(copyright 2010 Christopher Knab: all rights reserved)
1. Remember that your focus is on ALL types of broadcast AIRPLAY, not just commercial and non-commercial public radio, but Internet broadcasters and XM/Sirius satellite radio too. Remember that the details you must include are: selecting, convincing, and working with your selected stations with the goal being to secure as much airplay for your artist as possible. That IS the reason for funding and implementing a realistic Promotion Plan.
2. State clearly what your GOAL is for the Promotion Plan; write a clear and concise summary paragraph that describes the music format/genre of your artist, and gives a brief biographical statement on who they are, and what they have achieved, and what they hope to achieve with Radio’s help.
3. Remember the “Four Fronts” and focus on how RADIO AIRPLAY, with the assistance of ‘Product Development’, ‘Publicity’, and ‘Performance’ methods should all be SUMMARIZED to show support in each of the 4 Front areas, because the “Four Fronts” are interrelated and inter-dependent on each other.
4. Create an Airplay ‘TIMELINE’ carefully, considering any and all promotional activities that must be planned for, and give enough time for each activity to be prepared in time for the Release date of your recording being given to traditional radio and all other broadcasters.
5. Remember that if you do a thorough and complete job on this ‘Promotion Plan’, that you will be in good shape for creating your Distribution and Sales Plan (Product Development), as well as your separate ‘Publicity Plan’, and your plans for performing live and touring, (the Performance Plan).
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Would You Ask Your Dentist To Fix Your Teeth For Free?
Why do I ask? Well, I can't even count the number of phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages I get asking me to help a new artist or band "be a star".
I have complained about this time and time again. Since my first website went up in '95 that type of question keeps coming up. I never have been able to understand the mindset behind that question.
Why should I, or ANY music business professional work for you for free just because you think you are so special, but have no track record of success.
So, would you really ask your dentist to work on your teeth for free?
Would you ask your lawyer to work for free?
Would you ask any physician to work with you for free?
Would you ask a publicist to do your media work for free?
My point is this: What makes me or ANY OTHER music business professional different from any other professionals?
I think part of the reason I get this question is because newer acts are so caught up in their own 'self', that when they write a song, or perform in front of a small crowd and get a polite response...at that exact moment they give birth to a premature EGO! They fantasize that "if this small group of people like me then all I need is some connection to the music business who will recognize my unrealized dream", and will be willing to stop whatever they're doing to make them a star.
Well...NO THEY WON'T!!
Why? Because we are actually busy trying to make a living ourselves. We,like you, actually have bills to pay, like a mortgage or rent, utilities, car payments and car upkeep costs, doctor and dentist bills, credit card debt (maybe) and probably have kids in school and tuition to add to all our other commitments.
so, in that way...we are really not unlike yourself!
Please think about this. Never ask ANY music business professional to help you with your career for free. It is an insult and down-right RUDE to do so.
Pass this tip around!
I have complained about this time and time again. Since my first website went up in '95 that type of question keeps coming up. I never have been able to understand the mindset behind that question.
Why should I, or ANY music business professional work for you for free just because you think you are so special, but have no track record of success.
So, would you really ask your dentist to work on your teeth for free?
Would you ask your lawyer to work for free?
Would you ask any physician to work with you for free?
Would you ask a publicist to do your media work for free?
My point is this: What makes me or ANY OTHER music business professional different from any other professionals?
I think part of the reason I get this question is because newer acts are so caught up in their own 'self', that when they write a song, or perform in front of a small crowd and get a polite response...at that exact moment they give birth to a premature EGO! They fantasize that "if this small group of people like me then all I need is some connection to the music business who will recognize my unrealized dream", and will be willing to stop whatever they're doing to make them a star.
Well...NO THEY WON'T!!
Why? Because we are actually busy trying to make a living ourselves. We,like you, actually have bills to pay, like a mortgage or rent, utilities, car payments and car upkeep costs, doctor and dentist bills, credit card debt (maybe) and probably have kids in school and tuition to add to all our other commitments.
so, in that way...we are really not unlike yourself!
Please think about this. Never ask ANY music business professional to help you with your career for free. It is an insult and down-right RUDE to do so.
Pass this tip around!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Music Today-It Is What It Isn't
I was watching Austin City Limits last night on PBS. They had M.Ward and Okkervil River performing....god it was awful!! but, I stayed with it! It didn't get any better.
