There comes a time in every artist’s career where you’re going to have to approach someone in the industry to get to that proverbial “next level.” Let me assure you that there is a right way of doing this and several wrong ways of doing this. Sadly, many artists repeatedly write emails that go right into the trash because of very basic mistakes that can be easily avoided.
Read the whole article @ discmakers
25 music publicity tips from the mind of a publicity genius… Howard Bloom
The following information is summarized and improvisedfrom an interview with the legendary music publicist and father of modern music publicity… Howard Bloom in the “Billboard Guide to Music Publicity” (out of print book)
Howard Bloom (now a retired music publicist and well known author of books such as the Lucifer Principle) is responsible for the publicity for such legendary artists and bands as: ZZ Top, Prince, Talking Heads, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, REO Speedwagon, George Michael, and countless other artists.
Read the whole article @ musicbizadademy
The net gives most independent musicians something that they otherwise really would not have had – the opportunity to have their music heard by a large number of strangers (this was previously largely the preserve of signed acts). But it does something else too: it allows musicians to communicate directly with these strangers in rather sophisticated ways, through all manner of powerful tools: social networks, live video streaming services, email, the good old-fashioned website…the list goes on. This means that not only can strangers judge your music, they can judge you and form an opinion on how hip / sexy / annoying you are (delete as appropriate). And sadly, with the music industry being what it is, it’s often (perhaps usually!) the latter judgment that is of most importance to your career prospects. So getting your online reputation right is really important. Besides which, your online reputation is probably the only reputation you have.
Read the whole article @ prescriptionmusicpruk
Producing and recording music is one thing. Promoting it successfully is another. And if you think using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud, and ReverbNation is all you need to get your music out there, you’re in for a surprise!
How you promote yourself will make you or break you. So, how will people know you even exist when millions of other artists are using the same sites to promote their music? And as a broke artist (Admit it! Most up and coming artists are!) how much will it cost you?
This is where effective self-promotion comes in. Here are the 3 best ways to promote your music for free or on a limited budget.
Read the whole article @ hiphopwired
A little while ago, someone around FanBridge HQ wanted to see the top 50 subject lines of the past year (based on open rates). While there wasn’t one clear winning subject line to solve all of your open rate woes, we did spot a few patterns and put together this list of simple guidelines for crafting better subject lines.
Read the whole article @ fanbridge
Social media creates the appearance that each of your fans holds the same weight, be it one ‘like’, one ‘follow’, or one ‘friend’. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Your fans are all different.
The fact is that you will run into a wide range of fans; some of whom are really just friends supporting you (because that’s what friends do, dammit!), meanwhile others will be dedicated super fans who actively evangelize your music to others. Of course, most of your fans will fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
Read the whole article @ miccontrol
While the blogosphere on the whole has made many complex advances over the years, music blogs in particular have seen a wild shift in both credibility and popularity. With that in mind there have also been noticeable changes in how bloggers, labels and the artists themselves all interact, and how each of these relationships have impacted larger trends across the board. With that in mind it seemed more appropriate to mark the occasion with something that would be of larger benefit than simply a self-absorbed self-congratulatory blog post (though don’t get me wrong, I did that also); more specifically, something that could potentially offer some insight into the music blog process for artists (or labels, or anyone, really). The following isn’t a State of the Music Blogosphere address, nor is it an arbitrary step-by-step “how to” for artists guiding them toward getting their music out there. But rather, it is a series of tips which come as the result of conversations with a few dozen bloggers, industry figures and artists, all of which stand to enforce not only why it’s important that artists keep music blogs in mind when promoting their music, but what they can do to avoid being one of the many who fail to make it out of the inbox.
In the last five years, the world of music blogs has launched a new digital landscape for the musician. This brigade of everyday music enthusiasts who write passionately and frequently about what they love, often embedding songs in their posts, has opened doors for hundreds of musicians who might not have been heard twenty years ago. But it’s also made it harder for any one musician to rise to the top of the fickle music blog world of shiny hot new things and click-happy readers. Nonetheless, music blogs can be a powerful tool to spread the word about your music, if you know how to effectively work with them. Here are some tips that I would give to a friend looking to crack onto their favorite music blog.
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