music industry assistance |
Because your fans want to love your professional sound
music industry assistance |
Get on the Grind
When you hear someone talking about grinding what comes to mind? I have an acquaintance that always makes a post where he says #RiseNGrind, which is somewhat motivating for me. What does he mean when he says that though? All types of images come in mind from a pepper grinder to someone working on a chain gang. The definition of “grind” states the reduction of something to small particles or a powder by crushing it or rubbing together gratingly. Now how appropriate is that? When you are working your business, it is you against the coarse wall of challenges you face each and every day as you build your empire. As it pertains to your music plans the stack of obstacles can be daunting because many things you need to complete before you have a hit are outside of your skill set. You might be an awesome songwriter but you really cannot sing that well (outside of Autotune fixing it for you) for example. Well don’t give up hope and stay faithful to your dream. The more you are willing to expose your talents and skills to people, you will find and attract others who are willing and able to help you. This is not to say the next person you meet will make you famous or help you get a lot of downloads but they might give you that “next level” tool to help improve your grid or open up a new door that you did not know was even there. The business of music is way more vast than the average person knows. Be patient, be professional, be persistent and keep grinding.
0 Comments
We are quickly approaching the spring months as evidenced by the fresh little flowers and bright green blades of grass. Spring is always one of those times in the year we all feel a sense of rebirth, renewal and an escape as from our wintery doldrums. With the longer days and shorter nights, we consciously make an effort to do more with getting involved and active.
Although I find myself writing new songs all of the time, I seem to get some sort of energy push during the spring, which leads me to start new projects or ideas. What about you? I think this time of the year can be seen as similar to the rush of the New Year where people try new fitness classes or diets. I never understood why but think we all desire to have something fresh to sink our teeth into. The real trick is staying with whatever it is long enough to make it a habit that helps create that shift in life. In your desire to start this” new thing” on your bucket list, you will inevitably meet new people, forge new networks and start new collaborations. You might have the opportunity to work with Grammy nominated producers or songwriters and think this person will help your career tremendously failing to remember they are just people too. We all have to put our socks and shoes on the same way… one foot at a time. The same goes with you and your desire to be the best. Approaching your new endeavor one step at a time will help your realize that you are great as you are and that although you will learn a lot from networking and collaborating with others, you will do well by staying true to yourself and your work. Sometimes riding the coat-tail of another is not a ride worth taking. The Webster’s dictionary states that one of the definitions of saturation as being full or beyond satisfaction. Although it offers other definitions, that one stuck with me the most because it immediately made me think of fans. I suppose there are two schools of thought related to saturation and fans. One is give them more than they can handle where the other is making sure they are being satisfied with the product you are giving them. From a social marketing standpoint, there are specific rules of engagement that one must follow. For example, I understand that putting more than one or two posts into Instagram is too much but Twitter needs 7-25 posts per day. I suppose that none of that matters if you are achieving your marketing goals and plans. Here some rules to live by: · New Songs –Be careful to only post 30-60 second tease samples unless you plan to give it away · Share – Get Tweet Deck to set up to provide regular posts that are about only select things · Give Advice – Show your professionalism by teaching someone else something you learned. · Be Consistent – This is the biggie for showing fans love. I try to connect and reset on Friday · Pay Attention – Follow a blueprint, paying attention to what works and making changes Remember, the music business is a business. You have to create and develop the correct approaches to get the attention you need, which will lead to serial fans. Without those fans, you’re not going to develop a following that will eventually lead to sales. I often wondered why so many musicians and artist have such a strong desire to be signed to a major label. On one hand, I understand the preverbal security blanket signing to a major record label provides. It is like suddenly going from being a struggling artist to having Daddy Warbucks take care of everything. Naturally the downside of this has some real hidden drawbacks because “Daddy wants his money back” with interest. With larger labels, the advantage of having the best distribution, radio marketing and a host of other teams at your disposal to ensure the project goes well is great… as long as your project makes money. If you are among the few that feel you really need the major record label to help you, I encourage you to look at any of the popular musician-story films. The two that come to mind are the Toni Braxton and TLC stories. They give a small peek into the ugly side of being under contract. Another less talked about aspect is the label that signs you and sits on you and your single release. Talk about taking the air out of the balloon! In this case, you can do nothing while you wait for them to give you an opportunity… sometimes to just be released. I know it will also happen with song licensing so be careful out there. Here are some of the best ways to get a leg up and your voice out there:
· Masterpieces Only –Do not throw junk out there and expect diamonds in response. · Tag It – Make sure your song is identified. Learn how to tag your music · Connect with Radio – Online radio first and follow up/support the station. Be grateful suppliers · Have a Plan – MS Project, Mind Map or a sheet of paper. Get organized · Network – You will not realize how powerful this is until you do it in every part of your life Remember, the music business is a business. You have to create and develop your brand and start selling your preverbal cookies and cake before anyone wants a part of your action. If you don’t believe me, look at the next episode of Shark Tank and pay close attention to the questions they ask about sales and marketing. The business of music requires a business mindset. If you understand it’s about more than your wonderful creation, you might become a force all by yourself. I have had to learn over the years that no one is going to help make or break your career if you first don’t do it yourself. Think about all of the high school graduates who completed their studies this past summer. How many of those individuals had an action plan? How many got mom or dad to complete their college application or gave them their first job? How many do you think really had a good idea of what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives? They say that when you but your own sweat and tears into a project or activity, no matter the outcome, you have a sense of accomplishment no matter what it is. I will admit that going to college for me was a requirement but I definitely had to do most everything myself. I think that may have taught me some level of ownership and gave me the ability to never settle for letting someone else do what I needed to accomplish. To this day I have a “will try it” determination coupled with the proverbial “yes I can” attitude.
I think that many of us in the music industry know how to do so many things on our own but feel the brunt of the steel doors and glass ceilings this and many professional industries have in place. I recently viewed a webinar sent to me from a writer who had just completed his first novel. He was saddened to find out that he had to connect with certain “powerful people” in order to get his book noticed or reviewed by anyone. Like in most if not all aspects of entertaining endeavors, to be able to bring these treasures to the public and get paid for it but somewhere along the way creative souls fail to realize if they could first develop what I like to call “serial fans” they would not have to worry about impressing anyone but those fans. Let’s face it, they are who matter in the end. I decided to go to Tuesday night bible study with my sister recently and i had a wonderful take away from the guest pastor that evening. She shared the story about Esther and although many have shared a message about the book of Esther, I loved what she had to say. She focused on how Esther was hidden for just the right time to save her fellow Jews and although she did not know how important her placement was at that time, it all became clear because she was faithful.
I can confirm that in my life I have not been fully faithful to the skills and talents given to me. I have declined opportunities, side stepped invitations and simply said no failing to realize those were perhaps predestined pathways I was supposed to take. In the end, I realized too that I was still brought back to other opportunities and doorways, which led me to the same place but if only I had been faithful with the talents given me, who knows where I might have been. What about you? Do you ever think you are just not quite talented enough? Do you hear of negative stories that make you give up? I am sure you do but trust one thing, if it keeps coming back to you and you keep seeing gateways to enter, make sure you step in. Somehow and in some way, this is what you are supposed to do at this point in your life. Keep the faith and grab your destiny. I had a conversation recently with a new singer songwriter who was trying to figure out the best way to get her music in front of others to listen to. I told her that almost anyone can create a web presence but how you go about using the account will impact the result you desire. For example, if you have a Twitter or Instagram account, it will not benefit you if you don’t regularly and consistently post. I once heard a popular blogger state that you have to post so much to stay current that it can easily turn into a full time job and most of us have one of those already! Thankfully, Tweet Deck and Hootsuite can help with a lot of the social media aspects but I still believe one of the best ways to load music content is by using Youtube. In order to have the best advantage in using that platform, I would suggest a few of these tips to ensure your channel is liked and subscribed to:
· Enhance your specific channel for returning and new visitors · Create a trailer video that talks about you or highlights you latest project. This is for new visitors · Make sure you encourage your visitor to subscribe to your channel · Make sure your title to your video is using “long tail” descriptions. It makes you more discoverable · Make sure your descriptive information is more than a few sentences · Make sure you have social media links in your channel · Select your related channels that are similar to yours. · Do cover songs or “spoofs” to showcase your skills as a singer or writer. This builds fans · Youtube cards – you can put up to five ads that refer people back to your website or other pages Keep in mind, loading regular content everywhere is king. Be consistent in your approach, ask for the subscription and only give away pieces you don’t mind people stealing, because they will! For music you want to give a little taste to and eventually sell, you can offer a thirty minute snippet but select a day that will be your posting day. Your fans will look forward to it. We have such fear in doing things we have never done and have a track record of not doing things we don’t want to do or have not done. We are also pretty bad about talking ourselves out of doing something different but that is where growth begins or dies. I admire youngsters that get into a sport or public performances because they often do so before they develop fear or concerns about who is judging them. I suppose the older we get the more settled in our ways we become. If you don’t believe me, just watch the behaviors of your older relatives. I remember asking my mother why she did something one way or another and she told me with a very stern look that it was the way it was always done and she did not see any need for changing.
If you are like me and you have been slow on performing or singing publicly how can you start? You have to push yourself off the cliff by constantly repeating the thing that you are not comfortable with so you can break the mold and create a new one. If you keep doing the “different” thing, it becomes “the same old thing” you want it to become. Through trial and error you improve yourself and your abilities, which will shine in each and every performance you do. What would you say to the person that started six failed businesses and is currently working on the seventh? What about a musician who is having a hard time getting that record deal? The first logical comment would be to tell the person to give up but why are we so ready to toss in the towel? What is that fine line between insanity and persistence? How far would one have to go to get to the success they desire?
The most successful people in sports, fitness, music, business and most any other industry you can think of are well known for those successes but many do not know about their many, many failures. Oftentimes it takes years and many failed attempts at the goal to obtain success. One will have to ask, are you willing to embrace the frustration of failure? I would say it takes a special type of person full of determination, belief and “stick-to-it-ness” to make it over the long struggle. For the new and experienced songwriters or singers, know that your success is mainly in your hands. What I mean by that is simply you have decided to share your talents with the world and you hope that your “product” or talent is accepted by your potential fans. Your product is the music you produce or the voice used to sing, etc. and with every “product” comes a method to promote it. If you promote and market your product correctly, you will be able to expose it to a wide variety of people who might be interested in sharing it or buying it. This of course does not guarantee success but you first have to determine what you see as being a success or failure. Your frustration in this whole process can include not having the musicians or producers do what you have asked, having studio delays, getting poor recordings after paying for them, having lyrics stolen or ripped from websites, having remixers adding your track to their compilation… that they make money from, your vocals being “file shared” with others and the list goes on and on. You will have to think about it in this simple but easy to comprehend manner… your music is art designed to be shared with others. I will tell you the frustration and aggravation of being copied, robbed and cheated are what many industry people label as paying some dues but I would call it simply a stepping stone to getting to whatever your goals are. In addition, if you are really good at what you are doing and focus on your “product” that you are producing, the things you learn along the way will help you grow as a musician and you will continue to have more to share and protect. Success is always preceded by struggles, conflict, aggravation, financial hardship, frustration and self-doubt but if you hang in there you will overcome. As we approach the end of the calendar year, we reflect on the things that we were able to get done compared to the things we did not accomplish. If you made a list in January, how many things can you honestly say you have checked off of that list? Perhaps you accomplished a few of them but probably not all of them. Why do you think that is? The main reason is because your list required you to commit time to something different, outside of what you normally do to get things done. It was like adding an extra serving of Brussel Sprouts when you normally don’t even like to eat them. When it comes to your music, I bet you are like me and you have created lots of new projects that keep you motivated and excited about your talents. As creative people we have a tendency to lose focus on our goals because we are so excited about the process. I want to encourage you to think of one song you have completed in this last year and take that song as far as it can go (trust me, I am preaching to the choir on this one). I realize that although I have had my moments to shine, I don’t take full advantage of the other moments, which could lead me to greater opportunities. As we close out 2016 and prepare for 2017, let’s remember today is a present so use that gift to enhance and share your gift. |
AuthorWendy, AKA Ka-Je Projek, is a professional coach, counselor and published songwriter who has collaborated with various producers over the span of her music career. She prides herself on helping others live their best life by pushing towards their dreams and goals. Archives
January 2019
Categories |