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If you’re just tuning in now, you may want to check out

Marketing, Part 1.0 (Take Two) for an outline of a band marketing plan and

Marketing Plan Break-Down: Part 1, Section 1. Why/How/What Are You? for a more detailed description of what belongs in your band summary and positioning statement.

Continuing on our dandy way toward marketing plan perfection, the next piece of the puzzle to ease into place is the dreaded market analysis. To you, this means, in a nutshell, “what the hell is going on?”

Put your band, your music, and everything associated with those two things into hypothetical file. Given everything you know about what’s in that file, in which filing cabinet does it belong? Do some research about the genres of music that resemble your sound. How are artists in these genres doing in the music market? Where are they located? How do they make their money (merchandise, live shows, online sales, etc)?

How’s the music industry doing as a whole? You may want to include some market trends. Those are kewl.

Next, Look around. I filled out this section on a lark. Check it out!

How successful is the music scene in your town? How many venues are there? Do they range in size? What’s the turn-out look like for a Monday vs. a Friday at these venues?

My town, Gainesville, has a well-known and thriving music scene. We have lots of venues of varying size and pretentiousness, ranging from a Performing Arts Center and the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to the Laboratory and Maude’s Coffee Shoppe. In Gainesville, you can play music just about anywhere.  

Does your town support its music scene? Are there any famous bands from your town? If so, what are they like? If not, how about the surround area?

Gainesville, has a very well-supported music scene. Santa-Fe College and the University of Florida provide an endless stream of new fans for Gainesville’s awesome downtown nightlife, and there are plenty of townies who are crazy about music to keep venues busy over the summer. The city commission is not all that into the music scene specifically, but as we are a very artsy town on the whole, the city tends to support the music scene by default in its ceaseless crusade to maintain our quaint-ish artisan culture. Gainesville has given birth to many well-known acts. Most notably, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, CYNE, Against Me!, Hot Water Music, Less Than Jake, Sister Hazel, the Know How, Morningbell, and John Vanderslice. We have several major festivals, namely The Fest, Skalloween, and the Harvest of Hope Festival. Gainesville was also named "Best Place to Start a Band in the United States" by Blender Magazine in March 2008.

What do people listen to genre-wise in your town? (You may want to break your town up into sections.) Gainesville, for instance, is split neatly into NW, SW, NE, and SE, but there are major landmarks like Downtown, Midtown, Haile Plantaton, and Archer Road that may have unique genre awareness. The major genres in Gainesville overall have been and continue to a certain degree to be ska, reggae, punk, and good ole rock-n-roll, although hip-hop, alternative rock, metal, and folk rock are peaking the interest of an ever-increasing number of show-goers. Downtown is a melting pot of genres, and Midtown tends more toward rock. Haile Plantation hears a lot of rock, and low-key background music. Archer Road is another rock hub for bands that want to get booked at coffee shops and restaurants.

What are some attributes of the local music in your town? What kinds of bands tour through your town? What are some good and bad things about the music scene in your town for local artists? Which local bands sound like your band? What is their turn-out like? How are you similar to them? Where do you differ?

Talk about what mediums other bands, locally and one a broader scale, are using to reach their fans, the media, and other music businesses, as well. What web sites are particularly useful for bands? What magazines and blogs really cater to musicians in your genre?

You can, once again, start by looking at the industry as a whole then narrowing your focus down until you get to your local scene, or you can start by examining your local music scene and zooming out to the entirety of the music industry. Be sure, however, that you give as much information as you can. The point of this section is to educate yourself about your business and start to do some figuring about where you fit into that business.

I have attached some super nifty graphs for your viewing pleasure. Marketing plans and business plans love graphs and tables, I have found. You’ve always got to include at least one, otherwise it just doesn’t look right.

If you need help, let me know.  

See the full gallery on Posterous

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After reading over my post Marketing, Part 1.0 (Take Two), which was a suggested layout of a marketing plan for bands (and labels, too, of course), I have decided that I am going to outline pretty specifically each part of a marketing plan.

Part 1, Section 1 is about the band summary and positioning statement. I left the band summary out of Marketing, Part 1.0 (Take Two), but it really is important.

Defining yourself as an artist is the first step to figuring out the whole process of marketing. Who are you? What do you have to offer? How are you unique? You can start by writing down a bunch of words or phrases that you think describe your band and your music.

Then, write a band summary that includes the words and phrases from your brainstorming session telling your audience why you do what you do, how you do it, and who you are. This can be about two paragraphs. Keep it concise. The point is to engage people. You’re writing a course description, not teaching the class, if you follow me.

Then, write a positioning statement, which to you should be a synopsis of your band summary of around 30 words. Make sure you get you why, how, and what in there. By the way, this is hard to do. Let me show you some examples of positioning statements using different approaches to the same information.  

What: a band called Red Paper Birds
How: Swing and ska genres
Why: to dance

Example of what, how, then why: “Red Paper Birds is a rock band blurring the line between swing and ska to make you dance.”
Example of why, how, then what: “Wanna dance? Swing and ska get all dizzied up when the Red Paper Birds get their rock on.”
Example of how, why, then what: “If swing and ska get your feet tapping, get yourself to a Red Paper Birds show.”

