SHOULD YOU BUY A USA, MEXICAN OR CHINESE FENDER ?

Ok drummers, bass players, singers (& all you other fine muso folk) I wont be making this blog site all about guitarists.

However,

You guitarists out there thinking about buying a good old Fender, maybe you'd like to take a look at this article showing some good and some not so good points of Fender guitars, made locally (USA) and imported.

This article came from Go Articles

When Buying A Fender Guitar Should I Buy USA, Mexican, or Chinese Model?

Author: August Anderson

Fender Stratocaster's are probably one of the most well known
guitars around. When legends like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi
Hendrix, and Eric Clapton are playing them it's gotta tell you
something.

However, not all Fender Stratocaster's are the same. Like
anything, you get what you pay for. If you are in the market to
buy a Fender, I suggest you listen to a bit of my advice before
you decide to make a impulse purchase.

Why should you listen to me?

Well, first of all I used to be a guitar salesman at a guitar
shop in San Diego California. Also, I have owned a variety of
Fender's and have direct experience with multiple strats.

There are basically 3 levels of Fender Strats. I'll break em
down by starting with the best first.

1. The Good Old American Made Stratocaster

You can't beat the American made Stratocaster. The quality is
superb, and can't be matched. However quality comes with a
price. You can plan on paying about $450 and up for a "used"
American Stratocaster. Newer one's are closer to a grand and on
up. There is a huge difference between playing the US guitar and
all the others. Simply put, the US made Fender's are King.

The weight on the US Strat is significantly heavier then the
imports. The reason for this is becuase the body is typically
made from Alder wood instead of some cheaper woods.

2. The Mexican Stratocaster

If you don't have the cash to kick down for a US Strat, then
your next best option is to get a Mexican Stratocaster. Hey,
these babies rock!!! I've had multiple Mexican Strats and they
are great.

You can pick up a used Mexican Strat for about $250-$375. While
it's not quite as good as the US version, it is a phenomenal
guitar.

3. The Chinese Ax

Last and least is the Chinese Stratocaster. You can pick these
up for about $125, give or take a few bucks. When buying a
Chinese guitar, remember that you get what you pay for. Now I'm
not saying the guitar won't work, or even that it sucks.
However, I am saying that the Chinese model is nowhere close to
the quality of the Mexican Strat or the USA model.

Unless you really want the bottom of the line Fender, or are
strapped on cash, I strongly encourage you to search for at
least the Mexican model when purchasing a Fender. Of course the
US Stratocaster is the ultimate, but sometimes that is not a
reality for everyone.

My advice, go with the Mexican Strat, it rocks!!!!!! ....and
affordable too.

About the author:
August Anderson (AKA Augmented Auggie) has been helping kids to
play guitar for many years. Auggie feels music is a passion that
should be shared with the world.

Please visit Auggie's blog and show your support for this
starving artists...Peace

http://heavenlyguitars.blogspot.com Auggie's Heavenly Guitars

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, fender, guitar

GOING SOLO - BE REAL

Taking your songs to the stage without a band can really expose any weaknesses in your songs and or performance.

Here's excellent 10 tips I found on an article written by English singer, songwriter, campaigner and broadcaster Tom Robinson

1) Playing solo, you can't rely on killer beats or sheer gut-thumping volume to convince the unconverted. Alone and exposed on an emotional tightrope (with no safety net) you have to win people over with guile, great tunes and sheer force of personality. We need all the help we can get. Watch other performers - steal their techniques or learn from their mistakes. And visuals, presentation, lighting - even the seating plan - all drastically affect the way your performance is perceived by an audience: much more so than with bands. Put in enough thought, preparation and commitment, and you'll wipe the floor with the opposition every time.

2) Create your space. Choose an area on the stage where you can see - and be seen by - the whole room. If there's no stage, mark out your performing area on the floor with a line of black gaffa tape. And always carry your own black gaffa tape. Move all unneccessary guitar cases, beer crates, mike stands etc. out of the way to give you a clear working area of floor space. Also, move any chairs and tables in the venue closer together and nearer to the stage. You always get the best audience response when people are a) comfortable b) close to you and c) close to each other.

