So You're Playing A Festival

I have a lot of friends that play festivals this time of year. Some of them play with major touring acts and others are on the lower rungs of touring, so they're only too happy for the chance to get in front of a lot of people.

One of the things I've noticed is that acts that are playing a festival in the support positions usually don't adequately take advantage of the situation though, and an article on the CD Baby DIY Musician blog goes into some detail on this.

While you can read the original post, I've excerpted a few points that caught my eye and included my own explanations.

• Provide a good publicity photo. It's hard to believe that many acts don't have a great photo for situations like this. You can read some other posts on photos on this blog about it, but the big thing is that you can't expect that you friend with an iPhone or a cheap DLSR camera is going to get the same results as a pro. Spend the money for a great photo; it's worth it, especially when it comes to the free publicity that you'll get from a festival.

• Provide a strong bio. Bios for artists and bands can be tough if they have no history. One thing that many artists do is focus on either the stars they've opened for, are friends with, have worked with, or know. While it might be okay to use this info in passing, the bio is supposed to be about you. These things may be a validation in your mind, but not to someone who's reading it. Find what's unique about yourself or your music as the focal point.

• Focus on how great you are live. Everyone knows that recordings are polished and may not be a true indication of how well you perform. That's why it's important to focus on how great you are live in a bio. After all, that's what the festival is all about.

• Actively promote your appearance. Playing a festival is a noteworthy achievement and is worth promoting, both to help you with other bookings, and to get your fans to the festival. It's always great to play in front of friendly faces, and your fans enthusiasm can be contagious. My friends in SNEW go as far as to take out targeted television ads to announce that they're playing a festival.

Playing a festival is a very cool thing. Make the most of it, by taking a little time to prepare beforehand.

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The 5 Kinds Of Music Publishing Payments

Too many musicians underestimate or just plain don't understand how important music publishing is. It's always been the hidden-in-plain-sight cash cow of the music business, but also has been one of the least sexy. That said, publishing is literally the gift that keeps on giving, where you can get paid (and paid well) while you sleep. It's also the one part of the business that still continues to do well even though it's taken a hit like most other areas in music.

DIY Musician posted a short article on publishing recently that I'd like to paraphrase a bit regarding the 5 kinds of payments that music publishing can provide. If you're not hip to publishing, hopefully this will wet your appetite to learn more.

1. Mechanical Royalties: Every time your song is sold either on a vinyl record, CD or MP3, the songwriter is entitled to $.091 per copy. What that means is that if there's an album with 10 of your songs on it, you'll make $.91. This is why some writers made big money in the glory days of the business when albums where king. It's also why those same writers have far less income these days where it's a singles world, and will have even less when the world changes to streaming, although you do get a mechanical from some services like Spotify, although at a far lower rate.

2. Performance Royalties: Every time your song is played in public, you're owed a royalty payment. This includes airplay on the radio (terrestrial, satellite or Internet) and television, or in restaurants, clubs or even high school plays (although that's a lot harder to collect).

3. Synchronization License Royalties: Whenever your music is played along with moving pictures like television or movies, the creator of the movie or video has to pay the songwriter a fee. If fact, if you're the artist as well and they use your recording, they have to pay a fee on that as well. This is where most of the growth in the publishing business has come from recently, thanks to the proliferation of television channels.

4. Sample License Royalties: If someone samples a piece of one of your recorded songs, they owe you a royalty. Once again, this is a relatively new revenue source that's only happened in the last 20 years. There's been some big lawsuits regarding samples that have largely gone in favor of the songwriter.

5. Sheet Music Royalties: Any time your music is reproduced in a printed form, you're owed a royalty. This includes hard or soft copy sheet music, lead sheets, and anything else that represents your music or lyrics. When the music business was young over a hundred years ago, this was the major source of revenue for the entire industry.

As you can see, publishing pays in more ways than one. Having a piece of a big hit can pay off for the rest of your life, which is why those in the know are so protective of it. I still get paid for some songs I wrote that appeared on the 80s hit television show Bay Watch (although it's not much these days), which goes to show how powerful being a songwriter can really be.

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5 Instances Where You Need A Music Attorney

As usual, CD Baby's DIY Musician blog has a lot of great info, this time on the 5 instances when you should hire a music attorney. You can read the entire article for yourself, but I'll paraphrase it here along with some of my own comments.

Let me say up front that although hiring your brother-in-law who does real estate law is better than not having an lawyer, a music attorney has specific expertise that pertains to the music business. He or she can easily spot when a deal is unfair or not exactly in your favor, so the extra hassle in seeking one out is worth it.

Here are the 5 instances where you really need an attorney from the music business:

1. Before you sign your band agreement. There are a lot of things that you need to hash out, including who owns the name, how any money is distributed, who owns the gear and recordings, how does a member get fired, and the grim stuff like what happens if a member dies or becomes incapacitated.