So, there are lots of ways to do this, obviously. You can also start with your positioning statement and write your band summary from there. Whichever works. But that’s the first part of your marketing plan, and in business terms the band summary is your executive summary and your positioning statement is… well, it’s still called a positioning statement.

Next up is the market situation analysis. Be ready!

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I found this online, and it is awesome.

Thought I'd share!

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Ok, so maybe you've noticed that the post before this one and this post used to be one post. Now they're two. I realized that there were two subjects in the old entry, and that that was unecessary and confusing. So, here we are.

Anyway, I've been learning a lot about music marketing.

During CBR’s restructuring (I talk about it in the previous post), we began developing a new marketing strategy that, I think, could be useful for our artists as well.

I think that artists would agree that there is a struggle for new business, whether it is finding new venues, fans, or media. I feel your pain. Because we're in the process of developing a new marketing strategy, we decided to work on ours while we helped out our artists. We changed up our contracts and made up our minds to ask our potential music clients to work with us on a pretty detailed marketing plan before we signed anything with them.

Surprisingly, the new requirement to have a marketing plan in place before asking our company to invest in a new artist’s music has gone over pretty well. Most artists we’ve worked with thus far with this new strategy have been pleased as punch to put together a plan for their band to succeed. I thought the extra paperwork might turn some people off, but it turns out that people want to do the work; they just need a little nudge in the right direction. After all, it is difficult to, with little or no experience, develop an outline for then fill in the details of a marketing plan.

Luckily, actually coming up with new, fresh ideas for marketing your music is not as hard as you may think. First of all, the marketing techniques you use do not have to be totally original, just so long as they meet your standards as a creative person.

Look at your everyday habits. What do you do all day? What about your music is special and interesting? Do your habits and those special, unique aspects of your music touch at any point? Do you know anyone who works at a business that would advertise for you or otherwise support your music? What sites interest you online, and how can you get on them? Where do you hang out? Can you promote your band or advertise your music there?

Beyond all of these questions, which may or may not be helping you, there is a need to figure out some basic stuff about your scene, your music, your customer, your strategies, and your money before you really proceed seriously in the music industry. It is nearly impossible to be successful, whether it is in music or any other business, without some kind of plan. How are you going to fund yourself? What are your goals? Why are you here? And, most importantly, why should anyone care?

Well, you need, at the very least, a marketing plan.

The components of a CBR Marketing Plan are this:

• Market situation, including a customer profile (your fans, venues, and media) and descriptions of changes affecting your customers (fans, venues, media), competitors (fellow bands), and business climate (super-simplified example: the music industry is crumbling, but local business for indie rock is booming).
  • A Customer Profile should include:
    • Geographic data
    •  Demographic data
    • Psychographic data
• Decide what your goals as a band in the business world are, then expand, slice, and dice your business goals into marketing goals, then further divvy up your marketing goals into smaller, easily-achievable objectives. Thinking of your business goals as top-tier, and your marketing objectives as culminating in marketing goals that facilitate your business goals will help. Well, I don’t know, did that help?
• Create your band’s positioning statement and brand: 
  • Your position is your niche that your band and only your band fills in your customer’s minds. To gain a market position, you first define how your band and its products (i.e. merchandise, live shows, music) and services are unique, and then you use marketing communications to convey that your band provides a unique solution in your market area. Remember, in the words of Simon Sinek, "people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it"!
  • Write a positioning statement:
    • Positioning Statement = Your band or product name + what makes your band or product unique and different + your market description
      • (ex. iPod / is the digital music player / for people who want 5,000 songs at their fingertips everywhere they go.)
    • OR
    • Positioning Statement, Simon Sinek-Style = Why buy it (whatever “it” is) + how it benefits the consumer + what it is
      • (ex. If your life needs a soundtrack, / then you need a digital music player that holds a song for every moment. / Trust iPod.)
  • Your brand is a set of beliefs that customers associate with your name. You build a brand by projecting a consistent look, tone, quality, and message every time you communicate with your customers (fans, media, venues). What are your colors, fonts, buzz words, images, logos, or other visual and buzz cues for your customers to associate with your brand?
• Develop marketing strategies for your band. There are four major elements of marketing strategies used every day in the business world: product, place (distribution), pricing, and promotions. Every marketing action falls under one of the four P’s. Clever, eh?
• Decide on a marketing budget. How much money have you got to spend? Cool. Now divide it into portions. What do you absolutely have to spend money on to promote yourself as a band? What do you want to spend money on? What can wait? This should be decently self-explanatory. If not, let me know, and I’ll try to help you out.
• Now, go do it! You spent all this time on a plan, and I spent all this time writing out an outline! Go put your hard work into action!
• Also, pay attention to what works and what doesn’t with your current plan. Make changes over time, and work on a long-range plan. Make goals for the future, and create objectives to achieve those goals.

That seems very long and drawn-out, I know. I’d be surprised if you got through the first half of it. But seriously, a marketing plan is going to change your life. I promise. CBR’s Marketing Plan is making our lives easier.

I’m not saying that it won’t be hard work, but nothing great ever came easily.  

Also, I thought it would be helpful to give you guys the Artist Assessment Form for your personal use. Let me know if you think of anything to add, or a question that is redundant!

