January 4, 1999 -- For the next few weeks . . . or so . . . your Moneymaking Music Tip of the Week presents a multi-part series called Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics. If you want to be a success in today's music world, you'd better become a promotion fanatic. This series uncovers the real strategies that let you leverage your success and status to keep bringing in more business. Here are its basic steps:
January 11, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 2: Prepare your mind for self-promotion. Ruthless self-promotion requires a specific state of mind for which you must prepare. The music business is very demanding and often rewarding. You must make sure your mind is ready for the challenge. You need a solid determination and an interminable will to succeed. You must cultivate these two crucial characteristics. You must really want to be successful and truly desire to do whatever it takes get there. Hunger and desire. You need an objective. And that is usually to promote and sell your music talents. You may have even decided on tactics you will use to accomplish your objective. Before all that you must first recognize that you deserve the promotion when and only when you put forth the effort required. You must put your mind to the task and work hard all the time to promote your music products and services.
January 18, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 3: Master the technical aspects of ruthless self-promotion. You need to concentrate on improving your technical skills. You must be able to communicate effectively, both writing and speaking. Writing promotional material, handling interviews, and delivering sales presentations are crucial to sustain your promotions. You will be meeting with the media and clients by telephone and in person. You must learn to explain your music business in ways they'll understand. You will sell yourself, your ideas, and your music products and services. If you can't communicate effectively, you are destined to fail. You must understand the intricacies of these skills, practice using them, and ultimately master them. Go back to school or take adult education courses at a local college. You will need every single ounce of your talent, knowledge, stamina, and skills to thrive in today's music industry.
January 25, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 4: Discover and understand the real problem. Too many musicians focus on production, not promotion. And the key to succeeding in any business is promotion: Getting your music products and services into the hands of those who need and want what you offer, and have the means to pay for it. Just because you hang your shingle out for the world to see doesn't bring a flood of customers to your door. Or put money in your pocket either. You must work hard to develop your music business. Don't make the mistake made by most who fail. The need to promote ruthlessly and relentlessly is crucial to your success.
February 1, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 5: Create an image and clarify what you are trying to say. Think of all the celebrities and how their persona is really just a manufactured image. Here's an example. Dennis Rodman, formerly of the Chicago Bulls, is a notorious "bad boy." It's an image he first earned, but now cultivates very carefully. Being on the same team as Michael Jordan left little room for another "good guy" so the Worm used bad to his advantage. What other images come to mind? How about Bill Gates as nerdy, whiz-kid, Walter Cronkite as elder statesman, Katie Couric as sympathetic friend, Tom Peters as quirky, eccentric genius? Take time to craft and portray an image for both you and your business. And you need a message that goes hand in hand with your image. My message is helping people parlay their skills into a successful and profitable business. What are YOU trying to say?
February 8, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 6: Gather marketing information You can't proceed just on your assumptions and perceptions about the music industry. You need to get your music into the hands of those who need and want it and who have the means to pay for it. Therefore, you must research carefully to find the information that provides useful insight into your particular segment of the vast music world. Only once you discover how the industry works in your region can you formulate a proper plan of action. The first step is to find buyers. Next, you must learn about their requirements in detail. Take what you learn and position the music products and services you offer to fit the particular needs of your target market.
February 15, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 7: Understand and Use Many Promotions. You will use a bevy of promotional tactics to bring your image and message to your target market. First understand that your promotions must expose the problems people have and then show how you solve those problems. With that fundamental approach firmly embedded in your psyche, then you can begin to use every available opportunity to reach your buyers: Ads, Business cards, Brochures, Demo tape/CD, Discounts, E-mail, Fact sheet, Fan letters, Fax cover sheet, Gifts, Flyers, Logo, Magnetic signs, Merchandise, Newsletter, News releases, On-hold promotions, Open house, Photos, Postcards, Premiums, Product and service samples, Publicity, Radio or TV promotion, Referrals, Slogan, Telephone, Testimonials and endorsements, Tip sheets, Trade shows, Voice mail message, Web site, and so much more.
February 22, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 8: Use networking to establish and maintain your efforts. You need to create and maintain a promotional network. As you work to elevate the status of your business, you will encounter many people who have the power to help you. My suggestion is for you to help them first. Give them something of value; something they can use. At that point you are in a prime position to get something in return -- some form of promotion, even new business. Go out of your way to help people because the reward is so great. It's the professional and noble thing to do and highly effective for the success of your business.
