This article was written by Kavit Haria, founder and consultant at Inner Rhythm in London.

The independent music world is really rocking right now, and if you’re going to take advantage of it and play the game the right way, you’ll need to operate for maximum results.

•   As independent musicians, we have tons of work to be doing, from making and performing music, to doing the promotion, booking the gigs, getting together a band, the accounting, networking and press.  It’s a lot of stuff. Most musicians see no way round it, but there is. Here are a few things to understand:

First, understand that you are not merely playing towards a music career; you are running a music business – a complete system that is in charge of taking your music and getting it into the iPods and households of as many people as possible. Second, understand that you are the music business leader and owner. You are the music entrepreneur, or as I like to say, the musopreneur. You are the one who works on the ideas, has the big vision and assembles a team to achieve it. Thirdly, for your music business and ultimately music career to succeed, you will have to have a framework for it, which I’d like to spend the rest of this article discussing.

•   When writing my latest e-book entitled How To Design A Winning & Profitable Music Business, I asked myself an important question: What are the important skills and practices required to create a winning and profitable music business apart from good music?

The answer I realized, rests in three crucial things: Being a good leader of your ship, having a well-designed and communicated strategy, and having a good marketing plan that can be executed to promote your music in a structured way.

The word ‘winning’ in the question is important in this context. An average strategy, when executed, gets you average or mediocre results and may not be a fair reflection of your true talent. A winning strategy plan, on the other hand, transforms your current situation into larger success by developing the right tools, people, techniques and street teams to share your art with the wider world.

As musicians, we are explorers. As explorers, our job is to explore the depths of our hearts and souls to share the music that feels most at home to us. Our job is to experiment, and experimentation takes time before it is successful. Your music business needs a framework for achieving results that can be built upon to achieve your specific goals in your specific music genre. When you start to put together a puzzle, you would start by finding the corners and the edge pieces before building and assembling the inner pieces. It is the same with putting together the framework for your music business.

•   Apart from understanding the basic ideas of putting together a business plan for your music, you should also understand the “Four Step Model of Artist-Fan Relationships” on which the success of your career is based:

1. ATTRACT – Attract the fans through your promotion, playing gigs, getting referrals, building a mailing list.

2. COMMUNICATE – Communicate with your subscribers/fans using tools like newsletters, bulletins, forums, blogs, etc

3. BUILD TRUST – Build strong loyal relationships with your fans through regular contact, interaction, and two-way conversations.

4. MONETIZE –After 1, 2, and 3, turning the fan into a buyer of your CD, downloads, gigs, merchandise, teaching, etc. becomes much easier.

Kavit Haria is founder and consultant at Inner Rhythm, a London-based music business consultancy providing workshops, courses and consulting to musicians looking to develop better strategies, marketing and music business success. On Sept. 9, 2008, he released his latest e-book entitled, “How To Design A Winning & Profitable Music Business” absolutely free. You can download your copy at http://www.innerrhythm.org/ebook/

Boston’s Mike Davidson Recording presents the “MDR Checklist: 5 Surefire Ways To Improve Your Recordings.” These are money saving strategies that will increase efficiency while in the studio, intended for both the novice and seasoned musician.

5. Write At Home, Record In Session. If you’re looking to save yourself some time (read: money), write before you get to the studio. Know your song structure, arrangement, and lyrics. If you have notation, bring copies for your engineer and band members/session players. Know what’s going where, meaning, the more you “map” out your song, the easier and faster the recording process will be.

4. Practice Makes Perfect. The more time you spend practicing your music, the easier it will be to record it. Being confident in your playing will help you relax.

3. Leggo My Demo. Demoing your songs (i.e., in Garageband or on cassette or anything you can get your hands on) will do wonders for the finished product. Consider the demo to be a a building block (yes, like a leggo) or a blueprint for your song. This helps you hear your music in a new way and communicate your vision to others.

2. Don’t Get Strung Out. Bring healthy snacks to keep your energy up. Pace yourself while working. It’s best to work in 4 hour blocks and take short breaks for food.

1. Bring Extra Stuff. Speaking of getting strung out, if you play guitar or bass, bring extra strings. Bring picks. If you play drums, bring extra heads and sticks. In effort not to exclude other instruments, bring extras of anything that have been known to break. While we’re on the subject of bringing, if you have extra amps, snare drums, guitars, etc, bring them to the session. It’s always fun to experiment. Most importantly, bring a tuner!

