IOTM Blog
Posted: Mar 3, 2014
Category: Show Booking
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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.
THE QUESTION: I have a question that I hope someone here can help me with. After you’ve sent an email and you don’t hear back for a week or two, is it ok to resend the same email in the case that it got lost in the shuffle? I don’t want to come off as being pushy, but I want to make sure that they actually received the email.
THE ANSWER: Art, this is a really great question that I think a lot of people struggle with. It’s hard to know how to follow up on a email when you don’t know if it was ever read, if it reached the correct person, or if the receiver purposely didn’t get back to you. So we’ve got a few suggestions on what you can do...
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 24, 2014
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by David Priebe of Green Room Music Source, a full time agent/artist manager and also part time instructor of music business at the Institute of Production & Recording in Minneapolis.
"It official- it’s now impossible to make money in the music industry." There are scads and scads of articles and commentary that sound a lot like that statement. What you hear much less about are the people who completely disagree with that sentiment. I’m in that camp, and I’m going to tell you why...
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 18, 2014
Category: Online Distribution
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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, a DIY singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA with 550+ shows under his belt. Originally written for Digital Music News and featured in his blog Ari's Take.
"Pandora Radio just quietly updated their submission process to allow anyone to submit music for consideration WITHOUT a physical CD." Here's how... View Full Article
Posted: Feb 10, 2014
Category: Royalties
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**Guest post written by Blake Morgan, artist, musician, record producer, and founder and owner of ECR Music Group.
"The Washington beltway turned a deaf ear to artists' rights until one guy, one activist, wrote the words "I Respect Music" on an index card and showed it to the world. Now, thousands upon thousands of music makers and music lovers are standing together and making history by adding their names to a petition that is not only shaking up the music world, it's shaking up Congress." View Full Article
Posted: Feb 3, 2014
Category: Digital vs. Physical
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**Guest post written by Danny Schmitz, an indy musician, writer, and connoisseur of all things Mexican food.
"I had a conversation via email with a friend from LA, and another friend living in Singapore. All three of us are musicians and frequently talk about the current state of the music industry. We were talking about the streaming music subscription service Spotify..." View Full Article
Posted: Jan 27, 2014
Category: Online Presence
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**Guest Post from Bandzoogle.com.
Bandzoogle has released a free eBook called "Building Your Website: A Step-By-Step Guide for Bands and Musicians”. Whether you’re building a new website, or looking to improve your current one, the eBook offers tons of tips to help you make an effective website for your music. View Full Article
Posted: Jan 20, 2014
Category: Licensing
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**Guest post written by Chris "Seth" Jackson, a bass guitarist and composer and founder of HowToRunABand.com.
"My band is recording a cover song, Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Since it’s a cover song, I need to get the rights to use it. I found a really easy and affordable way to license the music! But, I also found a giant and annoying snag in regards to YouTube. A snag so big it makes me a bit resentful of the music industry’s antiquated ways."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 13, 2014
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Brandon Swift, musician and creator of Yovigo.com.
Music marketers and artists who have come after The Grateful Dead have been trying to emulate this marketing model since the group's success with it. The model casts a wide net of influence for any artist or group hoping to make a serious mark in the music industry. Here are some reasons giving away your music works so well and has the power to help those who are willing to make a considerable profit.
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 8, 2014
Category: Renman Music & Business
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In this Renman MB throwback clip, the Renman sits down with Jay Boberg, long time record business heavy hitter. Jay reminds us that truly good art can be good business if the art is the focus and not used solely for exploitation. Among other gems of knowledge, Jay leaves us with a great quote about today's business: "The music industry is a river, not a lake. It's moving."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 6, 2014
Category: The Lefsetz Letter
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**Guest Post by Bob Lefsetz of The Lefsetz Letter.
Your ability to play exceeds social networking. Your chops are more important than your social skills. Frequently the best musicians are near mute, they speak through their music, which brings adoring fans to them. First learn how to play. Everything else comes next...
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 30, 2013
Category: Online Presence
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**Guest post written by Brandon Seymour, musician, SEO analyst, web designer, and social media marketer.
What I find really interesting though is that some niches act as if they are immune to the constant pressures of the modern day marketer. In my experience, one of the biggest offenders is the music industry - specifically independent artists. I've been working in SEO and inbound marketing for about four years now and since I've always had a passion for music, I wanted to take some time to discuss some simple, highly actionable steps that musicians can take to start marketing their band like a boss.
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 23, 2013
Category: Touring
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**As featured in Indie on the Move's Touring Tips Section.
If you are considering going on tour, there are a few prerequisites that must be met in order for you to make everything happen...
