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The Email Music Marketing Series Part 2..

// November 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // How to sell music, Music Marketing and promotion, music marketing, music promotion

How Not To Lose 12,000 Of Your Facebook Fans…

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As we continue with the email music marketing series,
Listen in as I touch base with Scott James and we discuss:

• The best way to get repeat customers
• Email analytics – find where your fans are, what they open and click & what they dont open and click!
• Split testing
• How someone lost 12000 fans on Facebook over night in the middle of their album launch
• How to use music joint ventures to grow your fanbase and make money
• The importance of having an “email/online” fifth member..
• AND MORE!!

Learn more about Scott’s incredible websites at:

http://www.websitesforrockstars.com/

Look out for the next installment in the series!

Sell Your Music And Merchandise With Square

// May 14th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // DIY Music, How to sell music, music promotion

If you want to sell your music and merchandise,
one of the best times to do it is from the back of a show.

I first heard about this from my friend Andy Reynolds,
who has alot of experience in tour management and the live space.

He just published a really interesting piece on a service called Square
that lets you take credit and debit card payments via the Iphone, Ipad
or Android phone.

In my experience, less and less people are carrying cash,  and I expect that
having a service like this will fuel further merch sales.

They do charge a fee, of 2.75% plus 15 cents, but if you have ever had to go through
the hassles of taking cards, this is a no brainer.

The service uses a small plastic box with a jack that slots into your device and then
you use that to swipe the card.  You then punch in the amount, the person signs with
their finger, and enters their email address to be sent a receipt!

If you dont have the reader, you can also enter the card number in manually.

Here are some more features:  https://squareup.com/features
The app is available in the app store right now!

Im really hoping that Paypal will buy Square and then the whole thing can be integrated
into one seamless package!

Right now, its only available in the U.S. and here is a video explaining how it
works:

Andy has written a few books  – most recently, he wrote:
The Tour Book: How to Get Your Music on the Road,
So if you are interested in getting your music on the road,
check him out!

Unconvention

// May 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // DIY Music, How to sell music, Music Marketing and promotion, music marketing, music promotion

Have you been to any conferences recently?
I recently got invited to an event called Unconvention.
The Music Void website asked me to give them an update on how
it went, so I made a video….
Go here to check it out:

http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/05/event-report-unconvention-music-pies-macclesfield/

CES 2010 Something To Think About..

// January 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music Marketing and promotion, The Music Industry, music marketing, music promotion, the music business

if you dont know about CES, its the consumer electronics show that happens every year in Vegas.

So whats this got to do with your music?

well -> at CES, they showcase the latest technology and alot of this technology is what people will be using to listen to, watch and engage with your music.

So far this year there is a huge emphasis on connecting the web to the TV.

This means devices that allow you to consume content direct from the internet on your TV.

Apple has already put this in our hands with Apple TV, but the landscape is constantly evolving.

So what you need to think about is this:
If people in the near future will be engaging more and more with your content through their TV,
what kind of content should you be making ?
And how can you make it for maximum impact through the TV??

Just something to think about …

Over and OUT!

Where Should You Have Online Profiles? and Googles Music Search…

// November 9th, 2009 // No Comments » // How to sell music, music marketing, music promotion

Pretty big news -

Google has partnered with Ilike, Imeem, Lala, Pandora and Rhapsody to make it easier for people to find music in their search engine.

So if Google (hugely profitable and smart company) has selected these people as partners, maybe we should take note!

It also pays to do your research – in your musical niche, there may be a place where its perceived better to place music -
Where do the leaders in your field post their music..?

OK Heres the lowdown on Googles New Music Search Integration:

If you type in a music related search — like artist name, song name or album title — Google will show music related search results, including audio previews.

ILike, whose  MP3 store is powered by MediaNet, recommend making sure that your content is available through MediaNet so that Google can find it.

This can only be a good thing, particularly if your band has a name that is very generic and doesnt come up top when you Google it..

Eg if its not so unique..

According to this blog post:
“A Google algorithm randomly decides whether your playable search results come from Lala or MySpace.
Both services will let users hear the entire track once for free.
If you search for the same track again, the search box will play a 30-second sample instead.”

Naming and tagging any photos and videos of your band with your band name,
member names, song titles etc is key here so that they can get picked up by the search engine.

Lyrics have also been integrated by integration with a service called Gracenote,
so Googling lyrics will link to the music – you can do this already but take a look
at the video below to see how it looks!

Is it true that if you do what you love, the money will follow? And Nov 5th…

// October 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // DIY Music, Music Marketing and promotion, music marketing, music promotion

People tell me all the time that they want to quit their job and follow their bliss.

Im sure you’ve heard people say:

“Do what you love and the money will follow”

Well, there is something they aren’t telling you!

Its true that the money will follow, but here’s the thing:

You need to serve a lot of people doing the thing you
love for the money to follow!

ie people have to be interested in what you love to do.

When I was playing to no one, I wasn’t making any money!

Why was I playing to no one?

Because nobody cared.

Nobody perceived what I was doing as valuable.
ie “having value”, so they werent going to pay me anything.

It wasnt until i had some major understandings that things started to change.

Before I would have promoted myself and my music to anyone -
just in case they liked it or knew someone who could help me.

*(here’s the Nov 5th link!)

But then, I realized that i had to drill down and start a little fire on my own -
with the most flammable firewood!

“Flammable Firewood??”

What on earth am i talking about ?

Here’s what i mean:

i was wasting so much time trying to get things going with random “generic” gigs and people.
ie non flammable wood..

Once the focus was shifted onto a particular type of audience and shows etc,
things just started moving.

Taking the fire analogy, i had a match and at first was trying to light a big thick wet log.

I then shifted that to lighting paper, small dry twigs and other very flammable material.

So stop wasting time and money promoting to those who dont care (yet).

Do your research, find the niche and then try doing what you love…

* in the UK on Nov 5th: they light bonfires, set off fireworks and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes..
picture by: http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/4657