Tag: Promotion

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Market Development Manager (Beats by Dre – Chicago) 

The Market Development Manager (MDM) is responsible for representing Beats by Dre by building relationships with and supporting a designated number of retail partners within a region and hiring, managing and motivating a staff of Assisted Sales Representatives (ASRs). Retail partners will rely on MDMs for management and associate product training, communication with the brand for feedback and support, in-store promotional event planning and general relationship building. In turn, for the brand the MDM is expected to provide retailer feedback and qualitative and quantitative data, strengthen partnerships, increase merchandising opportunities and grow brand advocacy in market.

To help support retailers, the MDMs will manage a staff of ASRs to execute in-store promotional events, train store associates and build brand awareness. Excellent management skills will be crucial to maintaining an enthusiastic, skilled and productive team that meets its goals.

MDMs must be able to organize a very tight schedule and operate in an efficient manner in order to meet all goals defined by regional managers. Flexibility and ability to work under pressure will be key to success in this position.

Artist Services Assistant (Songkick – Nashville) 

We have an immediate opening for an ambitious graduate to join our Artist Services team. We’re looking for someone who has excellent time management skills, is passionate about the music business, and has a great attitude. In this role, you’ll be on the front lines, helping the Artist Services team build a direct relationship between our artists and their biggest fans through our innovative, direct-to-fan ticketing campaigns.

Artist Marketing Manager (Red Bull – Santa Monica, CA) 

Red Bull’s Artist Marketing department is a team of passionate, arts-driven creators and curators committed to inspiring artist development and innovation in music. The Artist Marketing Manager role at U.S. HQ is focused on artist- and industry-facing custom projects that develop and sustain the brand’s high volume of artist relationships. He/she is an excellent project manager first, an expert at converting creative ideas into realistic timelines with actionable tasks that deliver tangible results. Secondly, he/she is a creative manager with diverse music taste and a solid network of 1:1 music industry and artist relationships.

Marketing Coordinator (UMG – Los Angeles) 

Aftercluv is seeking an ambitious and eager Marketing Coordinator for its US division, with a passion and knowledge of dance & electronic music. This role will include, but is not limited to:

  • Assistant to Managing Director
  • Marketing budget management
  • Domestic and International Marketing, Brand Partnerships and Event Planning. Coordination of marketing plans in the US and international, communication with our offices in 9 countries, monitoring of marketing campaigns, travel coordination for our artists, creation of deck presentations, event planning and coordination, creation of marketing and advertising materials. The ideal candidate is a greatly organized, highly motivated, creative with an entrepreneurial spirit, great networking in the electronic dance world/industry, be able to work in an intercultural environment, have a positive attitude and be a team player.

Assistant, Music Brand Partnerships (CAA – Los Angeles) 

As an Assistant supporting an Executive in the Music Brand Partnerships department, you will be handling brand outreach, deal logistics, contracts, creative projects and scheduling on behalf of clients. This is a marketing focused role in which you will have the opportunity to learn how to pitch and create deals between our roster of music clients and brands.

Marketing Coordinator (Mix 247 EDM – Colorado, Springs) 

If you have a passion for electronic dance music? Mix 247 EDM is a rapidly growing company media company searching for an exceptional individual who shares our values and vision. This position will work closely with the Marketing Team to provide administrative and organizational oversight on many ongoing projects. Mix 247 EDM is seeking goal-oriented, successful sales candidates who possess an entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy working with people in the music and fashion industry.

Coordinator, Writer/Publisher Relations (BMI – Nashville) 

Coordinate all aspects of events facilitated by the Nashville BMI Office.  Provide administrative assistance to BMI songwriters and publishers.

Artist Relations Coordinator (C3 Presents – Austin, TX) 

The Artist Relations Coordinator is responsible for assisting in the coordination and management of non-production details for artists/talent performances and appearances and staff travel assistance

Responsibilities:

  • Assists Artist Relations Manager (AR Manager) in the coordination and management of production and non-production details for artists/talent performances and appearances
  • Assists AR Manager in collection and distribution of event advance details for Artists/Talent, including but not limited to: contract details that pertain to spending line items in the Artist Relations, Transportation event budgets, festival and event information distribution to talent and event staff, event area hiring and timeline management
  • Assists AR Manager with day of show management with an emphasis on artist services, adherence to time schedules, and cost containment
  • Assists in consultation and communication with C3 Talent Buyer department to ensure consistent information from artist and their representatives
  • Assists in maintenance of performance talent schedules and deal points as directed by AR Manager and Talent Buyer
  • Coordinates department internship program and screen applications to ensure company requirements are being met
  • Tracks, codes and reconciles department expense reports and PO submissions
  • Assists Travel Services Manager with maintenance of event staff travel details and meeting set up

Music Coordinator (Encompass Music Partners – Calabasas, CA) 

The ideal candidate must excel at multitasking, be self-motivated and confident, friendly and outgoing, possess highly developed organizational skills, strong attention to detail, problem-solver, superior verbal and written communication skills, a professional demeanor and the ability to work well as part of a team. Willingness and desire to learn new tasks with the company is essential.

We are a music production team that specializes in helping to coordinate, package, budget, produce, and record music. We work with the music industry’s leading professionals on a daily basis to contract live events, motion picture scoring sessions, and various other projects requiring live musicians.

Booking Agent (Gotham Artists – NYC) 

Gotham Artists is an agency that books speakers, comedy, and music for corporations and colleges. GA brings knowledge, valuable insight and inspiration to audiences everywhere.

We are looking to expand our team with a new booking agent! The Agent must be an excellent salesperson with a passion for live events and entertainment. Prior sales experience is required and experience with booking entertainment is preferred.

What we are looking for: Self-motivated, hard working individuals with prior sales experience who are are not afraid of being on the phone or being rejected. The people who will excel at this position know how to hustle, have a good personality and are quick thinkers. Prior booking and sales experience and a keen understanding of current events, politics, technology, business and pop culture is required.

