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You need a ‘When-Then’ plan. Here’s why:

When Then Plan, WhenThen, When>>Then
You need a when>then plan for every occasion.

There are few feelings better than the sensation you get when you’re about to explore a new idea. Creativity, of any kind, is a rush unlike any other, and far too many of us are forced to suppress original thinking throughout the majority of the day because our current careers do not fall in line with who or what we aspire to become. Most people find they need to set aside time outside their 9-5 to try exploring any creative endeavor, but following through is much easier said than done.

There is a great and frustrating old saying, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Maybe you hope to dedicate an hour a day to doing something creative, and perhaps for the first few days or weeks, that goal is reasonably easy to meet. Inevitably, however, a day will come when something happens to break your newly established routine:

  • A late night out causes you to sleep in
  • A child, pet, or loved one falls ill and needs you to help care for them
  • Your job demands you spend more time at the office
  • A family event (birth, death, etc.). unexpectedly occurs
  • That little voice inside that tells you there is no chance you will succeed convinces you not to take a day off
  • Your alarm doesn’t go off

There are countless reasons why our best made plans go awry, both big and small. When those things happen, our new routine of purposefully setting aside time to create is jeopardized, it can be incredibly hard to get ourselves back on the right track. We tell ourselves that people meant to succeed would never allow themselves to slip so easily. We tell ourselves we cannot trust ourselves to chase our dreams. We tell ourselves we are not deserving of aspiring to or becoming something greater than what we war and we are wrong for doing so.

Everyone fails. Everyone has setbacks and unexpected turns that throw their lives into chaos. There is no perfect plan for dealing with life’s ability to spin out of control at any given moment, and there never will be. What separates those who rise above the hurdles of existence and those who do not is something relatively simple: Those who succeed have a when-then plan.

What is a when-then plan?

When-then plans are a system of checks and balances that ensures creative people do not lose focus when life throws them curveballs. Let me give you an example:

“WHEN I am unable to spend an hour writing in the morning (or any time at all), THEN I will spend five minutes reviewing my recent creative output in the evening and deciding how I’ll work the next day.”

Here’s another:

“WHEN I know I will be unable to spend any time being creative in the more the morning of evening THEN I will take 10-minutes out of my lunch to write, draw, or otherwise express myself.”

When-then plans do not make up for the hour of time you lost, but it does keep you connected to your creativity and your goals when you do not have time to work on them. So much of the reasoning behind why we lose connection to our goals when we start becoming increasingly busy is that we allow ourselves to stop thinking about them. We push our future ambitions out of our mind to focus on an immediate need or problem, and in doing so, we make it incredibly hard to pull those thoughts and ideas back into the realm of possibility.

The lost time is still a downer, but by having a then-when system in place, you can still make personal progress on a daily basis. Taking a step back from your work before reviewing it can help you be more reasonably critical of your efforts. These short sessions of review can help you readjust your focus and more precisely plan your future timeline, which will account for the time lost to the demands of the day/week/etc.

New habits are only good intentions until you have a when-then plan in place, and that plan is only good when you put it into use. Do not let life convince you that you will never be more than what you are right now because that is a lie. You can aspire to something greater, and there is a way to get there as long as you’re willing to put in the work.

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EDM star Ghastly explains how to ‘Make It’ in the music industry

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Don’t quit your day job (yet)

This morning I came across post from a young industry professional hoping to offer guidance to those aspiring to follow their path into the music business. The article outlined four things everyone should do in order to pursue a career on the business side of entertainment with the highest likelihood of success. The first two were fairly obvious, referring to networking and settling on a specific goal, but the third tip made me do a double take. I’m not going to link the post in question, but here is a screenshot:

Whether your goal in music is to be on stage or work with the people on stage, here is something anyone who has found lasting success in the industry will tell you:

Don’t quit your day job unless it is an absolute must.

While it is true that the industry is a demanding place where professionals often spend extended hours at the office, newcomers to the field should not feel pressured to dive that deep from the jump. Furthermore, most cannot afford to abandon their current life in hopes of creating a new one, especially in a field where the vast majority who attempt careers never make it.

There is simply too much risk involved with music to be ignorant about the reality of the situation, and any good professional can recognize that. You can fully commit yourself to making connections and developing an identity in the world of music while at your current job. Maybe you cannot do it as much as you would like, or as much as some of your peers, but you will be able to do it while also keeping a roof over your head and that is a big deal. Bigger than most realize, in fact.

