How To Get Your Music Heard By The Right People [hint: stop doing this stuff]

[ckoehler]

Are you one of them?

 

I hear musicians bitching all the time about how nothing they do works and nobody wants to listen to their tunes.

 

But when I look a little there are usually a few ways they are shooting themselves in the foot.

 

Want to get your music heard by the "right" people, stop doing these things:

 

1. SPAMMING the crap out of your family and friends and more time reaching “right” fan.

2. Hiring some expensive Music Promotion slash PR company to run a massive campaign.

3. Buying radio airplay from a guy named Rod who is going to help break your song.

4. Joining sites like Reverbnation or Fandalism or join LinkedIn groups thinking you will find fans.

5. Joining every social networking site known to man and spread yourself too thin, declare they have no time and give up.

6. Using Sites like Facebook or Reverbnation as your home base.

7. Endlessly pitching… errr harassing… record label execs.

8. Sending out thousands of mix tapes and CD’s to “every” Tom, Dick and Harry hoping someone will play their stuff and discover you.

9. Entering every talent competition thinking that is the only way they can get anywhere.

 

Did I miss any? Agree or disagree?

 

I figured this is a great place to discuss this.

 

If you are interested, I explain myself a lot better and make the case for each one in a blog post (see link below):

 

http://musicgoat.com/how-to-get-your...ese-9-mistakes

[daddymack]

Sums up much of it...what about posting tons of substandard material on Youtube?

Or defining your style so narrowly as to niche yourself out of any realistic market.

and of course...being delusional.

 

However...what are the positives to balance all these negatives...aside from the platitudes like write killer songs, play lots of shows, give your music away to anyone who asks...?

[ckoehler]

I like all of those. Delusional is a good one but a tricky one. I've heard stuff that was IMHO horrible and yet it was selling or had a very good following. So I stayed away from it.

 

As far as the positives, I did go through them at length on the blog post. But really comes down to getting very clear on what your message is, who your ideal audience is and doing things to keep them around (like a well executed email marketing campaign).

[TimothyZelinski]

You need to start with your family and friends to begin your fanbase, because those are the people in your life that like you and will support you. BUT DON'T BEG ANYONE EVER. That will never ever work. Make a gig, and reach out to the people in your life that will want to come to support you, but simply ask them to come and be a part of the event. Tell them that you want them to come so they can be part of the experience, not because you're desperate for attention. Thats the key. Crowdfunding campaigns that offer experiences as rewards rather than objects are always the most successful. Thats how labels like ArtistShare have sent so many records to the grammys while other artists fall thousands of dollars short of their goal.

[JacksGearDemos]

Great points and common things people do but, why not post your advice on what to actually do in this thread as well? haha

[ckoehler]

I wouldn't enough room. It took me an entire course to explain.

 

This course -> http://30minutefanfinder.com/30-minute-fan-finders-courses-lto/

[Idunno]

Pretty much everything I hear posted by people desiring attention is junk. I could say it with more tact but from the audience's perspective I think I'm simply candid. The musicianship without the refreshing writing, or vice versa, is available in trunks full. I'm witnessing poor musicianship or poor writing, or both together, and that goes up to and including much of the crap getting air play. Music has reached a point where it needs direction but there's no one taking it there. In the meantime, we get tons of mediocre wannabe stuff no one can find the passion or art form in.

 

The point? Don't get three chords good and expect big things from it. Start there.

[ckoehler]

Music has reached a point where it needs direction but there's no one taking it there.

you seem to have all the answers, perhaps this is a job for you. What do you think?

 

 

[WRGKMC]

There used to be a recording company model bands and musicians could follow. Those no longer exist and aren't coming back.

 

I bought a book on what was involved in getting a recording contract. You read it today and its a joke. None of that infrastructure exists any more. What I call it is the Science Fiction Hollywood version of what people think the recording business is. Back in the 50's 60's, yea you'd had what was in that book. Even up to the 80's somewhat, but the internet took down the entire industry and only those big enough or interconnected with the Movie industry still survive.

 

Movies still have Theatres to rake in cash, followed by CD sales and rentals, Then places like Netflix, pay per view then Premium channels, then finally commercial channels where someone might see the movie for free (somewhat because you usually pay for cable or dish)

 

You may get bootlegs on line but still The movie studios do it right when it comes to selling their product and supporting their actors.

 

What has the recording industry got now. MTV and VH1 are dead ends. MTV plays no music any more. VH1 plays mostly dinosaur music of musicians that have been over the hill for a good 20 years or more.

 

On line sales pay nothing and there's no way to stop illegal downloads. There's not a song out there you cant google up and download someplace.

 

Back in the 70's I learned a valuable lesson from some famous Musicians I knew. They said you got one shot at getting a recording contract if you're lucky. You also need a great band that sticks so you can promote the music at live shows. The contract is essentially a bank loan. No more no less. You take the money and gamble with it. You make an album and promote it with that loan. If it makes money it goes to playing off that loan. If it doesn't, you declare bankruptcy. It takes about 7 years to get over a bankruptcy and where people would be willing to loan you money again, except this time they want collateral.

 

If you spend that 7 years working a day job to build up collateral, you aren't going to be spending it playing your instrument. Chances are is you haven't made it by the age or 21 you never will. If you failed at 21 and have to wait 7 years for another shot, you're already past your prime.

 

Those are just some of the cruel facts you don't find in any Hollywood version of the industry. I wont even get into all the other ways you can loose your shirt like music copyrights and recording costs.

 

There is one thing in that book that can still be important. First thing you do is get a Lawyer that's familiar with the industry. A musician, no matter how smart he thinks he is does not have the ability to protect himself from the shysters out there. You have everything from Copyrights, studio contracts, live show contracts and loans to pay back. You're going to get handed the end of the stick that stinks by everyone out there wanting to earn a fast buck off your talent and if you don't see things as a business, you may as well bend over and cuff your hands to your ankles because you are an accident waiting to happen because they will see you coming from a mile away.

 

I did the full club circuit from NY to Atlantic city for 20 years and I can tell you is one step up from hell dealing with allot of those club owners trying to get paid. My only saving grace was I was married to an Italian at the time and if a club owner tried to stiff me I could use the family tree to my advantage. It all still comes down to, if you want to make money, you have to have it to begin with, and today there's allot better and safer ways of taking that money and making more money with it. The music business is the last place I'd go to think about being rich or famous. All of that stuff is 99% propaganda put out by those to sucker in people in, including the musicians to sheer them like sheep.

 

Best thing you can do, make your own CD's and sell them to your own fans. Nothing but pure profit there and it helps cover the expenses of playing out which is another sink hole when you compute the hours you spend rehearsing, traveling and transporting, cost of equipment etc. You can do better flipping burgers if you figure out the number of hours you actually spend. But hey, you got a passion go for it. I did and I'm still alive to talk about it. Too bad most of the friends I grew up with aren't. Most are gone now from deaths related to the industry in one way or another.

 

 

[daddymack]

and then there is the downside....