If you want to be competitive in this industry you have to be ready at all times, and that means being prepared. Vocally, physically, with your promo, keeping up on pictures, bio’s, web updates, social networks, networking and a whole lot of other things that being in this industry requires, and guess what… this all takes a time… To get that competitive edge you have to be disciplined, good at time management, always be moving forward, and always be getting things done.
How do you do that… well….. It’s called a schedule. Breaking news… sometimes we have schedule time in for ourselves. And the excuse I have to work, or I’m too busy I don’t have enough time just don't fly with me… my answer is you don’t have enough time to be waiting… Life moves fast and this industry moves even faster. You don’t have time to put things off till tomorrow.
When you think about it, the one thing that you really have control over… is YOU! Make the most of your time, that is, if you are really serious about having a successful career. If you aren’t willing to put the time in I can guarantee you that someone else is… I work with many dedicated people who are absolutely putting in the time and effort... I know that may sound a little harsh, and I’m sorry about that, but after being in this industry for over 30 years, I want to tell you the truth. I’d like you to be ready for it….. So, either be prepared to really do what it takes, or take another long look at what you want out of life. You’ll be happier in the end either way.
Having said all of that, if you love it and it’s your passion… Make the absolute most of what you have… Do what makes you happy.. just do it to the best of your abilities, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know if you’re really doing that… on not…..
Not everyone can hire a coach or a trainer to make sure things are getting done, so here’s a way you can start taking control of your future. It’s always nice to have someone to be accountable to, but that can be a friend, spouse, family member… just make sure you are being consistent!
Pick how many hours you can devote to each activity each week and make a chart. Say you want to give four hours a week to each of these activities singing, fitness, and songwriting. That’s 12 hours … out of 168 hours in the week… if your career and your future mean that much to you, get off the phone, cut out some television, go to bed earlier and get up a little earlier.. find the time, you are the only one who can do this!
Then, if you want to actually set days and times you can, or you can just have boxes that you check off when you have done an activity. This later way is more flexible and I have found that it may fit to busy schedules a little easier.
So make it on the computer or hand draw it, put it on the refrigerator or make a logbook…
It can be something as basic as this:
Week beginning: _____________
Singing: _______ _________ __________ _________
Workouts: _________ ___________ ________ __________
Songwriting: _________ _________ ________ __________
Obviously, you can tailor this to the activities that are specific to you, but it can literally be something this simple… then as you do them, check them off. Watch how much you start getting done and improving with some consistency of practice…
The entertainment industry is a business just like Microsoft or Boeing. The difference is you are putting your time and effort into you, not someone else company… And REMEMBER....there are a lot of different ways to make a living as an entertainer. We don’t just have to be talking about becoming and artist. If you are a part of a band, a back up vocalist, part of a touring Broadway show, on Broadway, an impersonator, or on television… where ever your career takes you, believe me, your producers will appreciate your hard work and you will get called back and recommended because they know they can always count on a great performance and professionalism from you!
Care about yourself enough to give your business, YOU, the best shot you can… You deserve that!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Water…. Water….. Water….
Singers it is so important to keep the body hydrated! And it’s way more efficient for the body to do this from the inside out… I know lots of people are fans of throat sprays… I’m not… It’s a band-aid for the real problem… you’re not getting enough water!
The general rule is half your body weight in oz of water. So if you weigh 120, that would be 60 oz of water per day… and if you have to, always round up. A few extra oz of water won’t hurt you. However, please remember if you are doing any kind of strenuous activity… a show or lots of working out and cardio, you need more water.
* Drink 8 oz of water 20 to 30 minutes prior to exercising.
* Drink 4-8 oz of water every 10 to 15 minutes during exercise.
* Drink an additional 8 oz of water within 30 minutes after exercising.
