Wussup fam!

So if you don’t know, we’re based in Winnipeg, Canada. And the weather’s been messed! But its warm now and we’re feelin pretty happy. So we’re offering all our beats for HALF OFF for a limited time only! Standard MP3s are $9.99, High Quality Non-Exclusive licenses are $17.99 and exclusives are only $174.99!

Don’t miss this chance. Buy your beats in the player below! We’ll be adding new beats soon!

The “It’s Almost Summer” Sale – HALF OFF ALL BEATS! is a post from: Beats | Instrumentals | Music Business Tips - PhatBootyEnt.com

Wussup fam,

If you’re a musician, artist or even a music producer I’ve got a great new website for you to check out.

MyPianoLessons.net is a piano blog I started where I’m going to learn to play the piano like a pro, step-by-step from scratch – and for free.

Now, I already know how to play the piano a little bit (but I’m nowhere near a pro). So I started the blog to keep track of my practice and motivate myself to keep going.

In the next 4 – 6 months I want to be able to literally play the piano like a pro – just sit down at a keyboard and buss out a crazy song. And I’m documenting everything, step-by step. From all the different ways to practice, to all the different scales and chords to everything else you need to know to play piano.

So visit MyPianoLessons.net and follow my personal piano tutorial. I’ve already gone through learning notes, scales and how to play piano chords, and so now I’m basically going step-by-step to memorize all the scales and chords and everything else I’ll need to play like a pro. I just finished off the C Major Scale and am moving on to the next one.

If you’re a music producer, and you can’t play piano, this is an essential website for you. If you’re a singer, then being able to play the piano will take your music and your live show to the next level. So come by and learn with me.

Check it out today.

Peace!

Want to Learn How To Play the Piano? is a post from: Beats | Instrumentals | Music Business Tips - PhatBootyEnt.com

Wussup fam,

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post here, it’s been kind of busy. I went on vacation at the beginning of October for a week – went to Minneapolis, MN; dope city, good food.. – and then had a lot of projects to catch up on.

But I’m back for another dope music marketing post for you. Today we’re talking about selling your music (MP3s and CDs) in stores around world

Selling Music – Should It Be Your Main Goal?

I know you want to read about getting your music in stores and selling a ton of CDs, but… I have to say something first.

Most of us music artists think that to be successful we’re going to have to sell thousands of CDs or MP3s. We think that’s how we’re going to make our money.

And yea it’s possible, but it’s not likely. The fact is, music is so freely available that most people will never buy music again. And if you’re trying to fight the people, you won’t end up too well.

The new music business is about selling the musical experience. That usually means playing live, but it can also mean selling “the life.” (e.g. selling your lifestyle through music merchandise, etc.) So don’t limit yourself to just thinking in terms of CDs or MP3s sold.

On The Other Hand…

Having your music in stores in case someone does want to buy it is an important part of the music game. So, don’t neglect this part either.

Music Distribution (Music Distro) – What You Need To Know

Music distribution is the process of getting your music stocked into all of the different stores that sell music. It can happen two ways – you can be self distributed (i.e. using a distribution service), or you can sign a distribution deal with a major or independent music distributer.
Most independent music artists that are just starting out will probably use a distribution service because a lot of distribution companies want you to have sold X number of copies on your own – with proof. Or they will want to see that you have a serious following that would be willing to buy your music.

Music Distribution Services

So what exactly is a music distribution service? It’s a company that is willing to take on any music project and distribute it to different music stores. That means any artist, even beginner artists, can get their music into stores worldwide.

There are two companies I like to recommend when it comes to music distro: TuneCore and CDBaby. There are other companies out there, but I can only recommend these two because I don’t know much about the others.

There are some differences between these companies that is going to affect your decision of which to choose.

TuneCore:

TuneCore (affiliate link) is a digital only distribution platform. That means that they do not distribute your physical CDs to retail stores. But they will get your digital audio files into every digital music store imaginable – including iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Spotify, Pandora, MP3.com and a ton of others.

