Music Marketing Podcast

Getting views for your music and videos can be tough. Mostly because the majority of people don’t know how to do it.

Chances are you already know where your fans are hanging out.

What bands do you sound similar to? Where are their fans hanging out?

That’s where your fans are too! They just don’t know that they’re your fans yet.

There are 3 types of traffic and I’ve pretty much borrowed this concept from Russell Brunson.

He’s arguably one of the best marketers on the planet right now.

I’m going to use his general concept on traffic so you can determine where it would be best for you to target.

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Instagram music marketing is another simple but super important piece of your journey to your first 1,000 fans and beyond.

The first thing you have to consider is if your audience is even on Instagram. Only you can answer that.

Is that where you hang out? Is that where people that like your style and music hangout?

Chances are, it is.

I think it’d be very rare for any musical audience to not be on Instagram.

So, what can you do to maximize your fan reach on Instagram and grow your fanbase?

What is the magic formula?

It’s funny that everyone believes there must be a secret to success in music and marketing your music on Instagram.

The truth is:

Success is the result of being persistent and never quitting!

Most artists, try and quit before they hit their tipping point for fans.

If you’re committed to keep pushing forward and not quitting then stick with me.

You want your music in the hands of record label executives? Good, I’m happy for you.

Now, don’t blow your chances of even getting heard or seen. If you’re all in then you need to learn how to submit your music to record labels.

There are a ton of record labels out there.

Obviously, most of them are small independent record labels.

That’s good for you. If you can find and connect with a small label there are many benefits.

If they love you then you’ll get a lot of devotion and attention from them.

You won’t be just a small fish in a huge pond like artists on major labels.

Small indie labels will usually work with you on artist development as well.

Keep in mind that when you see a new artist on the scene, chances are they’ve been groomed for a while behind the scenes by their management which in most cases is the label itself.

So, if you want to start submitting your music to record labels follow these guidelines below.

Over the last few weeks we've been focusing on booking gigs using emails.

The numbers from 2019 were overwhelming in favor of sending email instead of calling.

Venues and music promoters don't want you calling them.

Think about it... do you answer unknown numbers? Absolutely, not.

So, now that we know we should be reaching out to clubs using emails let's dive into what your first email should look like.

The first thing we need to understand is that we are "cold" emailing the venues.

If you don't know them then they are a stranger.

That means, you never want to send too much information right out of the gate.

If you think about the sales process, it requires a lot of trust these days.

To sell something, they say, you need at least 21 touch points.

That is, they need to see or hear, directly or indirectly, something about you before they're sold.

Thankfully, we don't need that many touch points when booking gigs with email.

What we need is to get a basic conversation started.

So, first things first in booking gigs using email....

Today we’re going to dig into a simple email subject line for booking gigs.

Sending emails to venues to book gigs was the clear winner last year and it is the preferred means of being contacted by almost all booking agents.

Often times the subject line is the last thing artists think about when contacting clubs or music blogs.

It’s just a required field on the form.

But when you’re contacting venues to book gigs, the subject of the email is critical.

It needs to get the booking agents attention.

Otherwise your message will be overlooked, instantly deleted or could possibly be sent to the SPAM folder.

In the last podcast I shared what we learned in 2019.

It was more of a confirmation that email is the way to book gigs.

Today we’re going to dig into the key ingredient to making email work for booking gigs.

It’s important that you approach sending emails the right way when contacting venues for gigs.

We’re not going to talk about the proper “content” for your subject line today.

Instead we’re going to focus on the strategy of the follow up email for booking gigs.

Hindsight is 2020. If you are like me, you learned a lot in 2019.

Let’s look at 2 clear lessons learned.

The new year is quickly approaching.

Now is the time to get your act in gear. It’s time to get your musical goals and products in line so you can kill it in January and beyond.

A new year always offers hope, a new page, a new opportunity for success and change.

The truth is, you don’t have to wait for a change in the year to start.

The people who have abs on the beach didn’t get them with New Year’s resolutions. They got them by working hard all winter long.

The same applies to music.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to get anything you wanted?

Anything your heart desires at the snap of your fingers.

Yes, that would be a dream come true for most.

We all know that that dream is just that… a dream.

Or is it?

Have you ever known someone that just seemed to get anything they wanted?

Today we’re going to look at Music CRMs.

