One Easy To Use Formula To Prevent Music Promotion Failure

Attention Musicians: You've got a lot of competition.

 (Pictured Above: American Idol Contestants waving for attention)

• Have you thought about how many people release songs to the Music Marketplace every year?

• How many people offer the same kind of music as you?
  
• Have you heard, there are an estimated two million people who describe themselves as Musicians on Myspace?

The biggest cause of Music Promotion failure is becoming lost in the Crowd

The Music Marketplace can be seen as a never ending American Idol Audition. People of every gender, color, and culture hope to get attention of the judges. In the Music Biz there have always been contestants hoping for a chance to catch the eyes, ears, and hearts of judges, who are 'the Buyers'. 

Beware, because your music can be smothered by the noise of millions of contestants trying to be heard. Your music can become distant whisper in a stadium filled with your competition singing at the top of their lungs.

We've shared before that 95% of singles released fail to sell more than a few hundred copies. With so many artist fighting so hard to be heard, it's a good tip, that every Musician consider who they going to be heard by.  

Audience + Benefit = Conversions  

Audience, can be seen as one or more people, willing to give you attention. It's a good thing to be able see your 'target audience'. Some fun ways to target your audience is to ask yourself , "who do I see listening to my music"? What do they do? How do they live? Where do they live?  These questions can help you develop a picture of  what your audience looks like.

Benefits, can be understood as, the feelings you hope your fans will have, when they hear your music. You can find benefits by asking yourself, "how do I feel, when I hear my favorite songs by other artists?" Can you relate to and feel the lyrics? Maybe the song gives you sensation in your body. How your songs will connect, with you, is the benefit.

Conversions, are the decisions that your fans make on your behalf. Conversions can be measured by what people do for you. For example, a person clicks on your website and listens to your Music. That is a conversion. A conversion can be small like one person listening to your music, or big, like a thousand people coming to your show to hear your music.

Big or small, it's helps to remind yourself, there is no such thing as a bad conversion. Every conversion is a good thing :)

To Get Signed Sell More Music

Musicians ask me all the time, "how do I get signed to a Record Deal"?

I always reply, "sell more music".

I realize selling music is easier said than done. But there are people selling hundreds of thousands of singles BEFORE they get signed to a Major Record Label.

You can get a Recording Contract, but the Major Record Labels are not what they used to be. For example, A&R Reps are now Consultants. A Consultant is a free-lancer. They do not have a secured or assured income.

A&R Consultants don't have the option of  bringing the Major Label an unproven Recording Act. Major Record Labels are looking to sign a proven act. Major Labels are looking for a sure thing.

How To Become A Sure Thing In Today's Music Biz

So how do you prove yourself to be a "sure thing"? I hate to say it again, but you have to sell more music. You have to show any record label that you can sell music. Not just a song or two. You have to sell tens of thousands of units. A good goal to shoot for is 50 to 100 thousand units.

I realize that selling hundreds of thousands of units is a lot to sell. The fact is, it happens. And I hope we can help you sell hundreds of thousands of units.

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

The Age of Engage: An Urban Guide to the Social Music Evolution

Twitter.com is a great promotional tool for anyone. One day I received a DM from one of my followers. It wasn’t just the usual “check out my music…”. It actually said my name and greeted me and then said he wanted to share his presentation.

"An Urban Guide to the Social Music Evolution".

I liked the presentation of his tweets and I clicked the link. I enjoyed the slide show so much that I wanted to share it below.

The Age of Engage: An Urban Guide to the Social Music Evolution

View more presentations from Danny Dee.

This is the way social media marketing is supposed to work. Making connections. We hope you enjoyed Danny Dee's informative presentation.

Fresh From South By Southwest

Danny Dee just got back from SXSW and he brought some gifts from his trip. Listen to Today's Music Biz Podcast on Sunday, March 28th, anytime on demand.

Now that’s great marketing. As soon as I left Danny’s blog, I received a Direct Message (DM) thanking me for visiting his blog. Now I’m impressed. When I shared this with my partner Jeronimo Black, we decided we’d like to interview Danny.

Today’s Music Biz is pleased to interview "Danny Dee" Aguayo of Digipendent.com.

