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New Victoria Recording Studio
| Message Board > Music Chitchat - General ( Indie, Jazz, World, Electronic etc.) > New Victoria Recording Studio |
| dooker User Info... | Announcing the opening of Demers Studios - check out my website at http://www.mikedemersmusic.com - looking for singers and songwriters who would like a high quality recording at a reasonable price - Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:23am | ||
| Man-Up User Info... | Nice to see more resources in this city - Fri, 17 Apr 2009 5:38pm | ||
| dooker User Info... | Monday, April 27th, 2009 The Silver Rule Of Music Marketing I was approached by this guy the other day. He hollered at me from across the street. It happened at night, so I couldn’t really make out his face, but I could see that he had on a backwards baseball cap, baggy jeans and a CD in his hand. He said, “Yo man, can I talk to you real quick?…” I thought to myself, “Oh shit. Not another numnuts trying to sell me a CD out of his car trunk.” By the way, if you approach your customers by saying, “Yo man…” I suggest you stop it. Like, now. It’s kind of rude if you get my drift. So anyway, this guy asked me if I wanted to buy his album. I said “No” and went home. I’ve got to say though, I felt kind of sorry for him because he was trying hard. I’ve got a soft spot for people who do their own thing and who hustle. And I hate rejecting people. But this guy’s problem was that he broke one of the major rules of marketing anything. It’s this: Don’t appear weak. You see, people basically buy for three different reasons. Think about these reasons the next time you try to sell something to your fans. I didn’t come up with these, by the way. They were laid out by the famous marketer and copywriter Bob Bly. He said prospects pay premium prices because: 1) They want or need what you are selling 2) They perceive your product or service as exclusive and difficult to get. 3) They believe that if they do not act quickly, it will be snapped up by others and therefore not available. By crawling up to me in the street and shoving his CD in my face instead of me going to him because I like his music, the young man I encountered in the street showed me that he’s got a surplus of what he’s selling. So that makes me think to myself, hmm…how good could it be? By not appearing scarce, he broke rules number two and three. The golden rule of marketing is this: “Get people to come to you rather than you going to them.” It’s the entire idea behind search that turned Google into a multibillion dollar company. Mass advertising is what most of us over the age of about 10 have grown up on, but times are changing. Marketing must be personal now because the Internet allows people to find an unlimited number of options other than you. The way you compete now is by being more likeable. I can easily walk away from you now because I’ll just get on Google to find what I need. In 2009, my friends, there is no excuse for you to shove your message or your product down people’s throats. Also be careful about some of the advice being given out there about how you should promote yourself at shows. There’s one website I read recently by a former indie music artist, who should know better, which recommended that you stamp your website address on people’s hands at the gate. That way when they get home, they’ll log on to your site and love it and love you and send you adoring letters and flowers until the end of time… DO NOT even think about doing that! The crowd will chase you out with pitchforks. And worse, you’ll wreck your brand. The way you make people come to your shows and your website is by becoming an authority in their minds. Authority is honey. It attracts all the hungry little bees. You become an authority by producing great music and great content and by being authentic. People like people, not salesmen. Talk to them. Give them something first and then they’ll reward you. Mika Schiller is a writer for the Indie music website MADE and he writes about where the music industry’s headed and how it relates to the Independent Music artist. He gives irreverent career and personal development advice to the Indie music artist. For more great writing and irresistible advice, along with a free report on effective MySpace music marketing, please visit http://www.letsgetmade.com - Wed, 6 May 2009 7:37am | ||
| superslacks User Info... | The same reason why you shouldn't sell your music too cheap - sometimes it's easier to charge for music than to give it away. But . . . who the hell makes CD's anymore, anyway? - Thu, 7 May 2009 1:29pm | ||
