Post by civilizedtears on Feb 25, 2010 18:24:39 GMT
It is obvious that Music will not survive in the market place without good songs and well structured advertising and distribution.
No real or credible success can be made without a very comprehensive Promotional and Retail Strategy.
This applies to any retail business.
I lobbied Sellaband for a year so they would consider more closely the promotional elements of post album.
I met the CEO and main UK A&R and lobbied them on a couple of issues.
I tried to make them see that having a well made album meant nothing without the bigger issues which is to get the Music into the market place. I learned that the standard Music Industry formula for funding was: 10% to make an Album and 90% to Promote it.
Once I knew that the promotion issues were never going to be covered by the on-line site, I decided to use them for what they were: simply a fund-collecting site and a place to meet wonderful and dedicated fans. For this, Sellaband was very successful and to be honest they never pretended to be anything else.
In the autumn of 2009 SAB changed their rules and allowed the target of $50K to be changed.
I jumped on this flexible approach and became the first Artist to personalise their funding target. The Target of 31K was perfect for me and meant that I could go into production immediately. As far as I am aware, Civilized Tears were the quickest project to make an album. We had everything already in place and were simply waiting on the starting blocks ready for the starter gun to fire.
During my time with Sellaband,
I branched into promoting and creating a post album strategy and used the information that I had acquired from starting up my own official label (Happy Aliens) a year prior to joining Sellaband. It was with my label that I learned much about revenue streams and the basics of Promotion including creating relationships with top PR companies, Radio/TV Pluggers and attending PPL sponsored symposiums in London.
I was aware that with Happy Aliens I still needed to generate a start-up fund to complete a great first album. A producer friend of mine Steve Bush ( Stereophonics) pointed me in the direction of Sellaband and I took the bait.
It has been for the most part a very exciting journey and I have met some incredible people.
I am sincerely thankful for this.
However, I still knew that I needed to take charge of the Promotion side and identifying Revenue Streams and other important aspects including how to create a successful and viable business model built with integrity and longevity.
As an artist these days , one needs to be a self-managed entity. One needs to be fully aware of what is going on in the industry and always keeping an eye on the horizon to figure out what will help to make one's career a long-term one and not a short lived blip on the radar.
This is not the 1980's or 90's and no one will ' discover' you , 'create' you or even 'develop' you anymore.( Unless, of course , you are a Disney type artist)
The nurturing has gone -as artists we must aim to be self made and self managed. We must study hard and be a workhorse honing our musical talents and our business prowess .
After all Music Business is two words Music & Business.
As soon as we forget this, then we are doomed.
Written by Tim Bennett of Civilized Tears © 2010
No real or credible success can be made without a very comprehensive Promotional and Retail Strategy.
This applies to any retail business.
I lobbied Sellaband for a year so they would consider more closely the promotional elements of post album.
I met the CEO and main UK A&R and lobbied them on a couple of issues.
I tried to make them see that having a well made album meant nothing without the bigger issues which is to get the Music into the market place. I learned that the standard Music Industry formula for funding was: 10% to make an Album and 90% to Promote it.
Once I knew that the promotion issues were never going to be covered by the on-line site, I decided to use them for what they were: simply a fund-collecting site and a place to meet wonderful and dedicated fans. For this, Sellaband was very successful and to be honest they never pretended to be anything else.
In the autumn of 2009 SAB changed their rules and allowed the target of $50K to be changed.
I jumped on this flexible approach and became the first Artist to personalise their funding target. The Target of 31K was perfect for me and meant that I could go into production immediately. As far as I am aware, Civilized Tears were the quickest project to make an album. We had everything already in place and were simply waiting on the starting blocks ready for the starter gun to fire.
During my time with Sellaband,
I branched into promoting and creating a post album strategy and used the information that I had acquired from starting up my own official label (Happy Aliens) a year prior to joining Sellaband. It was with my label that I learned much about revenue streams and the basics of Promotion including creating relationships with top PR companies, Radio/TV Pluggers and attending PPL sponsored symposiums in London.
I was aware that with Happy Aliens I still needed to generate a start-up fund to complete a great first album. A producer friend of mine Steve Bush ( Stereophonics) pointed me in the direction of Sellaband and I took the bait.
It has been for the most part a very exciting journey and I have met some incredible people.
I am sincerely thankful for this.
However, I still knew that I needed to take charge of the Promotion side and identifying Revenue Streams and other important aspects including how to create a successful and viable business model built with integrity and longevity.
As an artist these days , one needs to be a self-managed entity. One needs to be fully aware of what is going on in the industry and always keeping an eye on the horizon to figure out what will help to make one's career a long-term one and not a short lived blip on the radar.
This is not the 1980's or 90's and no one will ' discover' you , 'create' you or even 'develop' you anymore.( Unless, of course , you are a Disney type artist)
The nurturing has gone -as artists we must aim to be self made and self managed. We must study hard and be a workhorse honing our musical talents and our business prowess .
After all Music Business is two words Music & Business.
As soon as we forget this, then we are doomed.
Written by Tim Bennett of Civilized Tears © 2010