How to Work With Music Industry Contacts

It’s no secret that often in the world music, it’s more about “who you know” than what you know. The industry generally favors pre-existing relationships, whether you are looking for a venue, a sponsor, a review on your new album, or a slot at SXSW. Like it or not, networking can make or break an act.

Focus on taking a few steps closer to your goal by working on your contacts a few minutes each day. Here are some of my favorite tips on networking:

• Start With a Goal in Mind: Before you haphazardly contact just anyone in the music industry, think about what you want to achieve and who some of the people are that might be able to help you. You might also think about how you can help them in return. Most of the time, you’ll make new contacts in social situations but you can also be strategic about who you want to meet and why.

• Use “Pull” Marketing Strategies: “Push” marketing is exactly what it sounds like: taking a proactive approach to reach out. However, “pull” marketing is far more effective. That’s when you draw people in.

• Make Networking a Lifestyle, Not an Activity: While some people will be more inclined to be the social butterfly, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make networking a normal part of your career. Don’t be the one who is shoving their business cards in everybody’s face. Instead, be the one that listens to others’ needs and the one who takes the initiative in helping meet those needs.

• It’s Not Who You Know, it’s Who You Know: Your name is a brand and the more excitement and buzz about you, the more likely you’ll attract others. Learn how to market yourself (social media, especially Linkedin, is a great place to start).

• Give Them a Reason to Call You: With each exchange (whether online or in person), show the person that you respect their time by giving them something of value. This can be a tip, an interesting story, an incentive, or answer to a lingering question.

For “cold sales calls,” I highly recommend books on sales, especially by Jeffrey Gitomer, Jeffrey Fox, and Dale Carnegie.

There are two things you can do by dedicating 15-20 minutes per day:

Activity 1:

Create a networking strategy. You can use a spreadsheet, a notebook, email/contact management system, or whatever system you are most comfortable with. Start with:

1. Your Goals: Who are the people you want to get in touch with and why. What industries are they in? What do you hope to gain out of a relationship with them? Organize these contacts in categories (Managers, record labels, promoters, media, sponsors, etc.).

2. Degrees of Separation: Who do you know who might have get you one degree closer to the contact? This is where sites like Linkedin are exceptionally useful. Don’t worry if you don’t have a line of contact for each person, just start with who you know.

3. Add Contact Information: Include their basic contact information as well as any public social media accounts that they might use, such as Twitter.

4. Value Proposition: List what they are interested in, what you can do to bring value to them. Can you help market their product/service? Create a partnership? Expand their roster?

5. Contact Plan: Keep a track record of when/how you contact them. Treat this like a sales call sheet. There are many templates available online for this.

6. Timeline: Group together contacts and create a regular schedule on when you’ll reach out to new contacts and build up existing relationships. It doesn’t take much, consistency goes a long way!

Activity 2:

Build “pull” marketing strategies. Sometimes the best way to make new contacts is to give them a reason to contact you. In other words, find ways to make them take the initiative. There are a couple of ways to do this online:

• Become a Resource for Them: Create some “online capital” by writing a regular blog or contributing to content on sites like Quara, HARO, or Linkedin. If you create meaningful content for things that your target contacts are interested in, they’ll be more inclined to contact you.

• Generate Some Buzz: Hire a publicist, find ways to create some momentum through social media, create some industry buzz. Remember, focus on their industry. It doesn’t help you to reach #1 on ReverbNation for bands in your area if they have never heard of the website before. The best publicity gained is in areas where they will “stumble” across you and your work.

• Draw Them In: Think of other ways that your target contacts will discover you. What interests them? What kind of websites or trade journals do they visit and read? Who do they know that could make that introduction? Some research can save you a lot of time and make your efforts much more effective.

Record Labels That Accept Unsolicited Demos

This week, top searches leading people to this site mostly had to do with labels that accept unsolicited demos, record companies that take demo submissions, and so on. As I mentioned in a previous article, Unsolicited Music Demos: How to Get in the Door of a Record Label, the reality is that no one is soliciting to these demos.

Here’s a bit of reality: If you are looking for a list of record labels that accept unsolicited demos, then you probably aren’t record label material. The ironic twist is that you are most appealing to record labels when you don’t need them.

Think about this in terms of dating.

Sending an unsolicited press kit and CD to a record label is like asking for a marriage proposal when the prospect has no idea who you are. While that kind of thing might work in certain situations (mail-order brides, etc.), most reasonable people would not give you the time of day.

Getting a dream record contract is like getting your soul-mate: it usually happens because you know a bit about each other first, you have mutual friends who introduce you, you’ve worked on something together, or you have some kind of light introduction first.

