Disprove the facts

What are 10 facts about your problem or situation? How can you force a change to at least one of those facts to make it untrue? Use your imagination and push boundaries.

Write up 10 facts about the project, or situation that you're in. And see what you can do to change or even solve your problem that you have. Like for instance if you are in a band, or a singer and you want to record in the studio, and you don't have the money for it. Like I said come up with all the good facts, and all the bad facts. And see what you can do to change any of them. Again for instance if one of your problems is not having the money. And the solution is try having to have fundraiser. So try to figure out what else you can come up with.

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Fake it

Dive right into working on your project or problem, pretending (even to yourself) that you know what you're doing. Spend at least 15 minutes faking your progress to see what comes of it. Remember: fake it 'til you make it.

Ok this isn't too much of my forte here, I'm not use to faking anything. But I guess the point is to pretend what you're doing and seeing where you end up. But this not like it is in the movies where someone can come off the street and start pretending to work somewhere. And be able to get away with it. There is a lot of things that can and most likely will go wrong. But if do all this in your mind, or some other way that it affect getting yourself, or anyone else in trouble.

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Escape all pressures

Author and actor John Cleese had it right: "You can't become playful, and therefore creative, if you're under your usual pressures." What can you remove to feel less pressured?

This is a great quote from one of the great author, and actors. And what he is trying to say to find a way, to escape your pressures that you may have on a daily basis. For instance, your daily pressures could be work, kids, wife/girlfriend, or even parents. Whatever it may be, find out when your next day off from work is, or when are the kids are not going to be around you for the moment, or when are you going to see or be with your wife, or girlfriend again. Those things could be stress relief as well. Another example is when I started to see my latest girlfriend, when we started seeing each other. I would come up from Maryland, to Pennsylvania to see her. I would mostly come up when we didn't have neither of our kids were around (not like we didn't want them around or anything just a some time away from them.) I had noticed that I had a lot of stress was taken away from being with her. And was able to release a lot of my creativity that way.

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Heyku 15

My lastest Heyku: I get any sleep on friday cause I was trying to get my licence transferred from Maryland, Pennsylvania, while trying to get my registration and tags taken care too. But didn't work out for me. So I just ended up coming home with a new license for now. And Saturday was another day feeling refreshed and everything and ready to take on the day.

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Copy someone’s idea

Find someone else who has created a solution you like, then copy it with your own style. As Jean-Luc Godard once said: "It's not where you take things from, it's where you take them to."

Jean-Luc Godard once said: "It's not where you take things from, it's where you take them to." This is a great quote. Yes as the title of this blog entry said "Copy someone's idea" is exactly that, copy it but don't mimic it. What I mean by this is take someone's idea, and then find ways that you can make it you own, and grow from that.

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Word shuffle

First write a few random words on some index cards or small pieces of paper, one word for each. Then mix them up and place two side-by-side. Try as hard as you can to come up with a new idea from the two resulting words.

This creative idea is great in so many ways, and you never how people really use this idea to come up with some of their ideas. Song writers, authors, poets, and I use on a daily basis, but my problem I can't remember everything that I come up with LOL. But like I was saying everyone is most likely to be using this creative idea themselves. So why not you. Give a try to see what you come up with.

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Think big to small

Look at what the smallest, simplest solution would be for getting back into the flow right now. Then use your imagination to come up with the largest solution. Plot where you would like to be on the chart and get started.

Ok I like this creative idea and everything but what for instance your working on something that you may not anything about. Ok it's great, to look at what the smallest, simplest solution would be for getting back into the flow right now. But plotting is a whole nother level in some cases. So use some reality in this, if you're going back in the flow of things from something that you already know about then that's great. But for some people it could be some new venture that they are coming into for the first time. So if this is this then my suggestion would be come in and learn the ropes to whatever that you're getting yourself into first. Find out how everything works, and then go from there.

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Diego Music Thing Day 2: Great Panels, Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) and Mike Herrera (MxPx)

San Diego Music Thing Day 2: Great Panels, Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) and Mike Herrera (MxPx)

By Diana Hereld of Pathways in Music and photo by James Gutierrez.