2. Before you sign with a publisher. A lot of smaller publishers like to have a lot of songwriters signed so their catalog looks bigger, but a music attorney can usually see through that and make sure that your getting what you deserve. Keep in mind that publishing agreements can be very complicated, so they really do require a pro.

3. Before signing with a manager. Managers love to say, "Let's do this without an attorney to save some money," but that's never a good idea. A bad manager deal can keep you paying him for years after you stop working together.

4. Before signing a record deal. It goes without saying that record deals are complicated and getting more so every year. While having an attorney may not get you a better deal if you're a baby band, you may get a few concessions that will be really helpful down the line that will more than make up the cost of your own attorney. Plus, even if you're getting screwed on some point, its at least good to know up front that it's happening.

5. Before signing a licensing deal for one of your songs. The reason why you want an attorney to look the agreement over is that if you're not careful, the song might be used in many more ways that you thought, all without paying you any additional money.

As you can see, it's very much worth while to have a music industry pro watch your back. As the old saying goes, "A pro is expensive, but an amateur costs a fortune."

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7 Steps To Make Your Merch Table Magnetic

I'm a huge fan of CD Baby's DIY Musician blog, and almost every week they have at least one post that's full of killer info. Here's a post called "7 Easy Ways To Attract Fans To Your Merch Table" that I thought was fantastic. You can read the entire post here (the tips at the end about LEDs is worth it), but here are the 7 steps that cut right to the heart of the matter.

1. Make it intriguing. Capture the attention of concert attendees before they hear a single note. 

2. Avoid clutter. Clearly display the products for sale and their prices.

3. Quickly convey your artist aesthetic. It is an extension of you and should “jive with your vibe.”

4. Make it accessible. The merch booth has got to be easy to get to, unobstructed, and clearly visible to many people at once so long lines don’t hinder sales opportunities.

5. Diversify. Offer a few different items (CDs, t-shirts, stickers, mugs, etc.) and bundle them together for a reduced price to entice fans who might be on the fence.

6. Get your email list up there front and center. The merch booth is your opportunity to attract new fans even if they don’t buy anything. This may be the only chance you have to turn a stranger into a lifelong fan, so on’t miss it!

7. Be visible at the booth following your performance. If you’ve created a moment on stage that made a fan say to themselves “I need to take some memory of this home with me” then what better way to ensure a lasting connection than to have a conversation with your audience after the show.

Merch should be one of your main sources of income, but it can only happen if you present it well. 

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Why You're Losing Facebook Fans

CD Baby's DIY Musician blog recently ran an article entitled "10 Reasons Why You're Losing Facebook Fans." You can read the entire article on their site, but I thought I'd pick out a few that I feel are especially relevant.

• Constantly asking for people to vote for you. Contrary to what shows like American Idol and The Voice may tell you, music isn’t a competition. Sure, you can take your career to new places and get your fans engaged with the occasional songwriting, performance, or fan-voting contest, but stop entering every damn one you come across. It looks a little desperate.

• Posting your stream of consciousness updates every 20 minutes. If you’re posting more than a few times a day, it better be good stuff! Don’t use your Facebook band page as your personal profile. The few folks who might care what you’re up to every day will stop caring quick.

• Requiring someone to do something before they can hear your music. People don’t like to jump through hoops. Let fans listen to your music right away– even if it’s only a couple tracks.

• Advertising by posting on someone else’s wall. Remember MySpace? This is the kinda nonsense that would happen on MySpace all the time– and why people stopped using it. Do NOT put your marketing messages on other people’s Facebook walls. That is what YOUR wall is for.

• Begging for “likes”. It’s probably OK once or twice a year to ask your friends on Facebook to “like” your band page. Don’t make a weekly habit of the practice, though. Your band page won’t get “liked,” and you might just get de-friended.

There are five additional items that are worth taking a look at, but these are the ones that personally bug me the most. Remember, online etiquette is just as important as personal etiquette.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

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3 Common Mistakes Made By Independant Musicians

CD Baby's DIY Musician blog always has a lot of good tidbits for those still struggling in the musical trenches, which I know is most of you. You can read this entire article regarding the "3 Most Common Mistakes Made By Independant Musicians," but I'll summarize the major points made in the article about the 3 mistakes here with my spin.

1. You don't monetize your live shows. If you're just starting out, you need the stage time to get tight so this point won't matter, but if you've been playing for a while and have built at least a small fanbase, it's time take advantage. Make sure that you have something to sell, either T-shirts, hats, CDs, flash drives with your music, but make it affordable. The money is cool, but the free advertising by the fans is better.

 2. Don't focus on getting signed. First of all, why would you want to in this day and age? Second of all, even if you do, your best bet is to develop as big an audience as you can. Remember the following because it's really true: Labels don't sign you for your music, they sign you for your audience. They really don't care how good you are, but if you have a line around the block, they'll come knocking at your door and you won't need to contact them. 

3. Treat your music like a business. Why do you think they call it the "music business"? You have to have fun with your music or it's not worth doing, but you have to consider the business of what you're doing as well. There are loads of places to get advice on this, but since you're reading this, check out the archives of this blog for lots of business tips. It's also a good idea to watch this Henry Rollins video over on my Big Picture Production Blog for some inspiration.

