The Seven Essentials to Writing A Press Release

The Seven Essentials to Writing A Press Release
It’s your connection to your audience: conveying your brand, your event, and your story
By Michele Wilson-Morris

Working in the music industry has its perks, privileges, and pains as anyone who works in it knows. No matter what your genre is, one thing remains the same for all artists: You need to bring attention to yourself, your music, and your events. And while there are several ways to do so, few are as effective (in terms of cost or exposure) as a well written press release.

Writing a press release may prove to be a challenge to those whose focus is solely on their musical ability and efforts, but it doesn’t have to be. There’s an art to writing a good press release just like there’s an art to making good music. In fact, a well written press release is simply you on paper. There are many tricks to the trade, and I’m going to share some of several of them with you: The Seven Essentials of Press Release Writing.

Essential #1: “Who, What, When, Where, and Why?”
A good press release must clearly convey who is doing what and when, where it’s happening, and why. Your target audience is much more likely to be responsive if you included answers to all of the above. When I write press releases for Mi2N-PRESS, I never leave room for “guesswork.” Plain and simple: If people have to guess about any information that should be included in the press release, then you haven’t done your work.

Essential #2: “Less Is More”
When you’re writing a press release and answering the what, where, when and why, remember that less is more. Not less information, but fewer words. Short, detailed sentences are best. Think about it. If you’re running from one performance to another, meeting with your agent, writing lyrics or music, talking with your promoter AND trying to squeeze 3 square meals, family, and far too few hours of sleep into your the day as most of us are, then you know that time is precious. Your press release should take into account the fact people are a lot less likely to read a press release that’s much longer than one page. As President Thomas Jefferson said, “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” And if neither of those reasons convinces you, just know this: media professionals (like most of us) are fundamentally lazy. They don’t want to do any more research than they have to.

Essential #3: “The Early Bird Gets the Worm”
If you haven’t grabbed your target audience’s attention by the end of paragraph one, you’ve probably lost the opportunity to do so. People simply don’t have time to wait for fluff. If they want more information than what you’ve given them in the first paragraph about that CD that you are releasing in January, 2010 in Europe (because you performed live on a famous radio show and were so well liked, the rest was history), then you’ve put out a good “hook” and now they’ve “taken the bait”. Now you need to “real them in.”

Essential #4: “Thou Shalt Not Lie”
One thing that writers and music professionals are able to do is to quickly spot a press release that has been, shall we say “highly exaggerated”. It’s just as important to be known for being credible than it is for making great music. Submitting a press release that contains false or misleading information is just as bad as lip syncing at your “live performance.” If you don’t believe me, just ask Milli Vanilli.

Essential #5: “Spice, Please”
Use audio and video links whenever possible. While press releases are most certainly a business document, that doesn’t mean it has to be a boring document. Capture your reader’s attention with a photograph or an audio URL. People like to be entertained. We like our food, cars, and homes to be aesthetically pleasing, and we like our press releases that way as well.

Essential #6: “Quotes: He Said, She Said…
One way to infuse life into your press release is to incorporate a quote. Find a good quote that is relevant to your press release and use it. Remember the favorable press you received by that infamous reviewer who has critiqued your CD or been to your concert and written about it favorably? Dig it out, and quote them. It’s an endorsement of you and your music.

Essential #7: “In The Beginning…”
The title of your press release is especially important as it is the first thing one sees and the scale that will be used to measure their interest in actually reading your press release or moving on to the next one. A good title is as important as having an M.C. who can get the crowd fired up about you before you even hit the stage. It has to be both interesting and informative.

Obviously, a lot of work goes into writing a great press release. But it’s definitely within your reach if you utilize the essentials outlined above. With online marketing being more important than ever before because of social networking sites, blogs, and countless other sources of music buzz, you have to put your best foot forward with your press release. It’s your connection to your audience: conveying your brand, your music, and your story. It’s also important to have it distributed to your target audience and as many appropriate sites as possible within the industry. Choose your distribution service carefully. Make sure that they have a reputation for being a trusted news source and a large enough dissemination to make it worth your investment.

Quite applicable to this topic, I’ll leave you with this quote: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” Seneca (3 BC – 65 AD)

Written By : Michele Wilson-Morris

Michele Wilson-Morris is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and formerly the Marketing & Communications Director for Tag It, the former parent company of Mi2N and MusicDish e-zines. She graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1991 with a B.S. in Business Administration, and has held a variety of professional corporate positions since that time.

www.musicdish.com

Your Music Video

Animoto enables you to use your own photos and video clips to produce TV & film-quality music videos in just minutes. These video clips and photos are perfect for your bands EPK package. They can also be used to keep your fans entertained between album releases while you document your local shows and tours.

Video Submissions: Animoto supplies a cost effective editing application for video submissions for the college market (www.naca.org) NACA requires a 3min video submission to be accepted to showcase at their regional events. Make sure you’ve got the most compelling booth at your next convention by showcasing your product or service as show-stopping video. DVD-quality Animoto videos look stunning on any screen!

Enhance Your Website: Make your website more compelling with video that showcases new product launches, special events, holiday or seasonal specials, or simply create videos that feature your staff or your customers. Help your e-newsletter go viral: Add video to your e-newsletter and create a marketing tool that your audience will want to read and share.

Simply upload your media & music as the soundtrack to your video. Animoto will then analyze every nuance of the song, producing a totally unique video each time. No two videos are ever the same. Videos can then be e-mailed, downloaded, exported to YouTube, burned to DVD, and placed on your website, blog or MySpace.

Animoto’s founders have produced shows for MTV, Comedy Central & ABC, studied classical music in London, played in rock bands in Seattle and developed software in Japan. They have developed a patent-pending, Cinematic Artificial Intelligence that thinks like an actual editor and director.

