Rascal Flatts

The great news about the rocking group Rascal Flatts is that they have been selected to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On June 17th Thursday the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Fame committee has announced that the star will be unveiled sometime in upcoming year of 2011, although a exact date and location have not been confirmed. Others scheduled to be inducted into the Walk of Fame next year include Melissa Etheridge, Los Tigres Del Norte, the Go-Go’s, Slash, Will i am and BeBe and CeCe Winans. The late Buddy Holly and Louis Prima will be inducted posthumously. Last week The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has also announced that the country group would be honored with the star in 2011 among with a host of other celebrities. This month is a big anniversary for Rascal Flatts 10 years since the band released its very first, self-titled album.

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YouTube Advertisement Experiments

So recently I had a video made I was pretty proud of.  Originally it had about 500 views on YouTube from posting it on a few newsgroups & what not, which I don’t think is bad for a studio project that has been more or less defunct a few years.  But I thought it had more potential.

So I experimented with using the YouTube/Google Adwords promotions to publicize the video.  I was familiar with how quick the money can add up on those kind of campaigns, so I low-balled at $0.01 per click & a budget of $1.00 a day. 

The result over two months was spending $52.20 (pretty close to the $1 a day budget) providing the additional 5,220 views that would be directly caused by this.  After the two months the video only hit about 5,800 views & now (two months after closing the ad campaign) the video just hit 6,000 views.  Which means essentially no one who clicked an advertisement to watch the video shared it with anyone.  Also there has not been any type of sales spike associated with the video views.  (I’d hoped for a sales increase near the level to pay for the ads - a 0.1% click through to purchase sounds reasonable….)

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Musicians: Think Like a Business Owner

If you were starting a small retail business or an internet business, you would focus all of your attention on growing that business to the point you could sell it or to the point that it became a lifestyle business for you - affording you the income that you need to live the life you desire.

Launching a music business is no different in theory.  What is different is that most artists assume there are gatekeepers who deem you worthy to progress to a higher elevation in your career.  As with all businesses, yes it is true that there are strategic partnerships that can help grow your business, but there are no gatekeepers other than those within your own mind.

At The Artist Farm we have a running theory that the most successful artists are the ones who fully recognize their role as business owners.  They run the show, literally - from artistic to business partnership decisions.  As these strong personalities grow, so do their businesses.  And as a business grows it begins to attract attention.  Suddenly those “gatekeepers” that you imagined are all clamoring to be involved with this successful business.

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Aderra, Inc. and Killola Partner To Revolutionize Music Distribution

Los Angeles, CA – In what could signal the breaking down of the wall between artists and their fans, SoCal garage-pop rockers KILLOLA (www.killola.com) have joined forces with Aderra, Inc. (www.aderra.net) to create a multi-media, living and breathing electronic “umbilical cord” that instantly connects the creative process with the audience. Embracing USB/internet technology in a very fashion-forward manner, Killola and Aderra have introduced an immediate connection with their fans who purchase “Killola Dogtags” either from the band’s merch table while on the road or via the band’s website. While the dog tag may look like a mere trendy fan accoutrement with the band’s logo etched into the surface, it transforms into a matrix of ever-expanding music and video content when jacked into a computer. “Fearless Killola is forward thinking and dedicated to their fans,” affirms Aderra President Edward Donnelly. “Each time we introduce a new facet of our technology, they take full advantage and push it to the limit to create something that connects them directly to their fans.”

Aderra, Inc. has been recording live concerts on USB drives for artists of all genres, such as Lady Gaga, Metallica, OK Go, The Pixies, David Guetta, Brian Wilson, and David Gray, but Killola is one of the first bands to embrace Aderra’s new PushOvr™ technology and take it even further. Instead of static MP3s and unevolving digital files that keep fans in anticipation for a band’s new album or recorded music, Killola will create a fluid and growing bridge between themselves and their fans, releasing new music and live performances AS THEY HAPPEN.

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Andrew York Collaborates for Centerpeace

Although he may not be able to compete with Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters, Andrew York has an international following that includes classical guitar masters Christopher Parkening and John Williams, who have covered his compositions including “Sunburst,” played by Andrew below. He also won a Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album for Guitar Heroes (2004) with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.

