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Developing a Live Fanbase with Better Song Intros

May 20, 2013{ No Comments }

TomJackson 200x300 Developing a Live Fanbase with Better Song Intros How to court your concert audience with more creative song intros

Do you want to develop a fan base from stage or not? It begins with the introductions to your songs. (And I’m not talking about speaking to your audience!).

I always say there’s a difference between what you perform live and what you record.

For instance, song introductions on your recording need to be short and sweet. You’ve got to get to the meat of the song immediately (if you really want to be played on radio). But live is a different animal. In fact, live you want to be creative, draw your audience in, and captivate them – with the intro!

Most of you reading this blog are “dating” your audience. In other words, you haven’t sold millions of records, appear regularly on TV, and aren’t known by everyone watching & listening. So you need to win your audience as soon as you can. That won’t happen just because you play your songs correctly.

Watch this video and get a little taste of what I’m talking about:

For at least 10 seconds at the beginning of this artist’s performance, Read more »

How to Copyright Your Music

May 16, 2013{ 2 Comments }

copyright image How to Copyright Your MusicWhy independent songwriters should register the copyright for their music

[This article is written by guest contributor Anthony Ceseri.]

Please Note: This article discusses opinions on copyrighting your music and should not be considered legal advice. If you’re unsure about how the copyright laws in your country will affect you, please contact a lawyer before proceeding.

When you submit a song for copyright you’re simply proving the date of submission of your work. The fine folks of the copyright office don’t sit around listening to every submission to see if they’ve heard it before. That would be an impossible task. When you write or record your song, technically, you’ve created it — and thus you own the copyright to it. By submitting a song to the copyright office, you’re protecting your music simply by acknowledging the date of its creation.

It’s also important to note that certain aspects of your song are not protected even if you’ve registered the copyright. These include:

* chord progressions

* the overall idea or concept of your song

* and a title or short phrase

Read more »

Introducing CD Baby’s MusicStore for Facebook, Version 2.0

May 15, 2013{ 4 Comments }

mainimage Introducing CD Babys MusicStore for Facebook, Version 2.0

Selling Your Music on Facebook Just Got Easier. 

If you’ve already been using CD Baby’s MusicStore to sell your music on Facebook, you know it’s an ideal way to get your tunes in front of people and make sales on the world’s most popular social network. If you haven’t, now’s a great time to start.

We’ve been in the lab fiddling and tinkering, and it’s safe to say we did more than just slap on a new coat of paint. We kept all the features you love, made ’em look even nicer, and also added new functionality that makes sharing your music even easier.

Read more »

7 Deadly Sins Musicians Are Committing on Facebook & Twitter

May 9, 2013{ 5 Comments }

7ds 7 Deadly Sins Musicians Are Committing on Facebook & TwitterAre you committing any of these social media sins?

I’ve been personally manning the Jaden Social Facebook and Twitter pages since starting the company in my bedroom back in November 2011. And let me say straight up, getting my hands dirty right from day 1 has been one of the most valuable and eye-opening experiences I could ask for as a business owner, musician and marketer.

In 18 months I have gone from checking in barely a couple of times a week to deal with a handful of interactions, to spending upwards of 12 hours a day monitoring and managing more than 100 interactions 7 days a week (thank you Chrome for the ability to permanently pin tabs to the browser window).

Now I would say I’m a pretty chilled out dude for the most part, but there are some things that musos do (and say) online that really make me cringe. Since I too was once a blissfully ignorant and, at times, cringe-worthy muso, I’m not going to sit here and get self-righteous about it. No, I’m going to do the next funnest (that’s a real word, I swear) thing and compile a list of 7 deadly sins I feel are damaging the online efficacy of all my musician friends’ content & promotion strategies on Facebook & Twitter.

1. Promoting without providing value 

This is without a doubt one of the biggest no-no’s that exists on EVERY Social Media platform today. Read more »

6 Steps to Songwriting Success

April 30, 2013{ No Comments }

shutterstock 101870326 300x200 6 Steps to Songwriting Success[This post was written by guest contributor Anthony Ceseri.]

I know it can seem difficult sometimes, but achieving songwriting success is very possible. Most of what you need to do involves your mindset and habits; you need to allow yourself to get what you want with your music career. So here we’ll look at some of the most crucial things to be aware of in order for you to reach your goals as a songwriter.

1. Know your purpose as a songwriter

It’s really important to know what you want to achieve as a songwriter or performer in order to get there. That may sound obvious, but it’s often neglected. A lot of times amateur songwriters walk around with the mindset of simply hoping “something’s” going to happen for them, without knowing what that something is.

Read more »

How to Make the Most of a Festival Appearance, Part II

April 24, 2013{ No Comments }

shutterstock 80503267 300x200 How to Make the Most of a Festival Appearance, Part IIPart I of “How to Make the Most of a Festival Appearance” discussed how to help the festival publicize you and your appearance.