User Referrals:

“Hey, I have to say this is simply amazing! I play in a band and this really comes in handy. I can do anything from promo vids, flyers, or just a simple music video with pictures. This site is one the greater things of 2007.”
- Fabian R

“As a video producer in a former life, I was honestly blown away at the quality of the video produced.”
- Michelle Maltais, Los Angeles Times

“You people ROCK. I have never been so excited about a new online photo-based service before… I can’t wait to see what new tricks are up your sleeve.”
- Randy P.

“I sent my videos to around 40 people, and all I heard were these words: awesome, amazing, really cool… Keep up the good work!”
- Mary B.

“This web tool… is awesome! It is the hottest, buzz-worthy piece of water-cooler talk in my office. Love it!”
- Jason D.

Animoto Wins at the 2008 SXSW Interactive Web Awards

Animoto takes first prize in the Film/TV category.

http://www.animoto.com

Cyber PR Music Campaigns

Cyber PR Music Campaigns
By Ariel Publicity

Are you ready to reach the next level of success with your music, but you’re just not sure what it’s going to take to give your career the boost it needs?

You may be wondering how to get your music in front of people who can generate enough buzz to attract a huge audience of loyal fans, increase your bottom line and give you more time to do what you love… making music.

Well… I have a suggestion that may very well be the boost you’re looking for.

But first, let me ask you:

• Are you interested in getting your music heard and reviewed by today’s new media trendsetters?

• What if your music was consistently played and promoted on internet radio stations and podcasts as well as written about on influential blogs?

• Would it be worth your while to build a supportive relationship with new media trendsetters AND get your music exposed to thousands of passionate music fans?

• And what if you could amp up your music sales by applying the secrets held by multi-millionaire Internet marketers to all your online promotions and sales?

If this sparks your interest, let me turn you on to Cyber PR Music Campaigns by Ariel Publicity.

Cyber PR Music Campaigns offer the most effective, systematic way to get your music in front of online trendsetters and news makers, specifically bloggers, podcasters and internet radio stations. These are the media makers who can promote your music to a worldwide audience of potential fans.

But that’s not all! Every Campaign includes a step-by-step program and coaching on how to strategically use social media and Internet marketing tactics to build your fan-base and maximize your potential sales.

http://www.arielpublicity.com

When you launch a Cyber PR Campaign, you will:

• Get your music heard, reviewed and played by popular bloggers, podcasters and internet radio stations so your music saturates cyberspace… and music lovers everywhere are listening to YOU.

• Attract an ever-expanding audience of enthusiastic fans who love your music… and buy your music and merch.

• Expand and deepen your online presence so you pop up prominently in Google searches.

• Systematically increase your influence online by making the most of all social media and social networking (without feeling overwhelmed or intimidated).

• Interact and solidify relationships with those who can make a difference in your sucesss.

• Leverage every positive review, radio play or blog comment into powerful publicity.

So, maybe it’s time to stop guessing at what it’s going to take to succeed in this crazy music business and start a Campaign that can do just that. There are three different Campaign packages to choose from, so check them out and get your music career in gear!

http://www.arielpublicity.com

The Case for Online-Only Promotion

The Case for Online-Only Promotion
By Brian Hazard
Huntington Beach, CA

Click to Listen

I promote to establish and nurture a genuine relationship with my fans. I measure my success by the number of subscribers to my mailing list. Notice I said mailing list, not Twitter followers or MySpace “friends.” I’m talking about the people who grant me permission through a double opt-in process to email them directly on a regular and consistent basis. Right now there are just over a thousand, but there are plenty more out there who might love my music if they heard it. So how do we reach those potential fans?

In the pre-Web 2.0 days, you’d court a label, or if you were really adventurous, you’d hire a PR firm yourself. The PR firm would leverage their relationships with press and radio, which in turn maintain relationships with their audiences. That left you three degrees removed from your potential fans, the vast majority of whom you’d never hear from. Today, social networking allows us to cut out the middlemen and establish those relationships directly. Let’s dispel a couple of myths:

1. It’s all about exposure. My bullshit detector goes off whenever I hear the word “exposure.” It’s nebulous and generally worthless. I’ve spent a lot of time and money courting press and radio, resulting in bucket loads of “exposure” but few sales or follow-up contacts. While “you never know” who might be listening or reading, chances are good that nothing will come of it. The best promotions are targeted to as specific an audience as possible.




2. You need to impress the gatekeepers. No, you really don’t. You’re better off letting them come to you. Bloggers, DJs, music supervisors, labels, and the rest of the industry want to discover you for themselves. Grow your fanbase and the rest will follow. I know that may seem counterintuitive, but one small leap of faith could save you years of rejection and frustration. It is my sincere belief that lasting success comes from the bottom up.

While your goals may be different from mine, they probably involve more fans and more money. You already communicate with your fans and sell your music online, perhaps exclusively. It’s difficult and in some cases impossible to convert an offline fan into an online one, so why waste your energy? Promote where the action is: online.

Let me be clear – I’m not suggesting Dave Matthews stop touring and start blogging instead (he should do both). While you may consider your live show or your latest album to be the best promotion of all, performing and making records is what musicians do. For the purposes of this discussion, the term “promotion” refers to the many non-musical efforts you make to raise awareness of your music.

You might feel like you need to promote both offline and online to “cover your bases,” but there are an infinite number of bases to cover! You’ll never run out of things to do online: your web site, blog, podcast, remix competition, iPhone app, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr,  iMixes, thesixtyone, Jango, Stereofame, Last.fm, OurStage, Pandora, Amazon, iLike, Podsafe Network, ccMixter, Blip.fm, Music Xray, Bandcamp, and a hundred others.

