I have been in the music industry for over twenty years now. I have worked in recording studios, booked bands and artists on tours, done a million or so radio calls, set up distribution, managed some great groups and artists, and do a heck of a lot of music marketing consulting for indie labels and artists and it shouldn’t, but it does still amaze me at the one thing that always works in the industry…..

You have to actually take an active roll in the music industry to succeed.

That is all there is to it. You have to wake up everyday and decide what you are going to complete, and then actually complete the task. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering or record breaking – it just has to be a step towards your ultimate goal. I know, it just sounds too simple to work. But it does. It has. And it will continue to be the #1 best course of action, strategy, or marketing campaign ever created.

If you follow the blog or read my articles over at www.IamMusicNetwork.com you know that I lay out a ton of strategies and try to tie them all together into a campaign plan to move your music from your hands and into your potential fans hands. But if you look at each and every article or word I have written over the years you will see one thing over and over…. you have to take action to make it work.

I think we all make the same mistake. We are always looking for the magic bullet or secret weapon that will get us ahead of the pack. The one thing that will finally get us to the top of the charts, booked in the exclusive venues, or get our name on the lips of waiting fans. But as we search and search for that solution – that magic trick – we need to stop and actually look within our own mind. Is the problem really that you don’t know what to do next, or is the problem that you are not actually taking steps, consistently, that will lead to your success?

What have you done today to get your music in front of fans? Did you call someone to see if they gave you the “hook up” or did you actually take the time to reach out to potential fans in your social networks to build relationships? Did you send out your EPK to blogs and online radio stations hoping someone would email you back or did you actively seek out the owners of those blogs and radio stations and start relationships? How about this…. did you simply ask people to join your email/newsletter opt in list or did you send out an email today?

Setting up a great website, having a ton of videos on youtube, creating a dozen or so profiles across social networking sites, and signing up for a newsletter/email subscription service is only the first step towards getting your music in the hands of fans. We have all heard the sad story of “Build it and they will come.” or “Play it and they will hear it.” Meaning, if you simply build a website or create great music then surely fans will find you and buy your music. But this simply is not true. Just because you have a killer website, social networking profile circle, or a ton of videos does not mean anyone knows about you or your music. You can not “build (or play) it” and expect fans to come to you.

You have to get up every day and ask yourself – “where are my fans today and how am I going to reach them?”

But here is the secret – when you don’t find them today, you still have to wake up tomorrow and ask the same question! Then, you have to work again tomorrow at actually finding and reaching those fans. It’s not easy, I didn’t say the #1 easiest method of winning in the music industry – But this is the #1 secret to the music industry. You can not get discouraged and stop looking for fans. You can not expect your manager to find you fans. You can expect your record label is getting you fans. And by all means, you can not count on anyone but yourself to wake up every day and search for fans but yourself.

Are you going to hit road blocks….. everyday! Is it going to be tough to stay motivated…. everyday! Will you want to give up because you have been trying for six months or a year and are not much further along…. everyday! But you know what…. everyday, if you keep on the grind, you will get more fans, sell more music, and create your space within the music industry. It does work, it does pay off, and you can make your living. Don’t get me wrong, you still need luck, information, and acquired skills to hit “the big” time. But in order to acquire the skills you have to be honing your game, and luck – luck is being in the right place at the right time and having the skills in place to take advantage of the situation – how are you going to have any luck if you are not on your grind daily? How are you going to develop skills if you don’t work at them everyday – and sometimes fall flat on your face?  Information comes from doing it over and over to see what works and what doesn’t and by actually being in the game to network and meet more people that have the information.

There is only one fundamental truth to the music industry: You have to be in it to win it!

Counting on others to do for you is not being in the industry. Waiting on something to happen is not being in the industry. Watching fro the sidelines is not being in the industry. And most important – you don’t have to have money to make it in the industry if you are willing to work harder than anyone around you. We are in the internet age now, you can make a living right from your house, with your music and merchandise, if you actually work the industry – and that will fund the rest of what you need to do.

You know, really, there is no excuse to not making it in the industry except you didn’t try.

This has been a motivational minute by Jai. LOL!!

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”
Buy my new book – The Music Business Bible – and learn EVERYTHING you need to know about the music industry to succeed!

