How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Music Website (With No Money Down)

By Chris Standring Everyone now knows that if you are an artist or you play in a band that it is imperative you have a website. It is now considered the norm and a nice place to refer existing and potential fans. However, an artist website that sits in cyberspace and gets visited only after bands mention their web address on stage is a website that is not utilizing the Internet's full potential. A poorly promoted website can be like a tree falling in the forest. It may look stunning, have all the bells and whistles but if nobody can find it then it is a waste of time in my view. I want to tell you how you can get a good steady flow of regular targeted traffic to your artist website without spending a dime. Of course there is some work to do but it will be your time and not your dollars that you will be giving up. You have no doubt heard about reciprocal link trading. This is something that has existed since the dawn of the Internet. Essentially this is where one website links to another. All very simple. However, most webmasters don't utilize the full benefit of link trading and for the most part the trade is a waste of time. Let's talk about how to do it right. There are two reasons you should trade links with other websites: 1) To get a stream of targeted traffic to your site from external links. 2) To fuel the search engines and rank your site higher. You should only trade links with websites that are relevant to your website. For instance, if your music is categorized in the punk genre then you should of course target websites that are common to that theme. If you are a new age artist there may be many more sites you might target; spiritual bookstores, yoga and so on. Get creative and ask yourself "Who out there in cyberspace would like my music and where do they hang out?". Use keywords in Google or any other search engine to find sites to trade with. Not all sites will trade, especially corporate commercial sites, ezines etc. Many will however and you should propose a trade via e-mail if a site invites link exchanges. The easiest sites to trade links with will be other band sites, so you should do that first. You must make sure that the websites that you trade links with have a clearly viewable link from their home page to their links page. It should say "links" or "resources" or "sites we like" and so on. You shouldn't link with any site that has a links page that can't be found. After all what good is it to you? To really get the benefit of this marketing tool you should start a simple link directory. Think of your links directory as a mini-yahoo portal, of course the links will only be relevant to your visitors. Write down a list of categories, and add new categories as you build your directory. For example, let's say your music is "classic rock". Your categories might be: 1) Classic rock bands 2) Classic rock ezines 3) Classic rock heroes 4) Reviews 5) Music biz resources 6) Other cool links, and so on. Whatever genre your music is in you can customize your categories to fit. Get creative. OK, Now I want to explain something of huge importance and will make ALL the difference when you trade links with other sites. You must tell webmasters exactly how to display your link. Let me give you an example. Let's now assume you are part of a progressive rock group called "Motormouth". Here is the right way and wrong way to display the link: Motormouth Progressive rock from four piece band out of Denver, Colorado Motormouth - the coolest of all progressive rock bands Based out of Denver Colorado, this four piece band are taking the US by storm Example #2 is the preferred way to display your link. Not all websites will allow this (especially directories) but you should push for this where possible. Let me explain why. Search engines are now giving more relevance to websites based on how their link is displayed on external sites, compared to any text residing on their own domain. If for example your band plays progressive rock then you should take advantage of your biggest keyword and include it as part of your link title. As a surfer, if I was interested in progressive rock I might go to Google and type "Progressive rock bands". Now if you look at example two above the keyword "progressive rock bands" is part of the link title. Keep in mind that it will not help so much to include the singular "progressive rock band" in the link title. The singular keyword "band" is different from "bands" you understand? Web surfers would probably not type "progressive rock band" in Google because they might be looking for more than one. Results will vary so think about your strongest keyword and how surfers might find you - then get that keyword somehow in your link title. After trading a good amount of links search engines will warm to your site and start returning your results extremely high in its results, depending on keyword competition. This should give you a nice flow of traffic from those websites you have traded links with and many many more from search engines when surfers enter your keyword. Please believe me when I tell you that artists and groups are NOT doing this right now and it is a simple procedure that will take just a little discipline and some time on your part. As I mentioned before, make sure that the website you are trading with displays your link the way you need it displayed. The best way to do this is to give them html code that they can copy and paste. Using example two above your html code might look like this: <b><a href="http://www.aandronline.com" target="_blank">Motormouth - the coolest of all progressive rock bands</a></b> <br> Based out of Denver Colorado, this four piece band are taking the US by storm. When requesting a link trade be courteous and professional. Remember that you must target relevant sites only (otherwise search engines will penalize you). If you want to get into this a little deeper you might download the free google toolbarwhich will display a pagerank (from 1 to 10) every time you visit a web page. When you trade a link with a website that has a high pagerank (IE: 4 or 5 and above) this will serve you better in return. The page that displays your link should in itself be pageranked (not just the site's home page) in a perfect world. However, I do think that user relevance should take precedence over pagerank in this instance. Lastly, if you want to go even deeper and manage your links directory in a highly effective way I suggest you buy some incredible software called Arelis (now called IBP). I use this and it has tripled my traffic and therefore product sales. I created the A&R Online band directory using this as well as four other website link directories. It allows you to check on a regular basis whether other sites are still linking back to you, enabling you to remove any broken links or contact those sites to repair etc. etc. It manages your link database brilliantly and will even generate the html web pages at the click of a button. It makes a pretty dull chore actually quite fun. Costs around 100 bucks. Money well spent if you want to really drive targeted traffic to your band site. If you are serious about your music career I can't recommend this software highly enough. Oh, one more thing. Make sure you capitalize on the traffic that you start receiving! Rather than expect visitors to come sailing through and buy your CD, make sure that on your home page there is an incentive for them to subscribe to your band newsletter. You must get their e-mail address and build your mailing list as you can market direct to them later on. Give them a huge incentive. Again get creative. If they have come to you from a "progressive rock bands" keyword typed in a search engine, give them what they want! Perhaps offer them a free eBook with articles, news and photos of your 10 favorite progressive rock heroes when they subscribe to your list. Of course your band is on the front page of the eBook right? You should be marketing yourself first but if you are unknown you should piggy back off established stars.

