Music Artist Development

Music Online Glossary – When Music, Music Careers and PCs Collide

2009-02-16T09:41:00.001-05:00

The Internet has proven to be where music can be discovered, reviewed, discussed, shared, and purchased. Musicians know this and get online to upload their music and become a part of the world wide music machine process. They come on the Web at every age, at every experience level – musically and computer savvy. From youngsters starting out to seasoned musicians just learning where the computer on switch is, the workings of being on a computer can be overwhelming with everything else they have going on in their lives.

The Web also allows musicians access to music knowledge. Artists will come across difficult terminology and phrases that they do not understand. Compiled in the following mini glossary are music business, digital, organizations, record biz lingo, computer terms and basic need-to-know info. Hopefully, something listed here will help you navigate music online a bit easier, and so you know, this glossary is an excerpt of an extensive list found on Artistopia.

A&R – Artist and Repertoire, aka talent scouts: a record company liaison whose duties may include to find, select and develop the music artist, band and/or songwriter.

Affiliate Program – a way to earn income by linking your Web site to another site, depending on the action taken by the visitor.

ASCAP – American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers which licenses and distributes royalties to it’s members’ copyrighted works.

Bandwidth – has nothing to do with the size of a band but is a measure of the amount of information (data) that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits per second.

Bitrate - The number of kilobits per second of data in your audio file. The bitrate you choose when creating an MP3 file determines the size and quality of the resulting MP3. The highest commonly available bitrate is 320 kbps and the higher the bitrate, the closer the encoding is to the original source of music.

Blanket License – allows the user to perform any or all, in part or all, of the songs in the ASCAP repertory. What a warm and cozy license.

Business Manager – an artist or band manager that specializes in the financial matters, including planning, investing, income, taxes, decisions and contracts.

Buzz – to get people talking about a new artist, band, song or album, creating intense excitement and/or rumors.

Clause - a chubby fellow in a red suit is Claus: in a record contract, there might be certain limitations, specifications, or modifications that stipulate the final outcome of that contract.

Concert Promoter – with duties including ticketing, PR, marketing, and booking, this agency or agent responsibilities are for concert event promotion.

Content – to make the Search Engines happy and have pages rank well in a search result, a good quantity of well written text aligning with the site’s keywords and theme updated regularly is a Webmaster’s steak and potatoes.

Cookie – no, not chocolate chip, but a piece of software that records info about your visit to a Web site, then holds the info until the server requests it.

Copyright - a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information, in our case artistic properties, the songs and sound recordings.

Derivative Work – a new work based on or resulting from one or more preceding works.

Digital Licensing – the use of copyrighted music compositions including downloads, on demand streaming, limited use downloads and CD burning.

Distributor – the agency or agent that handles the sales and shipment of the music (records, CDs) to the marketplace or basically, gets the product to the consumers.

Domain Name – a sign post on the Internet, it is a unique name that identifies an Internet site.

DRM – Digital Rights Management is a technology that protects a piece of intellectual digital property such as a music, video, or text file.

Encoding - the process of converting audio to or from a compressed format like MP3 or WMA.

Exclusive Rights – under copyright law, the privileges that only a copyright owner has with respect to the copyrighted work.

Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) - a file format for audio data compression that does not remove information from the audio stream, as MP3, AAC, and Vorbis do.

Grammy Awards – an award ceremony for all genres presented by the Recording Academy for outstanding achievements in the recording industry: a gold megaphone for your mantel.

Groupie – what’s the point of being an act without groupies? Overly enthusiastic fans with much love to offer.

HTML - HyperText Markup Language, programming language for the world wide web. A web browser interprets the code written and displays it for a web page and web sites. Some very basic knowledge of HTML may help on some sites.

Hook – a pirate: a music phrase, a passage, an idea – something (catchy and/or repetitive) that makes the song stand out and be more appealing and remembered.

Hype – sensational and extreme promotion of a person, idea or product.

Indie – an independent artist or band that desires to do-it-all-themselves and/or not affiliated with a larger record label.

Intern – usually a college student job at a record label in a no or low paying position, more of an apprenticeship learning the ropes and gaining business experience.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) – how and who connects your computer or network to the Internet, whether dialup, DSL, Cable, T1 or T3.

Master Recording License – pertains to the recording of a performance itself, which are usually controlled by the record label.

Mastering – the final stage and preparation in a recording before weapons of mass duplication, includes the consistency of audio levels and quality perfecting.

Mechanical License – the use of copyrighted musical compositions for use on CDs, cassettes, record albums.

Music Contracts – all the various bits of paperwork used in the music business, always read the “fine print” to the many contracts – recording, management, finders fee, general release contracts. When the contracts come in – time to get an Entertainment Attorney.

Music Industry – all things pertaining and related to the business of music, dominated by the Big Four major labels: Sony BMG, Warner, Universal and EMI.

Music Publisher – provides services such as marketing, pitching and promoting works written by songwriters. Deals with the commercial exploitation of music catalogs and songs.

Press Kit – aka media kit, a prepackaged set of promotional materials for a music artist or band for distribution including song samples, bio, historical info, photos and contact information.

Producer – duties include: controlling the recording session, guidance of the artist(s), coaching, organizing, scheduling of production resources and budgets, as well as supervising the process of recording, mixing and mastering.

Publishing Royalties – income paid to the writer of a song.

RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America, the organization that represents the interests of record labels and producers in the USA.

Ripping – means to take an audio CD and record it to a computer in an uncompressed file format (wav). Digital audio extraction from one media form to a hard disk.

Roadie – the road crew that travels with a band on tour. These hard working individuals do everything but the performance, are technicians, do the set up and take down, security, bodyguards, pyrotechnics, and lighting.

Sampling Rate - the number of samples taken per second when digitizing sound. The higher the number, the better the quality of the digital reproduction.

SoundExchange – an independent, nonprofit performance rights organization that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for recording artists and record labels when their sound recordings are performed on digital cable, satellite TV music, internet and satellite radio.

Sound Recording – the copyright of the recording itself (what you hear, the entire production) as distinguished from the copyright of the song (words and music owned by the songwriter or publisher).

Synchronization License – aka “synch” license, allows the user to reproduce a musical composition "in connection with" or "in timed relation with" a visual image, motion picture, video, advertising commercial - from the copyright owner of the music.

Talent Agent – or booking agent, the representative of the music artist(s) that sets up the live performances.

Vanity Label – a celebrity recording artist is given a label within a label and runs under the umbrella of the parent label.

Author Bio:

Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development and community on the web providing music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for displaying their talent, music business collaboration, marketing and networking. Online since 2003, Artistopia develops advanced technology solutions that leverage the Internet to both the music artist and music companies respective advantage. Full list at Music Glossary Online

100 Tips to Market Your Music

2007-03-24T10:58:00.000-04:00

Need ideas on how to spread the news that you are ready to hit the music scene? Don’t know where to start your music marketing and promotional efforts? Some tips presented here are tried, true and some are new, to get the word out on your music and you.