3) Getting the setting. Buy ten metres of thin lightweight black fabric for at your local department store - it'll cost about 30 quid. Cut it into four and hang it along the back wall of your stage, covering all the usual scuzzy, gaffa-flecked wallpaper. A black backdrop absorbs stray light and looks instantly professional: watching the stage, an audience sees you and nothing else.

4) It may sound obvious, but point the stage lights at where you're standing. Remove all the dusty mauve and crinkly green filters, and either use white light or (better still) carry crisp new filters of your own. Lighting gel is absurdly cheap and makes a huge difference to the way your show looks. Try Lee 103 (straw) for warm front lighting, or Lee 181 (congo blue) with 1kw lamps for deep atmosphere. For a stockist, call Lee Filters on 01-264-366-245.

5) Carry your own Shure Beta 58 mike and use it always. I can't recommend these highly enough - clear, crisp and loud with unbeatable feedback rejection. However crap the PA is, a decent mike gives you a fighting chance. You'd spend half a grand on a decent guitar or keyboard, why not a couple of hundred on your voice ? And no, I don't have an endorsement deal with Shure.

6) Even small PAs can be drastically improved by "tuning" them to the room. Most systems feed the front-of-house desk output through a 31 band graphic equaliser for this purpose. If possible, get to the gig early, take your mike out into the middle of the room and send it through through a flat (no EQ) channel on the desk. If the PA sounds reasonably hi-fi, you're home and dry. But if (more likely) it sounds muffled and boomy, you'll need all your tact and diplomacy to get your hands on the house graphics. Boost each frequency in turn - talking down the mike - until you find all those nasty ringing overtones (160 hz is a common culprit). Work by subtly subtracting ugly frequencies, rather than boosting the sweet ones. A well tuned PA is more important than any amount of flashy reverb, delays or compression.

7) Shoot the monitor engineer. Seriously, there are far more foldback systems in the world than good engineers (and most of those end up behind front of house desks). Result: with cheap PAs at small gigs, your monitors are almost guaranteed to sound like shite. If they're unbearable at soundcheck, they won't improve by showtime. Don't be afraid to turn them off, move the PA speakers back and inwards - and listen to the front of house sound instead. The monitor dickhead will tell you this "causes feedback". It won't.

8) Mixing it. If you're serious about your front of house sound but can't afford your own engineer, consider doing it yourself. What's there to mix - your voice, your instrument & maybe a bit of reverb ? Carry a little Mackie or Spirit Folio and do it all yourself from on stage. If it sounds good to you, chances are it'll sound good to the audience. Ultimately, though, there's no substitute for a great sound engineer of your own. When you finally find one you like and get on with, hang on to her (or him) for dear life.

9) Even if the venue's half empty or stuffed with drunks at showtime, don't write off your audience in advance. Perform with style and dignity for anybody out there who's interested and listening, even if you can't see them. Acknowledge it when someone claps, joins in, or laughs at one of your jokes - a little flicker of applause needs nurturing, fanning, feeding. Look over to where it came from and grin, wink, bow ironically. In years to come, people will come up and say they first saw you at the Turd & Bogbrush in 1999. Even gigs that feel like a complete disaster can win you lifelong fans.

10) Anything you do, do big. Don't be feeble or apologetic. Take possession of your performing area, own it, fill the space. Who the hell wants to watch something half-hearted ? The world is not waiting for another sensitive songwriter to perch on a stool, pick lifelessly at an acoustic guitar and warble inaudible platitudes about man's inhumanity to man. The essence of great performance is energy, passion and total commitment, whether you're Suzanne Vega or Henry Rollins. You don't have to be note perfect, or even massively talented, to pull it off. But whatever you do, it does need to be very, very real.