Studio Manager (DubDub – NYC) 

We are seeking a full-time Studio Manager in New York City, who possesses experience producing video content and familiarity with the influencer and blogger space. The primary responsibilities of this role is to manage studio bookings and events at dubloft NYC, while assisting dub creators to film, edit and upload video content onto the dubsuite platform. You have a keen eye for visual content, a knack for organization and are excited to work in an entrepreneurial environment.

Even though our apps are designed to be used by inexperienced users, dubdub wants to provide creators with help, support, and give them editorial ideas so their videos become an attractive, powerful marketing and sales tool for their social media channels. It will be up to you to educate dub creators about our technology and keep them coming back to dubloft for more through studio events and brand product programming.

Marketing and Metadata Coordinator (Sounds True – Louisville, CO)

Sounds True, a multimedia publisher specializing in spirituality and holistic living, is seeking a marketing and metadata coordinator to join our sales and marketing team. Our trade sales and marketing team connects Sounds True books, audios, and music to a vibrant community of readers and listeners. Our marketing and metadata coordinator balances a passion for accuracy and detail with a love for books, a genuine interest in our content, and an ability to coordinate multiple projects at once, including metadata distribution.

Support Stadd, Music (CAA – Nashville)

CAA is seeking a highly motivated individual to serve in a support role within our Music Touring department, consisting of Country, CCM, Contemporary, and EDM music. The ideal candidates should be motivated, quick-thinking and open to working in a fast-paced environment while performing administrative tasks. The individual should be flexible, highly organized and have the ability to multi-task. This is a great opportunity to learn the music touring business, as the position can lead to other opportunities within the Music Touring department.

Marketing Specialist (Live Nation – NYC)

This position’s primary role is to support venue & festival sales efforts within the Marketing Solutions group by developing sales materials and managing general information related to Live Nation venues & festivals.  Specific responsibilities include:

  • Maintain a list of all venues & festival nuances and serve as the “go to” person for general venue & festival information
  • Organize and manage Live Nation sales tools related to venues & festivals such as property marketing packages, one-sheets, etc.
  • Serve as liaison, reaching out to internal and externals stakeholders to ensure sales efforts are coordinated across all sales groups
  • Run, prepare and distribute weekly/bi-weekly venue & festival updates
  • Work with key constituents to gather venue & festival information pertinent to sales materials, brief designers on creative elements
  • Generally assist in the building of product and sales presentations including writing, copy editing, document formatting, and image sourcing
  • Participate in internal brainstorming sessions for new program/offering development
  • Monitor competing venues & festivals and competitive trends in business

US Marketing Manager (Spotify – NYC)

We are looking for a US Marketing Manager to drive the regional strategy and execution of marketing efforts in line with the key brand and acquisition metrics outlined within the regional marketing strategy.  Experience in interpreting consumer trends, audience and data insights and translating into meaningful marketing initiatives is essential, as is the ability to translate highly strategic marketing bets into regional tactical executions.  This role will report to the US Marketing Lead.

Digital Marketing Assistant (TMG Austin – Austin, TX)

This position may also be responsible for marketing administrative tasks including promotions, working festivals, event troubleshooting, general administrative tasks, and other tasks as assigned. The Marketing Assistant will curate social media sites and maintain venue/department websites.

Marketing Associate (The Chicago High School for the Arts)

This position provides primary support for ChiArts marketing and communications activities. The Marketing Associate will assist the Director of Development and Executive and Artistic Director with building ChiArts’ visibility for the purposes of admissions and development, promoting ChiArts performances and showcases, designing marketing collateral, and managing ChiArts’ brand in printed and social media. The Marketing Associate reports directly to the Director of Development.

Administrative Assistant (Vulcan Inc – Seattle)

Provide administrative and clerical support to the Music Events and Business Strategy groups. This position may perform a wide variety of activities in support of the teams as well as serve as primary resources for information about music events and other projects to both internal and external partners. This position provides general administrative support for the groups including invoice and contract assistance, external partner coordination of documents and meetings, as well as internal meetings and scheduling.  Assist in creating and recording the Music Events and Business Strategy groups organizational data, processes, and procedures.  Strong organizational skills, excellent written and verbal communications, and the ability to take initiative and exercise independent judgment within defined parameters required.

Marketing Assistant (Crowd Surf – Los Angeles)

Crowd Surf is a digital marketing firm in the entertainment industry. We are currently looking to hire a full-time marketing assistant to work in one of our Los Angeles offices.

Account Executive (Bandsintown – NYC)

Bandsintown is seeking an inside sales / account executive to join the Bandsintown Promoter team in midtown Manhattan to aid in the development of new and existing b2b relationships. This role will report to the Director of Sales, and function as a primary contact point for concert promoters and venue marketers to engage directly with their target audience via email, mobile and other digital channels.

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4 tips to avoid making your band appear desperate on Facebook

We all know Facebook does not help artists reach their audience as well as it once did, and we know how frustrating that fact has become for everyone who cars about music. Talent cannot get their news to the people who care to read it and fans cannot find the latest information on their favorite acts without going to each of their pages one at a time (or across multiple tabs). It’s a broken system that seems to care less and less about how we feel it should operate as time moves on. 

You cannot change Mark Zuckerberg’s mind anymore than I can, so you have probably researched tips and tricks that claim to help increase reach. While some of these methods may in fact help, many others do not, and a few even make you look like a fool for trying to use them. To describe everything you should avoid would take far too long, but here are four simple tips to ensure you and/or your band do not appear desperate for attention on the world’s largest social media platform:

1. Don’t ‘Like’ your own posts (if you already do, stop)

While it is largely true that any amount of engagement on a post increases its potential reach there is nothing that can be accomplished by liking your own post. Your message will not reach more people because you, the author, thinks it’s good. Facebook’s current algorithm is smart enough to recognize when pages try to game the system by engaging with their own content and it filters out such efforts when calculating reach. 

