Tag Archive for: Music Marketing

Managing Expectations

Managing Expectation Vintage Car Accident TEXT

I want to help everyone clearly define their music career goals and compare these goals honestly with their career efforts for the purposes of managing expectations.Managing Expectations Dillusion Graph

Are you serious about making a living making your music or are you a hobbyist?

Managing expectations honestly is a crucial component to a positive attitude and general sense of accomplishment in your artistic endeavors.

If you don’t manage expectations intelligently, it’s very easy to get depressed, discouraged, and even disillusioned (in a positive or negative sense) in your career. Often artists get disheartened and dejected because they are improperly processing data.

 

 

It’s easy to misdiagnose a minor, predictable, speedbump or pothole in your career as a catastrophic negative outcome. This misdiagnosis, of course, can cause tons of undo stress and add another “brick in the wall” of defeat we are all trying so hard to avoid.

 

My dad always calls this “making a mountain out of a mole hill”.

 

Managing Expectations Molehill Collage 300x150

 

Here is a good metaphor outside of the music business to illustrate my point.

Managing Expectations Minivan

 

When you purchase a minivan for the family, you expect that vehicle to seat 5 or 6 people comfortably plus groceries, soccer gear, golf clubs, maybe keep the kids entertained, etc.

You DON’T expect that vehicle to take a 90º right turn at 80 mph and stay on the road.

If you mismanage the expectations of a minivan you are sure to be disappointed and quite possibly dead.

 

Conversely, when you purchase a Ferrari, you expect that vehicle to outperform every sports car on the road. I mean, it BETTER for the price, right?  0-60 mph in less than 4 seconds, superior handling, killer sound system, and you presume that people will look at you while you’re driving it, right?Managing Expectations Ferrari

You DON’T expect to get good gas mileage, pay tolerable auto insurance rates, fit 3 kids and a baby seat, soccer gear, golf clubs, and a few bags of groceries.

If you mismanage the expectations of a Ferrari you are sure to be disappointed and quite possibly divorced.

 

 

This example seems a bit silly because it’s so completely obvious, right?

Understanding what your needs are, purchasing the appropriate tools, and executing properly within the constraints of the tool system creates forward predictable momentum and therefore leads to a more positive day to day attitude.

 

This comes from managing expectations.

 

FYI, there’s no right or wrong answer to the question I asked at the beginning. I ask because all too often I see people confuse a lighthearted, naïve, or poorly executed work effort with astronomical expectations from their music career.

They put forth the effort as if it was a hobby only to get super upset when things aren’t happening as if it was how they made their living.

 

So which is it?

Managing Expectations Empty Pockets

 

I mean getting fired or laid off from a job that you make a living at is painful, I don’t care who you are.  You spend 40 hours of your life at that job every week and when you lose it there is a tremendous sense of defeat.

 

The defeat comes from 2 places, I suppose. The first is the most obvious, no more money! How will you pay your bills, right? The second is most certainly a prideful reaction. You spent all that time doing all that work and

now you have nothing to show for it.

 

 

I’ll bet you are quite serious about that day job, aren’t you?

I don’t mean serious with your attitude because maybe the job blows, you’re bored, you hate everyone you work with, and you really don’t care, but you consistently show up, don’t you?

If you don’t show up you don’t get paid, right?

 

Even the biggest slackers seem to be masterful at doing the least amount of work required to keep the job.

Managing Expectations Slacker

 

 

Maybe you’re really lucky and/or smart and you have a day job that you love and excel at. Still, it’s a day job where you bide your time, albeit more productively, until your artist ship comes in.

 

So why do so many of you get equally upset in your music careers when the ONE opportunity you created for yourself, which was met with inferior preparation, fails miserably?

 

We all make little mistakes at our day jobs and yet we don’t quit, because we can’t, right?

In fact, we’re often scared of losing that job after we make a larger-than-usual mistake if for nothing more than the facing the inconvenience of finding another job.

For some reason with artists and their careers, they don’t seem to be fearful of losing that gig as much as they are looking for a satisfactory reason to call it quits.

 

Is this secretly you?

 

Managing Expectations Conflicted

 

Why is a little speed bump or detour so damn devastating to us sensitive artist types?

I submit to you that if we all worked as hard, as efficiently, and as intelligently at our music careers as we do at our day jobs, you’d all be making a living doing what you LOVE to do and were BORN to do.

But there’s that damn conflict going on in your head, isn’t there?

Secretly.

You are afraid to put that much effort into it lest you be denied and rejected.

 

Yeah, we all grapple with that one, she’s a doozy…but here’s the deal.

 

If the equation of “Preparation + Opportunity = Luck” is true (and I wholeheartedly believe in this concept), then the opposite must also be true, Opportunity – Preparation = NO LUCK.Managing Expectations Equation

 

Why, why, why are we just as upset over the lack of music business opportunities as we are when we’re laid off or fired from a job that we put so much effort into.

 

I mean if we don’t invest much time and ZERO dollars into our music careers we should expect a proportionate return, right?

 

Now, some of you are saying, “I bust my butt at my music career, Johnny, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

I believe many of you work very hard, but it’s not enough.

 

 

Managing Expectations Work Hard

 

It’s not enough because you’re not working hard enough, or not working smart enough, or both.

Here’s the self-test to discover the truth.

If you aspire to make a living at it are you making a living?

If you aspire to make a better living at it are you making a better living?

 

 

 

Painfully simple, right?

 

If you’re a hobbyist and you make music purely for the joy of the process, then you are getting an instantaneous return on your investment and you should be happy with that.Managing Expectations Hobbies

Mission accomplished.

 

Don’t expect to gain serious momentum with your project when you only put forth the random, irregular effort of a hobbyist; be happy with your happy.

 

 

If you aspire to be a professional artist, then you are going to have to spend a TON of time (on top of your day job), and invest some money to get this dream of yours to gain some traction.

If you don’t make enough money at your day job to support your music habit, then you are going to have to find a way to win with someone else’s money, time, or support.

 

What has to happen to make that a reality?

 

Managing Expectations Lemonade Stand

 

The instant ROI lemonade-stand-business-approach where you invest in a product, resell it for a profit one-at-a-time doesn’t really work in the music business.

You’re going to have to create songs.

 

You’re going to have to pay to record them at a professional level because most of you can’t, and if you can, you don’t have access to all the necessary musicianship and/or tools to get it done right.

 

You’re going to have to pay for a producer because most of you think you can produce, and some of you eventually will, but you need to learn more right now.

You’re going to have to pay someone to market you music effectively. This helps with a quicker ROI by the way…just sayin.

Managing Expectations Marketing Image

 

If you choose to, and have the will power and work ethic to consistently market yourself, which is TOTALLY DOABLE, then you’re going to have to pay someone to teach you the most efficient and effective ways to get it done.

Otherwise you will continue to do what you have always done and you will continue to get the exact same results.

 

Managing expectations in the music BUSINESS is about constant, non-stop preparation for the purposes of capitalizing on all the different opportunities that will INEVITABLY arise in the future.

 

Managing Expectations Quid Pro Quo Meme

There is no Tit for Tat.

No Quid Pro Quo

No immediate return on your investment.

 

 

 

The more you work, the bigger your body of work becomes, the more professional you look.

 

If you knew already then you’d be making a living.

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

 

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Suck It Bob Ezrin!

Bob Ezrin Suck it 2

I was reading a Bob Lefsetz post about a letter written to him from famed producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd). READ THIS LETTER right now, it’s quick. In this letter Bob was nostalgic of the old music business and basically excoriating most of the new artists. While I can completely see Bob Ezrin’s point, I categorically disagree that the good music is gone for good.

Great, meaningful music is not gone for good, it’s just dormant.Bob Ezrin Cyclical

At least it is in the mainstream marketplace at the moment.

The integrity of music is cyclical like everything else.

We are in the middle of a rebirth.

 

 

Bob Ezrin Pink Floyd The Wall

 

It’s never been a better time for artists worldwide.

 

Artists have NEVER experienced such few roadblocks standing between their work and an audience.

 

 

At least not from outside forces anyway, artists still excel at creating their own roadblocks.

 

 

 

Every artist has all the power, access, and affordable tools necessary to make their masterpiece and market it to the world.

So why aren’t we?Bob Ezrin Tools

Why are major players like Bob Ezrin so jaded about the new music business?

Because it’s not like the old music business.

It’s changed and everybody hates change.

Let’s look at the old industry for a second, shall we?