Danny is a Digital Media Strategist and recent SXSW panelist. He has a background in Radio, Social Media Business Development, and has a whole list of positions among the urban music market. Danny Dee is currently advising various regional labels such as ABB Records, SMC Recordings and Town Thizzness; while overseeing digital strategies for Murs, Rakim, Mistah FAB, Glasses Malone, Killer Mike, and many others.

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

Musicians Wanted: YOUTUBE Helps Musicians Get Paid

Attention Musicians: Great News! YOUTUBE has announced a partnership to help you get paid for your music. The partnership is called Musicians Wanted.

In the video below Jack & Nataly of the Group Popalose pitch the "super easy" to get benefits of the Musicians Wanted Program.



Don't Quit Your Day Job Yet

Musicians Wanted is a great announcement by YOUTUBE! Especially for Independent Musicians. So far it's the biggest buzz at the 2010 South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Fest. But don't quit your day job yet. 


Check out the Musicians Wanted Channel on YOUTUBE, read the terms and conditions and sign up. You may just earn enough money with your music, and this program, to quit your day job.



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

We Are The World 2010 Video:

 25 years ago, the biggest Recording Artists sang "We Are The World". This song was a benefit for Africa. Some Artist who sang the original version included Michael Jackson, Dianna Ross, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson Kenny Rogers, and the greatest producer of all time, Quincy Jones.

 Fast forward to 2010.

Last night, during the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games today's version of  We Are The World (2010) simulcast world-wide. Today's version features throw-back clips of Micheal Jackson. You'll also spot at least 80 of the biggest recording artists in Today's Music Biz.

 

Today's version was created in collaboration with executive producers Wyclef Jean, Randy Phillips and Peter Tortorici; producers Humberto Gattica and RedOne; and co-producers Rickey Minor (from American Idol), Mervyn Warren and Patti Austin to benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts and the rebuilding of Haiti.

You can download the song and donate at World25.org.
 
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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

3 Beatles Music Marketing Tricks To Sell More Music To Mainstream America

Why are the Beatles considered America's most popular Rock Band ever?

Stick around for the reason's and use them to effectively market and sell more of your music to Mainstream America.  But first, take a look at the new commercial for the Beatles Rock Band video game below.



How Did The Beatles Take America By Storm?

John Lennon of the Beatles knew insitinctively what I'm about to share with you about marketing music to American's.  So in the spirit of coming together, I'm going to share top three music marketing tricks that the Beatles used to market music to mainstream America.

1. K.I.S.S. "Keep It Simple (for the) Stupid".

If you're a Beatles Fan you know that their music was composed dynamically and produced excellently.  But the Beatles lyrics were very simple. "She loves you yeah yeah yeah", "Let it be, let it be, let it be yeah let be",  Those are two of the choruses ('hooks') of the song's 'She Loves You' and 'Let It Be' .  Now let's take a look at how the Beatles kept their verses very simple.

Here's The First Verse From The Beatles 'All My Lovin'

"Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, Tomorrow I'll miss you, Remember I'll always be true, And then while I'm away, I'll write home every day, And I'll send all my loving to you."

It doesn't take a Music Scholar to see that the verse above is simple enough for even the most stupid listener to understand.  Many Musician's make the major mistake of choosing abstract lyrics and complicated story-lines in their songs.  Those songs my receive critical acclaim, but rarely sell more than a few hundred copies.  Keep it simple and you'll keep them coming back for more.

2. Using Pictures Can Be Worth A Thousand Record Sales.

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.  In the Music Biz, a picture is worth a thousand record sales.  When the Beatles first started performing in Germany, every other Band was wearing two-piece suits and trying to look like the Guy every parent would approve of.


The picture to the upper-left is of  (left to right) John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Pete Best in the early in 1961 (before Pete Best was replaced by Ringo Starr).

The Beatles Image:"we're the Guy's your Parents warned you about"

 John Lennon was the Beatles Image Coach.  John was always fashion-forward because he knew that listeners paid attention to how Musician's looked as well as how they sounded. John Lennon had the Beatles ditch the suits and wear leather jacket's and jeans.