Andrew’s latest work is Centerpeace, a collaboration with Andy Summers (former guitarist for the Police), and pianists Allaudin Mathieu and Mitsuko Kado. High Quality MP3s are available now, and the CD will be released on July 14th.

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How To Beat Illegal Downloads As A Musician

95% of music downloads are illegal.

The last 10 years have seen a descent into what the record labels would like to call “anarchy” online, what the file sharers would like to call “free speech” - but what we as musicians can all more or less uniformly call “not making any money.”

Or at least not making AS MUCH money. Heck, even Metallica made a noise about it, that’s gotta mean something.

Point it, after all this time, nobody seems to have a solution to the leaking bucket of the music industry.

Well, mostly. There are a group of us, who think we might be patching together a solution.

I coach indie bands on how to “build fanbases and make money” (MakeYourBandFamous.com), and a lot of people are shocked at how incredibly upbeat I am about the music industry for someone doing that.

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7 Ways to Promote Your Teaching Business

“How well do I want to do?” If your desired result is average, this may be achieved with meager efforts. However, if your desired result is excellent, then this calls for great promotion.

Idea #1: Be Better
Don’t do what everyone else is doing… unless you’re going to do it better. Last time you were at a music store, did you see ads with tear-off strips for music lessons? Does your local Craigslist “Services Offered” section have a number of clumsy posts made by would-be music teachers? Take note of what your competition is doing, and resolve to either avoid those tactics or use them more effectively. Have all of your promotional materials professionally designed. Be counter-intuitive. Stand out from the crowd to cut through the noise.

Idea #2: Promotional Swag
How many times have you grabbed a pen somewhere and noticed a pharmaceutical company’s logo on it? Promotional swag is great because everybody loves free stuff. Goodies will be taken by one person and seen by many. Consider musical keychains, pens, custom printed guitar picks or t-shirts. You can find a supplier on Alibaba. It is surprisingly affordable. You can give swag away for free, sell it at a special rate, or even use it to get referrals.

Idea #3: Encourage referrals
How can you give your current students and their friends an incentive to send referrals to you? Consider offering “prizes” for referrals. For students of limited financial means, you could offer free lessons. Perhaps you could get 10 gift cards to a local music store and let the student pick one from the stack in exchange for bringing in a friend. Your students want to help. Reminding them that their referrals are important keeps you on their mind.

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GILLES PETERSON & ROBERTO FONSECA present HAVANA CULTURA (LIVE): NEW CUBA SOUND

Saturday 3 July @ The Sage Gateshead
Tuesday 6 July @ Barbican, London

To coincide with the latest release from globetrotting DJ Gilles Peterson – ‘Havana Cultura Remixed’, Havana Club rum will host two concerts of Cuba’s freshest musical talent - performing Latin, afro jazz and fusion to hip hop, funk, reggaeton and R&B. The Havana Cultura live tour is the latest in a series of cultural projects from Havana Cultura, a global art initiative from Havana Club rum, celebrating fresh talent across all artistic disciplines.  Powered by Roberto Fonseca and his acclaimed band, the concerts will feature Cuban star Danay (described by Gilles Peterson as ‘Cuba’s Jill Scott’), as well as Ogguere, one of the hottest and most inventive hip hop acts in Cuba.

Roberto Fonseca has shared the stage with Cuban legends such as Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo. For The Havana Cultura Band, he is joined by an all-star group featuring old school master reedsman Javier Zalba (Irakere), the most versatile bass-player in Cuba Omar Gonzalez, drummer Ramses Rodriguez (Chucho Valdes), Joel Hierrezuelo on congas, producer/percussionist Vince Vella and Gilles Peterson, the mastermind behind Havana Cultura Remixed, live onstage.

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Fans from every country in the world (194 countries) together in ONE music video

During 2009-2010, the band Palomine collected video messages from fans from EVERY country in the world. Fans from 193 out of 194 countries uploaded their movies at www.theworldislistening.com.