Chris Standring is the CEO and founder of A&R Online (www.aandronline.com). He is also a contemporary jazz guitarist presently signed to Ultimate Vibe Recordings. For more info on Chris' recording career go to his personal website at www.chrisstandring.com

Understanding Where And How You Fit Into The Marketplace

By Chris Standring

Let's take an interesting scenario...

Let's suppose I gave you one million dollars. I heard your band, really liked it and believed that you could be successful. Let's also suppose I have plenty of money to throw away. Here's the deal though. I'm not a record company, just an interested investor. I give you one million dollars to promote your group, to get on the radio and to sell records and get in the big music industry game. In exactly two years I want my money back. It's kind of a loan. If I get my money back after two years, I will give you a bigger deal to promote your next record, one and a half million dollars. If I don't get my money back we never speak again. Deal over, along with your career.

Think about it. This could be your big chance. One million dollars to put your music career on the map. Better yet, another million and a half for your next record. No strings attached. Just a chance to get you in the door and compete with the big boys.

Here's my question. What do you do with this money? Where do you begin? How do you entertain the idea of marketing yourself successfully?

It's a good question isn't it? Think about it. What the hell do you do??

I would be interested to get some answers right around now because I guarantee that 90% of you wouldn't know exactly where to begin. I don't say this disdainfully, after all most of you are creative people, not business heads, but the world has changed, and is changing rapidly. The days of being discovered are over. The days of signing a major record deal are diminishing rapidly. Of course there will always be deals to sign but right now it is about self marketing to get the attention of big industry folks. So give this scenario some thought because it may not be unreal.

Whether you have $5000 or $1,000,000 to invest in your career, the thought process should be the same. "What can I do to get myself to the next level, minimising all risk?" Let me delve further...

The painful truth is that one million dollars is a pitiful amount of money to play with in the major league music business. So, unless you are extremely careful, and I mean EXTREMELY careful, it will be unbelievably easy to literally throw this money away unless you know exactly what you are doing. With this in mind, I would suggest you learn 'exactly' what you are doing. The next question becomes, "What do I need to learn?" Well, you will need to learn about radio because you now have money to promote your record to it. You do want to compete with the big boys right?

Already, we might have stepped one rung of the ladder too far. If we are going to go to radio, what do we promote to radio? Surely a single that will lessen the odds of disaster. Now you will need to be aware of your competition, you will need to know what is hot at radio, indeed what is hot at YOUR radio format. But what is YOUR radio format? Is it CHR, Urban, Urban AC, AC, NAC, Alternative, Country? Any ideas? (Clue: go to www.billboard.biz and peruse the radio charts, get familiar with where you fit in). Now, let's not forget that in order to promote to commercial radio it costs literally thousands upon thousands of dollars, out of the box. You shouldn't even begin to consider spending your money until you know that you will have some success in your format. It's a complete waste of time and money otherwise. You will need to test market, do a ton of research before you even spend a dime. Don't forget, I want my money back in two years and I will give you a bigger deal if you get me my money back. There is every incentive for you to get this right.

So already you are now thinking about lessening the odds of disaster because you want a succcessful career right? Ok, We have the radio thing down. Let's talk about Retail. You will need to get this wired. Here's a little info you might not know about. We all know how difficult it is to get distribution, right? They seem to want to deal with established relationships. Let's assume you have an 'in' and have a good distributor working with you. That distribution company has to sell your product to each retail store they are assigned to. Why will a Tower records or Wherehouse stock your record? Because you have good distribution? Hell no!! A distributor is only as good as the record company promoting your record. You, the label, will need to convince retail to stock your record. How do you do that? One way might be to deliver them hot faxes on a weekly basis telling them of all the promotion you are giving your record, namely; radio action, gigs, special marketing programs, paying retail exorbitant amounts of money to get 'end caps' (those cool stands at the front of the store, displaying 50 copies of your record at sale price). And so on. And this is just the beginning....

How much of this did you know? Be honest. To promote a record effectively, you have a small window of time where you can buy listening stations, promote to radio via an independent radio promoter and market you record effectively.

And don't forget, I want my money back or you don't get the next million and a half.

Once you put yourself in the competetive world of music business promotion something interesting happens. The artist seperates himself/herself from the art and sees things from a purely marketing standpoint. But not just marketing, marketing TODAY.

And the point of this little scenario? It is important to look at your product and ask yourself, "Do I have what it takes, and if not, how can I get to that neccessary place in order to compete?"

We have to exist in a professional playground, like it or not. How do we fit into this playground? Well, It's become a highly competetive world which means we have to try to keep one step ahead, and really know the business. Try to think above who you are as an artist and understand how you might fit into the marketplace.

Because, frankly, I would really like my money back!