There's my take on the DIY article, but you should check out the original post as well as it looks at the 3 points from a different angle.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Top 10 Twitter Music Law Resouces

CD Baby's DIY Musician blog is currently running a series called "The Top 100 Must-Follow Music Resources On Twitter" that I find is pretty interesting. One of the best parts to the series is their Top 10 Music Law people to follow. I personally haven't followed any of them, but I'm going to now. Here they are:

1. Christiane Kinney @musicalredhead 

Kinney writes/blogs about legal issues pertaining specifically to
DIY/indie musicians. She’s one herself, so her in-the-thick-of-it
perspectives carry a lot of weight.

2. Larry Zerner @Zernerlaw

Zerner is a lawyer in Los Angeles whose main emphasis is copyright,
trademark and entertainment law. He often blogs about music-related cases
and discusses them in his feed.

3. Cassandra Spangler @cspanmusiclaw

Spangler is a NY-based entertainment lawyer specializing in music, and is
also an independent musician herself. As she says, “I understand firsthand
the challenges facing independent artists and companies attempting to
navigate the often-present power imbalance of the music industry.”

4. Michael Scott @CopyrightLaw

This Twitter feed isn’t entirely about music, but many of the issues
discussed here can be applicable to any creative works. Great links to
current copyright news, as well as discussions on topics you might never
even have thought of.

5. Gordon Firemark @gfiremark

Firemark’s focus is on theatre, film, and TV, but he also covers music.
Plus, he provides many real-time links to stories that affect anyone in
the entertainment industry.

6. Peter Kaufman @dealfatigue

Kaufman is an entertainment lawyer who covers the ever-shifting
“deal-making culture.” He provides links to stories that are in that vein,
many about music.

7. Todd Murphy @The_Jazz_Lawyer

Murphy is a music lawyer, a producer, a musician, and a guy who just
generally knows about the business. Great insight on issues relating to
the ways in which musicians get paid.

8. Mita Carriman @nymusiclawyer

Carriman stays on top of all the legal entertainment trends, and does a
great job of sharing links to lots of articles about the rights of
musicians.

9. Tamera Bennett @TameraBennett

Bennett is a lawyer who handles copyright law and music publishing. Lots
of great links to stories about music, as well as general trademark and
copyright stuff.

10. Steve Gordon @SteveGordonLaw

Gordon is an entertainment lawyer, author of the book ‘The Future of the
Music Business,’ and the host of the podcast of the same name.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

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After The Album Is Finished

CD Baby's excellent DIY Musician blog recently had a post regarding the steps to take when your album is finished. I liked their suggestions but decided to put together a few of my own based on the article.

Here are 10 steps to take after your CD is completed.

1. Get some photos taken. If you don't have the album artwork together, then you may need photos for that. But even if that's well in hand, you're going to need new press photos. Get them shot by a professional ASAP. Check out this article for advice on photos.

2. Update your press kit. You do have one, right? If you do, update it to reflect your latest release. If not, time to get started on it. Check out this article on electronic press kits for more info, as well as this article.

3. Update your website. Once again, it's time to reflect the fact that you have new music to offer. Updating a site takes time, so the sooner you get to it, the better. Before you begin your update, check out this article on the 7 mistakes that bands make on their websites.

4. Determine your distribution. If you aren't signed to a record label, now's the time to get with Tunecore or CD Baby to help make your music available to the world.

5. Determine your release schedule. If you've just completed an album, ask yourself these questions: When is the official album release date? What will be the first single and when will it be released? What will be the second and third singles and when will they be released? Check out this article for a new look at release schedules.

6. Submit your album to Gracenote and All Music Guide. Gracenote is the service that recognizes the songs on a CD when you put it into your computer. All Music Guide provides all the pictures and bio info that you see on iTunes. Submit to both so people get all the details they need when they play your CD.
Click here to find out how to submit your music to Gracenote.
Click here to find out how to submit your music to All Media Guide.

7. Plan your social media campaign. This includes email blasts to your fans as well as posts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You want to determine just when everything will happen, in what order it will happen, and who's responsible for getting it done.

8. Create some videos. Many people get all of their new music strictly from videos on YouTube. Get a video out ASAP even if it's only composed of a picture and the music. Real videos take time and you can release the official video later. Get something out there now.

9. Book your album release party. If for no other reason, it's a good reason to have a party and celebrate the fact that you've accomplished something that took a lot of work. That said, it's also the best way to get the word out about your new album, especially to the local press.

10. Play to support the album. It's time to get out there and play for people to expose them to your new music. Some artists and bands gig to support the album while others use the album to support their gigging. Decide which category you fall under, make a plan on what you're going to do, and follow it through.

There are more things that you can do, but these are the bare minimum. Remember, just because you've made an album, the world won't beat a path to your door. You have to be proactive in getting the word out.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.