Ghostbusters and the Modern Musician, part I (Keymasters & Gatekeepers)
I have been thinking a lot about Ghostbusters lately, and the more that I think about it, the more that I believe that there is a lot that independent musicians can learn from the film. Seriously! Thus, our new series: Ghostbusters and The Modern Musician. Today, we examine one of the film's key...
5 Characteristics of Digitally Engaged Music Seekers
Tom Ewing (on his always-enjoyable Freaky Trigger blog) has listed five shared characteristics of a group he has dubbed “Digitally Engaged Music Seekers” (DEMS for short). The list was based on a simple twitter question: What’s your favourite current song and how did you first hear it? Check out the full article here.
Gardening Your Way to More Fans
On the always brilliant New Music Strategies blog this week, Andrew Dubber describes his new method for reaching “tastemakers and gatekeepers” with your music and, more specifically, with promotional copies of your music. His suggestion? Gardening. Learn more here. What do you think–is he on to something? (We think so.)
Trent Reznor: “hone your craft…then present it in a way that exploits it the best”
...Digg finally posted their much-anticipated interview with the forward-thinking Trent Reznor. The questions were all written and voted-on by Digg users, and (happily, for us) the bulk of the discussion revolves around new music business models and includes very detailed advice on how music artists can use technology to connect with both fans and...
Finding Your Audience: As Suggested By You…
...over the last week, we have looked at ways to find your audience, and the feedback was phenomenal, both in terms of appreciation and in terms of suggestions for additional ways to find your audience. Here, we feature some of the top reader suggestions that apply to our general readership...
Finding Your Audience: Twitter
...Twitter is the hip social media thing to do right now, but after you peel back the hype and "trend-spotting" news reports (and actually start to use the service!), you will discover that Twitter allows for interaction unlike any other type of social media, and there are specific benefits to musicians that no other service...
Finding Your Audience: Old-Skool Style
We have been focusing on using technology and, more specifically, the internet to find your ideal audience, but the truth is that musicians have been successfully finding fans for much longer than the last decade, and many of those Old-Skool pre-internet techniques are still very effective. Here are a few tried and true ways...
Somebody wants to hear your music…
...if there is one thing that we can learn from Blip.fm--besides the fact that people from around the world like to share what they are listening to--it is that if you make music, there is someone who wants to hear it; you just need to reach your audience...
So you’re not going to SXSW…
Now, don't get me wrong--SXSW is an amazing experience, and I do wish that I was attending this year. However, not attending is not the end the world, and as a working musician, you can use this upcoming week to your advantage if you are smart about it.
Record Store Day: Show Your Local Indie Music Store That You Care
One of the more effective ways for you as an independent musicians to promote your music and discover new listeners is through your local independent record store. These stores and their customers are at the center of any healthy local music scene. Thus, they should be a key part of your music marketing strategy.
April...