Both these acts wouldn't have gotten on the show without a strong following, and music industry connections to help them get to this level. M. Ward has been around 10 years, and I can't understand why or how he is such a popular attraction.
His interaction with the audience was non-existent. In a short interview he is so introverted that he couldn't even keep up eye contact with the interviewer!
As for his music, apparently it grows on you. It won't grow on me that's for sure. I know introverts are 'in' right now, but will people put up with that immature attitude for 10 or more year to come? I hope not. I wanted to slap the guy around and tell him to get a grip on himself. When it came for him to talk for a few moments about his music and how he perceives it...he stumbled around like a lost baby duck trying to find his mommy. BORING guy, BORING music.
What do his fans see in him?
I have heard many people say that we are living in "the most creative musical time ever". Well if we are the tastes of the public are in dire straits.
No way are we living in such an era. The mid 60's- yes. Most of the 70's-yes. The 80's-had its moments. The 90's- only the early years. This last decade-give me a break!
Yes, my age has a lot to do with my opinions....it better! We are supposed to have the ability to distinguish between good and bad better as we age. Anyone who is a teenager today, or in their 20's and 30's...I feel sorry for them when it comes to music.
Why?
Well for one thing the media has de-evolved over the last 3 decades and it's harder and harder to find great new talent out there to play on TV, commercial radio, and now on the more popular music sites...Accessible music, music that is 'safe' has been the name of the game for a long time now.
so, I don't get it...the fact is that there is today more music than ever to choose from....tons of it. But most of it really is crap. So what do the bookers of Austin City Limits, or the late night TV shows book...artists and bands that are on the so-called 'cutting edge'... NOT!
I haven't even reviewed Okkervil River. I was looking forward to them because of the work they have done recently with Texas legend Roky Erickson. But their own music?
Yikes, a horrible lead singer who thinks he is a rock-god and insists on singing off-key as if that was a real cutting-edge thing to do.
Ohh, and the band itself. Well, a drummer, bass player, guitars, piano and on this show another singer who did not compliment the other off-key lead singer. AND, they had a small string section, a guy on horn, and a woman guitarist who had to get on her knees to create the unoriginal feedback sounds she used to 'compliment' the previously mentioned off-key lead singer.
Music is in good shape as we end this first decade of the new millennium?
If that's true, no wonder there are so many movies and novels about the end of the world, zombies, and vampires...with what I viewed last night on Austin City Limits is any indication about the state of music today, I wonder if those creatures of the night that are coming out to eat and kill us all, might just land up getting an upset stomach and spitting out what they had hoped would nourish their brain-dead appetites.
Enough already!
Both these acts wouldn't have gotten on the show without a strong following, and music industry connections to help them get to this level. M. Ward has been around 10 years, and I can't understand why or how he is such a popular attraction.
His interaction with the audience was non-existent. In a short interview he is so introverted that he couldn't even keep up eye contact with the interviewer!
As for his music, apparently it grows on you. It won't grow on me that's for sure. I know introverts are 'in' right now, but will people put up with that immature attitude for 10 or more year to come? I hope not. I wanted to slap the guy around and tell him to get a grip on himself. When it came for him to talk for a few moments about his music and how he perceives it...he stumbled around like a lost baby duck trying to find his mommy. BORING guy, BORING music.
What do his fans see in him?
I have heard many people say that we are living in "the most creative musical time ever". Well if we are the tastes of the public are in dire straits.
No way are we living in such an era. The mid 60's- yes. Most of the 70's-yes. The 80's-had its moments. The 90's- only the early years. This last decade-give me a break!
Yes, my age has a lot to do with my opinions....it better! We are supposed to have the ability to distinguish between good and bad better as we age. Anyone who is a teenager today, or in their 20's and 30's...I feel sorry for them when it comes to music.
Why?
Well for one thing the media has de-evolved over the last 3 decades and it's harder and harder to find great new talent out there to play on TV, commercial radio, and now on the more popular music sites...Accessible music, music that is 'safe' has been the name of the game for a long time now.
so, I don't get it...the fact is that there is today more music than ever to choose from....tons of it. But most of it really is crap. So what do the bookers of Austin City Limits, or the late night TV shows book...artists and bands that are on the so-called 'cutting edge'... NOT!
