World Star Hip Hop Exposed! Pt. 1
This is crazzzzzzy. It just goes to show that you don't always get what you pay for, and people aren't always getting paid as much (or getting as much exposure) as it seems.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
World Star Hip Hop Exposed! Pt. 1
World Star Hip Hop Exposed! Pt. 1
This is crazzzzzzy. It just goes to show that you don't always get what you pay for, and people aren't always getting paid as much (or getting as much exposure) as it seems.
This is crazzzzzzy. It just goes to show that you don't always get what you pay for, and people aren't always getting paid as much (or getting as much exposure) as it seems.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Being Humble as a New Artist- SpeakYourMusic.com
February 6th, 2009 by Eric Phillipson
The following is an article I wrote for Street Knowledge Entertainment’s Knowledge Blog. It’s regarding the importance of being humble in the music industry.
——————————————
Being Humble as a New Artist
Eric Phillipson of SpeakYourMusic.com
New artist’s listen up! We need you! The industry needs you! You need you! Over the years, through the declining industry, there is one trend that I’ve seen grow more and more. That is the disappearance of the humble artist and the larger and larger presence of the big-ego artist. It’s not that I don’t understand your swag or the fact that you’re the artist. I get that. What I don’t understand is all of the hating going on in the industry.
I can’t tell you how many artists I once worked with (keyword: once) who felt that they were above others when it came to certain promotional tactics or just working with some people. Now I’m not talking about your somewhat established people, I’m talking about the ones who are trying to build a fan base or who are not yet making money off of this music they love (by the way, check out Q’s post on giving your music away for free). These are the artists that need to come down, be humble, and take the “all promotion is good promotion” road.
Now being humble applies to many different things, these are what I’m going to cover:
-Management
-Promotion
-Fans
-Networking
The first one I want to talk about is management. I see a lot of artists who hear that they should get a manager and then don’t even use them. When someone wants to book a show, they give them their number or book the show themselves; they cut their “manager” out of all of their deals. Don’t do that. If you tell someone that they can be your manager, set up an agreement for compensation, and let them be your manager. It’s aggravating when you’re told to manage someone so you put effort into them only to have them start cutting you out of the deals. The being humble part comes into play just off of the simple fact that you need to trust your manager if you’re going to have one. If you don’t trust them, get a new one. Management is there to take a load off of you so you can focus on making music, and take yourself to the next level.
The next thing I want to talk about is being humble in the promotions you do. I’ve seen brand new artists, who had no buzz in an area, who were not willing to go out and hand out CD’s or hang up fliers for a few hours during a late-night promo run. That has to stop! If you have no buzz, you need to pull all stops and get out there and get yourself a name until you get to the point where you can hire street team help to handle that for you. I know there are tons of artists who feel that lying about their fan base will bring in more fans or add to their swag; it won’t. If you know you have no buzz in an area, be honest with yourself and get out there! If people haven’t heard of you at all, they will be more willing to listen to you if you’re actually out there rather than having someone else out there trying to pitch your music.
The fans! Answer every single one of them. Even something as simple as “thank you” is perfect. I’m talking to the people who get the MySpace messages or the Emails or have a few people come up to them after a show. Not the ones who have mobs of people coming up to you. There are too many artists who get sidetracked and read messages from fans without ever replying. You’d be surprised how much fans are willing to promote artists who are willing to recognize them. By the way, make sure people who receive your CD’s during handouts can contact you! Just set up a “fan” Email address and slip it inside of your CD’s so that fans can contact you. Fan mail is always a rewarding feeling.
The final aspect of being humble that I want to talk about is being humble while networking. I’ve known some artists who don’t give others who are trying to come up the time of day. I’m not even talking about on an artist level either. Don’t always try to network with bigger people, sometimes networking with others who are trying to come up will work wonders for you. Be sure to network with people coming up in other aspects of the entertainment industry, not just music. For example, network with new clothing companies, people breaking into acting, graphic artists, TV people, people who are trying to start their own next big website, people who are trying to break into radio, etc. Some of these people are bound to do great things, and even those who don’t become huge will still be willing to help as long as you can help them. Plus, these people would love for you to support their new ventures and it always looks good when you are sponsored by someone.