In the old music industry making records was quite expensive. A professional project required an artist to:

  • Pay for major recording studio access (lockout fees $1,500-$2,500 per day)
  • Pay for outboard gear not onboard the recording console ($500-$2500 day)
  • Pay for an experienced engineer ($120/hour in 2015 dollars)
  • Pay for a producer ($25k/song + 5 points)
  • Pay for 10-20 reels of 2” tape ($3,000 – $6,000 depending on the project)
  • Pay for 10 (ish) reels of ½” tape to record stereo mixes ($1,500)
  • Pay for mastering which would run $600 – $1,200 per song

 

 

Bob Ezrin Engineer

 

It becomes really easy to rack up $200,000 or more even on a project with a good band that can be recorded and mixed in a couple weeks ala Van Halen or The Black Crowes let alone a “tinkering artist” who needs time to create the masterpiece.

 

 

 

 

Then there’s the marketing costs…

  • $250k – $500k per song for radio promo (payola never died folks, it just got renamed and restructured to legally protect the broadcast licenses and cash flow, you know, like a side-street-shell-game)Bob Ezrin Payola
  • Tour support – The bus, bus drivers, roadies, gas, hotels, airfare, meals, and booze costs a boatload.
  • Radio Tour – Again, gas, hotels, airfare, meals, etc.

 

Then there was legal fees, manufacturing fees, and shipping costs for distribution, etc.

 

So the old music business required $1.5 million – $2.5 million dollars to create, manufacture, distribute, and promote the first record on a major label.

 

2 words: COST PROHIBITIVE.

Bob Ezrin Euros

 

Even an independent label with 20% of the major label budget meant exorbitant cash requirements that were far too great for any unsigned artists to afford alone.

So serious capital was required to take the risk of developing an artist that had a 90% chance of failure in the major label system during the “hey day” of the old music business.

 

 

Taking risks means there was a carefully guarded selection process loaded with many filters (AKA roadblocks).

It used to be hard to get in the door for a reason.

Let’s go back farther and look at the beginning of the cycle.Bob Ezrin Atlantic Records

 

Back in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s the major labels were independents created by visionaries which is fancy talk for diehard musicians and music aficionados that had a business sense and some discretionary cash flow.

 

These visionaries made relationships with artists and other business people to foster the creation of compelling art, market it, and ultimately profit from it.

Bob Ezrin A&M

It all started with passion.

Passion from the artists and the visionaries.

 

 

The Ahmet Erteguns, Herb Alperts, and Mo Ostins had passion for art and a wicked good business acumen.Bob Ezrin Reprise Records

 

 

For what it’s worth to all you frustrated indie artists, these great music men were not devoid of mistakes with their marketing. Ahmet Ertegun’s first 22 singles were bombs so you really should stop lamenting the first couple marketing speed bumps that make you feel like a failure and start concentrating on the future wins.

 

 

Bob Ezrin Sometime You Win SMALL

There is no failure, you either win or you learn.

 

Just sayin’.

 

 

Then, after their company success morphed them into brand names that were associated with important, captivating music and significant artist brand names, they were purchased by big, publicly traded companies.

Publicly traded companies have to make a profit. They live by the quarterly report which means numbers become the focus instead of music.

 

It’s a natural progression really.Bob Ezrin No Music

 

It’s understandable.

For decades we have promoted music via terrestrial radio. It makes sense that people think terrestrial radio is about music because that’s where we were all exposed to our favorite artists growing up, right?

 

Sadly, terrestrial radio doesn’t care about the music either. Hell, it used to showcase dramatic and comedic programs in the 40’s, then TV was invented and the new medium stole the content so music was the next plausible programming solution.

Bob Ezrin Radio

 

Terrestrial radio cares about selling ads. They are ad salesmen, plain and simple.

 

So when you combine a publicly traded company that lives & dies by the numbers on a quarterly report with a group of ad salesmen, nobody cares about the music anymore.

 

 

When nobody cares about the music, the music becomes sterile; it becomes an afterthought. The music doesn’t mean anything to anyone in a position of power other than product data or sales quotas.

 

What matters is can it be promoted?Bob Ezrin The Truth About Milk

To promote it you need to make the ad salesmen happy.

 

The best way to make the ad salesmen happy is to ensure it sounds and looks like what is already being successfully promoted because, today, that’s selling their ads.

Get it?

It’s clear what happened to the music and why.

 

This is how we “lost us” as Bob Ezrin so eloquently put it.

 

He’s right, ya know.

Bob Ezrin I'm Not Cynical

 

Bob was right on time with his analysis but it is definitely from a mainstream perspective. It’s not necessarily accurate, even beyond Ezrin’s disclaimer regarding the inevitable “exceptions to the rule”. In my humble opinion, it’s also a bit cynical and short sighted.

 

But I get it, I understand his frustration.

 

 

 

You see, there is a perfect storm of sorts going on right now in the music business.

Everyone can afford a recording studio when they couldn’t 25 years ago.Bob Ezrin Monkey

That means everyone can make records. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should, but everyone can make records nonetheless.

And record they do. Rather, they completely manufacture performances because they can. In this instance we have the “artists” contributing to the degradation of the art.

 

This is due to a DIY environment bereft of mentors and any record making experience (don’t be naïve, recording music and making records are 2 completely different processes), mixed with the natural human nature to follow the path of least resistance.

 

Bob Ezrin Batman

 

 

Back in the day you had to keep singing or playing until you nailed the performance, no fixes. There was a mentor/elder you respected there to tell you, “Do it again”. Now, we’re all alone and in a hurry to just get it done because we want to bask in our own glory and awesome artistry.

 

Or worse, we want to get the product out ASAFP.

It’s also about 15 minutes of fame instead of real connecting for so many of today’s misguided artists.

 

In 1968, Andy Warhol correctly predicted, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”.Bob Ezrin Andy Warhol

 

I am predicting that in the future, 15 minutes of fame will become easy and therefore sterile like the music of today.

This need for fame will become blasé and boring.

 

Artists will begin to be noticed for excellence in their artistic works and performances.

 

This will create followers who strive to be excellent for the purposes of being noticed (they’re all still artists right?)

Audiences will respond to artists who are different and meaningful as long as they’re properly exposed to them.

Bob Ezrin Music = Lif

 

I submit to you the real artists, the important artists, they’re out there, man.

There are tons of artists that are making music with meaning, Bob Ezrin. There are artists that are fighting for their freedom, from oppression, from abuse, from fear, from their past, from society, from the rat-race, and from this business.

You just haven’t heard about them yet because the marketing machine is broken, or getting an overhaul at the very least.

 

 

You will.

 

You see the more crap that goes up on the world’s refrigerator, the more mundane and homogenized everything sounds.Bob Ezrin Fridge Magnets

 

The more mundane and homogenized the music sounds, the more the important artists stick out like a sore thumb with even a modicum of marketing expertise.

Consumers do respond to real performances, and real artists even if they can’t articulate why.

 

That will never change.

 

These important artists have more access than ever before to make, manufacture, and promote their art.

Bob Ezrin Rebirth

 

They have an incredible amount of direct access to an easily targeted marketplace and it’s inexpensive to reach.

 

Like I said, it’s a rebirth.

 

 

 

With all this accessibility, the storytellers get to define their tribe, connect, and tell their story free from corporate intervention.

 

 

That means free from sterility as long as the artists want it that way.Bob Ezrin Story Tellers

The real artists get to emote their truth and the market will respond just like it always has because the market can and will relate to the real artists; “He’s singing about me. She’s telling my story.”

It’s back to being about the music Bob Ezrin.

Because we can.

It’s time for the artists to learn that they need to define and connect with their audience to bring their work to the world.

Bob Ezrin Learn To Live Meme

 

Artists need to learn to market these great works and prove Bob Ezrin wrong.

 

He may be a genius but He’s also old and crusty so don’t pay any attention to him.

 

 

 

 

Keep working y’all.

 

10 years from now the music will be better.

 

I promise.

 

Stay

In

Tune.

 

 

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Your Biggest Mistake Ever

Mistake Do Over image

 

Your biggest mistake ever, ready?

 

Y’all are making it. Constantly.

It’s marketing.

Mistake Peanuts Budget

 

You’re either not even thinking of marketing your music (so there is no budget), you’re convinced marketing is too expensive (categorically UNTRUE), you’re waiting till your project is finished to market it (huh?), or you’re completely unaware of any effective strategies you can use to influence the buying decisions of a music consumer.

 

Most of you are using social media for the digital equivalent of panhandling or door-to-door sales.