Of course, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. There’s no point in setting up profiles you aren’t going to maintain. A web presence is not enough – you have to actively promote. You’ll need to come up with your own promo combo platter and make it part of your regular diet. I’m busy recording a new album, so my bare bones routine consists of regular updates to my mailing list, blog, Facebook, and Twitter, plus a daily check-in at www.thesixtyone.com

http://passivepromotion.com/

http://colortheory.com/

http://www.myspace.com/colortheory

Brian’s Recommendations:

1. 6 Steps to Songwriting Success by Jason Blume

2. Favorite piece of gear: Ableton Live

3. One thing he can’t live on the road without: Kindle

Let the 2010 Indie Bible Work for You

The Indie Bible lists thousands of places where you can get your music reviewed and your songs played on the radio.  ALL genres of music are covered!

2010 is your year to take your music career in your own hands. No more waiting for that record deal, manager or booking agent to get things done for you. You need to get your music heard in order to obtain all three of those goals alone. The 2010 Indie Bible gives you the tools and resources you need to get your music heard today.

The contacts listed are music reviewers and radio personalities from around the world that will listen to your music, and if they like it, will present it to their readers and listeners. The Indie Bible shows you where to promote your music, regardless of your musical style, and will save you months of valuable time!

The Indie Bible is over 330 pages and contains:

• 4000 publications from around the world that will REVIEW your CD!
• 3200 radio stations from around the world that will PLAY your songs!
• 500 vendors and services that will help you to SELL your music!
• 200 sites where you can UPLOAD your band’s music files!
• 500 useful resources to help PROMOTE your band!
• Over 50 articles that will help your career to MOVE forward rapidly! Authors include Tim Sweeney, Daylle Deanna Schwartz, Jeri Goldstein, Brian Austin Whitney, Derek Sivers, Diane Rapaport, Janet Fisher, Jodi Krangle, Lord Litter and many more!

Click Here and Pick up your Indie Bible to support HeadAboveMusic!

Quotes:

“It’s SOOOOOO good! I just got it last week, and I’m amazed! A must for anyone wanting to spread their music – everywhere!!”
-Derek Sivers, CD Baby

“The Indie Bible is far and away the most comprehensive resource for getting exposure for your music on the Internet”
-Daylle Deanna Schwartz, author of The Real Deal: How to Get Signed to a Record Label from A to Z and Start & Run Your Own Record Label

“The Indie Bible is the ultimate resource for the independent musician. It is organized, in-depth and current, and there is nothing out there like it! Keep it within reach and your business will benefit.”
-Jeri Goldstein author of How To Be Your Own Booking Agent

“I was looking through the Indie Bible again last night and I have to tell you how big a fan I am of it!!!! I think it should be a necessary acquisition for every indie band looking to get their music out there”
-Carolyn Ballen, The Indie Music Forum

With the rise in popularity of The Indie Bible, David will go down in the annals of music history as a true folk hero and trailblazer for the Independent music industry”
-Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck, Music Dish

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR MUSIC INTO FILM AND TV?

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR MUSIC INTO FILM AND TV?
By Gooding Kingdom

Click to Listen

Welcome brave souls.

I am an independent musician who has proudly played over 600 shows in 60 cities. I have done countless radio and tv interviews and built my own indie label, publishing and licensing company brick by brick. I have placed over 100 songs in films and television programs including The Matrix: Revisited and Animatrix, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, DVD’s of Nip/Tuck, The Closer, Ice Age 2, We Are Marshall and recently helped with the sonic re-branding of CNN, CNN international and PBS through Expansion Team NYC. I have accomplished this without corporate or major label support through a decade of borrowing, begging and stealing (i.e. writing, recording, saying yes to every live show I can play, making calls, asking questions, and generally showing up and soaking up everything I can). I also accomplished some of this long before moving to LA from Kansas. With major label funding becoming a thing of the past, more and more artists are asking how I landed placements in film and TV. Here are some of the things I have done over the years; I hope they save you some time and money.

RESOURCES

I put these first as they include the nuts and bolts of sync and master licensing which I will not be covering here. We are going into this conversation assuming you have registered with a PRO (Performing Rights Organization) like BMI, ASCAP or SESAC. If you don’t know what this is, definitely read the suggested books listed below and get signed up so you will receive royalties if you get a song placed.

Watch:

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/node/5369/129

Read:

“Everything You Need to Know About the Music Business” by Donald Passman

“Music Money and Success” by Jeffrey and Todd Brabec

When you read these, you might sit down with a legal pad and pen and study it as if it were a college course.  Don’t skip the hard parts like I did the first 3x. Ok, I am still glazing over a couple sections

Unrelated but totally related…

“The Tao of Wille” by Willie Nelson

“Don’t Worry, Make Money” by Richard Carlson

“Catching the Big Fish” by David Lynch

Attend:

If you are in LA area, my publishing administrator, attorney and often voice of reason, Steve Winogradsky, teaches a great night class at UCLA on music publishing.

Various Resources:

IMDB, Film Music Network, soundtrack.net; there are a ton of sites you can check depending on your style of music- and whether you are an artist trying to pitch songs with lyrics, or composers with more score based tracks looking for background placements. Grab the latest Musicians Atlas and look under catalogs and music supervisors. Start watching the end of every film and TV show and find out who the heavy hitters are. You most likely won’t get a hold of them at the start, but it’s crucial to know who is working on what. You could get an on online subscription to billboard (my head of operations for K2, Deb T. has one) and there are alot of mentions of what is going into production, who is working where, what the trends are, etc.

Getting to know the editors on a project can be a great resource too. It was actually an editor friend of mine who went on to become a fantastic director who gave me some of my first ops here in LA. I met him at a show I played at the Cat Club for about 5 people. We became fast friends and have been ever since.  Sometimes editors will put something in as a temporary track and the director/producer falls in love and gets the rights to the temp secured (AKA- “temp love”). If you are in high school or college and not in a major market where there are industry events and people to network with, score everything that your friends produce. Tell them they won’t be able to clear that track by the Beatles or Radiohead and that they should let you rescore it at once!