For more information on how to improve your recordings and free trial services from Mike Davidson, visit mikedavidsonrecording.com.

This article was written by Mark Guglielmo, a successful musician who found great success in licensing opportunities for his music.  Now as CEO of Manifest Media, he’s helping other musicians to do the same.

“Like millions before me, I dreamt of making music for a living.  I formed a band, moved to Los Angeles, built a following, got a record deal, and released half a dozen independent and major label albums.  Still, after 15 years in the game, I had no real capital to show for it.  Instead, I waited tables and substituted in schools to pay the bills, which often left me too exhausted or depressed to make music much less establish a solid financial base.  I knew there was a better way.

Yes, it’s pure magic to hole up in the studio and give birth to your creative vision.  And yet, more and more, artists are being asked to step out of their comfort zone and build better business acumen.  True, success in music is subjective.  We’d all love to bring in more money from our craft: But how?  With the record business in turmoil, rampant file sharing, and the reality of an American recession, recording artists, composers, producers, performers, and songwriters are being forced to look elsewhere to earn a steady paycheck from their music.

That’s when I happened across a subtle but life-changing opportunity: a single posting on a website that read “music supervisor interested in licensing your music for TV show”.  Realizing I had nothing to lose, I responded and mailed off a CD.  Three weeks later, I got a call from MTV. When I received my first royalty check, I jumped for joy and realized that this was a service I could provide to other musicians similarly struggling.  Four years and a few thousand placements later, I’m finally reaping the rewards for all my hard work.  Only now, I’m not working hard at all.  And I’m not alone.

More than ever, indie bands are finding new ways to market their music.  CD sales, downloads, live shows, and merchandising are still mainstays of an artist’s financial portfolio.  But they’re being joined by a growing number of attractive alternatives.  Consider for a second the immense amount of time, energy, and money it costs to produce a professional sounding album.  If you’ve done it before, you know.  Did you make back your investment?  Did you earn a profit?  Not many do.

This is where music licensing comes in as a viable and dependable means to financial independence for musicians.  In fact, licensing now makes up a growing percentage of many indie musicians’ income.  Placing one song in a feature film, ad, video game, or television show can net you anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, sometimes substantially more, in upfront licensing fees.  And when you factor in public performance royalties, that figure can increase dramatically.

For example, a 30 second snippet of your song in one episode of ‘Pimp My Ride’ (MTV) can air 40-50 times here in the US, much of it in prime time, which generates substantial royalties, all of which are paid directly to you by your Performance Rights Organization.  That same episode with your song, when syndicated overseas, can continue earning for you years after its initial airing.  Though sleepless nights on tour in a stinky van may be romantic, it’s a lot easier and much more lucrative to send out a few packages to the right people.  And licensing requires very little investment once you’ve recorded your music professionally.

Until recently, most lucrative placements went to major label artists backed by powerful management teams and publishing companies.  Today, the playing field has leveled considerably thanks in part to innovative new music libraries, affordable pro recording technology, and the erosion of the major label stranglehold on the industry.

Premium licensing opportunities, once mysterious and elusive, are now open to every band with a good song captured in a quality recording.  Companies like mine (www.manifestmedia.net) act as a bridge between indie musicians and multi-media conglomerates like Viacom, parent company of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Spike, and Nickelodeon, which are constantly looking for fresh new music to score their television and film projects.

And with more TV channels and video games than ever before, networks and production companies, that now produce thousands of shows a year, have a significantly greater need for music.  More shows means more ads, which also means a greater demand for music.

The time has come for enterprising independent music creators to enjoy a greater slice of the $1.5 billion in royalties collected annually by ASCAP and BMI.  You could diversify your marketing approach and generate significant new revenue streams, career opportunities, and exposure in this ever-changing landscape we call the music business.  All it takes is an open mind, a discerning eye, and some good songs.”

Ready to get your music out there? Check out the licensing opportunities currently open on Sonicbids.

A few of Manifest Media’s clients and credits:

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Whether you’re booking headliners or lounge acts or selling lighting, tickets or other event production services, here are five sure bets to increase your odds for success when marketing to casinos!

Are you getting your share of today’s lucrative casino entertainment marketplace?

Whether you’re a rookie agent booking lounge acts, a seasoned tenper-center representing headliners or a sales rep for an audio/visual vendor, you already know casinos spend big bucks on live entertainment and event production. If you’ve been doing your job for more than a week or two, you also have learned that selling to casinos is not a sure bet!

