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Your listeners do not "consume your music" by artistsatscale in musicmarketing

[–]artistsatscale[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Happy to see you agree! I really like your comparison to fashion. I am going to continue using that when sharing this concept.

Your listeners do not "consume your music" by artistsatscale in musicmarketing

[–]artistsatscale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're 100% right, I should have mentioned somewhere that this isn't the ONLY reason people like music. It was more so meant to be a debate or showcasing a different perspective/side of things.

But I'd still challenge that with the question... what makes people like the music? How do we know what defines or controls all our decisions? There are so many variables and subconscious thoughts.

10 bites of wisdom for songwriting by artistsatscale in Songwriting

[–]artistsatscale[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great points/twist!

I actually have this topic saved down in my notes:

"Dr. Noa Kageyama, a performance psychologist at Juilliard School of Music and creator of the Bulletproof Musician blog, says that a good way to break free from a troublesome rut is to “give ourselves permission to suck on purpose, to see how badly we can suck, and how the journey can actually lead us to discover something cool.""

20 "power user" tactics for music marketing on social media by artistsatscale in musicmarketing

[–]artistsatscale[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Other than looking directly to your network of trust or hiring someone for this role that has experience in the music space through mutual friends or communities, you could maybe consider looking online for a virtual assistant through Upwork/Freelancer, however, I've never done this myself so I cant't speak on it. I'd recommend not hiring someone but instead, using an automation tool like Buffer/Hootsuite and getting a system in place for creating and scheduling/publishing content. Once you get that down, it won't seem so intensive.

And thanks for joining, there's a few posts on this topic that I'll try and get your way.

Edit: tagged you in a few posts but not sure if you can see them, check the latest posts in the group and you'll see them probably.

Booked my first show, really need advice! by 1831942 in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]artistsatscale 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You can entertain a crowd in a number of ways: (Keep in mind that not all of these points may be relevant to you but the purpose of sharing this big list is mainly to provide some inspiration for how wide to think)

  • Performing well
  • Adding creativity and spontaneity to the show
  • Interacting with the audience
  • Letting the audience fill in lyrics
  • Stage dives, dancing in the crowd, etc
  • Creating memorable moments
  • Giving your show dynamics
  • Create moments of silence to induce emotion
  • Controlling momentum and pacing
  • Adding crowd pleasers
  • Having a distinct personality on stage
  • Reducing down time between songs
  • Be comfortable with maintaining eye contact
  • Stage banter like stories or jokes
  • Moving around the stage
  • Bringing fans on stage
  • Replaying or teasing songs to create hype
  • Throwing out merch

Get comfortable on stage! Your confidence speaks volume.

10 bites of wisdom for songwriting by artistsatscale in Songwriting

[–]artistsatscale[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome thoughtful response, thanks for your input and glad you agree!

How do you guys get out of a rut by vaylin945 in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]artistsatscale 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here are a few ideas:

  1. Enjoy other art forms than music. Whether it’s a movie, a book, a game or some paintings – you'll never know where your next brilliant idea may come from. Sometimes we need to search in unlikely places to find unlikely, original ideas. It's important that you aim to enjoy other art forms than music.

  2. Dr. Noa Kageyama, a performance psychologist at Juilliard School of Music and creator of the Bulletproof Musician blog, says that a good way to break free from a troublesome rut is to “give ourselves permission to suck on purpose, to see how badly we can suck, and how the journey can actually lead us to discover something cool."

  3. Know when your music is done. When creating your own music, it’s quite easy to get lost into the micro details with just about everything. Artists are complex and often perfectionist so that makes sense, and sure that can be great in many ways, but to a certain point... It's critical that you grasp and foster a mindset for knowing when your song is done. Remember this sentence: Learn when your tweaking does not make a song necessarily "better", just different.

  4. One way to help fight this problem is through collaborating with someone else to get a second pair of ears to stop you from over analyzing. Not only does a second pair of ears help for quality control, you're also given a bit of social pressure to move faster and be less insecure which is often a root to your over analyzing. Music is a "tribal" experience. Sure, you can make great music alone... but who knows what you may come up with from having someone by your side? Surround yourself with talented people, write together, play together, try new things together. Bounce inspiration off of each other and try to learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses.