Marketing is all the activities and processes of planning, communicating and executing a product, with a price, the promotion and the placement of an item to an end user. Your music is your product which you are then supplying to the end user - the music fan. Between you and the fan is a big space on how to bridge this gap. You may think that if you just get a record deal with some label, your prayers are answered and this instant bridge is built across that space. This is for the most part, not how things work today.

As an aspiring indie or unsigned singer, songwriter, or a musician in a band you can not do just a few things to promote yourself and expect success in your music career. Offline and online music promotion and marketing exposure is an ongoing process in this DIY age. Music companies are looking for artists that already have fan bases, sold CDs, and are proven ready to move up to a higher level. Presented here are more than 100 tips and ideas for you to think about and tweak as you will, to get noticed, gain fans, and get heard. You have to find a way to stand above the crowd, for talent alone is not enough.

Promo Tip #1 A music artist must start somewhere, that’s usually locally, but it’s better to not just dive in without a plan. But begin you must. Create a plan with some ideas and set goals as to what you need to accomplish weekly, monthly, and yearly. Start small and make it progressive. Reach bench marks and keep at it.

Promo Tip #2 Image is everything. Image is the complete package - artist/band name, look, performance, merchandise, and style, to how that brand is marketed. A stage name can be a descriptive statement of the image you or your band project. Be unique and interesting to look at in some way....build your own unique stage persona.

Promo Tip #3 Word of mouth has always been the best promotion – tell people what you do. Get people talking. Create your buzz by just giving enough info to get people interested, but hold some secrets close.

Promo Tip #4 Those that promote the most win.

Promo Tip #5 You may be a truly great talent, but without getting out there and consistently marketing yourself, networking, meeting the right people, maintaining your image, and being humble, your talent will only get you so far.

Promo Tip #6 Be innovative in your promotional efforts! The Internet has made it possible to hear a LOT more music, from a LOT more artists. You are now a very small fish in a very large pond - you will need to find a way to stand out, above and glow in the dark. Think beyond the box on every promo tip.

Promo Tip #7 Learn web basics to use the Net to your advantage. The Internet thrives on links, quality content, keywords and consistency. Properly use the tools of the Internet to build your online brand.

Promo Tip #8 Create a web site. Buy your own artist name or band name URL for your web site, keep it simple, easy to remember, make sure it loads quickly and is easy to navigate.

Promo Tip #9 Submit your web link to online music directories, search engines, good music resource sites, in the best possible descriptive category. Use niche sites like tour date sites, lifestyle, regional, music magazine, music ezines, music Blogs and similarly themed sites.

Promo Tip #10 Use Myspace, Tagworld, Frappr, Facebook and any of the good social networks and extend your fan base. Update on a regular schedule.

Promo Tip #11 Go beyond the social networks and sign up to the best indie and unsigned music artist sites. Add a full profile, good photos, your best music, update the info regularly and DO NOT REDIRECT them with only a little info to find out more at another site. These indie communities are built to attract music biz personnel as well, to browse for the talent needed for various projects. While you have the viewers attention and time, have the important info right there, don’t waste their time with a redirect link! Include a link to your main site, if they want to learn more they will go to it.

Promo Tip #12 Hand out your CDs (or demos). Have your web link printed on the CD. Include your band name and contact info as well. Remember, your name on the work is more important than the name of the work. Hand the CD to club owners that feature your type of music.

Promo Tip #13 Send press releases and reviews of your shows to local print newspapers, magazines and event papers. When writing press releases, read up on “press release tips” and the like to tweak your presentation.

Promo Tip #14 Professional photos mean you take yourself seriously. All photos in your press kit should be quality photos, not just your main bio picture. The money spent on a photographer that can capture your music “image” is money well spent.

Promo Tip #15 Collect addresses and email addresses (email is free!) to keep your fans current on what you are up to. When building your lists, try to list their location – city, state and zip with a bit of personal input about that fan. This is a great way to create a more personal and targeted mailing list without bombarding people that are too far away to attend a show.

Promo Tip #16 Practice and practice and practice. Longevity in the music business means learning new things, constantly creating, and always improving.

Promo Tip #17 Zero in on your target. Know where they hang out, where they shop, what they do for fun, and hit them where they live – online and off. Your audience is a specific crowd of people so don’t waste time being where they are not.

Promo Tip #18 Play, play and play some more. Get gigs in one part of town on Friday and another part of town on Saturday. Do mini tours outside of your town.

Promo Tip #19 Create your own support group of family, friends, and school mates - communicate well with them on your plans and goals to help spread the word on you, where you plan to go and how you plan on getting there. Delegate tasks to the appropriate people.

Promo Tip #20 Online send out press releases and reviews of shows via all appropriate sites.

Promo Tip #21 Get online air play. There are a lot of indie radio webcasts, join sites and do what you have to do to get on the playlists.

Promo Tip #22 Create an interesting banner to drop in your forum signatures or other online locations. Many message boards will let you leave a link and/or banner in your signature, but don’t like blatant advertising.

Promo Tip #23 Brand your name across the world and be ever mindful of the image you wish to portray whenever out in public or online. When it’s in print, it’s permanent.

Promo Tip #24 There is such a thing as overkill, in that it is better to describe your band/music as "we sound similar to the Beatles" rather than "we are the biggest thing since Led Zeppelin!" (or better than). So word your description accordingly.

Promo Tip #25 The music business is in the business to make money. If your career is in music, know when to be businesslike.

Promo Tip #26 Learn every area of the business you are in. Knowledge is power.

Promo Tip #27 You must network. Meet people, get out there, shake hands, listen to them as well and let them know about your music. Build those relationships.

Promo Tip #28 Be on friendly terms with other bands and artists in your area.

Promo Tip #29 Create a “street team”, online and/or offline…they are core people that wish to help you further your marketing efforts. Give away free tickets, CDs or merchandise to your street team as incentive.

Promo Tip #30 Announce every song, every CD, decent chart position, contest win, top sales on releases, announce anything and everything to stay in the public’s eye. If you can’t write a decent article up for the press release, get someone that can. Write a review of every gig and get feedback from local VIPs, fans, whomever matters and include the best quotes. Is it news worthy? Write and promote it. Get the most mileage you can from your promotional tactics.

Promo Tip #31 Never mail your CD without a purpose or a contact person's name on it and expect miracles. Far better that the contact person knows to expect your CD, his or her name is spelled correctly, and you are mailing it to a company that actually works with your style of music.

Promo Tip #32 Wear your band! Get a jacket, t-shirts (etc) and add your band name or logo on it. Wear it everywhere and be a walking advertisement. If you have a niche fan base, think of a merchandise item that they need that of course has your name on it!

Promo Tip #33 Create an interesting band logo. It can be a conversation starter or a potential contest question.

Promo Tip #34 Join a Songwriting Circle. This is a local idea (though it is possible through the Internet), to meet with other songwriters in your own area and share your songs. You can get feedback on your work, share ideas and tips, possibly collaborate on work, learn about what's happening locally, help each other in many ways. If you wanted to start your own circle or look for one, you could use Craigslist for your Wanted or Needed post. Most ask that you be open minded and dedicated, with a willingness to listen and give feedback.