March 1, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion
Basics, part 9: Respond to information you gather and to
events. Always be on the look-out for promotional opportunities. Even the
most mundane activity can yield results. Stay alert to the possibilities. Make
promotion a crucial part of your daily routine. In a recent Music and
Computers article about making money in multimedia, the author stated
there was no book available to help people break into this part of the music
business. Multimedia is just another part of the commercial music world and my
book can give you the tools to succeed. I immediately wrote a letter to the
editor describing How to Make Money Scoring
Soundtracks and Jingles and how it would help readers of the
multimedia article. They then promoted my book in the next issue.
March 8, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 10: Produce the promotional material you need. If more musicians would put the time and attention they put into their music into promoting and selling their talents, there would be many more successful artists in the world. No music business career can succeed without the necessary promotional material. A demo and stack of sticky notes ain't gonna make it, dude. The basic ruthless self-promotion arsenal consists of brochures, sales letters, flyers, postcards, ads, company profiles, biography, pictures, and more. Let me clarify an important point. Your music business prospects are not interested in you. They are only interested in themselves. To succeed, you MUST make sure your promotional material, indeed every promotion and sales opportunity, focuses completely on your prospect's wants and desires (not yours).
March 15, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 11: Learn basic sales techniques. You can't use "I'm great, hire me" tactics in today's music world. You must shift your position to "You have a problem or need that I understand. By working with me we can solve that problem (or fulfill that need) together. Here's how . . ." Do you see the difference? Do you feel the difference? You don't sell music . . . you sell solutions. If you follow this advice, you will save tons of money that you would otherwise waste on promotions that don't work to sell your music.
March 22, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 12: Commit to success and plan how and what you will do. You can have anything in the world, just not everything. To be the musical success you envision, you need to sacrifice something, give something up. You can't have a full social calendar, and a full-time job, and a family, and a band...and devote your full energy to each. Something's gotta give and you must decide what it is going to be. That may seem cold-hearted. Surely this is America. And the American dream is to "have it all!" Unfortunately, many well intentioned people have failed miserably or even gone to an early grave while chanting that anthem. You must first decide what it is you want and then concentrate on getting it. To commit to success means doing what's necessary to promote your music products and services.
March 29, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 13: Determine how to measure your success. When you set your music industry career goals, and how you plan to achieve them, make sure you also include a measuring device. For example, you might be inclined to say you want to make money from your music. Hold it. That's too vague. How about this instead: I will earn my living entirely from music related ventures within two years. That's easy to measure. If you are still holding down a part-time job to pay the bills 25 months from now, you know you didn't reach the goal you set for yourself. Take a few minutes to think about how you would measure your success. Write it down. Keep it with your plans. And then take some action!
April 5, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 14: Review these steps regularly. Don't make the mistake of thinking about these self-promotion basics once and then filing them away. You need to regularly review these 14 steps and determine what is working so you can keep on doing it. And what is failing so you can fix it FAST. Take time to reflect on what you did, are doing, and should do. It can sometimes be a sobering experience. Other times a wake up call. But often you come away with a good feeling and a sense of focus and accomplishment. You must review your past, learn from it, and apply what you learn to either changing or staying on course.
April 12, 1999 -- Ruthless Self-Promotion Basics, part 15: Closing thoughts. Working hard on your self-promotion will keep your name alive, build credibility, and ultimately put money in your pocket. Present a strong, helpful image, solve problems, give others (people, clients, prospects, and the media) in return more than they give or expect, and make sure they come away with a good feeling about you, your business, and your music. Ego has nothing to do with this. Ruthless self-promotion is about making your music business career stronger by leveraging the success you've achieved into more success. (This concludes the RSP series.)
April 19, 1999 -- You may have multiple markets for your music products and services. You may also need to use one market to reach another. For example, a band wants to reach labels to secure the elusive recording contract. That's one market. The band needs to reach club owners for gigs. That's another, different market. Ultimately, the band wants to build an audience that both buys their records and comes to their live performances. The only way to reach your fans is through playing live, building a reputation, and leveraging that into more gigs and a bigger fan base. So, the band must work hard to get gigs and the best way to do that is through the clubs. Concentrate on the clubs before you go fishing for fans. Build your reputation with clubs and fans alike before going after a label.
April 26, 1999 -- What's the best investment? Is it
stocks? Bonds? Mutual funds? Real estate? While these traditional investments
often promise -- and sometimes deliver -- monetary gains, there is really only
one solid investment that always yields the best returns. Invest in
yourself. By carefully investing your professional resources (talent,
time, energy, and yes, money) you will always generate more money than any
conventional investment. Your musical endeavors can bring great wealth into
your life. What can you do today to improve your current standing in the music
industry? Here are a few ideas:
- Diversify. If you sell products,
think about diversifying and offering services (and vice-versa).