Early in my professional career, I learned the four steps to successful selling: 1) Make calls; 2) Make good calls; 3) Make good calls on good prospects; and 4) Make good calls on good prospects with a GREAT attitude!

Over the years, I have also observed that successful agents and other marketers in the live entertainment industry possess three important attributes: 1) Effective selling skills; 2) GREAT attitude (did I mention that?); and 3) Thorough knowledge of their artists, clients and markets.

David Snowden (Triangle Talent) has been successful in the fair entertainment industry because he learned the fair industry inside and out. Likewise with Bill Minot (Paradise Artists) in concert touring, Arthur Shafman (Arthur Shafman International) in performing arts and Brian Knaff (Talent Buyers Network) in casinos.

So, if you want to want to be successful selling live entertainment or event production to casinos, here are five important things you need to know to increase your odds:

#1: Know the marketplace.

How much do you actually know about the casino marketplace? Here are some brief facts to get you started:

Consumer spending in 2006 was $32.4 billion at commercial casinos, $25.1 billion at tribal casinos and $3.6 billion at racetrack casinos — an increase of almost 9% over 2005. Compare that to the North American concert industry, which generated just $3.6 billion in ticket sales in 2006, or the domestic film box office gross, which took in $9.5 billion that year. 56.2 million consumers (26% of the U. S. population, age 21 and older) made 371 million trips to casinos in 2006 — an average of 6.6 trips per visitor! Those visitors included 32% of U. S. males and 29% of females — a slight gender gap that is down more than 50% from 2004.

The average casino visitor in 2006 was 47 years old, more likely to be college educated with a white collar occupation and had an average household income of $58,079 — 16% higher than the average U. S. household.

Now, here’s the most important fact:More than half of these visitors (58%) saw a show, concert or other live entertainment option during their casino visit. That means more than four million weekly attendees at live casino entertainment events — compared to two million weekly attendees for the performing arts.

Over the past several years, budgets and buyers in clubs, fairs and performing arts markets have been shrinking. While annual concert ticket revenue increased 16% in 2006, skyrocketing ticket prices — up 8% in 2006 and more than double from ten years ago — fueled much of the gain.

Bottom line: Compared to clubs, concerts, fairs and performing arts, casinos are the largest and fastest growing revenue source for entertainment marketers.

#2: Know the casinos.

Today in the United States, there are approximately 460 commercial casinos, 370 tribal casinos, and 36 racetrack casinos — almost all of which spend money on live entertainment and event production. Similar to other market segments, there are casino trade associations. Just as the concert industry has CIC, fairs have IAFE and for performing arts there is APAP, the casino industry is represented by AGA — American Gaming Association (commercial casinos) and NIGA — National Indian Gaming Association (tribal casinos).

NIGA sponsors the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, which is held in the spring each year in a different city and attracts a few thousand attendees and 300+ vendors. The preeminent tradeshow and conference for the casino industry is G2E, the Global Gaming Expo, held annually in November in Las Vegas and organized by AGA and Reed Exhibitions. Attracting 28,000+ attendees in 2006, this global confab features 750 exhibitors, 300,000+ sq. ft. of exhibits and 100+ conference sessions.

A recent addition to G2E is the Entertainment & Event Production Pavilion with exhibits by casino talent buying services, concert promoters, entertainment agencies, touring attractions and event production vendors selling to casinos. This new pavilion, plus several entertainment-oriented conference sessions, attracted not only casino executives (including entertainment directors; lounge, nightclub and showroom managers; marketing and public relations directors; special event producers; and venue managers), but also a wide array of agents, managers, producers and professional talent buyers.

Bottom line: Just as the leaders in the fair industry show up at IAFE, performing arts at APAP and amusement parks at IAAPA, you need to get to know the casinos and schmooze with them on their turf.

#3: Know why casinos buy.

Most presenters book an artist or attraction based on reviews, touring history, box office grosses, peer recommendations or the sincere assurances of an agent. That is not always the case with casinos. A Nashville agent told me about a country headliner who sold-out multiple shows at a casino, received several standing ovations and garnered rave reviews in the local press. But the casino didn’t want to rebook the artist — as in never! How could that be?

