Howdy folks,
My buddy Greg Rollett, over at Gen-Y Rock Stars, just sent me a very cool email that I want to share with you in the video below.
Here is what you need to do. Check out the NME Blueprint. If you think it will help your music career then you need to enter “chrisrockett” in the coupon section of the final checkout page and the price will instantly be knocked in half.
This article was first posted on Chris Rockett's Music Marketing Website
Every hour of every day there is a talented musician somewhere on the planet, who makes the mental decision to put their artistic side on the back burner in favor of a more stable career.
Although they vow to themselves that they will still pursue music in their spare time, just this simple mindset shift will mean that writing songs and doing gigs will always take a back seat in the face of almost everything else in life. In a way it hurts too much to do music when you make this decision, because it reminds you of all the dreams you had, and a feeling of being a failure. Well I have good news... it’s not your fault! Because nobody teaches you a real practical way of making music a viable career.
Even the most committed musicians are ground down to nothing after a few years of playing empty shows, and sending out 100’s of demos with no reply. In this article I want to show you some of the common pitfalls that attack the enthusiasm of DIY musicians, leaving you feeling like there is no chance for your career. It’s my hope that once you start to recognize the common mistakes that people make, you will be able to avoid them and get on with the real work of consistently creating content that your fans will appreciate.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this happen... You go to a show and see a new band rocking out some amazing tunes, but each time you see them again they just continue to play the same old set over and over again. The bottom line is that one set of good songs does not make a career. I think some musicians feel a fear that they will not be able to match their previous work and this becomes kind of like a block.
Solution: Make sure that you write something new everyday and the gems come by default.
When you first start out you might as well play any show that comes along because this is valuable experience, and can even save you some money on the practice room. This becomes a “career killer” when musicians continue to play every bad show in the hope that they might just convert 1 new fan. Playing to empty rooms with no pay not only sucks ass, but it’s also like a cancer to your career because it will destroy your enthusiasm.
Solution: Next time you get offered a bad show turn it down, and spend the evening connecting with promoters of popular club nights and venues. One really good gig is worth a hundred empty venues.
This one is simple... If you ever have to write “to whom it may concern” in your messages to promote your career, then you are not on good enough terms to ask for any help. You need to get out there and do a little bit more networking. Also try and mix “professional” with “human” because people in the music industry don't want to deal with self promotional robots.
Solution: Remember that there is a real person behind every email address, and stop thinking of your music marketing plan as a numbers game. Which brings me onto...
People often start out in music marketing messaging everyone they can on YouTube, Twitter, Forums, Blogs, Facebook and Myspace in the hope that one day so many people will hear about them that they will get famous. ...or they find a bunch of contact info for record labels looking for artists and send a mass email along the lines of:
“Hey, we are a cool band and are looking to get sign, please email back if you can help.”
But just think about that for a second. If you got an email like that would you think good things about the band? NO WAY! You have just blown your chances with a massive section of the industry who will now see your name as mud.
Solution: A well thought out targeted promotion will take more time upfront, but In the long term it will have a much wider reaching benefit.
As well as making daily progress with your career you also need to be tracking every little thing that is going on in your music scene as well. This is very important because when you follow all the latest news you start to notice little opportunities that will pop up from time to time. If you just sit in your bedroom and never get involved with your music scene, then it will be much harder to get your work in front of the right people.
Solution: Use my Google Music Alerts method to track your music niche.
Sometimes being a solo act can be great, like when it comes to getting paid at the end of the night! But the problem with being a one man (or woman) show is that you never get to brainstorm new ideas with anyone, and you always have to go with your gut. For instance... You might have a marketing plan that you have been working on for the last year, then suddenly you speak to a music PR person at a gig and find out that if you just made a few tweaks you might acheive success much faster.
Solution: Find a group of other solo musicians and get together once every couple of weeks for a mastermind session. Talk about new ideas and projects you have going. When you put your brains together with a clever group of people you become a SUPER-BRAIN!
credit: Son of GrouchoMusic can be a bitch and some days you will feel depressed and like nothing is going your way. This is a very dangerous time, because a nice steady job with benefits will suddenly seem a little bit more appealing. At this point you need to take a couple of days off and get away completely. After a little while you will start to realize that things are not so bad, and with that clarity you can plan your attack in a new and better way.