Do your homework on who is doing what is a HUGE part of showing the industry you care enough not to waste their time, or ours. Figure out what artists are in your genre and where they are getting placed. When you talk to people in the biz you must have some understanding of what is going on and what their needs are you are gonna have some really short and uncomfortable phone calls (I’ve had em and you don’t want em). Some of the music sups are becoming gatekeepers and tastemakers in today’s music biz, and in order to succeed in music licensing we must accept that part of our job is to provide them what they need and do some of their legwork for them. To put it simply: you MUST show them you have spent the time researching them before you blow up their phones.

If you are in LA or NYC and have a resume I would suggest signing up for the following organizations. All have events to give you the opportunity to network, find mentors and soak up current info.

SCL (The Society of Composers & Lyricists) www.thescl.com

AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers) www.aimp.org

NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) www.grammy.com

CCC (California Copyright Conference) www.theccc.org

ASMAC (American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers) www.asmac.org

Also- If you are already working in the business, I find linkedIn is a great way to get a sense of who runs with who and start to build your network. As musician’s we have a built in and painful empathy to take everyone on that comes to us. We want attention at some level and say yes very quickly. Whether it’s the kindness of your heart or sheer desperation, linkedin is one place you don’t take everyone who wants to connect with you since you are opening up your network to them and possibly tempting them to use your name to use with others. Be selective with your reputation and your time.

THIS IS NOT THE END ALL, BE ALL… AND BEWARE OF SHARKS

http://www.goodingmusic.com

http://www.kingdom2music.com

50 state tour starts March 6, 2010

Download my new record for free here: http://www.goodingmusic.com/music

And if this was helpful drop me a line and let me know how the fight goes at:
goodingarmy@gmail.com

LESS IS MORE – Creating Your Web Presence

LESS IS MORE – Creating Your Web Presence
By Patrick J. Siegmann
Blaine, WA

A Great saxophonist friend of mine who played with (and sometimes still does) HONK and is now Director & first tenor sax with Sequim’s (pronounced Skwim) Stardust Big Band here in Washington State, had a song on one of his 8 albums called “Wes is More” – I asked him one day back in 93 what that was all about. He (Craig Buhler) told me it flows around the philosophy that “LESS is MORE!” and not complicating what should be simple. Something I have used from that day forward. It became a “Lotus Notes” catch phrase in my programming career, and soon was used in many Banking campaigns in Southern California, where banks were trying to win you over with all of the sorted crap they could muster and throw at you, to entice you to their ranks as a new customer. The winners were the “Less is More” group that our gang purveyed.

This is really something you want to keep in mind as you are creating your web presence – whether on FaceBook, MySpace Music, or the World Wide Web in General. As a fledgling producer, recording and FOH (Front Of House) engineer, as well as the co-owner of a recording studio, too many times I am inundated with request for friends, or request to review their music, as they are wishing to have – Oh I don’t know – an association with a studio, publishing house, or accomplished musician, or just spamming everyone they can in order to have the appearance of a great following and boost their numbers (web-hits).

I am not saying that there is anything right or wrong with that methodology, it’s up to the individuals personal preferences and conscious. What looses me, as well as many others, is the busyness of some of these pages that just makes your head spin with all of the garbage they have polluted their space with. You know the kind I’m talking about – where the page takes minutes to load because they have every picture they have ever collected posted right up front. I generally attribute this to an insecurity – that if they don’t show you in the first thirty seconds of your viewing all of their accomplishments – that you won’t stick around to see who they really are! That’s simply not so, if you are a pro shopping for new talent.

These types of sites I always leave immediately, and spend no further time on, nor ever hear what the artist’s sound like – because the site looked too much like a 10 year old with a Rock God complex had created it! Don’t flood your guest (visitors to your site) with nonsense. Keep them wanting to find out more and dig deeper into what you are all about as well as how you sound. Don’t stick flashy pictures behind text spaces as this makes it difficult if not impossible to read sometimes. Show your pictures, as there is nothing wrong with that, just do it tastefully, like creating a slideshow, or just a half dozen or so shots with links to more. Stick with a couple of fonts and not every size possible. Look and see what the pro’s (those with major labels) are doing and mimic them to a comfortable degree, while still showing your individuality and artistry – not your immaturity to impress.

Following these simple hints will carry you along way, and in doing so, this helps you look more professional with a better chance of getting that gig, record deal, or studio time. What can it hurt you to try? The possibility of a greater success, then you may be experiencing now? And if it doesn’t work for you after a year, you can always go back to your status quo! Good Luck! I hope to see you on your site going out on a LIMB soon

“Less Is More Boys!” – Patrick J. Siegmann

www.ABorderlineStudio.com

http://www.myspace.com/aborderlinestudio

Patrick Recommends:

1. One book you would recommend.  - “The Last Best Hope” by Peter Tauber
2. Your favorite piece of gear.  -  My new Stienberger Pro GT Deluxe Spirit lefty
3. One thing you can’t live on the road without My laptop – It’s a Dell 1521 Inspiron running XP Pro

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANK YOU By Head Above Music

Head Above Music would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. A special thanks to all the artists who contributed in the last two months, 82 articles in all. There is nothing like being able to turn to friends that share a similar journey in life to find guidance in your own passions, dreams, and song. I know this site will continue to grow as we all find our own success, not only with our music, but in life as well.

To a creative 2010, cheers!

Happy New Year,
Dave Tamkin

There are no rules around here!
We’re trying to accomplish something
THOMAS EDISON

God can’t make a Stradivarius violin
Without Stradivarius.
ANONYMOUS

It’s better to prepare for an opportunity
That may never come
Than to have an opportunity
But find ourselves unprepared.
LES BROWN

Special Thanks to the artists that helped right out of the gate:

Mathew Frary, I can’t thank you enough my friend!!