It costs $9.99 to distribute a single and about $49.99 to distribute a full album. It’s worth the money even just so you can say “Yea you can buy my music on iTunes.” Trust me – it’s nice.

You just have to sign up to TuneCore for an account, upload your mastered tracks (Oh yea, make sure the music you plan to sell is professionally mixed and mastered), and fill in all of the details.

Once you make payment they handle the rest.

Usually within 48 hours, your music will start showing up in different stores. And then you can send all your supporters to their favorite music stores to cop your dope ass music.

I’ve never personally used this service, but know people who have and they love it. I’ll probably use TuneCore to distribute the next Lyrical Militant release.

Click Here To Get Your Music Into Stores With TuneCore.

CDBaby:

CDBaby is another really nice music distribution service. The major difference between these guys and TuneCore is that CDBaby will do physical CD distribution too.

So if you wanted to sell CDs (don’t hold your breath…) you could get them on special order at places like HMV and Best Buy. The Lyrical Militant album “Prelude To Revolution” was distributed through CDBaby. It was a pretty painless process.

The reason I want to go with TuneCore for my next release is because CDBaby (even though they’re the same price as TuneCore), you have to pay every year. With TuneCore it’s a one-time fee as far as I know, and they hit pretty much the same stores.

The other good things about CDBaby, is they have their own store where they sell MP3s and CDs and they work with a company to try and get music licensed for film and TV. But for the next release, I still want to try out TuneCore.

Click Here To Get Your Music Distributed Through CDBaby

Cool, Now What?

Cool, so now you got your stuff into stores. But getting your music into stores is just part of the battle. Now that people can find your music somewhere, you have to help point them in the right direction. This is where music marketing and promotion comes in.

Without proper marketing, even the best music can go unheard. There’s a hell of a lot of people out there making music, and you need to find the best way for you to stand out, above the crowd. Music marketing is a huge area that has a lot of different aspects to it.

This post is already a hell of a lot longer than I wanted it to be, so I’m going to leave it at that. If you have any questions or tips of your own, leave them in the comments below. And if you like this post, please share it around.

How to Sell Your Music in Music Stores like iTunes, Amazon & More is a post from: Beats | Instrumentals | Music Business Tips - PhatBootyEnt.com

Question: Do you want to get your music played on the radio or tv and featured in newspapers and magazines? Then you’re going to need a press kit. In this article we’ll get into what a press kit is, the different types of press kits, what to include and some ways you’ll use them in your independent music career. This post is more for the beginner-intermediate indie artist, whose looking to increase their exposure.

What’s a Press Kit?

A press kit is basically a package, either physical or electronic/digital, that you can send to different media outlets to try and get featured in some way. It’s a quick and easy way to send someone all your info, music and pictures (and maybe video).

Why Do You Need A Press Kit?

It’s an essential part to any serious independent musician’s arsenal. You’ll be using it a lot during your music promotion. If you want a radio programmer or music reviewer to feature your music on their station or in their publication, they’ll probably want a press kit to review. If you want a featured interview on your local TV station or even want a major label to check your stuff out (even though they probably won’t…) then you can send in a press kit.

You cannot effectively promote your music without a press it. More and more, people are using electronic/digital press kits (MP3s, image files, etc.) but you’ll still find some people in the biz who want a physical copy (physical CD, printed bio, etc.). Here’s some of the things you’ll want to include in a press kit

Things to Include in a Press Kit:

• Your Fully Mastered Music (MP3s or CD) w/ Track List
• A Professionally Written Bio
• Your Full Contact Information (include website, social media sites and email/phone number)
• Professional Pictures of Yourself/Your Band (both high-resolution and low-resolution)
• Other Press Quotes You’ve Received
• Press Release (optional, but recommended)
• Live Show Footage, Music Video (optional – depends on who’s getting it)
• Lyric Sheets (if requested)

How to Put One Together

When you’re making your press kits you have a lot of options. It all really depends on who is going to be getting it, so you may have to customize each one. But generally you’ll include most of the stuff listed above. If you’re sending it to radio stations, don’t include video – they don’t need it. If you’re sending it to music video channels, don’t include your full CD.

