Much of what goes on in the music industry now happens over computer and smartphone screens. From bands submitting their music to blogs and playlists to listeners streaming songs, like many other aspects of modern life, music is now mostly being heard and talked about online. But if you’re a musician hoping to make an impact with your music, don’t count out the physical world just yet.
There’s no doubt that today’s music industry is fiercely competitive. Because an insane amount of new music comes out each and every day, it makes sense that musicians often adopt a winner-takes-all mentality when it comes to promoting and advocating for their work. But rather than fighting each other and entertaining jealousy when another artist’s music succeeds, musicians should be working together to create momentum for their work.
Though bands have had the ability to share anything and everything with their fans in real time for years now, many of them still haven’t figured out what’s worth posting and what should be held back. Some bands adopt a philosophy of complete openness and transparency when it comes to what they share. If they feel, think, and experience it, it’s worth telling their fans about. Others take the opposite approach and hold everything back save for music-related information like new music and shows. Both extremes are bad for most bands which means a balance needs to happen to get the most out of communicating with fans. Here are some guidelines on what to post on social media.
As a musician, your single biggest challenge is getting your music before your target audience. It’s not enough to create good music; you also have to market it effectively.
It doesn’t help that far too many musicians rely on spur of the moment actions and ad-hoc marketing tactics. Instead of approaching their music marketing with a systematic plan, they make reactive decisions that don’t yield any long-term success.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to create a DIY music marketing plan that actually works. I’ll cover branding, developing a marketing mix, and finding your target audience so you can make better marketing decisions.
Music is, was, and probably always will be an often brutal and thankless career path for most musicians. Summing a musician’s struggle up as lots of work for not much money would be way too simple because for serious songwriters and musicians, the emotional toll of trying to forge a path in music proves to be emotionally unbearable from time to time. For most musicians, money is secondary to their passion, but rejection after rejection and the creeping feeling that an artist’s sacrifice, talent, and work won’t ever amount to anything is often so damaging that it makes even the most promising musicians question themselves. Learning to cope with disappointment is not an option if you love making music and want to share it with people.
There’s something so exciting about when a band transitions from looking for opportunities to getting asked to be a part of them. From other bands hoping you’ll open for them at a show to local nonprofits asking you to donate your music for a good cause, play music long enough and you’ll start to get lots of people asking you for things. But while some opportunities can be good for your career in music, others won’t be worth your time.
A few months ago, I was on the verge of burnout. Maybe you can relate?
Feeling overwhelmed, like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, is quite common with musicians. After all, we are expected not only to perform and record, but also to book our shows, do all the marketing to get people to attend our shows, engage on social media, write songs, keep up with our song catalog & PRO administration, and a lot more.
Often, artists don’t recognize the signs of burnout until it’s too late to just “take a break.” They end up exhausted, jaded, and many actually give up on music (sometimes until the passion and drive kick back in, but sometimes for good!)
I want to help you recognize the signs of impending burnout so you can avoid full burnout. Once you know the signs, I’ll give you some simple changes you can make to turn it around and help you live a healthier, more balanced life without having to quit music.
There’s nothing quite like festival season in the music industry. Whether you’re a fan going to see your favorite bands, the band playing one of the stages, or industry working the event, there’s just something kind of magical about the whole thing. It’s an atmosphere unlike any other.
But this is a blog that’s dedicated to helping you take your music career to the next level, so you know we’re about to dish out some tips that will help you do exactly that. Designed with the DIY artist in mind, we’ve put together a list of 3 ways you can make the most of summer festival season, from both inside and outside the festival gates.
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