Also drinking water will not give you cramps when you exercise… that is a myth. The truth is that cramps can be a symptom of dehydration. If you drink enough water everyday, it will ultimately reduce your risk of getting cramps. Don’t wait till you’re thirsty to drink water… Hydrate during the day…
Here are a couple of tips for natural things that will help soothe dry thoat.
Bananas
Green Apples
Honey
Breathing Steam and,
Breathing thru your nose not your mouth
The general rule is half your body weight in oz of water. So if you weigh 120, that would be 60 oz of water per day… and if you have to, always round up. A few extra oz of water won’t hurt you. However, please remember if you are doing any kind of strenuous activity… a show or lots of working out and cardio, you need more water.
* Drink 8 oz of water 20 to 30 minutes prior to exercising.
* Drink 4-8 oz of water every 10 to 15 minutes during exercise.
* Drink an additional 8 oz of water within 30 minutes after exercising.
Also drinking water will not give you cramps when you exercise… that is a myth. The truth is that cramps can be a symptom of dehydration. If you drink enough water everyday, it will ultimately reduce your risk of getting cramps. Don’t wait till you’re thirsty to drink water… Hydrate during the day…
Here are a couple of tips for natural things that will help soothe dry thoat.
Bananas
Green Apples
Honey
Breathing Steam and,
Breathing thru your nose not your mouth
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Give Your Music Away…
Give Your Music Away…
This is something a friend sent me this morning it is the thoughts of Trent Reznor from NIN… I think he’s right on the money and thought I’d share it with you…..Enjoy…
ORIGINAL POST:
I posted a message on Twitter yesterday stating I thought The Beastie Boys and TopSpin Media "got it right" regarding how to sell music in this day and age. Here's a link to their store:
[illcommunication.beastieboys.com]
Shortly thereafter, I got some responses from people stating the usual "yeah, if you're an established artist - what if you're just trying to get heard?" argument. In an interview I did recently this topic came up and I'll reiterate what I said here.
If you are an unknown / lesser-known artist trying to get noticed / established:
* Establish your goals. What are you trying to do / accomplish? If you are looking for mainstream super-success (think Lady GaGa, Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake) - your best bet in my opinion is to look at major labels and prepare to share all revenue streams / creative control / music ownership. To reach that kind of critical mass these days your need old-school marketing muscle and that only comes from major labels. Good luck with that one.
If you're forging your own path, read on.
* Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters.
To clarify:
Parter with a TopSpin or similar or build your own website, but what you NEED to do is this - give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people's email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special - make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan. Make a premium download available that includes high-resolution versions (for sale at a reasonable price) and include the download as something immediately available with any physical purchase. Sell T-shirts. Sell buttons, posters... whatever.
Don't have a TopSpin as a partner? Use Amazon for your transactions and fulfillment. [www.amazon.com]
Use TuneCore to get your music everywhere. [www.tunecore.com]
Have a realistic idea of what you can expect to make from these and budget your recording appropriately.
The point is this: music IS free whether you want to believe that or not. Every piece of music you can think of is available free right now a click away. This is a fact - it sucks as the musician BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT IS (for now). So... have the public get what they want FROM YOU instead of a torrent site and garner good will in the process (plus build your database).
The Beastie Boys' site offers everything you could possibly want in the formats you would want it in - available right from them, right now. The prices they are charging are more than you should be charging - they are established and you are not. Think this through.
The database you are amassing should not be abused, but used to inform people that are interested in what you do when you have something going on - like a few shows, or a tour, or a new record, or a webcast, etc.
Have your MySpace page, but get a site outside MySpace - it's dying and reads as cheap / generic. Remove all Flash from your website. Remove all stupid intros and load-times. MAKE IT SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AND EASY TO FIND AND HEAR MUSIC (but don't autoplay). Constantly update your site with content - pictures, blogs, whatever. Give people a reason to return to your site all the time. Put up a bulletin board and start a community. Engage your fans (with caution!) Make cheap videos. Film yourself talking. Play shows. Make interesting things. Get a Twitter account. Be interesting. Be real. Submit your music to blogs that may be interested. NEVER CHASE TRENDS. Utilize the multitude of tools available to you for very little cost of any - Flickr / YouTube / Vimeo / SoundCloud / Twitter etc.