And a word of caution to new artists – don’t cheap out on the quality of your material. A poorly written bio, amateur pictures or not fully finished tracks won’t help you a bit. Invest some time and money into this stuff.

Electronic/Digital Press Kits

On Your Own Site

If you’re trying to make a digital press kit get together your finished MP3 files (320 kbps quality), a streaming widget of your music, a PDF or Microsoft Word file of your bio, low-quality JPEGs and print-quality TIFF/JPEG files of your pictures, and finally a streaming widget and a MOV/MPG/AVI of your video.

If you’ve got your own website, then the best thing to do is host everything on there so you can have total control. If you’re worried about regular people having access to your music/video downloads, there are ways you can hide the page from search engines or make it password protected.

So when I’m sending out press kits all we have to do is send an email with the link. Here’s how I set up Lyrical Militant’s digital press kit – http://www.lyricalmilitant.com/digital-press-kit

As you can see, I didn’t password protect the page but we did hide it from Google and other search engines by using the following code in our page’s HTML header section – <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>. To us, it’s always a good thing if people listen to our artists music and become a fan, even if they “weren’t supposed to.”

The page has everything in order and is easily viewable/scan-able. Lyrical Militant’s website is based on the WordPress platform. All my websites are built on WordPress because it’s easy and very customizable. I’ll have a blog post soon that deals with creating your own artist site.

Other Sites

There are also websites out there like MusicXray (affiliate link), SonicBids, ReverbNation, and other that allow you to create your own digital/electronic press kits. These services actually have their own listings/opportunities you can submit to. They always get new opportunities you can submit to for radio play, featured interviews, live gigs, film and TV licensing and more. These services do cost money, but they’re well worth it if you can land even just one of the opportunities they have.

MusicXray (affiliate link) is my favorite one so far. I’ve used all 3, but there are a couple reasons I like MusicXray the best. Firstly the sheer amount of opportunities out there for you and the types of people behind these opportunities is amazing. Just check out their opportunities (affiliate link) and you’ll see – these are heavy hitters. They also have a great feature where, once you upload your music, they analyze it and match it to different opportunities that are out there. And what’s best is, unlike SonicBids and ReverbNation

Even though these services are amazing on their own, I wouldn’t recommend using these to send out press kits to other people (unless they specifically request it). It’s better to go with your own press kit. BUT, having said that, take advantage of these services for the amazing opportunities that they put out there. I use all of them, and that’s why I’m recommending them here.

The Other Electronic Press Kit (EPK)

Recently, there’s been a trend in artists creating EPKs that are just straight video. It will be a 6 or 7 minute professionally produced video that features the artist’s music, pictures, show footage and more. It also usually has an interview of the artist talking about himself and his latest project in depth. It’s basically a media rich version of a normal press kit that’s great for both press and fans. If you can afford it, definitely make one. I’ll be releasing one soon for Lyrical Militant – and I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s out.

Physical Press Kits

If you need to put togethe a physical press kit then make sure you get high-quality printing done. Now you could just print out your bio, press quotes and pictures on plain paper but that’s just boring. A better idea is to develop a one-sheet.

A one-sheet is basically a single page that has your bio, press quotes, contact information and maybe even pictures and track listing combined. It’s easy to view and has all the information in one place. It’s perfect to cut down on costs when sending out.

Here’s an example of the one-sheet I use for Lyrical Militant.

I basically created this in Photoshop and saved it as a PDF. I then got it printed in full color at the UPS Store. For extra pictures you want to include (don’t include too many pictures, but do include your album/single cover art), you can format them on another single page and print them out in full color as well.

