I know how tough it is for an indie band to find the funds to put up flyers around town, print promotional CDs, etc. That’s why I’ve come up with 5 marketing ideas that could either be copied, expanded upon, or used to inspire more creative juices to come up with some clever marketing tactics of your own. Not saying these ideas are anywhere near perfect, but if you’ve got […]

These days, merchandise sales make up a pretty big portion of most touring acts’ income. The staples of CD’s, shirts, and stickers have become even more important as income from performing has gradually dropped. There are many tips out there of what bands should order and how they should sell their products, but there doesn’t seem to be much on how to get the best possible pricing from vendors, how to […]

As passionate as we are about our songwriting, the reality is that sometimes it’s difficult to motivate ourselves to write.  Whether it’s the fear of plumbing our emotional depths or just good old fatigue after a long day, there are often obstacles to overcome when it’s time to write. While flashes of inspiration are great, we can’t always count on the muse showing up on our schedule.  Instead, we’ve got […]

Hi guys, today I want to look at how to get people involved with promoting your music. Why would you want to do this? Simple, because doing all the promotion by yourself is a uphill struggle! And as we know, more hands mean lighter work. Now let me make this clear: I know not everyone currently has the money to hire music marketers to get involved (One day, but maybe […]

I get a lot of questions from bands about how to get their numbers up on social media sites. After a 2 minute scan of their sites I completely understand why their numbers aren’t higher (and it’s not because they suck – many of these bands are actually great). It’s because they don’t understand the online communities they are attempting to be a part of. Too many bands improperly use […]

Self-promotion in the music industry is a topic that has been explored extensively over the past 20 years. Some of the basic ground rules are the same that apply to any business or freelancer. Most people in the industry, however, bands included, don’t know a whole lot about it. Many prefer to hover around the topic of social media because it’s all they know. After all, once you call yourself […]

1) Make it easy for them. It’s your job to define your story and tell the world why it is that you need to make music.  Laura Goldfarb at Red Boot Publicity explains, ”Getting coverage is much more likely to happen if your story is compelling and your content is streamlined throughout all available social media outlets.  So much of PR is about pushing your brand to the next level – and consistency is key.” […]

Entering concert dates is one of the most annoying parts of playing live. It’s both time-consuming and annoying to keep up with. Thankfully, it gets easier and easier each year to do this menial task. Entering dates into the services we have outlined below increases the chance of getting both fans and potential fans to your shows. Some of them can put them in the places where your fans go to […]

Independent artists can make more money than ever before. The walls of major label distribution have crumbled, and have been down for a decade. Social networks make promotion to fans easier and cheaper. Add in home recording, crowd-sourced artwork, and other cost cutting maneuvers and DIY musicians can be financially successful. Or so goes the myth. Reality is far murkier. Yes, it is possible to make money as a DIY […]

Are you committing any of these social media sins? 1. Promoting without providing value  This is without a doubt one of the biggest no-no’s that exists on EVERY Social Media platform today. It’s one thing to use your page to dutifully inform your followers that you have new music, videos, or shows coming up, but completely another to ram the self-promotion stick so far down their throats that they get rushed […]