 

 

Every day I get 10 Tweets or DM’s saying “Check out my new single” or “Discover us on iTunes”, etc.

 

TURNOFF!!Mistake door to door salesman

 

Why don’t you knock on my door and try selling me dictionaries or something?

 

 

 

Social media is really for making relationships and driving traffic.  MAYBE a little selling, like the “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” strategy that Gary Vaynerchuk wrote about, but most of you naively have this all wrong.

Mistake Jab

 

 

 

 

 

Mistake Poop

 

 

Most of you are using non-existent or downright crappy marketing strategies.

 

Name one song in your music career that you PAID to discover.

Mistake Discover Music

 

Truth is you heard the song on the radio, in a movie, commercial, viral YouTube video, TV show, or you heard about it from a friend

All of these exposure avenues are free.

Why would you think that anyone would want to pay to discover your music when you certainly haven’t; not even for your favorite bands?

 

Yes, once again, digital distribution (iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, CD Baby, etc) is where a consumer goes to buy your music, marketing is WHY a consumer will buy it.

 

Marketing is the influencing of buying decisions.

 

How exactly and what exactly are you doing to influence people to buy your music?

These days it takes more than “good music” to influence a consumer buying decision.

Mistake Fireworks

 

 

 

They want to be excited, so you’ve got to make them get genuinely excited, you want them to feel the fireworks inside.

They’ve got to feel like they’re a part of something. A movement, a tribe, if you will.

 

 

Live shows are probably the most effective way to do this, assuming you have a good live show.

 

Put the band on tour opening for so-and-so and watch the fan base start building.Mistake Live Show Image2

 

In L.A. I used to put a bill together of 5 bands to ensure a killer draw for the club.  A packed house creates excitement.

 

Consumers will have to be “open” to receiving the information. In other words, they don’t want to feel like they’re being “sold”’.

 

 

If they feel like they’re being sold, they will shut down and ignore your requests and most of them will be polite about it.

 

Panhandling doesn’t work.Mistake Panhandling

 

Digital “door knocking” doesn’t work.

 

So what creates excitement?

 

 

Social Proof certainly helps. Pictures and videos of you playing to packed houses (even if an advantageous camera angle Mistake Social Proofcreates an illusion making the gig look like it’s sold out), recording in the studio, demonstrating your talent on YouTube, showing up in in an online magazine between 2 major label artists, etc., these things will never hurt your reputation.

 

 

 

I’ll give you an example. Most of you have downloaded my free Twitter book by now. Just posting 3 tweets a day with a 3D image of the bookMistake Twitter usually got me around 3 downloads per day. Then I took screen shot of a few people who were publically praising me on Twitter or FB for seriously expanding their Twitter following.

 

THAT was social proof!

 

Mistake Wade Sutton 10K TwitterNow we get about 8-15 downloads per day because I got consumers excited about it.

 

You’re concept of marketing and how to effectively execute it is most certainly skewed when it comes to your music.

 

Don’t feel bad, the industry is just as lost as you.

 

Mistake Lost2

It will take years for them to effectively address this mistake and statistically it won’t be corrected by a major label, rather a small company that makes a lot of noise focusing on this specific issue and gets purchased by a major label.

 

Here’s an assessment of the real damage though, you continue to experience marketing with techniques that are now archaic and ineffective.

 

As long as you keep seeing and experiencing the old ineffective marketing methodologies (especially with bands that you already know about) as a consumer, the more you are encouraged to apply these techniques to your own musical efforts.

 

It makes sense because it’s the only input you really receive, right?

 

It seems like it’s working too, right?

 

Wrong.

 

I’ve mentioned before, the bestselling country record 10 years ago sold 11 million copies. The bestselling country record for 2014 barely cracked 1 million. YIKES!

This change in the marketing paradigm has drastically affected the music industry’s brightest and best.

 

 

Mistake headacheThe more you apply these unsuccessful techniques, the more confused and frustrated you become.

 

Think of it like this, if the only language input you receive is Spanish, then you will speak Spanish until such a time that you change the input to include other languages. Conversely, if you only receive English input you cannot read the script in this picture.

 

Get it?Mistake Input Spanish

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the industry big wigs whose names you know will just continue to utilize the methods that have proven successful to them until the well runs dry, which will be awhile, but it’s definitely draining.

Mistake Industry Big Wigs

 

I have seen this many times during a paradigm shift in several industries.

The big players who are plugged in (and usually in the sunset of their careers) won’t change and don’t change tactics.

Why should they?

 

 

 

Big publicly traded corporations (like the biggest buggy whip company) can’t have visionaries that go back to the board members and tell them the business model they purchased all their shares of stock on has to change (so they should start building cars).  They live by the quarter not for the long run.

 

Therefore they won’t change, not that drastically, because that kind of change requires a lot of forward thinking with no quarterly accountability.

 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?Mistake Sinking ship

It’s like the ship is sinking but they won’t go down with it, so they don’t care.

 

They don’t have to, they’re going to be fine.

But what about you?

 

Once you realize this you will embrace all that is required to LEARN how to market yourself.

Mistake Headache Remedy

 

 

Once you embrace marketing (like you embrace writing and recording your music) you will see significant changes.

 

 

 

 

The remedy to your biggest mistake ever lies within your ability to recognize that you suffer from a lack of modern data.

 

Time to make a serious change.

 

What will you do to change the input you are receiving and educate yourself on marketing your music?

Mistake Dream is Free Hustle

Stay

In

Tune.

 

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I Prefer The Foolish

I was watching the “I Heart Radio Awards” while grilling out back with my girlfriend, Cari, when I caught Justin Timberlake’s acceptance speech for this year’s Innovator Award. The always humble JT ended with two amazing quotes.Foolish JT Award

The first was a Steve Jobs quote from a Stanford commencement speech that said “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”

 

Are you truly hungry?

Foolish Mouse Trap

 

More importantly, are you still foolish?

 

Like, REALLY foolish?

Forget about what anyone thinks about you. Foolish What People Think

 

I have seen far too many very talented people fall short of their dreams simply because they put way too much stock in what other people might think.

 

In short, they’re afraid.

Foolish Eleanor Roosevelt Quote

Fear of what other people think is a great excuse to hang it up, or refuse to try.

 

I always had a viewpoint on what other people think, “F**K those guys”.

 

It’s a mantra for me.

 

 

I know I’m going to get hateful responses for cussing in my blog, but I don’t care…clearly.

 

I hear criticism often. From people who are jealous, from people who are angry, from people who are clueless, from people who are nostalgic Foolish Nick Cage Quote(about the way it used to be) and hate change, from people who are threatened, from people who wish success was easy so they wouldn’t have to work and have faith in themselves.

 

 

 

Most people hate change.

Most people hate the people behind the change more than they hate change.

Foolish Feature 12

 

Most people don’t recognize the go-getters for the innovators that they are, they only feel regret and deep rooted anger because they don’t have the constitution to be one of the innovators.

It’s funny, they hate being scared, but they’re scared to fail so they don’t try.

Foolish Vicious Cycle

The result is they just hate.

 

Vicious cycle.

 

 

Listen, music can still be sold.

People want to buy music.

Foolish Power of music

Nothing has changed in our society about how we respond to music.

Music is the soundtrack to our lives. We remember what we were doing, who we were with, and what that moment meant from a single chord in a single recording; it’s literally etched into our mind.

 

 

I can think of nothing more powerful than that.

The great Glen Campbell has lost all memory from Alzheimer’s disease. He forgot everyone, family, friends, his daughter…the LAST thing he Foolish Glen Campbellforgot was the music and how to play guitar.

WOW.

That’s what I call power.

 

I know the EXACT song that was playing the first time I got to 3rd base.

I know the EXACT song that was playing right before my first bad car accident in Rockford, IL.

Y’all got “your song” with your significant other.

 

file0001125655926It’s the one that makes you smile when you hear it.

It makes you giggle.

It makes you miss someone.

It makes you grateful.

It makes you horny.

 

 

It makes you feel loved.

It makes you feel heartbroken because you were loved.Foolish No Music No Life

This is what music is.

It transcends all languages because it’s a direct line into the emotions.

I have seen 1 song, heard for the first time, make a Wall Street multi-millionaire investor break down to tears in front of strangers.

 

That’s power, man. That’s beautiful. That’s music.

Foolish Music Heals

 

Forget about me harping on y’all to be better business people for a second, let’s just focus on the power of it all.

 

If you feel you got something to say, if you feel that you can change people’s lives, if you feel like you have the power as an artist to move someone, then you OWE it to them and to yourself to market it correctly.

