Posted: Sep 30, 2013
Category: Theft
gear insurance music equipment music pro insurance state farm theft aris take
**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, a DIY singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA with 500+ shows under his belt, as featured in his blog "Ari's Take".
"Years ago I got back late after a local gig and was exhausted. I carried in my guitar and cash box, but left some of my other gear in my car - including my $2,000 trumpet (no judging - I was young, stupid and TIRED). The next morning, as you would imagine, I awoke to a smashed back window and no trumpet. I called my insurance company (State F(U)arm) and explained what happened."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 25, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
advertising film licensing music x-ray position music publishing taxi tv
Making a living as an indie musician is difficult, but there are ways to generate money with your music if you're smart and persistent. In this clip, A&R for Position Music Publishing, Jake Versluis, talks about the gatekeepers of the publishing industry and the best ways to get music in front of them. Jake also reminds us that personal relationships are the biggest deal makers in the publishing side of the music business.
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 23, 2013
Category: Sponsorship
identify companies marketing plan music business raise money science sponsorship stay positive tour sponsorship
**Guest post written by Justin Stang of Science!, Seattle based acoustic guitar duo.
Tour sponsorship is one way that a band can generate funds for a tour in order to start off in a place of relative financial security. This is particularly important because the first few dates of a trip might be a few tanks of gas apart, and you never know if your Tuesday night show in San Francisco is going to pan out quite the way you had hoped. Bands commonly desire endorsement deals with music companies in exchange for gear; however, this idea is something completely different...
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 16, 2013
Category: Merch
active approach diy exposure make money marketing merch networking on demand printing
**As featured in Indie on the Move's Touring Tips Section.
When first breaking into a new market, even the best promotion can often yield poor results in attendance because you have yet to build name recognition in that area. Other times, you are forced to play for exposure alone just to get your leg in the door at one of the local music venues. In either case, merchandise sales can not only get you to the next show and pay for gas, but also allow you to continue and finish the tour without going bankrupt.
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 13, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
ato records bruce flohr fan engagement hometown managers online presence press kits record labels
Deciding the next step to help break your music and band can be a confusing one. You'll have people tell you what they think you should do and if you don't know any better or have an experienced person to talk to about it, packing up the van and moving to LA might seem like the very best option. But before you do that, take a listen to what industry veteran and manager Bruce Flohr thinks of that approach and his opinion on the best way to get some worthwhile attention in the music industry.
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 9, 2013
Category: The Musician Business
bbc radio network clear channel diy indie artists musik and film payola radio promotion
**Guest post by Stephen Wrench of Musik and Film as featured in their blog.
If you want to get a hit in the US, you will have to play the game. Meaning - you better have some very deep pockets to play in this high stakes game. You will need to hire a team of promoters to maneuver your song into the charts. This team will need to be in a position to grease the airplay wheels to get your song played. Call it payola, call it big business, call it what you want. But the bottom line is -- unless you have a million dollars to drop into your single you are not going to get a hit record in the US.
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 6, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
artists and repetoire interscope records neil jacobson networking popular music producers songwriting
A great song has the ability to mark a time in society and capture the spirit of a generation. It takes great musicians, writers, producers, and a team to break it in the market, but before all that happens, the pieces need to come together and someone needs to help put them together. Enter the A&R department. In this clip, Neil Jacobson, the Sr. VP of A&R at Interscope Records, talks about what he looks for in a song and why it's important that it can cross over into popular music.
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 3, 2013
Category: Facebook
diy facebook fan engagement grassroots how to run a band marketing plan promotion social media twitter
**Guest post written by Chris Lee of The Shakers, a melodic high energy Rock act from Los Angeles, CA.
"I would like to go on record and state that, with every fiber of my being, I vehemently HATE social networking. I hate it. I hated Myspace. I hate Facebook. I hate Google+. I hate Tumblr. I hate Twitter. I hate Pintrest. I hate Instagram. And god help your mortal soul if you so much as THINK about sending me something on frikkin LinkedIn. Unfortunately for myself, and hard working musicians everywhere, the fantasy of being discovered over night came and went with my TMNT feetie pajamas as did almost the entirety of what I once (thought I) knew of the music industry."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 28, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
9:30 club artistic conviction career goals concert promoter make money music business true north
Seth Hurwitz is a partner at I.M.P. Productions and a longtime veteran concert promoter. As part owner of the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, Seth has been involved in the independent promotion business for decades and his experiences in the business shaped a "realist" attitude toward the industry, to say the least. In this clip, Seth advises aspiring artists to simply: bring it. And for the aspiring business professionals, Seth says the key to success is to figure out what reality is, stick by it, and don't change your version of it because someone's trying to change your version of it. Wise words from an experienced veteran.
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 26, 2013
Category: Show Booking
draw hometown make money music business pay to play show booking tour booking touring tips
**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, a DIY singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA with 500+ shows under his belt, as featured in his blog "Ari's Take".
"...But what all the non-superstar musicians in LA have in common is, when we play a show in town we accept shitty shitty deals...This isn't going to be a post about LA (as that could fill a book), but rather the issue of "pay to play" clubs. Let's explore some of the many scenarios bands get offered by venues and promoters every day..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 21, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
green day managers marketing plan music album release promotion radio promotion web presence
It's easy to understand that there wouldn't be a music industry without music, but sometimes we forget that the creation process is only the beginning. Once created, a major part of the battle is having the right people, plan, timeline, and creative ideas to get your music to an audience. In this clip Pat Magnarella, manager of Green Day, talks about marketing an album a year and a half before release and some of the pieces he used in the campaign.