Sean Healey from the band: Hustle
Vail, Colorado / Boston, MA

My New Sabian Memphis Ride
By Bryan Sansom

UNDER THE COVER
By Alyson Lyon

A DAY OF RESEARCH MAY KEEP YOU OUT OF THE BURN UNIT
By Kurt Gunn

How My Life Got Better Once I Hired an Accountant
By Paul Mitch

Be Real, Be Honest, and Make Music Your Life
By Holden Young

“Selling Out”
By Owen Sartori

Music is Like a Good Burger
By Paul Panicali

Musicares and Nuci’s Space
By Eric Martinez

My Take on Style
By Michael Augustus Jaster

$40 School for Songwriters
By Beth Kille
Madison, WI

Balancing Family and A Music Career
By John Rush

Improve Tuning Stability, and Reduce String Breakage
By Marty “Big Dog” Mercer

Insurance for Musicians
by Stolie

Booking a Venue for the First Time… and Hopefully a Second Show…
by Chris Wachowiak

MAKE SURE YOU’RE READY WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
By Cathy Mein

No Such Thing as a Face For Radio

No Such Thing as a Face For Radio
by Jefferson Montoya

There was a time when a musician could remain unseen and still promote their sound. The music spoke for, and sold, itself. That was the time of radio and it was long before the time of the internet. Now, as things stand, there is no place to hide and all instances of public relations are visual. Simply put, if you are going to be on the radio you’d better look like you are going to be on T.V.

Do you know of a single radio station that does not have a website? No, you don’t. There are none. So, here it is for the people who just don’t get it. . . you are going to be seen.

Every show on xradio.biz, a radio station that broadcasts on the internet, has live interviews with musicians and other industry professionals. Every guest has a number of photos taken that are posted, at the station’s will, to the station’s website. This isn’t just because xradio is internet based. Like almost every other radio station, xradio.biz is attempting to give the listeners all the connections they can to the artists they promote and interview. DJ’s, likewise, have a desire to promote themselves along side musicians that they meet at the station. So, one interview is likely to put at least one photo of you and your band on two websites. And that’s not even to mention that you should be putting photos from such events on your own website.

Websites aren’t the only places that radio interview images will be used. Stations often publish various print materials for their self-promotion. Generally this will include a few photos, labeled, of artists the station has experienced. There are two ways the photos for such materials are chosen, in most cases. The first is to select the most popular band, of course, and the second is to choose the best looking photo. This is free advertisement for you! Why wouldn’t you want to have a shot at being that band? The stations have their own listener base and are spending their own money to print and distribute the promotional materials. It’s the best of all worlds.

It’s more than just the permanent images that can be displayed by print and screen that affect your band’s image. It’s the people who will meet you at the studio. Only the smallest radio stations allow you to walk in and go straight to the DJ that will be interviewing you. In most cases you will meet a staff producer or receptionist who will ask you to fill out some forms. You will likely be asked to post with various members of the station staff. These photos are always up close and personal. You can’t stink! If your look is a sorta grungy-I-don’t-care vibe that’s fine. But you still have to be clean! You also have to have a good attitude, smiles and energy because these people are forming an image of you that is more than your sound or your clothes. When the station wants to have an event with a band, when the staff is asked to suggest a favorite memory of a guest, whenever anyone asks about a band/musician that has visited, you want the positive conversation to revolve around you.

Many interviews happen in the morning hours. This is mostly to target listeners when they can focus most on what is being said. They are on their morning commute or are listening from their office. This is a drag for any working band. You stay up all night driving to the next show or you stay up all night playing the gig then you have to be in bright and early. What’s the best way to deal with it? Get up earlier. WHAT? Yeah. Get up earlier, shower have some coffee, eat some breakfast and go to your interview in a mood that you normally don’t get to for hours after you’ve been awake. After all, you can go back to sleep when you get off the air.

Don’t bring extra individuals to the interview. First off, studios are small spaces. If you bring too many people in it is going to create discomfort. Fans, friends and others shouldn’t even be left outside the broadcasting studio with radio staff unless you are POSITIVE they will be a good reflection on your band. Bring only the people you are sure will represent you and your music in a manner similar to how you would do it yourself.

Lastly, just a quick word about your image during phone interviews. Nobody will see you during those interviews and it is about as close to pre-internet radio promotions as you are going to get. But, as with early morning interviews, you’ve really got to make a point of getting ready early. If it is an early interview make sure that you have warmed up your voice. Get the sleep out of your brain and throat so that you can push a little extra energy through the phone. Make sure also that there is as little background noise as possible. If you are on the road and can pull over, do so. Avoid extraneous noises like rustling of paper or moving chairs about.  And, whether it is in-studio or remote, TURN YOUR RINGERS OFF!

Radio is still a great stage and that leaves you with one option, perform! Show your best face even when you think nobody will see it and you will get the most out of your radio minutes.

Jefferson Montoya is an award-winning singer/songwriter and the host of The Rock Show with Jefferson Montoya weekday mornings from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. (pst) on www.xradio.biz. Jefferson lives in Las Vegas. www.jeffersonm.com

And The Winner Is: Will Awards And Contests Lead To Bigger Things?

Reconstruction Music Project

Reconstruction Music Project
By Rob Costlow
Artist and Founder
Tourist Records, LLC

Click to Listen

I started receiving some very powerful feedback a couple years ago from fans. It became more apparent than ever that music can heal, be it a divorce, getting over the death of a loved one, losing a job, and other tough situations people face. With the economic crisis this past year I started observing more and more of these tough situations amongst fans, neighbors, friends and my own family. People need to be revived in times of need, and music is a great tool to be the light many people need in these times.