What they are, why you’re falling behind if you’re not using one and why you need one.

A Music CRM doesn’t need to be an expensive monthly bill or complicated.

Learning how to be your own music publicist is not hard.

In fact, by the time you hire a music publicist you should be well aware what they do and what to expect from them.

Before you learn how to be a music publicist yourself, first you need to understand exactly what is involved.

So many bands and artists have no idea what to say to venues to book gigs.

They might be diligent about contacting the venues but they use the wrong words and never book gigs.

Often times, bands will write a book when they really only need to say 2 sentences.

The more you write in an email to the venue the greater your chance of not getting a response or even read.

Venue booking agents are swamped and receive a lot of email requests.

When you send an email using our simple formula your email will be a breath of fresh air and you may even get a response.

Today you will learn 3 things to do before every gig.

While they may not be rocket science they are forgotten and ignored more often than not.

So many times we get so excited about our show all we do is practice and prepare for it.

That’s good but you can’t forget that the point of your show, to play for an audience.

Additionally, your audience is your customer base.

They’ll be the ones bringing the cash to buy drinks and anything else you got.

These 3 things will make your gig much more enjoyable and profitable.

Learning how to find gigs as an opening act is the start of booking headlining shows.

Often times an opening slot will give you the exposure to booking a paid gig. Finding opening acts shows is really not that hard.

They usually aren’t advertised but occasionally they might be.

The best way to go about getting opening act gigs is simply by asking.

The best way to contact venues for gigs has changed over the years.

In the past, you had a couple of choices. You could call or just show up at the club and try to connect with the booking agent.

I did both, a LOT!

The first time you called always ended up being the “get good info” call.

You’d almost never get the person who books gigs and it was almost always at the wrong time.

So, you’d leave a message, get the name of the person who books the gigs and the best time to call them back.

Then you’d call back again and again… and again.

It was a nightmare. Believe me. I lived it and booked hundreds of gigs doing it.

If you think booking agents don’t work their tails off trying to book you gigs then you need to do it yourself for a while.

Luckily almost all venues prefer that you contact them through email now.

It takes about the same amount of time as a quick phone call and you have to follow the same procedure.

Instead of a cold call, you’re sending a cold email to someone that doesn’t know you or particularly care to receive an email from you.

Follow these 3 tips to contact venues for gigs.

The best way to land your first gig is not hard. There are 5 easy steps you can take.

It’s actually easy. You just have to be persistent and never give up.

If you want to book your first gig then follow these simple steps below.

Everybody wants paid but how can you increase what you get paid to play at your booked gigs?

There are some simple things that you can do now that will likely increase what you’re paid.

First off, we have to be real.

Most people think they deserve to be paid waaaay more than they’re worth.

If you want the best email sequence for booking gigs then you came to the right place.

I’ve booking big gigs using email and know it works.

Some people may argue that email is not the route to go to book gigs but they’re wrong.

The problem is they do it all wrong.

If you’re going to book gigs using emails then you need to make sure you do it right.

If you haphazardly send emails to booking agents and just hope it will work then you may be doing more harm than good.

There are certain rules that if you don’t follow you’ll lose all chances of getting booked at the venue.

The bottom line is you need to be booking gigs using email but you have to approach it with the right strategy.

When is the last time you tried to book gigs? How often do you try per week?

Do you follow up? Are you pushy? Are you even worthy of a gig?

Many musicians wonder why they never book gigs but the truth is it’s fairly obvious, at least to the person that needs bands for their club.

Venues, clubs, theaters, coffee shops, yadda, yadda, yadda, need new acts.

They are constantly on the lookout for fresh new talent and established bands that can fill their need.

The opportunity is there but you may be going about getting the gig all wrong.

Let’s look at 3 things that keep most bands from getting gigs and how to fix it.

The best way to make money in music is different for each person.

It depends on what you like and what you enjoy doing.

You want to make money in music for the long haul so it needs to be something you love doing.

Making money is one thing but if you don’t like what you’re doing to make it then it won’t last.

That’s a recipe for disaster and one thing will happen, you’ll quit.

You need to consider what you really love doing.

Let’s look at a few ways you can start making money in music.

Today we’re going to look into how to make band practice awesome.

Sounds like a challenge. Band practices are the necessary evil we endure to get to the live show.

Live performances reveal how much or how little a band practiced.

