I'm sure you've seen the ads. Someone promises they can make you a star in three days, seven days, a month, what have you. All you have to do is pay them X amount of dollars for their ebooks/seminar/phone call and they will tell you how. Wow! This is it! Your big break!
Except, not really. The frustrating truth is that no one call tell you exactly how to make it in the music industry. Sometimes even perfectly executed plans that have worked in the past fail to make an impact, while the most fly by night, destined to fail on paper plans can sometimes take someone to big leagues. The only ingredient required across the board is good music. From there, your path to your music industry goals will require creativity, hard work and some trial and error. The road map is not available to download for $49.99.
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The delightfully monikered Dr. Pants took the time recently to stop by the forum (yes, the forum!) to share a press release for an upcoming EP, and they want your help! Hit up the forum and check out the press release - what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Got any tips to share? Of course, if you have a press release of your own you're wondering about, a little press release tit for tat can be arranged here - simply post your own release and let others have it. In the meantime, check out the release from Dr. Pants here and offer your insight. There are Weezer, Kenny Loggins, Dr. Demento and John Cusack references, so you know you won't be disappointed. These forum links can be a little tricky sometimes, so if you have any trouble finding the release, let me know.
For more about press releases, visit Press Releases 101.
I know, I know, it's not weekly music news time, but I just came across this article on Paste Magazine's site. Apparently, Radiohead's manager, in conjuction with the MAMA Group and Nettwerk Music, have founded a new label called Polyphonic. The idea is to found a label with a business plan flexible enough to respond to artists' needs, even if the needs of one artist on the label doesn't match the needs of another. They also plan a profit share plan for their deals, giving musicians 50% of their profits. Yes, I know, just like many of you small indies already do it.
The question is - will it work? Now, it doesn't hurt that everyone involved in the project has some cash in their pockets to get things going, but cash or no cash, I like the principle of the idea. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (no pun intended), I don't think the work that record labels DO is outdated, I just think that the way many of them do business is behind the times. Musicians benefit from having capable people working with them to establish their careers. Most record labels don't want to punch musicians in the face and steal their lunch money. Sure, there are some bad apples out there, but when musicians and labels find a way to not be at cross purposes, well, sometimes good things can happen. Not everyone needs a label, but not everyone is cut out for label free life, either.
What do you think of their idea? Share your thoughts!
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Drumroll please....thank you....and welcome to the Indie Artist X Project! The Indie Artist X Project is a collaborative effort involving six sponsors (myself included) and hopefully you! The sponsors have identified an indie artist and worked together to develop a plan for the artist in question to promote a tour and new release on the cheap - you know, super indie style. The goal here is to see what is working, what isn't, and what areas of music marketing are most effective when it comes to reaching the fans. Each month, between now and October, we'll track the success of Indie Artist X for all to see. You can keep up with the whole project, from start to finish, here.
Each sponsor involved in the project has taken on a specific music marketing "channel" to handle (please bear with us as we complete the entries for the plans). Our rules are that we can't do any of the legwork for the artist, because as you know, most real indie artists have to know how to get their hands dirty, but we can offer guidance and direction. Where do you come in? We want your input into the plans for each channel and suggestions on tricks Indie Artist X might try. A list of sponsors is below. If you have an idea for a specific channel, hit up the sponsor.
Now, no matter how much you beg, plead or bribe, I can't reveal who Indie Artist X is until the end of the project, though you can find out a few clues if you read on. (Well, let's be honest, bribery MAY work - get in touch to talk numbers. I kid, I kid.) BUT - why can't Indie Artist X be you? The ultimate goal here is to develop a real, actionable marketing plan that indie artists can easily do themselves on an indie budget. You too can start putting the channel recommendations into action starting today. If you do, of course, let us know.
And now, meet your Indie Artist X Project Sponsors:
Andrew Goodrich
Artists House Music
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/
Channel: Fan Development
Bruce Houghton
Hypebot
http://www.hypebot.com/
Channel: Commerce
Cameron Mizell
MusicianWages.com
http://musicianwages.com/
Channel: Awareness
David Rose
KnowTheMusicBiz.com
http://www.knowthemusicbiz.com/
Channel: Artist Website
Heather McDonald
About.com Music Careers
http://musicians.about.com/
Channel: Influencers
Martin Atkins
Revolution Number Three
http://www.revolutionnumberthree.com/
Channel: Live Shows
Last, but not least, meet Indie Artist X:
The artist participating in the Indie Artist X Project is a talented, hard working independent musician who has had two previous records released by a small independent record label. He is currently not signed to a record label, does not have a booking agent or manager. He has a day job and is married. His goal is to make music his full time career.
I hope you'll join us on this journey! Stay involved and share your ideas!
