Everyone once in a while a posting resonates simply because it touches upon a basic truth. This recent article from Rick Goetz at MTT drives home the point of constiency and continuing forward with the goal in mind, relentlessly.

VolumeEleven.net and other websites like it have been created to help musicians get the most out of their time and energy spent on the business side of music. DIY has created this need.

Nevertheless, there is still no substitute for a focused goal, and the hard work and determination to wake up every day and help yourself get there.

Most successes in life are achieved because of little incremental advances taken on a daily basis.

[Read more →]

Guitar Tree

I recently read a Wired interview with industry veteran Tom Silverman about the state of the music business and the plight of independent artists. He points out the difficultly of developing new music and touring while also holding down a real job.

The article is definitely worth a read.

It also remimded me of a past V11 article (see below) that requires revisiting, and highlights how, despite new ideas, new companies, etc., not much has really changed in the past few years…. basically we really are not there yet, and I don’t think anyone knows for sure what “there” is and when or if we will ever get “there”…

[Read more →]

The article I chose for this month’s blog post of the month is Avoid These Mistakes! 15 Critical Marketing Mistakes That All Musicians Need To Avoid by Jonathan Ostrow.

Finding this article was quite timely for me, because I’ve been wanting to help a friend with his marketing strategy, but being new to the world of marketing, I wasn’t really sure where to begin. This article really breaks it down and gives some great concrete steps that can help you to begin your marketing efforts.

I think after reading Ostrow’s article, I will probably get started by working on setting up goals- short-term, mid-term and long term goals, determining a target audience, and learning to use analytics.

I will definitely be visiting the links on how to use Google Analytics and Facebook Insights.

I also love the advice on how to create a pitch for yourself.

[Read more →]

“If the first iteration of online video was about silly pet tricks on YouTube, the next wave will be about professionally produced full-length content…” according to Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. “This shift will be propelled by a combination of technology integration, demographics and a growing comfort level with the idea of watching video hosted on Websites.”

As quoted in a recent article on Hypebot via eMarketer, longer, more professionally-produced video will be the next big growth area.

For independent musicians this means you need to start developing your medium and long term online video strategy now.

[Read more →]

You’ve recorded your first album. Now what?

If you are recording an album yourself, here are some important steps you should take to protect your music and to make sure you collect royalties that are owed to you when your music is performed on television, radio, and the internet.

Register your copyrights

An important step to take to protect your rights is to register your copyrights with the US copyright office.

If you are recording your own music yourself, there are potentially two copyrights you could hold: a copyright in the composition and a copyright in the sound recording. You can and should register both.

[Read more →]

I came across an article this month by Greg Rollett called “Justin Bieber and Lady GaGa Marketing” which highlights a video featuring Lady Gaga’s manager Troy Carter and Justin Beiber’s manager Scooter Braun from TechCrunch Disrupt.

Rollett lists some of the highlights of the video in his post, but even at 20 minutes long I think its worth it to watch the whole thing. Carter and Braun discuss strategies they use with their superstar clients, but they still offer some really valuable advice that artists at all levels can use.

One of the most important lessons I took away from this is the impact that producing quality online content can have.

[Read more →]

Webcasting is now finally gaining ground as a legitimate global growth vehicle for any level band.

I was able to meet with two San Francisco bay area musicians – Brian Vandemark and Brandon Watson – both of whom have been gaining knowledge and experience using justin.tv.

They have handled the webcasting duties for their various music projects, and were gracious enough to explain what they have learned so far.

When was the first time you used Justin.tv or any online video streaming site to promote or show your music? What was that experience like?

[Read more →]

In order to be a successful in this day and age, musicians must not only be great artists but also smart business people.

Mason Reed exemplifies the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of a new generation of independent artists who are able to create their own paths to success.

Reed combines new technologies with traditional ways to make fans and promote his music.

I asked him some questions about his music, his “never ending tour,” his opinions on the music industry, and the record label he’s working to start so that he could share some of the lessons he’s learned with our V11 readers.

[Read more →]

When sifting through the many interesting topics which were covered in April music blogs, I came across a guest post on Future of Music by Fran Snyder called “Direct to Fan – the art of the house concert,” which discusses a new trend of independent artists playing concerts in people’s homes.

At first I wasn’t terribly impressed with the idea, but the more I read and the more I thought about it, the more I realized Snyder was actually on to something that could be a valuable tool for independent musicians.

Considering other articles I’ve read recently about the importance of direct to fan sales in facilitating independent musicians ability to make a living, the concept of making the live show available as a direct to fan item makes a lot of sense, and seems like the next logical step in direct to fan sales.

[Read more →]

Like many others in the tech/start up world, we get excited when learning about new products, and then when they start to get too popular we sort of want to begin tearing them down.

Not cool anymore…. So-and-so is actually better for that…. They don’t do this… They can do that better….

Well I am going to admit it. Facebook is great!

It frankly solves so many problems for promoting bands that I am beginning to worry about all the other companies that have entered this space.

When we started working with bands in 2006 there were several things I wanted to do with a band’s website: blog pages for fan interaction, easy ways to post photos of recent shows, easier and more convenient ways to promote and brand, etc.

[Read more →]