5 Risks you need to take in your music biz

"Jay-Z is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America"

When no major record label would give him a record deal, Jay-Z and two of his associates started their own record label, Roc-A-Fella Records. Jay-Z would not be as successful as he is today if he hadn't taken risks in his musical career. No one's risks have paid off more.



Here are 5 risks that are well worth taking to advance your music business and succeed in Today's Music Biz.

Incorporate. This means register your music business at the state level. There are several types of business structures. You’ll have to research to find out which is the best for your situation. If you are still not sure, hire an attorney who knows corporate music business law. IRS.gov/business is a good place to begin your research. It’s not difficult to register, but there are fees associated with it.

File your taxes. Now more than ever before, there are benefits such as tax exemptions for small businesses. Some tax benefits are specific to the music business. It’s best to hire a tax professional who is knowledgeable in Music Business tax laws and provisions so you can take advantage of all the exemptions available. Make sure you prepare though out the year by saving any receipts related to your Music Business, including travel, equipment, and business meals just to name a few.

Brand yourself. Make sure your image is consistent with your message. Then stay consistent. If you are a record label owner, think about what you want your label to stand for. If you are a musician or band, you are your brand. Make sure to represent.

Reach out. You never know what opportunity is on the other side of a click. Fans need to connect with you, so use the resources available to you to communicate with them. I check out many artists, just because they sent me a nice email or a dm on twitter and we usually end up interviewing them on our BlogTalkRadio Music Biz Podcast. Today’s music biz is about relationships. So always remember to be professional. Nothing on the internet is private.

Write your goals. This is the most important of them all. It could be a very important aspect missing from your music business. Writing down your goals and visualizing what you want to accomplish brings you one step closer to achieving them.

What risks have you taken or are considering taking in your music business? Do you write down your goals? Tell us what you’re trying to accomplish in Today’s Music Biz. Please comment below.

Connecting Is Key The To Sell Your Indie Music

Do you want to sell more Indie Music? If so, it's helpful to remember what former Indie Music Legend  Jay-Z, is famous for saying;

"Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers Don't"

 As an Indie, how you see success is in your own head. For you, success could be finally getting your debut single or album released. It could be performing live, or hearing your song played on the radio.

No matter how you view success, successful Indie and Major Record Labels understand that the reality is, sales equals success. Sales is the driving force behind every Major Record Label release. That's why winning Major Record Label Marketers do not go by gut instinct alone. Good Music Marketers use data, to connect them to what the Music Market wants.

Great Music Marketers know that connecting is tapping into what the market wants. Tapping into what the market wants brings a rush of attention and interest to their music.

How To Not Connect With Your Music Market

Some Indie Marketers and Musicians have a hard time understanding how to connect. That's because for most Musicians and Marketers, connecting is all about them - not the Market. So many Indie Music Marketers, walk around with their head in the clouds. This is not the way to connect with the market. 

Recently, we shared some feedback with an Artist, with distribution by a Major Label. We loved one song on the release, and thought it could be a successful debut single. The Artist's Manager disagreed. The song is "shelved" (not promoted). Sadly they are pushing a song that nobody is connecting to. 

"Successful Music Marketers Connect by Keeping An Ear To The Ground"

Gifted Music Marketers know that connecting to the Music Market requires looking for trends, sensing emotions and listening for what the Market wants. They have an ability feel the pulse of their audience.

In the case of Jay-Z, he has "painted pictures with poems". These pictures are not the creation of his ego alone. The pictures were also created by the vibrations he humbled himself to feel, as well as the images of the Brooklyn Streets where he was born and raised.

In the case of Jay-Z, the numbers don't lie. At last estimate, Jay-Z is worth is around 150 Million Dollars. Jay-Z connects with his market and connecting is the key to sell more of your Indie Music.


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The ABC's Of Music Marketing

This Music Marketing blog post is brought to you by the letter's A. B. and C
The are three fundamentals for Marketing Music in Today's Music Biz. What are they?  Stick around and keep reading for today's answer. You can jump ahead of the class by watching this video.




What is Music Marketing?

"Music Marketing is the science of selling more music, to more of your fans -  more often".  

That quote isn't entirely mine.  I learned it from Sergio Zyman.  Mr. Zymans' book, 'The End of Marketing As We Know It', was revolutionary.  In that book Mr. Zyman shattered a lot of the Marketing missteps and helped me to focus on what was important for my clients; selling more of whatever they marketed.

The ABC's Of  Music Marketing.

As the title of today's post suggest there are three components to marketing music to gain more sales. The ABC's of Music Marketing are:

• Audience
• Benefit
• Conversons

In fact, there is an easy to remember formula to use when marketing your music to Fans:

"Audience + Benefits = Conversions"

Audience:

Who is your audience?  In marketing terms, what 'Demographic(s)' are you trying to sell to?  Here are some good questions to ask:

• What age range are your fan's? Are they Women 18 - 24 or are they Men 35-54?
  
• What are they into?  
• Where do your fans shop? 
• What life-style do they lead?
• How do your fan's vote?

Once you have a grasp of the Demographic Segments ("Demo) you're trying reach you'll save a lot of time formulating your marketing plans.

One thing that frustrates me is when an Artist asks me for help but they don't have a clue as to whom the Artist is trying to reach.  If I had a dollar for every time a talented Indie Artist said, "I'm trying to reach everybody", I would have retired long ago with a fortune.

 The sad fact is, every song won't sell to every one.  For that reason, it's important to pick your Target (Market / Demo) carefully.

Benefit's:

Benefits include what's in it for the 'Buyer'.  Benefit's should not be confused with features.  For example, if you've got some great graphics as Cover Art, those graphics are features.  On the other-hand if those graphics can make the buyer relax, that is a benefit.

OK, let's take another example.  Say you go to buy some speaker wire and you're on a budget?  You find all kinds of colors, lengths and price ranges.  Since you're on a budget, the higher priced wires are features, prevent you from buying.  Whereas the speaker wires that fit your budget will provide you a benefit.

Now let's say the sales person at the store is trying to sell you on the various colors of the wires (but at a much higher price).  How will that benefit you? It won't. Unless you find a benefit in color coordinating your sound system you'll buy any speaker wire that fits your budget. Fan's buy based on benefits - not features.

Conversions:

A "Conversion" is any action that your fan takes, based on your call to action. Marketing Professionals have a saying that, "nothing matters until after the conversion". Nothing could be more accurate in Today's Music Biz.

For example, Jay-Z has a new website (Rock4Life.com).  This website allows visitors the opportunity to convert and follow all of "Rock Nation's" artist.  How does he do this? By allowing visitors to make their own profile page on the site.

Every Music Marketer should have a feature that allows for small conversions to turn into big conversions later.

So there you have it, the ABC's of Marketing.  Do you have anything to add?  Maybe you have some questions?  If so, feel free to comment below.
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