I haven't even reviewed Okkervil River. I was looking forward to them because of the work they have done recently with Texas legend Roky Erickson. But their own music?
Yikes, a horrible lead singer who thinks he is a rock-god and insists on singing off-key as if that was a real cutting-edge thing to do.
Ohh, and the band itself. Well, a drummer, bass player, guitars, piano and on this show another singer who did not compliment the other off-key lead singer. AND, they had a small string section, a guy on horn, and a woman guitarist who had to get on her knees to create the unoriginal feedback sounds she used to 'compliment' the previously mentioned off-key lead singer.
Music is in good shape as we end this first decade of the new millennium?
If that's true, no wonder there are so many movies and novels about the end of the world, zombies, and vampires...with what I viewed last night on Austin City Limits is any indication about the state of music today, I wonder if those creatures of the night that are coming out to eat and kill us all, might just land up getting an upset stomach and spitting out what they had hoped would nourish their brain-dead appetites.
Enough already!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Chris Knab's 16 Timeless Music Business Self Promotion Tips
The following tips are essential, life-long suggestions, for any and all musicians to remember as they establish and/or maintain their music careers.
1. Stop sending unsolicited demo recordings to any record labels, and instead concentrate on building your own music name and reputation by creating long-term relationships with your growing fanbase. They are your ticket to success.
2. Take the time to learn what the professionals in the music business do for a living. What are their job titles, who do they report to, and what do they do when they go to work? The contacts you make in the music industry can make or break your career because your potential success is directly linked to any possible growing success of the industry people who are climbing their own ladders to success. The music business is built on the 'buddy system'. Everyone is attached to everyone else in this industry. As you go, so go your business contacts.
3.Before contacting any music business professional have 1(one) prepared question for them that will not make you look or sound like an ignorant person. i.e. Do not ask them how to become a atar, or how to get a recording contract. No one has the time to answer such sweeping and naive questions.
4. Create two contact lists: One for professional people you actually have as a business contact. Another contact list made up of all your fans. Keep both lists updated and using common sense, reach out to both contract groups only when you have something very important to ask of them and/or to share with them.
5. Prepare a short 30 second description of your music. Memorize it and use it every time you are asked "what kind of music do you make?". Don't go on and on describing your music...your statement should clearly describe your genre or style of music quickly and in compelling language that will perk up the person's ears and find yourself with an interested and potentially valuable new contact ready to support you.
6. If you have trouble defining your music style, try this exercise...define the word 'originality' and note that within that word is another word...'origin'. Perhaps this will help you focus on what makes your music unique. Never say your music is "unique" explain HOW it is unique. This exercise will help you write your 30 second statement.
7. Remember this always: People in the music industry who's job it is to find and support new acts don't know what they are looking for...BUT...they will recognize it when they hear it.
8. Find a concise 'Image' and follow it everywhere. This is important because the first impression to someone unfamiliar with your sound is a VISUAL experience most of the time. i.e. Your Logo design used to spell your name, the title of your CD, or the design of your website, merchandise etc. is crucial to attracting industry and music fans. Image IS everything in show business, and in case you didn't realize it, music is part of good 'ol show business. Research your favorite acts and study their image.
9. People only respond to music they can personally relate to. What is it in your songs and compositions that has inspired your current fanbase and will grow to attract more fans and industry support? Think hard on this point. It is a true key to any possible success. Music contains emotions, so what emotions do your songs deliver to a listener?
10. Does your music sound too much like another artist or band's music? This is the biggest complaint from music business professionals...too much music today sounds like retreads of already successful artists. And, your fans are sensitive to this issue too. There is way too mucn 'redundant-sounding' music out there today.
11. When you perform live does your stage presence reflect the image conveyed in your songs? Are you well prepared, well rehearsed, and do the songs in your live set flow into each other in an exciting and well balanced way?
12. It can never be said enough. Great songs, Great compositions are the basis of all potential success, but 'grunt work', everyday down-in-the-trenches boring work, like updating your blog and website, keeping your website and social networking pages updated and staying in touch with your fans regularly are tough jobs. Only you can tackle these jobs and other jobs like putting up flyers for shows (on and offline), updating your press materials, looking for gigs, rehearsing...all these tasks require your commitment to carry them out without complaining. Remember, only YOU can care the most...it's YOUR music, YOUR career that we are dealing with here.
