Music Industry Blog 07
Demo vs. Single
By: Matthew Mazer

Why Go Single?
No matter what line of music you intend to get into, you should know presentation is everything. In today's flooded market, you have to stand out from the rest. Since sending demo's directly to record labels has proven to be nearly useless, you have to sway the public. In addition, you have to accomplish your real goal as an artist, to support yourself doing it. This is the primary reason the single has replaced the demo. Having a finished product you can sell after shows is one of the most viable ways to build a fan base and your bank roll.

The Promotional Hour
The suggested method for sales of singles at shows is called the "Promotional Hour". Have you ever been to a venue where the act will spend an hour after the show talking to fans, signing autographs, and selling product? They don't do this because they are "cool", they do it because they are told to by industry analysts. Doing this accomplishes several goals:

1. It makes the fans think your "cool".

2. It gives you the opportunity to sell product to a hot market. These people are already interested, the sale is much easier. More than 80% of the albums bought at a venue happen within this single hour. Why? Because they have to buy something for you to autograph.

3. It puts a finished product into the hands of the public. There is no better marketing than word of mouth. This is why having a professional looking, sounding, and presented single is important.

Make A Big Deal Of It!
Have the announcer mention you are going to be spending this time with the fans after the show. I am sure you have heard them do this before. Make an event out of it. If you make a big deal about the promotional hour, the fans will too. Come out with 6 tons of bling bling and three bodguards strapped with fake UZIs (I'm exaggerating). Put on a show they will never forget.

Music Industry Blog 06
The Promotional Packet
By: Matthew Mazer

At Minimum
You should put together promotional packets to market yourself professionally. These packets should at least consist of:

1. Standard 8x10 Black & White Photo
2. Band/Artist Bio & Contact

Try to make it appealing, but professional. The bio should not be more than half a page. The contact information should be on the same page as the bio and include name, phone,email, mailing address, and web address. You can include additional information within this packet, but do not exceed three pages. People are busy, and usually will not spend the time to go through anything more. If you are going to put in additional information, be sure it is business driven. Good additional info to include would be:

1. Major venues played
2. Involvement with key industry people
3. Short term business goals
4. Name & contact for your manager/agent
5. Record sales statistics
6. Radio play statistics
7. Other accomplishments

You will notice that I did not include "Demo CD" in the list of things to provide. Many artist support sites will say you should, however I disagree.
 
The Good Old Days
The days of sending promotional packets to labels are over. Packets sent to labels these days can be found at the nearest landfill. Promotional packets used to include a demo disc with up to three songs, and all the information about those songs. You would send it to a record label, and an A&R would possibly listen to it, then call you. Because of the rise in  artists due to technology advances, this practice is no longer... well... In practice. "Unsolicited Music" is no longer accepted by major labels, and you must be represented by an industry professional to get love.

Today's Promotional Packet
The delivery of the Promotional Packet has changed, but the importance of it has not. Promotional Packets appeal to business people, while your songs appeal to everyone else. Music Professionals do not care about your music, they care if money can be made from it.  So how does one use today's packet? You will find uses for it throughout your travels as an artist. When you are contacted by an industry professional, you will need to have this ready. You do not want to make them wait for anything, they tend to loose interest if your not prepared. Don't just use packets for A&R's, give them to business related people to validate your professionalism. Venue owners, agents, and managers would like to see this as well. It tells them that you are serious about your music.

To Include A Demo?
Some professionals may ask for a CD, however you will find most have heard your music before they contact you. If they do ask for one, it is most likely because they want to show you to someone else, which is a good thing. The CD you provide them should be a completed and packaged product. I guess it is not really a demo cd anymore now is it? I would suggest a single with no more than three songs, but we will discuss this in the next post.

Music Industry Blog 05
Commercial Song Analysis
By: Matthew Mazer

No Pressure Song Analysis
At this point you should have an industry standard photo and bio. Also, you should have at least one well recorded song. You are going to need to figure out which song of yours is the best to market. If you only have one song, then it is an easy choice, but I would read the next section anyway.

If you have more than one song, do not try to figure it out yourself. Enroll at least 10 people to spend 15 minutes helping you out. If you have more people who want to participate, even better. Be sure the songs you are using are the clean versions. Many people will be reluctant to judge an artist's music, but this test allows them to help us without judging the music.