Promo Tip #35 Burn your best song as a single. On the CD and cover include ALL contact info, website, names, etc and distribute that CD wherever you go, for free.

Promo Tip #36 Have a custom vinyl car wrap created about your music/band and put it on your car. OR a use a magnetic door sign for your vehicle will work as well.

Promo Tip #37 Cross promote online on your web sites with local bands as well. You give them a boost on your site and they give the same back to you. Ask other people to LINK TO YOUR music site from their website!

Promo Tip #38 Introducing your band whether in person or online has a lot of similarity in speech writing techniques, in that you have to grab the reader or listener or viewer in the first 30 seconds. Your opening line needs to have punch, snag the audience and reel them right in. Remember the rock group KISS and "Are you ready to Rock?!!" Find your attention getting line and use it. Don't fall victim to the less inspiring, "um, hi guys, um, we are the 'Example' band..."

Promo Tip #39 Use Internet class ads as well as local newspapers to promote upcoming events and possible collaborations with others. Print papers and magazines need advance notice so plan accordingly.

Promo Tip #40 Create an online newsletter, with content of value to the receiver. This is an invaluable way to keep fans informed on gigs, news, gossip, new releases and other great info. Send out your newsletter about once a month.

Promo Tip #41 Be outrageous or controversial. Shock value can work, but it can backfire too. Can you maintain the image? It has worked for many, but was a disaster for many more. Think this tip out.

Promo Tip #42 Create a fan club online and get them to spread your banners, links and provide content for them to spread.

Promo Tip #43 Who are the VIPs in your community – who are the popular people in your area? Get to know them, give them a free CD and invite them to your show. When they speak, others will listen.

Promo Tip #44 Create a video and get on YouTube. Place your video on all relevant video sites. Video Scrapbook (or Diary) your music band’s progress, accomplishments, and jam sessions. This could make for good clips in other projects.

Promo Tip #45 Have a CD, digital download and other merchandise for sale. Generate some sales so you have something to invest in other areas of your marketing effort.

Promo Tip #46 Have star quality, but don’t be a big-head. Let people know you are professional and have the ability to be a long lasting star in this business.

Promo Tip #47 Never Spam email.

Promo Tip #48 Have a press kit ready to send out or email. Have it neatly organized with a brief bio, a short description (about 30 words or less) on what you sound like, full length bio, quality photos, music samples, current press releases and quality newsworthy items, song lyrics, radio airplay and chart position information, and detailed contact information.

Promo Tip #49 Join online music groups and newsgroups.

Promo Tip #50 Be a bit mysterious, hold back and leave them wanting more. Timing is everything for some info, releases, etc.

Promo Tip #51 Create a music slogan of up to 8 words (less is better) that quickly, accurately and in a catchy manner describes your music in a real way.

Promo Tip #52 Give a review to get a review, honestly is the best policy, but never brutality. Many times someone will return the favor and it shows your knowledge, your twist, on the music created.

Promo Tip #53 Print up posters and/or flyers about your upcoming show and post them wherever your type of fans would hang out and include your web link, show date, name of CD, where CD can be purchased.

Promo Tip #54 Get into podcasting and videocasting yourself or making your music available for podcasting.

Promo Tip #55 Tag your MP3s with your name or band name, not just the song name. They need to know WHO did this material when they happen across it months later.

Promo Tip #56 Know who you are! Get into an appropriate category so that you can be found. People have to be able to identify your sound into a category that they can identify with. You may want to portray a new edgy sound, which is fine, but there are still general categories that people search on in record stores or online and you have to be found in one of them.

Promo Tip #57 Throw a listen-in. Contact record stores, coffee shops, book stores, malls, recreational areas, galleries, cool clothing stores or nightclubs that are willing to support local music. The free listen-in could have talk session and discounted CDs with coupons.

Promo Tip #58 Keep it simple silly, web sites that take a long time to load, are not easy to navigate, and are not interesting will not keep the viewer’s attention long enough for them to get to know you. So don’t make your personal website or any site that can be customized, so frilly that it turns a potential opportunity away.

Promo Tip #59 Join local communities and organizations and go to meetings periodically and pay attention. Listen for opportunities in what they are saying and perhaps volunteer. Help them and they will help you. Non profit organizations are likely to have access to media outlets that may give your some exposure.

Promo Tip #60 Check your public and local radio stations that play your type of music and try to get some air time.

Promo Tip #61 You will hear a lot of no’s and negativity. That is to be expected as everyone’s taste is different. Hopefully someone will give you some constructive criticism. Learn from it what you can but keep moving forward.

Promo Tip #62 Develop yourself as a complete package. Record labels do not spend the money on A&R as in the day. Educate yourself as a well-rounded music artist and present yourself as such.

Promo Tip #63 Elevator Pitch – If you only have one shot to make an impression in 30 seconds or less, can you do it? You will need to, so practice it!

Promo Tip #64 Post your gigs on your website(s), class ads, Craigslist, Backpage and other sites for your location.

Promo Tip #65 Submit your music to songwriting competitions, musician competitions, singing contests – try out for American Idol, for gosh sakes!

Promo Tip #66 Do a free conference call to chat with fans using your website. Record the call and follow up by posting the MP3 on your site. Promote it for all its worth.

Promo Tip #67 Never release an inferior product, send out professional, and only your very best demos and new releases.

Promo Tip #68 Get testimonials and reviews from people that matter and start locally if you have to. Add them to your press kit.

Promo Tip #69 Make sure you make it easy for potentials sales to happen whether on your site or at a show. Make the payment process, safe, secure and EASY.

Promo Tip #70 Have a house concert. Invite the neighborhood to your backyard.

Promo Tip #71 Give your fans insider, behind the scenes, back stage with the band info and videos. This is great info to include in newsletters – people that signed up to learn more about you on purpose.

Promo Tip #72 Take the good with the bad, and take it all graciously. You must keep your image clean or at least maintain the afore mentioned image.

Promo Tip #73 Don’t waste time, prioritize and go with the best bets. Put your energy into the correct market for YOUR music.

Promo Tip #74 If you can write well about a music subject, write and distribute articles. Always source the article back to your website. Let it be redistributed with the bottom author source info to spread your message and link.

Promo Tip #75 Gig swap with other bands from another area to widen your fan base.

Promo Tip #76 A music profile or bio, press kit and press releases should all be well written, free of misspellings, kept current, and to the point. Schedule updates of your various online activities.

Promo Tip #77 Find a business in your area that you can partner with for mutual benefit. If something about a song, style, or image would boost a local business, develop a cross promotional relationship.

Promo Tip #78 Respond to all your correspondence in a timely, businesslike, and correct manner – appropriate to the sender. Be considerate of your audience.

Promo Tip #79 Give people what they want. It’s all about the fans. If they come to your website, give them information that makes THEM feel good. If they come to your show, entertain them, thank them and thank the venue for the experience.

Promo Tip #80 Don’t disappear. Once you have started building your momentum, it is a continuous onslaught.