Attention getting Tactics To promote Your Music

By Bob Baker Recognition! Attention! A legion of loyal fans! Those things are what most working musicians aspire to have. Yet, I can't count the number of frustrated band members I encounter every month who work hard at their music but end up playing to empty rooms and not being invited back to perform at area nightclubs. Of course, you know by now that you should first have great songs, strong vocals, a defined musical focus and image, not to mention an engaging live show, to have half a chance at luring recognition from music fans and club owners. Therefore, it's no surprise when the bands that lack those elements don't cut it. But how many times have you seen (or been in) a killer band and said to yourself, "This group really deserves to have a crowd. People don't know what they're missing!" More than a few times, right? The typical problem with these bands is that they concentrate almost entirely on the music. Which is no crime, but it leaves the marketing and promotional aspects of their music to chance. I don't know about you, but I realized long ago that I wanted more control over my career (and life), not wanting to depend on the whims of fate to steer me. The moral here is this: Getting a grip on the marketing aspects of promoting your music will stack the deck in your favor. And when it comes to grabbing the attention of the many new ears that will hear your music, spending at least some energy on creative promotional techniques will speed the process along. Then you'll be able to spend more time making great music and less time rolling the dice and hoping a crowd shows up or that somebody will buy your record. Attention-getting tactics don't have to be complicated or expensive. You just have to think beyond simply pinning up fliers and letting some of your friends know about your gigs. Also, please realize that no one promotional effort is going to work miracles. Low-budget, grass-roots music marketing can be effective, but you have to approach it as a long-term, ongoing activity--not a one-shot deal. Music marketing is a lot like multi-track recording. Each layer you put down adds to the ones already created. That's why you'll need to develop and deploy an ongoing series of promotional assualts--each one reaching more people, making them more familiar with your name, image and sound. What follows is a random list of ideas you can use to promote your music. Hopefully, reading over these will inspire you to use them and/or come up with even better marketing tactics of your own. Take advantage of the free entertainment listings offered by publications. Spotlight, the Riverfront Times, the Post-Dispatch and many more--they all offer a free service of listing who's playing where and when. All of those newspaper sections are very well read. So why doesn't every band in town take advantage of them? Perhaps they figure their fans will automatically do all the work necessary to seek them out. Maybe their comfortable and lazy with their current status. Perhaps they think the club will send it in for them. (Ha! Guess again.) Maybe they were too busy creating music and simply forgot to send it in. I ask you: What good does it do to poor all your heart and energies into practicing a mind-blowing set and then do nothing to get people out to witness it? I think you know the answer. Offer local record stores a package-stuffer arrangement. Many retail businesses will stuff a flier or discount coupon into your bag along with your purchase. Wouldn't it be great to get a record store to put your 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" flier into all its customers' packages? Your message would go directly to the music-buying public! Start visiting record stores and asking about the arrangement. You might find a sympathetic owner who will do it simply to help you out. But you'll quite likely meet resistance with this unusual request. What then? Call it quits? Hardly. Make the package insert two-sided. Offer to put the store's message on one side and your message on the other. You pay for prining the whole thing. That way, the store gets free promotion and an incentive to stuff them--and you get lots of effective exposure. Set up a band information telephone hotline. While sending in free entertainment listings and compiling and using band mailing lists are all essential, a musical act can add real promotional muscle to its attack by offering a band hotline. That way, fans can call the phone number any time and get up-to-the-minute details on where you're playing that week, along with the latest info on new releases and merchandise (including ordering instructions). Have no fear. You won't need to install an extra phone line and buy an answering machine to have a hotline number. Many companies provide voice-mail services inexpensively. Locally, there's a company called VoiceTech (781-8888) that offers a line complete with a menu of choices (including a short sample of your music) for about $30 a month. Otherwise, a simple number with outgoing message and voice-mail capabilities might run you as little as $10-12 a month. The company I use is Answering (968-3334). Give something free to everyone who attends your live shows. You want your name to be imbedded in the consciousness of everyone who sees your band live. Simply being in the club while you're playing is a start, but you'll want to make the most of the opportunity and connect with those living, breathing beings further. One way to do that is to give something free to everyone who attends. Plant a couple of your best, supportive fans at the door and have them pass out some inexpensive item (small sticker, novelty business card with your band hotline number on it, mailing list sign-up form, band newsletter, homorous instructions on how to best enjoy your band, a Letterman-like top-ten list). By giving away these freebies, your name and image sinks in with these customers, plus many of these promo items will end up going home with the people who enjoyed you the most--adding more strength to your growing army of fans. Sponsor an award or special ceremony. Is there a distinguished person in your community who you'd like to honor? Or is there an anniversary, special date in history or cause you'd like to recognize? If so, plan an event around that theme and make a party out of it. Under normal circumstances, the local media couldn't care less about your regular weekend gig at Barney's Bar & Grill. But give