13. There is no such thing as an 'overnight sensation'. Behind every act referred to in this way are countless hours of hard work and dedication that got that person or act to be able to take advantage of the breaks they got, and remember too that the breaks you are looking for should be more than 'a record deal' or a 'production deal'. Look out for the ever increasing demand for uses of your songs online, in films, TV shows and ads...the list goes on. But you have to work consistently for these breaks to happen.
14. Home recording is as common today as home cooking use to be, but don't get trapped in the rut of staying at home and working on your computer or home recording setup. GET OUT regularly and show up at clubs and other concert venues on a regular basis. There is that old saying " They only come out at night"...well that's very true when it comes to music business personnel as well as music fans. So, get out there and socialize IN -PERSON wherever you might live.
15. As your fanbase grows create more and more merchandise to sell online and at your live shows. Be sure your LOGO is on every piece of merchandise you sell. (back to that statement-"Image is everything".)
16. This last tip may be the most important of all. Conduct your business from your heart. Yes, the music industry rarely operates from that place, but don't worry about the industry, concern yourself with your SELF...be righteous. Be upstanding. Be a professional in everything you do. If you do that, believe me you will stand out from the crowd.
1. Stop sending unsolicited demo recordings to any record labels, and instead concentrate on building your own music name and reputation by creating long-term relationships with your growing fanbase. They are your ticket to success.
2. Take the time to learn what the professionals in the music business do for a living. What are their job titles, who do they report to, and what do they do when they go to work? The contacts you make in the music industry can make or break your career because your potential success is directly linked to any possible growing success of the industry people who are climbing their own ladders to success. The music business is built on the 'buddy system'. Everyone is attached to everyone else in this industry. As you go, so go your business contacts.
3.Before contacting any music business professional have 1(one) prepared question for them that will not make you look or sound like an ignorant person. i.e. Do not ask them how to become a atar, or how to get a recording contract. No one has the time to answer such sweeping and naive questions.
4. Create two contact lists: One for professional people you actually have as a business contact. Another contact list made up of all your fans. Keep both lists updated and using common sense, reach out to both contract groups only when you have something very important to ask of them and/or to share with them.
5. Prepare a short 30 second description of your music. Memorize it and use it every time you are asked "what kind of music do you make?". Don't go on and on describing your music...your statement should clearly describe your genre or style of music quickly and in compelling language that will perk up the person's ears and find yourself with an interested and potentially valuable new contact ready to support you.
6. If you have trouble defining your music style, try this exercise...define the word 'originality' and note that within that word is another word...'origin'. Perhaps this will help you focus on what makes your music unique. Never say your music is "unique" explain HOW it is unique. This exercise will help you write your 30 second statement.
7. Remember this always: People in the music industry who's job it is to find and support new acts don't know what they are looking for...BUT...they will recognize it when they hear it.
8. Find a concise 'Image' and follow it everywhere. This is important because the first impression to someone unfamiliar with your sound is a VISUAL experience most of the time. i.e. Your Logo design used to spell your name, the title of your CD, or the design of your website, merchandise etc. is crucial to attracting industry and music fans. Image IS everything in show business, and in case you didn't realize it, music is part of good 'ol show business. Research your favorite acts and study their image.
9. People only respond to music they can personally relate to. What is it in your songs and compositions that has inspired your current fanbase and will grow to attract more fans and industry support? Think hard on this point. It is a true key to any possible success. Music contains emotions, so what emotions do your songs deliver to a listener?
10. Does your music sound too much like another artist or band's music? This is the biggest complaint from music business professionals...too much music today sounds like retreads of already successful artists. And, your fans are sensitive to this issue too. There is way too mucn 'redundant-sounding' music out there today.
11. When you perform live does your stage presence reflect the image conveyed in your songs? Are you well prepared, well rehearsed, and do the songs in your live set flow into each other in an exciting and well balanced way?
12. It can never be said enough. Great songs, Great compositions are the basis of all potential success, but 'grunt work', everyday down-in-the-trenches boring work, like updating your blog and website, keeping your website and social networking pages updated and staying in touch with your fans regularly are tough jobs. Only you can tackle these jobs and other jobs like putting up flyers for shows (on and offline), updating your press materials, looking for gigs, rehearsing...all these tasks require your commitment to carry them out without complaining. Remember, only YOU can care the most...it's YOUR music, YOUR career that we are dealing with here.