A patient entertainment director educated the agent: The artist’s fans didn’t spend money at the tables or the slots; they didn’t book casino hotel rooms; and they didn’t eat in the casino’s upscale restaurants. To add insult to injury, sales were also below normal in the casino’s gift shops. A great act, but not for that casino!

First and foremost, casinos are all about “The Drop,” a gaming term which describes the money that players drop into slot machines or dealers drop into cash boxes at table games — gross gaming revenue. In casino entertainment and special events, it’s not enough to sell-out the venue. What measures success is revenue — and increasingly not just gaming revenue.

In Las Vegas, more than 50% of casino revenue now comes not from gaming, but from lodging, food & beverage, and entertainment. In a recent survey, twice as many Americans (49%) said that the overall casino experience is more fun for them than the actual gambling (23%).

Bottom line: While casinos are willing to pay great prices for great artists with great shows, the gross revenue that an artist’s engagement generates for the casino is the measure of success. Thus, the casino entertainment director’s cardinal rule: Book for The Drop!

#4: Know how casinos buy.

Beyond the usual considerations of budget, capacity and production, casino entertainment buyers often use two important buying criteria:

Demographics — While the college educated, white collar 47-year old with annual household income of $58K, the casino you are pitching may have a very different demographic — and you must know what it is!

Share of individual visits to casinos by consumers varies significantly by region of the country (from 19% in the Northeast, 23% in the South, 25% in the Midwest and 33% in the West). Some casinos target destination leisure and convention visitors, while others target locals, bus tours or weekenders.

Branding — Casinos today are all about branding — creating a unique niche in the consumer’s mind. Casino’s view live entertainment and special events as an extension of their branding efforts. Whatever a casino’s demographics and branding strategy, you need to know this information in order to pitch entertainment that promotes the casino’s marketing objectives. You can get the 411 by studying a casino’s website and entertainment schedule, plus building relationships and gaining trust with casino buyers.

Bottom line: Casinos book talent and produce special events that target their demographic and extend their brand. Pitch appropriately and you’ll close the sale!

#5: Know who buys.

If you think casino entertainment directors are the sole booking decision-makers, you are so last century! Today’s casino entertainment director is the quarterback that implements a team strategy that has input from senior management, plus multiple departments (e.g. marketing, gaming, hotel operations, food & beverage, retail, etc.). While an entertainment director may implement a buying decision, the decision itself is made at the team level, often in the marketing department.

Casinos buy talent not only for clubs, lounges and showrooms, but also for player development events (e.g. slot club promotions, high-roller parties, etc.). Plus, casinos often book authors, speakers and sports celebrities for special promotional events.

Casinos with meeting and tradeshow space often assist their association and corporate clients in booking talent through the casino’s convention services department. Many casinos now subcontract the buying process to professional talent buyers (e.g. GayleForce, Signature, Talent Buyers Network, etc.) or work exclusively with promoters (e.g. AEG, HOB Concerts, Integrity Events, etc.). So, if you are just pitching the entertainment director, your marketing message is not getting through to all of the key decision-makers.

Bottom line: To do business with casinos, you need to reach multiple decision-makers. Deliver your marketing message via trade publications, email blasts, tradeshows and telephone follow-up to all casino entertainment decision-makers.

One last note: Don’t expect buyers to wander into your booth at tradeshows (as often happens at NACA, IAFE, etc.). Casino buyers are corporate executives who operate on schedules and appointments. Respect their industry, their objectives and their time and you will do business with casinos. You can bet on that!!!!!

Interested in getting your foot in the Casino market? G2E is currently accepting submissions. Check it out!

Want to know what a promoter is thinking when reviewing EPKs? Interested in industry and submission advice from the horses mouth? Check out our quick chats.

Quick Chat with: Chris Ricci

Promoter Chris Ricci of the Xclamation Festival, the Modesto Fat Cat, and Xclamation Festival- Las Vegas talks to Sonicbids’ Jenny Langer and David Ellis about:

• What is XFest and what it takes to be selected to perform there
• Why he uses Sonicbids
• What he looks for when reviewing your EPKs, and how XFest’s review process works
• A common mistake artists make when submitting to him
• Making an impression, and the importance of quality music, photos, an act’s image and promotion
• How to connect with him

Submissions are currently being accepted for Xclamation Festival- Las Vegas. Check it out!

For a list of past Sonicbids artists selected for Xfest, click here.