1. Provide them a card/paper with the track number, name, and length for each song. This list should be ordered by how they will be played to the listener.

2. Have them listen to all the songs first.

3. Tell them to put a number next to each track starting with 1 (the track they liked the most). Their second favorite will get a "2", and so on...

4. Have them return the card/paper to you.

This is a way to get commercial appeal feedback without the listener feeling pressured. Don't ask what they like or didn't like, just let them sort the list. You may provide a "comments section" for each track, I would suggest it. But, be sure to mention to the participants that it is optional. 

Closing
Obtaining a public opinion on track preference will provide you vital information about which tracks have the most commercial appeal. Remember, commercial appeal is driven by public demand and public opinion, not creativity or originality.

Music Industry Blog 04
It's All Presentation
By: Matthew Mazer

Personal Image
The next step is to conquer your personal image. The following sections should help you through this process. This is what your plan should focus on for the first 30 days after initial production.

Artist/Band Picture
You should have an 8x10 black and white photo of yourself ready at all times. This photo does not have to be done by a professional photographer, but should represent what you want the world to see you as. This image should not contain obscene gestures or "set reppin". It should look professional in content, but represent your individuality. Get creative here! Even if you take hundreds of photos, be picky and get the one that best represents you.

Artist/Band Bio
Get yourself on track with industry bio standards (if your not already), making yourself presentable to record labels and venues. Most people misunderstand how this should be done. Always keep in the back of your mind that this is a business about selling product, and promote yourself accordingly. When writing an artist bio, make it short and sweet. Don't highlight how cool you are and how many pounds you smoke. Focus on things that are important to the industry, or business in general. Things that will affect a record label's opinion of you are (in order of importance) : the amount of albums sold, size of fan base, originality, personal image, and live shows.The key to a good bio is shoving as much relevant information into a gripping paragraph as possible. You only have the first paragraph to grab an A&R's or manager's attention, so you have to make it count. For example, here is what I ended up with for my bio:

"Disdain has put crowds in awe nationwide since 2003. This underground rap sensation is accredited with hundreds of battle victories, and has won a total of 14 rap contests on the east coast. Do not be deceived into thinking he is your average white rapper. Disdain is a 10 year music producer of all genres, fluently plays six instruments, and single handedly sold 11,000+ copies of his home produced CD. The music speaks for itself. It's edgy, intelligent, and contains content everyone can relate to. If this explosive artist is not part of your rap music collection already, there is no doubt he will be very soon."

Third-Person Perspective
The first thing you will notice is that my bio is written to build a mental image of the artist (me) from a third-person point of view. This writing perspective seems more credible to the reader, because it is as if someone else is speaking about you (possibly a writer or columnist).

Positive Build-Up Words
Words like "awe", "sensation", "victories", "fluently", and "edgy". These words are non-abrasive words that slide by unnoticed alone, but help build the overall picture you want the reader to have at the end of your paragraph.

Power Phrases
These phrases are still non-abrasive, but build reputability. Phrases like "accredited", "won", and "single handedly"  build you a reputation in the reader's mind without them knowing it. It adds "respect" to the long list of attributes they have associated with you as an artist.

Left Hanging and Jealous
The bio leaves the reader desiring to hear the music. The last line reads:

"If this explosive artist is not part of your rap music collection already, there is no doubt he will be very soon."

This line leaves the reader remembering me. Why? The closing line contains the only abrasive word in the whole paragraph, "explosive". This makes it memorable, an old Literature trick. Also, the closing line makes the reader feel like they are missing out on something other people are enjoying. If focuses on triggering the emotion of jealousy, a key contributor to my genre of music (Rap). So, focus the closing line on triggering an emotion related to your genre. For example, if you write love songs, then the obvious choices are passion, warmth, or even sex.

Music Industry Blog 03
Musically Prepared
By: Matthew Mazer

Starting Small Is Good
The first step is having some original music. Don't go writing a whole album. It is better to perform a couple songs perfectly, and get near perfect recordings of those songs. Your real goal here should be to get one hit song recorded. Your going to want to market a single with no more than three songs to start out with. If you are looking to be a performance singer, this will be your demo. If you are looking to be a recording artist, this will be your first single.