Some other things to consider:

• People can smell desperation miles away.
• No one likes a cocky jerk who is obnoxiously annoying
• It’s always better to let the other person do the talking rather than waste their time with your bragging
• Your reputation often proceeds you; if they know nothing about you, walls automatically come up

How would you apply these concepts to getting a record label? For that matter, you could apply these concepts to anyone in the music industry: publicists, booking agents, a manager, promoter, etc.

3 Ways Your Band Can Use Creativity to Make More Money

Money. Many artists struggle with it: either we’re poor at managing income or we lack creativity in getting it. It’s clear that with the shape of the music industry, most artists aren’t making a living from record sales. So how are they getting the support that they need?

You might argue that some bands make their money from performing: they command large guarantees when playing a show. Another popular idea is that most bands survive because of merch sales (few promoters provide a decent guarantee, if one at all). Others see crowdsourcing as the new golden calf.

I don’t think there is a one-size fits-all model for all artists. What artists need is something that is personal, transparent, and appropriate for their career. In 5 Non-traditional Ways to Promote Your Music, I called upon artists to use their creativity when it comes to music promotion. I think the same could be said of your sources of income as well.

Here are three ways to do that:

1. Get some diversity

People often warn you to not have all of your eggs in one basket: don’t rely on one social media site to do all of your band’s communication, don’t invest all of your time playing only in one city, don’t depend on the idea that some major record label will launch your career. It’s the same with sources of income for your music.

Sure, it takes a lot of work to manage shows, licensing deals, recording/releasing music, merchandising, and to create an online shopping cart for fans (or work with other sites to do that), but the more ways you can allow fans to support you, the safe you’ll be if one of those options don’t pull through. You’re never going to get rich off of Spotify or Pandora streams nor TV or radio broadcasts, but registering for Sound Exchange is still a good idea. Those pennies add up. As a bonus, you can see how often your music has been played in a variety of areas.

Not everyone likes t-shirts and CD’s, some might want a tank top or download. Get some variety in your merchandise as well by focusing on items that you think will appeal to your specific target audience. Don’t just sell what every other band is selling. Get creative, don’t be afraid to take some risks.

 

2. Stir up some controversy

This image, shared by Ventachinkway, exploded on Reddit today. It was a brilliant move to make an important point about what values we hold dear. Of course, the obvious point is that most people are willing to make some contributions so that their entire community doesn’t look bad.

However, on a deeper, psychological level, this man was “gamifying” panhandling. People naturally respond to competition. They don’t want their “team” to lose, even the connection is weak at best. They want to win. This is why social media has changed the way we think: people strive for likes, shares, and retweets because it fills a craving in the mind. How can you use gamification to boost engagement? How can you create a little “competition” to increase music sales?

In our band, we started creating individual buttons of each member. Fans could buy them individually or as a set. Because we interact with fans so much, they often have a “favorite.” So of course, those are easy to sell. However, when there are an unequal number of buttons for each person, some fans feel bad for the member who isn’t selling and will pick an extra one up. Simple, but it works.

3. Don’t be let go

In March, Amanda Palmer delivered an inspiring (and semi-controversial) TED talk about her business model. In short, she compared it to a digital version of street performing. She says, “A lot of people are confused by the idea of no hard sticker price [on my music]. They see it as an unpredictable risk, but … I see it as trust.” Rather than fighting against piracy, she decided to work with it. She encouraged fans to share, arguing “I think people have been obsessed with the wrong question, which is, ‘How do we make people pay for music?’ What if we started asking, ‘How do we LET people pay for music?’”

There is comfort in the price list and having an inventory. You want to know what comes in and what goes out. You should have a certain price margin to ensure that you’re not losing money with every sale. But that doesn’t mean that rules can’t be bent or broken. What are some creative ways that you can rely on fans to support you?

 

Whatever you decide to do, don’t be afraid to experiment. Use you creativity and find what fits your music career, don’t someone else’s.

How Often Should You Play? 6 Drawbacks to Playing More Shows

In some of my other articles, such as How to Book SXSW, I mention the importance of playing often. However, I need to add a disclaimer: it isn’t just about the quantity of shows plated, it’s also about the quality. While in theory, it sounds good to perform as much as possible because you can gain more exposure, the results can be quite different.

There is such a thing as playing too often, especially in the same market. Here are some of the biggest reasons why you should limit the number of shows you play:

1. It hurts your draw. Even your most die-hard fans won’t want to see you every week or two. Playing too many shows close together will split your ability to draw. This in turn hurts your relationship with the promoter. In fact, some promoters actually make you sign an agreement that prevents you from booking in the vicinity for 2-4 weeks around a show. Unless you are invited to play a residency, try not to play the same town more than once a month.

2. It diminishes your value. We tend to think of things that are rare, collectable, or limited as more valuable. The same is true with your show: not only will your supporters consider it a special opportunity to support you (especially when they’re only being invited a few times a year instead of a few times per month), you’re more likely to get higher guarantees as a result.