You almost always need to practice more than you think.

You may get your set right 100% of the time at practice but inevitably during a live gig something will happen.

If you’re practiced enough your muscles and the words will come naturally without much thought.

Distractions will happen so you need to be prepared.

Let’s look at 5 ways to make your band practice awesome so that you can have your best show ever.

Let’s look into how to book gigs today.

If you’re a musician then chances are you will perform at some point. I hope so! If not you’ll be missing out on the awesome feeling of sharing your talent with others.

Performing live is such a rush. Especially when you play well and the crowd is engaged.

Great performances don’t just happen.

It takes time and a lot of practice to master performance.

The more practiced you are the more you can enjoy performing.

Imagine giving a speech.

Someone hands you the words on a paper and you have to read them for the first time.

Not fun.

You’ll be so focused on reading the words that you won’t be able to enjoy any bit of it.

Now imagine giving the same speech 100 times.

You walk up to the mic and you don’t need notes. You’re not nervous.

You know exactly what to say and how to express yourself so that the message is received perfectly.

Relating it to music – No wrong notes, no missed chords and no fumbled lyrics.

That’s when you experience the true joy of performing.

It takes practice and many booked gigs to get there.

If you think you don’t need to fix your music bio then you’re wrong.

Today we’re going to look into how to promote your music on Instagram.

People love instagram so if you ignore it you are missing out on a lot of potential fans.

First things first, if you want to promote your music on Instagram you need to grab an Instagram account.

Your name or handle should be something that everyone will remember.

It doesn’t have to be exact but your fans will be searching so make it easy for them.

Instagram was bought by Facebook just a few years ago for 1 Billion dollars.

I include that so that you know the value of promoting your music on Instagram.

It’s worth so much because, like Facebook, people spend hours on it.

In other words, you need to be promoting your music to Instagram.

If you want to get signed to a record label you have to be willing to work hard.

Major and independent record labels are businesses. They need to make money. They want to buy smaller businesses.

Like it or not, you and your band is a small business.

If you’re not making money then record labels are less likely to sign you.

To get signed to a record label you have to act like you already are.

Record labels want to see that you already know the ropes. They want to see that you have experience touring, performing, producing records (CDs, tracks, albums) and that you’re in it for the long haul.

Making it in music and getting signed to a label deal is an investment. Both from you and the record label.

You will have to sacrifice time, money and a normal social life. Forget about hanging with friends every weekend. You have work to do.

To get signed requires full dedication and commitment. Most do not have these qualities. Most people quit after very little effort.

If you don’t quit you will soar past your competition.

Market your music for free with these simple tips.

There are tons of ways to spread the word about your music at no cost.

The question is, how bad do you want it. How bad do you want to succeed in music?

Here are 4 ways to market your music.

You should be thinking of new ways to promote your music every day.

Writing a song is an art so there are no rules or are there?

If you want to write a great song there are definitely things you can do to make your song stick out and be better overall.

Attention spans are at an all-time low.

How do you promote your band? Do you rely on everyone else? Or, do you do it all yourself?

If you’re not promoting your band then you need to start.

Today we’re going to dive into why you should promote your band yourself.

You have a few things to consider when you promote your band.

The first is if you’re going to invest or pay someone else to do it.

Paying someone to promote your band will save you time but it will also cost you.

Not only will paying someone cost you money but there are several other things that you may miss out on.

When you promote your band yourself you will invest your time but save money and you’ll learn a lot.

Is it time to quit doing music? Have you asked yourself this question? I know I have.

It may be time to face the music – no pun intended.

Music is a magical thing. You play and create music and it makes you feel good.

It feels good to perform your songs for others and there is no other rush like rocking out for a crowd of fans.

But there is the other side of it.

Writing great song lyrics is an art that takes time to master.

Many songwriters make the same song writing mistakes over and over again.

So, let’s dive into 5 tips for writing great song lyrics.

If you want to monetize your music on YouTube then good!

There are a few things you can do to start making money with your music on YouTube.

Let me start by saying that I have personal experience making money on YouTube both with content creation and with the use of my music in videos.

The income is totally passive. You create it once and you’re done. You don’t have to do anything else.

Of course, making more content will always help your cause!

Should you or your band form an LLC (limited liability corporation)? Good question.