The Beatles goal was to differentiate the Beatles from all the other stiff-suit Rockers in Europe.  The message the Beatles meant to send was "we're the Guy's your Parents warned you about" .

When the Beatles came to the United States, every Rocker was wearing leather.  The Beatles seeking to be seen as different, started wearing the two-piece suits. And again it worked.  The Beatles again were seen as different and made an instant impression with Fan's, male and female alike and went on to become the greatest Rock Band of all time.

3. Sell-Out To Sell More Music


John Lennon admitted to Rolling Stone Magazine that he and the Beatles "sold out".  What was the result? Billions on sales of the Beatles music and a legacy that lives on nearly 40 years after they broke up.

I hear today's Artists and Musicians ranting and raving that they'd rather die broke as opposed to selling out.  And that's what a majority of Indie Artists and Musicians do - die broke because they wouldn't sell out.  The Beatles, made simple music that the whole family could sing along to.  The Beatles image was one that was compelling.  The Beatles knew that if they made their music too abstract, no one would listen or buy their music.

The Ugly Truth Of Music Marketing

The Music Biz is not the art of music - it's the business of music.  The ugly truth is, if you as an artist are not willing to sell out you are not willing to sell many records.  The Beatles knew this fact and used it to sell more music to more fans more than any other artist.  The good news is you can do the same if you are willing to follow the three music marketing tips of the Beatles.

What is your take on this topic?  Feel free to place your comment below.  In the mean-time, here's to your success in Today's Music Biz.

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

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

Music Marketing: Top 5 Reasons To Have A Fan Page On Facebook

What Do Kings Of Leon, and Ani DiFranco Have In Common?

They have large Facebook.com followings. If you're a musician, singer, songwriter, producer in Today's Music Biz and you don't have a Facebook Fan page, you're missing a huge opportunity.

According to Entrepreneur Magazine (September 2009), Facebook has 200 million users, beating Myspace.com by 100 million. For that reason, Facebook is Today and Myspace "is like, so yesterday".


Top 5 Reasons To Have A Fan Page On Facebook

1.  Facebook allows Public Figures to have a 'Facebook Fan Page'.


A  Fan page is different from your profile page and allows people to comment  and  'like'  your  latest  updates. It also allows Fan's to show you some love without you having to worry about deleting spam comments.


2. Skanks stay away from Facebook.


I hate friend generators.  The good thing about Facebook is that it doesn't have any friend generator applications.  So people who become Fan's of your Facebook Fan Page, are usually not attention whores, trying to pad their friend counts.  I've been on Facebook for about a year now and I've never gotten a request from a 'Spam Skank' inviting me to come watch her sexy vid's.  Facebook allows you to truly build your fan base without the skanks and spam.


3.  Facebook makes Music Marketing easier

Facebook allows you to get more traffic to your website, YOUTUBE Channel, blog and even your MySpace and Ilike pages. For example, if you have a gig coming up, you can update your status and inform your fans. Kings of Leon have over 1 million fan's (which I'm one of a million).  Ani DiFranco has over 30,000 devoted fans on her Facebook Fan Page.


4, Facebook also allows 3rd Party applications.


If you're already on Twitter, there's good news.  You can have Twitter automatically update your Facebook Page.  Facebook allows many 3rd Party Applications.


5. Facebook makes viral marketing easy.


On Facebook, if someone likes what you're doing, they can share it with as many friends as the want.  I know from experience that friends like to pass on stuff their friends send them.  Facebook makes sharing easy.  Viral Marketing is just a savvy word for sharing and Facebook is a simple way of marketing.


Check out our new site Today'sMusicBiz.Com

Top 3 Music Marketing Major Mistakes

The goal of today's article, is to reveal the top 5 mistakes music marketer's make.

Mistake Number One: Distregarding Ones Image.

In the 1970's there was a saying that, "Image is everything".  Nothing could be more true in Music Marketing today.  This may be the reason why the OHIO PLAYERS (Album Cover pictured left) used sexy women on their Album Cover Art.

Artist or Bands who fail to keep a consistent image will find less fan's, get less (if any) free publicity, and will sell fewer units.

