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.

Secret Answer To Music Biz Success? Start Indie

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?

Before "Lady GaGa" ( Born: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) took the world by storm in 2008, you could find her performing at Open Mic Nights at the age of 14. Check out the video (below) of the talented Teenager who would go on to become Lady GaGa.



Jump forward to 2009 and Lady GaGa topped a record breaking year for Digital Music Sales (according to Kings of A&R).

Lady GaGa, sold over 13 million Albums in 2009


Before Lady GaGa had armies of personnel to support her Music Biz Career, she rarely could afford the luxuries of publicists, make-up artists, or high paid lawyers. Say what you will about Lady GaGa, but she is living the dreams that she had as a child.

The Biggest Secrets To Selling More Music

The Secret to selling more music is simple. Just start somewhere. That somewhere can be determined by a where you live, like to hang out and  feel comfortable. Here are some ideas; your local Church (like Aretha Frankin and many others). How about the nearby Resturant? Or you can search for local Open Mic Nights. You never know who will be where, spotting great talent.

Are you a singer? Then go out and sing. Don't worry about what you don't have. Our Staff (at Today's Music Biz) get so frustrated when we hear someone sing masterfully, but have NOTHING recorded.

We hear people say, "I'm trying to get my album done - before start performing in public". Or, "I'm not going to put myself out there before I've got something to sell".  Our response, "that is a very lame excuse". You have to start somewhere. And your head is the starting point, but shouldn't be where your Music Biz Career ends up.

Inaction Has No Excuse 

Doing nothing is not acceptable. So, the easiest thing you can do is develop a plan. Lets call it "Your Indie Plan".

First, organize your strengths into manageable tasks. If you can sing make it your task, to go to places where you can showcase your talent. For example, the local Karoke Night is a good place to start.

Second, determine your objectives. What do you intend to accomplish? For example, if you're a Songwriter, a good objective is to meet all of the local Bands and network with them.

Third, adjust your plans as needed. This doesn't mean change your plan anytime things don't go as planned. Stick to the plan. for example, say you are in a Band. Your plan is to do an EP (Demo) and go on the road promote, sell and become rich and famous.

So, you get the Demo done and are now ready to hit the road and tour. All of a sudden, one of your Band Members can't go. What do you do? Stick to the plan, but adjust to compensate for the Band Member who can't go.

We've met so many people who are confused about what it takes to sell more music, to more fans, more often. Those who think that they need a Record Deal to succeed in Today's Music Biz, need to understand that everyone starts Indie. To sell more of your music find someplace to start and well, get started.

We encourage you to start anywhere. Success can only come when you forget that you don't have a lot of money or any high powered Star-Makers on your team.

Your dreams, are the start of what it takes to sell more music and succeed in Today's Music Biz. Action, is what it will take to go from Indie to rich and famous.

Want to learn more Secrets to success In Today's Music Biz?

Don't miss your opportunity to join Today's Music Biz Network. It's free to join, but you'll find your membership to be priceless.

7 Myspace Music Promotion Best Practices To Ignore At Your Own Risk

Forget the negative thoughts you may think about Myspace. 


Myspace.com is still one of the hottest music promotional tool available to anyone in the Music Biz.  Sure there are other social media networking sites out there, but few have the reach of Myspace. 


In fact, many popular recording artist still use myspace to market and promote their latest singles or releases. 


Did you know there are over two million Music Biz Artists on Myspace?  


That is a lot of competition for Fan's. So how do you stand out among 2,000,000 competitors on Myspace?  Short answer, use methods that work. In business, methods that work are called "best practices". 


So what are the best practices for successful music promotion on Myspace? 


There are 7 Best Practices of successful Myspace music promotion.  Do you know what they are?  If not keep reading as Today's Music Biz Staff counts 'em down.

1. Get a myspace.com music page. 


Getting a myspace.com music page is free so there is no reason not to have one. We've been using Myspace to educate people for years. Feel free to friend us here (right click to open in a new window or tab).

2. Make sure your page is user friendly.

There are many would-be music business professionals who have myspace pages take too long to load. If your myspace page loads too slow, you could be losing potential fans. Mega bandwidth graphics and images will prevent your page from loading quickly. Your myspace page should take no longer than 20 or 30 seconds to load.

Many artists on myspace use layouts that emphasize their creativity but are a nightmare to navigate. Refrain from using dancing cursor's, raining text, and distracting images on your myspace music pages. Other myspace artists have "about me" blurbs that go on forever. Keep about me blurbs short (no more than 1000 words), if people want to know more about you, they will ask.

3. Have you-own music on your myspace page.

Don't put someone else's music on your myspace page unless you were involved in the creation of the music. How can you be discovered if your music isn't on your page?

4. Reach out for friends.

Networking on myspace is one of the most powerful tools you can use to build your fan-base. Take advantage of the opportunity to reach out to people with like interests. Never ignore or decline a friend request (unless you are sure it's spam or a scam). You never know who can help your music career.

5. Treat your friends like friends. 

Common courtesy applies on myspace just as in real life. Be willing to thank your friends for adding you as a friend. Respond to friend's when they reach out (if appropriate). Never post your ad as a comment on someone's myspace page without acknowledging them. Limit the size of your "ad comments".


6. Promote yourself in appropriate ways.

Noteworthy career updates, or new music added to your page are good reasons to promote yourself on myspace. List your tour dates on your page and use bulletins to let people know where you are performing. Limit the number of bulletins you post. Posting irrelevant bulletins, or posting bulletins too often, will force your friends to ignore you or "un-friend" you.