I took what I had and created the Reconstruction Music Project to provide free music of all genres in a meaningful way to anyone in the world. My goal is to simply help create a spark in people to rebuild and keep moving forward. The project started out as just me and my music, but I soon found a way to make it open to all musicians.  It has turned into a musician’s cooperative. I hope many other musicians catch on to share and inspire those in need. Learn more here: http://robcostlow.blogspot.com/2009/11/reconstruction-music-project-is-live.html

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (just read it and really enjoyed)
2. Favorite Piece of Gear : Tascam DP-004 Pocketstudio
3. One thing I can’t live on the road without:  Sunglasses

My sites:
www.robcostlow.com
www.reconstructionmusic.org

www.touristrecords.com

Connect with me:
www.facebook.com/robcostlow
www.twitter.com/robcostlow
www.myspace.com/robcostlowpiano

Make Money While Promoting Your Friends Music

Make Money While Promoting Your Friends
By HeadAboveMusic

Here is a step by step instruction to strengthen your music community
and make a little extra money to put toward your next album while promoting your friends.

1. Create a “Friends” page on your website. If you already have this done, nice.
a. Make a list of all the musicians you have shared a stage with. After each name, maybe write where the show was and how you enjoyed hanging with them after the set. You don’t have to make a description, but it does let your listeners know a little more about you.

2. Click here for free LinkShare Membership and fill out the three simple forms with details regarding your website.

3. After you are signed up and confirmed as a publisher, you’ll need to sign up for iTunes Affiliate Program. Once you are accepted to that, you can look up your friend’s albums and link the HTML to your site under each listing on your “friends” page. When your fans browse your friend’s music and click on their album or the link you provided, they will be directed to iTunes Music Store where they can listen to the music and purchase a CD or tracks to their liking. You will make 5 cents for every song sold. Your friends will have sold one more album making an extra 65 cents for every song sold. 50 cents an album adds up over time.

4. Sign up for Amazon.com Affiliate Program. Most bands that sign for Tunecore submit their music to Amazon.

Take pride in the bands that you share the stage with.
We are all in this together. The more support you give to others, the more you will see in return.

Formulating Your Best Music Promotion Plan

Formulating Your Best
Music Promotion Plan
by Bob Baker

A lot of people who subscribe to my Buzz Factor e-zine, read my books, and attend my workshops tell me that once they shift into a brainstorming mode, the self-promotion ideas come faster than Billy Joel behind the wheel of a Mazarotti. My first piece of advice regarding this fantastic state of mind is:

Buy a notebook or journal and capture these thoughts by writing them down. Don’t expect to remember everything later. That rarely works. Grab ideas while they’re hot.

If you’re driving when inspiration strikes, carefully pull over and scribble down your thoughts on a gas receipt, fast food bag, or whatever is handy. If you’re in a bar or restaurant, use a napkin. If you’re in the shower … well, be creative and find a way to record those great ideas.

So Many Ideas, So Little Time

Once you have a master list of earth-shattering, career-boosting concepts, things don’t get any easier. Now you probably feel as if you have so many options, you don’t know where to start. Most music people get so flustered at this point, they do nothing. Or they do a little bit of everything all at once and spread themselves too thin, with nothing to show for all their hard work.

Well, I believe in keeping things simple. Don’t overwhelm yourself. For starters, before you jump into any new grand schemes, there are two basic things you should do every week, if not every day, no matter what else you may be working on:

1) Write, record and perform great music. This is no secret. The most creative promotion ideas in the world will do nothing to help mediocre music. So work on your music-making craft constantly. All it takes is one killer song to light a fire that will sustain an entire career.

2) The second thing you should do almost every day is to take steps to connect with and attract more fans. Don’t get sidetracked with technicalities and industry connections and stuff that doesn’t matter. Keep a constant focus on fans.

Creating Your Music Plan

Now, what about those specific big ideas you have for getting exposure, selling CDs, etc.? Get out a calendar that covers the next 12 months, and start writing down your best ideas and the times of the year they would work best.

Think this through and move things around on the calendar until you’ve got one or two great ideas listed for each month. Doing this will give you a promotional road map so you know the best ways to spend your time and energy every month. Your efforts will be more focused this way and more likely to generate results.

Don’t just wing it and leave things to chance. This is your career and livelihood at stake here. Set priorities. Create an action plan. You can always tweak and alter the plan as you go. But having one in the first place gives you a starting point and a direction … and a reason to get busy and start promoting your music now.

So formulate a plan — your ideal plan — then … get out there and promote yourself!

Bob Baker is the author of “Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook,” “Unleash the Artist Within” and “Branding Yourself Online.” He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site and e-zine that deliver marketing tips, self-promotion ideas and other empowering messages to music people of all kinds. Get your FREE subscription to Bob’s e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE READY WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

MAKE SURE YOU’RE READY WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
By Cathy Mein

You’re an artist. You write music. You play music. You’re good. Hell, you’re GREAT! Your talent should speak for itself, shouldn’t it? Unfortunately, it can’t if people can’t find or remember you.

It’s easy to think that in a creative business like the music industry you don’t need professional marketing materials— business cards, a website under your own domain name, professional photos, etc, but in this age of information overload, it’s easy for people you meet who really want to support you and your music to forget all about you if you don’t have standout materials to keep you on their mind.

Recently I was in Los Angeles listening to a great band at a small well-known venue. One of the musicians playing piano wasn’t a member of the band that was headlining, he was just sitting in with them. This relatively unknown piano player does have a new solo album, however.

While I was standing outside talking to this musician, a man walked up to him and couldn’t stop praising his musical skills. He asked if there was anywhere else he could hear the piano player’s music. He was told Myspace, but the name of the Myspace isn’t the exact name of the musician and the man didn’t have a Myspace anyway. The fan then asked what the name of the musician’s website domain is. He didn’t have one. This man then asked if the piano player had a business card. He didn’t.