Finding a fan in Vatican City was more difficult than expected… So they travelled to Vatican City themselves to find that last fan. It took the band 11 months to complete the whole project.

Now, Palomine gives ALL those fans their “second of fame” in their new music video.

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Music's Silent Salary Cap

It is no secret that mainstream music today is controlled by the major labels. By controlled, I mean owned. They decide what comes out, when it comes out, and who it reaches. They also control how much the artists get paid from their music. Effectively, this mean the labels, not the artists(the people truly responsible) own the music. 

The artists, though they’ve long had feuds with the label executives over extent of control, still need the labels to do 2 jobs: Mass Promotion and Mass Distribution. The labels, with their big budgets and bigger connections, essentially control mass promotion and distribution, thus giving them an excessive amount of control over the people who need those two things the most: the artists.

This situation of control, which borders on extortion, because the artists have little other choice, has created the occurrence of a silent salary cap in music.

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The RIAA, Robin Hood, and The Music Industry

Have you ever tried to change someone’s religious views?  Doesn’t work, right? More often than not, it’s like pouring gas on a fire and it just blows up in your face. Now, imagine that conversation and then squeeze it into a 30 second TV spot or radio ad.  Talk about an uphill battle.  In the same way, convincing a native file sharer born in the digital age that what they’re doing is wrong or immoral is a near impossible task.  It’s kind of like a missionary telling a tribe of aboriginals they’re going to hell for not wearing clothes and dancing around fires. 

Remarkably, this is exactly the strategy anti-piracy campaigns like the “Assassinate a Pop Star” website and the clichéd “You wouldn’t steal a —-” ads have used to get their point across.  One poses as a free download website for popular music, only to show the musician being killed in various ways when their files are illegally downloaded.  The other compares stealing music to purse snatching or stealing a car.  In essence, the anti-piracy group is attempting to appeal to young people’s sense of morality in order to get a hand in their pocket.  It’s about time the music industry wakes up and realizes that campaigns like these absolutely do not serve their intended purpose.  In fact they do just the opposite, and in many cases further damage the integrity of the issue.

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Open Mic UK Auditions Coming Soon!

Thousands of unsigned singers entered last year and this year it’s set to be even bigger! Open Mic UK is the national music competition for singers and solo artists in the UK. Acts that take part will be competing for the chance to make it to the Grand Final, at the 02 in London.

The competition travels across the country in the search for the UK’s best singers, singer/songwriters, rappers and vocalists. It’s open to all genres, so whether you’re into RnB, Rap, Acoustic, Pop or Classical – Open Mic UK has it all! Acts can perform either covers or original material and they’ll be invited to a live audition in front of the judging panel.

Those who make it through the audition stage will go on to perform across the UK in live shows, in front of a live audience and judging panel, for the chance to sing at the Grand Final at the 02 in London. The panel is made up of industry insiders, A&R, vocal coaches and guest celebrities.

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How to Write a Bio that Doesn't Suck!

A bio can be a tough nut to crack for independent artists. So how do you write a good bio?

First of all, proper spelling and punctuation are imperative. Don’t have errors in your bio! Have other people proofread your bio, especially if this isn’t one of your strengths. (I’ve been guilty of spelling and grammatical errors plenty of times myself – just make sure you don’t let yourself off the hook too easily. Proofread. Care. It matters)

Structure your paragraphs in a way that’s easy to read. Be digestible. Giant paragraphs and run-on sentences are amateur and make your bio difficult to read – not what you want!

As for the content, there are many ways to approach it. Here’s one of them:

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Indie Bands - win a recording session w/ DON WAS

ANNOUNCING: Indie Band Competition For Recording Session w/ Legenday Grammy-Winning Producer Don Was

We’re looking for some killer indie bands that want to get their music heard by hundreds of thousands and win a recording session with Grammy winning producer Don Was (Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan, Barenaked Ladies). We’re hosting tons of regional battles of the bands, which will culminate in a final competition in Los Angeles for seven finalists.

All you have to do is submit a video of you or your group playing the song you want to submit! Webcam, music video, cell phone cam… doesn’t matter!

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