In Part II, let’s take a look at advancing the show, and the actual event.

When advancing the show:

* Make sure your stage plot and input list is up-to-date. Too many times a band will arrive on site and ask why, say, the stage is set for a left-handed drummer – well, because that’s what was indicated on the stage plot. “That drummer left six months ago” is a truly exasperating thing to hear at that moment. Be able to provide a current stage plot and input list (with a revision date, ideally). Include contact information for whoever handles tech.

* Be communicative and professional. Return phone calls and e-mails promptly. If you have questions for the festival coordinator, make a list and ask everything at once, rather than in six separate calls.

* Observe the radius clause. Festivals don’t want to prevent up-and-coming bands from playing elsewhere, but they do want to encourage your fans to see you at the festival. Read more »

10 Tips to Help You Make Your Music Career More Sustainable

April 22, 2013{ 2 Comments }

4243329714 396d8888c5 z 300x199 10 Tips to Help You Make Your Music Career More SustainableSustainability & your music

[This article was written by guest contributor Jakob Barry.]

From practicing to performing there are many ways we as musicians can incorporate a more sustainable approach to the musical process.

For instance, while the digital age has posed various challenges for the music industry, from an environmental point of view it’s safe to say there is an amazing opportunity for musicians to make greener choices with greater ease.

The best example of this would be the simple fact that instead of releasing an album in a jewel case, music can be sold with all the album artwork through downloads which creates little, if any waste.

We purchase and share music like this all the time but the fact it’s environmentally sound isn’t something that usually draws our attention.

That said, when we as musicians make green choices they may not always be recognized, but it sends a special message to fans that while putting music into the world is our dream, we’re trying to impact the environment less.

So whether an artist’s talent is his livelihood, hobby, or both — consider some of the following ways where sustainability and musicianship meet, and how artists like you and I can go green every step of the way.

 10 ways to make your music career more “green”

1. Power strips: Tired of leaving a piece of equipment Read more »

5 Music Biz Myths Debunked

April 19, 2013{ No Comments }

shutterstock 132705665 300x225 5 Music Biz Myths DebunkedBusting the big myths of the music business

[This post was written by guest contributors Ari Herstand and Cheryl B. Engelhardt.]

Ever since Myspace hit, musicians have been attempting to showcase themselves online in the most attractive light possible. Most musicians went about Myspace completely wrong by making their profiles look like it was pumped out by a major label. A sterile “Thanks for the follow!” banner was posted in the comment section of anyone who friended them and any comment or message was replied to by “management” to make it seem we were busier and more important than we were.

Only during Myspace’s cliff-jumping decline (and Facebook’s rise) did we (yes we’re at fault too) realize that we went about it all wrong. People weren’t connecting to the (failed) mystique like the stars of yore, but were connecting to those who opened up and showed their true identities. The artists who wrote back to their fans personally and didn’t pimp out their profiles to appear to be anything they weren’t — those were the ones who quickly rose.
+It Doesn’t Take a Web Genius

The new music model is all about transparency and not trying to be anyone you aren’t. Read more »

How To Earn A Living Through Music: Teach What You Do Best

April 15, 2013{ 2 Comments }

shutterstock 62809558 How To Earn A Living Through Music: Teach What You Do Best

Teaching music lessons can help you stay “full-time” in your music career

This is the year you plan to go full time as a working musician. You expect to have steady money coming in from gigs, recordings and session playing.

But, what if the money isn’t quite steady enough? Going back to your day job isn’t an option – there’s just not enough flexibility for a working musician like yourself. Besides, you’re not interested in working for the man…unless that man (or woman) is you.

Making a living in music means being open to a variety of income streams and opportunities. Enter one of the oldest professions in the book…teaching. Your knowledge of craft is valuable. Even most self-taught musicians have been shaped by a great teacher at some point along the way.

Why you should consider supplementing your income teaching music lessons

It’s worth noting that music lessons have come a long way. Technology has left no part of the music industry untouched and music instruction is no exception. Thanks to ubiquitous webcams and high-speed internet, you can teach students online regardless of where they live. One thing that hasn’t changed Read more »

How to Make the Most of a Festival Appearance

April 11, 2013{ 1 Comment }

shutterstock 80503267 How to Make the Most of a Festival AppearanceFestivals  are among the best opportunities for up-and-coming bands to gain new fans. Here’s what you need to do to help festivals publicize you – and by extension, themselves – once you’ve made the lineup.

Provide a good, color publicity photo.

Maybe you’re not at the top of the bill, but your publicity materials need to look as though you are. You must be able to provide a strong, high-resolution, color image via e-mail or website the minute you’re booked.

* Provide a horizontal and vertical version. Sometimes it’s what media editors have space for that determines which band’s photo is used.

* Make sure your photo looks good small. Shots of an eight-person band standing far apart are not going to reproduce well if the photo is only four inches wide. Read more »

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