them a one-time event with a news "hook" such as a tribute, awards ceremony, etc., and you just might have a media landslide on your hands. Sponsor a college or community radio show that features your style of music. Stations such as KDHX (88.1 FM) have businesses that sponsor different shows all the time. Why not a band? Sure, it will cost you some money, but it will be a lot less than advertising on a commercial station, and you'll be reaching a highly targeted audience. Seek Out Exposure on Local Cable TV. "The obvious thing you should go for is exposure, and public access TV is your best bet," says Doug Moody, founder of Hollywood, Cal.'s Mystic Records. "They have to give you access, they have to expose you. It's amazing how many people actually watch those local access stations." Additional benefit: According to Moody, it's also good practice for future promotional trends. "In the next couple years, visual records will definitely be out. The Philips Corporation in Europe has put out cassette tapes you can play on your TV, and Sony has a mini-disc. Whatever the format, you're going to be dealing with visual records. You have to learn to present yourself visually." (As quoted in Getting Radio Airplay by Gary Hustwit, $19.95, Rockpress Publishing, P.O. Box 99090, San Diego, CA 92169.) Call the cable company that services your area and ask about its lineup of entertainment-related public access shows. Hold a Contest Related to Your Band or Release. Can you come up with a fresh idea to fire up the competitive spirit of music fans in your area? The band Symon Asher did. This Seattle, Wash.-based group held a contest to guess the origin of its name. To register, people had to go to local record store outlets and fill out an entry form. Clues on the band's name were mailed weekly to radio stations and music press, creating even more of a buzz about the band. Why it works: There are five very effective angles to this promotional scheme: Forcing interested parties to register at record stores puts those contestants right smack in the middle of the record-buying environment, where they can buy your album. Also, by bringing more people into their shops, record store owners have more incentive to promote the contest, particularly in-house, giving you even more exposure to music consumers. Since the contest is about nothing but the band's name, the publicity benefit is priceless: name recognition! By hanging onto all the entry forms, you'll have a hefty batch of fresh names to add to your promotional mailing list. Getting the media involved by sending them clues to give to their audiences adds yet another layer of exposure--one that most publicists would kill for. Find a way to make the contest idea work for your band. It could just as easily be applied to the title of your new release, too. Sponsor a College or Community Radio Show. Stations such as KDHX (88.1 FM) have businesses that sponsor different shows all the time. Why not a band? Sure, it will cost you some money, but it will be a lot less than advertising on a commercial station, and--by sponsoring a show that features your style of music--you'll be reaching a highly targeted audience. Write and Record a Seasonal or Current Events-Related Song. We all know your independent CD release barely stands a chance of getting radio airplay on the commercial stations. Even the college and community stations require a little effort on your part to get any substantial spins over the airwaves. That is, unless you use your imagination and come up with a novelty song that relates to a current topic in the news or holiday. Christmas songs will almost always get some play during the Yuletide season. But stretch further. Ideas: What about songs pertaining to a local political scandal, sports team or election? And how about putting a St. Louis (or whatever city you're in) slant on Halloween, July 4th or Valentine's Day. Believe it or not, these novelty songs will have a much better chance of getting commercial airplay--which will get your name out there, possibly paving the way for your more serious songs later. Multiply Your Press Exposure. When you do get a review or feature story published in the press, make copies of it and send it to everyone on your industry contact list--including radio stations, other publications, nightclub owners, booking agents, A&R people. Reinforce your recognition factor with the people who are most likely to help you get even more exposure. Also, don't forget to include press clippings or quotes in mailings that go to your fans, too! Target Specific Cities and Regions for Best Results. You don't need to do live shows across the country, coast to coast, to effectively promote your music. In fact, it will probably be better for your exposure level and record sales (not to mention your sanity) to zero in on a predetermined number of cities. Example: "You shouldn't spread yourself too thin," says Rob Squires, bassist for the Denver, Colo.-based Big Head Todd & the Monsters (now signed to Giant Records). Before landing the record deal, Squires says, the band took this approach: "To establish ourselves, we'd hit Chicago, San Francisco, Austin and the Colorado cities every other month. Our plan worked out great. There'd be more and more people there each time." Plus the group was eventually signed to a label that could give them nationwide support. (As quoted in Fast Forward, a newsletter put out by Disc Makers, 1328 N. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19122. 1-800-468-9353.) Find Alternate Ways to Market Your Band. Is there a non-music publication or type of retail store that admirers of your style of music might patronize? If so, you might consider reaching potential new fans through those unlikely means. Example: Last year BMG Distribution moved a lot of hard rock and metal sampler cassettes by advertising them through, of all things, comic books. The tapes featured cuts from such bands as 21 Guns, Babylon AD and the Rollins Band. Readers could order the samplers via a toll-free 800 number. "There is a significant portion of the comic-reading and record-buying public that overlaps," says Rick Bleiweiss, BMG's senior VP of marketing. "A number [of the comic book respondants] went out and bought the albums based on hearing the tracks on the sampler--and that's exactly what we want." (As seen in Billboard, $225/year, 1515 Broadway, 39th Floor, New York, NY 10036.) Take some of these promotional ideas and make them work for you.