13. There is no such thing as an 'overnight sensation'. Behind every act referred to in this way are countless hours of hard work and dedication that got that person or act to be able to take advantage of the breaks they got, and remember too that the breaks you are looking for should be more than 'a record deal' or a 'production deal'. Look out for the ever increasing demand for uses of your songs online, in films, TV shows and ads...the list goes on. But you have to work consistently for these breaks to happen.
14. Home recording is as common today as home cooking use to be, but don't get trapped in the rut of staying at home and working on your computer or home recording setup. GET OUT regularly and show up at clubs and other concert venues on a regular basis. There is that old saying " They only come out at night"...well that's very true when it comes to music business personnel as well as music fans. So, get out there and socialize IN -PERSON wherever you might live.
15. As your fanbase grows create more and more merchandise to sell online and at your live shows. Be sure your LOGO is on every piece of merchandise you sell. (back to that statement-"Image is everything".)
16. This last tip may be the most important of all. Conduct your business from your heart. Yes, the music industry rarely operates from that place, but don't worry about the industry, concern yourself with your SELF...be righteous. Be upstanding. Be a professional in everything you do. If you do that, believe me you will stand out from the crowd.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Recording Studio From A Business Standpoint
A brief look at a Recording Studio's Priorities:
Minimum session bookings are usually 2 hours in length.
A professional recording studio is considered successful by the industry if it is billing about 2000 hours a year. (Roughly 40 hours a week BUT that was before this recession and the onslought of do-it-your selfers)
A fee charged by a studio for session time that was scheduled but not cancelled within 24-48 hours by the client is called a “kill fee”.
If a client consistently goes over their booked time slots, it is appropriate to talk with the client and charge a negotiated fee for the excess time.
Studio owners have three ways to pay their employees: Hourly wages, salaries, or project fees.
The term “beta testing” is used to describe a situation when a equipment company rep offers a studio a piece of equipment for a trial period.
When shopping for any new gear seek the help and advice of people who are experienced and knowledgeable in the field, and also ask clients, associates, and peers what kind of experience they may have had with the equipment you are interested in purchasing.
Recordings left over 30 days on the premises of a studio, and that represent unpaid bills, are done so at the risk of the client. Your business policy must clearly state your own time limit. After the stated time the recordings can become the property of the studio.
In standard policies, clients should pay for services rendered at the conclusion of the project.
An engineer who works occasionally for a studio is referred to as an “on-call” or “freelancer.”
At professional recording facilities the job that centers around invoicing clients, check or bill writing, form generation, and disc labeling belongs to the office of the Controller. In smaller studios these tasks will be done by a studio manager, or the owner.
The studio manager usually concentrates on scheduling sessions, as well as studio personnel schedules, creates the work orders, and makes sure the studio is prepared for each session. In many cases the receptionist may take on the job of being the studio manager in addition to their other duties dealing with appointments, etc.
Minimum session bookings are usually 2 hours in length.
A professional recording studio is considered successful by the industry if it is billing about 2000 hours a year. (Roughly 40 hours a week BUT that was before this recession and the onslought of do-it-your selfers)
A fee charged by a studio for session time that was scheduled but not cancelled within 24-48 hours by the client is called a “kill fee”.
If a client consistently goes over their booked time slots, it is appropriate to talk with the client and charge a negotiated fee for the excess time.
Studio owners have three ways to pay their employees: Hourly wages, salaries, or project fees.
The term “beta testing” is used to describe a situation when a equipment company rep offers a studio a piece of equipment for a trial period.
When shopping for any new gear seek the help and advice of people who are experienced and knowledgeable in the field, and also ask clients, associates, and peers what kind of experience they may have had with the equipment you are interested in purchasing.
Recordings left over 30 days on the premises of a studio, and that represent unpaid bills, are done so at the risk of the client. Your business policy must clearly state your own time limit. After the stated time the recordings can become the property of the studio.
In standard policies, clients should pay for services rendered at the conclusion of the project.
An engineer who works occasionally for a studio is referred to as an “on-call” or “freelancer.”