[Resource http://www.tomrobinson.com/writing/gigtips.htm]

technorati tags:indie, independent, solo, musician

FREE INDIE MUSICIAN RESOURCE

You can now get your FREE indie music directory.

Just launched, it's an online directory put out by J.H. Mattern Communications on the Indie Guru website.

This niche Web directory allows indie bands and musicians, record labels, promoters, music media and websites, and anyone in the business of independent music to add their link for free, with no reciprocal links required.

To read the full press release click here

[Resource http://www.pr.com/press-release/14182]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

SHOULD MUSIC BE FREE?

Thought I'd put this article up, given the last article was all about digital downloads.  It's an abbreviated version, so if you want to read the whole thing click here.

The big question...Should Down loadable Music be Free?

Should Music Downloads Be Free?  By Mark Savage Entertainment reporter, BBC News

A group representing the U K's independent music labels says it wants to change the way we pay for music online.

They say music could, in effect, be free to customers - with payment collected as part of their Internet subscription.

The system would work like a pay TV channel, where all of the programmes and movies are free once a monthly fee has been paid.

It involved other music industry bodies, such as the musician's Union and the Performing Rights Society (PRS), which collects royalties for songwriters and performers.

They say that, in the future, the industry would make money from file-sharing music by charging Internet Service Providers(ISPs) for distribution.

However, customers would still have to pay for a permanent copy of a piece of music on CD, or as a download bought from digital retailers.

Lessons learned

Blur's last album, Think Tank, was leaked on the Internet

At a press conference outlining their ideas, the panel of music industry experts also said that record companies were wrong to sue people who illegally download music.

"Prohibition always ends in disaster," said Dave Rowntree, drummer for the rock band Blur. "As an industry we've learnt our lessons."

Wenham says she envisions a two-tier system for music fans.

Customers would have access to any music track they wanted, delivered in real-time over the internet, as part of their broadband connection.

However, they would have to make separate payments for "premium content", such as exclusive performances, or to keep permanent copies of songs offline.

Law change

However, the music industry collective says copyright laws will need to change in order for this to happen.

Most importantly, they want Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to pay for music distributed over their services.

However, the music industry group has yet to convince ISPs that the system has merit.

Illegal downloads

The assertion that internet providers should be heldresponsible for illegal downloading by their users will not help to build bridges.

The music industry group says it wants to make intermediaries - including ISPs - "the target of copyright enforcement action".

The Internet Service Providers Association (Ispa) issued a robust response to the suggestion.

"ISPs bear no liability for illegal file sharing as the content is not hosted on their servers," it said.

Such disagreements are currently being thrashed out aspart of an independent review of the U K's copyright laws commissioned by the government.

[Resource http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5174292.stm]

technorati tags:digital, music, downlads

THE FUTURE OF THE SINGLE

This may be good news for independent musicians in the distribution of their music.

In this news snippet I just came across, Alan McGee who is the founder of the English record label, 'Creation Records' says:

"Downloads will be king within the next couple of years.....The majors have lost the football."

McGee believes the decline in singles' popularity to be inevitable and indicative of a change in power in favor of musicians and smaller labels.

The British Phonographic Industry rejects that view, saying:

"It depends how you define the single....In terms of the volume of single tracks that have been sold, the market has doubled in just over a year. What has happened is that the singles market has accommodated a new format, the download."

Creation Records is home to some great bands the most famous (at least from a commercial point of view) would probably have to be Oasis.

Given Alan's history and success with Creation Records and having helped launch many successful 'alternative' type artists, he probably knows a thing or two about the trends of the music buying public.

No-one can deny the popularity of music downloads and the good news is that this puts all creaters of music on a level playing field.  Savvy independent musicians need to learn effective ways of marketing their music and getting their song noticed and heard in the digital world.

[Resource http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060718-080255-2274r]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

SONGWRITING IN BERMUDA - OCTOBER 5th to 8th, 2006

Are you a professional musician? Can you claim 'professional' expenses as a tax deduction?