Bob Baker is the author of "The Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and "Branding Yourself Online: How to Use the Internet to Become a Celebrity or Expert in Your Field." visit www.bob-baker.com for details.

How To Get More People To Come To Your Live Shows

By Tom Hess Are you and your band mates frustrated because you are not getting as many people to come to your live shows as you want? It’s not only about getting ‘new’ people to come and see your band, but even most of your own friends and fans typically don’t come to your live shows regularly which is making it harder to get bigger and better gigs and make more money. If your band plays 25 gigs this year, how many of your friends/fans will come to see more than 4 of these? A very small percentage. Why? It’s (probably) not you, it’s them. Let’s find out why and what you can do about it. When you ask your friends/fans to come to your next live show and see you play, what are you REALLY asking them to do? Are you asking them to watch and listen to you perform your cool songs? No. In reality, you are really asking people to travel all the way to some dirty club where they need to pay to get in the door. Then they will find themselves surrounded by intoxicated people who scream in one’s ears because the music is too loud to talk, pay for overpriced drinks (and bad food), stand (or sit if they can find a chair) through an opening band they likely have little or no interest in, then wait again an additional 15 minutes as the stage changes from one band to the next, then finally they get to stand through 90 minutes of your band’s cool songs in a room that is booming with muddy bass frequencies because the sound man does not know how to properly mix bands in a room that was never acoustically designed to have loud music played in. After the show is over they leave the club and drive home with their ears ringing and a headache. So if that’s what you ask them to do the FIRST time, they come out to see you play… What are you asking them to do the second time? … And the third time? The same thing of course. Compare that with going to see a movie. You go to the nearest theater, you buy a ticket, you ‘sit’ through 5 minutes of previews, then you watch the movie. Afterwards you are home in maybe 15 minutes. Or compare going to see your band’s live show with staying at home and watching TV, listening to music, surfing the internet, or a long list of other pleasurable, easy and convenient things people can do. The point is this: people have easier, and more convenient alternatives to have fun next weekend besides coming to see you (or any other band) play live. As you can see, musicians fight an uphill battle to fill the venues we are performing at. We have a lot of work to do in order to get people off their butts to see your band’s next live show. Your friends and fans really need to know if it’s going to be worth all the hassle described above before coming out again to see basically the same show a second, or third, or fourth time. You first need to create a better and more unique experience for your fans from one show to the next. Some bands change the songs they play from show to show. Changing the set list does help a little bit, but you need to do more than that to really change what your fans will expect to experience. Some bands try to be uniquely different from other bands. You don’t need to be different from other bands, you need to be a good band that puts on live shows which are often unique from each other! People need new reasons to come back to see you again and again. Think about what your band can do to make your shows unique from each other.  Then, once you have ideas in place that will make your next show more special for your audience, you need to clearly and strongly communicate this to people. I’ll give you 2 great examples by comparing two rock bands I know. I’ll show you how one of these bands totally packed their next several shows and the other band missed their opportunity to do the same by making a critical mistake. Band 1: The first band put together their own show and instead of teaming up with another band, they hired a small group of (very attractive) women dancers to perform on the stage as the opening act. It was announced (before and during) the show that these women and the band would be hanging out with the audience ‘after’ the show at a nearby hotel lobby. People enjoyed the show and the activities that followed later. The key piece of success for the band was that they heavily promoted the event as ‘special’ and promoted the dancers (including embedded dancer videos on the band’s and club’s website) in as many places as possible. They worked very hard to promote the uniqueness of this show and told people very clearly how ‘this show’ was better and more special than previous shows. It didn’t take long for the promotion to go viral in the area. The final result: The club was packed! During the opening song and the band’s final song the dancers came out and danced on stage, then moved into the crowd for a while and danced there too. The dancers were smart when they had the idea to integrate their act with the bands act on and off stage. They made real connections with the crowd as they mingled with them at the show and also afterwards. Both the band and the dancers did something really good for themselves. Instead of just putting on a good show and making the audience have a good time, they put a strong desire in the minds of many people there to come see them again and again. This band did similar shows with these (and other) dancers as well as comedians and other acts (both musical and non musical) to keep their shows different from each other so that people would not only get off their butts to come to see the band for the first time, but also for a second, third, fourth, fifth and more times. Band 2: I recently saw a second band play in Chicago. Their show also had other ‘acts’ that were not bands, including a pair of very attractive fire eating women who the crowd went absolutely crazy for. The only problem was there were only about 100 people in the venue to see the show (the club can hold up to 1,300 people). The band knew the audience would love the show, but they failed to promote it well and differently than how they promoted their past shows. So at the end of the night they had 100 people who might come back to see them again. Had they promoted the event as the first band did, they would have had several hundred people coming back to see them again. Had the show been promoted and organized more similarly to the way the first band had done, they would have several hundred people coming back to see them again at their next shows which would then almost be a guaranteed success (at least on the local level)... It’s very important that your shows are unique from each other and not necessarily unique from what other bands do. In addition, the most crucial lesson to be learned is all of your ‘promotion’ needs to highlight each of your shows as unique, different and special events. It’s not enough for your shows to actually be unique, you need to always communicate that uniqueness in all of your heavy promotion. So what about your band? I’m not necessarily suggesting that you copy the examples above. What I am suggesting for you is to think a lot about what your band can do to make your future live shows more unique, special and better than what you normally do. Sit together with your band mates and brainstorm your possibilities.

About the author: Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He teaches, trains and mentors musicians from all around the world. Visithttp://www.tomhess.net/MusicCareer.aspx to discover highly effective musician learning resources – free advice, lessons and online assessments.

How To Market Your Band's Music And CD To Make Money

By Jaci Rae As a musician, bands have it easier than a solo artist in terms of cost to make a CD. Other than that, there are little or no differences. For bands/artists who wish to start the process of making, distributing, and getting radio airplay by themselves, believe it or not, you are starting your own record label. Even if your goal is to land a major recording contract, you will still need to gather more attention for your music by cutting, distributing and promoting your own music. You’ll have a much better chance at getting a great record deal with a major label if you are successful on your own first. You may even find out that initially you can even be more financially successful on your own than if you had a record deal. In my book, The Indie Guide to Music, Marketing and Money, I discuss how MC Hammer started out by himself. He knew the bottom line and how much he made working his record in dance clubs. When a record company approached and wanted to sign him, he initially said no. Face it, if we were offered a deal like that or any deal, most of us would be rendered speechless and simply nod our heads to say “yes.” After all, that’s the musician’s dream, right? Why did he say no? Because he knew and understood his business model. MC knew how much he made on his own, and he knew he could make a lot more money on his own than they initially offered. Eventually the record label had to meet him on his terms. They offered him a much better deal in the end. So, how do you do what MC Hammer did? Marketing, Marketing, Marketing – and it’s not all dependent on having your own label or producing your own music. In my book, “The Ultimate Guide to Music Success” there’s a chapter of do's and don'ts for those of you who aren't interested in creating your own record label and promoting a CD yourself. It will show you the correct ways to send a demo and get heard by the A&R staff of major-labels. It also includes a truck load of fresh contacts, email addresses, phone numbers and web sites to help you on this journey. If you are one of the lucky few and have a lot of contacts and a lot of extra money, your path will be much easier, but still not guaranteed. If you are like the rest of us, you have a limited budget, fewer contacts, and even less time to spare. What do you do? First you need to spend some money no matter how limited your funds are. There's no way around that. You must also spend some time to start your business up and make your CD (a budget guide is also available in my book). It's the same with contacts. You have to put yourself out there and network. You need to spend a lot of very early mornings and very late nights initially surfing the internet for information on how to find and meet the people you need to help you on your path. You will also need to attend various functions and music gatherings where the music makers meet. Remember – it’s a see and be seen world. Join your local version of the BAMM or WAMI association. These are local clubs where musicians meet on a regular basis. Many important local musicians will be members and might be there to network with. Most every major city will have some sort of club like this. The next step is marketing. Collect all of the write-ups on yourself and your band and put them into a folder. Then based on those, you’ll need to write a one-sheet up and pass it out to the people you meet at the parties. (A one-sheet is a one page marketing tool that emphasis the important aspects of your band/act.) If writing is not your gig, find someone who writes professional one-sheets or bios on a regular basis. Once you have those marketing tools in hand, start making appointments to audition for local clubs. Take every gig that is offered to you initially, whether you are paid for it or not, and make sure to get the most press out of that gig. If you do get paying gigs when you first start out, great! Make sure you have a contract in your hands that is signed by the person who will be paying you. In case there is a dispute, and they do arise, you have a contract spelling out whether or not you were going to be paid and how much. Although it would be nice if everyone could work on faith and trust, make sure you get your contracts written, signed and in place. Before you sign any contracts, make sure you get a reputable entertainment attorney to look it over. NEVER sign a contract before you have followed that step. You could lose the shirt off your back and much more! What’s next? Work it baby! Work it! This is not the time to be shy and bashful about your career. You have to grab onto every single opportunity and use it to your advantage. Unabashed marketing is what you need to do…so go for it! Just do it! No is just a word in the dictionary. It may hurt for a minute, but it’s the people that can take the “no” 50 thousand times that will get the prize in the end. Something I recommend is to take a few courses at your local community college on Business Management and Accounting. This will help you immensely when it comes to watching your money and the bottom line. Whether you’re producing your own label and watching every penny or whether you’ve signed with a major label, you still need good accounting skills or a good accountant you can trust. With or without an accountant, it’s just good business to look at your books daily. Oprah is notorious for this and look where she is! No-one will care about your money or your success like you do.