Artist_Assessment_Form.pdf Download this file

PS. I want to say thank you to Bob Baker, Dr. Steve Peterson, Peter E. Jaret, and Barbara Findlay Schenck for all the guidance their books have provided as I trip blindly along this road to success.

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I think it worked out very well. However, it did make for some very interesting new changes in Cardboard Box Records’ structure. For instance, we have a brand new process for signing artists. Here’s how we do it now:

• A Talent Scout goes out on the town looking for some cool music. If he finds a band that catches his ear, he will approach them and ask for more information about them. Hopefully, they’ll be pleasant people and he’ll strike up a dialogue, during which he can determine their level of commitment to their music and their needs as a band.The Talent Scout will enter the new band’s contact information and other demographic-type data into the CBR Artist Database, and he will follow up the initial meeting with a courtesy email or call. It’s now up to the band and their manager. If the band expresses an interest in signing with us to the Talent Scout or anyone else, it is that CBR employee’s responsibility to hand over the request to the Music Mentor, who
  
  • Emails the band manager an Artist Assessment Form for the band to look over individually and start filling in,
  • Sets up a meeting with the band and their manager just to talk,
  • And begins researching the band by attending live shows, listening to any recorded music, and perusing any online presence the band may have.
• Is the band ready to move forward to the next step with CBR? That’s the Music Mentor’s call, although it can be overridden by the CBR Manager if deemed necessary. If it is decided that the band is not ready, then the Music Mentor will keep tabs on the band and keep in touch with the band manager. The Music Mentor may also offer to assist the band in moving toward working with CBR in the future.
• If the band is ready to move forward, then the Music Mentor, Band Manager, and the Band meet to talk over the Artist Assessment Form, which each member of the band has completed separately. This is where the Music Mentor will get a better idea of the band’s overall goals and needs.
• The Music Mentor then schedules a meeting with the Head of Marketing, and they outline a tentative Marketing Plan together to present to the band manager. They apply the band’s responses to the Artist Assessment Form to the Marketing Plan to help fill in some holes.
• The Music Mentor schedules a meeting with the Head of Marketing and the band manager to talk about the plan. They flesh it out together, then the Music Mentor schedules a final meeting with the band manager, the band, and the Head of Marketing, wherein the Marketing Plan is discussed and finalized.
• Is the Marketing Plan a good one? If not, then it’s back to the drawing board as the Music Mentor, the Head of Marketing, band manager, and the band meet again to discuss changes that need to be made in order to move forward.
• If the Marketing Plan is good, then is the Plan a good investment for CBR? If not, then the Head of Marketing, CBR Manager, and Vice President of Theironics, LLC (who writes the contracts) may meet with the Music Mentor to discuss options for viability. They will then meet again with the band manager to propose the necessary changes. 
• If the changes go through and the Plan is a good fit for both parties, then the Artist Packet (including the Release Form, Band Agreement, Manager Agreement, Conflict of Interest and Non-Disclosure Agreement, and Statement of Intent) is handed to the band manager, who will discuss it with his band.
• Are there changes that need to be made? Of course there are! The Vice President will meet with the band manager, the CBR Manager, and the Music Mentor to discuss the changes.
• Once everyone can agree, then the band is brought into a meeting with the Vice President, the Music Mentor, the CBR Manager, and the band manager to sign the Artist Packet.
• From the time the ink on the Statement of Intent is dry, the band and CBR have two months to audition for each other. During those two months, there is a lot of back and forth, and the Marketing Plan is implemented then updated with any changes that need to be made along the way.
• The hope is that at the end of two months, the band and CBR will be ready to sign a Formal Contract for a greater length of time, formalizing their agreements and forming a strong relationship which will build up both the band and CBR.

I think it is important to keep our procedures public, which is why I just put you through all that. It’s part of our company’s strategy to move toward open-source management. If our strategy works – and I will keep you informed on that front – then it is free and available to you so that you don’t have to go through the same crap we had to endure to get it right. And if our procedures still need some work, then you’ll have seen the iterations as they present themselves.

I think that, should you decide to use our strategy, you’ll probably start out with it, hate it, trash it, completely revise it, and use your new system instead. Which is absolutely great, and I hope you put your system online so that others may learn from it. Seeing the triumphs and mistakes of those who came before you is an extremely powerful thing.

Just as an aside – full disclosure, you know? – I watched a TED Talk about this open-source idea by Johanna Blakley, the Deputy Director of the Norman Lear Center. If you watch the video, be sure to really examine the graph called Gross Sales of Goods near the end of the talk. Look at the industries that are very open-source (low copyrighting, low secrecy), such as food, automobile, and fashion versus the industries that are not very open-source (high copyrighting, lots of secrecy), like films, books, and music. It makes you think.

Anyway, immediately following this post is one about how to start a marketing plan for your band or music business, though it’s written for bands. I hope that you find it useful. I figured since I wrote a lot about marketing and signing contracts and such in this post I should give you some tools that we have developed or found helpful.

If you find any sites that are doing something similar to this, i.e. posting their procedures and documents online, please comment here so that others may take advantage of those strategies as well.