Promo Tip #81 Attend music conferences, indie showcases, music festivals. Gain exposure and network.

Promo Tip #82 Be easy to work with and be flexible. A good reputation carries a lot of weight. Flexibility can also mean possibly adjusting areas of your work or image so as to get your foot in the door if need be.

Promo Tip #83 Have a cause. Create an event to promote that cause. Team up with other like-minded bands and make a news worthy event out of that cause.

Promo Tip #84 Business Cards - When talking to anyone, hand one out. You must include the link to your website. Consider your link as your online business card. Example: http://www.artistopia.com/YOURBANDNAME

Promo Tip #85 Rolodex your contact list (some sites have contact managers in their member consoles). Make a list and keep it current of all the places online and offline that you need to post to when you need to send out reoccurring press releases of news and events. Be aware that many sites have limits in number and/or timeframes, be careful to not exceed them.

Promo Tip #86 Invoke your personality into your writings to make your invitations, announcements and introductions fun and effective.

Promo Tip #87 Clearly define what you are about – quickly, online or offline. People have short attention spans and are short on time - not just the music industry, but most people in general. This is very important! Don’t waste words. Make anything you have to say about yourself or band enough to give the important necessary information and cut out the nonsense.

Promo Tip #88 Create a band calendar with some humorous photos of the various band members at various events.

Promo Tip #89 You heard it through the grapevine. Share “some” inside knowledge with other bands and songwriters in your area. Start your own information highway.

Promo Tip #90 Create an automated template for emails. Take the time to add the person’s name with a personal tidbit, but save time with a readymade email guide. Respond to unsolicited emails with your own personalized marketing message and a link to your website.

Promo Tip #91 Play for free if you have to, any where, any time. Create an event, an event with a cause and donate the proceeds to a charity. This can open up some interesting contacts and opportunities. Sponsor an event.

Promo Tip #92 Reach out and touch your fans. Whether someone else is maintaining your online presence or not, occasionally touch base with fans personally.

Promo Tip #93 Include every ounce of contact info needed upon every available surface.

Promo Tip #94 Borrow an idea from other sources, even outside the music industry. If it works for that company, perhaps you can adapt the idea to market your music as well. Find a way to put a new twist or slant on a successful bands tactics.

Promo Tip #95 Send birthday cards to your fans…of course you need to get their birthday info when they sign up for mailing lists.

Promo Tip #96 Get involved in the music forums and message boards that target your music segment and ALWAYS include your signature URL (aka web link)!! Example: http://www.artistopia.com/YOURBANDNAME

Promo Tip #97 Start a Music or Band Blog, well written and kept current. Submit it to music Blog directories.

Promo Tip #98 Create a novelty song that topics a holiday, a hot news item, your city or town, sports team, political event or other idea and gain exposure on promoting this song.

Promo Tip #99 Listen to your fans and learn what brought them to your show. This is very effective to giving you feedback on which promotional tool worked.

Promo Tip #100 Success doesn’t happen to those that wait. A record label , music deal, stardom, just creating a website “and they will come” doesn’t just land in your lap with you doing nothing. You have to make success come to you. Be persistent, be confident, roll up your sleeves, it’s going to take some serious work.

We just couldn’t stop at 100! Here are a few more great tips:

Promo Tip #101 Use the Internet to research and keep current on new ways and new sites to market your music.

Promo Tip #102 Strength in numbers. Build joint ventures, collaborations and/or online partners on a project and both of you market that project.

Promo Tip #103 Have a professional email address. Example: YourBandName@artistopia.com

Promo Tip #104 Don’t burn your bridges. Even with the increasing number of music “wanna-be’s” the music industry is a relatively small and close knit community. A wrong done to you by someone early in your career, may be that “someone” in a position of music power one day that you just might need to do business with.

Promo Tip #105 Join the party, even if you aren’t in the mood. Don’t respond to the inevitable “what do you do” question with your day job, but tell your potentially new fan you are a musician and hand them your business card.

Promo Tip #106 Keep a journal of your marketing efforts with what worked and what did not work. This can be used in many ways down the road besides tracking your efforts. A book or e-book maybe?

Promo Tip #107 If out partying, have a designated friend or band mate for image control. If you get into something that could potentially land you in trouble, that controller gets you out of the situation before it can hurt your image. Video can be on the Internet before you even get home, so protect your image at all costs if you happen to get out of control.

Promo Tip #108 Business is business. There is a time and place for slang/explicit language, behavior, and the like. Project yourself in a professional manner. Know when you are onstage and when you are not.

Promo Tip #109 Get your own competition going about your band or a new release. Give something away, have fans register at local record stores, find a way to get buzz going by asking a great question.

Promo Tip #110 Self promote everyday, in everyway, one way or the other.

Some of these pointers may not be for you. That’s fine. Do what you need to do, just make sure we ALL hear about you. Very true that many artists do not have the funds to do some of these tips, well, with the Internet and some ingenuity it possible to get around this to an extent.

The difference between you and another band that made it may not be that their music was better. It might be that they found a way to get noticed better. The music industry needs music talent and is constantly on the look out for something that stands out. If you have the guts and perseverance, it can be you.

This article is free for republishing with inclusion of the following "Author Bio" information in it's entirety:

Author Bio:
Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development and community on the web providing music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for displaying their talent, music business collaboration, marketing and networking. Online since 2003, Artistopia develops advanced technology solutions that leverage the Internet to both the music artist and music companies respective advantage.

Giving Credit Where Music Credits Are Due

2006-12-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

Selecting a favorite CD out of my music collection, I popped in the chosen disc and hit play. While the music cranked, I took the CD cover apart and looked closer at the contents of the case (also known as liner notes). Amongst the colorful artwork, band photos and track listings, were the lyrics for each song and of course, the credits for whoever had a hand in the creation of this CD.

Looking at an indie artist and band’s profiles online, more often than not, this simple information is not available and even if that artist did most of the work him or herself, credit information clears the air. Let’s take a closer look at music credits.

There once was a little band from Liverpool where songwriters John and Paul came to an agreement in their partnership to take shared credit in all their works, whether they were written alone or together, or one added more than the other, as Lennon/McCartney. This did work for a length of time with much success and royalties were evenly shared. There came a point where branching off and various other elements started tearing a riff in the duo. Some of these issues are still in discussion today, even though John Lennon has passed away.

It has been proven time and again to discuss legal issues with your collaborator(s), band or group before the first dollar is made on a CD or song sales begin and certainly before the hoped for record deal lands on your plate. Though it may be uncomfortable, you must tackle this subject to avoid problems long term. Not only discuss these issues but get it in writing. A letter of agreement signed by all parties involved on percentages on earnings, credits and name order is all you need and should cover every single song produced. Get ALL your bands issues with credits settled from the get go, covering all your bases. Also, work out what works best for you ALL if someone wants to do solo projects.

Those credits then should be applied online in your music Discography. Credits show upfront, in print, who owns and has rights to which parts of the song and/or music created. The listener will then know up front WHO to contact if they have a project in need of that person’s contribution.

