RED HOT QUALITIES FOR SUCCESS

Formed in 1983 and still rated as one of the world's most sucessful bands, are the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

They must know something about what it takes to become such a successful band and in this revealing interview I came accross in the N.J - ParamusPost, Flea (bass player for RHCP) reveals the 3 qualities that make the difference between an average band and a top rate group, as well as why they are so important. Flea also talks about his own music style influences and early days of the RHCP.

Read the full article here.

[Resource http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/2006090121350185]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, red+hot+chili+peppers

GIGS 4 ALL

Increase your band's exposure. Gigs4All is a US 'musician connection website'.

[Resource http://www.gigs4all.com/bands-get-gigs.php]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

SCHOOL OF ROCK

A new 3 year bachelor degree in Australian Popular Music will be introduced in 2007 at Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE.

For more information, email lisamitch@ozemail.com.au

[Resource http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/campus-chatter/2006/08/18/1155408009863.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

ANOTHER WEBSITE TO PUT YOUR PROFILE UP AT

Looking for a website to upload your band's profile and songs?

Here's a new Australian site called OzSoundCheck and here's what they say:

...It is a stage for great artists to showcase themselves, be heard and hear what people think.

... allows artists to register, create a profile, upload their mp3 songs,list their gigs and upload their photos.

To sign your band up click here

[Resource http://www.ozsoundcheck.com.au/artist-register.aspx]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

IT'S ALL IN A NAME

Seems you can sell almost any music style as long you 'market' it properly. I came accross this interesting article about how classical music sells very little under the genre 'classical'. However, smart musicians and music companies are inventing new ways to sell it.

Read here, about this clever little marketing trick.

[Resource http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/entertainment/musictodaysgurmeetsingh/howtomakeclassicalmusiccoolfunky/18/23/article/236913]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

LOOKING FOR UNSIGNED MELBOURNE BANDS

Found this opportunity on Christie Eliezer's Business News section on TheMusic.com -

A competition for unsigned bands with prizes to be won and proceeds generously given to two worthwhile charites.

Not mention getting to perform in one of Melbourne's great live music venue.

Entries close October 2nd, click here to find out all the info.

You'll find it under the heading:

ATTENTION UNSIGNED ACTS

[Resource http://www.themusic.com.au/im_m/eliezer.php]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS

FREE music downloads starting December, 2006

Just in time for the Christmas season:

When the world's largest music company 'agrees' to FREE music downloads - one wonders's where the revenue is going to come from?

The 'majors' are experimenting with different ways of distributing digital music, in an effort to profit in an the area of selling downloadable music, which is still dominated by illegal file-sharing networks.

Read the article here to find out.

And on the same topic, here's an article from London's TheDailMail.

Again about Universal Music's joint venture with SpiralFrog, an online music store which will rely on advertising for its revenue.

Read the full article here

[Resource http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b194883e-36b2-11db-89d6-0000779e2340.html]

[Resource http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=402679&in_page_id=1770]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

ONLINE MUSIC SALES BOOM

Where there's 'bad' news there's good news! Many stories I'm coming across lately all tell a similar story:

Traditional retail sales of recorded music is down and online music sales is booming.

Now the history of 'selling' music only goes back a few decades and the one constant is the continuing evolution of the means of 'storing' music and the means of selling of music.

We've gone from selling sheet music (before Thomas Edison's invention) then to primitive recording mediums (at least by today's standards) to sophisticated recordings available in both a 'hard' version or digital version.

Now we could analyse statistics all day :-) however, apart from knowing and accepting that change is inevitble. Evolution happens! It's just life. As independent musicians we have worldwide market available to us, music has never in history been so easy to be a DIY musician. Write, produce, record and sell your own music creations.

This truly is amazing when you stop to think about it.

If you want to read one of the many articles on the state of retails Vs online music sales click here.

[Resource http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-08-24T103321Z_01_L24306742_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-LEISURE-MUSIC-ONLINE.XML]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

TOM WAITS TO JUDGE YOUR MUSIC

INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION

Brian Wilson, Tom Waits, Robert Smith, Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), and more are all judging the contest.

