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May 8, 2013 OK, you’ve got your website together, but is it really together? I see a lot of indie band websites and most of the time they all look OK, but sometimes when I go to find something…it’s not there. In my internet travels I’ve seen some great and terrible websites, but the majority of the time, my problems with a band’s website come about because of a lack of the following 5 things.
May 6, 2013 Every day, we hear a wide variety of sounds and noises that our brains must process for us so that we can make sense out of them. Some of these noises can be pleasant and others can be jarring. A nice piece of classical music can be soothing, but if your dog starts barking in your ears, then you might lose that soothing feeling. Psychoacoustics is basically the study of these psychological and physiological interactions with sound. Obviously, the way a sonata makes us feel is entirely different than the way Rover’s yap makes us feel.
Psychoacoustics, audio, music, power, sound, studio | 1 Reference May 2, 2013 Let’s talk about wristbands (yipee!). This is an idea I’ve been toying with for a little while after seeing it posted by a few other music blogs around the web, but I haven’t actually put it into practice yet. Wristbands are required at the door of just about every show you’ll be playing, so why not see if you can distribute your own wristbands at the show to get some additional branding/exposure for your band both before and after you’re done playing.
You’ve probably seen venues with custom wristbands before (where I’m from they’ll print coupons for Domino’s pizza onto the wristbands), but have you ever considered asking the venue if you can use your own?
April 30, 2013 After Four years into beginning its service for indie artists, Bandcamp has finally got the look of a legit online music store. The site has slowly been making changes over the past few months to appeal more strongly to consumers as an alternative to iTunes and Amazon, starting with the launch of fan profiles in January. With the April 9 revision of its front page, the site now resembles a storefront rather than a sales pitch to meandering troubadours, all the while maintaining the same humility that has characterized its grassroots approach.
Distribution, digital music, direct to fan | tagged bandcamp, online music April 29, 2013 Hey guys. Today I wanted to talk a little about the social giant ‘FB’. How to promote your music on Facebook, and why the majority of musicians are using it in the wrong way. That’s right; A lot of people aren’t using it right! Furthermore, a lot of musicians have unrealistic expectations about what Facebook should be used for. You’ll know if this is the case if:
April 29, 2013 WASHINGTON, DC, April 29th, 2013 — UndergroundMusic.fm wants to make underground music mainstream. The startup has officially launched a new Internet service that provides a simple way to play and share underground music.
“It sounds paradoxical because it’s never been possible before,” says co-founder Max Acchione. “The underground has always been the source of musical innovation: blues, jazz, rock, punk, hip-hop, electronic, etc., and being inside it as it happens is exciting. It’s hard to experience because it’s so spread out and recording and distribution have been expensive. That’s why we have a mainstream in the first place. But today, the underground is thriving with affordable recording technology and it can be directly accessed through the Internet on ubiquitous devices.”
streaming | tagged music streaming April 26, 2013 Music used to make millionaires. There was a time when Rock Stars were right up there with Russian Oil Oligarchs, a steady stream of champagne and cocaine trailing behind them as they traverse the globe on their private jets. Nowadays ‘rock stars’ are more commonly found lining the pavement leading up to the Job Centre. I know, I’m one of them. And whilst I, like most people, didn’t get into making music to be rich, as I sit and eat my Tesco Value beans on toast, I can’t help but ponder what the future holds for us all. So how did we get here? What went so wrong?
April 25, 2013 The Music scene used to be for young people only, now to use the overused cliche 40 is the new 30, 30 is the new 20 and so on. As we all get older it is very tempting to look back and say that the music and the scene were better 5,10,15 years ago depending on our age. So if you are pushing 30 then I am sure that you have caught yourself complaining about the way the scene that you are into is changing and expressing your personal gripes to others that might actually care along with you. I bring this up because Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich just gave a pretty candid interview with pitchfork…
April 24, 2013 What started as a 5-6 page white paper suddenly turned into an all out manifesto for our community. I’ve written the MusicPreneur Manifesto and I encourage you to read it. It’s an open letter written to and for our global gang of Independent Artists, Songwriters, Musicians, Composers, Producers and Service Professionals in The New Music Industry.
I hope you find it relevant, inspiring, and useful. Please share your feedback if you found it valuable enough to do so.
You can download it for free, for a limited time-by simply going here.
You can also follow me on Twitter.
and on Google+.
Be Your Best,
Jamie
music marketing | tagged music entrepreneur, musicpreneur April 24, 2013 How much does Spotify pay artists? It’s the biggest mystery in music. One independant artist claims to have received a measly $0.004 per stream. There was a rumor that Lady Gaga only earned $162 from a million streams. Even indie band Grizzly Bear chimed in to express their displeasure with the alleged slave wages of Spotify declaring that they only received $0.001 per stream. Some have even taken to restricting their music from the service altogether. Is it really that bad? are the payments that low?
April 24, 2013 The UK market is known for its influence in music across the world so its no surprise that its world first MBA in the Music Industry also proves to be a real game changer and a positive effect on the US jobs market.
Business, Education, Future Of Music, Information, Life in the Music Business, Management, Music Business Jobs, Music Conference, Music Executives, Music Industry, Music Management, Realistic Music Careers 101, The Business of Independent Music, careers, conferences, cultural shifts, economics, entertainment news, independent music, music business, online music business courses | tagged MBA, Music Industry, entertainment, henley, music business education April 23, 2013 By, Wendy Day
Distribution | tagged distribution April 22, 2013 So your band pretty much rules. You have a killer recording that you’ve dumped your blood, sweat, and bank account into. You’ve got the look and the artwork to catch some attention. You have a Facebook and a Twitter that are pretty active, but what next … ?
Technology moves fast. Just look at how up-to-date your year old cell phone is(n’t) and it should come as no surprise. Once you check your email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Trello, Moodle, Pintrest and spend some time on Youtube you’re ready to go back to bed. And that’s just for the average Joe …
Piracy | tagged bandcamp, digital music, indie artists, indiloop, piracy, soundcloud April 21, 2013 A band is a business, so you should treat it like one. Whether you have a manager or not, seldom can you escape from the day to day housekeeping tasks that bands have to face, especially if you’re on the road frequently. But luckily there are a plethora of free online tools you can use to help manage those daunting tasks, from shared calendars and expense sheets to project boards and touring apps. Below are a few of our top recommendations.
Online Marketing, the internet | tagged online, tools