It’s 1st quarter 2010 and it’s time to dig into the back of your filing cabinet, pull out those business and marketing plans that have been sitting there collecting dust, and start updating them so you can have a successful 2010! But wait, don’t do anything if you are going to do the same thing you did last year; take the time to write a new plan – to just throw it in the filing cabinet… and watch it get pushed further and further back each time you put something new in your filing cabinet. Don’t waste your time, effort, or intention on something this year that you are not going to follow through with…

Ahhhhh, there it is… If you write a business or marketing plan for 2010 you have to make the decision to follow through with it…. NOT write it and think you will, or know it well enough that you don’t need to place it in the top drawer of your desk for daily, weekly, or monthly reference… But really commit to following your plan down to the last detail! What good is a plan if it is not followed? How can you reach your goals set in a prepared plan if you are not using it to run your business? How can you stay on budget from week to week – month to month – if you are not following the budget you set out in the plan? You can not do any of these things including take the easy road to your planned success without referring to your music marketing or business marketing plan!

What your music marketing or business plan does for you:

1. Sets goals
If you do not know what you are aiming for how are you ever going to get to your target? Before you create your 2010 music marketing or business plan you need to sit down and determine what it is you want to accomplish this year. Be realistic, if you are new to the music industry don’t set yourself up for failure by creating goals too far advanced to where you are currently at. This is not to say you shouldn’t set high goals… just be realistic in your goals and what you have the capabilities or budget to reach.

2. Do your research
Research is key to any music marketing or business plan. You need to know what is hot right now, what the trends say will be hot in six months, and what has stopped working. The riaa is a great resource site for statistics, sales information, and last years trends. Billboard.com is another great site – it allows you to see what the majors are doing for their marketing efforts, and of course… www.IamMusicNetwork.com will keep you up-to-date on what is working in music industry!

3. Plan for your future
Once you have your goals and research completed you should have a better idea for what you will need to do to reach your goals. Now it’s time to plan for your future. What will you need over the next year? Include team members, money, resources, songs, videos, equipment, office space, studio, and anything else you can think of that will be needed to help you reach your goals.

4. Make a plan
Writing a music marketing or business plan does not have to be fancy and perfect. It all comes down to effort. The more effort you put into your plan the clearer the road map you will have to follow. Take your time, plan everything down to the last detail, and include your goals, research, and planning for the future to develop a stated plan of action to get you where you want to go. Think about today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and beyond until you reach next year. What steps will you take every moment and day of your journey? This is what planning is about. If you run into trouble or need help send me an email: jai@jaihutcherson.com. I am here and I do like to help indies reach their goals!

5. Stick with your plan
Writing a music marketing or business plan and then not following it is simply a waste of time, effort, and resources. You will find, if you take the time to write your plan, that you get excited, energized, and motivated to work harder, longer, and be more dedicated. But this newness will fade… if you don’t look at your plan often. It is so easy to get off track, side tracked, or simply forget about the plan you created all together if you don’t make your plan a part of your everyday music business life. Keep your plan in a top drawer of your desk, share your plan with your team, refer to your plan in team meetings, and by all means…. follow your plan.

6. Be prepared for the unexpected
Once your plan is written you must remember it is not written in stone. The music industry may change, your team dynamics might change, your budget may change, or you may learn something new that you didn’t know about when writing your plan. You have to constantly evaluate where your business is at, how it is doing, how much closer or further you are from reaching your goals, and if in fact your plan is working. Be prepared to update your plan as needed, but don’t make changes easily. Meaning, just because you here one thing or another may be working for someone else…. does not mean it will work for you. As you evaluate your plan and progress you will know if you are on track, do not change much of anything is what you planned is working. If you hear of new concepts take the time to research them for sure, but don’t be too ready to adopt them into your plan until you see how it will affect your entire plan…. not just how it will affect today or tomorrow! Another words…. don’t get caught up with “keeping up with the Jones.”

A music marketing or business plan is your road map to your success. It is the most valuable asset you own. Protect it, baby it, keep it in arm’s reach, and by all means follow it! If you take the time, effort, and energy to create a solid plan you will be better off this time next year!

If you need help with writing a music marketing or business plan reach out – I am here to help!!!

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”

Here is the email I received from them (I added the picture from their myspace…)

——————————————————————————————

Greetings,
This message is intended for Jai Hutcherson.

I noticed you on the list of Speakers / Mentors @ MMC14 in Feb 2010 and wanted to take this time to extend a personal invite to see our band MADRONE perform.