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Since posting "Jumping the Shark", I've had a lot of time to ponder the death of the CD and the effects of music piracy on the music indsutry. Having done that pondering, I would like share my findings with you before moving on to Barely-Educated Theory #2.

Alright, so let's continue on with the tragic decline of the CD, shall we?

Some thoughts from Donald S. Passman, arthur of All You Need to Know About the Music Business:

A Word About Retailers

At the time of this writing, record retailers are going through what I would lovingly call "death throes." The pure record store is almost extinct (Virgin being the last of the biggies to die), because there's not enough CD business left to support them. A few independent stores are healthy, but even they have to sell DVD's, posters, and other stuff to stay afloat. And as the CD's heartbeat slows down, it's hard to see how anyone (other than specialty shops, like the ones today that sell vinyl) can survive in the long run.

Today, most of the records in the U.S. are sold by big-box retailers (so named because their stores are in the shape of gigantic boxes). Specifically, Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy bundle the biggest chunk of the business. However, as CD sales continue to shrink, the big boxes keep cutting back the number of CDs they're willing to carry in their stores - in fact, as I write this, most of them only carry the top-selling titles. In addition, these stores are cutting back the amount of floor space they're willing to devote to CDs. That's because they want to get the most revenue from their real estate, and if selling vacuum cleaners is more profitable than selling CDs, the dirt-suckers win. All this, of course, becomes a vicious cycle: If the stores carry less product, CD sales drop even more, because there's less available to buy. Which means the big-boxes cut more floor space, which means even fewer sales.

Seems to me as though Big Music is perpetuating its own demise as regards CD sales. Concrete copies of artists’ music have always been staples of the music industry and money-makers for music businesses and the performers they represent. Unfortunately for Big Music, the light is waning from hard copies of music and waxing on the digital download, especially music piracy. If you have done any research at all on the music industry or illegal music downloading, then you have probably seen this graph (you're going to need to open this link to understand the rest of the blog).

Just to clear things up, BPI is the British Phonographic Industry, and PRS stands for Performing Right Society. Actually, let’s stop and do some defining here:

The British Phonographic Industry is a record industry trade group, or a grouping of businesses with the shared goal of standardizing within their common industry. There are hundreds of music businesses involved with BPI, including the Big Four record companies, indie music companies, distributors, manufacturers, and a great many small record labels. Their main goal is streamlining the fight against copyright infringement*. They’re winning. Remember, though, that they are based in the UK, and that the laws they help pass against copyright infringement are not universal. Rather they are precedents for other music industry trade groups and policy makers to point at while they whine about how people are stealing their music and making money on it.

PRS for Music is a royalty collection agency in the UK. Originally they were The MCPS-PRS Alliance, or a combo act between two royalty collection societies, the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and Performing Right Society (PRS). What the crap is all this? Well, essentially they help artists get music licenses, and they represent thousands of British publishers, songwriters and composers. They keep track of their clients’ music and make sure they and their clients are compensated whenever their clients’ music is used in nearly any way. PRS for Music chose to explain their business on their About Us page in video format, and I seriously recommend you go watch it. Hint: it involves women under salon-style hard hat dryers and an artsy Rube Golderg-esque machine displaying the industry process of royalty collection. 

So, now that we know what PRS for Music is, we can understand that PRS revenue (the first color they give us to go look for on the graph) is the total amount of money PRS for Music is bringing in every year in royalty collection. Royalty collection is on the rise apparently, as of 2008. This is pretty good for artists. They’re making more money on their music as it’s used for movies, commercials, etc.    

Next is “Live revenue (to promoters)”. A promoter, according to Encarta Dictionary, is “a person or organization that stages an entertainment or an athletic or other public event.” Promoters are advocates, arrangers, and acquirers. They support a band as they endeavor to perform live shows, book the show, and find people to go to the show. Promoters are always talking about “tickets” they’ve sold for a show, where tickets equal the number of people entering a venue for a show. If live revenue is slowly rising, as we can see from the graph, then tickets are certainly being sold. The money from these tickets that is finding its way to promoters from live performances can be gotten by more turn-out to shows or the same turn-out and higher-priced tickets. It is more likely the former than the latter, since people are cheap, even in the UK.

Promoters making more money can only be good for artists, as we see in color #3 with “Live revenue (to artist).” It spikes. This is a happy occurrence, made even better by the fact that it supports the Barely-Educated Theory I haven’t told you about yet: artists are going to see the real money come from touring and selling merchandise, and not much from their music sales.

“Recorded revenue (to artists)” is slowly sinking, which is fair considering music piracy, but take a look at “Recorded revenue (to labels)”. Holy nose-dive, Batman! This is the largest change in the graph, and it shows us that the future of music is going to put money in the artists’ hands, and that making money in Big Music is going to be very, very hard.

Why should we care about the implications of this graph? If Big Music doesn’t do well, we’re going to have issues. Big Music isn’t going to stand placidly in the cement while music piracy fits it with some size-11 Mafia shoes. It’s going to thrash around, causing upsets all over the place, until it finally plummets to the bottom of the economy’s harbor.

