Q: I just got a call from a PR firm who heard my music on myspace and is trying to convince me to try their service. They offer a 5 day trial for $2.95 automatically recurring at $60.00 a month until you cancel. I think I should decline.
A: here's the questions I think you should always ask yourself before you purchase a service:
- what is your definition of success, and what is your business plan for your music? how does this service support your goals?
- what is this service going to do for you that you're not doing or couldn't do yourself? You should do it yourself first so you understand what is required, and only purchase help when you don't have sufficient time to do it anymore / or if you can't access that area of the market yourself.
- what is their track record? One assumes a proactive musician has been building their network, reading newsletters and forums to do with music all the time. If this was a fantastic service that really helped artists, then why haven't you heard of it before now?
- who do they accept as members? Have you listened to that music? Is it well-produced, commercially viable?
- how do they go about executing your "pr" for you? What specifically will they do and how will they report the results to you. If they're going to be lumping your music in with other artist's music on a compilation CD, forget it. If they're going to be pitching your music to radio stations... get yourself a copy of the Indie Bible, read the articles and pitch yourself (and follow up your pitches as advised in the book).
- even if they do succeed in getting you "pr" what is the point of that? Do you have a product you are selling, do you have a tour you're selling tickets for... how is this investment going to end up as dollars back in your pocket?
- I don't put any reaccuring charges on my credit card if I can help it. $60 a month = $720 per year. Do they offer a discount if you pay the year up front? (That's more than double a TAXI membership, or an SongU membership, or a NSAI membership. These organizations have good reps.)
See the left hand column of this blog for resources on marketing & PR.
HTH
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Link: "6 Ways to become the Most Listenable Person You Know"
Yeah, okay. Some good ideas. But. I think the best way to be 'listenable' is to be authentic and share yourself, warts & all. Read books, magazines, think outside the box, be open to new ideas, explore your creativity. Lead a life full of interest, then you will be interesting.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
~ on making mistakes
Seth Godin asks: 'what's your biggest failure'?
A: My biggest mistake? I used beat myself up for not starting sooner. For not standing up for myself when I was in school. For thinking too much. For doing too little. My biggest mistake was believing the messages I got from other people. My biggest mistake was buying into the idea that you can't do art for a living (people still try to tell you that, while you're standing there making a living at it). Human beings are complex. I was able to heal from these things and move forward from them by *doing music*. I'm certainly not a perfect human being, I certainly make mistakes. My hard drive is full of musical tracks that went nowhere. My bedroom is stacked with canvasses, illustrations of ideas that dried up. I have the half-finished books and scripts. But I consider these educational experiments, playing, trying things out, doing art for the sake of doing art. My biggest mistake is when I think too much about the end product, what other people might say about what I'm doing. If I can focus on the moment and trust my instincts... who knows where I will end up.
A: My biggest mistake? I used beat myself up for not starting sooner. For not standing up for myself when I was in school. For thinking too much. For doing too little. My biggest mistake was believing the messages I got from other people. My biggest mistake was buying into the idea that you can't do art for a living (people still try to tell you that, while you're standing there making a living at it). Human beings are complex. I was able to heal from these things and move forward from them by *doing music*. I'm certainly not a perfect human being, I certainly make mistakes. My hard drive is full of musical tracks that went nowhere. My bedroom is stacked with canvasses, illustrations of ideas that dried up. I have the half-finished books and scripts. But I consider these educational experiments, playing, trying things out, doing art for the sake of doing art. My biggest mistake is when I think too much about the end product, what other people might say about what I'm doing. If I can focus on the moment and trust my instincts... who knows where I will end up.
~ touring
Q: I'm from the UK, and I'd like to play some gigs in the States. I mostly play solo, have a new CD out. I'd love to open for someone, or book some solo gigs.
A: You might try the Musican's Altas if you're interested in booking gigs in the US
http://www.musiciansatlas.com/
There's also a great house concerts site... can I find it... yep, they've got a pretty good list.
http://www.houseconcerts.com/venue.php
Depending what you play, if you appeal the college crowd, you might have an in. Derek Sivers wrote an article about that -
http://cdbaby.net/college2
You need to decide what cities you want to play (and who is going to tour with you), then firm up some gigs, work out your transportation/accomodation & budget, and then use the Indie Bible to pitch your CD to local radio stations & work on marketing your self.
http://www.indiebible.com/
Your music is good, but your myspace page doesn't reflect your 'solo artist' style music - if you're pitching yourself as an acoustic act or a solo artist, you need to present music that fits that image. You might put together a video of yourself playing live & solo, so that folks booking acts can hear & see what you do.