At professional recording facilities the job that centers around invoicing clients, check or bill writing, form generation, and disc labeling belongs to the office of the Controller. In smaller studios these tasks will be done by a studio manager, or the owner.
The studio manager usually concentrates on scheduling sessions, as well as studio personnel schedules, creates the work orders, and makes sure the studio is prepared for each session. In many cases the receptionist may take on the job of being the studio manager in addition to their other duties dealing with appointments, etc.
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Problem With Constant Content Updates
I have been on my back, more or less, for the last week after taking a nasty spill in the shower while staying at a hotel in Portland, Oregon. I injured my right ribcage and all the muscles and soft tissue surrounding them, so this is my first new blog posting since that fall.
And I have had a lot of time to think...lots of time!
At first I went through feeling guilty about not being able to write my Blog of the Day, not to mention no Twittering, or posting on Facebook. I started to think that with all I have been told, not constantly being present on all of the above sites was going to rapidly make what I have to say about music marketing irrelevant solely because "I was not contributing".
Well, that thought thankfully lasted only a few minutes. Then other thoughts came to mind:
"SO WHAT!" was the next thought, and I began to relax a bit.
"So what" indeed.
I read in the paper today (by coincidence) an article about the importance of constant communication if you are a business person, an artist, or anyone who wants to capture the internet browser's eye with your message of what you are up to. The article went on to say that if you want to compete your MUST communicate via a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc on a regular-actually-daily basis.
Well, this ticked me off.
I was injured for god's sake. I was down for the count for 6 days...ooohh, I have been forgotten by my so-called fans and/or followers. I have committed the ultimate sin..."Bless me father for I have sinned. I have not posted today."
Well, if constant communication is the name of the game, and if we are now all going to be judged by what we haven't done, making all that we have done in the past irrelevant, then so be it.
Perhaps my slip in the shower was a gift of sorts.
I had to stop for a short while. I had to let my body heal up a bit, and damn if that didn't turn out to be just what I needed to do.
But the bigger question for the day is this:
"Are we beginning to judge the information we come across on the web, in blogs and Twitters et al as being valid information only because its here NOW?"
What of a person's whole body of work? If it isn't updated almost daily is that work old and in the way? Outdated? Irrelevant?
I for one certainly hope not. That would indeed be a new kind of sin...the sin of non-communication with thy brethren.
Well, consider me a digital-non-communicating sinner for my 6 day absence from the 'scene'.
So, as I continue to recover I will test any of you who may come across this posting, and ask you if my 6 day 'sick-leave' has made me irrelevant by absence, I encourage you to visit my website
and take a look around. Go visit the many links I have to dozens of articles in my library of music business information.
Do that, and maybe you will see that just because a person doesn't regularly contribute constantly via the internet, that their information can actually be quite relevant.
I have to rest again now...I will see you when I feel up to it.
And I have had a lot of time to think...lots of time!
At first I went through feeling guilty about not being able to write my Blog of the Day, not to mention no Twittering, or posting on Facebook. I started to think that with all I have been told, not constantly being present on all of the above sites was going to rapidly make what I have to say about music marketing irrelevant solely because "I was not contributing".
Well, that thought thankfully lasted only a few minutes. Then other thoughts came to mind:
"SO WHAT!" was the next thought, and I began to relax a bit.
"So what" indeed.
I read in the paper today (by coincidence) an article about the importance of constant communication if you are a business person, an artist, or anyone who wants to capture the internet browser's eye with your message of what you are up to. The article went on to say that if you want to compete your MUST communicate via a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc on a regular-actually-daily basis.
Well, this ticked me off.
I was injured for god's sake. I was down for the count for 6 days...ooohh, I have been forgotten by my so-called fans and/or followers. I have committed the ultimate sin..."Bless me father for I have sinned. I have not posted today."
Well, if constant communication is the name of the game, and if we are now all going to be judged by what we haven't done, making all that we have done in the past irrelevant, then so be it.
Perhaps my slip in the shower was a gift of sorts.
I had to stop for a short while. I had to let my body heal up a bit, and damn if that didn't turn out to be just what I needed to do.
But the bigger question for the day is this:
"Are we beginning to judge the information we come across on the web, in blogs and Twitters et al as being valid information only because its here NOW?"
What of a person's whole body of work? If it isn't updated almost daily is that work old and in the way? Outdated? Irrelevant?