We’re a progressive rock band out or Roanoke Va, often compared to the band TOOL. We recently have been privileged to share the stage with Halestorm, Hoobastank, Theory of a Deadman and many more.

Complete Bio: www.sonicbids.com/madrone
Other Link: www.myspace.com/madrone

We’ll be releasing new high quality recordings early 2010. Our featured single on the upcoming EP is called Daybreak and currently in the hands of Freddie Fabbri (Cage Rattle & Breaking Benjamin) and Dave Brenner from Theory of a Deadman for review. If possible we would love to hand you a copy at MMC14 for perhaps your feedback in the future.

Showcase info:
Saturday February 20th 2010
Set Time (12:30am)
Pints (Formally Tara Station)
25 South 4th St. Harrisonburg Pa. 17101

Since it’s a late set we wanted to give you plenty of notice but understand if your unable to attend. However if you do find you can, we would very much enjoy your company.

Thanks for your time and Happy New Year!

Regards,
Greg Escoe
703.489.9317
Madrone Manager
—————————————————————

Why am I sharing this with you…..

Just look at it. This is what it is all about. This is a great first contact communication; it has all the details needed for me to find out more about the band, it teases with a description of the bands sound compared to a major, it offers… not pushes their new cd to me for review, it gives me contact information, it drops some name acts they have been able to perform with and network with letting me know that they are out there working for themselves as well as reaching out to industry professionals trying to make a name, and it is not just another “Hey, we are the next big thing… go to our myspace page and wee why you want to sign us ….” as I get too, too often!

Look at the letter, study the letter, and realize – this letter got my attention, made me want to learn more about them, made me click on the links to visit their profiles, and made me want to go see them when I am at the conference! THIS EMAIL GOT MY ATTENTION! Not because it said a certain thing…. but because it said what it needed to without being full of crap, hype, or smoke and mirrors. It was professional, gave details, and sparked interest. This is a great template for any artist, musician, band, producer, r record label trying to reach out to industry professionals and get noticed – trust me, I don’t see letters composed this well very often and when I, and my industry friends, receive a letter this good we sit up and take notice…. FYI – this is part of that “IT” factor that is needed to succeed in the music industry!

OK, now, as most of you know that read my blog – myspace  has that little widget called “demand it” that artists place on their profile to get people from all over the world to “demand” they do a show in hometown’s…. Madrone, as they should to keep the buzz moving, has placed one on their profile page. Here is what I need form everyone reading this blog…. and you know, I do not ask for much, very often, from my readers…. I want you to click on the “Demand It” banner below and “Demand” Madrone to play a show in your city…. and then when they do, GO TO THE SHOW. I don’t care if you are into hip hop, rock, country, christian, R&B, or whatever…. if you listen to this band you will feel the music, like the vibe, and appreciate the music of another genre…. so get off the “genre specific high road” and listen to them to appreciate what they offer to their genre and then demand them…. if you do, karma  will do the same for you when you need it in your journey to the top…

View all Dallas events on Eventful

I hope to see a lot of emails like this from all my readers in the future!

For more ways to create awareness like this example check out “The Ultimate Online Awareness Campaign”

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”
www.JaiHutcherson.com

Going into 2010, as you think about your goals, create your plans for reaching those goals, and start acting on those plans – who is your biggest competition while marketing your music in 2010? Is it the local band, artist, producer, or record label down the street, the regional independent touring around your market, or maybe the international major labels that are buying up all the air time on video broadcast stations, radio, and ad spaces in magazines? It’s none of these!!!

Wait for it….. It’s Coming….. Hold on…..

IT’S YOU!!!

Yup, you are your biggest competition in 2010 while trying to push your music to the masses. There is not one person or organization in the entire world that can hurt or help you more than you can. You have the power to make or break your career with every decision you make…. Notice, I didn’t say action you take, move you make, or marketing strategy you try… I said; “with every decision you make!”

Being in the music industry takes total and complete commitment, guts, and willpower. Everything that you can do to get ahead starts with a decision. Here is the definition of decision: “a determination arrived at after consideration, a report of a conclusion, promptness and firmness in deciding.”

You are your biggest music marketing competition in 2010 because only you can give yourself or take away from yourself the power to make firm decisions about what you are going to do to get your music in the hands of potential fans. It does not matter what other artists, bands, producers, or record labels are doing. It doesn’t matter how much buzz others are getting for their music. But most of all, it does not matter if you are keeping up with others actions or not.