The competition welcomes original songs from musicians (amateur through professional) everywhere, judging them in one of 18 categories: Rock, Pop/Top 40, AAA (AdultAlbumAlternative), Americana, Jazz, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Latin,R&B/Hip-Hop,Country, World Music, Gospel/Christian, Instrumental, Dance/Electronica, Blues, Children's Music, Lyrics Only, Teen, and Performance. Entrants can submit as many tracks as they care to in one or more genres.

[Resource http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/2006/8/23/Brian_Wilson_Tom_Waits_Judge_Your_Music]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

THE ROOT CAUSE OF MUSIC SUCCESS

REVEALED: The Root Cause for Music Success - And How To Rapidly Achieve It Is To Build A Success Mindset!

Are you sick and tired of..

• Not being able to promote your music to a wider crowd?

• Not being able to grow a large fans base?

• Not being able to get enough gigs to large enough crowds that can produce media attention?

• Not getting your band into the spotlight?

• Not sure how to get signed?

• Not enough money to help you through...

Would you like to learn the secrets that can make a musician successful?

My friend, Kavit Haria is a world-renowned Musicians Coach supporting talented artists worldwide through personal coaching and seminars to work to achieve their great potential. He has performed with and interviewed many great musicians and music industry professionals in the world and has summarised all the tools for music success in FIVE SIMPLE PRINCIPLES and shares this through his ebook "The Five Principles of Music Success" and his national seminars.

If you're ready to get serious about your music career, click here to find out more about the book:

[Resource http://www.innerrhythm.org/ebook/]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

DO YOU MOOG?

Synth pioneer Robert Moog's daughter Michelle, has set up a foundation called The Bob Moog Foundation for Electronic Music.

Amoungst scholorships, event sponsorship and an outreach program for disadvantaged children, the foundation has introduced a podcast called Moog Foundation Podcast.

The idea is to feature artists performing Moog-based music and they are looking for submissions for future podcasts.

Read here to find out how you can submit your music.

[Resource http://www.synthtopia.com/news/06_08/Bob_Moog_Podcast.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

NEW TACTICS FOR NEW MUSIC

Read here of the successful tactics used by indie musician Justin Hunter from Katoomba NSW.

"I've had some serious knock backs. . .

At 17, he finished all of his grades, and began to perform at local cafes.

After getting $70 tips a night, it became apparent his tunes were striking a chord with listeners.

A friend suggested Justin put his music onto cd. With a ‘what have Igot to lose' mentality, he produced 200 copies. They sold in four days.

If you haven't guessed already, Justin is an upbeat, unflinching optimist. His musical career is built upon his demeanour, and it's finally starting to pay off.

[Resource http://bluemountains.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=features&story_id=502934&category=News%20Features&m=8&y=2006]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

NEW MUSIC MARKETING STRATEGIES

This article tells how Cory Brown, the owner of a California based record label sells the music of his stable of 20 bands.

Cory tells about the fundamental changes that have occurred in he the last 2 years in marketing of music and how he has shifted from a 'traditional' marketing strategy to online and digital marketing.

"What once was a waiting game -- bands hoping to catch the attention of high-powered record executives -- has become an exercise in vigilance, with bands seeking out new ways to reach an audience and make their own luck."

Read the full article here

[Resource http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/11554445104100.xml&coll=1]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

LAUNCH YOUR INDIE MUSIC CAREER ON THE INTERNET

Here's how one US based indie musician launched a music career using iTunes and MySpace.

"She has no financial backing or marketing plan, but with the help ofnew technology, the 25-year-old who performs as Jaymay has quickly graduated from Manhattan open-mic nights to become a folk music darling."

"I've been offered conventional contracts from major record labels and very indie-friendly, unconventional contracts," Seerman said during abreak from recording. "They have offered me everything I could want."

Keep reading here to find out how Jamie "Jaymay" Kristine Seerman has managed to get more than 75,000 people to listen to her songs, sales of more than 1,300 EPs and 2,500 songs sold on iTunes.