The industry is changing, stealing music is changing it, and there’s precious little anyone can do about it. Yes, it’s good for artists because the focus in the industry is coming back to them, but music sales are way down in general, and that could be a serious problem for when everyone’s gone to your show and bought all five of your shirts. The answer is to create value music again. Collectors see the value, but your average high school emo kid just wants their Cradle of Filth and Dashboard Confessional, and they don’t have any money to buy it, so they’ll steal it. How do we get that generation to care? That’s the real question here.

______________________________________________________________________________

*Copyright Infringement: engaging in one of the practices that are exclusively reserved for a copyright owner, without a license to do so. Thank you Arnold B. Silverman for that very vague definition.

 Basically, if you cover a song or sample a track, among a great many other things that can be copyrighted in the music industry, without giving credit where credit is due and money where money is due in many cases, and without getting the express permission to use an artist’s work via a license of some kind, you are violating someone’s copyright and breaking the law. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is.

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There have got to be a thousand ways to coordinate a killer show, this is just our formula at CBR.

Did I forget anything?

Step 1: Get a Line-Up 

Find at least three bands/performers willing and able to do the show. Make absolutely SURE that they can do the show before proceeding. Get their contact info, including phone numbers, Facebooks, and emails (i.e. anything you can use to find them in case they are late and making you nervous, or if there are changes in the schedule). Make sure they can get in touch with you by any means necessary as well in case there’s news on their end.

Decide on the door price and any age restrictions.

Work out with the venue any drink specials or special concessions for the night.

Decide when the door opens and how long the show will be.

Decide how the money earned at the show is going to be divided. If possible, put it in writing. People act funny once there’s money involved.

Is your show themed? If so, talk to some people who are not you about the theme you have in mind and get their feedback.

Step 2: Make a Poster

                Pick a theme for the poster. The theme doesn’t have to have anything to do with the show itself. It could be circus-themed, or have an old, beat-up feel to it. Or the night could be themed and the poster themed to match. Try to be original. Go online and research some pictures, text, and other media that may strike your fancy. Send these ideas to the person making the poster and tell them the info you need on the poster.

                                Basic Info:

                                                Who’s playing?

                                                Age (18+, 21+, All Ages)

                                                Cover ($3-7 is normal)

                                                Drink specials?

Will there be food/free stuff?

                                                Doors open at…? (Often somewhere between 8pm and 10pm)

Step 3: Spreading the Word

                Make a Myspace and Facebook event for the show. Invite everyone you know, and remind them to invite their friends too. Add as much content as possible to the page. Links, pictures, videos, and comments on the wall are extremely important. Post the flyer you made as the profile picture. Be attentive to what is being posted, but try to not saturate your name on the page. If a hater posts, get rid of it. Period.

                Get at least 100 copies of your flyer printed.

If necessary (dependant on size of show and venue), get club flyers made. This will entail the person who designed your flyer designing a smaller two-sided flyer in the same style.

If necessary (dependant on size of show and venue), get posters made. The posters will likely be the same image as the flyers, only bigger.

If necessary (dependant on size of show and venue), contact the media. Try to get performers on to interviews before the show, and try to get the media to come out to your show to promote it.

Try and find new ways of getting the message out. Street performances and serenades, flyers given out with pizzas (5 Star and Dominos do this), and hundreds of other ways of getting the word out can and should be utilized.

Get a street team together to help you with promotions and paper-bombing the town. Having more people involved means more creativity. Just make sure they’re people you trust to get the job done right.

Make a plan for how to attack flyering the town. Having a plan will make things much, much easier.

Be sure the performers are promoting their own show. Field any angst from a performer about the terms of the show in private, and, at all costs, prevent a performer from sabotaging a show in order to get their way.

Step 4: Check on Merch

                Should there be merch for this show? If so, why haven’t you ordered it yet?

                Find someone to work the merch table for the show.

Step 5: Stuff to Do in Preparation for the Show Itself

                Make a line-up for the show. Who’s playing first? Second? Third? How long is their set? Find out if they have any guests coming on stage to play a song or two with them, and if they are doing any covers.

                Check with the Venue to see if they have a license for performers at their club/bar/restaurant/field/whatever else to play covers and use samples. If they do, great! If they don’t, request that bands not play covers unless they have clearance (permission of the label and publisher of the original song).

                If there will be food/free stuff, make sure you order it.

                If there are drink specials, make sure you double and triple check on the deal with the Venue.

                Do the performers have a special bar tab? Yes? Find out exactly how much that is and tell the performers. No? Find out exactly why and tell the performers.

                Make sure the Venue has the appropriate sound equipment for your show and coordinate the equipment between the bands/performers that will be in the concert.

                                Do you have…

                                                … A PA System?

                                                …Enough microphones and cords?

                                                …Enough equipment cords?

                                                …Enough music to cover the full amount of time you set aside for your show?

                                                …Something/Some way to play music in between sets?

                Ask the artists if they have all the equipment they’ll need for the show, and if there’s anything special they’ll need that they don’t have.

Step 6: Important People

                Door person. Get one. They are your cashier and bouncer. In fact, get two.

                Do you need more than one bouncer? Just asking.

                Merch person. They’ll be sitting with the merch all night and talking to fans, so make sure they’re trustworthy and cool peoples.

                Photographer. Without the photographer, no one will be able to relive fond memories, or kick themselves after missing the show and seeing how much fun everyone who went had.