Nobody needs to see that Band XYZ approves of the latest post from Band XYZ. That’s the digital equivalent of giving yourself a high-5 and you’re better than that. 

2. Don’t tag people, brands, or other bands in your posts if they have nothing to do with the content of that post.

There are circumstances when you may need to tag someone in a post, such as when discussing a content or tour package, but it is incredibly important that you limit your tags to instances when they are absolutely necessary. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing some up and coming act tag me in a video, status, or photo just because they want me to look at whatever thing they have added to their profile. Such tricks may lead to a rise in clicks, but it certainly won’t win you any new fans.

3. Don’t post photos of people without their permission

It’s great that you love the promoter of the show you played last night, but that doesn’t mean you should share that persons name and photo with everyone who has given you a ‘Like’ via Facebook. People by and large prefer to keep their personal life private, so before you rush to post photos of people other than band members on your profile it would be wise to ask for permission. Some may not care what you do with their image, but others will. You don’t know anyone else’s situation in life. 

Don’t expose people unless they agree to be exposed. It’s that simple.

4. Don’t beg for engagement. 

People hate when you assume they are stupid, so don’t be the artist who foolishly asks their fans for engagement. You are not the only person who understands how social media works. Everyone knows that posts people engage with gets more exposure, which is why everyone who has a social media account constantly engages with the people, products, bands, and brands they love. Their engagement is an act of promotion, and begging for people to help you in a situation where you know they would typically do it without being asked as long as the content was good is just bad marketing. The more you look like you’re desperate for attention the less likely you are to get it.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music podcast, and a 10-year entertainment writing veteran. If you enjoyed this post and wish to see more of James’ work we recommend following him on Twitter.

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Musicians: 6 Tips to Rapidly Grow Your Instagram Following

This post is the latest in our ongoing collaboration series with the fine folks at Sonicbids.

With 500 million active users, Instagram is a great visual social media platform to build your online community. Instagram allows you to give your fans a peek into your world through your photos and videos. While funny memes, quotes, and viral videos may get attention, building a community of fans for you and your music requires the right strategies. Here are six tips to grow your fanbase on Instagram.

1. Tell your story

Think of your Instagram feed as your personal online magazine. Use your photos and videos to visually tell your story. Pick main content themes that show who you are as an artist, and build a consistent feed. Some example of content themes are performing, recording, your musical interests, fashion/style, and religion/spirituality.

2. Decide on the overall look of your photos

When someone visits your profile, your first nine photos should have a consistent look. Decide if you want your Instagram feed to feature photos with an array of bold, eye-catching colors or if you want your photos to have a more minimalist, monochromatic look. You also need decide to whether you want your photos to have cool undertones or warm undertones.

Use a photo-editing app like VSCOCam to edit your photos to match your theme.

3. Post consistently

Along with having a consistent theme, you also need to be consistent in your posting. Consistency is key in building your followers over time. Sporadic posting could actually cause you to lose followers.

Post to your page one to three times a day to build your following. Create some of your posts and schedule them ahead of time with apps such as Hootsuite and Later to stay on top of your social game.

4. Use the right hashtags

Think of hashtags that both represent your brand and what your fans are searching for on Instagram. Use an analytics tool such as Iconosquare to see which hashtags are popular among your fans. Switch out your hashtags every few months to keep them fresh and correlate with your fans’ interests.

5. Spark engagement

You have to give in order to receive likes and comments on your Instagram content. Ask your followers questions, and post call-to-action photos to engage them. Like other peeple’s photos, and leave genuine comments on their content. Commit to engaging with a specific number of people per week to grow your following.

6. Post at the right times

In order to receive the most engagement, you must post your content at the right times. Post your content morning, afternoon, and evening to reach your fans in different time zones. Use Iconosquareto analyze when your followers are online. Study your followers’ behavior for at least a month and make adjustments to your posting times based on your findings.

Lauren Gill is the founder and chief power specialist at Power Publicity, a marketing, branding, and public relations firm that empowers entertainment, nonprofit, and lifestyle brands. She has executed several successful marketing and PR campaigns for major and indie recording artists. You can follow her on Twitter @IamLaurenGill and @_powerpublicity.

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Don’t wait to be featured – Feature yourself!

The following post comes to us from music marketing and promotion wizard Seth Werkheiser. He’s our hero, and he should probably be yours as well. Enjoy!

A wise man once said:

Guitarists+bassists: Forget gear magazines.  Create your own content. Playthrough vids. Gear diagrams. Pedal layouts. Twitter Q&a’s. #future

It’s true. Don’t sit around waiting for a media outlet to feature you – feature yourself! Flip through some magazines and find out what your favorite bands are doing. Watch the video interviews that the music sites are doing and do your own!

Band members are doing cooking shows. They’re talking about their pedals. They’re doing guided tours of their vans. You can do the same thing! And it’s not just for a media outlet and trying to win new fans – it’s a special treat for the people who already love what you do.

Connecting with fans is crucial, and chances are you’re not playing a show every single night, right? That doesn’t mean fill up every single day and night with social media updates, either. Just like putting your best foot foward at shows, you want to do the same with all your updates. That means; restraint.

Your music is competting with every other artist out there who is doing the exact same thing on social media. That means a constant barrage of videos and photos and tour dates and links to pre-orders. Well, you can pull it back a little. While everyone is trucking with the pedal to the metal, don’t be afraid to post less often – just make it count.

Partner with a photographer and build up a collection of photos from your live shows, or from the studio. Release a few as part of a tour diary on Tumblr. Or send out secret “from the studio” photos to your email list.

Same with video – not everyone has time to watch 15 videos a day, and even then people want to watch good videos. In a time when Vine videos are polished (and funny), your shaky, horrible lighting and crappy sounding video ain’t cutting it, so make good videos, too. Search YouTube on how to make good videos – it’s a skill that won’t go to waste.