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 20, 2013
Category: The Musician Business
clear channel diy indie artists indie record labels musik and film online distribution radio promotion
**Guest post by Stephen Wrench of Musik and Film as featured in their blog.
The sooner that indie artists realize that they are on their own in this world of 360 deals and pay-to-play radio, the better off they will be. There will be no major label knocking on your door offering riches and fame just because you’re good. If you are good, you better be very smart and be savvy in business and the art of promotion if you want to succeed in the new world of being an independent artist.
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 14, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
booking agents cold pitching la major music markets nyc solicited
Marc Geiger has a music industry resume to be admired. Among many other things, he started as a successful concert promoter, co-founded Lollapalooza, and is currently the head of Worldwide Music at William Morris Endeavor. In this clip, Marc and the Renman talk about the following age old questions:
-Do booking and talent agents actually read all those emails and listen to all those demos that you send them?
-Do you have a better shot of getting more exposure when based in a major market like LA or NYC?
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 12, 2013
Category: Show Booking
show booking tour booking touring touring plan touring strategy touring tips
**As featured in Indie on the Move's Touring Tips section.
Whether you’re planning a two-week mini tour or a two-month tour, first and foremost you should sit down and write up a mock itinerary. This will include the cities you plan to hit and the dates you plan to be in each city...
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 6, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
advertising film licensing position music publishing tv
Making your music is the fun part, but if you can turn it into some money that makes it even more fun! A great way to do this is to use a music publisher and a music supervisor to help place your music in TV, Film, and Advertising! Supervisors and publishers are always looking for new music and in this clip Position Music's Jake Versluis walks us through five pieces to have prepared before submitting to supervisors and publishers.
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 5, 2013
Category: Promotion
allison weiss free music grassroots kickstarter make money marketing plan radiohead
**Guest post by Mike Vial as featured in his blog.
"The fact that it’s free or crowdfunded shouldn’t be the story; those are footnotes to the actual story, a story about the music."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 30, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
college incubus laws of nature music science
The decision of whether to go to college or not can be tough for any aspiring musician. Do you go? Should you study music? Or do you get a business degree? The choice is personal for everyone and there are a handful of other questions to wrestle, but it always helps to hear other people's stories and experiences. In this clip, Incubus guitarist, Mike Einziger, tells us about his college experience at Harvard University, why he chose to study of Evolutionary Biology and Cosmetology, and how science, music, and the universe are all related.
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 29, 2013
Category: Promotion
bryan farrish distribution radio promotion radio stations small batch pressing touring web presence
**Guest post by Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion as featured in their Song/Album Promotion Articles/Advice/Content.
"It works like this: Radio stations are paid based upon their ratings (the number of listeners they have.) If a record label exposes an artist to many potential fans by way of performances, posters, TV, articles, or film, and these fans then want to hear that artist's song, they will have to tune in to the radio station that plays it. This means that this radio station is going to get all these new listeners, and thus is going to have higher ratings. But new acts can't do any of this for a station, and the station knows this."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 23, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
artistic conviction career goals fuck the gatekeepers renman true north
Before you can succeed in this industry, you need to understand who you are and where you want to go in the big picture of things. In this clip, the Renman talks about setting your own compass, finding your true north, and reminds us of the importance of being yourself throughout your career.
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 22, 2013
Category: Show Booking
draw gig swap selling your act show booking touring tips
**As featured in Indie on the Move's Touring Tips section.
When communicating with a booker, be as concise and informative as possible. Remember, he probably receives A LOT of emails every day, so the last thing he wants to read is a long-winded message. Try to keep it to 4-5 sentences while still hitting on all your main selling points...
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 15, 2013
Category: The Lefsetz Letter
artistic conviction fame guidance make money music business relationships with fans
**Guest Post by Bob Lefsetz of The Lefsetz Letter.
"DON'T DEPEND ON THIRD PARTIES - Being an artist is doing it your way. Now you no longer need a label, gatekeepers are not as powerful as they once were, so why are you playing to them? Of course it's more difficult going your own way, but that's the paradigm of the future. He who plays by the rules gets left behind..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 9, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
licensing pretty lights producer sampling
Using samples in music poses a problem for young producers unaware of the legalities and obligations that go along with it. In this clip, electronic producer Pretty Lights, aka Derek Vincent Smith, discusses the ramifications of using unlicensed music in a track, what he did to fix the problem, and the potential pitfalls if a producer is not careful.
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 8, 2013
Category: Managers
clout discovery diy live performances managers social media web presence
**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, a DIY singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA with 500+ shows under his belt, as featured in his blog "Ari's Take".
"A manager's biggest asset is not being you. A manager talking his band up will get a much better response than the singer talking his band up. Even if the manager is the lead singer's brother (Imagine Dragons)...You need to be kicking ass on your own BEFORE any manager will want to represent you."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 3, 2013
Category: Renman Music & Business
alex da kid eminem imagine dragons influences keys to success mentors music business rihanna
From Imagine Dragons to Eminem and Rihanna, Alex Da Kid works with and produces the biggest artists of today's music business. Currently, Alex is flying high thanks to his production on the smash single RadioActive by Imagine Dragons. In addition to producing, Alex recently started his own record label Kid In A Korner in partnership with Interscope. In this clip, Alex talks about who helped him along his career path and why he studies successful people's careers to help him in his own.
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 2, 2013
Category: Live Performance
make money merch music business repeat customers restaurants show booking
**Guest post written by Nifty of MusicFullTime.com.
"Begin by thinking of yourself as more than just a “hired” musician playing for an evening in a nice (or not so nice) restaurant. Viewing this opportunity as a typical “gig” is actually a 9 to 5 mentality that’s fatal to your income potential. The restaurant has hired you, not for the purpose of doing “you” a favor, nope. The restaurant owner is trying to add value to her customers."
View Full Article