Day two of the 6th annual San Diego Music Day convention began with two panels entitled “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” the first for the novice, the second directed toward the more advanced. A rudimentary understanding of legal issues in the music business is something many aspiring musicians all too often overlook. The panel made up of legal professionals covered the basics of copyrighting for musicians/songwriters, trademarks, record deals and publishing.
[ San Diego Music Thing 2013 Day 1 Coverage Here ]

Affordable Healthcare

The second panel, “Every Artist Insured, Finding Affordable Healthcare under Covered California,” targeted health insurance for the industry. Presented by The Actors Fund and Musicares, this talk presented options and information relevant to freelancers and the self-employed regarding how to get affordable health insurance with the help of tax credits and government subsidies.
Panels: Producers Roundtable, Website Demolition Derby, Bands & Brands

This was followed by select PR mentoring sessions by Kelly MacGaunn (Kellemack PR), Fiona Bloom (The Bloom Effect) and Andie Cox (The Grammy Museum), and continued with “Producers Roundtable,” a “Website Demolition Derby” by Bandzoogle, and “Bands and Brands”- a panel outlining what is involved in aligning an artist with a brand. Monica Vergel de Dios (Spin Media) encouraged aspiring music professional to get involved in cross-marketing, and “make a compelling case to the value you bring. When it comes to cross-promoting on another’s website, monitor traffic, and make a case study.”
Artist Session: The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst.

The first artist session of the day was given by composer / musician / writer Lol Tolhurst, perhaps best known as a founding member of The Cure - a band many credit with the formation of Alternative music, and is one of the most influential, successful and critically acclaimed bands of their generation. After captivating a packed room with stories of lighthearted band antics, Tolhurst shared experiences from The Cure (formally known as Malice and later The Easy Cure) that were applicable to seemingly everyone present, from the veteran to the postmillennial.
One question brought up in the Q &A was “What caused The Cure to unravel?” One source of the process, Tolhurst pointed out, was completely natural. Touring musicians seem to forge a closeness stronger than marriage, and this can prove incredibly difficult. A band is a very unnatural situation for young people to be a part of. As he stated, “A band is more than the sum of its parts. It’s like a gang…a band’s success has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of music…The thing that makes what you do transcendent is the chemistry between the people playing, and you need to protect it at all costs.”
Keynote: Mike Herrera of MxPx.

Following a solid acoustic set this afternoon Mike Herrera (MxPx, Tumbledown) delivered a compelling talk on failure, success, and all the “up a creek without a paddle” tour tales in between. His charismatic presentation encompassed topics from being able to transform the negative to the positive, to using technology such as podcasts, Twitter or old tools “new to you” to express personal ideas not well-enough conveyed in the forty-minute live slot, to how to roll with the punches of anything your career, or life in general, deals you.
His recently released album from MxPx (Plans Within Plans) speaks heavily of being able to decisively and deliberately focus on the smaller picture just as much as the larger. It’s in the journey, not the destination. In reference to Charles Bukowski, Herrera quotes “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.”
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Bruce Houghton on 09/15/2013 in Conventions & Awards, D.I.Y., Music Business | Permalink

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Backtrack

Look at each step that got you to where you are now. If you backtrack one step at a time, where will you end up?

For some people this suggestion might mean that you are second guessing yourself. But for me a person that has a bad short term memory. This is actually good thing because if you do everything straight through with stopping or double checking you may get a lot done which is great by the way. But backtracking and seeing where you may have problems, or you may find some new problems that may present itself to you afterwards. For instance, one person that had read one of my post. Had to me about the proper grammar that I have used for the post. But I had to mention to the reader that this is how I write, and it separates me from other authors (not taking anything away from any other authors). But the suggestion that this person had mentioned and I never really used that much until after I have read the comment. Is the spell check function (believe me it helps a lot),  also backtrack and reread what I have written because I do tend to make errors in my writing myself.