Just as bands don’t put out an album every quarter, there’s no need to get caught up in the “be on social media all the time” schedule, either. Yes, everyone else is doing it, but you’re not everyone else.

Seth Werkheiser is the quiz master of metal trivia at Skulltoaster. He’s also the founder of some music sites you may have heard of, including Noise Creep (2009) + Buzzgrinder (2001). He’s anti-Facebook, anti-clickbait, and anti-growth hacking. You should most definitely follow him on Twitter. Yes, right now.

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5 Tips For Improving Your Social Media Presence

Social media is more important for brands and bands now than at any other point in its existence. The vast majority of conversations and consumer engagement taking place online today happens across the numerous social media platforms that have risen to popularity over the last decade, and those numbers are likely to increase in the years ahead. If newspapers and town halls were the hubs of community and discussion one-hundred years ago, Facebook and Twitter are their modern replacements. You probably have several social media accounts right now, and you probably feel a slight shiver run down your spine every time a new service begins gaining a lot of popularity. We feel the same, and while we never want you to feel like you need or even can be everywhere at once we do feel you need to position yourself to handle whatever the quickly changing digital landscape throws your way. The following tips should help any person or group familiar with these services improve their digital marketing efforts, but only if you make them your own. Find what works best with your audience and use that knowledge to build a community around your art.

Real-time posting is for people who can afford to spend hours online every single day. Schedule your content in advance and lose the need to be constantly connected.

Manually posting updates to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and the like in 2016 is the digital equivalent to rubbing two sticks together in hopes of creating fire in the new millennium. Both approaches eventually get the job done, but they are far from the easiest way to handle your business. Services like Hootsuite and similar social-delivery systems allow you to schedule your content several days, sometimes even weeks, in advance. You can set your latest song premiere to hit your blog at a specific time, as well as set all your social networks to link to the track, all long before the day of the premiere arrives. This allows you more time to work on outreach to publications, songwriting, or anything else you desire without having to sacrifice an ounce of your marketing efforts. You should still log on to see how people react to your news, of course, but you can do that whenever time allows instead of creating space in your already crowded schedule to dedicate to sitting on social networks hoping for engagement.

Incorporate concert listings wherever possible

Every artists hopes that by making their music easy to find online that they will be discovered by the masses in time, but history tells us there is no faster way to build a relationship with music fans than by getting them to see you perform in person. To do this, setup an account with Bandsintown or a similar concert listing application and connect it to all relevant social media networks. Services like Bandsintown will maintain your concert listings, as well as tweet out relevant performance information in advance of your gigs. Like the scheduling tools listed above, these services cut down on the total amount of time artists need to spend focusing on things outside their music, which in turn allows for more creativity.

Want more engagement? Ask questions.

Only a fool would approach their digital presence with the belief people online a looking for one-sided conversations. As much as fans may follows your accounts in hopes of hearing what you have to say, the real reason anyone follows anyone online is the hope that a deeper connection may be formed. Fans don’t want to simply hear about your career, they want to know about you as a person, and they hope you want to know about them as well. The quickest way to appease this desire and raise engagement for your digital presence is to pose questions to your audience. Who has the new album? What is everyone’s favorite song? What tracks do they want to see you perform on tour? Who else are they listening to? These questions and more can help you not only retain fans through engagement, but they can also help you understand your audience in ways the simplify future promotions efforts. If your fans like Song A more than Song B, play Song A last. If they keep comparing you to another band at the same level in their career, consider touring with that group so that you can both help one another by sharing listeners. Again, it all comes back to building and retaining a community around your art.

Update your profile as often as you do laundry

Most profiles have an incredibly short shelf life in terms of offering unique information or media. When was the last time you changed your profile picture? How about the link in your Instagram profile? Have you updated your bio in the last year, or ever? Making small changes to your profiles on a regular basis can give the appearance of being busy even when you’re scraping together change to get to your next gig. Profile updates tell fans there is a reason to continue checking your pages and activity because you’re being active and working toward the future. Stagnate pages give the illusion of death, and you definitely do not want that kind of attention.

Try new tools and platforms as they become available, but only stick with what works for you

Have you tried Facebook Live yet? What about Periscope? Have you created a geofilter on Snapchat so fans can brag about being at your next gig? There are new tools, tricks, and platforms to help raise awareness for your efforts going public every week. We do not support attempting to use all in addition to your current channels, but we do encourage you to try everything that makes sense for your band. If you try something and see no results, delete your presence and move on. When you find something your fans enjoy, add it to your ongoing marketing efforts. 

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One Surefire Way To Guarantee Instagram’s New Algorithm Doesn’t Hurt Your Career

The big panic in the world of social media in 2016 has been the rise of algorithmic feeds and the competition amongst brands, bands, and artists it is believed to create. YouTube, Facebook, and Vine have already implemented algorithms that are designed to show users what the system believes is most important to them first as opposed to what is newest on the site, and with each change came a wave of panic from those who rely on social media to raise awareness for their latest products, tours, or related offerings similar to what we are experiencing as of late in relation to Instagram. The truth is, however, that those who are already reaching thousands or even millions of users have far less to worry about than those with only a few hundred followers, and even then there is very little to be concerned about as long as you’re doing the one thing we all hope to find whenever following a new account online: Quality content.

Yes, despite the rumors that the only way brands, artists, and bands will be able to reach followers moving forward is by encouraging them to opt-in for notifications every time an account posts a new image, the real answer to the so-called “algorithm apocalypse” is the same answer to the question of how one amasses a sizable following in the first place. Aside from family ties, the quality or perceived quality of content being shared is one of the biggest factors in determining placement in social media algorithms. In theory, if you have an account with a large amount of followers you have most likely earned those follows through sharing great content, and as long as you continue to post content that is meaningful to your followers then your reach will continue to thrive. Some followers may be lost, but if so it’s only because their previous actions on that platform rarely involved engaging with your content, and if that is the case – does losing them really matter at the end of the day? You might not reach as many people, but those who actively engage with you will be retained, and those who haven’t been engaged will remain inactive. If that makes the entire idea of worrying about algorithmic changes feel silly it should because such fears are largely unfounded.