Jaci Rae’s grit and determination brought her from a poor childhood to a successful singer and performer who tours around the world. She is the recipient of the "Female Vocalist of the Year" award at the Golden Music Awards in Nashville, TN as well as a Barnes and Noble and Amazon #1 Best seller. She is the author of The Indie Guide to Music, Marketing and Money. Jaci lives in California where she spends her spare time working on her music, writing and hanging out with family and friends. For more information, go to http://www.jacirae.com

Are Your Sales Numbers More Important To A Major Label Than Your Music?

By Tim Sweeney In a word, Yes. As a consultant to major labels and their sub labels, I will let you in on the “hidden secrets” of how major labels evaluate the artists they are considering signing to their rosters. First, lets dispel the myths about A&R people in general. Even though a major label may have anywhere between 10-30 A&R reps running around the country checking out independent artists, there is a limited number of people who can actually sign an artist to their company. In most labels, its only 2 or 3. These are the people who are responsible for signing the new artists who will (hopefully) make the company profitable. It is their job and their “neck on the line” to make sure the artists they sign, have the greatest potential of success. With that thought in mind, here is how they typically pick a new artist. When a “junior” A&R staff person is interested in you, they will conduct what is called a “market by market analysis.” This involves: Getting a copy of your Soundscan report to verify how many CDs you have sold and where. (It should go without saying that you need to make sure that your bar code on your CD is registered with Soundscan. If you got a “free” bar code from someone, most likely it is not registered. If it is, it is not registered to you unless you have filled out the paperwork!) Attached to your Soundscan report will be a copy of your Venue Verification Program Reportwill let you in on the “hidden secrets” of how major labels evaluate th. That’s the program that tracks all of your CD sales you have at your live shows. *When you are checking on your bar code with Soundscan, you better make sure that you are signed up for this as well). After reviewing your Soundscan reports, market researchers or even the “junior” A&R person themselves, will call the various record stores in your home market, where your CDs should be and selling out of. They will try to verify with them how your CD is selling. Then they will call the commercial radio station’s Music Director, daily newspaper and alternative newsweeklies music writers in your home market, to see what they know about you and your CD. If they have played your CD, or if they have written articles or reviews about your CD and what the response has been. Then if a major label or A&R person is truly interested, they will ask you for 3 things. Several copies of your CD and promotional materials. (This is a good time to remind you that you should NEVER SEND A PRESS KIT to an A&R person. Always send your Artist Profile. It is always good to have a downloadable version of your Artist Profile on your site in case someone loses their copy!) Copies of your sales reports from Amazon.com and CD Baby.com. (As you know, they are 97% of all online sales for independent artists). It is usually a good idea to include a copy of your State Tax Report from the State Board Of Tax & Equalization to help verify sales. A copy of what is called your “Marketing Book.” If you are not familiar with this or (God forbid) you haven’t started one, it is a journal that includes a copy of your marketing plan, with the written comments on a weekly or monthly basis, as to what worked and what didn’t in each aspect of your marketing campaign. Lets take half a step backward to answer your questions about these 3 things. They need copies of your CD to obviously review the music and see how commercially viable it will be to “their” contacts in your home market, state, regionally and eventually nationally. Your promotional material will show them how much you really know about what you are doing. They ask for copies of your internet sales reports to verify the “virtual online sales” that are not typically reported to Soundscan. However, CD Baby has just started to report to Soundscan to make your life easier. A copy of your tax report can account for hundreds or even thousands, of “hidden sales.” Providing a copy of your Marketing Book is extremely important to show the company, how and where you succeeded and to keep them from repeating the efforts in areas, where the promotion didn’t work. Especially so they don’t repeat them later on, when you are signed and hold it against you when it doesn’t work for them! Once all the market research is done and your sales history has been verified and your potential success has been measured, the record company will decide what kind of offer they will make to you. So is this the “magic formula” to getting a record deal? No. There really isn’t a magic formula. But I will tell you from my 20 years of being a consultant to these companies, an artist with a sales history of at least 10,000 CDs sold in their home market is considered far more interesting and valuable than an artist without a CD or with no sales history. Does this mean you can’t get a record deal without releasing your own CD and selling 10,000 copies? No, but the odds are severally stacked against you. Lets say several million to one, unless, the person who brings your music to the company has a successful past history with them or in the industry. There is still the possibility that they may think, you are the greatest artist of all time, but that’s pretty rare. Considering that successful A&R people pass on groups that go on to sell over a million copies every year, the odds aren’t good they will just “hear it” in the music. Artists with a sales history of at least 10,000 copies, will get a much better deal than someone without a sales history. Artist with a sales history also have something very important. Keeping in mind that the average major label artists won’t even sell 1,000 copies nationwide, an artist with a sales history has a “position of strength to negotiate from.” They will most likely be listed as a “Priority” artist when signed to the company. Obviously, once you are signed to a major label, its all about how many copies you have sold. You can make a great record but if it doesn’t sell, the record company and the share holders who invest in the company, don’t care how great the songs are or how it sounds. It didn’t sell enough copies. Here is an interesting thought to leave you with. If you can sell 10,000 copies of your CD in your home market and then duplicate that in the surrounding markets, do you even need a record deal? You will be making a lot more money than if you are signed. Food for thought.