Here's an artist and songwriting retreat which is to be held October 5 - 8, 2006 in beautiful Bermuda.

(Above) The 9 Beaches Resort - Bermuda, where the Songwriting & Artist Retreat will be held
Photo from http://www.songs-and-music.com/

The songwriting retreat will have three industry workshop hosts one of whom has written songs for Brittany Spears, and Back Street Boys.

Apart from looking at lyric and song writing, other workshops will focus on performance and stage presence and there will also be a workshop especially for artist development and what it means to be an independent artist.

This is definitely not just a retreat/workshop for major label artists.

The organizer of this event, Richard Bassett said "there are opportunities to promote yourself independently as a recording artist that can sustain you and help you to achieve." The workshop will also offer tips on independent promotional and marketing strategies.

For those wondering if they can afford to attend, the cost is (US) $225 for the four days, not including accommodation.

Click here to learn more about this four day event.

To read the full article click here

[Resource http://www.theroyalgazette.com]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, songwriting

GET AIRPLAY HERE

If you're an independent musician looking to increase your CD's airplay, here's a station you can submit your music to.

David Brockwell is taking submissions for music in the style of Rap, Hip Hop, Trance, Techno, Hard Trance, Hard Dance, Drum & Base.

To go to the station's website click here

Here's what David has to say:

" If you would like to promote your music on my radio station along side mine feel free to send (Email MP3's) tracks you would like added to: dbrockwell2003@yahoo.co.uk

Your tracks will be played on the radio station 24/7 and will display your artist name and link to your artist website. (No listener can download music) All members of Live 365 and outside can listen to the station.

The station is offline at the moment, i am just waiting to get enough tracks together. I have a few that have sent in there mp3's to me already which is good. "

[Resource http://www.live365.com/stations/brockied]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, airplay

BLOG THE RIGHT WAY WITH THIS FREE VIDEO BLOGGING GUIDE

Now that regular blogging is so 'yesterday' consider video blogging.

Here's what Lyn from Wobbly Music had to say about video blogging

"Video Blogging is set to be the next big thing on the Net. It has already taken over a lot of marketing sites.

In my business (The Music Business), video has been a major marketing forcefor many years for the larger record companies with large budgets. Now it is possible for every small band with some IT knowledge to put together a useful video blog"

Lyn is offering totally FREE, a resource called "The 5 mistakes most people make when Video Blogging" to download your copy click here

[Resource http://www.WobblyMusic.net]

technorati tags:indie, musician, free, resource, guide

8 MYTHS ABOUT COMMERCIAL RADIO

Here's an article written by Bryan Farrish, about Commercial Radio Airplay.

Bryan runs a site that's offers tips and help to indie muso's trying to get radio play. He also offers radio promotion airplay campaigns for independent artists.

There's plenty of helpful and interesting things on his site, so if you're in need of some some radio play go and have a browse around Bryan's site which you can get to if you click here

This article I found on Bob Baker's site which is also worth a visit. To get to Bob's site click here

Eight Commercial Airplay Myths

by Bryan Farrish

When talking to people who are launching their first radio promotion projects, invariably the same misunderstood points come up concerning commercial regular-rotation airplay. This article covers the eight most common myths.

DJs PLAY THE RECORDS: This only applies to non-commercial radio and specialty/mixshow radio. The majority of people in the U.S., however, listen to commercial regular-rotation radio, and on these stations, the DJs have no say at all in what is going to be played (unless, in the case of a smaller station, the DJ is also the program director). So, the biggest pitfall to avoid is asking a DJ at a commercial station, "Can I give you my CD for possible rotation?" The DJ is not allowed to say "No," and he/she is probably not going to explain that only the PD can approve regular rotation. The DJ is just going to say "Okay."