Your music needs to be HEARD.

 

It’s called communication. Communication isn’t just the message, it’s how you serve it up. Communication is NOT your intent but what is actually being received.Foolish How You Say it

It’s not enough that the song is a good song, or a hit song, you have to get consumers to a mental place where they are willing to receive the song.

If they’re not receiving your music, and your music is well done, you aren’t communicating.

That is frustrating, I don’t care who you are.

 

Foolish How You Say It image

 

Anyone who is frustrated selling their music isn’t marketing correctly. Period.

It’s the same as if you were an entrepreneur who is trying to sell hamburgers in a vegan community and you just can’t figure out why nobody cares.

 

On that metaphor the fix is simple, but you’d be amazed at how many people miss the easy stuff.

Trust me, there is a fix for selling your music and making a living at it. It has never been more attainable for more artists than RIGHT NOW.

Maybe the fix isn’t as obvious or simple as moving a hamburger stand out of a vegan community, but there are already artists who have discovered the secret.

 

Some of these artists are making 7 figures a year.

Making a living off your music is doable. It’s not just a dream or a concept.

Foolish Chalkboard

 

Most of you are making simple mistakes like trying to hype on social media, or worse, trying to sell on social media.

Educate yourself and be willing to persevere and make errors. You will triumph.

 

 

Most of you are simply ignoring marketing all together. You just want to be artists.

 

Most of you are making excuses so you can avoid the thought of marketing.Foolish Knowledge Empowers You

Marketing doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, but it does cost money.

 

Whether you spend money to educate yourself on music marketing or whether you spend money to get your music marketed, its mission critical to success.

 

Foolish Fight Ignorance

Let me save you the suspense, you are NEVER going to put a song up on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, etc. and have it magically go “viral” and turn you into a somebody.

You’re going to have to work hard at this.

Foolish Work Hard Work Smart

 

 

You’re going to have to work smart at this.

 

 

 

The artists who become students of the marketing game are the artists who will make a living. That’s just a fact.

 

The artists who refuse become the sour elitists who look down their nose at the music business and complain about how unfair it is.

 

Foolish Critics

 

They become critics.

 

 

 

 

 

JT’s last quote had me emotional.

 

I feel this every day.  I had never heard it before JT brought it to my attention on this awards show. He mentioned that he has carried this quote with him, close to his heart, for years.

That should mean something to you.

Foolish Teddy Quote

 

It meant something to me.

 

It’s an excerpt from a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in Paris, France on April 23rd 1910.

 

It should be a mantra (JT recited this excerpt VERBATIM, btw) for every artist and every innovator on the planet.

 

Read it once, then read it AGAIN.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” 

Here is the full speech if you’re interested.Foolish Regret quote

 

 

Have you ever noticed most people are critics?

Have you ever noticed critics don’t like to be perceived as foolish?

 

Foolish Feature 7

 

Have you ever noticed critics criticize who and what they think is foolish?

 

If you haven’t figured it out already you will eventually, critics reside with the cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

 

 

F**k the critics, I prefer the foolish.

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

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Consumers Are Starving For Your Music

Music Starving Millions

Consumers really want to buy music.

I keep hearing everyone complain from the bottom and from the top that record sales are down; consumers aren’t buying.Consumers Buy Feature Image

This is true.

Why?

Why aren’t people buying music like they used to if they really want to buy music?

 

Music is such an important part of so many of our lives. Is it that we just don’t care these days?

Are we in danger of having a society where music just isn’t present in the fabric of our lives?

Music is Important

 

No, it’s not that we don’t like music anymore as a society.

Consumers aren’t buying music because we aren’t reaching them.

 

 

 

The methods and dynamics to connecting with consumers has changed, therefore the marketing needs to change to influence their buyingMusic When You Are Happy decisions.

For the most part it hasn’t. We keep holding on to what used to work and by “we” I mean all of us; indie artists and major labels.

Either consumers aren’t aware of the product or they are aware of the product and don’t think it’s worth the price.

The previous statement was the very definition of ineffective marketing.

 

Yikes! They don’t think it’s worth it??

 

Access to the “mass market” is becoming more difficult and complex. The result is the mass market is nowhere near as “massive” as it used to be. This is because the mass market is continually fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces.

Music Mass Market Niche Market

As a big market disintegrates into smaller, more focused markets the definition changes from “mass market” to “niche market”.

 

As a marketer (of your music) you have to consider the fact that the mass market simply isn’t as easy to reach as it used to be because consumers have so many choices to hang out.

 

In any given media market, there used to be only 3 TV networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC), 1 or possibly 2 (genre specific) radio stations, 1 or 2 newspapers, and maybe MTV for consumers to receive input about any product, project, or artist.

Think about how easy that was for the record labels to reach us when we were such a captive audience.

 

Now we have well over 500 channels on TV in addition to the initial 3 networks.file00041345220

 

There are endless possibilities for consumers to devour radio including their 1 or 2 local terrestrial radio stations, HD Radio, Satellite Radio, I Heart Radio (1,000 stations), Pandora, Spotify, Deezer, Slacker, personal playlists, etc.

 

Every magazine, YouTube, social media, and countless music sites are accessible online at anytime, anywhere in the world from a smartphone.

 

There is a fundamental, paradigm shift happening right now in the music industry.

 

Simply put, the methods that were once effective in exposing consumers to new music and influencing their buying decisions has gone through a drastic change.

 

Music Paradigm Shift

 

These formerly effective methods were geared towards communicating to and converting a mass market.

 

The WHOLE industry will have to change with it and adapt. Until then, it will continue to suffer.

 

 

Consider this, as indie artists and human beings for that matter, our understanding of our everyday reality is directly related to the input we receive.

 

Think about that concept outside the realm of marketing music for a second.Music Input Brain Chart

  • Poor children aren’t aware that they are poor until they are exposed to how the other half lives.
  • Children of famous parents aren’t aware that their parents are famous until they are exposed to other children whose parents aren’t famous.
  • Mentally and physically abused people are sometimes not aware (or forget over time) that there are more peaceful ways to live because they get only one kind of input.
  • People that are constantly told they are bad, horrible, not important, etc., will ultimately begin to believe that if it is the only stimulus they are exposed to.

We are all products of the input we receive in life and, of course, input from the market place is equally applicable.

 

The input we receive becomes our reality.

 

Music Time To Adapt

 

My point is when you think about marketing your music you naturally think about how music (in the form of your favorite artists) has been marketed to you in the past.

 

It’s the only input you have ever received with regards to music marketing, and it worked.

 

 

 

It’s not working now.Music it's not working

Not for you.

 

Not for the major labels either.

 

Shania Twain’s “Up!” was certified 11 million units sold in September 23rd, 2004.Music Shania Twain Up

 

 

10 years later, Jason Aldean’s “Old Boots, New Dirt” was the best-selling country record of 2014 and it barely cracked 1 million in sales by December of last year.

 

Music Jason Aldean Old Boots

 

 

Clearly the record labels haven’t got it figured out yet, man.

 

So why follow them?

 

Consumers haven’t stopped wanting or liking music. The way in which they receive their input about music has drastically changed due to technology and a fragmented marketplace.

 

Music Who Else Should We Target

 

So, in a way, they’re starving for good music, they just can’t find it in the new marketplace. They can’t find it because we aren’t getting it to them in a language/manner they find acceptable.

The artists and labels that have figured this out are thriving.

Listen, consumers are just as desperate to be turned on to really good music as you are to sell it to them.  Crazy, huh?

 

The new way for receiving this marketing stimulus via social media and content marketing through email and text exchanges is consumed Music Chicken Paradigm ShiftCOMPLETELY differently than the mass media branding methods that were effective before.

 

Systems and strategies for addressing mass media don’t work for private, one on one interactions which is how social media, text messaging, and emails are consumed.

 

 

Once the fundamental changes to language and the approach have been internalized, understood, and executed masterfully music sales will rise.

Huh?

 

Taylor Swift provides us with proof of concept on this statement.

Music Taylor Swift 1989

 

While Jason Aldean is an undeniable superstar at the top of his game with TONS of country radio support for his new record, he barely broke 1 million copies.

 

Taylor Swift released “1989” in 2014 and it was certified 4 million in sales January 22 of this year and she did it WITHOUT any help from country radio.

She knows how to communicate with her audience effectively in the new marketplace and she has the sales to prove it.

Not only is Taylor’s audience aware that her new record was released, they all felt it was worth it.