About The Author: Tim Sweeney is an independent music consultant. He is one of the music industry's most highly sought after experts in the areas of artist development, radio promotion, record distribution, retail marketing and publicity. He has helped dozens of record labels both major (Columbia, Epic, MCA, Revolution, Hollywood, Capitol, Mercury, Polygram, Warner and their sub-labels) and independent (Restless, Skunk, Screaming Goddess, among others) develop some of their most promising and successful artists of all time. For more information on Tim's seminars, books and artist consultation, please visit his website at www.tsamusic.com

The Pursuit Of A Record Deal

Do you want a successful, stable and rewarding career as a professional musician? Would you like to know exactly what record companies, producers, and management companies are looking for when seeking out new artists? There are many great musicians who are not able to build a successful career in music because they do not know what it is these companies want from them. As a result, many struggle and wonder why they are unable to "make it" even though they may be incredible musicians with great songs. What usually happens is that people start to believe the common myth about luck. They believe that you need to "get lucky" in order to "make it". The result is that most musicians give up on their dreams and get a normal (non music related) day job. Because you are reading this article, I can imagine that you have probably faced similar challenges. I know how you feel, because I went through the same depressing struggle for years and have seen hundreds of great musicians travel along the same path. But over time, I have discovered that in many cases the lack of success is caused by the musicians (including myself in the past) simply not knowing what it is the music industry companies want from new artists. You probably already know that record labels, producers, entertainment lawyers, and managers seek artists who have a lot more to offer than talent alone. What they want from you is a "total package" which includes many things, but the two main factors are: adding more value (in terms of money and/or opportunity), and reducing potential downside risks to the music company. I am going to tell you more about these two elements of value and risk in this article. Prior to signing my first record deal and doing my first real tour, I read dozens of books about the music business. Although some of these books were helpful, I quickly discovered that the reality of the music business was very different from what the books described. In most cases these books weren't necessarily 'wrong', just very incomplete. Entering the industry as a professional opened my eyes to many things I had never heard of or thought about before. Eventually I came to know and understand many important details about the companies I worked with: their needs, challenges, problems and mindsets. I paid very close attention to things that others around me often overlooked. I did this for two reasons: 1. I wanted to advance my own career to the maximum extent possible while remaining in control of the ways in which that growth occurred. 2. I was already mentoring other musicians, so going deeper into my understanding of the music business was something I needed to do for their benefit as well. The central theme which kept coming up in my earliest conversations with the record label executives I worked with was "partnership". Today, it seems perfectly normal for me to think that record companies might see their artists as "business partners", but at the time, I didn't think that the term had a genuine meaning. Over the years that followed, the concept of 'partnerships' began to show up everywhere, but I probably would not have paid much attention to it if my first meetings with the record label and management hadn't been so focused on this fundamental idea. Record labels, managers, and successful bands, are looking for artists who think in terms of mutual benefit. You must think in this way before any company in the music industry will want to work with you and invest their money and resources into your career. Imagine you are in a band, trying to get a record contract. Obviously you know what YOU want from this deal (access to the record company's resources that will be used to propel your career forward, attract new fans, sell more records, make more money, go on tours, etc.) But have you thought about what THE COMPANY wants (besides the obvious)? Now imagine for a moment that you are the president of a record label. Would you take $250,000 of YOUR money and invest it into a band which is good and has marketable songs??? I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't do this, UNTIL AND UNLESS it was clear to me that my investment into the band will not be a waste of money, and will bring back substantial returns. It's highly unlikely that a $250,000 record label budget will be enough to take a band anywhere significant if that band is 'only' a good band with marketable songs. It's going to take a lot more than good talent and good marketable songs to get the type of serious commitment and investment from a label which is needed to advance your band's future over the long term. It takes a partnership (not merely a contract and a budget) to make this happen. What about you?  Do you think you have what it takes to become a successful business partner of any company in the music industry? Here are a few things you need to think about when approaching any company in the music industry: Key mindsets you need to acquire: Don't seek to be merely an "employee" of a company, instead, think in terms of a win/win partnership. Do not feel like you are entitled to receive money or opportunities simply because you are talented. It is not the company's job to reward you for your music. It's their job to reward you for the value you bring to them (beyond the music). You must become a partner in what they want to achieve. And you want them to be a partner in what you want to achieve. Note that I am not talking about "selling out". Selling out would involve giving up your musical integrity for money (or other benefits). What I am describing is simply one of the most basic and universal practices of business. You must give the other side what they want in order to receive what you want from them. If you follow this principle, success in business (and life) becomes so much easier! Too often artists and companies are at odds with each other because each is out to reach its own objectives even if those objectives are in direct conflict with the other side's goals. When either side feels "entitled" to something without a win-win strategy, everything breaks down between them. And sooner or later both sides lose (and so do the fans!). Until you begin to think and work with the win-win partnership concept, the people and companies with the greatest power to help you will typically not be interested in you…. And the bad people ("sharks") in the industry might seek to take advantage of you, if you are talented but ignorant to how the music business world works. Here is How These