You’ll also need to have a professionally duplicated CD of your music. Make sure you remove the shrink wrap or plastic wrap from it. People who have little time to review your music don’t want to mess with that annoying shit. Do them a favor and remove it before sending.

Finally, it can also be a good idea to point people in the direction of recommended tracks they should check out if you’re sending an album. Choose  3 of your best tracks and point them out to the person you’re sending it to with a note that says something like “Featured Tracks:1, 3, 7.”

How to Use Your Press Kit

When you’ve got your press kit ready, you’ll want to research places to send it. You can send it anywhere, really. Send it out to blogs, radio stations, magazines, newspapers and anywhere else you think you could get coverage and exposure for your music.

Just make sure that the places you’re sending them to actually review/play/feature your type of music. It’s very unprofessional to just randomly send your press kit out to everyone, even people who shouldn’t get it. Do your research, and find out who the best person is to view your press kit. And make sure it’s also the best publication or media outlet for your music/style.

Your press kit is a living thing. It will change as you progress throughout your music career. The music, videos, press quotes and bio you include will no doubt change over time. But regardless of how it changes, it will always be an important part of your marketing arsenal as an independent artist. Make sure you put one together NOW.

If you thought this post was helpful, please share it on your social networks using the buttons on the left. And if you have any questions or comments, leave them below! Thanks for reading, and be sure to sign up for the free guide “How To Become A Singer Or Rapper: The Ultimate Guide“

What The $&*! Is A Press Kit and Why Do You Need One? is a post from: Beats | Instrumentals | Music Business Tips - PhatBootyEnt.com

Wussup fam,

Wanted to let you all know about some of the different stuff that we’ve been checking out lately. Enjoy

Videos

Jeremy Ellis on Maschine

Bob Baker – Facebook Tips and Tricks

AGTV – Bob Baker – Facebook Tips and Tricks from Artist Growth on Vimeo.

Articles/Blog Posts

13 Do’s and Don’ts fo Performing at Open Mics
How to Make Lots of Money Selling Your Merchandise
What Record Labels Are Looking For When Scouting Artists
8 Ways To Compose Music More Effeectively
How To Book Your First Live Show
Get More People Out To Your Shows

Books

Guerilla Music Marketing Online – Bob Baker (Affiliate Link)

This is the last music marketing book I finished (Im reading the one below now). This is a great book that pretty much delves into a lot of different areas when it comes to marketing your music online. It’s not that long of a read and has lots of great information for beginners and experienced musicians. I highly recommend you read this book if you’re an independent artist. Bob Baker (the author) is a legend in the independent DIY music marketing industry. It’s definitely worth checking out. Here are the different chapters of the book:

Section 1: Laying the Foundation for Online Music Promotion
Section 2: Creating a Highly Effective Artist Web Site
Section 3: Promoting Your Music Across the Internet
Section 4: Making the Most of Social Media and the Interactive Web
Section 5: Powerful Music-Specific Sites & Online Services You Need to Know About

Definitely get this book. It’s a good read and has lots of tips, resources and information.

Music Success in 9 Weeks – Ariel Hyatt (Affiliate Link)

This is the music marketing book I am reading now. I’ve always been a fan of Ariel from CyberPR as well. This book is a great book, especially for anyone starting out online. Ariel lays out a week-by-week plan of things for you to focus on if you’re about to release some music. I’ll post more here about the book when I’m done reading it, but from what I’ve read so far I’d recommend it, especially to beginners to music marketing. Here’s a list of the chapters in this book:

Week 1: Setting Goals
Week 2: The Pitch
Week 3: Your Website
Week 4: Social Media Primer
Week 5: The Musician’s Guide To YouTube
Week 6: Blogging
Week 7: Your Newsletter
Week 8: Creating a Continuum Program
Week 9: The Real World

That’s all for now. I’ll be back next week (hopefully) with some more cool shit.

Check This Ish Out – 9/13/2012 is a post from: Beats | Instrumentals | Music Business Tips - PhatBootyEnt.com