-
Improve your talent. Get some education in a part of the music
industry where you currently lack and parlay that new skill into wealth.
-
Promote. Never forget that
promotion is the real
secret to success in today's music industry. So, spend some of your
resources on a new promotion and reap the rewards with more sales of
your music products and services.
May 3, 1999 -- Have you ever thought of comparing your prices directly to your competition? Crown Books recently ran a full-page ad with the covers from 56 top-selling books on it. Below each book was the Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes and Noble, B&N.com, and Crown Books price. Crown was lower -- often significantly lower -- than all their competitors. The ad slogan closed with "still the cheapest bookstore in town." Research your competition and price yourself in the 80-90% range. If ABC charges $2000 down the street, try $1895 for your bid. Don't undercut by too much as you'll start a price war and that only drives everybody's price down. Instead of comparing prices you might compare the value of what you sell. Show what your competition provides and then show what you provide and how that's better. Even if you cost more, you may provide more benefits to your customers. Make sure you tell them clearly and directly!
May 10, 1999 -- I've spoken many times about the need for high-quality testimonials and endorsements to help reduce the fear-factor experienced by new, skeptical prospects. Recently I had my car serviced at a local dealer. They gave me a postage-paid comment postcard to fill out asking about their service. The wall in their waiting area, near the cashier, was covered in these cards. A headline proclaiming "What we did right..." was jam-packed with positive comments from satisfied customers. Another smaller section indicated "Oops, we goofed!" with bad reviews on display. I was impressed by this wall of fame and shame. They weren't afraid to admit they'd made mistakes. However, they were extremely proud of the fine work they did a significant part of the time. I was assured by their modesty and "human-ness". Is this something you could use to sell more of your music products and services?
May 17, 1999 -- If you decide to bill clients at an hourly rate, beware of its trap. Quick, fast projects don't pay very well. For example, I once spent a whopping 10 minutes altering an existing music track for a new client. I slowed the tempo, used a different sound palette, deleted a lead instrument, remixed the track with some different effects and balance settings, and presto: a "new" music track. How could I bill for only that 10 minutes of work? More importantly, how can I make any real money should I bill that little? Well friends, it took me my entire life to get to this point where I could significantly alter a music track in just 600 seconds. Since you can't bill clients for all that time spent honing your craft, you need to make up for it now. So even if you bill hourly rates, make sure you have a minimum fee for all your projects. Shoot for at least a half-days work (4 times your hourly rate). And don't make the mistake of telling your client it only took you a few minutes to deliver their music. We all gotta stick together and protect our secrets. Right?
May 24, 1999 -- As I write and speak about my approach to music and business, one constant motif runs through my work. Running your own music business career is not only about money; it's about building a life. And that is a significant difference, don't you think? One book really helped me figure things out when I first contemplated starting Fisher Creative Group. It's Marsha Sinetar's Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow. Her sequel is equally inspiring: To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love. If you're struggling, I urge you to stop by your local library or bookstore and consider taking a look at these resources. I'm sure you will find her works stimulating, inspiring, interesting, and hopefully helpful. Another title that I highly recommend is Zen and the Art of Making a Living by Laurence Boldt. This is an intense book, innovative and unconventional. It forces you to uncover the work you really want to do. And then it helps you take the steps necessary to create the kind of work and life that you want.
May 31, 1999 -- You need to cultivate five main characteristics to be a success in today's music industry: Hunger, determination, action, gratitude, and perseverance. Do you really want to be a success? You must be hungry and eager. Are you determined to be a success? Create a sense of entitlement where you tell yourself that, through hard work, you deserve success. Take some action and be willing to swallow hard and wager some risk. Real success always comes from tenacity. Are you satisfied with what you've already achieved? Always be grateful for every little success you achieve. And always learn from the little failures, too. Are you dedicated to success? Nothing happens overnight. It is steady perseverance that always pays the highest dividend.
June 7, 1999 -- Understand this business axiom: The more you have at stake, the more cautious you will be. Conversely, the less you risk, the more adventurous you may be. There is great risk in any venture. Today's music industry is no exception. To be a success requires guts. However, if you have too much to lose, you will not proceed as aggressively as you may need. For example, if you have a steady job, mortgage, car payment, children, and more counting on you, it will not be easy to start your own music business. The pressure would be enormous because too much rides on your success. This stress would cloud your judgment and most certainly stifle your creativity. This situation requires a different tactic. You must lessen your risk through careful, methodical preparation. Make sure you "cover all the bases" first. You will have less to lose thereby freeing your resources to plunge into those waters of uncertainty.