In the end, being humble as a new artist can take you far. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are some fake people out there who will try to take advantage of you, just always be sure to check your ego and remain a humble person, you never know who you might meet because of it.
——————————————
Be sure to check out Street Knowledge Entertainment home to Philly based artist Trel Mack.
-Eric Phillipson
The following is an article I wrote for Street Knowledge Entertainment’s Knowledge Blog. It’s regarding the importance of being humble in the music industry.
——————————————
Being Humble as a New Artist
Eric Phillipson of SpeakYourMusic.com
New artist’s listen up! We need you! The industry needs you! You need you! Over the years, through the declining industry, there is one trend that I’ve seen grow more and more. That is the disappearance of the humble artist and the larger and larger presence of the big-ego artist. It’s not that I don’t understand your swag or the fact that you’re the artist. I get that. What I don’t understand is all of the hating going on in the industry.
I can’t tell you how many artists I once worked with (keyword: once) who felt that they were above others when it came to certain promotional tactics or just working with some people. Now I’m not talking about your somewhat established people, I’m talking about the ones who are trying to build a fan base or who are not yet making money off of this music they love (by the way, check out Q’s post on giving your music away for free). These are the artists that need to come down, be humble, and take the “all promotion is good promotion” road.
Now being humble applies to many different things, these are what I’m going to cover:
-Management
-Promotion
-Fans
-Networking
The first one I want to talk about is management. I see a lot of artists who hear that they should get a manager and then don’t even use them. When someone wants to book a show, they give them their number or book the show themselves; they cut their “manager” out of all of their deals. Don’t do that. If you tell someone that they can be your manager, set up an agreement for compensation, and let them be your manager. It’s aggravating when you’re told to manage someone so you put effort into them only to have them start cutting you out of the deals. The being humble part comes into play just off of the simple fact that you need to trust your manager if you’re going to have one. If you don’t trust them, get a new one. Management is there to take a load off of you so you can focus on making music, and take yourself to the next level.
The next thing I want to talk about is being humble in the promotions you do. I’ve seen brand new artists, who had no buzz in an area, who were not willing to go out and hand out CD’s or hang up fliers for a few hours during a late-night promo run. That has to stop! If you have no buzz, you need to pull all stops and get out there and get yourself a name until you get to the point where you can hire street team help to handle that for you. I know there are tons of artists who feel that lying about their fan base will bring in more fans or add to their swag; it won’t. If you know you have no buzz in an area, be honest with yourself and get out there! If people haven’t heard of you at all, they will be more willing to listen to you if you’re actually out there rather than having someone else out there trying to pitch your music.
The fans! Answer every single one of them. Even something as simple as “thank you” is perfect. I’m talking to the people who get the MySpace messages or the Emails or have a few people come up to them after a show. Not the ones who have mobs of people coming up to you. There are too many artists who get sidetracked and read messages from fans without ever replying. You’d be surprised how much fans are willing to promote artists who are willing to recognize them. By the way, make sure people who receive your CD’s during handouts can contact you! Just set up a “fan” Email address and slip it inside of your CD’s so that fans can contact you. Fan mail is always a rewarding feeling.
The final aspect of being humble that I want to talk about is being humble while networking. I’ve known some artists who don’t give others who are trying to come up the time of day. I’m not even talking about on an artist level either. Don’t always try to network with bigger people, sometimes networking with others who are trying to come up will work wonders for you. Be sure to network with people coming up in other aspects of the entertainment industry, not just music. For example, network with new clothing companies, people breaking into acting, graphic artists, TV people, people who are trying to start their own next big website, people who are trying to break into radio, etc. Some of these people are bound to do great things, and even those who don’t become huge will still be willing to help as long as you can help them. Plus, these people would love for you to support their new ventures and it always looks good when you are sponsored by someone.
In the end, being humble as a new artist can take you far. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are some fake people out there who will try to take advantage of you, just always be sure to check your ego and remain a humble person, you never know who you might meet because of it.