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Make Videos That Fit The Artist and The Audience [Leadership Music Summit Panel]

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Make Videos That Fit The Artist and The Audience [Leadership Music Summit Panel]

An unlikely sounding panel at this week's Leadership Music Summit in Nashville, "Bringing Content to Fruition," kicked off a lively discussion about videos, music marketing and even a bit about building and monetizing a relationship with an audience for the long haul. Opinions varied but all seemed to agree that most choices come down to creating videos that fit both the artist and the audience.

Tuesday's Leadership Music Summit featured numerous talks and panels. A discussion focused on "creating video content...to expand a band/brand's message" touched on a number of interesting points.

Moderated by Hit Shop Records' David Ross, the panel included:

Stokes Nielson - Stokes Tunes/Country Now

Dez Dickerson - The Pavilion Group

Jamin Guy - Streamweaver

Brody Harper - Skorinc

Jared Scheel - Populr.me

High Points of the Discussion

Stokes Nielson got things going early with the audacious statement that musicians should be making videos because they're the "most effective way to communicate with other human beings."

Later Jared Scheel pointed out that video is an "incredible storytelling platform."

But to unleash the power of video, from music videos to backstage chronicles, many of the panelists spoke to different aspects of authenticity.

Dez Dickerson shared the first of many concepts he uses, in this case, to understand the act's "DNA" as a way of maintaining authenticity:

Who are we?

What do we do?

What are we doing it for?

By discussing such questions a band and team can then more easily evaluate a video project and whether or not it's appropriate for the act and the audience.

The panelists also discussed the fact that fitting both the act and the audience can affect such issues as production values. A new act has less money so a low-budget look is appropriate. More established acts are expected to have higher and therefore more expensive production values.

But this was one of the spots where panelists resisted formulating a one size fits all approach.

Stokes Nielson pointed out that first looks are so important that it can make sense for an emerging act to spend more money to make a strong first impression.

While Brody Harper says they've found with bigger stars that more off-the-cuff videos can work cause it offers a more human connection than fans are feeling from social media. On social media, they don't know if a tweet is actually written by an artist or by a team. When the artist is sitting there adjusting their webcame, it's a much more intimate moment even when watched by a large audience.

Other Tips and Insights

Stokes Nielson encouraged musicians to do collabs on YouTube to reach their audiences. In particular, he pointed out that YouTube stars are likely to be open to a collab with a musician as simply a cool thing to do, so reach out.

Jamin Guy suggested making sure your video works for all devices. Sure, it plays, but how does it actually look when played on a big screen vs. a smartphone screen.

Videos are a powerful tool for building relationships with one's audience. Dez Dickerson maintained that the long-term play is a shift from a transactional approach (i.e., buy this new release) to a relational approach (i.e., let's get to know each other so we can be friends for a long time).

As Dickerson pointed out, a hit doesn't necessarily translate into a music career. But if you have an audience, you can have a career.

Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians.

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Pop Music 1

Go with a cliche

What cliches exist around what it is you're trying to do? If you had to go with the obvious next step, what would that be and how could you get started on it right now?

True, True about this statement. Using a cliche can definitely put you in a direction or two. Depending on if it is good, or bad. So find your cliches on your project, or creative idea of your own and see where it leads you.

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Why Jay-Z Premiered His “Holy Grail” Video On Facebook

Why Jay-Z Premiered His "Holy Grail" Video On Facebook

By Corentin Villemeur, head of digital for 50 Cent and G-Unit Records, co-founder of Thisis50.com.

“Men lie, women lie, Numbers don’t”

Jay Z, 2009

Ever since the announcement of the Samsung deal back in June, I’ve been fascinated by Jay Z‘s release plan for Magna Carta Holy Grail. As he just released the official music video for “Holy Grail”, my good friend and coworker Tony G asked me “What’s the point of premiering it on Facebook?” .. It inspired me to write the following.
Perception Is Everything