After successfully booking a show in your target city, one of the next tasks at hand is to line up show Promotion/Marketing. One of the most effective “cost based” means of marketing your shows is printed promotional (”print promo”) items due to the low cost and high amount of impressions per item. Posters may be seen by multiple people each, which can pay big dividends for you, especially if your poster is designed well. Design your poster for maximum impact using the following elements.

So, what exactly defines a well designed poster? After launching a successful gang run print company called www.MiamiPrint.biz about 5 years ago and dealing with print promo items for my own band as well as various music industry organizations and major, independent label and unsigned artists (including Gavin Degraw, Sister Hazel, State of Man and many more), I’ve seen plenty of designs that ROCK and plenty that don’t. I’m going to give you some of the keys to making your printed materials WORK best so you can make sure your money, time and energy are well spent!

The top elements you can use to get the best results from your posters, flyers and other printed promotional items are:

•The Right use of Color

•Professional Graphic Design

•Your Artist Name

•Your Artist website(s)

•Venue, Date and time of show

•Branding Statement

•Call to Action /Incentive offer

RIGHT USE OF COLOR
When planning your design, you want to make sure to use color effectively. These days, full color (4 color CMYK digital printing) and black and white “gang run” printing cost very close to the same, so don’t let cost influence your poster (or flyer) design too much. This is an area you want to get right the first time, so get expert help if needed.

Full color, high contrast designs that POP off your printed piece are great tools to grab people’s attention and get them to STOP and read your message. Again, thanks to “gang run” printing (CMYK digital printing), the cost is actually a lot cheaper for mass quantity runs than you might think!

Adding high contrast colors to your design isn’t a rule, of course. In some cases, simplicity and subtlety of color can be just as powerful (if not more so). You simply have to determine what works best for a design on a project by project basis. That said, don’t be afraid to go with your instincts and print whatever “WOWs” you! Chances are, it will “WOW” others, too.

Here’s a poster with a subtle, but effective, use of color:

PROFESSIONAL DESIGN
Unless you are a pro graphic designer or someone you know is a pro graphics designer (and willing to give you a “buddy rate”), then you should strongly consider spending a little money on this area. Be sure to look over the designer’s portfolio and that you really like the comparable design work before you chose to move forward.

Request price and turnaround time quotes with your potential designer up-front before officially hiring them. For those unfamiliar, turnaround time simply means ‘how long the project will take to complete.” This is important because you may find that a designer with the right skill and price may not be able to deliver your project in time. For example, a $75/hr designer with an amazing portfolio quotes you two weeks before he/she can complete your job and unfortunately you need your printed item delivered in one week to properly promote your show. You have to also factor in the turnaround time for the printing (anywhere from 3-10 business days for posters, and typiclly 3-4 business days for flyers and business cards) and for the shipping (cheapest means is usually Ground services like UPS and FED EX which can take an additional 3-5 business days.

Finally, be prepared to pay 50% of the quote as a deposit to get the designer started AND make sure you will receive as many “mock-ups” as needed to finalize the design. Some designers only offer 3 or 4 drafts, but it’s always best to find designers that will work until the job is done right! Otherwise, you don’t pay the final 50% and they don’t deliver the high resolutions files. That gives each of you reason to get the job done right.

ARTIST NAME

This item is, of course, a must if you want to create an identity/name recognition for an artist in any market. There are exceptions to any rule, so just have an extraordinarily good reason if you chose not to list your artist name on your design.

ARTIST WEBSITES(s)

Another “must have” item, is the artist website(s). This allows anyone who sees your design to actually go somewhere to get more information about you (or your artist). Since printed promo items like posters and flyers can’t let a potential fan hear what you sound like, giving them your website(s) on your printed material solves that issue. One of the worst things you can do is NOT give the public an easy way to find you if they desire to.

VENUE, DATE, TIME OF SHOW
Yes, you’d be surprised how many people DON’T either leave a section for this information on posters or at least find a way to incorporate this info into the design of their printed piece. If you are printing promo items for a singe show, then you can include the date, time and venue in the design itself. But if you are doing a large run of printed promo items to use for various shows, then there are two options:

1. Leave a space for a sticker, label or to write in this info on your posters, flyers, etc.

2. List your entire upcoming tour schedule with a note stating “Subject to change – Visit www.bandname.com for current schedule.” Since you may have to add or cancel dates weeks after you receive your newly printed items, know that this option is best for items you plan to distribute in a short period of time.