——————————————
Be sure to check out Street Knowledge Entertainment home to Philly based artist Trel Mack.
-Eric Phillipson
What’s a Network Without Fans?- SpeakYourMusic.com
March 2nd, 2009 by Eric Phillipson
speakyourmusic.com
While networking is very important to the sustainability and creation of any career, one must never forget the importance of actually going out and finding your fans.
I’ve been in and out of being sick the past couple of weeks so please excuse me.
Here’s a quick video for ya on the importance of chasing your fans:
Have a great day!
-Eric Phillipson
speakyourmusic.com
While networking is very important to the sustainability and creation of any career, one must never forget the importance of actually going out and finding your fans.
I’ve been in and out of being sick the past couple of weeks so please excuse me.
Here’s a quick video for ya on the importance of chasing your fans:
Have a great day!
-Eric Phillipson
Tips for effective street teaming and music promotion
by E.D. Cameron
Street teams are one of the most affordable, effective methods for promoting your music. By getting together a group of fans and volunteers, you can save your energy for other aspects while ensuring that word is getting out about your band.
In exchange for all their hard work, you can also maintain your fans by offering freebies: stickers, buttons, tee shirts, singles and other items.
I have broken down this article in to two main sections to help provide an action plan to keep you organized, and an idea well to be the source of inspiration for your street team. Having both items will provide a great foundation by which to lead a street team efficiently and see returns.
Action Plan:
1. Draft an idea of your goals for the next year, and break up into three month increments. Do you want to increase live show attendance by 10%? Sell 5% more merch? Make your goals attainable, and clear.
2. Based on your goals, identify your current promotional strengths and weaknesses. Do you produce great posters, but seem to never have time to put them up? Are you better at e-mailing than phone calling?
3. Use info from #1 and #2 to create a specific plan of attack. If you want to sell more merch, but suck at face to face interaction you might need a street team to do the door to doors at record shops and other stores.
4. Split plan of attack into committees, and list job details, approximate time per week or month, and any other pertinent info a fan might want to know.
5. Post committees, send out to e-mail lists, and in general promote opportunities.
6. Create a database to store pertinent information about your street team members (name, phone number, e-mail, availability, any geographic issues (neighborhood), committee interest, what free gear you've given (or promised)).
7. Establish e-mail lists for different committees. Also establish a general link and e-mail list so that you can let other fans know when you need some help.
8. Get to it! Make sure to keep records of what folks are doing.
9. Run some analysis after a month. Did you see any increases in the target areas? If not, try doing step #1-#3 again.
10. Remember to always thank your street team with lots of free stuff, verbal thank yous, and other recognition!
Promote Here:
1. Radio stations. A lot of them now have request lines on their websites. Provide a list of local stations that do, and enlist everyone on your street team list to request your music.
2. Flyer posting. The best strategy here is to post flyers in spots of high visibility, or where people stand around waiting (like bus stops, cinema lines, smoking areas, etc). Windows of shops are also a great place for effective flyering. Make a list of your top spots, and have designated street team members who claim a geography. Then you can easily have someone flyer for each show without asking them to run around all over town.
This is great for out of town gigs, too!
3. Postcards. Offer postcards or other promo material for street teams to hand out at specific events: street fairs, concerts, and festivals are a great place to get the word out.
4. House parties. Borrow from the politicos, who often get folks to have house parties as fundraisers. Get street team members to host a house party where you can play at and network with fans. This is especially great for teenagers, who can't go to 21+ shows.
5. Jukeboxes. A lot of bars/taverns still have them. Have street team solicit your genre-friendly establishments and request to put your cd in or have it uploaded.
6. Find out who is a great writer among your fanbase, and have them submit reviews of your material, or post to blogs, websites, or myspace pages.
7. Ask everyone to use your song as a default on their myspace pages.
8. Wear your gear, post your stickers. Give them free tees, buttons, and stickers and your fans will be giving you free advertising.