In these days where album sales are still lower than they used to be, this concept in the music industry is key: Perception is everything.
Believe it or not, people care about numbers. They check their Klout, buy Twitter followers, and want more Likes than their look-at-my-salad-pictures-taking Instagram friends.
They also want Soundscan to check first week numbers.. It started with Myspace, YouTube and its prominent view counter took it to another level. Analytics for all is in, get your data right.
So the Brooklyn rapper just dropped the music video for “Holy Grail” – track off the album featuring Justin Timberlake – and chose our friend we hate to love, Facebook to premiere it.
This might come as a surprise for most, but it makes total sense in the overall master plan he used for his MCHG marketing campaign.
I will try to highlight here his clever usage of numbers .. not the ones you’re now accustomed to, the ones he wants you to see; believe that he’s hard at work to make the first impression, the last one.
The first impression is the last impression

Facebook’s proprietary video player is pretty weak if you ask me. One of its only values is the predominance of the Like the Page button when you watch the video within your feed. Outside of that, it’s a standard player with an obvious lack of features (see embed above: no source/logo, no click through, meh).
So why use it you would ask..
2 reasons:

It’s Facebook’s proprietary player and by using their own technology, your content has a better chance to appear on your fans feed.
No need to run a Fan page to see that your photo directly uploaded to Facebook will get more likes than one uploaded via your Instagram account. Your friends are simply more likely to see it that way. That’s just how Facebook works.
With that being said it’s a better way to capitalize on his 17M Likes rather than posting a YouTube clip.
Now, Facebook offers you to promote your posts and everyone is accustomed to click on a YouTube player, so the real reason might be elsewhere.
No one knows the real amount of views, all you see is the amount of Likes .. and it’s going to be a lot!
As I’m writing this, the Holy Grail video post has more than 230,000 Likes.
To see this kind of numbers on his Page you need to go back to September 19th 2012 and this iconic photo with Obama and Beyonce, which has 269,000 Likes.

So can this video compare with meeting Obama? Clearly not, but that’s where Jay’s brilliance lies.
When Jay Z announced his album, he also said he had already sold a million copies.. what now?

If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard doesnt report it, did it happen? Ha. #newrules #magnacartaholygrail Platinum!!! VII IV XIII

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) June 17, 2013

The exact details of the deal here are not known but it was reported that Samsung bought a million copies at $5 a piece and were to give them away for free to their users.
Do we know how many were actually downloaded? No.

Just like his Facebook release, you only get a certain number – The one he wants you to see, that big one, that Lady Gaga number, that number that will make you go ‘wow’.
The Wow effect

Don’t let him fool you, that album wasn’t put together overnight. Justin and Jay’s summer tour was planned months ahead (announced in February) and the timing of MCHG’s release – actually both their release when you include JT’s 20/20 Experience – is no surprise.
The RIAA updates its standards; they move faster than Usain Bolt now?
A $5M deal with Samsung.. sure, let me sign that here while Timbo finishes this beat.
Jay Z doesn’t use his VEVO channel, so his other platform of choice would have been YouTube. He recently used it for “Picasso Baby“, guess he wasn’t too happy with its performance.
Though it had a good concept and some wide coverage (before and after), the video racked a mere 2.8M views for 22,384 Likes.
The stats on the video, obviously, have been disabled.
Was the video too long? Did he go too far with his art concept? Is Justin making that much of a difference?
Anyway, want to see what 200,000 Likes gets you on YouTube, it’s here.
On YouTube, people might not pay as much attention to likes than they do to views but they do on Facebook, and that’s all that matters here.
We have no way of knowing how many views this video has (you have to be a Page admin to check the amount of plays – ‘Export the data’ .. open Excel .. too many steps) but the perception is there. 230,000 likes in 48hrs .. Justin Bieber kind of numbers.
Starting to make sense now, right?
I remember reading a lot of comments arguing the legitimacy of this Platinum status. The fact is, the app used for the release was downloaded well over a million times.
The app was removed since [old link] but thanks to the Wayback machine you can clearly see that the app received somewhere between 1 and 5M downloads.

If apps are to replace physical CDs, perfect by me.
On top of that, Jay still sold 527,000 copies its first week and had the best opening week in Spotify history.
In this day and age of information overload, using numbers to your own advantage is an art.. Jay mastered it.
Chapeau l’artiste!