Cost, Age and Venue Address are also optional items to consider including! Depending on how much design room you have available, you can always include “visit www.bandname.com for full details!”

Here’s an example of a poster leaving space for a label or written info:

BRANDING STATEMENT
Your branding statement should define what type of artist you are and give people a reason to want to hear and see you. Take a look at a great blog on Sonicbids.com’s Lounge area entitled “Branding Your Band” that helps guide you through developing a brand statement. You don’t have to necessarily come with this statement yourself if you use a simple, intriguing quote from a credible source (e.g. “One of the best Rock bands on the Planet” – New York Times).

Another great option is to use a combination of your own branding statement and a credible quote:

ABC Band – A New kind of Rock Experience (branding statement)
“One of the best Rock bands on the Planet” – New York Times (credible quote)

Again, just remember the key here is to ensure your branding statement(s) identifies what type of band you are AND gives people a reason to want to check you out!

CALL TO ACTION/INCENTIVE
A call to action is where you request the person viewing your printed materials to engage in some sort of activity. A simple example of a Call to Action is:

“Visit www.bandname.com for more information!”

Now, simply adding an incentive to your call to action will increase the number of potential fans that will do what you are asking. Here is a simple example of an added incentive:

“Visit www.bandname.com to download the band’s latest single, FREE!”

Just like this poster did:

Most of these tips are simple to implement but can make a big difference in the effect of your printed promo materials. And the next time you are in a live music venue, take a look at the posters and see which ones get your attention. Chances are, they are using some if not all of the elements above!

Does your band have a kickass poster you’d like to share? Comment with a link to it, or email the graphic to lounge@sonicbids.com. We’ll be publishing the best of the best!

]]> http://lounge.sonicbids.com/149/feed 1 http://lounge.sonicbids.com/139 http://lounge.sonicbids.com/139#comments Thu, 29 May 2008 15:02:42 +0000 Jeff Fajans http://lounge.sonicbids.com/?p=139 This article was posted from GuitarPlayerZen.com. You can check out his band The Spirits of Music or his myspace page.

Do you have a Personal Brand Statement that defines you as a musician? If you are like most musicians/guitarists you probably have never even thought about it. This morning I attended a Marketing Seminar where the key note speaker, Valerie Pelan, lectured on Personal Brand and Visibility Management, and I sure did learn a heck of a lot that can be applied directly to one’s music career. Having a Personal Brand Statement sets you apart from 99% of the other musicians, as well as helping you to more effectively and efficiently realize your goals.

Don’t have any guitar goals yet? Now’s the time to make them. If you need help setting some solid goals check out our first Guitar Player Zen article ever here.

So what is Personal Branding?

You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. There is no one right way to create the brand called You. Accept this: Start today, or else.

-Tom Peters, in Fast Company Magazine

As we all know by now, the music business is about who you know more-so than about what you know or how good you are. (ie-Ashlee Simpson-[I just puked a little bit typing that])

People are judged not only on what they do but on how they do it; it is all about the opinion that people have of you. More specifically it’s about:

•Interpersonal Skills
•Personal Style
•Perception about you
•Reputation-word of mouth advertising

There are two common mistakes people make when it comes to personal branding:

1. Fallacies of Recognition- Where you do not take personal responsibility for your own career and put blame and responsibility on others ( Labels, mainstream media, fans, clubs, psycho groupies)
2. Fallacies of Reward-Expecting external positive reinforcement for everything (The reality is that most times, even when you are on the right track, you will not see people praising you left and right. You must develop your own internal reward system, and this is best done by breaking down your big goals into smaller steps, feeling pride and accomplishment after achieving them.)

Marketing-Branding

Marketing is creating customer awareness and demand management. If no one knows about you, or if nobody wants to hear you play, you are in trouble my friend. Proper marketing is necessary for musical success and involves:

•Self-Positioning
•Self-Promotion
•You (are the Product)
•Place

Differentiation is also a key factor to success. It can be subtle or extreme. Extreme is definitely more noticeable.

Differentiation is all about being extreme; rewarding the best and weeding out the ineffective.

-Jack Welch, Straight From The Gut

So how do I make my own Personal Branding Statement?

Take an honest look at yourself and what you can achieve and what do you want to say in the context of your musical career. It should:

•Tell how you are distinct and unique
•Tell the benefits you provide
•Tell how you fulfill a need
•Tell how you are better and different than the competition

So…what’s yours? Share with us what your statement is by leaving comments!

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