Music Discography – your Album Credits:
Produced by, Arranged by, Recorded by
Recorded at
Mixed by, Mixed at
Distributed by
CD cover concept/artwork by, Photography by
Management
Special thanks to

What to include for Song Credits:
Written by
Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocals recorded by
Published by, Produced by
Mixed by, Programmed by, Engineered by
Additional by, Assistant
Recorded at
Special thanks to or Courtesy of
List of instruments played with who played them

Things happen in bands, just as they do in marriages, jobs and living life. Members have disagreements, leave, go solo, start new projects, and sometimes tragedies happen. Credits establish acknowledgement, recognition, and ownership of the work done as wells as give thanks to those that helped get the job done. It’s the professional way to do business.

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The Importance Of Music Contests

2006-10-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

A band or music artist at some point in their career will probably be faced with the decision of whether to enter a talent, vocal, singing, battle of the bands, composing, or lyric/songwriting contest. Your friends and family might be telling you how great they think you are and suggest that you enter. Possibly a teacher recognizing a talent, might be the push. Whomever it is, why would you want to and why should you enter a music competition?

In the USA, one of the biggest singing contests now of course, is American Idol, a televised contest where the viewers vote, and the finalist wins possible fame and fortune. Across the globe are Australian Idol, World Idol, Latin American Idol, Rockstar: Supernova, Superstar, You’re A Star, the list goes on for these hugely popular events.

Having your singing voice, writing skills, or instrumentation judged by a panel of industry experts is not for the weak of heart, but neither is the music business. The cash and the prize lists are sometimes enough of a temptation to enter, but think more along the lines of what is your ultimate music goal. Is it a career in music? Then the potential exposure that a contest may bring could be of far more value.

Your chances of winning, as long as you do have good musical skills could be better than you anticipate. Sometimes it just depends on who else enters, the category you enter, or that particular contest. Not to be skeptical, but it may not be that you are the preeminent singer, writer, or musician in the entire world, but you are the best that entered at that time. That being said, it still shows that you won!

What are the benefits of entering

Various contests across the globe offer a variety of prize packages, some with a lot of potential for the winners. Prize packages can include cash, recording contracts, a live showcase, radio play, publishing, career development, music instruments and gear, professional evaluation of your submission with feedback, computer software, music books, and cool online music service memberships.

Competitions can launch a career. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and JC Chasez all made the cut in The New Mickey Mouse Club auditions. Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, have all moved from American Idol winners to holding their own in record sales, touring and fame. Kelly Clarkson even won two Grammy Awards!

A song or artist may not be the ultimate winner of the entered contest, but in the judging process, a prospective stand out could earmark that artist for other opportunities. Something may not “win” the category it is in, but a savvy music expert may see the potential for use elsewhere and contact you about it.

An entry in a contest that wins, places or receives honorable mention is a good mark to add to your music profile. You are keeping your music profile online and newsletters updated with your latest exploits, right?

The validation that you won, your work was recognized by industry experts is a huge ego boost and confidence builder. Insert all those gushy Oscar and Grammy acceptance speeches here, but it sure does give you the warm fuzzies.

The publicity received could compensate the entry fee. Exposure can include not only the possibility of being seen by an accredited music professional judge and panel, but magazine, press, and online coverage no matter if you are the ultimate winner or not. Also, some contests do offer reviews on all entries, so that could garner some interesting feedback. Nonetheless, the process itself may add to the overall learning experience.

What might be the drawbacks perceived

Recently, I read a music forum post that stated it was the competition’s job to go and find the songs, why do they need to charge the musician a fee?

There seems to be some ill-perceived notions about some contests, justifiable or not. Some people take the notion that competitions are rip-offs or “they are out to steal my music” mentality. The cost of entering may be a deterrence (the fee plus possibly postage, traveling, etc.). The thought of not a snowball’s chance in hell in winning, or even the discouraging thought of having your creation or talent rejected might be a hindrance to the music artist.

Low odds perceived? The motto from the lottery is “you gotta play to win”. Millions of people enter lotteries every day. Think about it, not nearly that many are entering contests, though American Idol lines may seem that long. In listening to music artists across the web, there is a general misconception of contests as scams. True, there are and have been some “competition” scams out there or some new contests that didn’t raise enough funding, thus destroying the integrity of all involved. Savvy musicians need to filter those out.

That’s why you RESEARCH. You learn what competitions are solid and exactly what you need to do to enter correctly. Watch for any wording in the TOC and throughout in the entry process that comes anywhere near saying that they will become the owner of the entry. Usually a contest that’s been around a few years and has proven industry sponsors, partners, judges and founders shows the commitment to excellence needed.

Check out online comments on particular contests. You may find a comment in a forum that is a bit off-color. Take that with a grain of salt, as a disgruntled “sore-loser” may have posted something based on his/her disillusionment, rejection or for not entering properly.

Entry fees are standard procedure for entering many competitions. The cost of advertising, organizing and promoting contests, let alone the prize money and gear offered add up. Staff for accounting, processing entries, booking and countless other business processes are needed. Possibly even the professional judges time may need to be paid for.

If a contest says $50K in prizes, read the rest of the text and know how that is split up. Be aware of any taxes due on cash on prizes won and the law applicable in your state or locality.

What you need to do

Thoroughly read all rules, criteria, Terms and Conditions (TOC), use of your name and music and understand in detail the process and what to expect. Any wording that states that your music will become the property of the contest, steer clear of. They should have the right to promote the winners list, play the song, use your name of course, as the writer/creator of the music as well as image - but you remain the sole owner.

Research which competitions would be a best fit for your level and experience, to enhance your career in music. Is the competition open to anyone, amateurs, semi-pros and/or professionals? Is it open internationally or locally only? Can you enter online? Does everyone get something out of it? Look for well established competitions that can prove and deliver what they state.

Correctly fill in your application form, and recheck your spelling. If filling out a form for several entries, fill in critical info and copy it, then fill in the individual entry sections.

Take notice of how the judging process works. Is the emphasis on the lyrics only or the recording? Songs or lyrics may be first judged by an “in house” panel; if the piece passes and surpasses the criteria set for that category, it may then be passed on to the next level or round. Check out the judges panel, some contests have top names across the industry that could possibly listen to your work.

If you win or place well - get every ounce of mileage you can from the free publicity. Not only announcing it on your web page(s), bio page, online press release, but get local news coverage, school, TV, and radio. Make an announcement and soak it up for all it’s worth.

Where to find contests

Nearly every country, city, and many towns have some kind of music awards, competitions, contests or battle of the bands for any instrument played, singing or writing style. By searching online for any of those keywords will bring an assortment of results. Some contest are specified only to certain genres or instruments, while some are open year around and some open and close at different times of year.

Search music magazines, music stores, music schools, college music departments, and radio/television press. Some competitions you will need to be a member of an organization and some require that you do not. Many contests have early bird entry fees, or multiple entry discounts. Entry confirmation is something that should be offered.

Don’t enter a contest too early if you are an impatient person, as some contest cycles may take as much as a year from opening to winners announcements.

