This article is by James Moore, who runs Independent Music Promotions, a music PR company focusing on music with depth. He’s also the author of the popular music marketing guide Your Band Is a Virus. If you asked an independent musician what their biggest frustration was you’d get a wide variety of answers, from “no…
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…
Looking to make money in the music industry? Then you better throw away your preconceived notions and open up your mind, because it doesn’t always come from places you think it should, when you think it should. The good news? You can definitely make more money in music. The bad news? You might have to…
Many mainstream musicians such as Radiohead have experienced considerable success with the pay-what-you-want or free model of distribution. This might prompt you to believe that giving away your music or discounting it is the only way to get it heard. Although there are times when it’s a good idea to run promotions, discounting could actually…
Session work is great for supplementing your music income. Some musicians actually make a full-time living out of it, and that’s not beyond the scope of possibilities for you either. However, getting established can take time. You have to build connections and differentiate yourself in some way. Without that, you’ll never become the go-to person…
Proper guitar technique is all about establishing the right habits, and habits don’t stick unless you reinforce them through repetition and focused attention. Beginner guitarists typically need to be more reflective and granular in their approach. It’s about paying attention to every little detail, and getting a clear, crisp sound out of every note you…
Looking to record a new project? Although you don’t necessarily need to know all of the technical details of how a studio works as a musician, it is important to come prepared. Spending too little time in practice and preparation can sometimes mean spending more money than you want to. Here are some basic steps…
So you’ve landed yourself a podcast or radio interview. Now what? It’s not enough to line your calendar with interview opportunities. You have to be prepared to deliver the goods. If you don’t give interviewees what they’re looking for, you’re not going to get any calls back, and that defeats the entire purpose of using…
In a way, it’s a miracle that any bands get together and stay together for any length of time. It’s almost a cliché to say that being in a band is like being in a committed relationship (i.e. marriage), but those who have experienced it know exactly what that looks like and what it means….