                Videographer. Not required, but if the show is going to be special in any way, the performers may want a video of it for their press kit or website. Or just because it was awesome.

                A Smart, Non-Drunk Person. For the duration of the night, an intelligent, problem-solving person who can walk in a straight line, count, and deal with any issues that arise is a must. This person needs to be there from well before the show to well after it, making sure that everything is as it should be for the Venue and the artists involved. Level-headedness in the face of loud, artistic chaos is key. This person could even be you!

                Bartender. Always, always be nice to the bartender.

                Sound Guy. Hey, the sound guy may not be with you, but having him makes or breaks your show.

Step 7: At the Venue

                Make absolutely sure your bands arrive on time with all their stuff. The “stuff” part is very important, and, having discussed what they needed before the show, you should be holding up your “stuff” end of the deal, too.

                Have a sound check.

                Double-check that the information that you got on the special bar tab for the performers is right.

                Make sure that the door and merch person are manning their stations and not making out in the back room. Unless you are the door or merch person, a secret rendezvous mid-show does you zero good. And even then, you made a commitment!

                If you are drinking, make sure the smart, non-drunk person is around you at all times. Don’t piss this person off.

                Be sure to remind the artists to give proper thanks to the Venue, the bartender, the other performers, and anyone else special and present at the show (into the microphone).

                Try not to let your performers get drunk before or during their set. While funny, this can yield disastrous results.

                If a performer is under 21 years of age, try really hard to keep them from drinking.

                Uphold the terms of the show at all costs. Also, try not to break the law.

Step 8: After the Show

                If you are not the cashier, double-check their numbers. Count the door money, then have the smart, non-drunk person count it too (if you are that person, count it twice). Divide the door according to the terms you made with the performers in Step 1. Remember, there’s no crying in baseball. If people don’t like their share, remind them of the agreement they made at the very beginning.

                Make sure the performers pay their tabs, if applicable, before they leave.

                Look around you. Do you see equipment? Find who it belongs to and be sure they take it with them. If they have, unfortunately, already left, pack it away with your equipment and call them immediately to let them know you have it and make a time for them to retrieve it.

                Don’t forget your equipment.

                Check on the Venue before you leave. How did they do at the bar that night? What did they think of your performers?

If you want, tip your bartender/s. Remember what was said about bartenders in Step 6.

                Talk to the merch person and, if necessary, check inventory and collect money.

                Make sure everyone is paid before you leave.

                                Did you pay the…

                                                …Sound guy?

                                                …Merch person?

                                                …Door guy?

                                                …Performers?

                                                …Venue?

                                                …Photographer?

                                                …Videographer?

                                                …Bouncer/s?

                                                …You?

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I have a few barely-educated theories I would like to share with the class over the next few blog posts. I realize that I could be completely wrong, but based on the research I've done, the music industry is barreling steadily in the direction I am about to outline for you. Hopefully you will find these theories helpful. Hopefully you will go out and find your own theories.

Barely-Educated Theory #1:

I think that CDs are a dying breed, and the CD-focused Big Music industry is waning right along with them. I can get a CD's worth of music on iTunes at half the price. Music publishers tout the fact that they can market music to the far corners of the music industry as well as maintain your copyrights. You can do both of those things with the internet. Music distributing companies base their prices on their ability to get your CD into major record stores across the country. Not only do you not need that anymore, you can do it with the internet. Record companies claim to support you and protect you, but you can pretty much support and protect yourself on the internet.

CDs comprised 65 percent of all music sold in the first half of 2009 compared to paid digital downloads, which comprised 35 percent of music sales. By comparison, paid digital music downloads comprised just 20 percent of sales in 2007 – growing to 30 percent of the music market last year.

- NPD Group Study, August 19th, 2009

For the full Zero Paid article on the new NPD Group Study, click here. For the very short PDF of the NPA Group Study, follow this link.

To me, this quote does not have statistics that discourage my hypothesis, despite the negative spin on the numbers. The music industry may not be rid of CDs, but its well on its way. 35% is nothing to shake a stick at. I think we're heading to a new era where musicians, not huge corporate juggernauts, drive the music industry.

Audio4cast agrees with me:

...Labels should be working hard to drive traffic to their Internet radio partners, who should be emphasizing music download sales to their audience and realizing revenue from that as well. Creative collaboration is the path to sustained profitability in digital music’s future.

- Audio4cast, June 24th, 2009

MediaPost also agrees with me, though they take a gloomier and possibly more realistic approach:

While the digital boom sounds like good news, it presents a gloomy picture for the music industry. The Forrester study, titled "The End of Music as We Know It," notes that new digital sales revenues won't come close to replacing the lost CD revenues. From a high of $14.2 billion in 2000, total revenues will shrink to just $8.6 billion in 2012, if Forrester's prediction holds.

- MediaDailyNews, February 20th, 2008

For more information on Forrester's "The End of Music as We Know It", click here (for further proof that wisdom is never free), or here (for some sweet charts).

MediaPost's blog post, as well as everything I've read from Forrester's study, tells me that there will be less money to go around, and I predict that it will not be taken from the musicians. I think that Big Music is going to bleed dry.