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 16, 2013
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Sarah Lynch, digital music marketing and social media content manager.
"Just how powerful does a statement have to be in order to capture an audience’s imagination?? For musicians, having a killer live show is essential because it is one of the only opportunities that fans have to see, interact with and get to know you as a person behind the music. So how do you make an audience fall in love with you?"
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 11, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
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This playlist is a group of videos arranged to get a manager's head in the right place for success. It starts off with the basics of what a manager does, from what to expect to what your actual role is. The playlist ends with a forward by Brandon Boyd, which perfectly describes the relationship of artist and manager, and gives insights on what it takes to succeed and work together over long periods of time.
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 10, 2013
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Dae Bogan, Music Industry Insider For The Indie Artist, of Dae Bogan Music.
"There’s something I want to share with you. You may not know this–or you might have forgotten–but your friends are not your fans. Shocking? Let me explain.."
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 3, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
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No matter what you do in life, it's helpful to have a mentor that can help show you the way. This is especially true in the music industry, but having a mentor in this biz is much easier said than done! In this clip, industry analyst Bob Lefsetz tells us that the music business is of renegades and if you have a mentor, you're lucky!
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 2, 2013
Category: Show Booking
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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.
"STEP 1: Perfect your performance. Play as many open stages as you can to network with others and solidify your stage presence. Become a familiar face and make sure you get to really know the people. Give this a 6-month time period." Click the title to read numbers 2-7, including an in-depth description of each crucial step...
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 27, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
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In this highlight clip, Nate Ruess, lead singer of grammy award winning band Fun., talks about his career and path in the music business. Nate has a fantastic story about coming up in the business and prior to superstardom with his band Fun., he had given up all hopes of commercial success. Nate leaves us with a handful of great quotes to remember and motivate everyone trying to make a career out of their music.
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 25, 2013
Category: Delegate Responsibilities
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When it comes to touring independently and really maximizing success and profits along the way, it certainly helps to delegate show booking, radio/press/media promotions, and other responsibilities amongst everyone involved in the project - after all, you have to run your band like a well oiled business machine these days if you expect to make a splash and build a buzz.
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 18, 2013
Category: Show Booking
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**The following is an excerpt from MusicBizAcademy.com's "The Truth About NACA: Gigging on the College Circuit" by Fran Snyder, originally published in 2001.
"The National Association of Campus Activities, established in 1960, is a non-profit organization that puts on regional conferences where music acts, comedians, lecturers and other entertainers showcase in front of campus activities programmers from around the country. There are 1200 member colleges and 600 associate members (talent or agent) which makes NACA the largest organization of its kind." So how do you land one of these coveted showcase slots and secure college bookings with fantastic guarantees?...
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 13, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
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Jack Conte is a musician, businessman, and creative entrepreneur. He's probably best known as one half of the band Pomplamoose, but what we didn't know was what an interesting perspective he has on today's music industry. In this clip, Jack talks about what it takes to be successful in today's music business and how the industry has changed from massive rock stars to everyday hustlers. It's the rise of the middle class musician!
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 11, 2013
Category: Fundraising
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**Guest post written by Dae Bogan, Music Industry Insider For The Indie Artist, of Dae Bogan Music.
"What do you do when you don’t have a label underwriting your career and you have to choose between paying your personal bills and paying a studio engineer, publicist, or rental van company? You fund raise!" But how...
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 6, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
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If you want to be in a rock and roll band, touring is going to be your biggest asset. It's not all glitz and glam and it's definitely not for for everyone, but if you're anything like Blasko, Ozzy Bassist and manager of The Black Veil Brides, you'll enjoy the struggle and learn on the fly along the way. Check out this bit of Blasko discussing the ups and downs of the touring business and what you should expect when getting involved.
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 4, 2013
Category: Show Booking
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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.
Booking a tour can be a difficult process. Not only are you spending hours upon hours emailing venue after venue, but you’re also taking a major gamble on the venues you’re contacting. It’s often hard to know if the spot is a good fit for your band, if there is decent foot traffic, how hard you will have to work for your draw, and how well their booker will work with you to make the event a success. It’s just one huge gamble.
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 30, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
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We often hear that music publishing is a lucrative side of the music business, but it's a difficult one to define. Luckily for all of us, Jody Gerson quickly breaks down the nuts-and-bolts of music publishing and tells us that it's a "pennies business, but those pennies add up." Did you know that music publishing is involved every time you hear a piece of music in the elevator, at the movies, on the internet, and on a CD? For a real life example, watch this video to find out how one artist was a smash success for Sony/ATV publishing, but a complete bust for the record company.
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