Regardless of whatever algorithmic hurdles are placed on reach by social media platforms those who create quality content will always rise to the top. Their rise might be a bit slower than it would have been in the days when everything was shared all at once in real time, but then again it might not. Throttling the flow of content in a way guarantees more people will see the best content available, which means they will be spending less time seeing and engaging with things that don’t really interest them. This act of internet time saving encourages engagement by quickening meaningful discovery, and as long as you’re producing the best content you can create people will discover your work regardless of the invisible math behind how they find it.

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How to Make the Most of a Crappy Turnout at Your Gig

This post is the latest in our ongoing content collaboration series with the fine folks at Sonicbids.

It’s probably one of your biggest fears as a musician. You’re pumped for your upcoming gig, you’re ready to hear some noise, but when you make it onto the stage, your heart drops as you see the audience is practically empty. For any number of reasons (weird weekday, bad weather), you have a crappy turnout. Your first instinct may be to jump off the stage and run out of the venue, hoping in vain that no one even notices you were there, but pause for a second, and ignore this urge.

It’s too late to get more people to the show, but as long as you do have an audience, you need to play for them. At worst, it’s still a practice opportunity, and at best, you might make a few more diehard fans who greatly appreciate the effort you put in despite the circumstances. Just because there’s a bad turnout doesn’t mean it has to be a bad show, so here are some tips for making the most of a crappy turnout.

Use it as an opportunity to have more personal interactions with the audience

One of the few upsides to a small turnout is that you can see the individuals in your audience better and personalize the show more than you typically could. Make the show intimate. Treat the few people that are there like they’re a group of your friends, and make them feel special for coming out. If you see a funny shirt, comment on it. Ask someone else what the best bar in town is. Ask if anyone who knows your music has any song requests. The specifics don’t matter – it’s much more about letting your audience know their presence is noticed and valuable. This is a great way to create fans who want to see you again (and maybe bring a few friends next time!).

Take advantage of the low-risk atmosphere to try out something new

Another pro to playing for a small crowd is that if anything you do isn’t received well or just falls flat, you haven’t screwed up in front of hundreds of people, and you can calibrate your act for future, larger shows. It’s actually the perfect space for getting honest feedback without alienating too many people. Now, the content of this “new thing” is entirely up to you. It can be a brand new song you just finished up and haven’t gotten any feedback on yet. It can be a personal story you’ve thought about incorporating in your show. Whatever you do, be honest with the audience members that this is the first time you’ve done it. They’ll feel extra special that they’re the ones getting the sneak peek, which will make them compassionate even if it doesn’t pan out.

Give it 110 percent

It might seem counterintuitive, and you may not be in the right mood given the state of the crowd, but you should actually try and go above and beyond when you’re playing for small turnouts. They deserve your best effort anyway, but even more importantly, everyone in that audience is perceptive enough to know you must be bummed due to the turnout, so if they get a truly kickass show anyway, your attitude and performance will blow their expectations out of the water. Rise above the circumstances and show the crowd – all nine people that may be in it – that absolutely nothing gets you down, and you put your heart and soul into your music no matter who’s watching. This is how you leave a lasting impression. People love talking about a great experience that they and only a few others were a part of, so you may be surprised how the word spreads.

Stick around until every single person has left

This goes beyond just working the merch table after the show is over (though you should definitely still be doing that). This is the point of the night where you can solidify a lasting connection with the concertgoers. If you’ve successfully implemented all the tips above, then you should be catching your listeners in very high spirits, which you can capitalize on. Ask people how they’re doing, what they liked about the show, and what they didn’t like. Exchange as much contact information as you can, and let them know how they can interact with you in the future. If you’re financially comfortable enough to part with a shirt or EP for free, use that to “seal the deal,” as giving away free merch is a sign of gratitude that will continuously remind them of you. Ultimately, show how grateful you are that they gave you your time, and convey that this is the kind of musician you are all the time.

Playing to only a few people is not on many musicians’ bucket lists once they’ve gotten used to bigger crowds. This is still no excuse to not give it your all. If you’re ever in this situation, take a deep breath and use everything in your arsenal to make it a great night. You’ll be amazed by how meaningful that small show might become.

Katarina Underwood is an editorial intern for Sonicbids.

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MUSIC PR 101: Don’t Pitch People Via Instagram

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but there are very few people who can be compelled to care about a band or song or product they don’t know just because of something they saw on Instagram. Maybe a friend of theirs tries a new restaurant and the resulting photograph leads to a future meal, or maybe a cool clip sells someone on an upcoming movie, but by and large there are very few people turning to Instagram for new media discovery. Of those that do use the image and video sharing platform for such efforts, only a tiny percentage are trying to make a living in writing, and only a part of that segment would even consider covering something solely because it caught their attention on Instagram.

It’s not you, but rather the platform you choose to use. Instagram is a place where people are able to see the world through the eyes of their friends, family, and any celebrity or brand they choose. There are discovery tools in place, and there are some who use them, but the majority of Instagram users tend to view the platform as way to better see what is happening in the lives of the people and groups they care about. Speaking from personal experience, there has never been a time when I thought the answer to my musical needs could be found on Instagram, but that doesn’t many people have tried to convince me otherwise. Take a look:

For clarity’s sake, this is the only time this band, or someone from this band, made an attempt to contact me. No emails were received, no tweets, no texts, not even a Facebook message. Their one and only approach was to contact me with a text based message delivered through private DM on a platform specifically designed to share photo and video. They couldn’t have given me a link if I asked for it, yet there they were, hoping for no rational reason whatsoever that their odd approach would make me want to give them a few minutes of my time. There is always something to be said for originality, but in this case it’s not enough to sell me.