In fact, the OHIO PLAYERS rarely ever appeared on their album overs.  Yes, one of the greatest Funk Bands of all time had the marketing smarts to use sexy women on their Album Covers.

I was on a plane flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Orlando, Florida this summer.  I was already aboard the plane when five men (about my age) boarded.  Everyone else (including me) were greeted with the standard "welcome aboard".  But these five guys were treated like Rock Stars.  The Stewardess asked to take pictures with them, and they even got upgraded to the best seats as soon as all the passengers were seated.

What made these guys appear to be Rock Stars?  They weren't handsome my any means, but they all had their hair done.  A couple of them had beards trimmed in unique ways and they all had tattoos covering their arms.  They looked like Rockers.

On the other-hand, I've seen other artist (like life Jennings) who've, in my opinion, come to Radio Station meet in greets looking like they were awakened in the middle of the night by the police to take a mugshot.  Fan's who were excited to meet the artists were not impressed.

I've even heard fan's say to the artist, "you don't look anything like I imagined you would".  What those fans were saying is, you don't look like a superstar.

Mistake Number Two: Lack of differentation.

A saying popular in marketing goes something like this, "difference makes a difference".  What that means is, in a sea of sameness, sticking out creates more attention and awareness.  Many artists look and sound like other well established artist.  This tragedy of copy-catting imaging jumps Genre's.  One can see evidence of this in Country and Hip-Hop and Rock Genres especially.

"Every artist or band must have a Unique Selling Position 'USP' ".  

Without a USP, Fan's won't even notice that the artist or band even exists.  Every artist must ask themselves, "what is my unique selling position"?  Where do I fit in? An artist or band must get in where they fit in; or give up their hope for success in today's music biz.

Mistake Number Three, Ignoring Undesirable Aspects.

If you've ever watched American Idol from the start of the season, you'll notice that something transformative happens.  If you haven't let's take Clay Aiken as an example.  The video below features Clays' first Audition, in Atlanta GA.




Clay was not a good looking guy.  He wasn't hideous, but he wasn't handsome - at all.  His hair was a mess, and his clothes looked messy.  Simon Cowell said, "you don't look like a Pop Star, but you've got a great voice."  Clay said, "I think we should let America decide.  And they did.  They selected the Teddy-Bear of R&B, Ruben Studdard.

Why did American Idol Fan's pick Ruben over Clay?  It boils down to image.  Ruben had more of an acceptable image.  Sure Ruben was overweight, but he looked better than Clay.

For the record, I detest the fact's that I've laid out today.  But the truth is, they are facts that no Music Marketer, Artist, Band or Record Label can afford to ignore.  Image is everything. Differentation matters, and undesirable qualities if not improved can damage one success in today's (fickle) Music Biz.

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

The Big Secret Of Music Marketing

In my days as Music Director of a Hip-Hop Radio Station, I learned one big secret. This secret influenced not only my career, but every successful artist that I've worked with. What is this big secret? Two words "Emotional Marketing".

Taylor Swifts' latest single, "You Belong With Me" (in the video above) is one of the most added songs in America, at Radio, last week August 13. Why is that? Many people don't believe that Ms. Swift has the best singing voice. So what makes Taylor Swift so successful? What is her Secret?

Ms. Swifts' secret can be summed up in the words of every one who has ever been a teen with an unlikely crush on someone. In the song Ms. Swift is singing about a boy she likes. The problem is the boy is dating a popular (but mean) Cheerleader. What Ms. Swift is marketing in her music is love and desire.

Music Marketing is not about how "hot" or "rockin" or 'twangy" your music is. Music Marketing is about getting Fan's to trust the artist. Fan's want to identify with something. Hip-Hop Fan's identify with artists who have 'Swag' a.k.a. confidence. Rock Fan's identify with artists who are not scared to rebel, Country Fan's identify with music that reflects their values.

So, before you launch your next Music Marketing effort, take a moment and think about the emotional qualities of your music. Make sure that you communicate those emotional factors in your publicity efforts. Try to win Fan's emotionally and you'll be more persuasive at selling your music.

How do you feel about this big secret of Music Marketing? Let me know by placing a comment below? Also feel free to subscribe for Music Marketing updates.