Record labels (Part 4)
Your musical skills are important.
Duh.
But it’s only one part of who you are.
You need to keep developing other skills (building your fan base, performing on stage, touring etc) at the same time with your musical skills. Labels look at that also.
Good performing skills are a must. You must learn how to put a good show for fans. And the audience these days gets bored fast. Lights, movement on stage, setlist, talking or no talking between the songs, what to talk about, the mood etc. I’ve seen many examples of a bad performance.
#label
Your musical skills are important.
Duh.
But it’s only one part of who you are.
You need to keep developing other skills (building your fan base, performing on stage, touring etc) at the same time with your musical skills. Labels look at that also.
Good performing skills are a must. You must learn how to put a good show for fans. And the audience these days gets bored fast. Lights, movement on stage, setlist, talking or no talking between the songs, what to talk about, the mood etc. I’ve seen many examples of a bad performance.
#label
While continuing doing the research on Spotify Playlists, I came across a cool service. The free version has enough info.
You can see all the streaming and social media info of any band, on all platforms.
It's a good way to check the "music health" of your band.
https://chartmetric.com/
You can see all the streaming and social media info of any band, on all platforms.
It's a good way to check the "music health" of your band.
https://chartmetric.com/
Record labels (Part 5)
Labels want to see the fire in your eyes.
That you are a true musician.
That music is your passion.
That you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it as a musician.
But not like sucking a dick in a public toilet for a hit.
Don’t confuse it with desperation.
Labels want to see a determination, that you are ready to work hard. Long term.
#label
Labels want to see the fire in your eyes.
That you are a true musician.
That music is your passion.
That you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it as a musician.
But not like sucking a dick in a public toilet for a hit.
Don’t confuse it with desperation.
Labels want to see a determination, that you are ready to work hard. Long term.
#label
An observation.
While talking to artists about music career a couple of fears came out. Standard shit like not having enough money, not being talented enough, being failure in general etc.
But I noticed that there is also a fear of success.
Even had to google it, if it's common among musicians. It is common.
An artist thinks that s/he explodes and becomes big, he has to go on tours for months, away from family and friends; perform at stadiums and lots of people will judge him; give shitload of interviews and look stupid; there will be tons of pressure. Life will change. And he will still think that he "doesn't deserve" all of the good stuff and somehow will fuck it all up.
That's normal.
Get your priorities in order, mate. Otherwise, we're not going far.
#thePath
While talking to artists about music career a couple of fears came out. Standard shit like not having enough money, not being talented enough, being failure in general etc.
But I noticed that there is also a fear of success.
Even had to google it, if it's common among musicians. It is common.
An artist thinks that s/he explodes and becomes big, he has to go on tours for months, away from family and friends; perform at stadiums and lots of people will judge him; give shitload of interviews and look stupid; there will be tons of pressure. Life will change. And he will still think that he "doesn't deserve" all of the good stuff and somehow will fuck it all up.
That's normal.
Get your priorities in order, mate. Otherwise, we're not going far.
#thePath
Record labels (Part 6 - Final)
Labels are looking for a workhorse/pony that can consistently produce good content without any problems and in time - and with the right input - be turned into behemoths.
They look at your ability to move forward in your music career, consistently.
They want to see that you are mentally stable and without drug or alcohol problems.
That you’re taking steps, for example, hiring a vocal or a business coach. Labels see that you have a right work ethic and commitment. And it also shows that they don’t need to invest extra to coach you.
#label
Labels are looking for a workhorse/pony that can consistently produce good content without any problems and in time - and with the right input - be turned into behemoths.
They look at your ability to move forward in your music career, consistently.
They want to see that you are mentally stable and without drug or alcohol problems.
That you’re taking steps, for example, hiring a vocal or a business coach. Labels see that you have a right work ethic and commitment. And it also shows that they don’t need to invest extra to coach you.
#label
Amateur
I was at a gig over the weekend.
The highlight of the evening was a photo flash in my face. Felt like a bunch of fire needles in my eyes.
A "pro" photographer decided that it's so awesome to use a flash in a dark setting. And he did it several times.
Muthufukin amateur.
Don't be like him.
Know your shit.
I was at a gig over the weekend.
The highlight of the evening was a photo flash in my face. Felt like a bunch of fire needles in my eyes.