 

Right now I want you to quit lamenting the fact that you aren’t as popular as Taylor Swift and concentrate on the concept here.  COUNTRY RADIO ABANDONED this artist and still, she QUADRUPLED the sales of the #1 selling record that country radio unwaveringly supported!

 

How did that happen?!?!?!  Your future as an artist lies in the answer to this question, people.Music is Live image

 

You hear Jason Aldean’s singles every day, multiple times a day on the radio, every single he’s released is in heavy rotation.

 

You never hear Taylor Swift anymore on country radio (except for very recently but only on the limited number of NASH ICON stations which is a joint venture between Cumulus radio stations and Scott Borchetta’s NASH ICON label who is Taylor’s record label head…so that was just a matter of time).

In plain English, record sales are down because labels are not marketing properly. Period.

 

Music Marketing Sucks

Your marketing sucks too.

 

That is if you even think about marketing.

 

 

 

People want music, people need music, and people continue to consume music.

Just not your music.

 

It’s about the marketing.

 

Artists need innovative marketing strategies.

 

Want some staggering proof that it’s all about marketing?

I’ll give you 2 examples.

This is the absolute dumbest most insanely unnecessary product ever produced.

I believe the infomercials for this product still run today.

That is because of only one reason, it sells.

It sells for only one reason, marketing.

Nobody NEEDS the Pasta Pro but the buyers all feel it is worth it because it’s marketed correctly.

 

 

Here is another example that is simply mind blowing.Music Bottled Water

Bottled water.

Everyday people purchase a 1 liter bottle of water for $1.99.

On average. There are 3.7 liters in a gallon.

That equates roughly to $7.40/gallon for a product we can get for free.

We happily pay more for water, something we can obtain at no cost, than we do for gasoline.

 

Music Worth It

 

This is because of marketing.

 

We feel like it’s worth it.

 

 

 

 

Bottom line to all artists and major labels, if you aren’t selling your music, it’s because people aren’t aware of it and the ones that are don’t feel it’s worth it.

What has to happen for consumers to think your music is worth it?

If we can sell free water for more than twice the price of a gallon of gas, we damn sure can sell music.

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

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How To Get Better: Practice

Practice Feature Image Juggle

As an artist I spent COUNTLESS hours practicing my guitar.  Practicing my vocals, writing, and practicing with my band.

Practice Feature Image Guitar Pick

When we were making a living at making music there wasn’t a week that went by where we weren’t playing 4-6 hours a day as a band.

It came from our regular practice schedule and then relentless touring gigs.

Practice Nevermind Nirvana

 

When I moved to Nashville after the 80’s hair band thing was abruptly ended by Nirvana’s “Nevermind” record, I recorded some solo material.  I searched for musicians and paid them to get the right tracks, I wasn’t just looking to “get it done” from a project management perspective or just as damaging, an excitedly curious perspective.

 

 

I wanted it to be great!

Know your strengths and weaknesses and address them.

DSCN4391You have to be able to acknowledge the difference between an “A”, “B”, and “C” song.

Just because your song means the world to you doesn’t mean the world will care about it.

 

I paid players to cut the tracks I needed.

I shopped for players based on their talent and not  price tag.

 

You get what you pay for.

Practice You Get What You Pay For

 

I grew up on analog recording so when the industry switched to digital I needed to learn Pro-Tools real fast.

 

 

I used to fly Kelly out to LA to mix my projects. I paid to fly him out and I paid him the “bro-rate” on an hourly basis with the stipulation that I got to ask questions.

I got to be annoying with questions. Practice Luck Circle

He’ll tell you that too, I’m sure.

Learning this software was mission critical to my artistic soul.

 

My band paid money to get vocal lessons.  We wanted to build a better live show and we didn’t have the tools.

You’ve got to pay for tools, and knowledge.

Practice You Don't Deserve To Win

 

It was amazing how many “perks” via favors and good energy that came to us for being a SOLID band.

 

People could easily tell that we were serious and we worked hard at it.

 

They found it “refreshing”.

The moral of the story is that when you do good work and you work hard people take you seriously.

They don’t take you seriously if you plan to do good work.Practice Bruce Lee quote

When you tell people you plan to do good work they blow it off.  You sound like everyone else.

Everybody PLANS to do good work.

The difference between the doers and the talkers is execution.  Plain and simple.

 

The people who actually execute good work instantly separate themselves from the crowd.

The only way to do good work is to be good.

 

The only way to be good is to practice.

 

Practice takes time, money, and energy.

Practice Flow Chart Feature Image

 

These days I pay to learn as much as I can about my current gig which is marketing artists.

We are cracking the code for the New Music Business 2.0 here at Daredevil Production.

 

We collect little pieces of knowledge gleaned from various paid sources and assemble them to construct the vision of our future.

 

I feel like too many of you want people to take you seriously as an artist based on what you plan to do rather than what you have done.

You will never get better if you are waiting for someone to believe in you before you get serious about your career.

 

That’s is probably the most rampant mental flaw that artists possess.  They simply don’t believe in themselves enough so they set up a pretty wicked mental racket. Practice Luck Definition

They say to themselves that if they could just get to the right people that believed in them they would go ALL IN.

Here’s the thing, if you don’t have measurable, tangible evidence that you’re “all in” and your great when you meet “the right people” then you will get nothing from that meeting.

Zero love.

 

The end result is artists frequently meet the right people but are unprepared or unimpressive.

 

Practice Truth image

 

These artists know it so their energy is off. (Why give a CD with disclaimers, btw?)

The “right people” know it instantly.

The artists get jaded.

The cycle begins again.

 

 

This is true in any business.  People are exactly the same. They all talk the talk but until you walk the walk you won’t impress anyone.

 

I created a life-long mentor (who I lost to a heart attack in January of 2014) from a meeting that was set up by our (then) new booking agency.  IPractice Mark O'Toole took him out to eat and kept driving the conversation back to him.  He was fascinating and SUPER smart!  A hustler! He kept telling me the truth, I knew it, and I wanted more.

People always like to talk about themselves.  Sometimes it’s far more productive, far more beneficial to you to keep your mouth shut and pay attention.

I knew I wasn’t going to impress so I kept my mouth shut and appeared stupid rather than open it up and remove all doubt.

 

In the case of this specific mentor (RIP Mark O’Toole), he was extremely humble and very matter of fact.

 

Some are more of the bragging type, but SO WHAT?  As long as they’re talking you should be listening.  Forget about how you feel about the way they serve it up and concentrate on whether you think they’re being truthful, man.

By the simple gesture of taking him to dinner and admitting I was green and needed some input from a pro like him, he liked me.

Practice Honesty

He like my honesty.

He like my hustle.

He probably liked that I kept my mouth shut.

He was attracted to my undying thirst for knowledge and how to apply it.

I think he could see that I was focused on becoming a student of the game.

He remembered me.

 

 

That’s the kind of people that mentors want to help.

 

Mentors don’t want beggars.

 

Practice No Beggars

 

Mentors don’t want hangers on.

 

 

 
They don’t want charity cases.  The whole “somebody needs to help me because I’m unable to help myself” doesn’t IMG_6570usually attract good people in the animal kingdom (of which we are a part of).

 

 

It attracts predators that smell the blood from an easy kill so if that’s you STOP IT.  I promise you will just continue to attract predators.

It’s like sticking a bloody hand in shark infested waters, screaming for the sharks to come, and then complaining that you got your hand bit off.

This is why so many of you that operate from a certain “victim” or “pity” approach keep getting screwed.

Practice Amadeus Mozart Quote

 

If it makes you feel better the story doesn’t change for the artists who punch through into any kind of market awareness and brand name.  The more they avoid the nuts and bolts of their own business, the more they get screwed.

Inspect what you expect.

 

If you don’t learn what to look for (how to inspect and what to expect) you will get screwed when you start making money.

You have to practice to learn what to look for.Practice The Less You Bleed Quote

 

Balance between project management (get the goods to market) and artistic excellence is key as well.

You hear me harp about how marketing will make or break any project.

 

Well we have all seen good marketing break projects that are artistically lame and unimaginative.

We have never seen zero, lame, or unimaginative marketing break an amazing artistic project; it kills it.

 

Either way you’re going to need marketing and team building skills.

 

Either way you’re going to have to practice your marketing.

 

Practice makes perfect.

You can’t effectively market yourself unless you’re willing to suck at it in the beginning.

Practice Suck Meter

 

Just like your music.

 

You used to suck at that too.

Nobody was born with all the tools they need to succeed.

So if you want to move these little products you create and make a living, you will first need to learn how to get better.