Just a few thoughts.
A: You might try the Musican's Altas if you're interested in booking gigs in the US
http://www.musiciansatlas.com/
There's also a great house concerts site... can I find it... yep, they've got a pretty good list.
http://www.houseconcerts.com/venue.php
Depending what you play, if you appeal the college crowd, you might have an in. Derek Sivers wrote an article about that -
http://cdbaby.net/college2
You need to decide what cities you want to play (and who is going to tour with you), then firm up some gigs, work out your transportation/accomodation & budget, and then use the Indie Bible to pitch your CD to local radio stations & work on marketing your self.
http://www.indiebible.com/
Your music is good, but your myspace page doesn't reflect your 'solo artist' style music - if you're pitching yourself as an acoustic act or a solo artist, you need to present music that fits that image. You might put together a video of yourself playing live & solo, so that folks booking acts can hear & see what you do.
Just a few thoughts.
about co-writing
Q: I’ve been looking for someone to demo a couple of my songs. I found a couple of companies that write music for lyrics but when I looked them up on BBB I wasn't impressed. I’ve been writing country song lyrics for some time now. I need someone to write music. I mainly write country and comedy/novelty songs. As for now, I would like to get my songs on a demo.
A: Post your lyrics in the lyric section of a good songwriting forum. Ask if any country musicians are interested in co-writing with you.
It is my opinion that you should *never* pay someone to write music for your lyrics (good for you for checking out BBB). That is a co-write, and that means both co-writers jointly own the song. Always sign a co-writing agreement before you start working together. Don't jump in to co-writes, either. Exchange emails, listen to their work, check out their posts, is that someone you want to work with. Be prepared to share in the cost of making any demo. Be wise enough to know that you shouldn't spend that money without understanding your goal. If your goal is to pitch songs to artists, be aware that this is extemely competitive and as an unknown you're up against the best, known songwriters in pursuit of that goal - more so in country than any other genre.
As far as demo's go - don't put the cart before the horse. Find someone to collaborate with who can record a vocal/guitar or vocal/piano worktape. Go to SongU or NSAI or get the worktape evaluated by a good professional songwriting teacher - for country I recommend Pat Luboff. If and when the song merits it, then you get a properly done Nashville-style demo. Then the work of pitching the song(s) begins.
It's also crucial that you understand what sub-genre of country you are writing, and make sure your demo reflects that.
John Braheny's "The Craft & the Business of Songwriting" is a good resource. Also Jason Blume's "6 Steps to Songwriting Success". I also think Jason Blume's "Inside Songwriting" is a good primer for what it's like to pitch songs to the industry.
Songwriting forums:
Just Plain Folks -- http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/
Muse's Muse -- http://www.musesmuse.com/forums/
Irene Jackson -- http://irenejackson.com/forum/index.php
Songwriter101 -- http://www.songwriter101.com/
HTH
A: Post your lyrics in the lyric section of a good songwriting forum. Ask if any country musicians are interested in co-writing with you.
It is my opinion that you should *never* pay someone to write music for your lyrics (good for you for checking out BBB). That is a co-write, and that means both co-writers jointly own the song. Always sign a co-writing agreement before you start working together. Don't jump in to co-writes, either. Exchange emails, listen to their work, check out their posts, is that someone you want to work with. Be prepared to share in the cost of making any demo. Be wise enough to know that you shouldn't spend that money without understanding your goal. If your goal is to pitch songs to artists, be aware that this is extemely competitive and as an unknown you're up against the best, known songwriters in pursuit of that goal - more so in country than any other genre.
As far as demo's go - don't put the cart before the horse. Find someone to collaborate with who can record a vocal/guitar or vocal/piano worktape. Go to SongU or NSAI or get the worktape evaluated by a good professional songwriting teacher - for country I recommend Pat Luboff. If and when the song merits it, then you get a properly done Nashville-style demo. Then the work of pitching the song(s) begins.
It's also crucial that you understand what sub-genre of country you are writing, and make sure your demo reflects that.
John Braheny's "The Craft & the Business of Songwriting" is a good resource. Also Jason Blume's "6 Steps to Songwriting Success". I also think Jason Blume's "Inside Songwriting" is a good primer for what it's like to pitch songs to the industry.
Songwriting forums:
Just Plain Folks -- http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/
Muse's Muse -- http://www.musesmuse.com/forums/
Irene Jackson -- http://irenejackson.com/forum/index.php
Songwriter101 -- http://www.songwriter101.com/
HTH
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