption today; it’s mass competition.”

Click to read more ...

If your objective as a musician is to grow fans, what is your strategy? It’s a deep thought when given consideration. As an indie artist who produces awesome music, how do you increase awareness of your awesomeness?

Click to read more ...

Indie Artists: "The Times They Are A-Changin'"

There are different mindsets on owning music today than there were forty years ago. Don’t blame that on anyone in particular. Blame society as a whole. Try to change it and you’ll waste time.

Click to read more ...

Indie Artists Using Email

If you want to cover this topic in detail, it requires thousands of words; I don’t, and won’t bother. Email is too deep a system, with twists and turns not only from a technical perspective but also etiquette.

 Let’s put spam aside with this one note: Email should never be used to contact a person about what you are doing without the recipient requesting it. It may be used for initial contact, though, if the message is one sentence asking for permission to contact in the future and plainly states, “Unless your response is ‘yes’ I won’t contact you again.”

Putting out an email blast to names that you’ve gathered from a variety of sources is SPAM. You don’t like getting unsolicited emails anymore than the person who gets one about your music or gig dates.

Click to read more ...

Getting Heard is Getting Harder

Not sure if you’re following all the headlines lately. Nearly every day there’s an announcement of another audio platform. Read the press release closely and you’ll find little to differentiate; nearly all claim personalization, wide choice, and song-skipping features. Some speak “playlists.” Others say “curation.” In the meantime, consumers are being fragmented to a point where reaching more than a few at one time is improbable.

“Producing a sound sticky enough to draw those people back (while continuing to add a few new persons each day who will also be drawn back) is the goal.”

Click to read more ...

Indie Artists in a Business World

Being an indie artist is a wonderful life, or it sucks! Getting paid to play is a dream nearly all artists follow. The goal is to sell songs and merchandise, perhaps ending with a cushy deal playing a short tour of bars that circle round your town every month. (If you’re one of the few who make it big, there’s a mansion and airplane waiting, with a mob of fans.)

“My goal is to rewrite how music is distributed, giving artists a shot at being found and online radio stations a chance to (easily) find quality songs.”

All artists aim for the stars - as do folks in other careers. Just be prepared to enjoy the treetops because that’s where the vast majority of independent artists end up. Be in the right mindset and there’s nothing wrong with the view from there.

Click to read more ...

Thought of the following concerning indie artists who want to sell their music - not as a song but as background in radio commercials. It comes from an interaction I had with an artist whom I greatly respect.

Indie Artists: Buying Success

Indie acts need help. They have the talent but find marketing music difficult. Being a musician, with the internet now being a major highway to the masses, means spending lots of time trying to understand what is required to get your name out.

Click to read more ...

Artist's Expectations Need to Change, Too

I’ll start with a disclaimer made many times: “I firmly believe an artist should be paid for use of their music, after the artist proves their music is worth paying for.”

Click to read more ...

New Artist Problem: Music Never Heard

Author’s Note: In this discussion of music distribution I mention my own RRadio Music and “Intro to Indie Artists” programs. There are other options to consider.

———————————————

I received another email this morning from a company claiming to pitch music to “hundreds” of industry insiders. I’m guessing they got my name from RRadio Music and believe I’m in need of help with sending out songs because of the hundreds of artists listed there; that’s not the problem for me or the artists.

By anyone’s measure there is no lack of new songs. There’s also a huge increase in the numbers of songs submitted to online radio stations and music services. Both of these are important facts.

Click to read more ...

Redefining the "Hit Song"

Go to any service that reports “hit songs” and what you read is based on downloads, song sales or spins. How to determine the top spots on a “hit song” list was conceived by major record and radio industry players years ago; with the exception of adding “downloads,” it remains pretty much the same. Major record and radio industry players literally define “success,” and they keep the number of successful music groups low (to maximize profits).

The change is this: With an increase in internet music play and sales outlets over the past decade, tens of thousands of quality artists have an ability to reach fans in ways that are not measured. My hunch is that even if there were a universal system, the radio industry and record labels would refuse to acknowledge the numbers.

Click to read more ...