The following list is by no means complete, but many of these have been around for awhile. The last known entry fee per song may be included.

American Songwriter Lyric Contest
Broadjam 6-Pack Songwriting Challenge
Canadian Independent Music Awards, “The Indies”
Cooch Music: Amateur Songwriting Contest, fee $15
Diesel-U-Music
Eurovision
Garageband, fee $19.99
Global Battle of the Bands, GBOB
Great American Song Competition, GASC, fee $25
Goodnightkiss Songwriting, Lyric and Music Competition
International Songwriting Competition, ISC, fee $30
Independent Music Awards, IMA
International Acoustic Music Awards, IAMA, fee $35
International Online Music Awards, IOMA
John Lennon Songwriting, JLSC, fee $30
Just Plain Folks Music Awards
Net Music Makers
Nashville Song Search
Nashville International Song and Lyric Competition
Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition
SongDoor, fee $10
Songwriting Contest for Songwriters VH-1, Song of the Year, fee $29.95
UK Songwriting Contest, fee $30
Unisong International Songwriting, fee $30
USA Songwriting Competition, fee $35
Zippo Hot Tour

One gifted artist may have reasons for not wanting the limelight and frills of a competition; for another it may be a goal or milestone. The sheer volume of competitions available are a testament to some basic human need of acceptance within us all.

If exposure and publicity are desired to get your foot in the door, contests can be invaluable. A career in music is an ongoing process, filled with years of blood, sweat and tears. They can be tears of pain and rejection and tears of joy. Dream big and strive bigger, and may you hear one day as the envelope is opened, “And the winner is…”.

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Author Bio:
Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.

What NOT To Do As A Band

2006-09-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

By The Artistopia Staff

I recently attended a wedding rehearsal dinner which featured a live rock band of three young musicians. The event was outdoors (in August), and was located at an exclusive and expensive B&B, with the guests in dressy casual garb, befitting the special occasion.

There were several things I noticed about the band immediately. Their attire was dirty jeans, limp t-shirts, old sneakers. OK, maybe that’s the “image” they desired to project…though certainly nowhere remotely near the attire of the dinner guests.

All three band members made a bee-line for the bar as soon as their setup was complete and started ordering beers. Ummm…well, it was hot…but they continued to do this during their many breaks.

The dinner buffet was brought out, the guests filled their plates and sat at their tables, as did the band members, sitting at a table near the stage, that only had a few guests seated at it. After a bit of time passed, the father of the groom (who was paying for the shindig) got up to the microphone and asked, “Has anyone seen the band?” An uncomfortable intermittent laughter flickered across the tent. He followed that up with, “Can anyone play guitar?” with a muffled mention along the lines of ‘that hasn’t been drinking’.

The band immediately arose and got back to the business of playing. For the remainder of the evening, the band breaks were not as frequent and their path towards the bar, though still included some beer, also included some water and soda. They did redeem their reputation a bit, later as they finally did start “rocking” the tent and got the guests to dancing. They really could play pretty well…but some may say the guests were feeling pretty good by then (I wouldn’t want the father of the groom’s bar bill for this event).

The lead singer did say at one point, close to the microphone, hence most heard it, “I need a @#$%ing beer, is there an open beer?”

I heard since that the band was an acquaintance of the groom, so I do not know the arrangements of how this gig was setup. Ultimately though, out of the 125 or so guests attending the event, plus staff, the overall impression for this young band was their lack of professionalism.

You can only hope that they will see the faux pas of their evening and move forward.

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Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.

Article Source: Artist Development

Is Your Music Being Rejected Enough?

2006-09-25T16:25:00.000-04:00

By The Artistopia Staff

If your music isn’t being rejected this week, were you even out there promoting it? Rejection is a part of the music business, well actually life, but in the biz of music, it happens quite a lot, so it’s something you need to learn to deal with. How you react to it will make or break you. Sure rejection stings, but move past it – quickly.

The first thing to learn is DTIP. Don’t take it personally. Just because you get that rejection letter saying your song “doesn’t fit what we need right now” doesn’t mean your song is crap and start looking for a bridge or tall building. It means it “doesn’t fit what they need right now”…but may later.

Though this article called “Rejection” by Chris Mara is a tongue in cheek way of viewing rejection, it’s point is very well taken: Rejection

Rejection, most especially pertaining to new artists, should be happening quite a lot to you. It means you are out there doing a big part of your job, exposing your music to people. Not every person on the planet is going to like it or need it the first time. You may have to grow on the listener. But think about it…they are listening.

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Author Bio
Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.

Article Source: Artist Development

What Your Music Profile Should Say About You

2006-09-23T08:12:00.000-04:00

By the Artistopia Staff

Your online music profile is the bottom-line essential information on WHO you are as a band, singer, songwriter and/or musician. Your profile, as to how it fits in the big picture at Artistopia, an artist development site for indie and unsigned artists, is your biography or resume that presents you to the music industry, other musicians, and your potential fans. That makes it a very important page on the Internet, right? It needs to be interesting, well-written, informative and to-the-point, for this is you marketing yourself. When writing this document, there is much to consider to make it presentable.

Consider these scenarios:
1. An A&R rep is listening to your music on Radio Artistopia and thinks, “who is that?!” So they click on your name to learn more about you. Your music brought them to your profile. Will they be impressed by what they read?
2. A label rep is browsing the artist profiles for a band they need for a certain project, perhaps local to them. Does your profile, gig information, and band description quickly give them enough details to discover you?

In the Internet world, any webmaster will tell you content is king. Why? Because it is how online visitors find you. The number one source for driving traffic to web pages are search engines, and it is content they want and nothing else. (Content is literally text, characters, paragraphs, sentences – it’s information.) You can easily improve the traffic to your profile by entering as much relevant content about yourself as is necessary to describe your music, history, act, image, and musical goals.

Knowing this and knowing that in this busy-busy click-happy Web world, you have to have your band description clearly stated at the top of the bio! The rest of the fill-in details are at the bottom. If you have captured the readers attention at the top, they will follow through and read more. Otherwise, they will leave your profile and look for another band that presents themselves better than you did.

The best place to start is by creating an outline, in Word (or other program). Know how many total characters you can use in the field you are entering information in. Use spell-check and save it for later updating. Collect your thoughts and make notes about your background, your musical history, goals, accomplishments, band members, who plays which instrument, etc.

* The music business is a BUSINESS so present yourself professionally.

The first paragraph should be an introduction. It is the lead-in to who you are, what your music specialty is (genre), where in the world you are from, and perhaps an enthusiastic quote given to you about your music. If you sound like a certain pro band or artist, what makes you different from them?

* Busy industry people may not finish reading after a few lines if the opener does not capture them quickly. And you have to live up to the hype you dish out!

The second paragraph could cover what you are currently up to musically. Here you might mention a new release you are working on, or music projects you are involved with. What promotional plans do you have to support your current activities? Mentioning an upcoming tour or gig would be good here.