There are more than enough potential music fans in the world that you can have as large a fan base as you want. THE WORLD – Yes, I said world… The internet is upon us…strongly! You have the power to gain fans from anywhere in the world if you make the decision to do so. You have the power to book as many live gigs as you want, get your music reviewed by as many magazines as you decide, and get your music on as many radio stations as you take action to do so.

Notice again, I am not saying you are ready to be on the radio, doing live shows, or getting your music reviewed by magazines. No, I am saying you have the power within you to get to the point that these organizations will want your music. You have to make the decision that you will do what it takes, no matter what that may be, to get your music in the places it needs to be to sell more units allowing you to make your living in the music industry. You may in fact be creating music that sucks! I hate to say it, because I know as a creative type myself that you may not like to hear it. But it is important to realize that you have to make a decision that you either want to make music that you and your mom likes or you have to create music that will help you reach your goals. I am in no way saying change who you are…. there is absolutely no need for that…. but I am saying you have to make the decision to listen to what your potential fans are saying…. or not saying… and take the action needed to reach your decision.

You are your competition! That is very worthy of being repeated many, many times. Only you have the power to make the decision to act upon your dreams of being the next superstar. Only you have the decision to get up every day and market your music to the world to reach your goals. Only you have the ability to follow through with what you start and have solid commitment. Only you have the power to make decisions and then use guts to see them through. Only you can do none of these things, make no decisions, and watch your career fade away…. then look back and say, “well, I WANTED to be in the music industry.” as you sit at your 9 to 5 job behind your desk answering phones….

There is a huge difference between wanting to do something and making the decision to act. Refer back tot he definition. If you decide to do something you have determination to follow through no matter how hard, how boring, or how much work it takes… you are committed. Wanting something means it would be nice if you received it – freely, without work, determination, or commitment. Another word for decision in my mind is NEED. A decision is a need. Meaning is you decide to do something, then you need to do it, not want to do it, or maybe will do it – YOU NEED TO DO IT!

OK, this has been your music marketing motivational minute….by Jai. Take it for what you will… or decide to join the music industry; committed, decided, firm, activated, and with guts. You will need all these things if you are going to reach your goals!

Learn how to create an action plan to reach your music marketing goals!

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”

I personally love New Years Eve! Not because I can party it up into the wee hours of the night, rather because it gives me a chance at a “do-over.” Every year on New Years Eve day, before the festivities, I spend the entire day day dreaming about what I want the future to look like, pondering the past years activities, and then creating an action plan to move me away from the previous years mistakes and closer to the new years goals. This is the most exciting time for me in my business. I really dig day dreaming and thinking about the future. These day dreams become my goals for the year.

A goal is no more than a day dream if no action is taken, no plans are created, or no movement towards them is accomplished throughout the year. This was a huge realization for me many years ago. Before I came to this notion that I had to act upon my dreams to make them a reality I would always wonder from year to year why I was no closer to making my living in the music industry. You see, I was always doing the same thing I did last year, no matter the results, and somehow expecting because I had a day dream of everything being different It would be…. no matter the action I took… which in my case, again, was doing the same ol’ same ol’ and expecting different results.

So again, I ask you…. Are you going to change your mindset or continue with the same ol’ same ol’ hoping for something to miraculously to happen?

I want to challenge you this year. I want you to take a leap of faith and consider that what you are currently doing may not be all you can do for yourself and your career. I don’t care how successful you are right now, there is always more you can do. The most successful people in the world know that learning something new everyday is the only way to stay successful and that there is always something they are doing that could be done better. So, with that said, I want to challenge you to reach deeper within yourself and find that little spark of energy that will allow you to sit on New Years Eve day and ponder your past, plan your future, and take the first action step of creating a written plan of how you will move closer to your future and further from your past mistakes.

Here are some steps to get you thinking…

1. Write down all the actions you took last year towards making your living in the music industry.

2. Go through each action you took and and rate the success using the 1-10 method (1 being poor – 10 being excellent) BE HONEST!!!

3. Now again go through the list and next to each action item list why you feel it deserved the rating you gave it.

4. Put your pen down and seriously consider your actions over the past year. How can you do better?

5. Close your eyes…after reading this step… and day dream about your future. Let your mind go as far as it can towards how you want to live your live and what would make you the most happy in the music industry.