The music business thrives on creativity, both from artists and the professionals who work with them. You need to be able to think on your feet, spot developing talent, recognize emerging cultural trends, and always be looking toward the future. In order to the do that to the best of your ability you first need to cover the more necessary part of life, such as housing, food, clothing, etc.

Some will say that comfort is the cousin to laziness, and that those who are the most successful in music get that way by constantly forcing themselves out of their comfort zone. While there is some truth in this, those driven to succeed in music always find a way to make it, and that drive is an essential part of what makes any music professional great. That drive exists in all of us, regardless of what we do in music, and it pushes us to work hard each and every day.

Still, that drive will only get you so far if you are constantly worried about bills, and until music is bringing in enough money to cover your expenses your drive will be (rightfully) stifled by concerns over your quality of life. If you can work and work on your journey into music, do so until you can no longer maintain a healthy work-life balance. Before you jump altogether, consider asking for less hours. At least in that scenario you still have some money coming in, which is always better than nothing.

Having a career in music is a dream for many. It can be your reality with hard work, good networking, and smart planning. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as they say, and in time you will find a place to call home in this wild, wild industry.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music Podcast and a ten-year music industry veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.

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5 Things to ask yourself when preparing your band for SXSW 2017

Can you believe the biggest gathering of music industry professionals and dreamers is less than a month away? 

SXSW is March 10-19 this year, and we have the tips you need to make sure your time in Austin is productive. Time is ticking. Don’t wait to get things in order because once your in Texas life will get crazy at an alarming rate.

1. Do you know your travel plans and budget for the week?

Budgeting and planning a trip can be a headache, which is why many people choose to procrastinate nailing down the details of any journey until the last possible moment. If you want to make this SXSW the most successful is can possibly be you need to know your plan of attack as soon as possible. Book a flight (while you still can), lock in your lodging, and discuss amongst everyone coming with what your daily budget will be. Many events offer free food and drink, but those seeking water or actual meals will need cash in order to satiate their cravings.

Beyond budgeting financially, you will also want to begin discussing how you plan to use your time in the city of Austin. Create a calendar and fill in every event you absolutely need to attend. Once that is complete, work together with your band members and anyone else going to Austin and devise ways to promote you music and any performances you may have during the week. Assign each other tasks and brainstorm various approaches you can take to gain the public’s attention.

2. Speaking of promotion, how are you going to get the word out about your music?

There are over 1500 bands performing in Austin during the week of SXSW, and more than 90% will walk away without seeing much, if any change in their careers. We could go back and forth about the reason for this, but more often than not it boils down to how much attention the individual act is able to bring to themselves during the course of the week. If your plan for promotion is social media updates and handbills, you probably will not see a very big impact on the trajectory of your career following the festival. If, however, you begin researching innovative marketing techniques for 2017 and apply them to your efforts in Austin the sky is the limit. Creativity is key to success, and when you’re surrounded by literally thousands of creative people it takes something extra special to stand out from the herd. Do not let your art become part of the majority.

3. Are you focusing on your efforts on quality or quantity?

There are bands who believe the key to being noticed at SXSW is to play as many shows as humanly possible, but the real way to take your career to the next level is actually far simpler: Connect with the audience. Whether you play one show or ten, it only takes one person with the right connections noticing your music for your career to change overnight. Do not stress over the amount of gigs you have or the time allotted, but instead focus on delivering the highest caliber performance possible when the time comes. Remember: It only takes one person to change your world.

4. What are you doing right now to promote your time in SXSW?

The entire list of artists showcasing at official SXSW events was recently released, which means everyone with a publicist on their team is already at least one email into their promotional efforts for Austin. As an independent artist with few festival appearances under your belt, it would be a good idea to begin promoting and otherwise advertising your presence at SXSW as soon as possible. Reach out to bloggers, share your latest music and let them know if they’re coming to SXSW you would love to meet up. You don’t need to sell them right away, but you should at least make them aware of your plans. It won’t be long until publications begin compiling the ‘must-see’ bands of SXSW and with a little luck your group could make the cut. Click here for some additional tips on contacting members of the press.

5. What goals do you have for SXSW?

The worst thing you could possibly do before heading to SXSW is convince yourself that one trip to Austin will change your life forever. We’re not saying such things will not happen because they most definitely could, but the odds are incredibly stacked against you. Set achievable goals that will help you further your efforts in the long run instead of focusing on short-term success. If you want to play to 50 people, then do whatever you can to bring 50 people to your show. If you want to find a manager, order business cards and make plans to network whenever time allows.

SXSW works for those who know how to work it, and the first step to doing that is understanding you get out of your efforts what you put in. Those who do the work necessary to play at their absolute best and go out of their way to be creative with marketing are going to get further than the band with great hooks and zero following. It’s that simple.