June 14, 1999 -- In the June 1999 issue of Electronic Musician, there is a dandy little cover story called "The Complete Desktop Studio." If you're contemplating building your project studio around a computer, I strongly urge you to study this article carefully. However, I do have one little reservation. The recommended systems are rather impressive. One author even complained that a particular piece of software only offered eight tracks of digital audio. As someone who cut his music production teeth on 4-track cassette, I find this "limitation" laughable. I used to dream of having eight tracks of analog. Today, if you don't have 64 tracks of digital you're some kind of worthless slug. That's nonsense, of course. You DO NOT need a $3000 computer with another 3- grand in software to make it in the music industry. Less is indeed more because it forces you to be more creative, push the envelop, and carefully manage your resources. If I choose to limit myself to eight tracks (digital ones with infinite non-degrading track bouncing and submixing) than so be it. I look at this as a challenge. Need I remind you that the Beatles used a coupla 4-tracks for Sgt. Pepper and a single 8-track for Abbey Road? Is their work any less because they didn't have 64 tracks of digital with DirectX plug-ins? We'll never know. But I still hope (and keep working toward) making my workable eight tracks sound as good and last as long as their landmark recordings. They raised the bar a long time ago and many of us are still flailing below. Having 64 tracks of digital won't move any of us closer to the bar. Only talent does.
June 21, 1999 -- Have you thought of sending your news releases to the media via e-mail? It's easier and cheaper plus many journalists prefer to get information this way. How do you find the e-mail addresses you need? Many journalists have their e-mail addresses listed in the articles they write or in the publishing masthead. Alternately, try this Web site. Follow the rules of regular press release writing: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Keep it short and make sure you include complete contact information. Because you want prospective customers to contact you after they read your news, you must build in a response mechanism, too. Have people call for more information, visit your Web site, get a free tip sheet, or some other offer. Ideal topics are new products and services, staff changes, equipment purchases, problems solved, and projects completed. When you send your release, let the journalist know you have additional background information. Send them to your Web site where they can find all the material they may need to complete their story 24-7.
June 28, 1999 -- The personal savings rate is now a mere 0.5%! Americans are not saving money. Our UK peers save 10%, Germany 11%, and Japan 16%. I do hope YOU are saving more either for retirement or just for a rainy day. It's an old, old cliché, but start paying yourself first. Deduct 10% from your earnings before you write out your other bills (or make a trip to your local music store). Channel that 10% into a solid investment and watch your savings grow. Having adequate savings gives you certain freedoms you might not otherwise have; you get more life choices. Here's the math. For every $100 you sock away in an investment paying 8%, you'll get $7,294.47 in five years. Running your own music industry career means planning for your financial future, and saving some money is a key strategy. If you already invest for your success (career), make sure you invest some of that success (money) back into your future life. For more details on this subject, check out this free article.
July 5, 1999 -- It's official. I'm addicted. I picked up some Acid. Tried it. Loved it. And now... Uh-oh. I'd better clarify this. I'm not talking about an illicit drug. I bought Sonic Foundry's Acid Music software and I must confess I'm hooked. This loop-based program lets you drag and drop sound loops to its grid and then automatically adjusts tempo and key of each loop to match the song. This process is called sample sequencing, sonic collage, or the generic: remix. Whatever you call it, it's an incredible tool. Simple to use. Easy to master. Let's put it this way. If you're not making music in a mere five minutes, there's something seriously wrong with you. If you're not having fun in six minutes, you might need Prozac. This is WOW software. A killer app. No need to get the full-blown version. Just toddle on down to wherever you pick up software and grab Acid Music (about $70 street). You get 500+ loops to start with in a variety of styles and you can buy even more loops. Of course, you can add your own samples and loops to the fray. I especially like being able to stretch/shrink the tempo to hit certain points. It's so fast to get a 30 or 60 second radio spot together it's downright scary. Once you try Acid, you may never go back to the old-fashioned way of making music. Use my Acid Music page on this Web site to grab what you need to get started.
July 12, 1999 -- What do you need to be a success in today's music industry? I feel those old, cliché three R's applies: readin', 'riting, and 'rithmetic. Read to learn and grow. Write to communicate (and learn and grow, too), and learn business math to better handle your finances, personal and professional. Also, follow the advice from psychologist John Rosemond who says that we all should learn the other three R's: To be "Respectful, responsible, and resourceful." I would also add honesty, confidence, tolerance, compassion, and enthusiasm to the list. And another important trait is patience. As I said in my Ruthless Self-promotion book: "Success comes through careful diligence." Adapt the way you think to these principles. Practice these qualities and you will be prepared for the challenges of the music world, if not your entire life.