The third paragraph will include band member information (who plays what) or brief mention of background experiences, instrumentation, and/or accomplishments, that accentuates your artistic development. Artistopia offers locations for detailed information on these entries, so use the available space to present yourself wisely.

The Mission Statement section will cover your music career goals and is aimed at the industry professionals that might be searching for your particular talent. The Influences section will be who your musical influences are, so there is no need to waste the readers time mentioning them elsewhere.

You have to remember, A&R reps, labels, producers, potential collaborators, are all very busy people that have heard it all before. Do not waste words but find a way to stand out from the typical. The music you create may bring them to your profile after they heard it to learn more about you, so it is up to you to show them that you are a person that they can work with.

It is absolutely amazing to see artists that don’t take the time to do this. In countless web travels and thousands of music profiles, you see artist descriptions from as short as a one-liner like “We want to be heard,” to certain social site artist descriptions that go for MILES. There is a big difference in giving the reader vital information that should be included your profile and info that no one will ever care about that should not.

Therein is the essence of what your music profile should be saying about you.

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Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.

Article Source: Artist Development

Develop Music Industry Skills Through Music Forums

2006-09-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

by The Artistopia Staff

Internet forums and discussion boards have become a valuable medium for establishing an online presence, building a reputation, networking with peers, and getting feedback on relevant topics and ideas. With that said, there are many forums and discussion boards on the Internet specific to music artists, musicians, and songwriters. These music forums are packed with wisdom that thriving artists can leverage for their professional development advantage. By becoming actively involved in music forum communities, artists can find themselves absorbing an abundance of music industry knowledge that can help in furthering their respective career agendas.

Registration at music forum communities is generally free, however, the more prominent and private communities charge nominal fees for memberships. To find the right forum community for you, we suggest you go to a popular search engine like Google (www.google.com) or Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) and perform a search on "music forums". Browse the search engine results one by one, and keep in mind that each forum community has its own mission, theme, guidelines, and attitude. After visiting a few music forum communities, you will quickly learn that not all music forums are the same. Taking your time in finding the right community is key because you will want time spent to be an investment and not a waste. To help you find the right music forums for your needs, Artistopia offers the below suggestions. Note that at the end of each suggestion below, an explanation is provided on how it applies to the development and maturing process of an artist in the music industry.

1. Carefully select a forum community you can settle into for the long haul. Take your time researching them by reading existing posts, and making sure conversations, and music styles, meet your learning goals and objectives before making your selection. Relation to professional development: Finding the right music company or business that will develop you thoroughly is key to helping you mature in the business properly. Always know that haste makes waste.

2. Focus on building a well-respected reputation within the forum community. A reputation in any forum community is earned by a member's cumulative interactions and contributions over time, and not within a few posts. Keep your reputation untarnished because repairing any damage done to it is always twice as hard as building it in the first place. Relation to professional development: Your reputation as an artist in the music industry is your integrity, and tarnishing it could lead to alienation and possible ousting. Wounded lions drag the rest of the pride down.

3. Keep your posts clean, respectful, and productive no matter what direction the conversation or message thread takes. It will be tough to contain yourself at times, but learn to exercise patience and calculated response tactics. Misunderstandings often happen in forums, and when they do, you will need to know when to respond and when not to. Relation to professional development: Being an artist in a multi-billion dollar music industry is a job and not a party. Learn to be professional at all times and costs.

4. Be careful not to offend senior members and administrators. Forums tend to foster loyalty amongst the members, so measure each word in your posts and focus on being productive, not destructive. Egos and arrogance need not apply because no one knows it all. Smooth over the senior members with wit and intelligence, and you will receive a warm welcome. Relation to professional development: Simple, offend the wrong music professional and it could mean your career. Be open to constructive criticism and always yearn to learn from all those around you.

5. Use the forums to "subtly" promote your personal website or Artistopia profile, which will give you more exposure (brand name building) and help drive your overall numbers (song downloads, profile views, etc.). Most forum administrators frown upon direct promotions and blatant advertising, but they will allow you to represent the website you are from. Always consider yourself a visitor and respect the guidelines set forth because administrators will ban without hesitation. Relation to professional development: Identify and exercise all marketing opportunities that will promote your artistic talent without igniting a turf war. Know your boundaries and how far you can push it by thinking with your head, and not with your heart.

6. Make full use of the signature functionality in forum communities to brand yourself, especially by putting a slogan, a quote, a banner, or a link that points to your Artistopia profile or personal website. This is permissible at most music forum communities, and is helpful for others in learning more about you when reading your posts. Relation to professional development: Every professional artist is known for a signature of some sort, even if it’s lyrics, beats, looks, or wardrobe amongst many other aspects of branding. Start thinking of yourself as a brand that sells and start establishing your market or niche. Become known for something distinct and keep building on it.

7. Engage the readers by articulating your ideas intelligently, making sure your posts are flawless of grammar and spelling mistakes, leaving out slang terms and not using excessive caps, and ensuring your writing flows smoothly. Readers are quick to place judgements based on your ability to write and communicate your thoughts effectively. Relation to professional development: The music industry is about building your fan base and keeping them. Gain their confidence by displaying the ability to walk the walk and talk the talk, professionally and effectively. Let them know through actions that your position in the industry was earned and not handed to your overnight.

8. Frequent the forums and post messages on regular basis. Appearing often will demonstrate your loyalty to the community, and your resolve to building your name and reputation. More importantly, you will be consistently marketing yourself time and time again. Members that disappear for long periods of time are perceived for not being focused or serious about their agenda in the community. Relation to professional development: Half of the battle to making it in the music industry is keeping your brand afloat and marketable. Being a star is the farthest thing from a walk in the park or a picnic. Stars have to do many performances, appearances, interviews, and anything else that will put them in front of a camera to keeping their brand alive. Absence will deplete your popularity.

9. Network, collaborate, and create as many contacts as possible. Do not be afraid to step out of the forum community box and work in-person on projects with fellow artists, musicians, and songwriters you meet in these forums. More importantly, always fish out and befriend members that you feel will further your agenda. Do not hesitate to share your ideas with other members, because if you don’t you will be isolating yourself. Relation to professional development: The music business is about who you know and being at the right place at the right time. To increase your chances of unearthing opportunities, collaborate with as many peers and professionals as you can. You never know who will open the door for you.

10. Do not spread yourself too thin by participating in more than 2 forum communities. Stay focused on establishing your presence and building a reputation in a few places only. Diligent research up-front will lead to wise decisions on the forums you elect to settle in with. Relation to professional development: Productivity is key, especially when you aren't getting paid. Start small and build your way up. Every single decision you make, no matter how small, will impact your overall progress. Learn the politics of the music business and use them to perfection.

Building a presence in any forum community can challenge the most open-minded socialite mankind can offer. However, by exercising the above suggestions, you can be sure you are not marching in blindly. Exercise each of these suggestions in moderation, be patient as it will take time to build up your reputation, and always act professional so others can respect you. Forums will ultimately teach you people skills and politics.

Once you perfect the above forum tactics, then it is time to move on and fish out real life music circles by attending networking happy hours, conventions and conferences, and any other gatherings that congregate music artists and professionals in one place. Most important is for you to keep in mind that being a music artist in this business is a job and not a party. Good luck and tread safe!