I for one certainly hope not. That would indeed be a new kind of sin...the sin of non-communication with thy brethren.
Well, consider me a digital-non-communicating sinner for my 6 day absence from the 'scene'.
So, as I continue to recover I will test any of you who may come across this posting, and ask you if my 6 day 'sick-leave' has made me irrelevant by absence, I encourage you to visit my website
and take a look around. Go visit the many links I have to dozens of articles in my library of music business information.
Do that, and maybe you will see that just because a person doesn't regularly contribute constantly via the internet, that their information can actually be quite relevant.
I have to rest again now...I will see you when I feel up to it.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Musician's Favorite Topic: Banking and Loans
Banking and Loan Issues for Musicians
1. Choose a reputable bank. Check out their background and reputation in your area.
2. Types of banks and their customer base:
a. The large national bank (B of A etc)
b. The regional bank (are there any anymore?)
c. The local bank...too small for your needs?
3. Are there advantages/disadvantages of dealing with each of the above?
Think it out.
4. Do any of these banks give loans to musicians and/or bands?
5. Entities that loan money and their pros and cons:
a. Loan Companies: No pros-stay away from them!
b. Investors-out of reach for most new artists and music is high risk business
c. Rich uncles or ‘sugar-daddies’-don’t take their money…they don’t know the biz.
6. Interest. How it is calculated. What to watch out for. Hidden or Late charges?
7. Types of credit:
a. Consumer credit (cards)
b. Secured long term (secured loans vs. unsecured and also guarantors)
c. Secured short term loans( might work-what can you put up?)
d. Un-secured loans (forget about it)
e. Secured lines of credit: (good way to go)
f. Unsecured lines of credit: (not unless you have had success galore)
8. How do you get money to "start" your music business if you can’t do any of the above?
a. Sell personal items of value
b. Do benefit concerts
c. Save money from live show revenues and/or merchandise sales
9. Still want a Loan? Learn your way around loan application procedures:
create a balance sheet and Profit and Loss Statement
10. What happens when you can't pay? You better look into this!
11. Establish good credit. Pay bills on time-over time-be professional in all
your money dealings.
12. How do you "fix" bad credit: Don’t get into that position to begin with-
work with creditors.
13. Maintain a good banking/investor relationship. Keep them posted on how you are
doing.
14. Don't be afraid of dealing with bankers or any financial institutions.
They can be a musicians best friend.
15. There are no shortcuts to running your business, and your music IS your
business, so approach your business and run it with heart and a good cash flow.
1. Choose a reputable bank. Check out their background and reputation in your area.
2. Types of banks and their customer base:
a. The large national bank (B of A etc)
b. The regional bank (are there any anymore?)
c. The local bank...too small for your needs?
3. Are there advantages/disadvantages of dealing with each of the above?
Think it out.
4. Do any of these banks give loans to musicians and/or bands?
5. Entities that loan money and their pros and cons:
a. Loan Companies: No pros-stay away from them!
b. Investors-out of reach for most new artists and music is high risk business
c. Rich uncles or ‘sugar-daddies’-don’t take their money…they don’t know the biz.
6. Interest. How it is calculated. What to watch out for. Hidden or Late charges?
7. Types of credit:
a. Consumer credit (cards)
b. Secured long term (secured loans vs. unsecured and also guarantors)
c. Secured short term loans( might work-what can you put up?)
d. Un-secured loans (forget about it)
e. Secured lines of credit: (good way to go)
f. Unsecured lines of credit: (not unless you have had success galore)
8. How do you get money to "start" your music business if you can’t do any of the above?
a. Sell personal items of value
b. Do benefit concerts
c. Save money from live show revenues and/or merchandise sales
9. Still want a Loan? Learn your way around loan application procedures:
create a balance sheet and Profit and Loss Statement
10. What happens when you can't pay? You better look into this!
11. Establish good credit. Pay bills on time-over time-be professional in all
your money dealings.
12. How do you "fix" bad credit: Don’t get into that position to begin with-
work with creditors.
13. Maintain a good banking/investor relationship. Keep them posted on how you are
doing.
14. Don't be afraid of dealing with bankers or any financial institutions.
They can be a musicians best friend.
15. There are no shortcuts to running your business, and your music IS your
business, so approach your business and run it with heart and a good cash flow.
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