6. Start a new piece of paper and write down your day dreams.

7. Now, look at the day dreams and consider what has to happen to get you closer to them. As an example, if your day dream is to perform live in front of 50,000 people all screaming your name… what must you do to get there? First, you must learn who the concert promoters are that put together concerts large enough to attract 50,000 people. So, in this case, you would need to start networking with concert promoters. – very brief explanation, but you get the point.

8. List each day dream as a goal.

9. Under each goal write down as many action steps as you can think of to get you closer to that goal. Money, time, resources do not matter right now, you can figure out all that later. Right now you just want to create an action plan of how you can reach your goals.

10. Look at all your goals and action items and create a step-by-step plan of action to reach your goals. Once you have a plan you will be able to see what you need to do, obtain, learn, possess, etc. to reach your goals. This is valuable. Now you simply have to get your hands or mind on the needed items and act upon your plan to reach your goals!

Sounds too simple to work doesn’t it? That is because it is human nature to over complicate, over think, and over estimate everything we do in life. People, life can be easy in the music industry if you plan for it to be. This ten step plan is the fundamental basis to every successful person you have ever met or heard about in your entire life. In one way or another each successful person follows this path to their success. The difference between those that are not successful, those who are moderately successful, and those that have unbelievable success is how well they follow this ten step program and personalize it to their individual needs.

2010 can be a huge year for you in the music industry. All you have to do is plan for your success. So, again, I challenge you to reach your potential…. oh sorry, i hated hearing that in school, let’s change that…. I challenge you to reach deep inside your soul and find what it is you want to do as an individual, define your desire into words on paper (very important), create an action plan to reach that desire, and then research and learn what you need to so you can reach those desires and have a unbelievable 2010!!!

Need help setting up your music industry action plan?
Step-By-Step Action Plan to Reach Your Goals & Succeed in the MUSIC Industry

Happy New Year!
Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”

The best tool I have found to plan your campaign is called mind mapping software. The tool I want to share with you today is called MindMeister and it is free to use, available as an online application, and really, really helps you look at the big picture as well as drill down to specifics. Let’s take a look at how to use MindMeister to effectively build your successful music marketing and promotions campaign…

(I am not going to go into detail about how to use MindMeister as they have great tutorial videos available on their website and I would only be duplicating their efforts. Check out the videos to get started on your mind map!)

I am currently working with a Christian Artist, Jeremy Ledgewood, and I will use the mind map I created when determining how I would market him to the world:

The first step to planning a total music marketing and promotions campaign is to look at the entire picture and forget about the details. Often times this is called the 30,000 foot view because it’s like being in an airplane and looking down at a city from the window. You can see that there is indeed a city below, that there are roads, and that the city is laid out in a grid. But you can not see individual road signs, cars, business names, etc. As you start to create your campaign you need to stay at the 30,000 view level and simply think about the big picture items of a music marketing and promotions campaign. Examples would be online marketing, offline marketing, publicity, radio, video, and live show/tour marketing. As you start to use the mindmeister software you need to put the artist or campaign name in the center and then add your big picture concepts to the main heading. Here is an example:

As you can see, I have Jeremey Ledgewood as the campaign title in the center and each of the big picture categories coming off as individual marketing and promotion campaigns.

The second step is to “brainstorm” ideas and specific strategies within each campaign category. This is still not the time to get too specific. Let’s take online as an example. This is a huge category in marketing independent music. What you need to do at this point is decide all the available strategies online marketing offers you – opt in email lists, social networking, awareness, etc. Here is what I did with Jeremey during this stage:

Again, I am still looking at the “big picture” or 30,000 foot view of the entire campaign. Let’s look at online marketing again. In this category I have awareness, opt-in email, and social networking. But I have not drilled down intoany type of specifics like what social networking sites I will use, what I will do in specific sites, how often I will work on social networking, etc. This is because I am simply trying to get a full, big picture, idea of what it is I will do to market Jeremy Ledgewood’s music. As you continue with this process you will get down to the finite detail of your entire campaign. Let’s go another step further….

Now you can see that under the online category > Social Networking, I have expanded out specific social networking sites used by potential fans to find new independent music. Again, I still have not gotten into specifics of each of these site. I have only listed them as a tool I will use in my online marketing campaign.