Solution: A little bit of progress every day will guarantee some sort of success in the future, but 20 hours a day for 6 months will only guarantee that you give up!
I know that a lot of people like to think of themselves as perfectionists and I use to be the same way, but rather than helping your career this will ultimately kill your spirit. Perfection sucks! Writing the perfect music marketing plan and never actually putting anything into action will get you nowhere FAST. For example, if you are making a YouTube video and mess up a chord just laugh and post it anyway...
Solution: Set a short deadline for planning and then get to work and test your music marketing theories.
Laziness is not a bad thing if you know how to work a couple of hours a day and achieve massive results. But people often have a little bit of success then sit back and do nothing for a few months. Music marketing is not fun all the time, and not nearly as cool as making a new recording. But unless you use each of your little successes as a building block you will never build enough momentum to get ahead.
Solution: Aim for the tipping point below...
There comes a time in the life of every successful musician, when you have added so much value to the world that suddenly your Twitter and Facebook numbers are going up everyday, and your website traffic is increasing by itself. This is the point at which fans start to become your automatic promotion source, and if you give up before this ever happens you will never know what it feels like. Having reached The Tipping Point you can scale back your music promotion, and focus much more on the creative process. Diligently working on your career six days a week (even for an hour) will bring you massive rewards. As
Bon Jovi once said...
“Oh you got to KEEP THE FAITH!!!”
- Chris
Watch The Video Podcast Below
Article Source: 9 Reasons Why Good Musicians Fail...& How-To Avoid Them?
Chris Rockett is a Music Marketing Consultant from London who Helps Musicians Build a Fan Base Fast. To Get Your Hands on his FREE 14 Day Music Marketing Course, Plus the Fast Start Guide (All Worth $197) Click Here Right Now: Music Marketing Plan...or Sign Up Here To Learn The No.1 Darkest Secret In Music Marketing Today: Band Marketing Ideas
I want to give you a little mantra you can use in your music marketing that goes like this...
“I will spend 80% of my time producing amazing music, 15% music marketing and then 5% learning music marketing material.” This is kind of like cutting off my nose to spite my face because I produce a lot of music marketing content myself, but if you spend your whole time eating up all the information it’s very hard to ever get around to actually producing any music of worth. ...and marketing crap music has a name...SPAM! You need to think of all the online courses, guides and books like shiny objects that are pulling you in all different directions and stick with one method until you make it a success. But the fact remains that if you don’t actually make any music of worth you are not really a musician.
This morning I approached my computer with excitement after a long weekend away with the idea that I would pump out a bunch of blog posts and start work on my new ebook. But the plan seems to have gone all wonky... I opened my twitter client to see that my friend sent me a link to a great article about how to “sing like a rockstar”, and that led to another and then another. So now I know the theory of killer vocal delivery but I’m no further on with my mission to give you guys the best music marketing info I can muster :-( Note to self, never open twitter in the morning, it’s a total bloody time suck! There are a few things that I have learned over the years (but that I sometimes ignore) which have helped me be more productive in my music marketing and in music in general.
.
credit: cookipediachefNow the thing is that none of that stuff is bad and you could be forgiven for thinking that you had gotten your hands very dirty in the music business and made a contribution. But unfortunately that is not the case because there was no focus and no planning. Now let’s look at a morning to be proud of...
If you make a commitment like that everyday you will find that your work increases ten fold and then you can spend the rest of the day reading your email or learning new music marketing stuff if you like. The problems can come when you use that early burst of energy in the morning to just consume material, and then when you get down to doing some actual work you totally forget what you were doing and have no focus. It’s very hard to start producing great work half way through the day because your body has run out of will power and energy. To be honest it’s all about focus and you really can achieve more in 4 hours than most people get done in a whole day, if you just shut off all that crap pulling you away from the task at hand.