Times Online is even less optimistic:

The idea that niche markets were the key to the future for internet sellers was described as one of the most important economic models of the 21st century when it was spelt out by Chris Anderson in his book The Long Tail in 2006. He used data from an American online music retailer to predict that the internet economy would shift from a relatively small number of “hits” - mainstream products - at the head of the demand curve toward a “huge number of niches in the tail”.

However, a new study by Will Page, chief economist of the MCPS-PRS Alliance, the not-for-profit royalty collection society, suggests that the niche market is not an untapped goldmine and that online sales success still relies on big hits. They found that, for the online singles market, 80 per cent of all revenue came from around 52,000 tracks. For albums, the figures were even starker. Of the 1.23 million available, only 173,000 were ever bought, meaning 85 per cent did not sell a single copy all year.

- The Times, December 22nd, 2009

For the full article from the Times, here's the link, and here's a link to Chris Anderson's blog (he's on hiatus from his blog right now, but it's a good place to get the gist of his theories).

I've said it before and I'll say it again, despite the unhappy situation of Big Music, the internet is creating myriad possibilities for musicians and their dedicated representatives. Besides Myspace, sites like ReverbNation (which I swear by) offer (with Premium membership) online distribution, online press kit makers, information about your fans, 25MB of song storage, the "most powerful email marketing platform on Earth for musicians", an extremely sleek and sexy website builder, the most advanced widgets on the planet, and a whole slew of amazing free features. This one flabbergasting site has sections on promotional tools, how-to's on viral marketing (viral stunts, by the way, are damn near impossible to manufacture), statistics and tracking, ways to earn money, a whole block of the site dedicated to Venues, and a killer following. It is used by "over 500,000 artists, managers, record labels, and venues to grow their reach, influence, and business across the internet," according to the About section on the ReverbNation site. Check out their About section for more information on ReverbNation.

Also, check out this helpful blog post, or this one, for more suggestions and information on online sources for musicians.

Call me an idealist, but I think I'm onto something here. As musicians and independent labels take their passion into their own hands, they see less and less of a need to allow a bullying middle man to get between them and their music. Soon to be gone are the convoluted licensing processes, and confusing, expensive distribution and publishing deals. Record labels are going to have to swallow their big budgets and swollen prides and start catering to the talent they claim to serve. Now begins the rise of the little guy, the niche markets and incredible hidden talents that the big record labels didn't think would sell. The revolution is on the horizon. I hope you're ready, because once it comes, we're never going back.

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There are thousands of books written about the music industry. There’s no shortage of books written by rock stars and groupies, sure, and those are interesting in their way, but the ones you as a budding indie record label are going to need are those emphasizing the business side of the music.

There are a few major types of books to look for:

Overall Music Industry – This is the sort that’s going to include a decent amount of information about everything to do with the music industry. My suggestions?

All You Need to Know About the Music Business (I have the 7^th edition) by Donald S. Passman

This Business of Music (I have the 10^th edition) by M. William Krasilovsky and Sidney Shemel, with contributions by John M. Gross and Jonathan Feinstein

Marketing and Promotions – Selling your business, its music, and its artists is a huge deal, so don’t skimp on this. I went outside the box for my promotions literature, but here are some handy guides for you:

This Business of Music Marketing and Promotion: A Practical Guide to Creating a Completely Integrated Marketing and E-Marketing Campaign (I have the revised and updated edition) by Tad Lathrop

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott

Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook: 201 Self-Promotion Ideas for Songwriters, Musicians and Bands on a Budget (I have the revised and updated version) by Bob Baker

Guerrilla Music Marketing, Encore Edition: 201 More Self-promotion Ideas, Tips and Tactics for Do-it-yourself Artists by Bob Baker

Web Marketing for the Music Business by Thomas W. Hutchison

Record Label Marketing by Tom Hutchison, Amy Macy, and Paul Allen

Music Law – You’re not going anywhere without a firm grasp of music law. The music industry is full of nuances and intricacies, and I don’t want you to be caught by them. Hell, I don’t want to be caught by them either. So, the definitive guide to music law, at least in my opinion, and then the one stop shop for contracts are listed here:

Music Law: How to Run Your Band’s Business (I have the 6^th edition) by Attorney Rich Stim

Music Business Contract Library (Hal Leonard Music Pro Guides) by Greg

When I went hunting for books at my local book stores, I looked for latest editions of each type. You’re going to need to do this, because the music industry changes so much so quickly that even a latest edition may not even be able to keep up, let alone a copy that’s five years old.

Some other books to think about:

The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution by David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard  

Making Music Make Money: An Insider’s Guide to Becoming Your Own Music Publisher by Eric Beall

I think it is also a good idea to have a book on how to start a small business. These would pretty much round it out for you.

            The Law (In Plain English) for Small Business by Leonard D. DuBoff, Attorney at Law

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber 

Now, that’s a library, but I’m not done yet. You should also go online and research marketing tools from social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and ReverbNation. I will give a full list of useful music and general social networking sites later, but social networking is going to make your life a heck-of-a-lot easier because it's pretty much free. And free, my friends, is good when you’re starting a business.