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Top 10 music tumblr blogs

So if you’ve been living under a rock with no wireless connection, you may not know that Tumblr is the new cool blogging platform that all the cool kids are using (so we figured we’d better get on it before we get cyber bullied into it anyway).

Check out our Radar Tumblr here for the very latest in new independent music… we’ll share all the best new tracks we find, and your reactions can help us figure out what to add to our playlist!

In setting up the Tumblr blog, I painstakingly went through (oh who am I kidding it was awesome) and followed all of the coolest music Tumblr’s I could find and figured - why not share this info with all of you hardcore music lovers?

So here you go...

1. Gorilla Vs. Bear http://gorillavsbear.tumblr.com/
Gorilla Vs. Bear is probably my fave music blog of all time. It's managed by Chris Cantalini who is so onto new music it's frightening. Follow if your into the more obscure indie bands and hip hop.

2. Yvynl http://yvynyl.tumblr.com/
A Tumblr run by a dude with mad music taste and good industry cred - enough said! Pitchfork listed his top album list on their site, so chops for that right there!

3. Ears of the Beholder http://www.earsofthebeholder.com/
A great source for unheard of, rare B-sides and new music. A dude called Peter from San Fran manages it and has since co-founded a record label, City Limits Records off the back of it - so he must know his shit!

4. Tunage http://tuneage.tumblr.com/
With over 10 hardcore music fans contributing to this little Tumblr gem, you're bound to chance upon a new track you haven't heard from a genre you love.

5. Kyle Dean http://kyledeanreinford.tumblr.com/
This guy takes some really beautiful photos of artists and bands. Really nice angles and ideas that make them stand out from the masses. Nice work kid.

6. Copy Cats http://copycats.tumblr.com/
Hit this if you're into cool mashups and covers - by good artists of course! This Tumblr is totally devoted to finding and posting at least one a day. Schweeeet.

7. Music to have Sex to http://xmusic.fm/
I'm intrigued by anyone who has the balls to dictate what music should/shouldn't turn you on. Creators/founders Jose Jimenez and Jessica Kelley post new tracks every day so you will it can be "bizness time" 24/7!

8. Glo-fi Must Die http://glofimustdie.com/
A great little indie/dance music blog with an even greater title. I pressed play on their player and the 1st three tracks I heard were both new and awesome! Test passed.

9. Hipster Runoff http://hipsterrunoff.tumblr.com/
These guys are very tongue-in-cheek social commentators, focused on pop culture in general, not just music. With article titles like, Bon Iver does infomercial for lower back pain to appeal to aging cool dads they've got my vote!

10. You’ll soon know Us http://youllsoonknow.us/
A Tumblr dedicated to posting music by cool new indie bands. What more do you want?

If you know of any other good ones, hit us up in the comments :) or on our Tumblr!

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Music On Tumblr & Their Unique Relationship With SoundCloud

Music On Tumblr & Their Unique Relationship With SoundCloud

By Eliot Van Buskirk of Evolver.fm.

Marissa Meyer has pledged not to screw up Tumblr and to leave it more-or-less autonomous, as part of Yahoo’s bold $1.1 billion acquisition of the company. Her pledge should mean that all the #music on Tumblr will be okay (unlike the porn), which is a good thing for music fans among the 4.8 million people who access Tumblr every day, which means Tumblr has roughly the daily population of Alabama.
The acquisition should help Yahoo attract a more tech-savvy crowd, too, as well as boosting its bottom line as Yahoo inserts “Yahoo Stream Ads” to Tumblr feeds. That includes all the music Tumblrs out there, which take advantage of the platform’s ability to embed music from Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, your hard drive, and the whole web.
So, what is that music, anyway? How do you put it there? Where can you hear it? And is it any good?
You’re on your own for that last one, which is down to personal taste. We can help you out with the rest, though, if you’re sitting there going “Am I really, honestly, doing everything I can to use Tumblr for music and understand the mechanics of what goes on there, music-wise?”

