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YOUR MUSIC
- GET THE PRODUCT RIGHT – Make sure the “product” is right. A “department” in your company (yes, YOU, initially) must ensure that the music you’re producing is “right” for the target market it is aimed at. This will involve not only the creative process of writing, producing and mastering your songs, but also a thorough research of your target audience, A&R. After all, your success will to a large extent depend on how well you will reflect the entertainment preferences of a particular demographic.
- The creative talents you will need to employ here will need to include not just the best possible musicians, singers, engineers, etc (all or some of whom will again, presumably, be YOU, initially) – but also any and all help you might need to further fine-tune your product, from voice coaches to producers.
The research talents you’ll need will include someone who knows not only “who” your market is, but also where and how to get in front of it. They will also need to find the appropriate feedback mechanisms for you to help you keep your finger on the pulse. So, for example, if you produce music for a particular market, but your research team tells you that it doesn’t resonate with a test group – you need to know that before you do anything else, so you may decide to either refocus on a variant of that market or perhaps re-produce your music!- And you’ll also need to know all about your own local market, because that’s where you’ll want to start, for best overall results. Forming business relationships in your area can have a transformative effect on your entire campaign. Advertising in a local guitar center or a music shop, gigging at local music shows or colleges you’ll want to seriously consider – and have the tools on your website which will allow people to book you and communicate with you.
- Your music will also need to be easily accessible on all your platforms.
YOUR MUSIC BUSINESS
- SET UP YOUR SITE – Your main site must be set up and hosted and then created in any of the number of ways. I will show you the “simplest” as well as the “best” solutions for that. You’ll need not just the website, but also logos, graphics, photos, album artwork, your EPK one-sheet (electronic press kit), squeeze pages, email templates, headers, follow-up letters, business cards, brochures, posters, flyers, postcards, magazine ads, and so on. (One thing at a time, don’t fret!)
- CREATE YOUR WEB CONTENT – You’ll need to create written content for your site, from a well-written bio to press releases, articles, stories, etc. You’ll also want to ensure that reviews of your music are all over the web, and perhaps even arrange a few interviews with radio stations out there for people to listen to.
- Apart from creating your site and its content, you will also need to sign up to a number of social websites and online music groups and you’ll want to interconnect everything at one point as well, in order to have a one-touch integration between all your different web properties. You’ll also need to ensure that you’re easily found on a specific set of keywords, which we’ll discuss a bit later. Let’s go over some of these things now, very broadly, just to prime you for it.
- You’ll need to do some SEO and SEM as well – that’s search engine optimization and search engine marketing.
- You’ll want all your social sites and communications to be integrated with your main site.
- SET UP YOUR SOCIAL NETWORK PRESENCE – Join services such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Mixcloud, DATpif, ReverbNation, SoundCloud and a bunch of others, and then ensure that you get followers, plays, comments, downloads and favorites, as applicable. I’ll show you a number of ways in which you can achieve all that quite quickly.
- MARKETING – You’ll need to focus on marketing yourself and your music as well (or have someone do it for you). That’s the only way you can build a fan-base online. You’ll want to actively encourage visitor interactions and signups.
- INCOME STREAMS – You need to know all the various ways in which you can monetize (i.e. make money on) your music. Will selling MP3’s be something you’re interested in? If so, you’ll almost certainly be disappointed. MP3’s of indie artists sell very poorly. They’re better used as free giveaways on the back of which you monetize other things. Things such as, for example, your merchandise or your live performances, your music services, if any – and so on.
MANAGING YOUR SITE & CONTROLLING THE RUNNING COSTS – You will also need to look after the daily operations of your business. You’ll need to ensure there are funds to cover everything from the basic necessities to touring costs to session players to whatever else might be needed. “Someone” will have to make a budget for that, and “someone” will have to make sure there’s money available for that as well! Ideally, money from ongoing INCOMES.- DAILY MONITORING – You will also need someone to look at the bigger picture. How is the business doing, where and how can it expand, what’s the next step.
- Once you know all the numerous monetization strategies (which we’ll cover in great depth further in this course), you’ll need to set them all up, one by one. And “someone” will have to do it. It probably shouldn’t be “you”, unless you get a creative kick from that as well. But it will need to be “someone” you appoint.
- You’ll also want to prepare yourself for exploiting all possible income streams that your music can generate – from library music to licensing, direct sales, performances, to parallel products.
- Once you know all the numerous monetization strategies (which we’ll cover in great depth further in this course), you’ll need to set them all up, one by one. And “someone” will have to do it. It probably shouldn’t be “you”, unless you get a creative kick from that as well. But it will need to be “someone” you appoint.
- AFFILIATES AND STREET TEAMS – You’ll also want to have an affiliate program as a way to help motivate your “street teams”. On the flip side, I’ll also show you how to join other people’s affiliate networks and get into so-called “joint ventures” online.
- ENSURING THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC – All your promotions will generate natural “organic” traffic, but you can do much more. You’ll want plenty of Twitter followers and Facebook likes, as well as – critically – YouTube views, positive comments across all of your web properties and much more. And – you’ll also want to do occasional classified and paid ads or traffic campaigns as well.
Don’t begrudge the time it will take to create an actionable PLAN based on the above information.
The better your plan is, the easier it will be for you to fulfill it. But it will have to be a realistic plan, i.e. exactly what this course aims to help you with.
NOTE: You will not be able to make a complete and well-informed plan until you’ve gone through this entire course first. This course will give you a very concrete idea of what needs to be done and – as you’ll see within this book – WHO (other than you) can do it for you and for how much. So, we will create a more detailed plan at the end of this course.
Once again: broadly understanding what needs to be done is your first priority before you get into details.
Once you’ve read through everything, you’ll need to go back to the beginning and create your personal business plan, and then act on each step with this book – and your plan – in hand. You will then be able to create a real music business which will ensure your continuing success – relatively quickly and efficiently!
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| Book 1 – Chapter 12 Structuring Your Plan |
Course Overview | Book 1 – Chapter 14 If There Was Only ONE Thing |
Book 1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Overview
