Becoming A Six Figure Artist Part 1

What I’m going to show you isn’t for everyone.  It does take some work to set up.  But if you are willing to make a few phone calls, this will allow you to reach more people with your music and make a bigger difference. 

It comes down to three main things:

• Filling your studio
• Filling your gigs
• A magic ingredient that I will tell you about later.

Click to read more ...

Why It's Important To Develop Your Strengths If You Want To Grow As Musician

Yesterday I saw a great quote:
“Success is achieved by developing your strengths, not by eliminating your weaknesses.”
It’s from Marilyn vos Savant. She’s known for having the highest IQ.

Think about it. It sounds quite logical. Weaknesses can be distracting. Eliminating your weaknesses is like eliminating the weed around a young tree. By eliminating your weaknesses, you eliminate some of the distractions that prevent you to focus on your goal, like growing your career as musician.

Click to read more ...

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.

Click to read more ...

How to Increase the Reach of Your Music

Clients on board of Symphonic Distribution have a lot of offerings, but above all, they have choice. Our clients can choose when they want to deliver their content and where they want to deliver it. That choice is not easily found with our competitors, as some won’t even let clients have a direct account on a partner that the distributor is not delivering to (we call that ridiculous).

Click to read more ...

BRASH! Magazine 2016

BRASH! - A Music Marketing Blog started in 2012. This blog was designed to provide music marketing tips for Independent Artists as well as provide a platform for exposure by giving exclusive interviews and social media promotions. In 2016, BRASH! is ready to expand to the magazine scene but we need your help. In order to bring this to life we are accepting donations to design, create, and develop a Music Marketing Magazine to increase exposure and awareness for quality Indie Artists. Funds raised will be used for staff memebers (writers, graphics artists, events etc.) as well as the development for the magazine’s platform, both online and print.

Click to read more ...

How Artists Should Deal with Auto-Renewing Contracts

It’s easy to fall into the routine of scrolling past terms conditions agreements without thinking much about them. However, they can often affect the future of your music, where it can be released, who controls it, and how it can be distributed. For example, a licensing agreement can change how future revenues are received (or waive future royalties entirely); a contract with one distributor might limit future opportunities with another; some sponsorship agreements will bind you/your band members to one specific type of product. These are all instances when you are limited by the choices made without full consideration of long-term effects.

Click to read more ...

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:

Click to read more ...

One Book To Rule Them All! The Elusive "It" Factor in the Music Industry

I have always been a creative entrepreneur, and not allowed the world to get the better of me, but instead, let the world fuel me. Throughout 13 years in the music industry I’ve worked with some of the best in the business: Anita Baker, KC Porter, Jim Henson Studios, Never Land, OK GO, George Duke, Lauren Mayhew, Pomplamoose, and as far as I can remember, I’ve heard of “it,” this elusive thing setting apart the extraordinary from the ordinary. These people encapsulate: auras, energy, and empower all that are near; you’re drawn to them.

Click to read more ...

Old Men to Pre-Teen Girls. Where Music Has Been And Where It's Going.

Let’s set some ground rules for music innovation to take place. Instead of swinging around in the dark hoping to hit something, let’s remember what happened before this moment.

Click to read more ...

Digital Hustle: 3 Ways To Dominate the Internet with Your Music

There is a huge demand for the unsigned artist to learn how to properly get their music to these new outlets. Here are 3 functions DIY need to know: music business management, public relations, & social media management.

Click to read more ...

Before You Sign...

What You Should Know Before You Sign the Deal can be found in this book…

Unlike any other book about the music business, “Music Business: It’s a Dirty Game!”,

this book is not a ‘puff piece’ about the glitz and glamour about the music business.

This book takes you on a journey from the excitement of having a music publishing contract with a major music publishing company to the legal battles that followed.

Click to read more ...

How to Work With Music Industry Contacts

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 make or break an act.

Focus on taking a few steps closer to your goal by working on your contacts a few minutes each day. Here are some of my favorite tips on networking:

Click to read more ...

6 Things You Can Do With $100 That Will Change Your Music Career

Money. Let’s face it: most artists aren’t very good with it. Most of us don’t have much to invest into our music career (relatively speaking), and when we do, we tend to throw it at some random opportunities without a larger strategy in mind.

Take, for instance, submission fees to music festivals. Each year, thousands of artists spend over $100 in application fees or subscription costs to EPK sites, in hopes of getting a show at SXSW, CMJ, Bumbershoot, or other large festivals. Personally, I think festivals are overrated in terms of importance for your career, but if you really want to get in, try reading this guide: How to Get Into SXSW.

You can easily spend $100 on strings, picks, or sticks. You could even buy a cheap electric guitar. Or, if you were riding in my tour bus, $100 almost covers the gas from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA.

Click to read more ...

Need help winning Joe Bonamassa's Blues Masters Competition

Hello my name is Hollaman Lindsay and I am asking all of you to see if you can possibly aid me in my attempt to win Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Masters Competition. The first round for this contest is based off of viral popularity and how many views and shares your audition video gets, now I aint sayin that I cant generate that many views and shares because I dont have the talent, Its just that I live in Hiram Georgia and we got more stock in rakes then we do computers so its hard for me to find many people around me to support it. So I am inquiring you to see if you can help me get my name out there and get my audition video views and shares because if I can get past this first round and make it to guitar duals I think I got it made in the shade.

Click to read more ...