GOOD SONGS SPREAD TO OTHER STATIONS:Good songs (or for that matter, good programs) do not mystically spread to other stations. Every single song you hear (or every syndicated program you hear) on commercial regular-rotation radio is on that station because of layers of promotion and marketing. The song you hear was the one that made it because it beat out the other 300 songs that were going for adds that week. What you don't hear are the endless phone calls, faxes, trade ads, personal meetings, consultant recommendations, call-out research and other things which went into getting the station to add the record. All you heard was the record itself. And station owners make it a requirement that DJs make it sound like they picked the music themselves.

COLLEGE OR SPECIALTY AIRPLAY WILL EXPAND TO COMMERCIAL: Just because you do well on non-commercial or specialty/mixshow radio, it does not mean anything will happen on commercial regular-rotation radio. In fact, nothing at all will happen at commercial unless a separate, higher-level campaign is put into place to take the record into regular rotation. The pitfall here is that a listener will hear something on college, and then a month later hear it on commercial, and conclude that the college caused the commercial to happen. The listener did not know that both campaigns were in place simultaneously, and the college station simply added the song a month earlier.

YOU HAVE TO BE SIGNED TO GET AIRPLAY:Untrue. Being singed is only a signal to the stations that the basic marketing practices are going to be done right. If you have the budget, you can duplicate the marketing practices of larger labels, provided you know how. The band Creed set a good example of putting their $5million marketing dollars into the right place.

REQUEST CALLS WILL HELP:Not really. They don't hurt, but your time is better spent doing othert hings, like inviting people to your gigs. Stations know which calls are real, and which are bands and their friends. Stations have consultants and seminars which cover only this one topic.

YOU CAN'T GET AIRPLAY WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION:It depends on the size of radio that you are going after. Smaller commercial regular-rotation stations in smaller markets won't make this too much of a sticking point, especially if you have a powerful radio campaign going, or if you are doing great gigs in their city, or if you have great college or specialty/mixshow results. But the largerstations -- which you can't work anyway until you do the smaller ones-- won't touch a project that has no distribution.

YOU CAN'T GET AIRPLAY WITHOUT GIGS:Again, it depends on the size of radio you are going after. Not being able to gig is a serious handicap at any station, but you can overcome it in smaller markets with intense radio promo, press, sales and other results.

NON-MONITORED STATIONS ARE OF NO USE:Non-monitored stations are of no use only on the Billboard, R&R and the seven Album Network mag charts. But FMQB, CMJ and all specialty/mixshow charts are compiled manually; since you need to start off on these smaller charts first, this works out just fine.

[Resource http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/zine/radiomyths.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, radio

PROMOTING YOUR WAY TO MAKING $$

So you've got a band and you've got some songs.....and you've even got a demo.

Then what ?

The big Q for musicians is, how to promote their music.

Here's an idea worth considering, I kinda like it. See what you think

I came accross this article at 'Go Articles', which you can get to to if you click here

Promote Your Way to Making Music and Money

By Reese Thomas

You've spent years learning how to play, and although your
expectations do not include playing for 20,000 fans at the local
arena, it would be nice to have a gig somewhere other than your
back porch. The difference between sitting home and playing for
play is often how you promote your self and your act. You can
create an effective local promotional campaign that will enable
you to play and get paid. You do have to have a listenable act,
whether it's a single, duo or full band; you do have to play
music that people want to hear. Once you have this product,
however, you still have to promote it. Paying jobs do not just
happen; often it's left to you to make them happen.

You first need to create your promotional materials. A good
promo kit is crucial; this is often the first impression you
will make with the entertainment buyer. Many musicians believe
recording a demo CD is an essential first step, I disagree. I
have not used an audio demo to book a job in many years; my
promo kit consists of nice business cards, an attractive logo I
print on the header of all written correspondence, a portfolio
of references, quotes and pictures, a list of sample songs, and
my secret weapon. This item in my promotional toolbox is so
effective; I don't know why everybody isn't using it.