If you don't know anything about new media or how people communicate these days, none of this will work. The role of an independent musician these days requires a mastery of first hand use of these tools. If you don't get it - find someone who does to do this for you. If you are waiting around for the phone to ring or that A & R guy to show up at your gig - good luck, you're going to be waiting a while.
Hope this helps, and I'll scour responses for intelligent comments I can respond to.
TR
This is something a friend sent me this morning it is the thoughts of Trent Reznor from NIN… I think he’s right on the money and thought I’d share it with you…..Enjoy…
ORIGINAL POST:
I posted a message on Twitter yesterday stating I thought The Beastie Boys and TopSpin Media "got it right" regarding how to sell music in this day and age. Here's a link to their store:
[illcommunication.beastieboys.com]
Shortly thereafter, I got some responses from people stating the usual "yeah, if you're an established artist - what if you're just trying to get heard?" argument. In an interview I did recently this topic came up and I'll reiterate what I said here.
If you are an unknown / lesser-known artist trying to get noticed / established:
* Establish your goals. What are you trying to do / accomplish? If you are looking for mainstream super-success (think Lady GaGa, Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake) - your best bet in my opinion is to look at major labels and prepare to share all revenue streams / creative control / music ownership. To reach that kind of critical mass these days your need old-school marketing muscle and that only comes from major labels. Good luck with that one.
If you're forging your own path, read on.
* Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters.
To clarify:
Parter with a TopSpin or similar or build your own website, but what you NEED to do is this - give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people's email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special - make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan. Make a premium download available that includes high-resolution versions (for sale at a reasonable price) and include the download as something immediately available with any physical purchase. Sell T-shirts. Sell buttons, posters... whatever.
Don't have a TopSpin as a partner? Use Amazon for your transactions and fulfillment. [www.amazon.com]
Use TuneCore to get your music everywhere. [www.tunecore.com]
Have a realistic idea of what you can expect to make from these and budget your recording appropriately.
The point is this: music IS free whether you want to believe that or not. Every piece of music you can think of is available free right now a click away. This is a fact - it sucks as the musician BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT IS (for now). So... have the public get what they want FROM YOU instead of a torrent site and garner good will in the process (plus build your database).
The Beastie Boys' site offers everything you could possibly want in the formats you would want it in - available right from them, right now. The prices they are charging are more than you should be charging - they are established and you are not. Think this through.
The database you are amassing should not be abused, but used to inform people that are interested in what you do when you have something going on - like a few shows, or a tour, or a new record, or a webcast, etc.
Have your MySpace page, but get a site outside MySpace - it's dying and reads as cheap / generic. Remove all Flash from your website. Remove all stupid intros and load-times. MAKE IT SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AND EASY TO FIND AND HEAR MUSIC (but don't autoplay). Constantly update your site with content - pictures, blogs, whatever. Give people a reason to return to your site all the time. Put up a bulletin board and start a community. Engage your fans (with caution!) Make cheap videos. Film yourself talking. Play shows. Make interesting things. Get a Twitter account. Be interesting. Be real. Submit your music to blogs that may be interested. NEVER CHASE TRENDS. Utilize the multitude of tools available to you for very little cost of any - Flickr / YouTube / Vimeo / SoundCloud / Twitter etc.
If you don't know anything about new media or how people communicate these days, none of this will work. The role of an independent musician these days requires a mastery of first hand use of these tools. If you don't get it - find someone who does to do this for you. If you are waiting around for the phone to ring or that A & R guy to show up at your gig - good luck, you're going to be waiting a while.
Hope this helps, and I'll scour responses for intelligent comments I can respond to.
TR
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