9. Have folks network with local businesses where target markets might hang. Ask them to use your music as a default on their website, or have them play it in store (in exchange for a link, or a cd on the counter saying 'now playing'.) In return, you might give that business a link on your page, or a shout out at your next event.
10. Tap in to other media. Anyone making an indie film, youtube spot, or run the local high school video department. Get them to use your music!
http://www.helium.com/items/792266-tips-for-effective-street-teaming-and-music-promotion
Street teams are one of the most affordable, effective methods for promoting your music. By getting together a group of fans and volunteers, you can save your energy for other aspects while ensuring that word is getting out about your band.
In exchange for all their hard work, you can also maintain your fans by offering freebies: stickers, buttons, tee shirts, singles and other items.
I have broken down this article in to two main sections to help provide an action plan to keep you organized, and an idea well to be the source of inspiration for your street team. Having both items will provide a great foundation by which to lead a street team efficiently and see returns.
Action Plan:
1. Draft an idea of your goals for the next year, and break up into three month increments. Do you want to increase live show attendance by 10%? Sell 5% more merch? Make your goals attainable, and clear.
2. Based on your goals, identify your current promotional strengths and weaknesses. Do you produce great posters, but seem to never have time to put them up? Are you better at e-mailing than phone calling?
3. Use info from #1 and #2 to create a specific plan of attack. If you want to sell more merch, but suck at face to face interaction you might need a street team to do the door to doors at record shops and other stores.
4. Split plan of attack into committees, and list job details, approximate time per week or month, and any other pertinent info a fan might want to know.
5. Post committees, send out to e-mail lists, and in general promote opportunities.
6. Create a database to store pertinent information about your street team members (name, phone number, e-mail, availability, any geographic issues (neighborhood), committee interest, what free gear you've given (or promised)).
7. Establish e-mail lists for different committees. Also establish a general link and e-mail list so that you can let other fans know when you need some help.
8. Get to it! Make sure to keep records of what folks are doing.
9. Run some analysis after a month. Did you see any increases in the target areas? If not, try doing step #1-#3 again.
10. Remember to always thank your street team with lots of free stuff, verbal thank yous, and other recognition!
Promote Here:
1. Radio stations. A lot of them now have request lines on their websites. Provide a list of local stations that do, and enlist everyone on your street team list to request your music.
2. Flyer posting. The best strategy here is to post flyers in spots of high visibility, or where people stand around waiting (like bus stops, cinema lines, smoking areas, etc). Windows of shops are also a great place for effective flyering. Make a list of your top spots, and have designated street team members who claim a geography. Then you can easily have someone flyer for each show without asking them to run around all over town.
This is great for out of town gigs, too!
3. Postcards. Offer postcards or other promo material for street teams to hand out at specific events: street fairs, concerts, and festivals are a great place to get the word out.
4. House parties. Borrow from the politicos, who often get folks to have house parties as fundraisers. Get street team members to host a house party where you can play at and network with fans. This is especially great for teenagers, who can't go to 21+ shows.
5. Jukeboxes. A lot of bars/taverns still have them. Have street team solicit your genre-friendly establishments and request to put your cd in or have it uploaded.
6. Find out who is a great writer among your fanbase, and have them submit reviews of your material, or post to blogs, websites, or myspace pages.
7. Ask everyone to use your song as a default on their myspace pages.
8. Wear your gear, post your stickers. Give them free tees, buttons, and stickers and your fans will be giving you free advertising.
9. Have folks network with local businesses where target markets might hang. Ask them to use your music as a default on their website, or have them play it in store (in exchange for a link, or a cd on the counter saying 'now playing'.) In return, you might give that business a link on your page, or a shout out at your next event.
10. Tap in to other media. Anyone making an indie film, youtube spot, or run the local high school video department. Get them to use your music!
http://www.helium.com/items/792266-tips-for-effective-street-teaming-and-music-promotion
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Welcome to Promotions 101
Welcome to Promotions 101, the top blog source for music marketing and promotions!
Stay tuned for updates and blog postings... coming soon!
Stay tuned for updates and blog postings... coming soon!
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