Your Bread And Butter
This is a good opportunity to mention, you should always treat recordings as if they are product. Don't half-ass recording, mixing, or mastering. Record Labels are looking for finished goods.

Minimal Music
Have at least one, no more than three, well thought songs written and produced by a professional or darn good amateur. This should be censored or have a censored version. Be sure the engineer organizes and labels the source tracks well, and provides you a copy of the raw tracks. I cannot stress this enough. A song can not be professionally re-mastered without them, and the labels will want that in the end.

After Single Press
After you get your initial CD's done, do not just hand them out to everyone. I did that, and it got me nowhere. You will have better luck selling them at live shows, local events, and other avenues discussed in future blogs.

Socializing
Start getting to know the people in your area. Make yourself known to your genre's radio stations and local groups. Networking is half the battle, you have to get off your butt and do it. This will be a slow process of social engineering, so get started right away.

Music Industry Blog 02
Make It A Business
By: Matthew Mazer

Business Mindset
You may as well begin treating this like a business. That means you will need a business plan, capitol, and a way to determine how successful a promotional route or venue performance is.

Plan To Succeed
Sit down and write out a plan for your music. A well written plan will save you time and money. Having set milestones, goals, and deadlines makes a huge difference in how you operate daily. It also allows you to understand what you are going to need to get the job done. As an artist, time management can be near chaotic, so figure out what you want to do, and document it. I would start by writing down your final goal. That's right, start at the end. Where do you want to be in 10 years? Once you know this, then it will be easier to draw a map to get there. The answer to this one question is important, because everything in your plan should progress you closer to that final goal.

Writing Your Plan
Depending where you are now, and where you want to be, your plan can be very different from the next guy. In future blog posts I will further discuss specific milestones of different career paths, and give you as much information as possible. These blog postings will help write the plan for you.

Business Plan Service
If you are serious about shopping your music, you are going to want a professional to write your development plan. I can write an artist development plan to fit your desired path, funding, and goals. This type of plan is what is needed to obtain a private investor. They will want to know you have goals, planned return on investment, and revenue streams. This service is $500 - Contact me.

Music Industry Blog 01
Music Modernization
By: Matthew Mazer

Artist Ocean
The introduction of home-based multi-track recording (through software) and MIDI standardization, has opened the doors for nearly anyone to make a quality production from their own home. This is a good thing, but also brought along some problems. It has flooded the underground market with an unlimited selection of talent, making artists less valuable. Think of it like the stock market. If the industry is worth X billion dollars, and there are only 1000 participants (professional artists), there is plenty of money to go around. When there are 4,000,000 participants, everyone is only getting pennies. This means today's challenge is not writing good music, it is standing out from the millions of other artists, and winning over a dedicated fan base.

Even Less Money Now?
Not only do record labels have a larger selection of talent to choose from, but they have less of a budget to do it with. You can thank technology for this problem too. Pirated music has bit off more than 30% of record label net profits in the last 5 years. Because of this, they have less money dedicated for new talent discovery, and they are signing less artists. There are less A&R's, scouts, and managers than there were 5 years ago. However, there are some positives that have recently affected music as well. MySpace and ... uh... OK, well... uh... At least there's MySpace!

Keep Your Head Up!
Don't be discouraged. In future postings, we will show you how you can make money with music and not be dependent upon a record contract. Because, when you start takng a large enough piece of the pie, they're gonna want your slice.

Music Industry Information Resource

I would suggest you subscribe to this blog,
there will be new postings regularly.

This blog will be "spilling the beans" about the music industry. Well, at least all the beans on my plate. My name is Matthew Mazer, and I have been involved in the music industry for over 10 years. This information is from my own experiences, and questions I have posed at other music industry professionals. I learned alot of things from my experiences, including the fact my music falls outside the guidelines of what is wanted by record labels. However, this does not mean your music won't do well, so I can at least share what I have learned from the past decade. It is here to assist artists with the development of their career. I will explain everything I know about the music business through these postings, free of charge.

Contact me if needed : click to message me

2. Tell your friends that are artists or professionals. Help other artists by letting them know where to find this: