IOTM Blog
Posted: May 24, 2021
Category: Social Media
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**Guest post by Vince Martellacci of ForgeCollective.
"While there are so many active niches and interests on Clubhouse, the Clubhouse app space for music interests is an especially wonderful place. That’s because of its exclusivity, which I hope never goes away...But why is it exclusive? What is a room? Is it audio all the way? And how do you get on it?...Let’s examine the hot-button app."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 17, 2021
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post by Christopher Carvalho from Unlock Your Sound.
"Think of a shop. The top of the funnel is the people walking past the shop. The first layer down is the people window browsing. The next layer down is the people who enter. And then the next and final layer is the people who purchase something."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 8, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from Justin Paul, music/career coach, A&R, DJ, and producer.
"The pandemic has hurt all artists, even larger acts had to cancel tours. Ultimately what we're talking about is that there has been loads of money lost for the artist, for the promoters, also for the sound engineers, light engineers, stage crew, food vendors, security, stage techs, drivers, venues, and merchandise sales in live music. Furthermore, the pandemic has created a lot of self-doubt and uncertainty for artists. Some artists are now thinking about shifting to a different career or creating side hustles. Multiple income streams are the way to go even during normal times."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 1, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"While you hear a lot about independent musicians and how you can build a music career with a do-it-yourself mentality, doing it yourself doesn’t mean doing it alone. There isn’t a singular music industry. Instead, there are industries that serve every facet of the foundation upon which you build your career, and you have to master them all to succeed and grow as an artist...Today we’ll tackle another subset of roles to help grow your music career: those associated with merchandise and getting media exposure."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 25, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from David Franz, a California-based music business entrepreneur, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, educator, and author of Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools.
"Fear stops progress. It is crippling. It is a disability. You must push through into uncomfortable places if you want to grow. Getting in front of the camera has brought all of my fears out to the surface and recorded them for me to watch. It has forced me to push through the discomfort and grow."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 9, 2020
Category: Touring
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**Guest post written by Hudson Moore, originally posted on DigitalTourBus.com.
"I’ve been a touring independent artist for 10 years. I’ve booked, advanced, produced, and promoted almost every headline show I’ve ever played. I still have a long way to go, but I’ve been fortunate to play some amazing shows to fans across the US and over the years I’ve picked up a few tried and true tips and strategies that have helped me that will hopefully add value to you as well. So without further ado..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 26, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"Have you wondered how some bands get such engaged fans? It is because their fans feel like part of that band’s world. That band did one thing that you might not be doing. They made their message about the fans and not the band. People follow and buy from people or brands they like. So let’s make sure your message is likable..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 3, 2020
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post by David Figueroa of Avoid Cliche, a musical artist branding company.
"You've made your music, but you need to decide how you want to present yourself to the world. Even if you're making music just for fun, it's always good to give people an extra layer of the artistic story, so people remember you. Here I'll explain why visual branding is vital and even get into some fun psychology. Buckle up..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 27, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Gideon Waxman, a London based drummer & music educator.
"There are times in life when we are forced to adapt in order to survive. This is one of those times, and it’s why we as musicians need to become flexible in order to achieve financial security—I also want to give you some advice as to how to start becoming more self-reliant..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 6, 2020
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Kai Marks & Lyron Haceon of Les Flair, an electro-pop project based in London.
"With not a single track released and a limited budget in tow, we sold out a string of live shows across the UK, led by word of mouth alone. Which we've now come to realise, is the most powerful tool in music marketing. Here’s our top tips for building a strong WOM foundation and translating hype into sales..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 1, 2020
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post by David Figueroa of Avoid Cliche, a musical artist branding company.
"When you've got your music ready, you want to send it out into the world for everyone to listen to it, but the worst thing you could do is to send it out in shoddy clothing. It's important that you get your branding right. You only get one shot. Here are some common mistakes that I see over and over again. And how to avoid them."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 4, 2020
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Vinnie Hines, Co-Owner of Artist Collective AKA @ac_vinnie.
"At Artist Collective, we’ve found that the most effective way to engage with your fans is through meaningful relationship building exchanges. These types of connections are invaluable and the foundation on which any type of notoriety is built...We urge you to use text message marketing for these 5 AMAZING REASONS..."