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How To Turn Off Your Apple Music Auto-Renewal As First Wave Of Free Trials Expire

Three months passed pretty quick, eh?

Tonight, September 30, marks the end of the free trial period for the first wave of Apple Music users. Those who signed up the first day the streaming service became available will have to decide in the coming hours if they want to keep their subscription or cancel, and those who signed up in the days after launch may want to start considering their options as well. An Apple Music subscriptions costs $9.99 per month, or $14.99 per month for a family subscription for up to six people (which requires iCloud Family Sharing). This is comparable to the cost of Spotify ($10 per month, $4.99 for students), as well as Rdio ($10 per month, which includes an offline listening mode), but doesn’t necessarily make Apple Music the better choice. That decision will likely be based largely on user preference, so we won’t waste any time trying to sway you one way or another.

If you weigh your renewal options and decide Apple Music is not for you, follow these simple steps to ensure you subscription ends when your free trial expires:

1) Open Apple Music

2) Tap the Account icon in the upper left corner of the app

3) Tap on View Apple ID

4) Select Manage under Subscriptions

5) Turn the slider next to Automatic Renewal to Off.

6. Confirm your cancellation

7. Once confirmed, your account will stay active until your current trial/month comes to an end.

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Haulix Basics: Updating Your Contact Information (Without Sending One-Hundred Emails)

Very few things in life are permanent, and email addresses are not one of them. As you grow and develop, jumping from job to job, you will slowly accrue a variety of emails that will often complicate how people get ahold of you. The chaos this creates will only make your job as a writer more difficult, but thanks to our state of the art profile system those headaches can now be a thing of the past.

We understand that everyone in music is busy. Journalists often have numerous deadlines to meet, not to mention second jobs. Publicists, on the other hand, have the seemingly endless task of doing everything in their power to make sure their clients get the exposure they deserve. Everyone is always doing something and everyone seems to believe no one has time to help them.  We don’t necessarily believe that is true, but we have found a way to simplify the task of updating contact information in a way that eliminates both stress and the need to send numerous messages requesting a change of address on future promo materials.

When you’re viewing your Promos page on Haulix, click the ‘Profile’ tab in the upper left hand corner of the page. Here’s an example of what you should be looking for:

Once the profile page loads, you will notice a heading that reads ‘Email Accounts.’ I’ve highlighted this section in the image below:

The changes made on this page will be reflected throughout the Haulix platform. If you delete an email address from this page it will be erased from every client’s contact list on Haulix. If you change your preferred email address, that information will again be duplicated in the contact information stored on our client’s accounts. You control the flow of messaging. We just make it easy.

If you wish to remove an email currently being used by Haulix clients, simply click the ‘Delete’ button on the right side of the email. Once confirmed, the selected email addressed will be scrubbed from Haulix.

If you have a new email, or if you have an old account you simply want to have on our system, you can enter the new address in the space provided and have that email added to our database. If you want this new address to be your primary address, you can do so using the ‘Promo Senders’ section a bit further down on your profile page. For more information on how to do that, click here.

We will be posting additional tips to help you make the most of your Haulix experience in the weeks ahead. If you have any questions about our system please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and let us know. We will do our best to answer every request in a timely and concise fashion.

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Journalism Tips #27: A Beginner’s Guide To Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Hello, everyone. If you have been a longtime reader of this blog you may recall that our Journalism Tips series used to run each and every Saturday afternoon. With the recent launch of our podcast, however, that column has spent the past few weeks on vacation. That is, until today.

This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

There was a time in the distant digital past when a writer did not necessarily need to understand search engine optimization (SEO) in order to be successful online. Today, that kind of digital ignorance will only lead to a writer’s continued ambiguity in the world of music. In order to be successful online in 2014 you must have at least a basic grasp on SEO, but if not there are many, many resources available to help get you started. We cannot claim to have mastered this process ourselves, but we have done our best to gather the basic information you need to know in order to start creating content with a higher likelihood of landing on the front page of Google, Bing, and whatever search engines rise in the future. I’m not sure this will be a series, but if response demands it we will certainly share more.

What is SEO and why does it matter if I do it well?