To make your own music Tumblr, just click the Audio button.

For the uninitiated, know this: You can post any recorded song in the world on Tumblr, using third-party services (SoundCloud, Spotify, or YouTube), linking to music elsewhere on the web, or by uploading your own sonic creations (up to 10MB per MP3). Unless you use the last option, you don’t need to worry about copyright, permissions, or any of those niceties, because that’s on the company hosting the file.
As for listening, you can see just about all of the music on Tumblr by working your way through Tumblr’s music tag, which could take years. A much better idea for using Tumblr for music: Find a few Tumblrs that cater to your taste, and follow those (some suggestions below). On the flipside of that coin, it’s also ridiculously easy to use Tumblr to set up own music blog — then just click the Audio option and follow the simple directions.
This approach makes Tumblr’s music selections a smorgasbord (an apt description, given the weird Swedishness of digital music). However, in our anecdotal research, we’ve seen a way higher percentage of SoundCloud jams than we do on Facebook or Twitter, although YouTube and Spotify are also well represented.
As such, we put the question to SoundCloud: Are they seeing a big uptick in Tumblr embeds? In other words, are SoundCloud and Tumblr the relative besties they appear to be?
SoundCloud spokeswoman Kristina Weise told us that one reason for the apparent surge in SoundCloud on Tumblr is that the two companies worked together to replace Tumblr’s custom widget with the standard SoundCloud widget, which happened a couple of months ago, as well as SoundCloud updating its search function in December, making it easier to find the tracks:
The reason you’re seeing more SoundCloud presence on Tumblr is that this past March, Tumblr replaced their custom SoundCloud player with our official widget inside audio posts on the web (mobile + desktop). This gives our creators better attribution, SoundCloud better brand placement inside Tumblr, and a better overall listening experience.
In addition, by updating our search functionality back in December (’12), this has also improved better search results in Tumblr. Sorry to not be more helpful on the numbers side, but did want to acknowledge that we’re working closely with Tumblr and are constantly working with them on ways to improve the audio experience for users on both platforms.
If you’re looking for a quick way to get started with Tumblr and music, by the way, you could do a lot worse than this top ten list.

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35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

The following guest post is an excerpt from the new 4th Edition of Music Is Your Business by Christopher Knab.

Deciding to release your own record is only a good idea if you know what you’re getting into. As you read through the following questions, mark the ones that you can’t answer and make an effort to find the answers. We answer some of these questions throughout the book. There are, however, some questions that only you can answer, and a few that are outside the scope of this book.
(Answers to any business start-up issues are widely available on the Internet and in many books devoted to that specific topic.)
35 Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

1. Why are you starting your own label? (What is your motivation?)
2. Why would anyone want to buy your music?
3. Is there currently a market for your kind of music? Prove it!
4. If you’re not releasing your own music, have you ever read a recording contract?
5. Are you aware of all the traditional clauses that are in such 75–100 page contracts?
6. Do you know anything about copyright law?
7. What is a mechanical royalty? What is a performance royalty? Internet play royalties?
8. Have you heard of the Harry Fox Agency, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC? What do they do?
9. What do you want to achieve by starting your own label?
10. What do you know about the day-to-day business of selling music?
11. Will your new company be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or some type of corporation? (Do you know the pros and cons of each?)
12. Have you trademarked the name of your company to be sure you can use that name?
13. Will you need recording equipment, office equipment, and supplies to run your label?
14. Do you have a recording studio you can work with, or will your laptop recording really do the job?
15. Do you know any record producers and/or engineers?
16. How much money will it cost you to start your label, record your records, and market the recordings for the first year? Second year? Third year?
17. How will you raise the money you need to start and run your record label?
18. What local, state, and federal tax responsibilities will your label have?
19. How will you sell your records? (Live shows, Internet sales, mail order, catalog sales, distributors, stores?)
20. What specific distribution and retail sales plans have you arranged so that people can easily find your releases at retail stores?
21. Do you have the money, time, and determination to compete in an industry that releases over 1,000 new records a week?
22. What configurations, (CD, vinyl, MP3, etc.), based on your knowledge of your fans habits, will you need to make?
23. How much will it cost to manufacture your CDs and/or vinyl, and convert your recordings to downloadable formats?
24. How many copies of your releases do you think, realistically, you can sell?
25. What deals are offered by CD manufacturers? Will you use their barcode or buy your own?
26. Will you need to make posters or other materials for retailers? If so, how many and how much will that cost?
27. Will you be making special novelty items like t-shirts, baseball caps, etc., and how much will that cost?
28. How did you estimate the number of copies you needed to manufacture?
29. Did you count into your estimation the number of free CDs you’ll have to give away for promotions of various kinds?
30. How will you go about finding other acts to sign to your label? Are you the sole artist? Then how many new releases will you have every year or so?
31. How important do you think graphic design is in making your label’s logo and cover art work for your releases?
32. Do you know any graphic artists with record design experience?
33. What information should go on the CD cover, back-cover, spine, booklet, and label?
34. What will your website look like? What online marketing news and fan opportunities (blogs, podcasts, etc.) will there be for your fans to interact with you?
35. Do you know how to write a marketing plan, a distributor one-sheet, and other promo materials?
Plus an extra question (this may sound familiar):
36. Who are your customers? NEVER forget this important question! If you think you know them, then describe them in very specific terms. And keep in touch with them. Create an event page on Facebook and invite them to interact with you on Twitter.
And on and on it goes. Welcome to the new music business!