The fan so enamored with the piano player’s skill, who so enthusiastically wanted to get a hold of the musician and his music, is a music reviewer for a major television news conglomerate. This would have been a missed opportunity had there not been someone nearby who actually had a copy of the musician’s CD and offered it up. A great national review with album airplay followed a week later.

As a former columnist for a music publication I would frequently interview independent artists. I would request a promotional photo to go along with the story and often they didn’t have one or they would have amateur shots that fans or a friend with a good camera took. Due to editorial aesthetics, if there wasn’t a professional photo to go along with the story, no photo would be included and the interview would often be placed at the bottom of the page or in a corner as opposed to the top or front page.

Print publications, television, online e-zines, radio, and even managers and agents run their contribution to music as a business and they often expect the same from the musicians they deal with. They need websites for quick reference, press photos to use, and easy ways to contact an artist or his/her team. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to present you with opportunities to promote your music & yourself. Make it too hard, and they may forget and move on to someone else.

As with any business, professional marketing materials are necessary in music to keep an artist in the eye and ear of new listeners and supporters; they’re an investment in your business like any piece of equipment. Make sure when opportunity knocks, your instruments are tuned, your amps are working, and you’re prepared with the right promotional tools to help opportunity help you!

(Cathy Mein is Director of Marketing for Calliope Epic Music Marketing. She has over 12 years of corporate marketing and advertising media experience and is a music writer and former columnist for Midwest Beat Magazine. Her company is offering 30% off custom website development and 15% of photography services to all Head Above Music readers who mention this article through 1/11/10. www.CalliopeEpic.com)

5 Steps to a Use-able and Highly Search Engine Optimized Web Presence

5 steps to a use-able and highly search engine optimized web presence for little cost, other than your time investment.
By Nick Venturella

1. Use a blog site as your web presence’s content management system (CMS)–essentially this is where you log in and make updates to you site or write a new blog. You can even usually purchase the domain name you want for an affordable annual fee if you want “your band.com” as the site name (the cost is usually between $15 and $25 per year). Blog sites are nice because you can choose a template that already exists if you’re not ready to design something, or you can sometimes manipulate the template code, or create your own code, if you want to customize it for your own use. You can add pages that act just like traditional web site pages, yet you have the freedom to update content and add new blog posts at will, which isn’t always easy if you hire someone else to design a traditional web site for you. There are several blog sites available to choose from…WordPress, Blogger, Weebly, and many more.

2. Build a social networking approach that makes sense for you and your target audience. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Digg, etc…whatever makes sense for you and only as many as you think you can reasonably manage. Add these to your blog site.

3. Content is king. For your blog site and social networking sites to all work well and work together you have to regularly create new content and participate in conversations to build relationships with those in your targeted social network…you’re really building a community to create reciprocated conversation. Meanwhile, you’re positioning yourself as the go-to-person for the area of expertise, or specific genre, you/your band focuses on.

4. It is important to participate in conversations. You can create as much content as you want and publish it to the world, but you’ll gain more credibility more quickly by also participating in the conversations related to your area of expertise on social networking sites and blogs. This shows that you pay attention to whats going on in your “community” or industry.

5. Finally, simply by having all of the content from your blog site, and blog posts (with various pertinent links embedded in them) and all your social networking sites linked from your blog site as well as your participation in social networking conversations. search engines with crawl out and grab what content they can to push your search results higher and higher. The typical rule of thumb is that the more content you have the higher your search results (to a large extent that’s true, but this concept does have a few other variables involved…you can do some more research here).

www.nickvmedia.weebly.com
www.myspace.com/nickventurella

Social Networking and Distribution By Erick Macek

Social Networking and Distribution
By Erick Macek

Click to Listen

1. Which social networking sites do you use most and how do you manage and populate information to them?
Some of the MAIN sites I utilize are MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reverbnation, with a splash of SonicBids. SonicBids I use as my main source of Electronic Press Kit. I also use a few other sites to gain more exposure, because you never know where people may potentially find you. So, sites like PureVolume, Garageband, iLike, Last fm, LinkdedIn, JamBase, eventful’s Demand It and a whole bunch of others. Now trying to keep them all in order isn’t easy, but a lot of these sites are working together to make all of that stuff easier and easier. I recently purchased an iPhone and downloaded the typical MySpace, Facebook, Twitter apps which help things tremendously. In and instant I can take a picture and send it out to all my fans! And within most of these sites, you can link them all together now. So, if I post something on twitter, it will automatically update my status on MySpace, Facebook and ReverbNation.

2. What’s the newest thing you’ve learned lately to help market your music?
I use ReverbNation for my mailing list, but it continues to be a force in the social networking network. I send email blasts to my fans, but ReverbNation has in-depth stats on your fan base, how many clicks, how many people open your emails and so on. On top of that, they provide widgets galore for you to post all over the web.

3. Do you have any favorite Facebook applications?
ReverbNation has an application called “My Band,” which practically puts a small version of your profile right on facebook and helps you to create a tab. Now your fans can get the same info from your profile on ReverbNation on Facebook.

4. What has proved to be the most successful tool for marketing your music?
The most successful thing that I have done with my music is being “real” with my fans and giving them something to come back to. The music industry is ever changing and I feel that in the 80s and 90s musicians were unattainable. Now, through social networking, fans can interact and relate to many artists. I try to do my best to constantly give my fans some form of relative information whether it’s a new song, new download, thought of the day or letting them know a little bit more about my personality.