A "pro" photographer decided that it's so awesome to use a flash in a dark setting. And he did it several times.
Muthufukin amateur.
Don't be like him.
Know your shit.
Please add band bio, photos and social links to your Spotify page, cos it looks abandoned.
#spotify
___
Spotify playlist "Fire Death Cult" High Energy Rock'n'Roll ::: http://bit.ly/FIREDEATHCULT
#spotify
___
Spotify playlist "Fire Death Cult" High Energy Rock'n'Roll ::: http://bit.ly/FIREDEATHCULT
FB being the pro pusher that it is, made organic reach went to shitz in 2018. Now you need to pay for ads on FB to get the proper coverage.
The ads are great if you have the money. But if you’re using ads just to promote a song, album, video or event then it’s a bit inefficient use of your budget. FB still keeps your audience to itself so that you would have to pay again and again.
Instead, you need to start building your own fan base outside FB in order to communicate with your people directly. One way is to build an email list. Many ways on how to do it. One is to set up a Download Gate. It’s actually a part of a whole marketing campaign, but anyways...
“Download gates let you share downloads of your music in return for fan email addresses, likes, reposts, comments and followers on SoundCloud, Spotify, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and MixCloud”- Hypeddit.
Email address is what matters here. Basically, you give something for free in exchange for emails.
It’s a quote from Hypeddit, but you don’t need to use or pay for it. MailerLite or MailChimp already has this feature and is an email automation service in itself. So you need to use FB ads in a combo with download gates.
That’s it for now. I’ll write more on this in future posts, mate.
Like and share this post.
#onlineService #facebook #spotify #instagram #socialmedia
__________
Spotify playlist "Fire Death Cult" High Energy Rock'n'Roll ::: http://bit.ly/FIREDEATHCULT
The ads are great if you have the money. But if you’re using ads just to promote a song, album, video or event then it’s a bit inefficient use of your budget. FB still keeps your audience to itself so that you would have to pay again and again.
Instead, you need to start building your own fan base outside FB in order to communicate with your people directly. One way is to build an email list. Many ways on how to do it. One is to set up a Download Gate. It’s actually a part of a whole marketing campaign, but anyways...
“Download gates let you share downloads of your music in return for fan email addresses, likes, reposts, comments and followers on SoundCloud, Spotify, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and MixCloud”- Hypeddit.
Email address is what matters here. Basically, you give something for free in exchange for emails.
It’s a quote from Hypeddit, but you don’t need to use or pay for it. MailerLite or MailChimp already has this feature and is an email automation service in itself. So you need to use FB ads in a combo with download gates.
That’s it for now. I’ll write more on this in future posts, mate.
Like and share this post.
#onlineService #facebook #spotify #instagram #socialmedia
__________
Spotify playlist "Fire Death Cult" High Energy Rock'n'Roll ::: http://bit.ly/FIREDEATHCULT
Post-release tips
- Email your list at least once per two weeks.
- Announce your tour or, if after tour, tell how it was for you.
- Start a private Facebook group for your fan community.
- Do livestreams.
- Promote your merch.
#album #marketing
- Email your list at least once per two weeks.
- Announce your tour or, if after tour, tell how it was for you.
- Start a private Facebook group for your fan community.
- Do livestreams.
- Promote your merch.
#album #marketing
90s
This is the most 90s music video I’ve seen in a while, considering that it came out in 2020.
Soft warm picture, vhs feel, sweaters, jeans, pleasant vibe, no phones, no internet, just hanging around. And that’s just a picture.
If you grew up in the 90s, when you hear Soccer Mommy you immediately remember Natalie Imbruglia, Alanis Morissette, 4 Non Blondes etc. I won’t be surprised that these artists will re-emerge in the charts in the near future.
The 90s trend is on the rise and we should expect more Grunge like Nirvana, Skate-Punk like the Offspring and Hardcore-Pop like Backstreet Boys (for that we have K-Pop).
Everything is a remix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=95&v=DTc1w32Vbeo&feature=emb_title
#90s #branding #style
This is the most 90s music video I’ve seen in a while, considering that it came out in 2020.
Soft warm picture, vhs feel, sweaters, jeans, pleasant vibe, no phones, no internet, just hanging around. And that’s just a picture.