A lot of times you might even find that you are reading something that seems like it’s going to change your life, and you will tell yourself that you really are making progress with your music career if you just get the hang of the information. Well...I will let you into a little secret. You know enough right now to become a professional musician if you just use what you know and make progress each day. We all know what to do, because it’s not rocket science.
credit: Andrew MasonNow if you have read up to this point you may be thinking that I’m suggesting that you never take the time to learn or plan and that you are always blindly just mashing away at your keyboard. This could not be further from the truth because the mind is kind of like a car, if you are going to run miles and miles you need the right amount of fuel at the right time. As musicians and music marketeers we need to know what others are saying so that we can form an opinion and add new ideas to our songs and marketing plan. Here is what I would suggest if you have a full time job: Find 4 hours a day to work on your music marketing then think of it like this:
Another important part of this is that you need to have time each day when you totally turn off from everything and just do something that does not take any brain power at all. Sometimes TV or video games can work. You will not feel guilty now because you will know that you have done great work that day! I remember when I was making my first album I convinced myself that if I really wanted to make it work I should focus 22 hours a day for the period of the recording and put everything into making it the best thing we ever did. I would spend hours and hours a day just listening to the recordings like some kind of freaky Howard Hughes dude. NOT GOOD! But what I did not realize at the time was that a break can actually make things work better and give you more perspective. While on your break you are more likely to think of an amazing new guitar hook or a lyric that is going to resonate deeply with your fans. If I had just taken a little step back I think I would have made a lot more progress and enjoyed things a lot more. I now take regular breaks throughout the day and this keeps me focused on the task at hand and my energy levels stay high throughout the day, which is great.
If you take anything from this article just let it be the fact that you want to avoid spending your whole life eating up all the music marketing goodness without ever making the cake. (Wow I’m churning out the metaphors today like a cow makes milk!) People think that there is some big secret to this stuff and if they can just learn it everything will be OK and the record labels will take care of them... !!!THIS IS A MYTH!!! I cant’ tell you how many times I’ve spoken with musicians who moan about the following problems:
You need to break out of these traps now otherwise you will get to the end of another year and your music ambition will seem even further away because you will tell yourself that you are a failure. This is one of the main reasons that most people never make it because they never make a commitment to work at it everyday doing important tasks that will have a real impact.
credit: Sebastian AnthonyThe first step back for the music marketing junkie is a little bit of focus. If you are working on YouTube to bring hits to your blog at the moment spend your learning time looking for bigger and better ways to become the next YouTube superhero. Then when you hit the computer next morning use what you learn. If you just follow this simple rule you will suddenly become much more efficient because that time you spend reading now has a purpose. If you just eat all the information like a greedy pig you will get fatter and fatter and slower and slower until you become a beached whale and will have to settle for a crappy job that will melt your brain. Let me save your brain guys ;-) Learn once a day in a focused area and become the master of it...SIMPLES!
To finish off this article I would like to share my commitments for this month so you might get inspired to make a few for yourself. As I said before the worst feeling in the world is getting to the end of the year and thinking that instead of making daily progress and achieving something cool you just played Call of Duty for the whole time and are still working for a boss that you would secretly like to kill.
This is what I’m doing, now it’s up to you, let me know what your are committed to in the comment box below? Look forward to hearing from you, - Chris
Article Source: How to Avoid Music Marketing Overload (AKA Mushy Brain Syndrome!)
Chris Rockett is a Music Marketing Consultant from London who Helps Musicians Build a Fan Base Fast. To Get Your Hands on his FREE 14 Day Music Marketing Course, Plus the Fast Start Guide (All Worth $197) Click Here Right Now: Music Marketing Plan...or Sign Up Here To Learn The No.1 Darkest Secret In Music Marketing Today: Band Marketing Ideas
It’s Chris Rockett here, your friendly neighborhood tactics pimp! Today I want to talk to you about what’s going on behind the scenes for my music promotion projects.
So what am I doing?
To help please the internet and the mighty “King Google” I’m placing much more emphasis on content based music marketing. You have seen that I’m doing YouTube videos, Twitter posts, Facebook pages, and blog posts.
This all works great to bring in new fans to your gang, because there is so much to talk about in your music scene, and you can easily jump into the conversation.
Let’s have a look at how you can do that...
Google - You can obviously pay for traffic on Google, but it’s really hard to make a profit so I’m going to suggest you use a process called “Search engine optimization” or SEO.
This means that you show up in the natural search results which will bring new fans to your website.
Did I mention that this kind of fan generation is totally FREE. (Very cool)
You can download a great introduction to SEO here.
But I would suggest you not overcomplicate this and just follow my simple process...