Your next step is to start drilling down each of the sub categories in each category. Here is an example:

Using our “Online” example and expanding upon it, you can see that now myspace, twitter, and ourstage have sub categories. Myspace is going to be used for the 13-21 year old demographic marketing and promotion efforts, uploading music vidoes, fan club communications, and outstage contest promotions. Again, each of these categories are the “big picture.” The actual steps and action items needed for a successful outcome have not been determined yet. Looking at the big picture as a whole allows you to see the entire campaign. It allows you to see where you can promote the ourstage contests across the entire campaign. When you look at only one peice of the puzzle or “strategy” you get lost in the details. Details slow your music marketing and promotion engine down to a crawl. Plus, if you look only at online > myspace for example, and don’t think about the other areas, you might miss that using myspace to promote the ourstage contests would be a great tie-in marketing strategy.

It is always best when creating your campaign to start at the 30,000 foot view and continue drilling that view down for the entire campaign as a whole until you are to the finite details. Meaning, even after you figure out each of the categories off the main headline, don’t get caught up and “run with the ball” to complete one of the categories – in our case an example would be online. If you only drill down online in our example you would totally miss that you need to place links to radio stations on your myspace page so potential fans can listen to your music or better, request your music at the radio stations you have rotation! Or you might miss that you need to place a link to sign-up for your opt-in email list on your myspace page as well. You see, you have to start very broad, then look at each category and only drill down to the next level as you consider all the other categories as well because they each work together to form your entire music marketing and promotions campaign.

I think you are starting to get the point. This blog post really was not intended to be a blue print for creating a music marketing and promotions campaign…. It was to hip you on a cool, free, tool to help you do the work. I will go deeper into detail over the next few weeks here on the blog and in articles at I am Music Network‘s main site. Go check out the software, start working on your campaign’s 30,000 foot view, and if you have a question or get stuck reach out and comment or ask your questions here on this blog posts comment section and I will try my best to keep you moving forward!

Click on this link for detailed instructions and action plans for creating successful music marketing campaigns and promotions!

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”

Here are the top five tools I use for my clients when starting an awareness campaign:

1. Jango.com

Jango radio is one of the coolest tools you can use to get your music in front of a massive amount of potential fans in a very, very short period of time. It does cost, but what you get for your money far out weighs the money spent. They have several plans to choose from ranging from about $30 – $150. I highly suggest the $100 plan. You get 4000 plays of your song and this is huge! I am not going to go deep into how Jango works because you can get all the info on their site and it is well described! But I will say that if you work the Jango awareness you will come out of a $100 buy in with a massive amount of real fans, a steady increase in your social networking activity, and most likely a good number of merchandise and CD sales. Click on the Here to visit the site and see how it can help you now!

2. MusicSubmit.com

In my opinion, Music Submit goes hand and hand with Jango. These two tools together simply create killer buzz,  demand, and attention from press, radio, and potential fans. Before I used Music Submit for the first time I did what any good independent should do and did my fair share of research to see what other users were saying. I have to admit that I did find a lot of negative posts from unhappy users. But being in the business of marketing myself, I had to dig a bit deeper before I made a decision to try them out. What I found was that a good majority of the unhappy users were also people that you could simply tell did not do their part of keeping their websites updated, take an active role in social networking, or regularly visit any online radio stations that might be considering adding their music to rotation. Basically, by simply following what these people did online for themselves showed me that they simply wanted a hand out. They wanted to pay for something and do nothing and become huge stars. I then did my research on the artists that gave good reviews of the Music Submit service. Not surprising, these artists were all active online in user forums, radio station websites, they kept their website updated and actively worked their social networking sites. My point… If you are not ready to actively work for yourself and do the leg work to keep any potential fans, radio, or press  involved with your music and activities – GIVE UP NOW! Walk away, go take a 9-5 job with a tie, and forget you ever had a dream of making it in the independent music industry! Harsh, YOU BET IT IS! – But it’s also reality. Now, back to Music Submit….

Music Submit does exactly what they say they do. They send your EPK (Electronic Press Kit) to all the contacts they have in their database for your given genre of music. That is all they do. They are not publicists, they do not actively work your project to their contacts, and they follow up very minimally. But here is the deal, they tell you in your control panel who they sent your package to, when they sent it, and they even give you the contact information. It is your job to follow up, make connections, and make things happen. What you get from their service is the contacts. This is very valuable because it saves you time and effort from having to do it yourself. Plus their contacts are part of their system because they actively want to see and hear about new artists. Again, I am not going to discuss every detail of their program, you can visit their site and get all the info you need. What you need to know is that I do not start an awareness campaign without using them…. why does this matter to you? Look at my track record, my clients get noticed, get on the radio, and get deal offers very quickly! Click here to go to Music Submit’s Website and Learn More.