That’s something else to think about. Where are you getting the money to start your business? Do you have donors, investors, a loan, a rich daddy? You will never- never- make money if you don’t put money into it. That is very important. You cannot get something for nothing. It is as impossible as creating a teddy bear out of thin air.

Let’s start, however, with putting some knowledge in your head. Get some of those books and start reading. If you aren’t completely deterred by all of that, I’ll see you back here next time!

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Begin with Passion.

There can be no doubt, no second's hesitation in your love of music of all types, of people from all walks of life, and of talent even in the strangest places. You must have an eye, ear, and nose for good music, and a fearless desire to succeed. In our company we call that having attitude and aptitude. If you don't feel willing and able to put in long hours and endure lots of stress, then I suggest you stay just a fan.

Not that business people in the music industry are not fans. Most people get into the business of music because they are fans, and they want to make a difference. The bigger people in the music industry get, the more distantly I see them speak of local, underground, or seriously underrated bands, as if they were fond memories instead of everyday realities. These business men and women are almost wistful in their descriptions of the days when they had no company car and no fame, when they used to make things by hand to use as promotional gimmicks and money was not a barrier or a driving force. It was about the music.

I think we as an industry have drifted away from the music as our focus. But the fans haven’t. That’s why it’s important to be a fan first and a business savvy record label owner second. 

Next, find yourself a few people who are as obsessive about music as you, and invite them to start a label with you. It’s always good to have help. Stall while you try and figure out what it means to actually start a label, or tell them you have no idea how to go about doing it and try to figure it out as a group.

Let’s stay with that for a minute.  What does it mean to start a label? Besides being mushy and saying to start with passion, there has to be a finite starting point. You have the passion, you have the buddies to lean on, and now you need a name.

Here’s what I do, and maybe it will work for you. Look around the room you’re in and start naming objects aloud. If that room doesn’t work out, go to a different one. Go outside. Go to a park, restaurant, or back alley. Say whatever comes to your head. I’m telling you, it at least gets you thinking.

Once you have a couple of names in mind, and it's good to have more than one because the one you want may be taken, go to your state's “Department of State” website and look for the “Bureau of Corporations” or something similar to that. Then, wade through the murky bureaucracy on that site while you look for something called a “Fictitious Name Registry”. Some states require you to go down to city hall to register your name, and some allow you to register online. If you have to go to city hall, make sure you’re super organized and have everything you need before setting off to meet with The Man*. Like I said, bring a few alternatives in case your first choice in names for your label is taken.

Florida, my state, has the technology to apply for a fictitious name online, so we’ll use it as an example.  Go to www.sunbiz.org. One of the links across the top of the page will be “Document Searches”. Look in there for “Fictitious Names”, then in there for “Inquire by Fictitious Name”. Type the name you’d like in the search box, and ff is listed, then we’re back to the drawing board. If the list doesn’t have your name in it, however, then it’s available! Yay!

Go to “E-Filing Services” and look for “Fictitious Name Registration”. Follow those steps and pay The Man. I would spring for the Certificate of Status and the Certified Copy, but that’s just me. It is nice to have those around, just in case you’re audited. It’s also nice to get it in the mail and have a reveling session**.

Once you and only you have got your name, you’re on your way. Next up, study your ass off. It’s not as terrible as you’d think!

Until next time, this is Casey Robbins of Cardboard Box Records signing off!

 __________________________________________________________________________________

Terms:

 *The Man = Government

**Reveling Session = A period ranging from five minutes to several hours wherein one rejoices exuberantly, with much jumping around and good-natured gloating. Reveling Sessions are important because they allow one time to realize the scope and magnitude of the little accomplishments as well as the big ones, and to celebrate all the triumphs of a day.

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Hello! My name is Casey Robbins, and I just recently started an independent label called Cardboard Box Records out of my hometown of Gainesville, Florida, USA.

I am, in no uncertain terms, writing this blog with the intent of protecting my sanity over the next... well, I hope many years. Less egocentric, however, is my desire to share my experiences with you, musicians and entrepreneurs of the music industry, so that you might learn from my mistakes and triumphs. Novice though I am, I want to show you the ins and outs of "the biz" as I learn them. It's going to be hard, it's going to be complicated, and I have a feeling it's going to involve math, but music is in my soul and the artists I want to help are too amazing to remain in the shadow of obscurity cast by the manufactured music of the major recording labels in this industry.

The internet is opening up a new world to local unsigned or independent artists, as well as those on independent labels, or "indie labels". What is an indie label? Well, it's a label unconnected with the Big Four record labels: Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI, and Warner Music Group. These indie labels are independently funded and range from high school kids and hobbyists (not to say either one of these is not serious about their music, they just generally start small) to international, extremely lucrative businesses.

But back to the internet for a minute. The music industry is currently in a torrid love affair with the internet. MySpace aside, there are hundreds and hundreds of lawful music sharing opportunities online, and about a million-and-one ways to learn more about the music you love and bands you have to hear. The internet is opening people up to niche music markets and folk music from across the world. I can now have Gregorian chanting, Gwar, traditional Celtic war drums, and Jimmy Eat World on my iPod without batting an eye, and this is mostly because of the internet. The internet really is a beautiful place.

Ok! Well, ta-ta for now!

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