3. It doesn’t increase your fanbase (that much). If you are playing with unknown acts that don’t draw well, you’re going to only end up playing to the other bands. These days, most venues don’t have a steady walk-in clientele that you can perform for. Music venues rely heavily on the bands to make the show a success. That extra time you spend booking your local shows could be spent finding better acts to play with instead.

4. It’ll cost you other shows. Playing too many shows in your region will crowd your calendar and might cause you to lose opportunities opening for larger acts or special events that you could be invited to. If you keep a good rapport with promoters, you can work with them to be more strategic about the calendar.

5. It wears your band out. Too many shows can also stress the band out: your gear, your vehicles, interpersonal relationships, etc. You don’t want to burn yourselves out playing small shows every weekend when, if spaced out properly, those shows could be doubled in size.

6. It takes you away from building your career. Shows take up a lot of time. You have to book the gig, haul gear, setup, play, tear down, etc. That’s extra time that could be spent on writing music, working on your music career’s long term strategy, booking a tour (different than regional gigs), networking, or even visiting someone else’s show to get some inspiration for your work.

Instead of trying to fill the calendar, use your efforts to fill up the venue.Think about your long term goals. Add some variety to the calendar with the types of venues, locations of shows, the kinds of events you could be playing. If your goal is to play 100 shows this year, 90 of them should be out of town.

Try this: imagine that your band can only play four local shows this year. Where would you want those to be? Which acts do you want to play with? If you value your time and believe that each show needs to be a part of an integral part of a long-term goal, you’ll be more careful about the kinds of shows you book or accept.

Being strategic about your shows will get you closer to your goals than conquering one dive or bar patron at a time.

6 Things You Can Do With $100 That Will Change Your Music Career

Money. Let’s face it: most artists aren’t very good with it. Most of us don’t have much to invest into our music career (relatively speaking), and when we do, we tend to throw it at some random opportunities without a larger strategy in mind.

Take, for instance, submission fees to music festivals. Each year, thousands of artists spend over $100 in application fees or subscription costs to EPK sites, in hopes of getting a show at SXSW, CMJ, Bumbershoot, or other large festivals. Personally, I think festivals are overrated in terms of importance for your career, but if you really want to get in, try reading this guide: How to Get Into SXSW.

You can easily spend $100 on strings, picks, or sticks. You could even buy a cheap electric guitar. Or, if you were riding in my tour bus, $100 almost covers the gas from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA.

Sure, many of those things are important (especially when one has a gig in Seattle), but how can you create a long term investment for your music career? Here are a few options on investing the money into your music career:

 

1. Music Business Education: While $100 probably won’t get you far in personalized lessons (vocal or instrument), you could easily pick up a small library of fantastic books that can teach you a thing or two about the music industry. Here are my personal recommendations. These are some of the best books out there that you can get for your music career.

2. Get Some Personal Advice: Maybe you don’t want to wade through a few thousand pages of information, maybe you want an industry professional to look at your exact situation and help plan out your next moves. For $100, you could get any number of industry pros to give you a personal consultation. With me, $100 would get you 3 one hour sessions. With Bob Baker (incredible author), it’s a little more – $150 gets you an hour. There are several of us out there, just look around.

3. Get Some Merchandise: A hundred bucks can turn into more money if you invest it into some merchandise. You could easily order about 250 stickers from Sticker Guy and 100 buttons from Busy Beaver Buttons. If you sold those at $1 each, you would bring in $350. That’s a 350% return on investment.

4. Make Your Own Merchandise: For $100 of materials and a lot of time, you could make your own screen printer for t-shirts, get a starter kit for making buttons, or order some custom guitar picks and buy ball chain necklaces, earring hoops, and cell phone charm hooks to create a full line of accessories.

5. Let Your Banners Fly: As inexpensive as vinyl banners are, I’m surprised that I don’t see more bands with them. For $100, you could get a backdrop for your stage show and have a nice banner for your merch booth. It makes you a look a little more professional, gets your name/logo in photos that people take of your show, and lets bar patrons know who you are because, chances are, they can’t understand what you’re saying through the mic or don’t care.

6. Hire a Publicist: While full-scale PR campaigns cost several thousand, many publicists will work the media for a single show for about $100. Maybe you want some press/reviews of your album for a CD release show? A tour kick off? A new music video? A publicist can do wonders and help boost attendance or visibility of any gig.

 

These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing, to get you thinking about your long term as well as short term goals. What is going to move your career further? What will make a better return on investment? After you spend the money, what will you have to show for it?

So the next time you have some extra money that you’d like to spend on your music – whether it is $100 or $10,000, think about what you want to accomplish and how that investment will get you there.