3. OurStage.com

Ourstage.com give you credibility. The site is basically an ongoing music chart and contest with viewers voting for what song they like the best. It has all the normal social networking features: the ability to upload pictures, music, videos, bio, etc. I really use the site a lot for clients because if you work it right, talk to potential fans, and get your fan base to vote for your music – you will chart high. Obviously the higher your music charts the better publicity you can get out of it. When you are trying to get press or radio play you can use the Ourstage.com charts as your calling card. Press and radio people like to see that your music is a fan favorite! Go the the site check it out for yourself and get you music uploaded and on it’s way to the top of the charts. Click here to visit the site.

4. Reverbnation.com

Reverbnation is Myspace.com on steroids for artists, musicians, producers, and record labels. They offer a complete solution to distribution, marketing, promotion, EPKs, and beyond. They allow you to track your music and how the fans are helping you distribute your music, offers widgets to help you market, opt in email, and much more. If you are serious about getting your music in front of potential fans than Reverbnation has to be one of the spots you visit daily for interaction with fans, press, radio, labels, and more. Click here to go to ReverbNation.

5. http://tubemogul.com/

Tube Mogul might not seem like the typical music marketing or promotion tool, but it is. What they do is allow you to upload your videos in one location and then they distribute your video around the net to all the videos sites you need your video to been seen on. They also track how many plays your video gets, where your video is hosted, and it even updates social networking sites for you. The service is free, however, if you want more detailed reporting there is a fee. I personally do not use the paid version as the free option does everything I need. It really saves a lot of time getting artist videos distributed rather than visiting all the sites one at a time myself. Plus the tracking feature allows me to see how many plays my artists are getting all in one place. VERY EASY! Click Here to Visit Tube Mogul

Conclusion

These top 5 music marketing & promotion awareness tools/sites alone can boost your fan base, social networking activity, and merchandise sales revenue. I seriously do not work any project with clients without using each of these tools/sites. They work, but only if you work them. As with everything in music marketing and promotion – there is not silver bullet or “one tool does it all” available! I wish there was. When I find one I promise I will let you know how to get your hands on it!

More Music Marketing and Awareness Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC In Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”

To be truly successful in the independent music industry you have to learn the daily grind and live by it. You have to work everyday towards you set goal… ahhh there it is… you have to have a set goal to work for. You can’t just grind away no knowing where you are going or what you are grinding for. How could you track your efforts to see if what you are doing is working if you don’t know what you are working towards?

You have to look at the time you spend on your grind and determine if you are being productive. A lot of up-and-coming independent artists, musicians, producers, and label owners feel that going out every night of the week and making the rounds in the clubs is grinding. But how much is actually working? Sitting with people you already know is not working. Sitting with the owner, other artists, DJs, promoters, or potential fans is working. Simply going to a club can not put you any closer to your goals!

Getting gas is part of the independent’s life style believe it or not. When you are walking to pay or sitting waiting for your tank to fill you should be on your grind passing out flyers, flats, or promo CDs. I know, it’s hard to be THAT out going, and a lot of independents simply do not do it… but the successful ones, they do. Every moment of the day is a chance to gain a new fan, find a new agent, or work your grind.

Don’t get me wrong, being an independent artists, musician, producer, or label owner does not mean you always have to wark your ass off. As you get more and more successful you can hire people to do the “hard grind” for you. This frees up time to be creative or enjoy your success. But selling 1000 CDs is not total success or the sign that it is time to sit back and let your grind slip. An independent stays on the grind until the music industry comes to him or her. Meaning, when the press, radio, media, major labels, etc. start beating down your door then you know you have done your job and maybe it is time to let your team do a bit of the heavy lifting under your direction.

The life style is the independents best and most successful marketing tool, business tool, and meter to judge success itself upon. To learn more about how to live the life of a successful independent artist, musician, producer, or label owner check out The Music Business Bible!

Peace,
Jai
“Love the MUSIC in Yourself, Not Yourself in the MUSIC!”