If you grew up in the 90s, when you hear Soccer Mommy you immediately remember Natalie Imbruglia, Alanis Morissette, 4 Non Blondes etc. I won’t be surprised that these artists will re-emerge in the charts in the near future.
The 90s trend is on the rise and we should expect more Grunge like Nirvana, Skate-Punk like the Offspring and Hardcore-Pop like Backstreet Boys (for that we have K-Pop).
Everything is a remix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=95&v=DTc1w32Vbeo&feature=emb_title
#90s #branding #style
YouTube
Soccer Mommy - circle the drain (Official Music Video)
new album 'color theory' out february 28th. pre-order it here: https://found.ee/SM_colortheory stream / download "circle the drain”: https://found.ee/SM_circ...
The Biebs
Biebs being a sneaky bugger posted instructions on his insta (now deleted) how to game Spotify, Itunes and YouTube to promote his song.
The instructions were fan-generated and break the user agreement.
This method will not work, because people at these corporations configured the algorithm to avoid such amateur tricks.
Most interesting here is a hype generation. The Biebs marketing team used the proven formula of "I gonna show you a secret", "Look here, a hidden (thing) that (organisation) don't want you to know". Used fans to participate in the collection of the trick ideas which increases the engagement. Released the material to Instagram and then deleted it, as if being under pressure.
And all of a sudden (not really) he's in the news. Even I'm writing about it, cos I follow music marketing news.
If you google Justin Bieber now, you'll see that there are scandalous news popping out in all kinds of directions featuring Biebs. All are carefully coordinated to target a certain demographic and to come out just before the release of his single, documentary and a tour later this year.
A standard marketing pre-release operation, but the execution is pretty cool.
Respect to the marketing department.
The rest is shite.
#marketing #promotion
Biebs being a sneaky bugger posted instructions on his insta (now deleted) how to game Spotify, Itunes and YouTube to promote his song.
The instructions were fan-generated and break the user agreement.
This method will not work, because people at these corporations configured the algorithm to avoid such amateur tricks.
Most interesting here is a hype generation. The Biebs marketing team used the proven formula of "I gonna show you a secret", "Look here, a hidden (thing) that (organisation) don't want you to know". Used fans to participate in the collection of the trick ideas which increases the engagement. Released the material to Instagram and then deleted it, as if being under pressure.
And all of a sudden (not really) he's in the news. Even I'm writing about it, cos I follow music marketing news.
If you google Justin Bieber now, you'll see that there are scandalous news popping out in all kinds of directions featuring Biebs. All are carefully coordinated to target a certain demographic and to come out just before the release of his single, documentary and a tour later this year.
A standard marketing pre-release operation, but the execution is pretty cool.
Respect to the marketing department.
The rest is shite.
#marketing #promotion
Content
- beginning of metaphors -
Social media is a river.
What you’re reading now is content. It’s your paper ship.
Your audience is sitting on both sides of the river chatting and eating burgers.
The more often you send your paper ship down the stream the more people will notice it.
If it’s a plain white ship with a sign “here’s what I had for breakfast” or “selfie, felt cute”, not many people will care about it. There are way too many of such plain paper ships.
But if you made a ship out of colourful paper and added some lazerz, people will notice and will want to know who sent it and when the next one is flowing again.
- end of metaphors -
You need to produce content so that people remember your band/brand, wants to hear your music when it comes out and buys your stuff to support you.
If you think what could a band publish all the time, especially without a budget check these guys and you’ll get it:
Zakk Wylde
https://www.instagram.com/zakkwyldebls/
viagra boys
https://www.instagram.com/vboysstockholm/
amyl and the sniffers
https://www.instagram.com/amylandthesniffers/
#instagram #socialmedia
- beginning of metaphors -
Social media is a river.
What you’re reading now is content. It’s your paper ship.
Your audience is sitting on both sides of the river chatting and eating burgers.
The more often you send your paper ship down the stream the more people will notice it.
If it’s a plain white ship with a sign “here’s what I had for breakfast” or “selfie, felt cute”, not many people will care about it. There are way too many of such plain paper ships.
But if you made a ship out of colourful paper and added some lazerz, people will notice and will want to know who sent it and when the next one is flowing again.
- end of metaphors -
You need to produce content so that people remember your band/brand, wants to hear your music when it comes out and buys your stuff to support you.