Mindsets Help You: The good music business people expect you to know how the music industry functions BEFORE they begin to work with you. They get tired of answering basic questions about how things work. While the companies could teach you these fundamentals, they would prefer for you to learn them yourself. The reason they want this is because it saves THEM time (and resources). Remember, when it comes to getting other people to associate with you, think in terms of what they stand to gain or lose by signing you to a record deal or putting your band on tour (or anything else). These music companies prefer not to waste their time teaching you about the music industry, general business, mental attitudes, image, stage presence, logistics, etc. At first glance, this may seem like an inconvenience for you, but it isn't. It is in YOUR interest to see these resources spent on promoting your career, helping you sell records, tour the world, attract more fans, make more money etc. If instead, a big chunk of money and time was spent on teaching you what you should already know, who do you think loses the most? YOU do! This is because the company's resources SHOULD be spent on helping you achieve what you could not do on your own (and learning the fundamentals of the business is not one of them). Also, remember that since music companies are directly investing money into your career, they will expect their investment back, with interest. Therefore, it is (again) to your advantage to minimize any waste in that investment. Here is an example. Let's say that your band was put on tour by a record company, but the management believes that your band does not know how to conduct yourselves on and off stage. They will require you to be coached in these areas (and believe me, they WILL). If rehearsals take an additional week (at the rate of thousands of dollars per day), then money will be spent on this new expense instead of being invested into other aspects of your tour, record and career. Remember, this extra money will need to be paid back to the company FIRST before your band sees any profits from the tour OR your record (yes your label will require to be recouped for all expenses). Many new bands feel a sense of 'entitlement' and think it is the tour manager's job to coach the band how to conduct themselves on and off stage. This, as already discussed, costs the band and the label a lot of money. However, when you see yourself in a win-win partnership with the label, then you know that it is in everyone's best interest to take the initiative to prepare yourself in all possible ways before money is spent. If you are not prepared beforehand, you are creating a higher investment risk for the company you work with! Here are the most important things to remember from this article: 1. Find out as much as you can about the companies you want to work with before approaching them. This will help you in many ways. First, you will familiarize yourself with their goals, business desires and challenges. This will help you to anticipate and come up with win/win solutions to business negotiations. Also, the people in these organizations will be impressed that you took the time to learn about their needs before approaching them. They will remember you. 2. Always try to see all business situations and proposals from the point of view of the other side. This will allow you to better anticipate their needs, challenges and possible objections toward working with you. Then you need to demonstrate this understanding in both words and actions. 3. Think in terms of win/win partnerships. If you develop a reputation for coming up with business ideas that meet your needs as well as the needs of the other side, you will find many more attractive opportunities coming your way. 4. Seek ways you can add value while reducing risk. In all of business, (music industry or otherwise), your success will be greatly affected by your ability to deliver high value with low risk. Before approaching any company with a business proposal, consider all of the ways you are planning to add value to the project. Can you expand this list? Do the same analysis of all of the potential risks of a particular business partnership (whether it comes from you or other people in the project). What can you do to minimize or eliminate these risks? If you do this, you will definitely have a great advantage over most musicians who are more concerned about how much their paycheck is going to be, rather than trying to enhance the value for all parties involved. 5. After you have done all that you can to add value and reduce risk, you again need to demonstrate this in both words and actions. Think of how most bands try to get signed, they play local shows, try to increase their following, send their promo kits to labels, management, entertainment lawyers, etc. In this way, you compete with all the other unknown bands. Here is a huge tip, why not focus directly on showing and proving to these companies/people how your value is higher and your risk is lower than the thousands of other bands who are sending their press kits every year. Although there is much more to the story, this is the basis for how I landed my own first record deal :. This approach helped to further separate myself from literally thousands of other excellent guitar players who pursued the same opportunities I received. And I've used this strategy to land several other fulfilling and lucrative music business related deals. 6. Lose the feeling of entitlement. As I alluded to in the article, no music company in the world will want you, unless you have something to offer them which they find valuable. Nobody is "entitled" to a record deal or more money simply because they may be a great musician. Feeling this way is a mistake that a lot of musicians make and one that I hope you will avoid, now that you are aware of it after reading this article. What you need to do instead is prove to the other party how they would be passing up a great opportunity if they didn't work with you. When you can do this, you will find that the other things will fall into place much easier. You should think deeply about the issues that I brought up and consider the ways some or all of them can apply to your current (or future) music career. I have given you some good starting points to begin thinking and planning for success. Use them to take the actions you know you must take to reach your goals!  This article is not intended to, and does not constitute, legal advice with respect to your particular situation and fact pattern. Do secure counsel promptly, if you see any legal issue looming on the horizon which may affect your career or your rights. What applies in one context, may not apply to the next one. Make sure that you seek individualized legal advice as to any important matter pertaining to your career or your rights generally.  About the author: Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He teaches, trains and mentors musicians from all around the world. Visit http://www.tomhess.net/MusicCareer.aspx to discover highly effective musician learning resources – free advice, lessons and online assessments.