Posted by Marcus Taylor

This guest blog post was written by Marcus Taylor, founder of The Musician’s Guide — a website that helps DIY musicians learn about the insides of the music industry, and download useful legal resources including publishing contracts & producer contracts.

We all know that “who you know” and “being in the right place at the right time” play an important role in attaining success as an artist. What we often forget, though, is that we’re the ones responsible for building those connections.

Whilst researching the intricacies of how successful people network for my book last year, my co-writer Rob and I noticed that for two people to meet, they must go through a 3-stage process.

First of all, they must be aligned in the same space at the same time, either geographically (e.g. in the same room) or virtually (e.g. on Twitter). Secondly, they must connect through some form of introduction, and finally they must engage in deeper conversation to create a long-term relationship.

In this post I want to focus on those first two points, and share with you seven tips to help you meet more music business contacts.

Read full article here: 7 Ways to Build Music Business Contacts

Article by Talentz Bank

The most important factor in your music career: The Fan Factor

A committed fanbase is tantamount to a successful music career. The ‘Fan factor’ is key factor, it cannot be ignored.  You need fans…

Focus on building a fanbase first and not an industry friend base. 
If you’ve got no fans, which mean no acceptance and no recognition, then there’s no way you can be seen as relevant in the music industry. Who wants to be friends with Mr. nobody? If you command great followership, Mr. Top celeb will ‘see’ you…

Read full article here:  The Most Important Factor…

Article By Cliff Goldmacher

It takes a combination of factors including patience, perseverance and, most importantly an undeniable work ethic to rise above the masses of songwriters all hoping to get their songs out in the world.

I’d like to begin this article by saying that I’m not a cynic. On the contrary, I’m a big believer that if your dream is to have success with your music, then, in time, you will find that success. However, there are rarely shortcuts in our line of work and being a gifted songwriter, in my experience, simply isn’t enough to guarantee success. It takes a combination of factors including patience, perseverance and, most importantly an undeniable work ethic to rise above the masses of songwriters all hoping to get their songs out in the world.

Read full article here: Four Reasons Talent Isn’t Enough.

How to get heard

One of the best steps on finding better ways to get your music and message out there is to know the difference between what works for you and what works for others.

It can be find to copy, emulate, use certain aspects as a template, but make sure they are effective methods.

If a local high school team calls a press conference, who is going to show? If the Boston Celtics call a press conference, the entire sports world will be there to hear it.

If the Miami Heat put up some kind of vague advertising campaign about some kind of surprise announcement or event, millions will check it out. If the local high school team does the same, it might just be the local town.

The point is, learn and understand the larger models that work, but more so, make sure you are clear on what works at what level and in turn, work to make the most effective things work for you.

You can copy a concept, but make sure to apply the execution and plan that is in your budget, your fan base level and your exposure level to get the most interaction, growth and results.

The more you build the best approaches on how to get heard for your music, your message and your promotion that are inspired by the biggest and most famous, but implemented on the grassroots and the realistic levels, you will create the best buzz.

Every situation is individualized. Make sure the promo, the press, the message and the efforts are custom tailored to you, your situation and your budget!

Article by:Loren Weisman

http://www.lorenweisman.com/2012/06/14/how-to-get-heard/

Music Consultant, Music Producer & Music Coach Loren Weisman works to help, assist & consult independent artists, musicians, bands, labels & managers to achieve sustainable success. For more on LW’s speaking, music consulting, music coaching or other services, visit: lorenweisman.com

BY: Shaun Letang

This article is brought to you by Shaun of Music Industry How To.

Hi guys. Today, I want to share with you my views on some of the traits that makes an independent musician successful. While this isn’t a complete list of the things that they generally have in common, all of these things do tend to be defining characteristics outside of the fact that they have talent.

So read on, and see if you can incorporate any of the below points into your music career.

View 4 Key Traits… Read the rest of this entry »

“Interact with your fan base. Some of my all time favorite bands are the ones that vlog, blog, and tweet. It humanizes the band, and forms a personal connection with your fans.”
- TLarkin Productions / www.seejoerock.com/tlarkinproductions

“Music is what feelings sound like. Don’t be afraid to lay it all on the line.”
- RYO Records / www.seejoerock.com/ryorecords

“Your live show should appeal to all five senses. You need to learn how to make the audience buy into and believe in what you are doing on stage. Strive to make people feel passionately about your music. Make them absolutely love you or absolutely hate you. There is nothing worse than a lukewarm listener.”
- Break My Band / www.seejoerock.com/BreakMyBand

“Management is not what every band needs especially when you are not ready. Establish yourself, develop relationships and a resume before you take the next step! Find out what the bands missing, not what you already have!”
- DJQ Artist Management / www.seejoerock.com/djqmanagement

“Being successful in the music industry consists of 40% talent and 60% promotions! Why release great music if no one knows about it.”
- AheadPR / www.seejoerock.com/AheadPR

“5 helpful tips for printing on a CD!!
1.) Make sure to use the correct Dering templates and follow the specs.
2.) For CD labels sometimes simpler is better. Sometimes using solid PMS spot colors renders better results than artist’s images or subtle and detailed artwork.
3.) Keep type larger than 8 points for easy reading and higher quality printing.
4.) If you want to print on a disc without printing a white base coat down first, be aware of the different surfaces of the disc. For example the center area of the disc is clear plastic. Printing type or logos across these different surfaces can lead to unappealing results.
5.) Remember that the silver surface of the disc can be used to add an additional “color” to your artwork. Letting the silver of the disc show through type or graphics can add a nice effect to your design”
- Dering Corporation / www.seejoerock.com/Tracy

Find more helpful PRO TIPS by our SeeJoeRock.com PROS on www.seejoerock.com/professionals

So this past weekend, we had the amazing opportunity to attend the Dewey Beach Music Conference in Delaware and let me just say, it was awesome!!  For those of you who don’t know what this event is or what goes on, be sure to check it out here [Dewey Beach Music Conference] and get hooked up for next year!! It’s every independent, DIY Musician’s MUST ATTEND event!!

I have to say, out of all of the amazing people we met, pros in the Industry, amazing bands and musicians.. the one thing I took home with me that I thought was crucial to make sure I got back to every musician out there reading this.. was the importance of musicians getting themselves registered to get PAID for their PLAYS! And one way is with SoundExchange. Read the rest of this entry »