July 19, 1999 -- There's nothing wrong with pursuing your music industry career part-time. If you need to work to help pay your bills, be proud of your commitment. You are not alone. Many people need a job to support their creative endeavors. However, don't squelch your need to expand your creative outlet either. Punch in, do your job, punch out and then go do the music thang. Personally, I'm constantly juggling several disparate projects in an often futile attempt to satisfy my creative spirit. There's my commercial music business that specializes in music and sound design for new media. I'm regularly consulting with other companies to better help them start, build, and sustain their businesses through specific promotional techniques. I'm constantly writing new, updating old, and promoting all my books and other music business success resources. There's a serious music enterprise in perpetual production. And there are many other projects, large or small, worthwhile or frivolous, capturing my attention at any given moment. This is was works for me; your approach may differ. Just don't think you need to be full-time in music to find satisfaction. You can find balance and fulfillment.
July 26, 1999 -- Read an interview with award-winning recording and mixing engineer Ed Cherney (Stones, Clapton, and Raitt) where he shared some mixing tricks. Here's my edited take: "Listen to what's there, see where the song is, [and] eliminate things to find the heart of the song. Placing the vocal is the hardest thing to do. I start dry, not using any effects or EQ. See where the vocal frequency is and try to carve out a space in the mix. Listen to the vocal on a lot of different speakers, too. Don't give up on the song. I get in there and dig and get everything out of it I possibly can. I mixed Bonnie Raitt's 'Thing Called Love' three different times to finally find the pocket and emotion in it. Ultimately, mixing is about heart, not equipment. Nobody leaves a session dancing to what kind of gear you used."
August 2, 1999 -- The Internet is an amazing promotional opportunity because it combines advertising, publicity, networking, and sales in one neat little package. Let your Web site be your store; the base for your music business. Make it a place where people can both help themselves to information about your products and services and interact with you. Create a clubhouse to share information, build rapport, and just hang out. It can contain promotional pieces, tip sheets, samples, and more. You can use e-mail to contact fans, clients, and sales leads. You can post to newsgroups and answer questions. Most importantly, you need to get people to visit your site, and once they arrive, get them to identify themselves to you. Once you capture their name and e-mail address you can do further promotions showing how they benefit from your music products and services. To grab those precious e-mail addresses have people fill out a survey, sign up for a newsletter e-mail list, get something for free, or some other creative way to induce a response.
August 9, 1999 -- Here's a powerful promotional secret designed to increase traffic to your Web site. Don't just promote the mere fact that you have a Web site. Promote the benefit of visiting your site. Start by developing a slogan or single sentence description of your primary benefit. Now that benefit might be in the Web address URL (musicprofits.com), but you should still qualify the reason for coming (Get CASH for your Music Tracks!). Put this benefit/URL block on everything: ads, articles, brochures, CD's, e-mail signature, envelopes, labels, letterhead, newsletters, news releases, sales letters, etc. Example: "Visit Moneymaking Music: Your Web Resource for Music Industry Success at www.mcs.net/~fishercg/"
August 16, 1999 -- Cross Link to Build Traffic by Richard Norton. If you're new to Net marketing you may wonder how to get people to your site. Many tactics that work off-line simply do not work on the Web. One cheap and effective way to bring new visitors to your site is cross-linking to other related sites. If you had 500 links with other Web sites, and each of them sent you just 1 visitor a day, you would have 500 new visitors coming to your little slice of the Web every day. (What you do to get people to stay on your site is the subject of another tip). So, make time to contact other Web sites that you feel would cross-link with you. Many people are quite open to creating a mutually beneficial network where everyone wins. (I would add to Richard's fine tip that you should cross-link carefully within your site, too. You never know where people might browse so you should help them find what they want easily and quickly. Load your site with many links to other content both inside and outside your site. This technique sure beats the ubiquitous "links" page. Instead place your links in your site where they make sense or serve to enhance the content you already deliver. -- JPF). Get more of Richard's helpful and FREE Internet Marketing Tips.