[Resource http://news.com.com/Using+iTunes,+MySpace+to+launch+a+music+career/2100-1027_3-6103185.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

10 STEPS TO BECOMING A POWERFUL STREET PERFORMER

Kristen Anderberg has been performing as a successful busker for almost 30 years and shares in this articles some tips and things she's learned along the way.

Some (if not all) of these principles could be applied to 'stage' performing as well.

"In my fantasy world of women’s equality and a high artistic bar for street performance, I would probably recommend the following steps for a woman street performer, if my opinion was asked: 1) Memorize your music/act, 2) Stand up!, 3) Learn how to be loud, 4) Don't be a Linda McCartney, 5) Don't resort to cheesey signs, 6) Grow emotional armor,7) Excel at something, 8) Learn to perform clothed first, 9) Do not let men choose or arrange your material, 10) Lead, don't follow; Create, don't imitate!"

Read the full article here

[Resource http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/15/18297687.php]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

DUET WITH MYSPACE

"Social-networking site MySpace's growing role as a powerful force inthe music business is sparking followers, which are offering broader features for bands and music fans in hopes of attracting the giant's audience.

On Monday, relative newcomer TagWorld launched its own music ambitions with the support of a core group of popular indie rock groups, including The Shins and Death Cab For Cutie. Like MySpace, it's offering a home for bands to post songs and connect directly to fans, but TagWorld is hoping that its design attracts viewers more specifically interested in exploring and listening to music."

Finish reading article here

[Resource http://news.com.com/Rivals+try+to+sing+along+with+MySpace/2100-1027_3-5991785.html?tag=nl]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

GOOGLE MUSIC TRENDS

From the Google Labs project, Google has launched 'Google Music Trends'.

Now you can check out the musical tastes of a broad community of Google Talk listeners.

This new Google tool could prove itself to be a valuable tool in marketing for indie musicians.

"Learn how to opt in to Music Trends to contribute your vote, or download Google Talk now to get started. You don't need to be a Google Talk user to simply view the Music Trends page and learn more about the music that people are listening to…"

[Resource http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/index.php?p=345]

technorati tags:indie, indpendent, musician

I LIKE MUSIC

The latest news from UK website ILikeMusic is the announcement of a partership with Ministry OfSound.

"Determinedly independent, www.ilikemusic.com proves that a small team of genuine music enthusiasts can more than hold their own against music sites that have a lot of cash, but little soul. As such, I Like Music is testament to the opportunity for organic growth that the Internet provides, and the importance of fresh content and good visitor figures. Five years after taking the site to the public by launching at Music Live, the small but talented team have a great understanding of good quality music and very well established industry contacts."

"The partnership sees Ministry of Sound take on digital media representation for I Like Music, introducing the independent site to the commercial world for the first time."

Read all about it here

[Resource http://www.ilikemusic.com/music_news/I_Like_Music_Partnership_With_Ministry_of_Sound-2808]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

INDEPENDENT - THE WAIFS WAY

It's always great to read about the success of independent artists and amoungst their stories are 'clues' to their success.

This comes from a recent interview in the San Francisco Chronicle with Australian band The Waifs

"...We made a cassette of six tunes to get gigs and sold 1,800 copies, which funded our first album. We started our own indie label and sold almost 30,000 records out of the back of our van. We'd pop into local record stores and leave them albums. Donna developed a distribution network and started dealing directly with big chain stores, which was unheard of. I did the publicity and Josh did the booking. When our first album jumped onto the charts, it took everyone by surprise. We were already one of the biggest touring acts, but nobody in the music business had heard of us. We'd been working underground, outside the normal music industry channels."

Read complete article here

[Resource http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/20/PKG4OK4J981.DTL&type=music]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

EXCLUDE SOME PEOPLE

Here's some good advice from those indie CD sales experts CDBaby!

This may seem like a strange thing to say but it does make a lot of sense.

Read all these tips here.

"Proudly say what you're NOT"

"You can't please everyone in this world. Recklessly exclude people."

"Loudly leave out 99% of the world."

[Resource http://cdbaby.net/proudly-exclude-most]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician