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Online Stalker

7 Ways Musicians Can Protect Themselves Online from Stalkers

By Security One Comment

You don’t have to be a celebrity to have stalkers. As an artist, especially if you’re a woman, putting yourself out there on stage or even behind the screen on social media, generates a lot of attention, making you a potential target of identity theft or a victim of stalking or harassment.

As you become more established as an independent artist, it’s very important for you to think about your safety and security. Stalking can happen to anyone and the tools available on the internet make it easier than ever for someone to find out personal information about you and track what you are doing. Even if you aren’t celebrity famous, someone who may not be the most mentally or emotionally stable might take an unhealthy interest in you. Read More

Apps for Musicians

33 Mobile Apps to Help Make Musician Life Easier and Productive

By Apps No Comments

Last updated on 3/2/2020.

As an artist, it may actually be easier to maximize productivity now when you’re not in front of your laptop or home computer. This is because the apps we have on our smartphones now allow us to get so much done on the go.

I put this list of apps together I felt would be very useful for musicians to manage their day-to-day tasks, create new content, and promote their music. My suggestions are based on apps I have used as well as some of the artists I work with. For this blog, I want to stay away from the painfully obvious ones like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Mailchimp. Read More

More Spotify Followers

How to Get More Spotify Followers (Tips for Musicians)

By Music Streaming, Social Media, Spotify 3 Comments

Looking for more Spotify followers? As of 2018, Spotify is the top music streaming subscription platform right now worldwide with over 207 million active users (96 million are paying subscribers). As Spotify continues to grow and offer new tools to help you succeed as an independent artist, it makes sense to devote time and effort to increase your number of followers on this platform.

One of the biggest benefits of having Spotify followers is that fans receive email notifications when you put new music on Spotify or announce new shows (if you use Songkick.com). Your songs also show up in their Release Radar playlist and possibly other algorithmic playlists from Spotify. Read More

Super Fans Isaiah Rashad

4 Easy Communication Tweaks To Help Convert Fans Into Super Fans

By Branding, Music Business, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

Since 2008, there’s been a popular hypothesis floating around the internet about how artists can make a sustainable living if they are able to earn roughly 1,000 super fans.

Unfortunately with so much competition for attention now, that number may be more. However, the idea behind this is to help dispel this notion that you need thousands or millions of fans to make it as an independent and that living off music is more attainable than it seems. Read More

Think Fan Funnel

Want to grow your fan base effectively? Think funnels. Fan funnels.

By Marketing Basics, Music Business, Strategy One Comment

If you want to grow your fan base effectively, you need to think about funnels. Of course, I am not talking about an actual physical funnel, but metaphorically speaking.

In business, a sales funnel (or similarly a buyer’s journey) is a process that consists of different stages or touchpoints that potential customers pass through as they become more interested in your products and services until they reach the desired action or sales transaction at the end.

As artists and musicians, your customers (or fans) go through different stages as well to take the ideal action at the end of the funnel, which is typically to buy your music and pay to see your show. However, instead of sales funnels, I like to think of it as a fan or relationship funnel when talking about music. Read More

Branding Butterscotch

The Basics of Branding for Musicians: Setting Your Brand Foundation

By Branding, Marketing Basics No Comments

If you’ve read my first blog about the importance of branding for musicians and some basic terminology, then you’re ready to start laying the foundation for your own brand.

One of the most important assets you have is your brand, and your brand’s effectiveness is determined by how well you are able to connect with people on an emotional level. Why? Because not everyone will listen to your music when they come across it. Instead, they will have to make decisions about you based on your name, online presentation, bios, descriptions and everything else that relates to you. If these aspects don’t get their attention or resonate with their identity, then they are less likely to listen to your music.

In this blog, I will go over the 4 general steps that are essential to help you build your own brand. Read More

Branding Butterscotch

The Basics of Branding for Musicians: Simplifying the Terms (Part 1 of 3)

By Branding, Marketing Basics One Comment

“Your music is the last thing that matters. Once they listen to your music, your music it the only thing that matters.” – Lisa Lepine (Music consultant)

It’s normal to think that your music is the most important asset you have as a musician. I mean, it is but it isn’t. Your music is only important if you can actually get people to listen to it, and it’s become increasingly harder to get someone to press play for the first time in this new digital world.

Many think being a musician means throwing some songs on some social media accounts and hope that something will magically catch on. Yeah, that’s not happening.

The fact is, there’s just so much great talent out there competing for attention that it’s not easy for musicians to stand out of the clutter. With so many options for music and entertainment, people have to make judgments and decisions about what they may or may not like before actually hearing the music. Read More

Chance the Rapper in Sacramento

Was Chance the Rapper lucky? 7 Principles Indie Artists Can Apply From his Success

By Branding, Music Business, Music Distribution, Strategy No Comments

Whether or not you are a fan of hip hop, I’m sure you’ve probably heard or seen the name Chance the Rapper before.

I had the chance to see Chance the Rapper live here in Sacramento recently on April 27, 2017. Although I can’t say I’m a huge fan, he does make great music and a down-to-earth guy you want to root for.

Those who have read a few of my previous blogs know that I have referenced Chance a few times as the poster child for this paradigm shift that music should be freely accessible. Embracing this shift is a mindset and approach I believe will be critical to the future success of all musicians. Offering your music without a price tag and knowing that the days of records sales are dying so all musicians need to start adopting now. Read More

Live Performance Mistakes

13 Live Performance Mistakes Artists and Musicians Need to Avoid

By Live Performance, Music Business 4 Comments

It’s no secret that one of the most important skills you can have as a musician is putting on a good show for a live crowd. The income stream from live performances can be a big one that will help you sustain a music career in the age of music streaming. It’s also an effective way to make a good impression and win over new fans who have not heard your music before.

But just because you make good music, does not automatically mean you are a good performer. A good performance takes planning, practicing and rehearsing. Read More

Marketing for musicians

Simplifying the Concept of Marketing for Musicians

By Marketing Basics No Comments

Are you unclear about what marketing is and why you need it for your music?

Marketing, just like branding, is a fundamental component of business, so it’s vital that indie musicians do not dismiss marketing as something only big businesses or major artists need.

If you want to make a living as an artist or musician, you need to treat your music like a business. As with any type of business, you need to have a product or service to sell and customers to buy it. In this case, the product or service is your music, and marketing comes into play to help you find the right customers to buy your product. Read More