SONG PLACEMENTS! Remember, you ARE licensing your songs NOT selling them…Music Supervisors use non-exclusive agreements. SOME WISE WORDS FROM: CLINTON STAPLETON FROM 495 Productions. (TV Production) TV needs FAST acceptance; sometimes the sync contract needs to be signed within 1 day! TV is continuous so these music supervisors are always accepting music. TV need HI […]

In our last blog, we gave you 4 important areas a music supervisor will ask you before making an offer to use your song in their production. MUSIC SUPERVISORS WILL ASK THESE QUESTIONS: Do you own your own masters? They will need these masters and music stems to place the music in their production Have […]

In the past year, I have had a lot of musicians asking about how can they write songs and get them placed in TV and movies. So the next few weeks, we are going to talk about how to place your music in different music mediums. I heard Micheal Elsner from Master Music Licensing give […]

If you are asking the question above, it probably means you have thrown up your hands to heaven and said, “I don’t like to talk about myself” OR “I don’t have time for social media” OR What does social media have to do with people listening to my music?” THE EVER-CHANGING MUSIC BUSINESS First, I […]

Today, we want to talk about how much it takes to record and promote a 5 song EP. We start with looking at your planning stages, how much it could cost to record those songs AND what can you expect to pay to pro mote those 5 songs to the world. PLANNING YOUR FIRST STEPS […]

We are all busy people…but why can’t you complete your entire “To Do” list by the end of the week? Getting things done is all about organizing your time! Here are some items to explore that may make you more efficient. IS YOUR LIST IS TOO LONG OR JUST UNREALISTIC? If you are working, going to […]

The past few blogs I have been instructing you on how to book all kinds of gig all by yourself. But I want you to know that there are conferences where the bookers attend for 3 days every year to find the new music for their venues. There is a difference between a Music Industry […]

It looks like most colleges will be back in full swing by this fall. So this is a perfect time to contact the area colleges near you to see if they have some open music slots! There are many events on campus mostly hosted by the Campus Activities Board and other clubs and organizations. Most […]

Outdoor events are coming back! So it is time to pay attention to the signs you see around your town. Take notice of banners says “Sunday concert in the park is back!”, “Live music at the Farmers Market”,   Food Truck event with special music guests, Art Walk Thursdays or Summer concerts on the pier. EXPLORING […]

Performance venues are really opening up, so here comes all the BIG events that people were not able to do in 2020. We are talking about weddings, anniversaries, big birthday celebrations, bar/bat mitzvahs, corporate parties, conventions….and every holiday under the sun! Who books these types of events? Mostly official party planners and the group sales […]

Let’s start with the question I left you with in Part 3: “ARE YOU WILLING TO DO 18 SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, 3 PERFORMANCES AND CONTACT 30 PRESS CONTACTS IN THE NEXT 4 MONTHS TO LET THE WORLD YOU HAVE NEW MUSIC?” So this blog is about giving you ideas for your 3 videos (1 video […]

So today we really get started looking at the calendar, 3 to 4 months ahead, so we can schedule your release dates. As we look at the calendar…remember this information: CHOOSE A FRIDAY FOR OFFICIAL MUSIC RELEASE DAYS!  The music industry is use to looking for new music releases on Fridays.  So, look professional and […]

This is 2 part of our 4 series blogs & FBLives on “what it takes to release you music in 2021.”  Last week we talked about choosing 3 songs that you feel are most fan friendly. It is always great to look at your songs and see what type of imagery since you need to […]

WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED? THE START-UP ESSENTIALS As I gather notes to meet with my DIY artist about releasing an EP this week, I thought this would be a great time to share with you our process of making a music release plan. Our first meeting we talk about the ESSENTIALS needed to […]

First, lets talk about what an Electronic Press Kit is. An EPK is a snapshot of who you are and what makes you unique as a musician or a band. For me if you have a website, it basically does the same thing. WHAT DO I USE THE EPK FOR? You can make one EPK […]

Since live performance schedules are coming back after over a year of you not performing live & in-person, this means you need to start pitching yourself to land some gigs very soon. This blog is going to concentrate on how to pick the right gigs, how to contact the booker AND what will impress that […]

As our music world opens, I know I have been getting very busy keeping updated on new ways to reach an audience, what is hot in the social media world and trying to keep up with technology. So today, in my own home office, as I just finished getting my final papers to the tax […]

In the last blog, we discussed 5 items to help you get ready to pitch yourself to perform BEFORE the 2022. In review: You need a good live performance video; update or form a music website; get current on social media (including Facebook); set up ways to promote your shows (i.e. collecting emails) and, most […]

All around the US, performers are asking… “When will it be safe to start performing WITH an in-person audience?” Here in California, The CDPH (California Department of Public Health) have issued a COVID-19 Guidance booklet dated Effective April 2, 2021 for “Outdoor Seated Live Events and Performances.” If your area is higher than an Orange […]

For the past year, COVID has stopped many original music artists from performing out in front of a live crowd. I have been watching as musicians pivot their music skills into additional music jobs that are making money. It all starts with the skills you have or the ones you are willing to learn. Today, […]

Today, we talk about getting ready for the TAX MAN! For those of you who wait until the last minute and then stress a week before tax day, I am here to try to convince you to do a little at a time, STARTING NOW, so you don’t have to put yourself through the pressure […]

Many DIY musicians do not really understand the importance of branding. I my last blog I gave you 5 items to concentrate before we dive into developing your music branding. Google says: “Branding, by definition, is a marketing practice in which a company creates a name, symbol or design that is easily identifiable as belonging […]

Many musicians come to me after they finished recording 5 songs or their first EP. Of course, the music comes first, so I applaud all the work it took to get to this point. Let’s also assume, at this point, you have found a domain name and you at least started a free version of […]

In the past year, many large events have discovered how to present music performances virtually. If you are just sitting waiting for venues to open so you can perform, I feel you are missing opportunities because these virtual performances are here to stay. The venues and events that have embraced doing their events online will […]

Today, a professional musician NEEDS to have a music website. Yes, along with recorded music and a video, a website is a musician’s calling card. I have come across music people concentrating on all the social media’s, and you have to do that to, but having an official website allows anyone in the word to […]

I am hoping you have been taking the time to create new music during these COVID times. For those of you who have been waiting for the past 11 months for the music business to go back to ‘business as usual’, I am here to tell you, get busy! I know many of you think […]

The first steps in managing your own music career are to know your music mission and list some vision for the future. Let’s begin with MUSIC MISSION. A MISSION STATEMENT should be short and sweet but may take some thinking and evaluating before you can feel comfortable with what EXACTLY determines your mission. On the […]

I have always said I am no social media queen, but I understand its promotional value of communicating with current fans and new friends. This week, I had 2 music students come to me and said, “I don’t know what to talk about!” My conversations with them prompted these social media ideas that will help […]

As a career coach and artist development manager, I often sit with musicians and ask some hard questions to find out if the musician has vision for their own career. Prioritizing what you want for your career, will give you the vision you need to develop your goals and plans year by year. Doing a […]

If you put your thinking cap on I think you too could make a list of what you think record, publisher or any type of investor will want to see before they will invest their time and money in you and your music career. Here are 5 items you can work on right now! 1)Awards […]

As a music manager myself, I spend much of my time working to push and support a few musician’s daily career. Many of you may think you need a manager, but truthfully, unless you are making a bunch of money and you are so busy you are not getting things done, you can do it […]

So for the last 9 months, most of us have been operating from home. I am hoping musicians have found some home recording program and a dedicated space to rehearse and record their newest creations. Now, let’s discuss how to get your business done at home. FACTS: Most people spend 28% of their day on […]

As we get to the close of 2020, most of us are glad to see this year go! I want to pose a question: What have you accomplished this year? I work with musicians who make much of their income doing live performances. So this year, we had to re-invent what we were doing to […]

As we get closer to the holidays, the word GRATITUDE seems to keep sneaking into my mind. Every musician I teach or is part of my roster, I ask them, “What would you like to give back to with your music?” Some people would call that good branding, I call it connecting with your heart […]

  In our last blog, we talked about musicians learning a new skill. We continue this week to discuss what you can do to become a better songwriter and producer. Also, for those of you who always wanted to make your own home studio, I did a survey with my technical music friends and we […]

    If the pandemic didn’t give you the time you needed to do everything you wanted for your career, certainly during this holiday season, you can put aside some time to learn something new that will help grow your music goals for the new year. So the first question is, “What is stopping you […]

If the world was back on a regular booking schedule, summer events would have already started booking for next summer. Many of the city summer concerts, bigger festivals and county fairs attend booking conferences in the fall and start choosing before January. With the pandemic shut down, many of the big events & conferences were […]

  As we enter the holidays, usually the music business shuts down from Thanksgiving to about mid January. Want to let people know you are still working on your music?  Here is my idea for you this year. On Google look for “Public Domain Christmas Songs.” There will be a list of songs that you […]

                                                                                      My burning question: Are you aching to perform live? I know some […]

While the pandemic is still under way, this means you actually have time to dive into your creative side. So many times I hear musicians say, “All I want to do is create!” Well, that time you wanted? IT IS HERE! You all know I am all about making business plans to attract an audience […]

It has been over 6 months since COVID-19 entered all of our lives. I work with musicians that make most of their money from performing, so everything making us money just stopped! Actually, the entire entertainment industry and world just stopped! This is something most of us could never imagine. Did you just roll up […]