Let people know about your myspace.com page. Putting your unique myspace.com address on your website and business cards will make it convenient for you to build your network and fan base faster.


7. Provide ways for people to purchase your music from your myspace page.

If you sell your music anywhere online make sure there is a direct link from your myspace page to the location where people can buy your music. Follow our rules and you will have fun and make many friends on Myspace.


Click here to become our friend on Myspace. 

To Learn The Secrets Of Becoming A (P.I.M.P.) "Professional In Music Promotion":Click here

No Offense, Kanye West Produces Bad Press (Video)

This Video Is Too Funny!  

Before Kanye West dissed Taylor Swift, he dissed Drake and Josh, a Nobel Prize Winner and Little Abigale Winters..lol...

Lil Wayne Finds Success In On-line Learning

f You Missed "Lil Wayne" Wayne on the view today, I've dugg up the Video that I favored on  Today's Music Biz's YOUTUBE Channel.  

Why Would I Give Prop's To Lil Wayne? Because in the interview, 'Young Weezy' discussed education.  In fact a large portion of the interview on "The View" was dedicated to Wayne's quest for higher learning. At Today's Music Biz, we've been encouraging Musicians to educate themselves on-line. Wayne is studying Psychology, but I bet a big part of his college courses deal with "Music Business".  We offer various real-life courses and discussions on how to succeed in Today's Music Business. I could go on all day about the libraries of Musician's who failed to educate themselves on the business aspects of the Music Business. For example, did you know that TLC the biggest selling female group of all time, sold 11 million units? TLC ended up having to file for Bankruptcy Protection because they were taken advantage of.  "TLC was shafted because they didn't educate themselves about the Business of Music."  The Music Biz is not all about platinum grills, big rims and sexy fan's. The Music Biz, now more than ever It's about Accounting, Marketing and a bundle of other intelligence that every artist must have to succeed.  I hope after watching an objective source (Lil Wayne) discussing his education goals, you'll consider enrolling in the best music schooling. 


Check out our new site Today'sMusicBiz.Com

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.
Click Here to Discover the Secrets of Success in Today's Music Business. Or log onto www.simbiz.info.

Radio Insiders are dishing the dirt on the details of the RIAA's attempts to collect Royalties for Radio Airplay. The National Association of Broadcasters ("NAB") note that the Woodstock Music Festival would not have made history, if it wasn't for Radio Airplay.

For example, Carlos Santana, most remembered as the best performer at Woodstock. Mr. Santana, and his Genre jumping blend of Rock-N-Roll, continues to be promoted on Radio.

Below is a video of Santana performing at Woodstock in 1969.

In fairness to Radio, on the subject of Woodstock, it's true.

A NAB Spokes person says the RIAA and radio royalty advocates, must be smoking something funny, if the RIAA rebuses to recognize that Radio still plays a Majority of Woodstock Artists.

I wasn't even born yet, but I knew the legend of Woodstock before I was old enough to drive. How did I first hear about Woodstock? Yep, on the Radio. So Radio does Recording Artists a service, by playing and promoting Recording Artists.

I personally think the RIAA should surrender. Leave it alone. Radio delivers thousands of listeners to RIAA Artist every second.

Click Here to Discover the Secrets of Success in Today's Music Business. Or log onto www.simbiz.info.

Did Janet Jacksons' Record Label Fail Her?

Janet Jackson has now joined a number of artists that have dropped their label. Janet was fortunate to be able to terminate her contract with Island Def Jam after just 14 months.

Like many Janet Jackson fans, I have been fanatical about Janet for 20 years (yes I said it). As a teenager her songs comforted me, like a friend. As I grew older and went through life’s joys and trials, Janet was always there with a song to let me know someone knows how I feel.

The majority of Janet’s fans agree, the record label failed this sexy, 42 year old, Pop Icon. Ms. Jackson states the label just stopped promoting her. ""Discipline" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 in March with 181,000 copies sold. But it has shifted only 415,000 copies in the United States so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and spent just 14 weeks on the chart." (Billboard.com)

The "Rock Witchu," Tour, being promoted by Live Nation, is still on. I plan on seeing her when Janet comes to rock Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

It’s a shame that with all the hot tracks on Janet’s album, she didn’t get much radio airplay. That is one way the record label failed.

5 Music Promotion Outlets you need:

1. Internet – This is where I harp on the fact that you need to be where your fans are – online. Networking in various ways, using the latest technologies and tools available. Where do you start? Succeed In the Music Biz

2. Community – Online and Live. I’ve already mentioned the internet. But you also need a presence in your local community. This is where a street team comes in handy.

3. Radio airplay – You need for people to hear your music in their daily lives to become familiar with you so they will buy your music and come to see you perform. How do you make this happen?. Check out Radio Airplay Secrets.

4. Sync deals – Sycrinization is the fastest growing form of income for songwriters, artists, and music producers. I will be talking further about this on the SIMBIZ.INFO blog.

5. Non traditional promotions – You need PR. This can be accomplished in so many ways. A couple examples are performing at local political events or rallies for a cause. Giving away free items, like ringtones, or pulling off your own stunt.

I applaud Janet Jackson for taking a stand against the record label. Promotion is vital to the success of any artist. I wish her much success and will continue to be a fan and support her.

Click Here to Discover the Secrets of Success in Today's Music Business. Or log onto www.simbiz.info.