June

Business IS Personal: Building a Loyal Fanbase

Posted In: Band Management, Career Building, Marketing & Promotion, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

Whoever said “it’s not personal, it’s business,” didn’t live in the Web 2.0 generation. Web 2.0 is changing the face of the internet. It’s also changing the face of the way we do business–the way we ALL do business–from big corporations to the independent musician. It has expanded the fishbowl society to include not only celebrities, but to also include you and me. Now, people are taking an interest in the personal lives of others, and many people embrace that concern and garnered attention.

How does the fishbowl society affect you as an independent musician or band? Quite simply, the more you let fans into your personal life, then the more those fans feel intimately connected with you. That “intimacy” serves to increase the loyalty of your fan base. Fans want to know that they are more than just a CD or a concert ticket; they want to feel like you care about them as much as they care about you. After all, as cliche as it sounds, if it wasn’t for the fans, musicians would be out of a job. Not to say that CD sales and concert tickets aren’t how we as musicians make a living; however, the more you can connect with them on a personal level, the more likely they are to want to buy your albums or attend your shows. Now, let’s explore some ways to build fan loyalty:

Blogging
Fans what to know what you’re up to. They want to know that you’re real people with real lives. One way to let them into your world is with blogging. Given the number of bands on MySpace, I’m surprised by how few of them use the blog feaure. If you’re on tour, consider a “road journal” where you tell about your shows or interesting things that you do or see on your tour. If you’re recording a new album, blog about your the recording process or about the songs. Understandably, we all lead busy lives, so microblogging is a great choice. These allow you to post short status updates and links. Facebook has taken a turn toward microblogging its status updates. Sites like Twitter allow you to post updates from your cell phone via text message. Above all, encourage your fans to participate with their comments.

Meet & Greet
Fans also want to know you’re approachable. After each show, be sure to hang out at your merchandise table for a meet and greet session with the fans. Take time to sign CDs and pose for pictures. At least shake hands and treat them like real people. There’s nothing more tragic than seeing a loyal, adoring fan get snubbed by an artist or band.

Giveaways
Fans want to know you care. Don’t be afraid to give something away for nothing. In truth, you are getting something in return: you’re building loyalty. Offer a free CD or concert ticket to people to sign up for your mailing list. Post it on your blog or website as well as on your mailing list. This will encourage more fans to visit and participate.

These are just a few ideas. Feel free to drop a comment with your own!

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June

25

Are You Doing One Thing Daily to Further Your Musical Career?

Posted In: Career Building, Marketing & Promotion, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

We all lead busy lives. Unless you’ve crossed over into doing music full-time, it can be difficult to balance other activities like work, family, or school with your goals as a professional musician. However, it is possible to do at least ONE career-minded action each day, no matter how small they seem. Here are 20 simple ideas:

Update your social media (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter)
Give your business card to someone
Write down an original song idea
Write a new song
Read an article about music
Email your mailing list about your recent show
Post a new blog
Comment on another musician’s blog
Participate in a music forum
Take a look at other bands’ sites to see how you can imrove your own
Call one venue or club about booking
Give your demo to someone
Post a flyer in your local music store
Make a list of new songs to learn
Start learning a new song
Sign up for (and attend) a music conference
Listen to a new band’s CD
Go hear another band’s live show
Record a short song demo
Ask friends and family to help spread the word about your band

Be sure to comment with your ideas. Now go get ‘em!

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June

21

Creative Ways to Make a Living with Music (Part 1)

Posted In: Career Building, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

I was having lunch the other day with some very good friends of mine from a quite successful band. They’re currently signed to a prominent record label and are touring all over the country. They were even up for a Grammy and a Dove this year. They stay so busy that they’re usually difficult to catch, so getting a chance to talk over lunch was a rare treat indeed. Despite all of their success, one part of the conversation in particular really struck me. I asked how things were going, to which one of the members jokingly replied, “Great. Now if we can just figure out how to make a living at it!”

Different folks measure success in different ways. There’s enjoying doing what you love to do. There’s being good at something you enjoy. And, yes, there’s monetary success. Even when it comes to money, some deem success strictly as becoming wealthy. Others, still, feel successful just by making a decent enough income to support a family by doing what they love. All of these are valid. But it doesn’t take a record deal to make a living with your music. Quite often, it’s the indie musician or band that walks away with the most money in his/her pocket, simply because there are fewer fingers in the pie. So, record deals and touring aside, here are some creative ways to earn a living with music:

Teaching Private Lessons

Although it may seem obvious, many musicians forget about the potential of taking on private students. Even doing lessons one afternoon/evening per week can bring in some nice spending money. Teaching can also be quite rewarding if you have the patience and a desire to see others learn. If you have a music stand and the extra space (for instance a corner of the living room, or an extra room in the house), you probably have all you need to teach private lessons.

Session Musician

If you have access to recording equipment and a high-speed internet connection, you probably have the capability to do remote session recording. For a guitarist, a laptop with a decent audio interface, some recording software, and a POD by Line6 (all comments from tone snobs aside) is enough to get you started. The odds are even more in your favor if you’re a vocalist–just replace the POD with a microphone. If you’re doing limited tracks, which usually you would be, there are free options available if you’re in need of recording software. Digidesign has a free version of ProTools that’s limited to eight channels. Kristal Audio Engine is an open source multi-track recording sofware. Audacity from SoundForge is also open source.

When you begin your session work, you will usually receive a guide track via an mp3 file. You will record your track, then send the instrument track back to the client. Unless you mail the client your files on a CD, a high-speed internet connection is almost a necessity. If you have FTP, you can upload the files directly to the client’s server. Otherwise, there are other great online options such as YouSendIt and ProAudioBus. A great place to get started doing remote session work is Studiotraxx.com. They have a great all-in-one system.

Here are some great options I recommend for getting equipped to do remote session recording:

Music Copyist

For musicians who have a strong understand standard musical notation and music theory, then a music copyist may be a viable opportunity. Copyists produce neat copies of a composer’s or arranger’s score from his or her original manuscripts. While this practice was once done by hand, now, with the advent of scoring software, musicians and copyists have the ability to create professional looking sheet music on their home computer. If you write songs or compose your own music, then sheet music opens up an entirely new market for your music. Here are links to some great notation software:

Continue on to Creative Ways to Make a Living with Music (Part 2)!

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