Posted: Feb 18, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Carlos Castillo of Schwilly Family Musicians - music marketing strategist, web designer, live performance recordist, international road-tripper, lap steel player, and Captain of the Schwilly Family.
"Things I DO KNOW are: Music and Business. I studied them separately and built a BRAND NEW bridge between them. And that bridge is a LOT easier to cross when you don't have a herd of greedy trolls weighing you down..." View Full Article
Posted: Feb 3, 2020
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Rahil Verma of Promoly, a software that helps record labels and publicists keep on track with their promotion.
"Even though any promo is better than none, it’s undeniable that some music marketing strategies are better and more effective than others. That means that choosing how you’ll promote your music is half the battle. These are the six music approaches we recommend you start out with."
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 9, 2019
Category: Social Media
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**Guest post written by Wassim Awess, founder of the Music Career Guide.
"Understanding the importance of social media in this day and age is not enough to take you to the next level. It’s very much about testing, seeing what works out for you when you use the platform and how you use it. Here are 8 tips to help you maximize your efforts with social media marketing..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 3, 2019
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency.
"In this digital age of music streaming and social media, it is easier than ever to objectively measure an artist’s reach and influence. Whether you like it or not, every social media site and music streaming platform is collecting loads of data about their users. This information can be used to your advantage to draw powerful insights about your audience."
Posted: Feb 25, 2019
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright, founder and editor at Dozmia, and lead guitarist for the band Days Gone By.
"with email marketing, you have direct contact to some of your most passionate fans...While [touring] can be a great way to gain exposure to a new audience, if you want to develop good relationships with the venues you're performing in, it’s also important that you get your existing fans to come out to the show...With these things in mind, how do you leverage your email list to get people to come to your show?"
Posted: Feb 11, 2019
Category: Music Streaming
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**Guest post written by Chris Senner, keyboardist for Vinyl Theatre and founder of Keyboard Kraze.
"Everyone knows that Spotify is one of the most important platforms for musicians in today's day and age. However, most people don't understand why...The Spotify Artists App allows musicians to track their results and see cold hard numbers on what a song that is connecting looks like."
Posted: Jan 7, 2019
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Cassie Phillips as featured on The Music Entrepreneur HQ.
"No matter how talented you are, or how much effort you put into your music, getting exposure for your art can be a challenge...To effectively promote your music, you will need to develop your marketing skills. Marketing will allow you to raise awareness for your brand and be better connected to your target market."
Posted: Sep 17, 2018
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Ariel Hyatt, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"...your Ambient Fans. These are the ones who are in your orbit, but they don’t know you really at all. They key is to create reasons for them to know you and to do this you need to have systems and you also need to make the time to convert them." View Full Article
Posted: Sep 4, 2018
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Ariel Hyatt, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"In the desperate desire to try to connect with as many fans as possible artists are forgetting something: not everyone “out there” is the same. Some may be following you simply because they liked your sunglasses or your cat and have no idea you are even a musician, while others are waiting to like and comment on every post. You need to understand the differences and create a separate way of communicating with each community." View Full Article
Posted: Aug 27, 2018
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"One of the biggest pitfalls we fall into as musicians is trying to sell to everybody. We think if our music is really good then everybody will like it...Once you know who really likes your music then you can market yourself more effectively. So stop selling to everybody, and start selling to your DREAM FAN."
Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post originally featured on Ditto.com.
"Whether it’s with a major media publication or a local music blogger, interviews offer a great avenue for publicity. Nevertheless, they can be a daunting experience for anyone new to the publicity circuit. If you’re worried about an upcoming interview, here’s some advice to help ease the jitters." View Full Article
Posted: Jun 25, 2018
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post originally featured on Ditto.com.
"Musicians often focus on making it onto curated playlists, whether that’s Spotify’s own weekly compilations like New Music Mondays or alternative playlists built by independent users. However, if your aim is to gain more streams, getting on algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar can be much more effective...Before we delve into Release Radar and Discover Weekly individually, here are a couple of pieces of advice that apply to getting on both of these algorithm-based playlists..." View Full Article
Posted: Apr 23, 2018
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency.
"A huge component of being successful in the music industry has to do with how you market yourself...Creating a powerful brand will help you achieve [lifelong fans]. Your band is the music making machine that will enable your career, and your brand is the face of your music that people will learn to know and love."