First off, disclaimer, I am not an attorney and this information is for entertainment purposes only. Use it as you will but I’m not advising anything. For legal counsel find a good music attorney.

So, knowing I’m not a lawyer, I wanted to share some information that may help you determine if you need to form an LLC or not.

First off, if you’re just getting started then it’s probably not necessary.

You can spare the expense and use your money for more important things.

Learning how music publishing companies work is absolutely essential if you want to make money in music.

Failing to learn about music publishing could cost you a career’s worth of royalties.

Music publishing companies handle a lot of the jobs that you as an indie artist should be doing yourself right now.

The term Music Producer is becoming somewhat of a buzz word today.

Today we will dive into what a music producer is and why you need, at least in part, to be one yourself.

Music producers seem to be everywhere.

If you have a band you need an electronic press kit also known as an EPK.

An EPK is a summary of your band. You can think of it as your band’s resume.

When an employer gets a resume the will judge the book by the cover.

Songwriting is an art and it takes time to develop.

But that doesn’t mean that your first song can’t be hit. You just never know.

There are several things you can do to improve your songs.

While all songs and musical tastes are subjective and personal, this list will give you some food for thought.

In our modern age, integrity is becoming a thing of the past.

The sad thing is that most people don’t even know what integrity is or why you need it.

Integrity is absolutely essential if you plan on being successful.

The truth is, if you don’t have integrity and you’re lucky enough to find some success, it’s just a matter of time before all of your hard work is undone and comes crashing down.

Is music your passion? Is it all you dream about? Is it what you want to do with the rest of your life? Your dream “job”?

Or is it just a hobby? A lot of people will say music is their passion. They want to be a rock or rap star but in reality it’s just a hobby.

In this article and podcast I’m going to dig into the question, “Is music your goal or just a hobby?”.

The fact of the matter is, unbeknownst to most, music is just a hobby for them. They think they are the “real deal” but they invest little time and little or no money into it.

Finding the right band members can be a serious challenge.

A lot goes into forming the perfect combination of players.

On top of playing skills there are some other major things you really need to look into when searching for band members for your dream team.

The right band members will make or break you.

It will determine if you waste your time for a bit or have something that can last and develop into something serious.

Here are some things to consider when finding the right band members for your band.

The world is oversaturated with clones. Uniqueness is a rare thing.

Most people try to be like everyone else. Most musicians try to emulate their favorite artists.

While we can learn from our mentors we need to focus on the uniqueness we have to offer.

Want to stick out from the crowd… in a good way?

Focus on your strengths and individual uniqueness.

Booked a show? Congratulations! Now, don’t waste the opportunity. Make sure you make the most of every show you book.

Booking gigs is hard work. It’s not physical work but it takes a lot of time and effort.

You have to follow up with each venue or you won’t be booked.

Look at each show you book as a gift. Someone trusts you enough to pay you to entertain in their house. That’s an honor.

So, with each gig you book make sure you take full advantage of it by doing these 6 things.

To succeed at anything you need to focus. It literally is an art. It’s something you can learn to do. If you’re like me, a bit ADD, the art of focusing is super important. Let’s look at what you can do to maintain laser focus in a world of chaos.

So you want to book gigs for free? That is, book gigs that are free for the audience and venue. Gigs that don’t pay you any money. There are pros and cons when you book gigs for free. In this article and podcast learn when you should say yes or no to a free gig.

Book gigs in 3 easy steps. These steps are very easy. Anyone can do this. It’s easy work but it can be very tedious.

The Gift of Time. We all take it for granted yet we're only given so much. Rich or poor we're all given the same amount each day. 24 hours. What you choose to do with this precious commodity will affect your future. Every day is a gift. Do you feel like you don’t have enough time in a day? Overwhelmed with your schedule? Are you performing to your full potential? Maybe you make excuses that your time is limited. Do you have an extra 5 minutes? 

How often should I be performing every month? Is there a magic number? Does it really matter? Do I even need to perform on a regular basis at all?In this podcast we dig into find that magic number of how often you should perform.

The 80/20 rule (originally known as the Pareto principle) is the law of vital few. It’s the principle of factor sparsity. In laymen’s terms, you get 80% of your results from 20% of your efforts. In this podcast you will learn how to put the 80/20 rule for musicians to use in your music career.  Ready to take your music to the next level using only 20% of your time?