Does what you wear as a musician really matter? Through the decades, artists have donned disco costumes, leather and spandex, jeans and flannel, hip-hop fashions, and more. And, in a way, it seems as though we ran out of ideas in the 2000s, when people started taking cues from previous decades – especially the 80s…
About two or three years ago, I identified music streaming as one of the main components of the “new” music industry, and based on the growth we’ve seen in that time, I can’t imagine there are too many people that would disagree. Even my grandma now knows how to use Spotify! Music lovers enjoy streaming…
So you’re ready to film a new music video. Awesome. But have you actually done your homework? Have you done any location scouting? Some planning will be necessary if you want to make the best video possible. People these days have short attention spans, and you need to be able to capture their attention upfront,…
Although the guitar training niche might be a little crowded these days, there are two things you can count on. One is that there will always be people just beginning to learn the guitar. This means you have the opportunity to build a community of followers by getting in front of them when they’re just…
One way to get more exposure for your own music is by leveraging other people’s audiences. If you’re familiar with guest posting, then you should already have an idea of how this works. When you guest post on someone else’s site, you have the opportunity to be seen by an audience that you might not…
So you want to write a song, and you’ve heard you need to learn how to write a chorus as one of the starting points. Well today I’ll show you how to put this chorus together, so you can get started on your songwriting adventure! What Makes A Good Chorus? It’s important to say that…
As a guitar teacher, I often get asked which guitar is better for beginners; acoustic guitars, or electric guitars? And, the simple answer is that both choices are valid. Neither the acoustic guitar nor the electric guitar is necessarily a better choice. But I know you’re looking for a little more meat to the answer,…
Today we’re going to look at some of the biggest mistakes you can make while marketing your music on Facebook. Building a music career isn’t all about social media, but it is an important marketing component of it. In particular, Facebook is the most popular social media site on the web, and one that has…
Do you have goals for your music career? If you do, have you written them down? Have you placed them somewhere you’ll see them every single day? Do you have a daily plan that you can follow to achieve your goals? Even if you do have goals, you probably haven’t written them down. Most people…
Music costs money. One of the major pain points for any musician is raising funds for an album release. Recording, printing, replication, distribution, and even marketing can all cost money. Some costs have certainly decreased over the years, but by and large, recording projects require a significant investment of time and money. If you’re struggling…
Are you about to record a new song? Common sense would suggest that you want to draw the best out of your studio engineer. That way, you know that you’re getting your time and money’s worth. Although you might have certain expectations for your engineer, you also need to recognize that they’re going to have…
There are many different ways to engage your social followers. So why do so many musicians insist on using a tired call to action (i.e. “come to our show”) as their default standby? It’s probably because they don’t have a strategy. But if you’re reading this, odds are you’re open to trying different things. You’re…
We’ve all heard about the effectiveness of social media for marketing purposes. But how effective is it really? The answer is simple: it depends on how you use it. A lot of musicians create a fan page on Facebook and a profile on Twitter because it’s expected. Beyond that, they don’t have any strategy to…
Amanda Palmer completed her famous Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign with nearly $1.2 million. Shortly thereafter, she headed out on tour. Here’s what she did right: she recruited local musicians to perform with her at each stop on the tour. Here’s what went wrong: she didn’t pay those musicians. As result, she received a lot of negative…
Building an email list has long been touted to be one of the most important things musicians could be doing online. Email offers you the opportunity to market directly to your fans and stay top-of-mind with them in a cost-effective manner. You do not own your social media followers, but an email list is something…