To phrase things in the simplest way possible, search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. Sites with strong SEO often find themselves on the first page of Google’s search results, which in the world of blogging is kind of like winning the lottery. In fact, a 2013 study from ad network Chitika revealed that 92% of all search engine traffic goes to sites on the first page of results, with the top result receiving 35% of all clicks. Here is a chart showcasing the average percentage of clicks received by search results based on where they appear on the page:

[chart]

The findings of this report were similar to another report Chitika released in 2010. An excerpt from the latest report reads, “While being the number one result on a Google search results page is obviously important, these numbers show just how big of an advantage websites of this type have over any competitors listed below them. The importance of SEO for online business is seemingly quantified by these latest statistics, which, judging by their similarity to those observed as part of the 2010 study, are not likely to change significantly in the near future.”

What affects a search?

Good question. Ready for a bad answer? Only Google knows the truth. The search engine company has revealed that their system takes into account more than 200 different factors to help it determine the results for each query. The full list of factors have never been published, but seasoned professionals have made some great guesses over the last decade. Moz, for example, surveys the opinions of dozens of search marketers every two years to better understand the working of search engine algorithms. They use this data to aide sites in understanding what helps and hurts their site’s visibility in search engines. It’s not ‘proof’ to what search engines use when ranking, nor is it by any means a ‘hard science,’ but it does reflect the characteristics of websites and pages who rank highest in search engine results.

Moz competed their most recent survey in 2013, speaking with over 120 search marketers about their opinions on over 80 ranking factors. The top three factors for Google results were Page Authority, +1’s, and the number of Unique clocks linking to the individual page. Click here to view the full list.

What the heck is page authority?

You’re full of good questions today. Page authority, as explained by our friends at Drumbeat Marketing, is an SEO term used to describe the probability that a specific page from your site will be found on a search engine. Page authority is based on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100 and deals with the relevance of information and links within site pages to one another. Higher page authority means greater chances of your page showing up on search engines, and that your page will be placed closer to the top of the search results. Note that page authority is related to the pages within sites, not the site itself. You can learn more about page authority and how to improve the ranking of your site, here.

So how do I improve SEO through my website?

I thought you would never ask! Definition are kind of boring, I know, but in order to properly understand SEO you need to also understand the terminology associated with it. You’re here to learn about creating pages that will rank high, however, and that’s what I’m going to tell you about.

There are many factors that affect SEO when crafting a new article or page for your website. Fortunately for us, our friends at Spin Media have created a very easy to read and implement guide that should help you change your content creation practices in no time at all:

Title

• 70 characters or less is ideal

• Front-load keywords when possible

Description

• Keyword-rich summary of story in ‘Descrip-on’ field under All In One SEO Pack (if applicable)

• Use up to 350 characters, put keywords in first 160

Images

• File name descrip-ve of -tle, no stop words

• Hyphens between words in file name (no other special characters)

• Cap-on and Descrip-on fields same as file name

• Alt text: Slight varia-on on file name, no hyphens

Linking

• Internal link to relevant content in every piece

• External links to highly authorita-ve sources

• Link on keywords for anchor text, rather than source name

• Link with full URL, star-ng with hXp

• Use rel=“nofollow” in links to sketchy sources

(Ex: example)

Body copy

• Repeat keywords in first 1-2 sentences

• Fluid, gramma-cally sound wri-ng

Other

• Use bold and italics to emphasize key terms when natural

• Use keyword-specific tags

As I said in the introduction, this feature is intended to help you get started with your SEO efforts. There are literally hundreds of sites dedicated to optimization, and there are at least a hundred different thoughts on the best methods to properly optimize your efforts. In order to find out what works best for your site you may need to try a few different approaches. Watch your analytics and make changes wherever necessary. We will definitely post another SEO guide if there is a demand, but for now you can gain further insight through this free PDF on SEO released by Google earlier this year.

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Advice: Be Your Own Publicist

Hello, everyone. Today we are continuing our efforts to advise current and future musicians by sharing a guest post from our friends at Behind The Curtains Media focusing on the importance of understanding the ins and outs of music publicity. The person behind this feature has spent years in a band themselves, and it’s because of the lessons learned through those experiences that we are able to share this information today. If you have any questions about the content of the blog, or if you would like more information regarding the distributional services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Since 2006 I’ve been on the artists’ side of the publicity world. I’ve worked with amazing publicists such as Raybee, Stunt Crew, The Cornerstone Agency, Big Picture Media and The Catalyst Publicity Group, to name a few. My job at the time felt like nothing other than reading up on features and occasionally doing interviews (which even then I needed numerous reminders). Thinking back and being in the position I’m currently in, I feel we were all spoiled brats and never truly understood the work that was being done behind the curtains.

