A Career In Music, Or Just Fame?

Like many of you I occasionally like to watch reality talent shows to potentially discover the next “big thing” that once upon a time we may never have come across. Naturally the world of an unsigned / emerging artist was once a lonely one with a mountain to climb and a lot of hard work and sheer persistence to get yourself heard or in fact in front of the right people. It is a shame though that for the majority of singers / bands that something is definitely missing.

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Press Release: A Brash! Blog Birthday Celebration

Atlanta, GA – August 18, 2015 - BRASH! – A Music Marketing Blog began in August of 2011 with the notion of providing new/independent artists with music marketing knowledge to help advance their careers.. Since its beginnings, BRASH! has made a grand name for itself by sticking to its original notion along with giving independent artists exposure and displaying how the music industry is gaining innovation. Now celebrating its fourth year, BRASH! is looking to gain more ground to reach a broader audience, provide more content, and fulfill the vision of music marketing in the Indie music industry. “I remember sitting in an office cubicle writing blogs for this corporate company that I had no interest in. Then, I got the idea of writing my own, I wanted it to be helpful, I wanted it to be about music & entertainment, and I wanted it to be BRASH!” says founder/editor-in-chief E. Alexcina Brown. “My goal was to provide an outlet for great artists who were not fortunate enough to have that mainstream exposure.”

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Innovation, Our New Job As The Music Industry

I released my first music video, “Rocket to the Moon” today. As a new artist with a low starting fanbase I understood I wouldn’t be able to get much press write up for my music video unless I presented something never seen before. So that’s what I did, I created “The World’s First Portrait Music Video”, and the press followed. It is our new job as the Music Industry to lead innovation.

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Music & Fashion Pt Deux

In our last blog about Music & Fashion, we highlighted how these two elements can come together to make a powerful force in the entertainment and fashion industries. You can take that on and allow yourself as an indie artist to be a part of that force. Today, music artists are setting the latest fashion trends. Consumers are being inspired by what today’s hottest artists are wearing on red carpets, interviews, appearances, concerts, and even on their social media during random outings. Some wardrobe choices are only meant for the stage however, fans are constantly wondering, “What are they wearing? How can I get it?” This blog can go for up & coming fashion moguls as well. You want your clothes to have more exposure in your industry, team up with a great artist to help build that brand. Gain their fans as future customers.

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JES Debuts ThingLink Interactive Video with iTunes Store Inside Facebook Timeline

Magik Muzik recording artist JES has debuted ThingLink’s new interactive video format inside Facebook Timeline. Bands, labels and producers can use ThingLink to add music discovery, movie rentals, stores and call to action to the surface of any Facebook, YouTube or Brightcove video.

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The Ultimate Gig Booking Guide | Phosphene Productions

Booking regular shows is an essential part of being a musician when expecting to be heard by the public, and a question we here at Phosphene Productions get asked a lot about. Though everyone has their own technique when it comes to finding the perfect show, many artists new to the scene should devise a “template” to work by and to keep yourself organized when contacting so many different people.

Our goal in this article is to give you a sort of template to use when beginning to develop your own booking strategy, and by the end you should have all the necessary information to kick off your gig.

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5 Ways To Promote Your Music

You’ve done the hard part - you’ve created your own music that you’re proud of and want to share with the world.  After hundreds of hours writing, practising, recording, mixing, and editing - your tunes are ready to go.  But, have you thought about the next step?  How are you going to promote your music beyond your immediate fan base to start getting that all important exposure?

We’ve put together 5 ways to promote your music in the digital age.  Hopefully these will help you take your music to the next level, so jump in and see what works for you:

1. Social Media Marketing

Social media platforms, and in particular Facebook, allow you to get a new audience listening to your music quickly and cost effectively.  You can use Facebook Ads to target people interested in similar artists to you, whilst excluding your current fans.  This allows you to generate a new fan base quickly and relatively cheaply.

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Purify Media Launches PurifyArt.com: Company Directly Links Artists and Fans Through Ad-free Platform

Purify Media announced the release of PurifyArt.com, an ad-free service directly connecting artists and fans. A first of its kind, PurifyArt.com enables artists and fans to find and promote music, images and video on one platform, maximizing the revenue artists and companies receive for sharing and selling content while providing viewers one affordable, complete, and interactive online service.

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New Start-Up Provides Independent Musicians and Labels with One-Stop Solutions

Happy Dog Music is one of a handful of marketing centered music start-ups that are a product of the seismic shift that has taken place in the music industry in the last ten years. Happy Dog Music crafts and implements custom marketing campaigns and provides any other ancillary support clients may need during the course of the agreement. Unlike the typical record label deal, Happy Dog Music clients retain 100% of all rights. Happy Dog Music provides major label support without all of the strings that come attached to a major record deal.

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Post-Show Procedures: 8 Things Every Band Should Do After the Performance

Do you have a post-show plan? Is there a set of procedures that you work on after each performance? Or, does your band simply work on the next upcoming event – the next show, the next rehearsal, time in the studio, etc.?

In almost every professional endeavor, there is some kind of routine or review period to measure performance or follow-up with customers:

• In sports, the coach diligently sits down with the entire team to review footage of the previous game. Team member celebrate successes and most importantly, look for areas of improvement.

• In corporate business, the board of directors and executive staff look over stock performance and make decisions to keep their shareholders satisfied.

• In the arts, performers carefully review each element of the show to see what delighted audiences and what could use work.

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New Free Mobile App Makes Life Easier for Musicians

Red Dragon Records is a relatively new but rapidly growing record label based in the south of the UK. It was designed and built around a business model that involved working with very new artists and the main ethos of the company since its inception is to help artists where possible whether signed to the label or not. To this end, we created a free mobile app (the only app of its kind at the time of writing). This app contains over 1,000 links to radio stations and blogs that have been vetted to ensure that they take music from unsigned or indie label artists. Furthermore there are sections for design companies, sites that will allow artists to find new sources of revenue or even giving artists companies that manufacture CD’s, websites or merchandise. 

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How Bands Can Break Into New Markets

One way to grow your music’s reach is to break into new markets. This could be taken a number of ways: new geographical areas (cities, states, countries, etc.) or simply new audiences in general (by demographic, interest, psychographic, etc). Before you try and expand your reach through new markets, it’s important to take a few things into consideration:

• Return on Investment: What is the cost or effort required to break into this market? Is the return on investment worthwhile or would you be better off using those resources to grow an existing market?

• Goals: What kind of role will this market play in your S.M.A.R.T.E.R Goals?

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An Honest Review of the All-New Sonicbids EPK System

Today, I was checking out a Sonicbids EPK that was emailed to me. Much to my surprise, the layout for a Sonicbids artist profile completely changed – there was no quick bio, music player on top, or a useful set of links (press, stage plot, etc.). Instead, I found a Pinterest-like layout with navigational tiles. I thought it was just some lame option that the artist chose, but decided to check using my own band’s profile.

This is what I found:

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The Coffee House Sessions

Coffee House Sessions is a new music initiative, exposing the hottest in upcoming UK music talent to the student market via daytime performances in University coffee shops around the country: http://youtu.be/CZRp_MoTqhM. 

With a carefully designed touring circuit taking place in 40 universities, Coffee House Sessions holds acoustic performances at two different campuses a day over a ten day period and provides promotion for the showcased artists through student media outlets such as student newspapers, student radio and student TV at each university.

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