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Author Bio:
Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.

Article Source: Artist Development http://artistdevelopment.blogspot.com/

The Gig Is Up - Getting Those Gigs

2006-09-15T11:17:00.000-04:00

By The Artistopia Staff

Time for your music dreams to come true – playing live onstage to masses of screaming fans…or at least a room full of people listening in to your creations. Though the ultimate goal is a good-paying gig, an artist or band just starting out may have to take on some freebies. Consider them as experience. Use this list as a start on how to get gigs, a checklist of the basics, and an idea starter.

The Prep:
Talent – know your style, be solid in your performance abilities before you take on too big a gig
All band mates know their responsibilities
Calendar – create your timeline
Internet - online presence, class ads, forums, press, make friends with other bands
Networking – go to shows of other bands and meet them, create critical allies, rub elbows
Press kit – with contact info, web address
Demo tape/CD with your 3 best songs
Rehearsed extensively
Decent equipment – with backups and spares
Reliable transportation for band and ALL equipment
Funds – who handles your band finances, food, gas, places to stay
Booking agency or manager to get bookings – when affordable and research thoroughly
Sound Technician
Playlist – well shaped, great flow, more than enough for the time allowed, minimal pause between songs

The Places:
Fundraisers, charities, benefits
Festivals, fairs, city free concert venues, trade shows
Music competitions, songwriting contests
Battle of the bands
Clubs, bars, pubs – karaoke, open mic night
Weddings, special occasions, private functions, parties
Country clubs, cruise ships
Restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, bookstores
Schools, churches, colleges
House concert
Jam sessions
Online video
Gig trading with other bands of similar style – one band opens the show, the other closes

Getting the Gig:
Attitude should be “how we can help each other”
Understand what is expected of you – don’t assume anything, including food and drinks
Make sure the venue has a good rep for being fair
Be ready if you need to do a live audition during a club’s less busy hours.
Venue specifications, space, sound
Keep your word, build respect, do what you say you will do
Get it in writing, contract
You know it’s up to you to promote your gig, right?

The Promotion:
Word of mouth with enthusiasm!
Flyers, posters – get permission as needed (e.g. parking lots)
Street teams, fan clubs
Internet marketing – Artistopia events, email, ezines, newsletters, class ads, Blogs, concert calendars, mailing list (online/offline)
Call ALL your friends, family, co-workers, school mates
Press releases to any media available
Newspaper, radio, local gig guides
Bulletin boards, music stores, record shops
Go where your particular style of fan would hang out or work – do your market research
Swap promo with local stores, restaurants, come up with some cool idea
The number of heads through the door is the most important factor for a re-booking

At Work:
A gig is a job – so the same rules apply: be on time, don’t take too many set breaks, be prepared to do your best and be professional at all times. The reputation you create will proceed you.
Sound check, balance, volume levels
Make sure the audience knows the name of your band
A good catchy opening line
Be adaptive to your environment – have a sense of humor
A musician under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a recipe for disaster
Merchandise for sale – CDs, t-shirts, stickers…door prizes
Have someone take good photos (video) for adding to your photo albums later – and schmooze with your fans! Get fan names to add to the photo narrative.
Collect emails, hand out biz cards, promote the next upcoming gig, get references
Something will probably go wrong, think through typical disasters and try to be prepared
Have a great time because you are doing what you love to do!

The Follow-up:
Let everyone know you had a great time and appreciate that they came to see you and thank the venue operators and staff
If you have a band following you, be polite and move your equipment as quickly as possible
Have your pre-appointed money collector do their job
Drop the rock star attitude – don’t get a big head
Respect the people around you and don’ burn any bridges
Learn from every experience
Add any upcoming gig or follow-up press release to your Artistopia profile. Show the world what you are about!

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Author Bio
Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.

Article Source: Artist Development

Why Artist Development Makes A Difference

2006-09-09T10:23:00.000-04:00

By The Artistopia Staff

Artist development in the music industry has evolved over time, leaving most of the early progress to the artist themselves. For the most part, the days are gone when a record label developed up and coming talent. The question continuously arises for those young artists, “where do I start”? With the advent of the Internet, the possibilities are mind boggling.

Many artists put in their mission statement, simply that they want a record deal, thinking that is all they need to succeed for career in music. Most don’t have a clue what it takes to get that deal, let alone maintain that career.

Artist development is a huge area overlooked by far too many artists and bands. Let’s explore the question, “What is artist development”?

A record label A&R rep once “discovered” fresh new faces in clubs, bars or word of mouth and would then support them, cultivate their creativeness, build up their fan base, and guide their direction with the intent of turning them into superstars. All of this of course, was with the intent of selling those 45’s, LPs, cassette’s and CDs. Gradually, many labels moved more into product development, which meant they are focused more on the immediacy of sales of the latest CD (product) released, and not bringing the artist up to that point. And more often than not, naive artists were at the labels mercy.

In this Internet age, it is more the artist or band themselves that must build the quality sound that is ready as a commercially viable product. On top of that, they need to have an already established fan base, basic music business skills, perhaps even the early music sales of a well produced CD. Labels are looking for pre-packaged, very talented musicians that are already showing their value.

A music career is a charted path to follow. Artist development involves all the issues surrounding and arising from that charted path, and crosses into knowledge of product development – the ultimate sale of the music.

Checklist on what artist and product development necessitate:

* Exceptional vocals, musicianship and/or songwriting skills
* Continued education and enhancement of musical skills
* Quality and reliable equipment
* Performance ability
* Image creation and maintenance
* Plan of action, goal setting
* Exceptional promotion materials, including photographs, press releases and artwork
* Business management skills
* Marketing, publicity, and promotion knowledge, online and offline
* Professional management
* Basic knowledge of recording, producing, engineering, and mastering
* Basic knowledge of manufacturing, distribution, and sales online, brick and mortar and air-play
* Good choices in members, staff and advisors
* Physical and mental preparedness
* Basic knowledge of finances, accounting
* Law and legal issues: publishing, copyrighting, trademarks, and an attorney
* Alternative career options – even athletes need to have other options!

Tending to all areas of your music career may make the difference between a one hit wonder and longevity in this business. It’s been said, “If you think this is a piece of cake, you better go bake one.” The music business, again, is a business. Businesses need to make money. That's worth repeating - the music business is a BUSINESS. Take the time to find out all you can about each of these steps in your journey.

That being said, an up and coming artist must begin somewhere…and if a career in the music business is the goal, then any naiveté must be addressed immediately! Knowledge is power. Power gives you leverage. And who knows...that entrepreneurial artist may just find they don't need that particular record deal after all.

This article is free for republishing with inclusion of the following "Author Bio" information in it's entirety:

Author Bio
Artistopia - The Ultimate Artist Development Resource http://www.artistopia.com is an artist development service and community on the web providing indie and unsigned music artists, songwriters and bands all the tools needed for music business collaboration and networking.
Article Source: Artist Development