 

How to get better at making them.Practice Makes Perfect

How to get better at marketing them.

Of course, that will require practice.

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

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2 Biggest Promotion Budget Mistakes

Promotion rotating promo image

We often hear from artists inquiring about marketing and promotion services for their music project.  They want some guidance on the best way to spend their money.  Today I thought I would share some of the most common mistakes indie artists make for their marketing and promotion budgets.

First, I want to point out that these mistakes are shared equally amongst indie artists with small budgets and indie artists who have investors with big budgets.

It’s mind blowing.

You must be careful to separate the emotion from the event.

You must separate what you think is “cool” i.e. a promotional tactic that serves your ego from strategies that will be far more effective in exposing your artistic effort.Promotion Bang for your Buck n 2

 

 

More bang for your buck.

 

Marketing and Promotion is the act of influencing buying decisions.

 

 

This is where you expose your masterpiece to consumers with the intention of creating a deep enough relationship to inspire them to buy your music.

Promotion should be the largest part of the indie artist budget and yet it is the most overlooked.

The same promotion techniques that made you aware of your #1 most-favorite-album-of-all-time were equally effective in making you aware of your most hated piece of crap from the artist that you can’t believe even got a record deal.

Both of those records created cash flow.Promotion Business Strategy

Think about it.

 

 

By far the #1 promotion mistake I see indie artists make is nonexistent promotion.

  • If you’re doing a crowdfunding project you must add funds into the budget for promotion!
  • Back in the heyday of the record business, labels would spend $250,000 on the recording of an artist’s debut record and $750,000-$2,000,000 in promotion
  • That’s a promotion budget between 75% and 87.5% of the overall funds.
  • How do your recording vs promotion ratios look in your business plan?
  • Do you have a business plan?

The #2 biggest marketing and promotion mistake is spending money on ineffective strategies.

 

Limited Budgets and Radio PromotionIMG_1605Listen, there is nothing cooler that turning on your radio and hearing your song coming through your car speakers.

 

It’s better than sex.

 

While it’s quickly dissipating, terrestrial radio is still, far and away, the most effective way to promote music to a mass audience.

But how much money is required to make it effective?

Radio only works when you have a BIG budget.DSC_5393

The reasoning is the magic number 7.

There is a psychological tipping point where a consumer internalizes a song and their buying decision is influenced.

That number is 7.

It takes an average consumer 7 listens to your song to be compelled to purchase it.

 

 

Here’s the thing, it takes a TON of spins to ensure 7 listens.

You need enough money to ensure that each individual hears your song 7 times which means you need to afford medium to heavy rotation or you have wasted your money.

Let’s not forget that radio promotion is all about relationships as well.  You will need money for a radio tour so you can visit every station.

globe_bw

 

Market Size Matters

Sometimes we see artists try to work the whole country at one time.  If you have a decent budget but not a MASSIVE budget then why not focus on a local market?

If the song is good and you can afford solid, steady spins in 1 or 2 markets then your marketing budget is going to be far more effective in a smaller region than the whole country.

More people will be influenced to purchase your music in 1 or 2 markets with heavy spins than in every market with light spins.

And we’re trying to sell our music right?

If you don’t have a radio budget then your money is far more effective with online marketing and socialPromotion Social Media Logos media marketing.

 

Spending money to appear in an online magazine next to a famous artist makes you look famous and important.

Perception is reality.

Now if you add a free download attached to a squeeze page you are growing your customer list.

Spend money building a customer list and monetizing it.

If you don’t know how, then spend money learning how or paying someone to do it for you.

If you spending $20 per month and you don’t know what you’re doing you are wasting your money.

Every artist is unique so what is the best way to focus on your strengths and minimize the weaknesses?  If you don’t know this about yourself then you need to pay someone who does…think of it as an education.

 

Touring and Tour Promotion

file0002005996090

 

One of the most valuable products you are promoting is your live show.

Spend money wisely on tour promotion.

Spend the budget on infrastructure that will allow you to capture the contact information from everyone that sees you play live. Always be building your fan base FIRST and THEN spend money on getting into new markets.

Trust me, getting your first big tour and going everywhere across the country once is not cost effective. That still stings just thinking about it. Ugh.

Start at home. If you can’t pack your local theater or least a decent sized club then your live show probably sucks.  Spend money finding out what needs to change.

If consumers perceive your show as an event they will come to see it

. darkedinburgh_ghostbus

Once you are packing a venue you are making money.

You have cash flow.

Then dominate a new market and so on.

 

 

Tour Busses Don’t Sell Records

Country artist Sam Hunt released “Leave the Night On” (destined to be #1) in mid-June this year.  This major label artist with major label money Promotion Sam Hunttoured in a van with a trailer from June through mid-October before they could financially justify the cost of leasing a tour bus.

 

 

 

Atco Records recording artist Dream Theater released “Images and Words” in 1992.  They had enough tour support for 6 weeks in a tour bus or 12-14 weeks in a van.  They begrudgingly chose the van at the behest of their tour manager.  The single broke in 10 weeks.  If they chose the bus, they wouldn’t have had the budget to support the single when it broke.

Promotion Dream Theater Images and Words

 

 

 

How are you spending your promotion budget?

 

 

 

 

Spend wisely and stay in tune people.

 

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4 Career Team Building Tips

Team Together Everyone Achieves More

By Johnny Dwinell

I entertain so many conversations from artists and songwriters about how difficult it is to build a team and break into the music business.

They go on and on about how much they want it, how much they need it, how they were born to do it, and then, ultimately, how they’re frustrated.

I get it.Chances team Kidd Gypsy image

I really do.

Remember, I was an artist first.

I hear their frustrations.

I feel their pain.

I’ve been there, man.

Look, this business is rife with hindrances when you’re really in it.

It’s impossible to succeed if you are just “sticking your toes in the water”.

It’s impossible if you’re working from a playbook that is ineffective because it’s outdated, naïve, ignorant of your strengths and weaknesses, and non-responsive to the constant industry changes.

Are you really on the field playing or are you commenting on the game from the cheap seats?

…where it’s safe.

Some of the conversations I endure are akin to someone sitting up in the nosebleed section of a professional football stadium telling everyone how they want, need, and were born to play pro football while complaining that the quarterback never throws the ball to them.

I’m so not kidding.

You’ll need to put together a teamSONY DSC

I promise that if you are going to have a chance in this business you are seriously going to have to pull your head out of the clouds (and/or your ass) and put together a team, a plan, and a business model that will move you forward.

I got news for you, that team is different for everybody.

Therefore the plan is different for everybody.

Nobody is going to hear your song and come to your door to make you a star.  It doesn’t work that way.

Team Golden Ticket 2That is a fairytale.

Maybe it’s happened to one artist but that is an asinine plan of attack to pin your hopes, dreams, financial resources, and reputation on the perceived evidence of one enchanted lottery ticket.

It’s doubly idiotic when you consider the fact that you don’t live the rest of your life like that.

I mean you don’t tell your landlord to “wait for the rent” because you just played the lottery do you?  No, you go to work every day and create cash flow.

You make it happen.

For someone else’s team, btw.

When you put a team together you initially have to look at each relationship intelligently and pragmatically.

You want to determine how you can bring value to the relationship and whether it’s a relationship that is valuable to you right now.

Every opportunity is not opportune.Team Opportune Time

Oftentimes the best way you can bring value to a relationship is with money.  Start doing business with someone that can offer you something you need.

The benefits are unlimited.  At Daredevil Production, LLC we have many relationships with artists that started with them paying us to develop them; to deliver a killer radio ready track and all that statement entails.

These artists paid for the tracks and certainly received their money’s worth.

They also now have real relationships with hit writers, musicians, artists, industry executives, movers and shakers, and any of our friends that may be hanging out at any given time during their project.

Get it?

You’re not ready for some relationships.

Team You can't build a reputation on what your going to do

 

In fact, getting the big representation for many of you would actually be the kiss of death for your career.  The more you accomplish before the big relationships, the better deal you will get and all the better position you will be in to capitalize on that opportunity.

The world doesn’t care about your potential because they don’t know you. As such, they will judge you and any explorations of a future relationship with you based on what you’ve already done.

The only way to prove your value in the industry is to do something. SOMETHING!!

 

Here’s a few thoughts to consider when building your team.