If you think what could a band publish all the time, especially without a budget check these guys and you’ll get it:
Zakk Wylde
https://www.instagram.com/zakkwyldebls/
viagra boys
https://www.instagram.com/vboysstockholm/
amyl and the sniffers
https://www.instagram.com/amylandthesniffers/
#instagram #socialmedia
Cassettes
I wrote that 90s are back. I started to dig.
19 January 2020 Forbes writes that audio cassettes are hot shit now.
9 November 2019 The Guardian covered the resurgence of cassette tapes.
Benefits: uniqueness, portability, tactile sensation, good audio quality, can be produced in smaller production runs than vinyl with a good price.
With a funky colourful cassette, nice cover print, transparent box and with a delivery one production unit costs 2 € + approx 2 € audio = 4 €. You can sell them for 25€-30€ as limited editions. Or you can just buy blank tapes, record and customise them at home.
Hipsters being early adopters dig tapes, so it's possible that with 90s aesthetics the tape love will become mainstream.
#merch #90s #branding #promotion
I wrote that 90s are back. I started to dig.
19 January 2020 Forbes writes that audio cassettes are hot shit now.
9 November 2019 The Guardian covered the resurgence of cassette tapes.
Benefits: uniqueness, portability, tactile sensation, good audio quality, can be produced in smaller production runs than vinyl with a good price.
With a funky colourful cassette, nice cover print, transparent box and with a delivery one production unit costs 2 € + approx 2 € audio = 4 €. You can sell them for 25€-30€ as limited editions. Or you can just buy blank tapes, record and customise them at home.
Hipsters being early adopters dig tapes, so it's possible that with 90s aesthetics the tape love will become mainstream.
#merch #90s #branding #promotion
Interceptor Beyond pinned «This blog: music industry, film business, opinions, ideas, shout outs and local stuff. ____ https://www.interceptorbeyond.com/»
FYI, nobody (including me) can see who likes/dislikes the post on Telegram, so it's all cool, mate.
#Telegram
#Telegram
Punks not dead
I see punks, I see successful branding.
The look of the punk subculture was created by Vivienne Westwood, a fashion designer, and Malcolm McLaren, an owner of a boutique shop “Sex” and the producer of the Sex Pistols.
The right people who know their shit in the right moment and today punk is a subculture.
And punk will always be associated with the Sex Pistols.
Mega successful branding for the Sex Pistols.
#style #branding
I see punks, I see successful branding.
The look of the punk subculture was created by Vivienne Westwood, a fashion designer, and Malcolm McLaren, an owner of a boutique shop “Sex” and the producer of the Sex Pistols.
The right people who know their shit in the right moment and today punk is a subculture.
And punk will always be associated with the Sex Pistols.
Mega successful branding for the Sex Pistols.
#style #branding
FB ads.
I’m not sure what this band is trying to achieve, but I don’t think it’s a wise FB ad spending.
I’m not going to Salt Lake City. I've checked “Why do I see this ad”.
Weird.
I’ve contacted the band, let’s see.
If you don’t know how FB ads work, better hire a pro, otherwise, it’s a waste of money.
#facebook
I’m not sure what this band is trying to achieve, but I don’t think it’s a wise FB ad spending.
I’m not going to Salt Lake City. I've checked “Why do I see this ad”.
Weird.
I’ve contacted the band, let’s see.
If you don’t know how FB ads work, better hire a pro, otherwise, it’s a waste of money.
Amazon and the streaming war
I’ve checked a couple of dozen of indie bands on Chartmetric and I see that most of them didn’t upload their stuff to Amazon music.
Amazon Music is expanding like a mofo. According to them, they passed 55 million subscribers. Most probably a lie, but still Amazon is a serious streaming competitor to Spotify and Apple. There’s also YouTube, but I’ll talk about it later.
Spotify is slowly focusing more on podcasts because they can put ads inside and avoid paying royalties to record labels and musicians. Later Spotify will introduce ads for musicians in way FB did and will probably increase the price of a subscription for all users when it captures all planned territories.
Upload your music to all platforms while there’s still organic reach and there’s a clear streaming battle going on between the corps.
#spotify
I’ve checked a couple of dozen of indie bands on Chartmetric and I see that most of them didn’t upload their stuff to Amazon music.
