Getting started in the music business?

[ben_sword]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I just got this email from a new member of our community of indie musicians...

...and I thought my reply might be instructive for you too...

"Hello Ben, I just have a problem, I just don't know where to begin in my music career, I was wondering if I should start from YouTube? Can you help me?" - Emma Wisdom

Here is my reply...

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Hey Emma, I’m excited for you and feel privileged to be your coach on this journey.

This is the most exciting time in history to be a musician!

OK, here is where I would start right from the the beginning.

1. Write new music for 20 minutes per day and aim for fantastic songs.

2. Post 1 video per day to youtube performing those songs so you’re getting better at performance too..

3. Set up a 1 page website that offers people some of your music if they give you their email address.

4. Find a way to get hits to your site. There are five main ways you can do that…1. buying advertising … 2. old school stuff like gigs, press reviews, radio and tv play ...3. have already popular websites and musicians share your stuff...4. interview people in your music scene...5. have your current fans share your music with their friends.

5. Send all the hits to that one page website to collect email addresses.

6. Email people the best new music you make.

7. Once in awhile Sell people high price “experiences” rather than dusty old CDs. So they might pay to come and take part in your recording session, or they might hire you to play at their house for them and their friends. You can charge a lot more for something like this.

8. Learn about salesmanship for 20 minutes per day by reading one article on http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletter-archives.htm

In my opinion this list only contains things that will help you make progress, and leaves out everything that would usually slow you down…

Remember you must take action fast and not be perfect, see what works then tweak your plan and keep going. We have lots of detailed lessons on each piece of this but study this simple plan first until you get it.

Don’t over think and psych yourself out.

Follow this plan everyday for the rest of your life and success is kind of guaranteed.

But most people don’t commit and stop right before the good times roll. Now you know that you can just keep going.

Peace.

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End of email...

Hope you found that useful too.

I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for Emma.

Ben

[lostinidlewonder]

"Song" is generally a description for music sung with voice. Just something I hope is constantly corrected online because it's annoying for us musicians to hear it always being used to describe instrumental pieces.

Using the Internet should be the last place I personally think to promote your business. As a musician you need to know the community you live in and be a part of it. Sure Internet is the future and more will be done through it as time goes by but real in person interactions can't be beat to make your networks.

What a music career is is very various in itself also. We should not think that there is only one niche we should fit. Some teach, some perform, others give therapy through music, some like to sell music instruments or manage school administration, build/repair instruments, others like to write about or compose music of their own etc etc. to know what you really want is the first difficult step in music, some have fanciful dreams but no goals set in place to achieve them, some when they realise what the reality is cannot cope.

[rvarella2]

Nice tips

I'm trying my luck with crowdfunding:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/your-piano-songbook

What do you guys think?

[Bob]

I have really read any of this, but if someone's handing out money, I'll take some, preferably 20's.  50's and 100's are just too odd for actual use.

[adodd81802]

Nice tips

I'm trying my luck with crowdfunding:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/your-piano-songbook

What do you guys think?

I smell a "second" account

[dcstudio]

we have an indie piano community here?   wow... that's news to me...  and apparently they send PMs to folks asking "how to get started in the music business"...  ok.


why Youtube is a wonderful place to start your music career.   I have 1.7 million views and that is enough to get just about anyone to listen to me..   those numbers count for a lot.  
Being able to book yourself as a YT sensation...( )   works...lol.

Now how to get those views is another matter entirely...   quite honestly, I got very lucky.  I met an online piano friend 9 years ago who turned out to be quite a heavy hitter on YT.  I was one of the first channels he subscribed to... when he went viral my account was noticed, too.  Someone over there liked what they heard because I was featured quite a bit.  I also had very high quality vids at that time... nice lighting, nice piano,  pretty hands, and decent playing.  I used a good camera when everyone else used webcams.  I should also note that both my heavy hitter buddy and I got in on the ground floor of YT.   The piano community was very small back then... we all knew each other well.  Now there is so much traffic there that, without some previous "hit videos" to your credit.. getting noticed is pretty difficult.

Be nice to everyone online you never know what kind of connections they have---or will have in the future..

crowdfunding... hmmm..  my friend, the heavy hitter, has a fanfunding account with $11k in it...   there is something to that.  

[Bob]

*Bob looks at his empty hat....*





*then glances at you.....*







*then glances at the empty hat.....*