  1. Hungry teams are more productive.
    • It’s more important to have a team that is invested, that wants to play ball than a bunch of marquis value names.Team Chase Rice
    • In the beginning the bigger names are of no value to you and you are of no value to them, don’t take it personally.
    • Make sure they are as enthusiastic about your project as you are!
    • Have you heard of Chase Rice? He co-wrote the Florida Georgia Line smash hit “Cruise”.
      • Florida Georgia Line was developed arguably by one of the top 3 most powerful songwriters in Nashville; Craig Wiseman. Craig could have tons of high value names on his team but one of the names he had was Chase Rice.  My guess is that’s because Chase was a good writer with a good work ethic and a solid head on his shoulders.

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

Now, not only is Chase a rising star as an artist, but he is the co-writer of “Cruise”.  He wasn’t any of those things when he co-wrote “Cruise”.

  1. Find your class
    • Develop relationships within your class that will add value to your team.team Let's do Business
    • Get in touch with potential team members (songwriter nights, engineers, producers, etc.)
      1. You may need to pay them professionally if they’re upperclassmen.
    • Doing business is a great way to start team building with upper classmen and you also get something immediate from the exchange.
    • Teambuilding within your class is more about personalities and projects than money.
    • Once you get to know them figure out what you can do for them to deepen the relationship.
    • We have had many writers trade construction work and such for studio time. Pretty cool.
    • Interns who work tirelessly to be on the inside. (Our interns freaking ROCK, btw!)
  2. Eliminate the dregs
    • Friends who would take a bullet for you are not necessarily good for the team if they don’t add value.
    • Loyal band members are of no use to you if they are the weak link in the band and can’t play. Is there some other place in the organization that will exploit their highest and best use?
    • You need a killer live show; a good team is paramount to that.
  3. Understand the nature of the beast
    • Booking agents work off of a percentage (unless you can pay them)
    • Managers work off of a percentage (unless you can afford a salary)
    • These people will come to you in droves when you are ready for them so stop lamenting the fact that you don’t have them yet.

Get in the game.

 

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The Impeccable Artist

By Johnny Dwinell

Art is a craft and as a craft, I realize that there are 2 kinds of craftsmen.  Some are born with the innate ability to rise above all else with their art; they’re supremely gifted.  Most are born with the love and fascination for a particular art form and choose to follow it.

Craftsmen require mentorship to succeed at making a living, of any kind, with their art.

Here’s the key, both kinds of craftsmen require mentorship to succeed at making a living, of any kind, with their art.impeccable mentor definition image

For the artist prodigy born with the skill set to emotionally move people with their craft, they need mentorship on all the tasks that orbit around a career created by amazing art.  Just because they’re a born songwriter with a golden voice from God doesn’t mean the artist understands how exactly to make a record; which is different than recording.

It doesn’t mean the artist has an audio engineering skill set whatsoever.

It doesn’t mean the artist knows how to produce or make records

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt doesn’t mean the artist understands how to produce and it usually means they NEED a producer to foster them while they grow.

It also doesn’t mean the artist is excellent at executing the business side of a career.

Maybe artists shouldn’t have to.

I totally get that.

But one should definitely understand the concepts and cash flow of their business.  If you don’t someone else will; and they’ll be smart enough to know exactly what you don’t know.

Understanding and overseeing is one thing.

Doing the day to day is another.

If a business manager always has to get checks signed by the artist, it keeps them in line.  They’d better have a story for every vendor the artist doesn’t immediately recognize.file9581279077716

We have a few multi-platinum artist friends, some are more involved in the business side and some prefer to turn a blind eye.  It comes as no surprise to me that the artists who choose to turn a blind eye have many stories of getting screwed over and the business-minded artists have a different outlook.

Get it?

 

Here’s a link to the Beatles “Revolver” press conference August 24, 1966 (this is just interesting and entertaining to watch, btw).  Notice how they put all the business questions onto their manager Brian Epstein.

Point of comparison: When Jon Bon Jovi finished the “Slippery When Wet” tour in 1987 he sold 12 million copies in the USA and had made about 93 million dollars from record sales, publishing, ticket sales, tour merchandise, etc. When the Beatles broke up in 1970 they had sold over 600 million records and each of them was worth about 10 million dollars (which equates to around 29 million each in 1987 dollars).

Yeah, man, read that again.impeccable slippery when wet

Bon Jovi is a businessman too.  The Beatles weren’t back then.

So many of you lament the business side of the music but as I mentioned In a previous article, if the word “professional” is valid in your music career, then commerce must exist. Since commerce is present in ALL professional careers, one should really know about it, yes?

If you’re a consummate artiste then you need to at least understand what goes on in the business and sign your own checks or you will almost certainly be pilfered.

Even Oprah says, sign your own checks.  How do you think she came to that realization?

Lastly, I want to share an exchange of ideas I had with a friend this past 2 days.  My friend is a good artist who has made the short list for our reality show. He was expressing frustration with the music business and the broken system.

It is broken.

It’s up to us to fix it; which means reinventing it.

He was wishing it would go back to where “Record labels took a chance on real artists and real artists didn’t have to be so self-promotional”.

I shared with him these thoughts.  Wishing for any label to go back to the old way is like wishing for Pennzoil to make pancakes; it’s not in their business model.

One of the biggest selling country records 10 years ago was Shania Twain’s “Up!” which sold around 12 million copies.  I believe Luke Bryan has the biggest selling country record last year and it was barely 2 million copies.

That’s only 16% of the sales from just 10 years ago.

How would you survive on 16% of your current income?

Then you factor in that each record sold generates 1/3 of the revenue it used to and you can clearly see that it’s not that the labels don’t want to develop talent, they can’t afford to.  So wishing for it or worse, planning on development from a label is setting yourself up for failure.

Labels want to buy small, profitable businesses and expand on the spark that was started by the artist and the art.

That means that even if you intend to pass all the business off to someone else tomorrow, you still need to learn to be a business person today.

Not-for-nothing, but learning that now will help you to keep an intelligent eye on it later.

 

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20 Biggest Marketing Mistakes

20 Biggest Marketing Mistakes

20-Marketing-Mistakes-Songwriting-logo

20-Marketing-Mistakes-songwriting-and-music-business

 

This past week Kelly and I were honored to be panelists on Grammy nominee Amanda Williams’SongwritingandMusicBusiness.com songwriting conference. Whoa, let me tell you Amanda and Todd put together an informative, well organized, event that had attendees rubbing elbows and getting their music heard in front of many music industry professionals including, managers, publishing company executives, record executives, live performance coaches, and social media experts. There were many panels, events, networking, and performance opportunities during the day at the lovely Preston Hotel in Nashville.

One of the highlights was definitely Amanda Williams performing “Asstastic”…just sayin’.

20 Marketing Mistakes Amanda WIlliams Big Stage image

I am quite sure there were more than a few new songs written as artists and songwriters took their long day and extended it to jump on impromptu collaborations at the pool every day after midnight.

What a sweet vibe, man.

Kelly and I had a blast! We also became aware of several amazing artists we invited to submit to the TV show that we are casting. One writer we saw happened to look like a perfect fit for an artist we are currently developing.

 

 

The introductions have already been made.

Additionally we began a relationship with the management from a Barbados duo that we may just do some business with. Both Kelly and I were blown away by the talent and relished the environment provided to meet these people and interact.

I’ve been telling y’all about this event for well over a month now. Many of you continually email me with stories of your networking challenges, frustrations with your progress, and questions on how to “get in the business” deeper so you can make a living at it. Well, here was the PERFECT opportunity.

Why weren’t you there?

One of the breakout sessions I was asked to head up was a social media/marketing session. During this tutorial I got to thinking about the most common mistakes EVERYONE from indie artists to major labels are making with marketing in the new music business.