And it’s not just bands I know. I have received messages from artists all over the world I have never heard of or from on any other platform. It’s as if these artists believe putting their all into one specific social network will somehow bring them great success, but in the case of pitching that is simply not true. I promised I would not make the name of the artist responsible for the following message known, but this is an actual pitch I received just last week:

“Hey UTGjames –

My name is ___ and I’m in an easycore band called _______. We play music along the lines of Four Year Strong and Set Your Goals, only with an added layer of pop punk. We have a new EP out soon, and I wanted to know if you would tell your followers about us and maybe write about us on your site? You can hear clips on our IG page. If you want to know more just give me your email and I will send everything over.”

There are a few problems with the message, including the fact my name is not actually ’UTGJames.’ That is my handle, but Instagram also makes it possible to see my real name, so the presence of my handle tells me this artist did not spend much time researching my work prior to contacting me. Second, they ask me to promote a band I know nothing about to my followers without giving me much, if any reason to do, and then proceed to ask for coverage on my ‘site.’ Again, the lack of a proper name tells me how little time was spent piecing together this pitch. The artist also appears to believe that the best way to introduce me to their music is in 15-second increments that they task me with seeking out on their feed, which speaks less to their talent as songwriters and more their ability to craft digital media clips. That is indeed a much-needed skill in 21st century promotion, but it doesn’t exactly make you a good musician.

Even if this person had written a perfectly worded pitch, the likelihood our interaction evolves into a full-blown coverage opportunity for their band is highly unlikely. I would first have to enjoy the artist’s music, tell them as much, provide an email, hope they follow-through, download their actual music, listen to their full songs, form thoughts worth sharing, and then – if all goes as well – start writing. There are simply too many steps and not nearly enough engagement to push me to do the heavy lifting as far as actual discovery is concerned.

In music, just as in life, time is precious. There are only so many hours in a day and you need to make the most of them, so you cannot waste time putting energy into fruitless endeavors. Pitching over Instagram is pointless. Journalists won’t take you seriously, and even if they do the time between initial contact and coverage could very from days to weeks, if not longer. Don’t waste your time trying to catch someone in a place no one else thinks to approach and use the traditional methods, like email, instead. Trust me, it will do far more for you and your career than Instagram ever could.

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Music PR 101: Don’t pitch people via LinkedIn. If you already do, please stop.

We talk about a lot social media platforms and the various ways they can improve one’s position in the music industry both as an artist and as a professional. We’ve covered how Twitter and Facebook make constant engagement a breeze, as well as how emerging platforms like Snapchat and Periscope make your interactions with the world at large even more personal. What we haven’t covered, and what we honestly never thought we would have to cover, is the proper use of LinkedIn. However, after several weeks of strange messages and friend requests we have found there is no getting around the fact people still don’t know how this professional networking platform is meant to work, so here we are with a quick explanation.

LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and promoted as a business-oriented social networking service. The mission of the company has more or less remained the same since that time, though several new features and tools have been implemented along the way. I cannot speak with any authority as to what founders of the site thought might happen when musicians and music professionals joined their service, but given the way their site functions I highly doubt they ever anticipated LinkedIn being used as a platform to pitch journalists, label owners, booking agents, and the like on new music. Why would they? The vast majority of the service’s users, and by that I mean far more than 90% of those with an account, work outside of the entertainment industry. Of those that do work in entertainment, only a small fraction of people work in music, and only a tiny fraction of them have any reason to pitch someone about a new artist or album.

This math may have your mind spinning, but let’s cut right to the chase: There is never any reason to pitch someone about a band, album, or tour through LinkedIn. Doing so is the modern day equivalent to distributing your press releases through MySpace bulletins circa 2006. People might see them, but will they care? More importantly, will they act on them?

In the decade I have been active in the music business I have probably received dozens, if not over a hundred, friend requests on LinkedIn from bands and low budget (aka no budget) PR firms. You know when these requests come in because instead of receiving an email that reads “John Jones wants to connect” you receive something like “Death By Unicorn Blood wants to connect,” or “Rich Money PR wants to connect.” For the life of me I cannot think of a single reason anyone would ever accept these invitations. Unlike other social media platforms, which are built with brands in mind, LinkedIn and its users put very little value into the amount of connections someone has unless they’re matched by numerous endorsements for a particular person’s professionals skills. Simply having a large numbers of connections does not impress anyone, nor should it!

In that same time, and especially in the last several weeks, I have received numerous pitches asking for content in regards to records, signings, tours, and everything in between. The quality of these messages usually ranges from piss poor to only somewhat terrible, and since LinkedIn isn’t built with media-sharing in mind there is never much content to browse.  If anything, messages will end with a large amount of links asking you to do the leg work.

To further explain the types of messages that shouldn’t be sent, here’s an actual pitch that recently hit my LinkedIn account:

Hey James,

My name is [removed to protect identity] and I am the founder of [Anonymous PR firm]. I’ve got several great punk rock bands with new or recently released albums I want to tell you about. I see you used to work at Under The Gun Review, so I assume you still write about music somewhere. If you want to interview these artists or perhaps get a download of their music, just let me know and I will shoot you over a link. Also, can I have your email? I was going to call you, but I thought that might be a bit forward.

Here are the bands:

[Punk Band A] – This group rules! They just played a tour with [unknown band A] and [unknown band B] across Southern Arizona. The response was huge and we expect big things in the future.

[Punk Band B] – The pride of Alabama! This band has been playing music together since the members were 14. They just graduated high school, but they are quickly establishing themselves in the greater punk scene. The band has submitted their music to Warped Tour’s battle of the bands contest three years in a row, and each time they place fairly high.

Again, if there is ANYTHING you need at all, let me know.