Facebook - Make sure that you have a Facebook fan page and share high quality content everyday. Create work that is exclusive to your Facebook fans.
When you post ask then to comment and make sure that you join in the conversation before it dies. Share your YouTube videos, blog posts, new songs, guest blog posts and never post any crap on there at all.
If you do this right an post the best stuff you can find, people will share your content, and more and more of their friends will find and follow your page, which will create a feedback loop.
Facebook Ads - I’m also using ads in some cases and you can read my free guide on the Gen-Y Rock Stars blog here.
YouTube - Just start making simple videos at least three times a week and deliver high quality content to your network with not only your own music, but also your opinion of news in the scene, and album reviews for other bands.
Twitter - Track down the latest breaking news in your music scene and become the best source of music information for your fans. Also let your followers know about your own music once in a while.
People are already looking for quality information about their favourite music so you need to plant yourself in front of those fans and then attract them back to your own website.
Just focus on the top few sites on the Internet and you will save yourself a bunch of time.
That’s basically what I wanted to talk to you about today; the most powerful “fan getting” websites on the planet right now, that you can start using to spread your amazing songs and opinions.
May the force be with you, my music marketing friend!
- Chris Rockett
This post was originally published by Chris Rockett on his Music Marketing Blog. Chris is a Music Marketing Consultant from London who Helps Musicians Build a Fan Base Fast. To Get Your Hands on his FREE 14 Day Music Marketing Course, Plus the Fast Start Guide (All Worth $197) Click Here Right Now: Marketing Plan for Music Artist ...or Sign Up at the following link To Learn The No.1 Darkest Secret In Music Marketing Today: Record Labels Looking for Artist
No time for music marketing?
Well, that makes the 2 of us....or should I say, once upon a time, I had the very same problem! I used to be very busy with the other aspects of my work-answering phone calls, emailing clients, meeting with my staff-among the many other things that consumed my time. What happened then? It dawned on me that in order for my business to progress, I needed to invest some time in marketing each and every day without exception. So I became a time management freak and it was then that things started to move to the next level for the bands that I work with. The best way to start promoting your music is to make time to do it. So below you will find a few of my favourite methods to start making time each day for your music promotion.
But as a musician you will need to keep a close eye on this process and make sure that nothing goes out without you adding a personal touch for the fans When you come to think of it, music marketing is all about time management and focus. If you can’t really find time, find someone to have time for you. Good luck, - Chris
This post was originally published by Chris Rockett on his Music Marketing Blog. Chris is a Music Marketing Consultant from London who Helps Musicians Build a Fan Base Fast. To Get Your Hands on his FREE 14 Day Music Marketing Course, Plus the Fast Start Guide (All Worth $197) Click Here Right Now: Marketing Plan for Music Artist ...or Sign Up at the following link To Learn The No.1 Darkest Secret In Music Marketing Today: Record Labels Looking for Artist
No time for music marketing?
Well, that makes the 2 of us....or should I say, once upon a time, I had the very same problem! I used to be very busy with the other aspects of my work-answering phone calls, emailing clients, meeting with my staff-among the many other things that consumed my time. What happened then? It dawned on me that in order for my business to progress, I needed to invest some time in marketing each and every day without exception. So I became a time management freak and it was then that things started to move to the next level for the bands that I work with. The best way to start promoting your music is to make time to do it. So below you will find a few of my favourite methods to start making time each day for your music promotion.
But as a musician you will need to keep a close eye on this process and make sure that nothing goes out without you adding a personal touch for the fans When you come to think of it, music marketing is all about time management and focus. If you can’t really find time, find someone to have time for you. Good luck, - Chris
This Post Was Originally Published by Chris Rockett on his Music Marketing Blog. Chris is a Music Marketing Consultant from London who Helps Musicians Build a Fan Base Fast. To Get Your Hands on his FREE 14 Day Music Marketing Course, Plus the Fast Start Guide (All Worth $197) Click Here Right Now: Marketing Plan for Music Artist ... or Sign Up at the following link To Learn The No.1 Darkest Secret In Music Marketing Today: Record Labels Looking for Artist
You should know by now that as an entertainer, you sometimes feel like a commodity to be sold in the market for the highest price. You have to be packaged in such a way that will be attractive to the public in order to entice them to fan you.