August 23, 1999 -- Your objective: To get people to buy your music How: Through promotional techniques that enable people to hear your music (and buy it if they like it). There are four possible outlets: radio, Internet, video, live performances. Why: You hope that people will like what they hear and want to buy more (your CD or music catalog). Strategy: Giving away a little music for free is a terrific strategy. You offer a sample of your music just as the cookie store lets you sample their latest culinary delight. They hope you'll like the cookie and buy a dozen or so to take home. You hope people love your sample track and buy the whole CD (or commercial composition services if you do soundtracks and jingles). That brings me to the MP3 controversy. Many acts are giving away their singles in MP3 format in the hopes you'll buy the new CD. The RIAA is livid (again!). Personally I feel this is a terrific promotion, and not all that different from the past. People could listen to singles on the radio (and tape them), see videos on cable (and tape them), and go to live performances. So why is the Internet/MP3 thang any different? The industry should embrace this technology and write-off its cost as a promotional expense. People are inherently cautious and skeptical, but through hearing an act first (and liking the music) only means more music will be sold. I've been promoting this sample music idea for years. Now a large segment of the music industry is jumping onboard. I give away lots of material in the hopes you'll buy some of my other products, tell others about my stuff, and ask me to help you with your endeavors. Finally more and more people are trying this crucial promotional success formula. How about you?
August 30, 1999 -- When it comes to designing your Web site, you should prefer a more simplified straightforward approach that is easy to navigate, well constructed, and totally content driven. Content rules; the rest is just bells and whistles. Concentrate on content before anything else. Organize your thoughts. Organize the delivery of information logically. Decide what is most important first, second, and so forth. What is the real reason people come to your site? Is it to see a huge in-line graphic -- y'know the ones that take forever to download? Or are people coming to your site to get something? Of course it goes without saying you need to provide a reason to visit and a reason (or several reasons) to stay. You need compelling offers that get people to return to your site, buy your music products and services, and that get people to identify themselves to you, so that you can deliver other content and promotional material. I feel the best start page for any site is a table of contents to the rest of the site. Pictures, logos, and other such material should be secondary and placed lower down the page. Because problem-solving is the central concept to good promotion, you should make your start page a series of problems and solutions that affect your market.
September 6, 1999 -- I've been using Acid Music software as my main composing tool. The program is so quick and easy, that I often forget to save my work. Since I'm constantly tweaking the tracks (adding and deleting loops, balancing the mix, creating alternative mixes, etc.), I came up with this handy naming and organizing convention. When naming a file, put a number in the first position e. g. 1ROCK. As you regularly save subsequent versions of your song, name them 2ROCK, 3ROCK, etc. You won't keep deleting the old versions, but rather saving different versions that reflect your song's progress. This way you can easily return to earlier ideas. When you do finally complete the final version, give it a final name, and save it . And don't forget to make a backup of this final song, too.
September 13, 1999 -- With school back in session, pitch this fund-raiser idea: Record a holiday album with the school band, choir, and/or theater group. They sell the tapes and CD's to raise money. For example, you could record a cast album for the school's musical and sell them before, during, and after the shows. Keep it simple. Record them direct to stereo (DAT, computer, etc.) and start taking orders. You duplicate only what you need. However, it helps if you produce this BEFORE the holiday concert or show so the tapes/CD's can be sold AT the concert or show while the audience is eager to hear more. Give the group a substantial royalty on the music they sell 30%-40%. Keep duplication costs down and you keep the rest. They'll make a lot more money than they would selling candy bars. It's a win-win situation for everybody! Look at the numbers: $12 - $4.80 (40% royalty) = $7.20 - $3.20 (duplication costs) = $4 profit per unit. They sell 100 copies; you make $400 ... and they make $480! Don't forget, if you record copyrighted material you must pay mechanical royalties to the music publisher. This reduces your profits a tad, but not much. Plus, it's a variable cost. You sell more tapes, you pay more royalties. Stick with a medley of holiday classics and you avoid that issue entirely!
September 20, 1999 -- I was asked to summarize the keys to music industry success in 100 words. Here's my response: Concentrate on a specific audience. Find out what these people want to gain and/or what pain they want to eliminate. Adjust your music products and services to meet their needs. Use ruthless self-promotion techniques. Develop promotional material. Send sales letters. Run a few ads. Publish your news releases. Post to newsgroups. Revise your Web site. Capture names through your promotions and continue contacting your hard-won leads with new offers regularly. Work hard to get sales. Treat your buyers exceptionally well and keep contacting them. Create new music products or services and let your audience know about them. Keep going.
September 27, 1999 -- Product and service diversity is the key to making your music business a success. Never rely on only one product or service to carry your entire load. Do make sure that all your activities are related and reinforce each other. Next, you should create a promotional piece that details all that you offer. People often think you can do only one thing. "Oh, he's just a music guy." People rarely will ask what else you do. Tell them how you can help them! Brainstorm all the possibilities that you, with your talents and experiences, can turn into business ventures. Next, write some promotional blurbs about each product and service. Title the whole piece something akin to "Here's how Joe Pro Studios can help you ...." Print this catalog or product/service directory on your regular letterhead and -- BINGO! -- you have a simple, effective, and hopefully profitable promotion.