5. Which outlets are you using to sell music?
Digital Distribution has become much easier. There are many places out there these days that can get your music out there to the world. The one I use is Tunecore! It submits my songs to iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, eMusic, Napster and many of the major digital distribution centers, while I still keep all the rights to my music.

www.erickmacek.com
www.myspace.com/macek
www.facebook.com/erickmacek
www.twitter.com/erickmacek

Increase Your Fanbase w/ Reverbnation

Increase Your Fanbase with ReverbNation
By Head Above Music

www.ReverbNation.com

ReverbNation is a one stop shop for artists and bands to build not only their fanbase but their internet visibility as a professional. ReverbNation is not only FREE to join, but simple to use with a variety of tools that will track your success. Here you will get a brief overview of all the free and paid services that ReverbNation offers its members. These tools are going to be the heart and soul of your digital marketing campaign, and all of them will take exposing your music and building your business to the next level. These include:

Artist Info
Update band info and bio.

Status
Update your status on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and RN.

Songs and Videos
Upload songs and add YouTube videos to your profile.

Manage Shows (under Shows)
Add new shows and manage your show schedule.

Sync with MySpace
Sync your MySpace profile with your ReverbNation profile.

Sync with Facebook
Sync your Facebook Musician Page with ReverbNation.

Photos
Upload band photos, cover art, and/or pics from your gigs.

Press
Let the Nation know when your band gets press.

Blog
Publish a blog here, or import your current one.

Buzz Tracker
Find out who is talking about your band on the web.

StoreLinks (under Earn Money)
Add links to the online stores that sell your stuff.

Fans
View/Manage your Fans.

Favorites
Become a fan of other ReverbNation Artists.

Comments
Have your fans post comments on your ReverbNation Profile.

My Links
Link fans directly to parts of your ReverbNation profile.

Banners
Spread and Track your promo banners.

RPKs
Multimedia press kit with tracking. Unlimited versions.

TunePaks
The fastest way to send music over email or IM.

Playlists
The best way to promote an album.

Marketing Experts (under Resources) New!
Expert marketers to help you promote your band.

Widgets (under Widgets/Apps)
Share your content and have others share it too.

Facebook Apps (under Widgets/Apps)
Get your band on Facebook with MyBand.

Bebo Apps (under Widgets/Apps)
Get your band on Bebo with MyBand.

Street Team
Send your fans on missions to promote your band.

StoreLinks (under Earn Money)
Add links to the online stores that sell your stuff.

My Links (under My Profile)
Link fans directly to parts of your ReverbNation profile.

Premium Features
• Digital Distribution
• Reverb Press Kits
• Fan360
• Mega Song Storage
• FanReach Pro
• Site Builder

Promo Tools
• Profile Page
• FanReach Email
• Street Teams
• Tunepak
• Exclusive Content
• Buzz Tracker

Viral Marketing
• Widgets
• TuneWidget
• Facebook Apps
• Bebo Apps

Stats/Tracking
• Band Equity
• Detailed Stats
• Track Your Banners
• 3rd Party Widgets

Earn Money
• Fair Share
• Sell Music/Merch/Tix
• Gig Finder

www.ReverbNation.com

Music is Like a Good Burger

Music is Like a Good Burger
By Paul Panicali
Casino Talent Buyer

The hardest part of being a musician in today’s world is: It’s not always how good you are, it’s about who you know, how many people you bring and how many people you will bring in the future.  Will your fans buy beer, food, tickets, merchandise or whatever the venue makes money off of? Think of music like a burger shack.  If you don’t sell burgers, no one makes money. Music venues are mostly bars.  If you do not sell beer, or tickets to the show, no one makes money.

Design Your Own Poster

Design Your Own Poster
by Kurt Gunn
Green Bay, WI

Click to Listen

I am by no means a graphic designer; let’s get that clear right now. PDF what, TIFF what, Photoshop???? Just make my posters look cool, and send me the bill man. Well let me tell you that all adds up fast. So you are getting $150 for the gig, and having someone design your fancy show poster just put you $70 in the hole before you even sent them to the printer.

I believe that promotion is key, and a professional looking show poster will help grab eyes that otherwise would not have been grabbed.  Posters are a very important step that is often overlooked most likely because of the price.

I found this little gem a few months ago, and have used it for a ton of things. I’ve used for myspace background, logos, and most importantly, show posters.  The site is www.picnik.com.  I upgraded to the premium package for two dollars a month, and then said goodbye to my design dude I have been getting a ton of attention on my posters, even from graphic designers, so I know that it is working.  I don’t have time to give you a great big tutorial.  Just play around with it, and try all the features and see what it can do for you.  If I can do it anybody can.  It does have some limitations for those that are completely picky, but I’ve found it has done more than enough for me.

Here are a few tips I will give you.

1. Just spend the money and get professional photos taken and no don’t get it done at Target, or the mall. Once you have those high res photos of your band you can do a lot of damage.

1. Do an image search of High Resolution Backgrounds.  Preferably solid color. Use that background as your template for your posters you are going to design.

1. Don’t get to busy on your poster, and make sure that they can be read clearly think drunk people.  Your Name, Date, Time, Venue, Cost, and Website should be on every poster.  Don’t assume everybody knows who you are.

1. Four 11X17 posters should be good for a normal size venue.  I also like to get (1o) 8′  by 11 sheets of the same poster quartered.  This gives me 40 nice little hand bills to have the venue put out the week before the show.  Have Kinkos cut them for you the cost is very minimal. Create your poster on Picnik, save it, email it to your local Kinkos, and go pick it up. The whole operation cost you $20 bones instead of $100.  Don’t skimp on color

1. Always have your posters up a month to two weeks before your show.  Make sure they go in the right hands, or hang them yourself

Here is an example of something I created on Picnik with no design experience at all.

www.facebook.com/gunnandbordini
www.myspace.com/gunnandbordini
www.myspace.com/wisconsinsongwritersrevival