Sincerely,

[A bad publicist]

There are a number of issues with this email. For starters, the person admits to knowing I don’t write about music for a certain publication before assuming that I still do write and that I would want to cover their bands. My LinkedIn profile clearly outlines where I work and what I do, so the opening sentence has already informed me that this person did very little research before contacting me. Secondly, they offer me free downloads of music without knowing a thing about me. What if I left my old job because I pirated a bunch of music? What if I run a leak blog on the side? Neither of these are true, of course, but the person contacting me doesn’t know that.

Furthermore, the publicist behind this email makes the assumption I not only check my LinkedIn messages regularly, but that I also do business through LinkedIn. While I cannot speak to what most people do with their LinkedIn account, it’s very unlikely that many view the service as a place to do actual business. At most, people use LinkedIn to connect with professionals they don’t know and then use that connection to find the proper avenues for contact. The publicist above did do that, but not until AFTER they decided to go ahead and pitch me. That’s what my dad would call “jumping the gun.”

At this risk of talking to much about what should really be a pretty straightforward factoid: STOP MISUSING LINKEDIN. If you want to connect with industry professionals who may be able to help get you a job or if you want to connect with someone so that you can learn how to properly send them pitches, fine, but every other topic of conversation you might message someone about should be reserved for other platforms and messaging services. Send an email or make a call. Heck, you might have a better chance of getting noticed and taken seriously through Twitter than LinkedIn. It’s all about presentation.

There are million ways to be discovered in music, but there are several million ways to waste time by promoting yourself in all the wrong places. LinkedIn, as it is today, is the wrong place to promote your new music. Just don’t do it.

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News

11 Ways To Promote Your Next Album Better Than ‘The Life Of Pablo’

It’s hard to believe anyone looking at this article has been able to live in a world where they are connected to the internet without having heard the news that Kanye West has a new album. The Life Of Pablo arrived later than promised, hitting the net shortly after midnight on February 14 instead of Friday, February 12, as originally planned, but that did not stop fans from consuming the album as quickly as possible. The hours that followed the record’s release found social media filled with hot takes from critics and fans alike, and it didn’t take long for the first album reviews to begin appearing online. Pitchfork, for example, gave the record a 9/10 after being able to enjoy it for less than forty-eight hours. We didn’t review the record ourselves, though we have had it on repeat since release, but we did take a hard look at Kanye’s album rollout out and everything that did and did not work during his one-of-a-kind promotional run. We might not all be able to live like Kanye, but we can learn from his efforts, and that is exactly what we aim to do with this post.

The promotion leading up to The Life Of Pablo’s release was unlike any marketing efforts we’ve seen previously from Kanye West. This was an album that, at least for a while, seemed like a figment of everyone’s imagination. The world knew Kanye was in the lab, but the world famous producer and rapper never made much effort to offer clarity to fans as to when his material would be available. When that silence was broken, right around the beginning of the new year, everyone expected some large scale experiment in line with the global videos premieres that occurred when “New Slaves” was released in advance of Yeezus. Though a moment quite like that never came, West did manage to keep people on their toes for better and for worse. He would reveal information about the album one day, then changed his mind the next, and in doing so make the previous announcement irrelevant. He also set a release date, held an album listening party at Madison Square Garden on the day the album was meant to drop, and then failed to make the album available for another day and a half.

We respect Kanye’s desire to be unique, but we believe The Life Of Pablo deserves better promotion than what it has received so far. The album’s current success speaks more to the world’s obsession with Kanye than it does to the quality of the material, and that is a shame because the music West is creating right now should be able to speak for itself. We know no one can tell Kanye what to do, but if we had the opportunity to do so these are the 11 things about The Life Of Pablo’s release that we would have changed:

Pick a release date and stick to it. Period.

You do not have to have a master’s degree in Business to understand that there are few things worse for a new product launch than missing your deadline. No one told Kanye his album had to come out on February 11. he chose that date, just like he chose to share that date with fans almost a month early. People planned their day around Kanye’s album release, including making time to skip out on work or school to see his album reveal be broadcast live from Madison Square Garden, but once that event was over so was Kanye’s output for the day. TLOP did not arrive until nearly two days after its intended release, and even then accessing the record was not as simple as visiting any digital retailer. Tidal had the exclusive stream, but Kanye also put the record on his site for purchase. Then Kanye decided to close the sale on his site and only stream the record, but not until after several people had been able to purchase the album. Are you confused by all of this? If so, you’re not alone.

Tidal is not going to happen. Stop trying to make Tidal happen.

Everything Kanye does is ultimately intended to benefit Kanye, so it makes sense that he would share his new album with fans through a company he has a vested interest in, but that does not mean choosing Tidal as the exclusive home of TLOP was a smart decision. A year ago, Tidal was considered a failed experiment, and though several big names have contributed exclusive content to the streaming service over the last several months public opinion has been largely unchanged. Forcing users to signup for a free Tidal trial in order to access TLOP takes focus away from Kanye’s art and places more barriers between his fans and the content they seek. Signups only take a few minutes, but that fact is beside point. Fans want TLOP, not a new streaming solution, and Kanye should have catered to that demand.

Make your album available easy to find and purchase as soon as possible. 

Exclusivity in the digital age is a recipe for unnecessary piracy. People who either hate the idea of joining Tidal or those who simply cannot be bothered to sign up would likely rather download a pirated copy of the record than wait for the album to be made available elsewhere. After all, a download of TLOP is only a google or Twitter search away at any point in time, so why should they give their credit card information to a service they don’t plan to use after getting to hear the one album they may or may not end up buying? Downloading the record is easier and quicker than joining Tidal, and it also does not require listeners to share personal information with a third party. We hate the idea of piracy, but it’s not hard to understand why some might choose this route if they feel the wait for TLOP to be made available elsewhere is taking too long.

The solution for this problem is simple: Make the album as easy to find as possible. It should have gone on sale via iTunes, Amazon, and Kanye’s website at the same time as Tidal. Kanye could still encourage people to use Tidal, but fans wouldn’t feel they were being forced to try something they might not like to experience an album they don’t know anything about.