October 4, 1999 -- Planning a new music demo? Follow these tips: Grab attention, hold on to it, and keep the energy up. Use contrast to showcase your talent range. That means you should jam-pack the demo with many styles, instrumentation, and so forth. I've heard way too many tapes where the music simply sounds the same from track to track. Mix it up! Avoid soundtrack music tapes because most movie music is boring on its own. So, if you write music that needs the visual adjunct to work, put together a video demo. Otherwise, your music demo must contain very strong soundtrack music of the opening title variety. Listen to Bernard Herrmann's opening for North by Northwest for the path to success. Also, consider preparing several different demos that showcase your particular strengths such as a jingle demo, dramatic underscore, commercial score, etc. This way you send the right demo to a prospect instead of relying on one demo to do all the work.
October 11, 1999 -- The United Nations estimates that 30% of the world's population lives on less than $1 a day. Furthermore, up to 85% of these unfortunate people are illiterate with a majority having a life expectancy of half the Western average. It's the kind of sobering news that can really put life in perspective for you. I was sitting around thinking about how big a hard drive I should put in my next computer when I read this. One-third of the world is far more worried about their next meal. 20 or 27 GB just doesn't seem particularly important. My point for sharing this information is simple. You must always appreciate what you have. As your parents probably said time and again, there are many people less fortunate than you ... so eat your broccoli. I'm sure there is something we all can do to help those in need. And I leave that up to you to do in your own private way as I feel charity is a personal thing. However, I would suggest you take a minute to look around at all that you have. I'm not talking about material goods or bank balances. I'm talking about children, spouse, family, friends, relationships, talents, your music and other art, and your soul. Be grateful for the real fortune in your life. In light of these depressing UN findings, these are the things that really matter. Don't you agree?
October 18, 1999 -- There seemed to be some confusion over a previous Tip. One reader couldn't figure out how an original music act could diversify its products and services. Diversifying products is simple: Have more than one CD. They could also add merchandising (T's, caps, etc.). Diversifying services is a little more tricky. If the act is local, they could supplement their "original" act with a separate cover band act and play wedding, parties, and such. Individual band members could play solo gigs, do studio sessions, and so forth. Soundtrack and jingle composers could offer a music library, do on-hold messages, handle project studio work such as song demos, and so forth. In other words, you need to think "outside the box" and reap the most benefits from your particular skills.
October 25, 1999 -- Follow these tips when sending a promotional newsletter sent via e-mail. Keep it short. There is no need to cram the Sunday paper into your message. Be consistent. Have regular departments and put them in the same place each issue. Or use a table of contents at the start so people know whether they way to read further down or not. Always give readers an easy way to unsubscribe and leave the list. Send it out regularly, preferable at the same day and time each period (week, month, quarter). Build relationships by having other people contribute and encourage feedback from readers. Include links, e-mail addresses, and other information for your readers. And don't forget to provide real value, not just one long commercial. However, do include some promotion in the newsletter, too.
November 1, 1999 -- Did you know that the Social Security Administration started sending free statements? You'll get one a few months before your birthday. Unless your are close to retirement, you can ignore the estimates (though they are good for a laugh). But you MUST pay attention to your earnings records. It shows the money you reported as earning each year for your entire work history. You really need to check it for accuracy. One of my years showed earnings of only $50. I still had my tax return for that year clearly showing a different figure. It only took a phone call to the SSA to correct the dollar amount. Another use for this information is seeing how much money you are able to bring into your life. You may be astonished by your prowess over the years. One of the secrets of financial freedom is saving money and investing it to support your lifestyle. Sometimes the figure you need to save may seem totally outlandish. However, simply adding up the columns on your Social Security statement will show you how much money you are able to bring into your life. Now look at what you have to show for that hard work. Obviously, the trick is to save more of that money, invest it, and let it grow into a nice nest egg for you.
November 8, 1999 -- In his book, Digital Darwinism, Evan Schwartz profiles seven strategies for surviving on the Web and an example of each: 1) Solve problems (Yahoo!) 2) Use flexible pricing (Any auction site) 3) Let others market for you (Amazon.com affiliate program) 4) Create information and service packages (AOL) 5) Sell custom products first, then make them. (dell.com or gateway.com) 6) Add value to sales between buyers and sellers (schwab.com) 7) Integrate e-commerce with your entire business (kinkos.com) "Your company must develop some set of core capabilities that you can do better than anyone else. Everything else must be subcontracted and produced by teams of companies working together ..." says Schwartz. Ponder that advice as you plan (or revise) your Web presence.