 

So here’s a list of my top biggest marketing mistakes

  1. Social media is about THEM not you – There are many clever ways to get what you want by thinking about them first. Start 20 Marketing Mistakes NOT YOUproviding something for them, cool quotes, inspiration, humor, knowledge, etc. Start talking about them, asking about them etc. I told a story of the Twitter campaign we did a year ago for an artist. This fan tweets that he’s CRANKING the song in his garage, drinking beer, and LOVING IT! Instead of basking in the glory (I was tweeting as the artist at the time) I asked a question. Which lead to an answer. Which lead to another question. This happened just 4 times and that guy invited the whole band to STAY AT HIS HOUSE in Texas when they came through on tour. 4 questions = Superfan
  2. Hype doesn’t work – Have you ever heard the phrase “A person is smart, people are stupid”? Have you ever heard PT Barnum’s famous quote “Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd”? There is an energy in a crowd that speaks to our core need to be a part of something; we are wired up to want to belong. When we see someone on file0002005996090a stump with 30 people around him there is an implied power given to the speaker. How else did he get all these people to stop and listen? Mass media like TV and radio put the speaker in a similar but largely amplified position of power. A Donald Trump-esque hype speech actually works in mass media scenario or on a stump in front of a crowd, however, social media and email interaction is always consumed 1 on 1; privately. Now, imagine someone totally hyping a product during private conversation with you. Total turnoff right? If you must hype yourself the time to do it is at a live show where you pack a crowd in; they’ll believe whatever you tell them. If you propagandize through social media and email they will think you’re an idiot. Stop it.
  3. No list building and lead capture strategy– OMG I talk to artists every day who play for huge audiences during the summer. When it’s over they have nothing. This is a perfect time to capture phone numbers or email addresses…nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd,20 Marketing Mistakes List Building right? There are many companies like CallLoop.com who provide text capture technology that connects with your CRM (aWeber, Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, etc.). Give away a song in exchange for their phone number. Text messages have a 99% open rate. Squeeze pages are a super effective way to capture email addresses in exchange for a free track(s) which will expose the consumer to your music; win, win, win. Work out a deal with the bar owner to pony up a $25 bar tab (costs him about $4) that you would award at the end of the night to a lucky person you choose from the list they just opted into (works like a champ)
  4. Y’all record before you have an audience – To quote my friend Rick Barker, “would you open a hamburger stand in a vegan community?” Social media, YouTube, Blogging, and LIVE SHOWs are killer ways to build up a following before you release a product. Otherwise it’s a vanity project, which is cool, but you can’t really be pissed it isn’t selling, ya know?
  5. You’re trying to get “laid” on the 1st or 2nd date – Social media initiates the relationship and allows you to deepen it. Clever email campaigns can further deepen a relationship. There HAS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP before you ask for the sale. Period. You can’t just 20 Marketing Mistakes Getting Laidput a compelling PPC ad or tweet up that instantly drives people to iTunes to “get to know you”. Consumers will say “screw you”. However, we all know someone who purchased a CD to support an artist they “know”. See the difference?
  6. Crappy unproduced product – Remember how you felt when you bought the last product that totally disappointed you? Odds are you need help SOMEWHERE. Maybe you’re a great writer but not a producer. Maybe you’re a great singer but not a great writer. Maybe your lyrics aren’t as strong as your melodies. Identify the weak suit(s) and find help to make your music better. Just because you, your mate, and your mom like it doesn’t mean anybody else will; they are always going to encourage you. Find out what people think about the track on social media and get your answer. We had an artist that we did one single on and promoted it on Twitter. We got 2,000 downloads (giving it away free) in a couple months. This was a great litmus test because people responded and LOVED the track. Yes, art is subjective. But successful artists reach beyond their friends and family so if everyone else doesn’t get it you’ve got a hobby not a career.
  7. You don’t have a website and therefore no web store – Since you’re an indie artist and you will doing all the work to drive traffic, why not drive fans to your OWN STORE where you get 100% of the money? Yes, you will need a presence on sites like iTunes, Spotify, and CD baby because healthy percentages of fans prefer to buy there, but many will buy directly from you if you tell them to; especially after you have created a relationship. This is just common sense, isn’t it?
  8. You’re not bundling – Have you ever gone to a bar to order a cocktail and the server gives you 2 choices of top-shelf liquor to choose from? You either choose one of them or have the balls to say, “Give me the cheap stuff”; this is called “upselling”. 30% of your buyers will be willing to be upsold if you have something for them to spend more money on. Old CD’s, demo tapes, posters, set lists, autographed 8×10’s, t-shirts, hats, and key chains, make for great bundles. Check out this company for amazing bundling products that are simply unbelievable
  9. You’re only on 1 social media platform – While it is definitely counterproductive to try and be on all of them, at least 2, preferably 3 are a solid choice. Remember MySpace?
  10. You’re overexposing your act – get outta town, man. If you play every week or twice a month or even once a month (depending on how big your town is) in the same market, it’s too much. If any iconic superstar played every week down the street people would get sick of seeing them, I mean there’s always next week, right?
  11. You aren’t making your shows an event – When we got our start we opened for a band in Minneapolis called Hericane Alice. They were the biggest band in the Twin Cities at the time. They played about once a quarter and brought in FULL national act production and lights. They always sold out. When I lived in L.A. I would book a show and buy a keg. I’d tell people to pay the $10 at the show then beers were on me at my house afterward till the keg crapped out. It was an EVENT, an anticipated social gathering. What can you do to step up your game here?
  12. You haven’t studied content marketing – Social media is about content marketing so you better learn this fast. Gary Vaynerchuk is a pioneer in content marketing, learn from him. He says content marketing is like boxing, jab, jab, jab, RIGHT HOOK (which is your 20 Marketing Mistakes Gary V“call to action”) So content, content, content, then a call to action to a squeeze page of some sort or text based opt-in technology. Get it?
  13. Your live show sucks! – C’mon man! This is totally a pet peeve of mine. When we toured we worked our ASSES off on creating a compelling live show. 99.9% of the time I see a band they are totally boring even if they can play well. Have you ever seen Bruno Mars live? His show is one of the best. WORK. PERFORM. GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE. That’s is what people want to see.
  14. You’re panhandling or worse, begging – Wade Sutton shared a great quote with me last weekend. He said “Take the napkin off your chest and put it on your IMG_2815arm”. In other words, stop asking “What can you do for me” and start asking “what can I do for you” to the people that can help advance your career. “Making millions off you in the future is a weak and markedly naïve pitch. Intern, clean, run, do whatever it takes to create a relationship. Jon Bon Jovi used to clean the Power Plant in NYC to gain access to studio time where he recorded over 50 versions of “Runaway”. One of them was picked for a WAPP compilation record, which in turn made the song a hit single, which ended in a record deal for Jon. Trent Reznor did the same to gain the access he needed to record “Pretty Little Hate Machine” from Nine Inch Nails. Both of these men accomplished this in an environment where records cost the 2014 equivalent of $550,000 to make. Now you can do it with a killer producer for less than 10% of that…what’s your excuse?
  15. You’re not adding images to every Tweet – images significantly improve open rates. Add images. Learn to Meme because it’s a great way to add your unique perspective to any image. Addtext.com is a killer resource for memes and not-for-nothing it’s a fun creative release. You might surprise yourself.
  16. You don’t fully understand the Sales Funnel – You need a sales funnel. A relationship building process that uses effective language to convert email addresses into cash. Once you have figured out the sales funnel portion you only need to focus on 2 marketing areas; traffic and average revenue per email address; the rest is mathematically predictable.
  17. You don’t understand the definition of marketing – Remember marketing is defined as influencing buying decisions. Distribution is where they go to purchase your music once the buying decision has been made.
  18. You won’t pay for coaching – This past weekend was an amazing chance for songwriters and artists to meet and create relationships, learn, evaluate, regroup, plan, and strategize using accurate information from many industry pros. With all the Woe-is-me emails I get about how hard it is to get ahead and meet the right people here was a great opportunity. No money is not an excuse; sorry. Jon Bon Jovi20 Marketing Mistakes Earl Dibbles Jr. found a way around a $550,000 hurdle. So did Trent Reznor, so did many artists. FIND A WAY TO WIN and stop getting in your own way. Sell a guitar, get an extra job, do whatever it takes to learn what you need to learn to succeed at what you love to do. IT’s worth it, right? Some great resources to consider are Rick Barker for virtual management, Wade Sutton for live show coaching and PR development, Amanda Williams for publishing, placement and copyright knowledge, James R. Meny for vocal instruction (we spent TONS of money on vocal lessons when we toured, everyone needs vocal lessons).
  19. You won’t focus on one genre – I get it, you love many genres and you’re talented enough to do more than one genre justice. If you can’t figure out a way to combine them into a stylistic thing, then choose the one you really excel at and go there. Consumers can’t digest a record with many different genres on it. It doesn’t mean you are abandoning the other genres you love so much. It means you are focusing on one first because it’s smarter for your career.
  20. You don’t believe it can really happen by marketing online – Want proof? Earl Dibbles Jr.is the alter ego of indie country artist Granger Smith. Check out both sites. Earl has over 1 million FB likes and Granger is over 276,000. I know for a fact there are 4 people working this marketing juggernaut. They are geniuses, they cracked the code because they wanted to figure it out. They move 7 figures worth of product every year and, of course, all the major labels want him…well both of them I suppose. LOL. They aren’t biting. Why would they? This could be you if you developed a passion for cracking the code.

 

 

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