 

The Most Underrated Things in a Musician’s Career

A few weeks ago, I posted about The Most overrated Things in a Musician’s Career. Due to some requests, I’ve decided to write about the most underrated things that we often don’t think about or use to the fullest extent. Like my previous article, there are a number of things that depend some time or commitment. However, unlike the “overrated” list, these are all things that you can probably never have too much of.

• Goals: It’s easy to lose sight of our end-goal when thinking about all of our tasks when it comes to writing/performing music, booking tours, promoting, social media, merchandising, distribution, sponsorship, and so on. However, it’s essential that everything you do is a part of the bigger picture, part of your overall goal. Why should you offer custom hoodies when that money could be invested in a press campaign? Should you play SXSW or CMJ? Or both? It all depends on your goals and thinking about the steps that get you there. Don’t just do things because it seems like a good opportunity. Do it because it makes sense for your goals and will provide a good return on investment.

• A Good Press Photo: These days, it seems that everyone with a decent camera thinks that they are a professional photographer. You wouldn’t want someone who knows barely knows how to plug a mic in to do your sound, you’d want someone skilled. Same goes for photography: This is your primary image for press, for your websites, and your image…why would you want to skimp here? Learn how to hire a good photographer.

• A Good Press Kit: Having a decent press kit comes in handy. Take the time to cater it to the specific audience. It’s far more effective to have something customized for someone than to blanket people with a generic kit.

• The Super Fan: How often do you discover new music because of an ad instead of hearing about them from someone you trust?  It’s easy to get so caught up with the idea of making new fans that we forget to concentrate on existing ones. In fact, you’ll make more fans simply by focusing on your super fans than if you would spent that time trying to convince strangers to follow your music. It’s the super fans that will help your music spread.

• Daily Habits:The concept of my new book is built around developing habits that will help you take on the music industry. People generally develop daily habits: checking their email/social messages, reading news, watching certain programs. etc. Why not build in a certain amount of time everyday dedicated to working on your music career? This could be on marketing, booking, press, developing skills, and more.

• The Thank You: At the end of the day, promoters would like to be recognized. If you want to stand out from the card, send a personalized thank you note to each person as they help your career: reviewers, promoters, sound/tech staff, etc. It makes a world of difference.

 

Notice a trend? The “overrated” items were usually big, sweeping, ideas or goals that could dramatically shift everything. However, the real path to success isn’t from one big instant, it’s from slow, steady, steps that get you there.It might not be as glorious, but it’s much more effective.

Band Tips for Flying to Shows

I’ve been spending nearly every weekend this month on a plane, playing gigs, so I haven’t had a chance to finish some of the articles that I’ve been planning to release quite yet. However, I’ve never really found a good set of advice for musicians who travel by air, so I thought I would offer my advice for it. These days, I probably only fly to 10-15 shows per year.

Preparing for Your Fly-Out Show

• Make sure you have a clear, detailed, tech rider that explains everything you need. If you’re particular about a specific brand or make  of an instrument, let them know you need to be contact before alternate gear is selected. If you can, speak with the tech/production in advance so you know what you can bring and what you can leave at home. 
• Buy ATA-rated cases for your gear. ATA-rated cases are built to withstand the rigors of flying. True, most airlines let you carry a guitar on, but sometimes you’re forced to gate-check it due to limited space on the plane. You don’t want risk destroying your instrument. Besides, ATA-rated gear is better for the touring band anyway, since it withstands much more punishment. Also, weigh everything in advance to see if there will be extra charges.
• Bring back-up. You might not want to bring an extra guitar or bass, but an extra set of strings and some light tools can go a long way if something happens when you’re away.
• Check the weather and flight as you would any other trip. Be prepared for a more lengthy process at security or baggage check-in.
• Don’t forget your merchandise, a price list, and mailing list sign-up either. You might also want to print your set list ahead of time too.
• Pack a number of medical remedies: airplanes are notorious for spreading sickness. Whether you believe that Emergen-C and Airborne  work or not, you should have some vitamins and meds with you.

During the Flight

• Stay hydrated. It’s easy to get dehydrated on the plane, which affects your vocal chords. Try to get some rest if you can, as you’ll need the energy for your performance.
  
• Keep CD’s handy. I always bring a few with me, you never know who you meet. In recent years, I met a the music director for a large video game company, a film director, and the keyboardist for a huge, national act. It’s a small world.

During the Show

• If you are flying somewhere, you’ll want to work even harder to capture fans’ contact info. Get them to sign your mailing list and try to capture their zip-code so you can do a targeted e-blast later. In fact, in many ways, gathering fans’ contact information is probably more important than selling merchandise.
• While you’re at it, get the contact info of every act you share the stage with as well. Chances are, when you’re touring through town, you’ll want some local contacts.

I have to pack for my trip now…but I hope this helps! What travel tips do you have for your fellow musicians?