To duplicate my secret weapon, you need to create an full color
11"x17" poster. This can be done on your home computer with any
one of a number of graphics programs. You need to include simple
but attractive graphics, your act's name, a very brief
description of what you do, a photo of the act, and a white
rectangle about 4" x 8" located either near the center, or at
the top. If you do not have the expertise create this poster,
find a friend that does, check out your local high school's art
department or pay somebody in your local newspaper's advertising
department a few dollars to do it 'on the side.'. Have them save
it in PDF format on a CD. Take your CD to your local Officemax,
Staples or other office superstore. They can make a digital
11"x17" print very reasonably. Then you should have them make 5
full color copies from your 'master' and laminate them.

Now you have five very glossy, very professional and very
effective promotional tools. When you attempt to book a job,
take a dry erase marker and write in the empty white space
"appearing at Fred's Restaurant (or whatever business you are
trying to book) Saturday the 2nd" and explain that giving him
several of these to display is just one way you help him promote
his event. You can re-use these many times, and they always make
a huge impression. I've been told several times "I never thought
of having music at my event, but when I saw your poster with my
name on it, it just seemed like a wonderful idea."

Getting the word out and booking jobs is your final step. You
will probably want to play some free gigs in the beginning.
Offer your services for any social occasion you can think of,
your town's civic festivals, church bazaars or anyplace a crowd
forms. Bring a camera and have somebody take some pictures. One
local band in my home town stage rented a hall on a Monday
night, asked all of their friends to dress up and come to the
party and hired (for a nominal fee) a local newspaper
photographer to shoot for an hour and save every picture on a
CD. They ended up designing their poster as a collage; it was
one of the most attractive pieces of promotional materials I
have ever seen.

You might go to the local radio station that plays music similar
to what you do; tell the advertising director you would be
willing to play select radio remotes free for the publicity. You
might even wind up with a local radio personality saying nice
things about you that you can use in your promotional materials,
Try to write every complimentary quote down anybody of
prominence says about you; when they say it ask them "can I
quote you ?"

Once your act has a track record, you are set to book some
paying jobs. Find out what other acts are making in your area,
approach businesses, make your pitch, and don't get discouraged
at first. Do not make the mistake of pricing yourself too cheap,
not only will you earn the enmity of other performers in the
area, but the buyers will perceive you as cut rate as well. I
have a cardinal rule; I'll work for free for a worthy charity
event occasionally, but I'll never work cheap.

When you look for paying gigs, be creative, do not limit
yourself. I always use the term 'entertainment buyer,' rather
than 'club owner.' While bars are still one market for live
music, there are many other venues. I have made money performing
for malls, car dealerships, gated communities, weddings,
retirement parties, boat dealerships, fraternal organizations,
radio remotes, fairs, festivals, company parties, restaurants,
flea markets, bowling alleys, RV parks as well as bars and
lounges. You need to check your area out, not just for who has
live music, but who could use live music and might be willing to
pay for it.

A good approach in selling your act to businesses is always put
yourself in the buyer's position. What is it you can offer the
buyer? Keep in mind it is the buyer's needs, not yours that he
or she is concerned with. Statements like "I've always wanted to
play here" should be avoided. Try something like "We are an
exciting act that your clientele would really love and we have a
following." If it is a retail business's special event you are
trying to book, instead of stating "gee, I'd really like to play
for your grand opening, you might say, "I know you are spending
quite a bit advertising your grand opening, why don't you ad
something special so the people you attract really have a
memorable time?"

The sales pitch is definitely not a time for false modesty, you
should sound confident, but never promise something you can't
deliver. The most important thing about selling your act is, be
persistent. Selling yourself will be hard at first, but you'll
learn and it will get easier. You might be turned down the first
20 times, but soon, you'll be playing and getting paid.

About the author:
Reese Thomas is a 35 year veteran of the live music industry.
To check out Reese's site just click here

[Resource http://www.goarticles.com]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

THE SECRETS OF RADIO PROMOTION

Bryan Farrish writes some really good articles for the indie musician, he also runs a website dedicated to promoting indie artists and their music to radio which you can visit if you click here.