It wasn’t until the 2012 Warped Tour that I became very active on the band side of publicity. I wanted to make sure we were making the most of the service while also making our publicist’s job easier by organizing and assigning the daily interviews to members of the band. Each day, I would go down to the press tent, take a look at the 3 or 4 interviews we had, shoot the outlet a text confirmation and chat with Warped Tour Press Coordinator, Bethany Watson. She really opened my eyes about the world of publicity and I remember her saying, “You have 3 or 4 interviews today out of that list of 40 outlets that are going to be here. Why don’t you publicize yourself and just talk to all of them and who knows, maybe they’ll interview you or feature you.” That really motivated me by bringing a whole new challenge to the table. From that point forth I would come in, take a snap shot of the daily press sheet, respectfully approach all the outlets in between their scheduled interviews and some days I would land 10+ interviews with outlets that I wasn’t even scheduled for, not to mention I had the contact sheet available to follow up with anyone I spoke to.

At this point I wasn’t even remotely close to thinking about being a publicist, I was just trying to do as much as I possible to get my band, The Venetia Fair, to the next level. In keeping in touch with these outlets and becoming personal friends with a lot of them, they were often happy to assist with getting my band and even bands on my label (SwitchBitch Records) some extra exposure and features.

In August 2011 my amazing friend and publicist Chrissy Borsellino did some solo publicity work for my label (prior to her joining Catalyst). She introduced me to some new outlets, taught me how to write up proper press releases and basically gave me a general understanding of how to do the work on my own. Even at this point I had no interest in doing publicity, but I didn’t want to rely on her for favors all the time, so I took on publicity for SBR artists.

When Chrissy joined The Catalyst Publicity Group we used them for all of The Venetia Fair releases until the day came where being an independent band and not having any funds caught up to us. Unfortunately it happened at the worst possible time, right when SwitchBitch Records was to release The Venetia Fair’s ‘Every Sick, Disgusting Thought We’ve Got In Our Brain’. Being that this was my label’s first vinyl release and it was for my own band, it was a blessing in disguise in that it was yet again another motivational pivot point that really lit a flame under my ass in that I needed the release to be huge!

At that I had so much support from friends at outlets. Christian from Absolute Punk taught me how to intro my emails, Dave from HellHound Music taught me various ways to write up press releases, Matt of Under the Gun would literally get on the phone and not hang up until I knew the ins and outs of everything. Would you believe between that from exclusives on the vinyl to reviews to interviews to contests I landed 88 features from 8/1/13-9/20/13 to the point where I stopped keeping track after 9/20. Eighty-fucking-eight! Don’t believe me? Shoot me an email and I’ll send you all the links. I was told that the average from professional publicists was about 8-15 posts per month. The excitement that that brought me was/is hands down the nerdiest thing in the world.

A problem I ran into was that I was running campaigns as a SwitchBitch Records in-house publicity company which was fine for this particular vinyl release however even though SBR released TVF’s vinyl, it was important that TVF as a band was/is labeled as an “independent” artist in order to keep potential larger opportunities available. That said, in future TVF campaigns, outlets would inaccurately post TVF as an SBR artist, which is not their fault at all, but would cause confusion and require me sending a follow up email requesting the edit. Hence the birth of Behind The Curtains Media!

Avoiding confusion was one of many reasons for launching Behind The Curtains Media. A main reason to be honest is I really love the fact that it keeps me in touch with friends at media outlets. I know that sounds really stupid, but if you ask any outlet that has posted or done anything with us, they will tell you that not only do I respond, but I probably am a little too curious as to how they’re all doing and being sure they are all doing well. I know, lame right? But I really do care about them all and am extremely appreciative for everything they do. You have no idea! Aside from that I like the freedom to pick and choose artists that I think are good people, creative musicians and deserve some assistance in obtaining some visibility.

The last and final key to Behind The Curtains Media was getting our SBR general manager/coordinator Hanna Yando on board. She is just about to graduate with her degree in Public Relations and I can’t stress enough how smart, hard working and easy to get along with this girl is. If she weren’t on the team, I honestly don’t think I could have been able to have the courage to take the last few and major steps needed to lead up to the launch of the firm. The combination of my first hand connections to outlets and her 4 years of school training truly allow us to pull off some amazing stuff. 

Big thanks to everyone for all the love and support and giving me a fun project to work on while driving around the country with my stupid band!

Thanks for having me James and Haulix!

Love Always,

-Mike Abiuso / Behind The Curtains Media

Connect with Behind The Curtains Media:

BehindTheCurtainsMedia.com

Facebook.com/BehindTheCurtainsMedia

Twitter.com/BTCMteam

Mike@BehindTheCurtainsMedia.com

Hanna@BehindTheCurtainsMedia.com

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