November 15, 1999 -- Dealing with clients can often be frustrating (especially if they lack musical knowledge). Following these tips should help. *Before writing a note, meet with your client and get her to discuss the project in detail especially mood, message, and intended audience. *Ask your client to carefully describe the music she wants. *Beware of temp tracks. Many directors edit to temporary music tracks and unfortunately get hooked on them. Your score rarely lives up to those standards. *They must be happy and the music must satisfy them whether you like it or not. Having a good attitude, and working for ways to deliver the music they want to buy is the key. I often have trouble coming to terms with changes clients suggest that I don't feel are appropriate. Sometimes you can compromise; other times you make the change, swallow a little piece of your pride, and deliver the music they asked for anyway.
November 22, 1999 -- Being prepared is one secret to successfully promoting your music career. I recently finished an on-hold program, and while the messages were loading into memory, several callers were placed on hold. Hearing the messages, these people immediately asked for more information about a new product. The receptionist was stunned. She had NO IDEA what was on-hold, and worse, had no idea how to respond to the inquiries. The company failed to train her properly. She was their main contact with prospects and they forgot to give this crucial person the information she needed to do her job better. We ended up pulling the messages for a few days so employees could be trained. If you do on-hold, you should mention to your client that they should be prepared for the response generated by their telephone ads. The main lesson here is if you are going to promote, be prepared for a wildly positive response to your effort. Make sure you have the suitable material you are promoting, have trained your associates, and that you can indeed handle the increase in work always generated by good ruthless self-promotion techniques.
November 29, 1999 -- When you are planning your music product or service, you must think about how you will package it. People invariably recall the package before they remember the product/service. Think of Coke. What color jumps into your mind? Is it the brown color of the popular liquid? Or is it the bright red of its package? I'm sure your answer was red. It is this impression, and how it stays in the minds of people, that is so important. Carefully and consistently packaging an image is crucial to success in today's music industry. Common packaging elements include color, name, logo, typestyle, design elements, and so forth. Take a look at Sonic Foundry to see how they consistently apply these basic elements across a variety of products: Acid Pro 2.0, Vegas, Acid Music 2.0 (Rock, DJ, and Hip-Hop). You would do well to follow this model.
December 6, 1999 -- Have you finished a project recently? Now is the time to launch a quick promotional blitz. Put together a postcard that highlights your most recent gig(s) and drop it in the mail to your prospect and client list. Prepare a brief news release on the same subject and get that to your media contacts. Write a simple case study of the project and post it to your Web site (and/or put it in your newsletter). Call your best clients and tell them about the project. Take the approach of how you solved a problem or otherwise made a client's life better. If your news release gets picked up, make copies and mail it to your prospect and client list. I'd write another sales letter to tuck in the package with the news release reprint. Maybe try a special offer of some kind (discount or added-value premium). This blitz should get the phone ringing. Make sure you are ready for the inquiries by having the suitable follow-up promotional material ready to send (demo CD, brochure, etc.).
December 13, 1999 -- What if your primary source of income dries up? Do you have another way to generate income in your life? Can you do something else? Let's say the band thang falls apart for you. Can you teach lessons? Work at a music store? Capitalize on some other skill until you get things back on track? Harrison Ford was a carpenter. He was building a house when George Lucas called and offered him the Han Solo part. You need to have a fallback income generator too. This way you cover your expenses while you work your way back. And if you're temporarily down, make sure you promote on your off time. Now is not the time to wallow in self-pity. Get your promotional material together and get it in the hands of those who need you.
December 20, 1999 -- Since I've been mixing a new major project, I found an old favorite on my bookshelf. Though technologically outdated, Sherman Keene's "Practical Techniques for the Recording Engineer" still has some useful advice. I found his mixing ideas particularly poignant: "A good mix includes: -- Powerful and solid lows -- Proper use of mid range -- Clear and clean highs -- Proper, but not overburdening effects -- Real acoustic information, not just electronic reverbs and delays -- Dimension with a sense of depth -- Motion and movement of the instruments -- One true stereo track, preferably up front." To his advice let me add: Fresh ears, open attitude, and a proper mixing volume level of about 80-85 dB (where your ears' frequency response is most flat).
December 27, 1999 -- One of the most overlooked ways to drum up new business is from within the same company. Often you may work for one department of a larger corporation. Other departments within that same company may also need your services. However, these people may not know about you (and how you've helped their colleagues). When you've finished a project for one department, ask if there would be other people/departments who may need similar help. Simply ask your current client for a recommendation and ask permission to use their name when you call the other department. Better still, have the current client call on your behalf. Getting recommended to another department or division from within puts you at a distinct advantage. You essentially get networked into the new gig.
This document Copyright Jeffrey P. Fisher, 1999
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