Here's one of the many articles he has written which I found at Bob Baker's site.

To take a look at Bob's site click here

How Radio Promotion

Really Works

by Bryan Farrish

One of the most misunderstood facts of marketing a record is that you must promote it to radio. Notice I did not say SEND it to radio, I said promote it. Sending your release to radio, and getting them to play it, are two separate things.The biggest misunderstanding of everyone releasing music is this: They think that you mail it to radio, and if everyone starts playing it, then it's a hit. And if they don't start playing it, then it's no good.

This is NOT how radio works. Eventhe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says on its website, "When you hear a song on the radio -- this didn't just happen! Labels make investments in artists by paying for both the production and the promotion of the album, and promotion is very expensive."

This misunderstanding stems from a few different sources: (1) Radio itself will tell you to "send it,and if it's good we'll play it"; (2) People see a song "start out" on one station, then "spread" to others, and assume it just "grew" because it was good. Then, when these people "send out" their own music to lots of stations, and it does not catch on, they assume it must have been bad. Not true.

There is a giant promotional vehicle in place behind every successful song. And this promotional vehicle is something you can have with your songs, too. Let's compare this whole situation to something which you can understand: soda pop.

Suppose you like to invent new drinks and you came up with a great soda pop that everyone liked. All your friends liked it better than Coke and all the other sodas. You did a blind test with people you did not even know, and they liked it better than Coke and the rest. So, you decide to market it.

You manufacture a thousand cases,with 24 bottles per case, and discover you can sell it to retailers for only $10 per case, undercutting the $12 they normally pay for Coke and the other brands. Thus, your product tastes better and costs less than every other soda available to all retailers.

So here is what is going to happen: The mom-and-pop stores in your city are going to call you and order several cases each. Next, stores like them in other states will do the same. Next, Ralph's, Delchamp's, Costco, Walmart and all the other large chains are going to call you and order several HUNDRED cases each (you see, it's "growing"). Next, all the Coke and Pepsi machine vendors are going to put your soda in all their machines (because your soda tastes best and cost less).

Next, airlines, stadiums and all the restaurant chains will place their orders. Eventually, the newspapers, TV, and yes, even radio are going to report on these events, because finally everyone is starting to realize that it is the QUALITY of the product (taste) that counts, and not the marketing. Now, if your product would have tasted BAD, it would not have spread like this. But since it tasted GOOD, even to people who didn't know you (and also, since it is priced right), it spread rapidly and became a hit.

Do you really think this is how the soda business works? After all, since your product is now available nationwide, and you have PROVEN that it tastes best, all those companies surely would not make the mistake of continuing to order Coke and all the other sodas, when everyone now agrees that your soda is best. They could not conceivably continue to offer the other sodas, which THEY now even agree tastes worse than yours.

Sorry, but this is NOT going to happen to you and your soda, NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT IS. Maybe you can now start to understand that radio is not going to play your music NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT IS unless you MARKET IT TO THEM, giving them business reasons why they should play it. And we are not talking about one or two small college stations, we are instead talking about hundreds of stations (the bigger the better) all over the country, playing the same music from the same artist (you) at the same time, thus CREATING THE HIT.

For a complete description of Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion airplay campaigns, including pricing, send an email to airplay@radio-media.com.

Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion
14230 Ventura Blvd., Suite A
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Phone: 818-905-8038
Fax: 818-905-9149

[Resource http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/zine/radiopromo.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, radio, promotion

SO YOU WANNA BE A ROCK STAR ?

Yes you can be whatever you desire to be

But.....

If you're serious about achieving rock an roll success you're gonna have to work at it. For the majority of musicians, success is no accident and most 'overnight' successes have taken years.

Here's an article to take into consideration if you're serious about success.

Click here to see here to view original article

How to be a Rock Star!

DIY (Do it Yourself) tips on the music business from "The DIY Diva", Carla Lynne Hall.