You should have a single

Kanye made it a point to share several songs with the public in advance of the album’s release, but he never mentioned whether or not the songs shared would make TLOP or how/if they would be marketed further. Most, if not all tracks did end up making the album, but here we are days after the record’s release and there is still no single. Radio does not care about TLOP, nor does YouTube just yet. Word of mouth is the only thing driving awareness for TLOP, and considering how short most attention spans are these days that hype won’t last very long. If Kanye wants this album to have legs he needs to choose and single and start pushing it to the public. That way, people who may have been turned away from earlier releases due to changes in sound or controversies related to Kanye’s private life may have a chance to rediscover the rapper’s immense talent. Who knows? He might even reach some new listeners who have never made time for his music before. 

You should also have a video

This goes hand and hand with the reason why TLOP needs a single. Study after study has shown that video is one of the biggest contributors to awareness when it comes to marketing new music. Kanye’s name can bring a lot of attention to his work, but having a creative video that showcases the album in a unique light can go even further. West has a long history of strong video work, including his memorable short film for “Runaway,” but so far he has yet to show us anything visual for TLOP. We hope that fact changes in time, but ideally a video would already exist. After all, the album is here and people are consuming it as you read this post. Interest is already beginning to wane, albeit slowly, so Kanye would be wise to act fast and get some kind of video out sooner rather than later.

If Practice. A lot. And don’t take gigs unless you are able to perform at your best.

Did you happen to catch Kanye’s performances on Saturday Night Live over the weekend? The taping of show occurred while West was busy putting the finishing touches on TLOP, so he literally had to leave the studio in order to make it to the stage in time to perform. When he arrived, accompanied by Young Thug and others, he hit the stage to share two new songs that he had clearly never performed before. This could have been an exciting reveal that further impressed upon viewers how great TLOP really is, but his presence on the show could not have looked less planned or rehearsed. West couldn’t lip sync well, and not a single person in his posse could dance in time with the music. What should have been an awesome return to national TV for one of the industry’s biggest stars ended up looking like a bunch of rich friends dancing like idiots to unfamiliar music in front of cameras and a live studio audience.

Work with the press

It’s hard to imagine any major music publication who would turn down an opportunity to speak with Kanye West. Heck, it’s hard to imagine practically any culture focused publication doing that. Kanye West sells magazines and brings clicks, both of which are desperately needed in the modern news world, but for one reason or another Yeezy doesn’t usually use those avenues for promotion. Like many celebrities, West reached a point some time ago when he felt he did more for reporters than they did for him. That may be true in some ways, but journalists still have the ability to present and promote talent in a way artists could never hope to promote themselves. They also have the ability to reach consumers artists cannot reach themselves, especially those at Kanye’s level. We’re not saying Kanye should be talking to every blog in the world, but he should be doing more to engage fans outside of random tweet-sprees.

Choose a title and stick with it

There was a time last year when everyone thought Kanye’s new album would be called So Help Me God. A little time passed and that album then became Swish. People were confused by the change, but they went with it anyways. Then the album became Waves. Then, almost at the last minute, The Life Of Pablo was born. West teased the final title just days after the previous name change and only days before the album was set to hit stores. As such, there was next to no time for the album to be properly promoted under its official title. The record was promoted simply as ‘Kanye’s new album,’ which carries weight in some circles, but to the unfamiliar consumer holds all the allure of stale saltines. 

There is a reason why marketing professionals often spend years in college, and that is to learn the proper way to promote a new product or event regardless of time constraints. Kanye has a history of making his new album titles and material almost impossible to ignore, but on this record everything feels so thrown together at the last minute that the general public has almost no familiarity with anything album related. They might know Kanye has a new record, but they might not know if it’s out yet, and I am willing to wager a good portion cannot even tell you what it’s called. That all results from bad marketing, and it’s incredibly frustrating because any professional could have told Kanye that would happen.

Accept blame when things fall apart (it’s not Chance’s fault, it’s yours)

When Kanye’s album event at Madison Square Garden came and went without the album being made available to the public people immediately began to cry foul. West remained silent for several hours, but shortly after midnight on Saturday, February 13, the rapper tweeted the record was still not ready because Chance The Rapper had demanded the song “Waves” be added to the final track list. Kanye later followed this message with another tweet that included the hashtag ‘#blamechance,’ and not long after Chance became the talk of the music business. 

Whether or not TLOP’s delay was the result of Chance telling Kanye his two cents does not change the fact that the album’s release ultimately fell on Kanye’s shoulders. He could have told Chance no, or he could have told fans ahead of the failed release that the record would not be ready in time. Blaming Chance after the record was already late served no real purpose aside from getting the Acid Rap creator a few extra headlines, which did nothing to further promote TLOP. Had Kanye accepted responsibility, and perhaps in doing so cited the fact he thought the album could be better, fans would have been far more understanding about the delay. As is, Ye comes across being even more childish than his critics have claimed.

Keep your website updated

When Kanye was playing his album for a sold out Madison Square Garden, as well as a large audience online, his official website was nothing more than an embedded voicemail from Yasiin Bey discussing his recent legal troubles in South Africa. The clip was originally posted on January 19 and no one in Kanye’s camp ever thought to change it. You know, because who would want to visit an artist’s official website for information about their new album?

The complete lack of updates to Kanye’s official site is the final nail in the coffin of TLOP’s promotional efforts. Even when the entire world was giving Kanye their attention he couldn’t be bothered to update his official website with relevant information regarding his latest release. If not then, when? 

Even now, days after release, Kanye’s website is still little more than Yasiin Bey’s voicemail. Pitiful.

Your music might not have the same kind of brand recognition as Kanye West, but if you learn from Kanye’s mistakes there is no reason you cannot find just as much success in time. Use our changes as a guide and do everything in your power to know how your album will promoted, when it’s coming out, and what it will be called long before sharing your release plans with the public. That alone will put you miles ahead of Mr. West, and from there the sky is the limit.

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