Amazon Music is expanding like a mofo. According to them, they passed 55 million subscribers. Most probably a lie, but still Amazon is a serious streaming competitor to Spotify and Apple. There’s also YouTube, but I’ll talk about it later.
Spotify is slowly focusing more on podcasts because they can put ads inside and avoid paying royalties to record labels and musicians. Later Spotify will introduce ads for musicians in way FB did and will probably increase the price of a subscription for all users when it captures all planned territories.
Upload your music to all platforms while there’s still organic reach and there’s a clear streaming battle going on between the corps.
#spotify
Spotify, again.
(hangover edition)
Spotify is testing a Stories feature. Notable influencers will have an ability to conduct Q and A with fans and post stories.
-- first impression --
Spotify says it will make it easier to find new music, i.e. (my guess) the curators with help from the fans will make better playlists.
At the same time Podcasts are getting more spotlight at Spotify corp.
In the end, there will be some kind of mix of music and podcats which people knew for years as radio. And each influencer becomes a mini radio station as we have now with online radio. And we gonna have shitloads of gatekeepers.
We already have a problematic situation with all the playlist services, curators, fake streams etc.
Later the problem will become bigger and the only way to get noticed on Spotify platform will be to buy ads.
Provide a freemium service. Get everyone hooked. Raise the price. Make them buy ads. FB all over again.
And then Disney buys Spotify.
#spotify
(hangover edition)
Spotify is testing a Stories feature. Notable influencers will have an ability to conduct Q and A with fans and post stories.
-- first impression --
Spotify says it will make it easier to find new music, i.e. (my guess) the curators with help from the fans will make better playlists.
At the same time Podcasts are getting more spotlight at Spotify corp.
In the end, there will be some kind of mix of music and podcats which people knew for years as radio. And each influencer becomes a mini radio station as we have now with online radio. And we gonna have shitloads of gatekeepers.
We already have a problematic situation with all the playlist services, curators, fake streams etc.
Later the problem will become bigger and the only way to get noticed on Spotify platform will be to buy ads.
Provide a freemium service. Get everyone hooked. Raise the price. Make them buy ads. FB all over again.
And then Disney buys Spotify.
#spotify
Stickers and GIFs
Another way to promote a band is to create stickers and gifs, especially to make them searchable on Instagram. It’s a pain in the neck to do, but once it out there, it is mega dope.
Example: search for 3teeth stickers when you create an Instagram Story.
To make them searchable you need to:
1. Create an account on giphy.com
2. Upload 5 gifs that are relevant to your brand/band
3. Get verified (takes a week)
I gonna do it myself and will tell you once it’s done.
#marketing #promotion
Another way to promote a band is to create stickers and gifs, especially to make them searchable on Instagram. It’s a pain in the neck to do, but once it out there, it is mega dope.
Example: search for 3teeth stickers when you create an Instagram Story.
To make them searchable you need to:
1. Create an account on giphy.com
2. Upload 5 gifs that are relevant to your brand/band
3. Get verified (takes a week)
I gonna do it myself and will tell you once it’s done.
#marketing #promotion
Docs
Biebs launched his documentary series “Seasons” on YouTube Originals.
There’s a new Taylor Swift’s documentary film on Netflix “Miss Americana”.
Beyonce had one last year “Homecoming” also on Netflix.
The list goes on. Most of such docs are part of a promo campaign for that artist.
But you don’t need to wait. I would suggest bands to start making some sort of a vlog. For example, documenting the creation of the new album with all the troubles that a band goes through. People love such stuff.
Yes, it takes a lot of energy, effort and time. In the beginning, it is tough, but later it becomes automatic. And it solves the problem of content creation for a band and gathers your audience before you released anything.
#marketing #promotion
Biebs launched his documentary series “Seasons” on YouTube Originals.
There’s a new Taylor Swift’s documentary film on Netflix “Miss Americana”.
Beyonce had one last year “Homecoming” also on Netflix.
The list goes on. Most of such docs are part of a promo campaign for that artist.
But you don’t need to wait. I would suggest bands to start making some sort of a vlog. For example, documenting the creation of the new album with all the troubles that a band goes through. People love such stuff.
Yes, it takes a lot of energy, effort and time. In the beginning, it is tough, but later it becomes automatic. And it solves the problem of content creation for a band and gathers your audience before you released anything.
#marketing #promotion