So you want to be a rock star? Or perhaps you want to sell 5,000 copies of your CD? Or maybe you just want to pack the house for your next gig. “How do I do that?” you ask. In this life, there are no guarantees, but one way to become closer to your goals is to study how other successful musicians and performers got where they are. I’m not just talking about “Behind the Music,” although those shows are an education of their own. I mean studying the techniques that others have used to become successful.

We live in a wonderful time where information is as close as our fingertips, thanks to the Internet. A visit to the Google search engine can lead you to new ideas to take you closer to your dreams of success. Reality shows such as “American Idol” and “Making the Band” give you a private (although biased) peek into the world of the platinum plated music industry. If you’ve decided that you want to reach the top, then you have to do your research before you get there.

In Anthony Robbins’ groundbreaking book, “Unlimited Power,” he writes, “Success leaves clues. It means that if I see anyone in this world producing a result I desire, I can produce the same results if I’m willing to pay the price of time and effort. If you want to achieve success, all you need to do is find a way to model those who have already succeeded.” This is a brilliant concept. Even if you tried, there is no way that you could really be a clone of anyone else. However, you can still learn skills from the best if you’re willing to put in the time. Be original, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Try these strategies on for size:

Honestly Assess. Ask yourself, and possibly a trusted friend, which areas are strongest and weakest for you. Do you need to work on stage patter? Could your songs be better? Do you feel that you don’t move enough on stage? Do you wish you were more business savvy? Which areas could use some help? To admit weakness is the first step to becoming stronger.

Check it Out. Immerse yourself in all forms of media to find heroes and muses who excel in those areas. Read books, surf the net, watch movies that inspire you. For an extra punch, find biographies of great people outside your industry. If you’re a producer, learning about great inventors and politicians, for example, can lead to new ideas.

Do Your Homework. When you find one or two muses to inspire you, pretend you are a reporter assigned to interview them for Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair. To prepare, you’d study their body of work, from the beginning to the present, and perhaps read biographies and interviews.When you learn as much as you can about them, you soon find that they were no more human than you are. They just kept going when times gotrough (and they always do!), putting one foot in front of the other. Let their stories inspire you but also let them teach you.

Visualize. Imagine, using all of your senses, what it must have been like for your muse to create that masterpiece. What did he do? How did she react? When you are ready, insert yourself as the hero in this daydream. What does it feel like when you are the one reaching that goal? Allow yourself to imagine many wonderful things happening to you.

Work It. Don’t be surprised when you start trying new habits in rea llife that improve your skills. Have you learned to kick around a mic stand from your rock idol? Are you trying a makeup tip that your muse tried? Are you sending thank you notes because your favorite band sends them? Good! These methods work for a reason, and there’s no law saying that you can’t add on techniques that work for others. Try them out,and take your music to the next level.

Carla Lynne Hall is a musician, music biz writer, and the author of The DIY Guide to the Music Biz eBook which is available at http://www.DIYGuide-MusicBiz.com. She is releasing Supernova, the third release on her Moxie Entertainment record label. Samples of Supernova can be heard on http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/carlahall3.

[Resource http://www.netterweb.com/search/fllartclvw.asp?ID=51709]

technorati tags:indie, independent, muso, musician, rock, star

HELLO TO ALL YOU INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS

I've started this blog with the intention of bringng you (the independent musician) great tips and news items on ways to help you acheive success as an independent (DIY) musician.

Or rather, I like the term self funded musician. (but anyway...that's not important right now.)

This is your career and nobody will care as much about it as you, your future is up to you, it's in your hands.

The internet is full of great tips and information however, unless you've got hours spare to search and read each day, it's almost a full time job just to keep yourself up to date.

So....to save your time, I will search for you and bring you all the latest great tips, tools and 'need to know stuff' so you can concentrate on making great music, increasing your profile and selling your music.

So stay tuned and I wish you excellent adventures on you way to becoming a successful independent musician.

M