Is my talent not enough, you may ask?
Think of it like this…
Would you be enticed to buy a rich, creamy chocolate bar that is wrapped in old dirty newspaper?
NO WAY! (Unless that’t the niche you’re in.)
Branding yourself as a musician will help you cement your stand in industry. It will tell the people what you’ve got and what you can do as an artist.
To top it all, branding will define the rockstar qualities in you.
For you further enlightenment on branding, here are the ten things that will help you brand yourself and your music in a way that will be like a new fan magnet.
Let’s get started…
Start branding yourself as a musician by telling your story. Most people want to hear a story that flows along the line of Cinderella’s. You know, the of rags to riches kind or something that starts from having a dream which comes true after unexpected twists and turns. You might say that you were just a sales clerk who rich customers snarled at, and that you kept on dreaming of becoming a star until the big break came. If your life before stardom has not been that dramatic, find some points where there was some sort of misfortune and zero in on that. In other words, magnify and elaborate on it. These kind of stories are not just fairy tales, they also inspire people and make them hold on to their dream or at least, encourage them to dream.
Just don’t mention you talked to mice and birds like Cinderella…or have a golden slipper. You might just shoo your fans and potential followers away with your evil stepmothers broom
One of the best ways to generate admiration from the public is your voice, not just your singing voice, but your blogging voice that resonates with originality, simplicity and innateness. Tell what you can tell about yourself or your craft. But make sure that whatever comes out of your mouth is real and original and not copied from other artists.
When your manager or PR firm sends out press releases, make sure that what the public is told about you should is true. If you think that it’s OK to deceive the people in order to get them to buy your record or watch your concert, drop it. Remember, this is the Internet age where nothing can be concealed from the eyes and thoughts of the people. When the public finds out that you have lied to them, they will definitely change their mind about you and stop patronizing your music and you as an artist. In the same way, be as honest as you can be when interviewed. If you think the questions are too personal or will scandalize your private life keep quite, but never lie!
If you have a soft voice suited for love songs, don’t push yourself to be a rockstar. While it’s true that versatility is one way to keep yourself afloat in the music industry, you have to focus on what you do best first before venturing into a different genre.
There is no denying that the world got smaller as technology expanded (and continues to expand). The Internet has been a platform for many people to be noticed, including musicians. One of the best ways to be virtually present is to have your own website or if not, your own music blog where you can keep your followers posted with what’s happening with you no matter how big or trivial the info may be. And of course, there is Twitter and Facebook that allow the fans to communicate with you.
While it helps to keep your feet on the ground despite whatever achievements you have, it won’t kill you if you talk about them and be labelled with them. It’s far, far better than talking with false humility. After all, you worked hard to get where you are so celebrate it.
But let me remind you: there’s a thin line between being proud and being arrogant.
While it’s flattering to have labels such as “Grammy-Winner” or “Oscar-Nominated”, the proof of a musician is no longer limited to the statuettes, trophies and TV ratings they earn. With the Internet as the platform, the battle for supremacy has gotten high tech as well. The more clicks, views and likes a website/music blog site has, the more it cements the fame and bankability of a musician. So, how do you achieve this as a musician?
Improve the music/blog content of your website, increase its Google Love and update frequently.
Musical collaborations have become more and more common these past few years whether on stage or on records. Let’s take the case of Lady Gaga and Beyonce for instance who performed side by side via the song “Telephone”.
You can easily do the same thing on a smaller scale if you find a silimar artist and share your audience with them.
You know what they say about success of musicians and actors? It’s not just talent it’s also about timing. You’ve got to have that gut feeling if a project is good for you or not. While basically you make a decision along with your manager, in the end it’s you who call the shots. Will a particular song suit your vocal stylings and your image as an artist? Will it be a perfect time for you to hold a major concert? You don’t have to jump at every opportunity that comes your way. It’s still best to weigh things in order to come up with the best that you can offer.
No matter how appealing and talented you are, if you are sold in the wrong market, nothing will happen.
If you are a block of ice, you should be sold in Alaska.
If you sound like Justin Bieber, find out where his fans hang out.
If your forte is heavy metal rock music, will it be wise to market you to those aging 60 and up?
So, determine your market and direct all your musical firepower on them.