By Christopher Knab, Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. The new, 4th Edition of Music Is Your Business has 100 pages of more info to help musicians help themselves with the business of music.

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“Data Is The New Hustle” – Is The Music Business Getting Any Fairer?

“Data Is The New Hustle” – Is The Music Business Getting Any Fairer?

During last Tuesday’s SF MusicTech Summit, I had the privilege of moderating a panel alongside several top minds within music and technology, where a short, yet powerful quote was said that resonated deeply with myself and several members of the audience. “Data is the new hustle,” pronounced BitTorrent’s Executive Director of Marketing Matt Mason. The traditional music business has never been rational (as Incubus manager Steve Rennie pointed out), nor has it ever been easy or straightforward. However, Mason points out that the democratized use of online tools and metrics is beginning facilitate a new kind of music business – one that is becoming fairer for artists.
“The music game has always been about hustle,” Mason says. “I've worked in the content industries since my teens, and have never seen a successful artist who didn't, at one time or another, figure out a way to get their stuff in front of people that mattered to their career in a really creative way.”
To Mason’s point, artists of yesterday would have to employ a hustle mentality in several different ways in order to get their music heard. The trouble was that in order to do so, one would have to go through a number of gatekeepers – many of which were nearly impossible to access without the right connections or a large enough bank account.
“In the music business, hustle has taken on many forms over the decades,” he continued. “We've all heard stories of payola, threats, favors and bribery, but there's also a negative side, to mangle a Hunter S. Thompson quote on the music industry. It's never been fair, it's never been rational, and it's always been dirty. Which is why data is such good news for the music business.”
Nowadays however, executives all the way up to the major labels are examining the very same data figures that we all have access to such as YouTube views, SoundCloud plays, and social media metrics. With data, popular artists can now prove they are popular. If they decide to approach labels, brands or other industry sources, they can now demonstrate that they really have an audience, and can even pinpoint exactly where they are and to what degree they engage and spend money with them.
“Artists now have so many tools at their disposal,” Mason said. “The real problem is knowing how to use them, knowing how to understand the right metrics and then act accordingly to get a better outcome. But that's a better way of hustling than paying off a DJ to play your record. Data means the music business is getting a little more democratic.”
While many would argue that artists continue to get the short end of the stick in today's music business (perhaps especially in regards to licensing with streaming platforms), artist data metrics can now prove to be just as powerful - if not more powerful - than any personal connection or bribe.
The proof is always in the pudding, as they say. If you as an artist claim to be remarkable, and you've got the stats to back it up, that data will certainly place the ball firmly in your court.
—
Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of Business Development for Fame House and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud

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