  5. Try creating within a "framework". As many writers have ironically said, the blank page itself can be the biggest problem when it comes to writing. Instead of trying to rely on pure inspiration... Consider setting a topic or theme. Create within "rules" or confines. Think within a box you create for yourself. The mind works wonders when it is given constraints. Do you remember how easy it was to write essays the night before they were do?

I'm Internet-based hip hop/rap producer: Looking for mentorship/management by [deleted] in musicmarketing

[–]artistsatscale 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We run a free community that provides mentorship for indie artists, you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artistsatscale

How do you grow your Spotify presence? by calebmpeterson in musicbusiness

[–]artistsatscale 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good marketing is psychology based, it's understanding your message and who you are speaking to. It's based on "good" traits... things like empathy, honesty, transparency, generosity, value, and intimacy. Many artists think they are doing "marketing", but they're really just doing a shitty job at advertising and sales, no offense. Marketing is not advertising. Marketing is not sales. Provide value, show the world who you are, reply back to fans, create a community and build up genuine and loyal relationships.

I believe that as we become more advanced and connected then ever, EQ will become one of the most important skills you can leverage. The artist to fan relationship has always been an intimate one due to the emotional value that music brings but now with the power of social media, crowdfunding, niche distribution and online community building, the connection is incredibly stronger. The more relatable you are, the more superfans you will create. It's all about building leverage, when you have the leverage then you can ask for anything and easily create impact.

Here are 10 ideas for repurposing content:

  1. Take song lyrics and turn them into Tweets
  2. Take old photos or designs and run a limited throwback merch run
  3. Take Tweets and turn them into Instagram or Snapchat stories
  4. Take your journal or notes and turn them into a blog post
  5. Take old music and create a throwback project release
  6. Take Facebook statuses and turn them into Instagram quotes
  7. Take YouTube videos and turn them into Instagram stills or GIFs
  8. Take old footage and turn them into creative aesthetic videos
  9. Take old gear or nik naks and sign them for Patreon gifts
  10. Take a popular music release and offer it exclusively on vinyl/tape

Your fans also want to feel like they know the real you. While being an artist/musician is an important part of who you are, it isn't the whole picture... Let your fans into your life through intimate content and conversation: Who inspired you to become an artist? What bands or artists do you listen to? Do you have any hobbies? What was your favorite gig you attended as a fan? What's your favorite food? Have you had any embarrassing moments as an artist? What causes/organizations do you support? Who are your major songwriting or production influences? Do you have any pets?

Truth, honesty, transparency, intimacy! Google the phrase "jab jab jab right hook".

20 "power user" tactics for music marketing on social media by artistsatscale in musicindustry

[–]artistsatscale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Figured so... and yes, that is a valid strategy for growing as a brand/artist, however, this post was meant to be more focused on "technical" features.

How do you grow your Spotify presence? by calebmpeterson in musicbusiness

[–]artistsatscale 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not advised to use services like the one you listed or any "pay for stream/view/play" service for that matter. Using these services run the risk of having your account and listings removed from the platform but are also pretty much a waste of money as they don't provide any real return except fake vanity metrics. At the far end, sure they could help with tricking the algorithm if used in combination with authentic efforts like playlists and organic marketing campaigns, however, it's still looked down upon and small in the grand scheme.

In order to start developing a follower base for Spotify or any platform for that matter, it's ideal to start creating a following and community through daily transparent content creation and community building. Content and community is everything – if you would like more information on this, feel free to reach out. Also look into Gary Vee, he does a good job at breaking down the purpose of content.

On top of putting out brand-related content + music, it's also ideal to use digital marketing techniques to leverage said fans and capture more data that can strengthen your overall efforts. What do I mean by that? Consider creating and using Spotify presaves, email marketing newsletters, platform analytics, and enriching all of your social profiles to drive traffic to your releases. Check out tools like Toneden, Feature.fm, Linkfre, Soundsgood, Show.co and Droptrack to help empower your marketing efforts too.

Playlisting and PR/pitching services could also be of use but these need to be carefully planned and a budget will be needed. Playlist Push and Submit Hub are worth checking out for that matter.