| Tyler User Info... | any band who believes in the tactile physicality of recorded media over digital files existing on a computer. cd sales may be down but some people still buy them, especially direct from bands at merch tables, because they want the music, want to support the band, are drawn in by the art, or drawn in by the collectibility of physical recordings. especially when they're all diy silkscreened or have glued-on newsprint or are hand-numbered or whatever, you know? the actual duplication of cds is really cheap. people are still more inclined to pay for something they can physically own (cds) rather than pay for something they can get in an exactly equal form for free (downloads). as for the article above, I agree that the bands that are most "successful" are those who aren't driven by a need to market and add everyone on myspace. even livevictoria has bands like these. crappy bands just trying to scrape together a following, trying to project an image of professionality when it's clear that they're another rookie band in an uninteresting genre or whatever. - Wed, 13 May 2009 2:44pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | It was meant as a rhetorical statement, Tyler. I know there's a minority of people who still buy physical merch, and how cool is it a greater proportion of them buy vinyl. The world needs more people like this. But . . . the days of bands getting 1000 CD's pressed with the hope of making a few bucks is over. Too many people believe (like you say) that the quality of downloaded music is 'exactly equal' to CD's (which is garbage). So with the general populace's expectations lowered of course we see more crap being passed off as legitimate. Recent estimates put it that there's roughly 1000 new releases every week. In other words, with technology being as cheap as it is, every home studio semi-pro/ hobby musician is now able to self-produce their master work and release it online . . . where chances are (ie. 999 in a 1000) it will be ignored. The vast majority of these new releases are not published in a physical form (or at least not officially or in any great quantity). People like Bob Lefsetz (ie. proponents of the new era of the music industry) say there's no point, and the sheep follow suit, especially 'cuz it'll save them the expense. So it seems to me a published CD serves only two purposes; 1 - to send out to promoters, agents, media, etc, because those people are too lazy to download it, and 2 - to demonstrate the artist/ band's commitment and legitimacy. Great that people still buy them tho, like I said the world needs more people like them. - Fri, 15 May 2009 12:16am | ||
| lonemonk User Info... | Whether CDs or some other future media, the concept of an ownable product will outlive those of us contributing here. Quantities will be down, but even future generations may again demand something for their money. I have a teenage daughter, and I myself am a product of the computer age so I can see why and how both the big and home industries would choose purely electronic distros at this point in time. It's not at all science fiction to imagine that internet downloads could be sent real-time to a 3D printer which would in fact manufacture the entire product in your own home. When the Internet operates at acceptable speeds there is no need to decrease size or quality at all of the product. (Only reproduce if you wish of course, maybe the high-fidelity audio files is all you need) The most distasteful trend in recent times is to provide only electronic formats for the sake of controlling what one can do with them afterward. Picking a distro method by control mechanisms alone is very wrong and does not promote consumer consumption; Encourages the opposite. Until we are all body-less and digital beings, there will continue to be demand for collectable objects. Our current physical makeup demands the tactile. It's not so much a nostalgia, but a basic human need to physically connect with 'stuff'. For a different topic in these forums will come the so-called demise of the printed book. E-books of today are marketed for the sole purpose of controlling what you can do with it after you've read it. (or control how many times you are allowed to read it, or whether you can let your girlfriend read it) Readers, just like listeners will never give up that right. - Fri, 15 May 2009 2:28am Edited: Fri, 15 May 2009 2:50am | ||
| dooker User Info... |  http://books.google.com/books?id=OHe7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=noise+attalli&source=bl&ots=8p5ldodXdU&sig=YrkSfbi6gKipNTb5IxibliX1y-4&hl=en&ei=jE4QSsihFI62tAPXo6D4Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPP1,M1 let me know what you think - written in the mid 80s but certainly applies to the digital age! - Sun, 17 May 2009 10:53am | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | ... - Mon, 18 May 2009 10:19pm Edited: Tue, 19 May 2009 6:23am | ||
| dooker User Info... |  250-419-2791 - Wed, 20 May 2009 9:24pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | I agree. I can't stand bands that over-promote themselves. I know a few that do and it has come to the point where I immediately delete anything they send without reading it. Produce quality product and they will come to you. Some people will never understand this. - Sun, 24 May 2009 5:40pm | ||
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