|
Resources page
sponsored in part by Inferno Labs web design:
http://www.infernolabs.com
(pro websites
for artists, labels and other businesses)
.: Read the article below by
Tim Sweeney, who over the last 20 years has helped
several major labels (Columbia, Epic, MCA, Universal, Warner
Bros., Capitol, Mercury, Polygram, Revolution, Hollywood
(and their sub-labels), and well known independent labels
(Restless, Metal Blade, Enigma, Accretions, etc.) develop
the careers of some of their most promising and successful
artists of all time.
Motivation
By Tim
Sweeney
Beware! The following may initially upset and frustrate you
but you need to read this all the way through!
Motivation.
Where did it go? What? What do you mean? I spent all this
time recording a new CD, manufacturing it and now playing
shows. Just because it’s not selling the way that I want it
to I’m not upset about it. Am I?
When you seem to lose your motivation for your music or your
art it becomes a confusing time. As artists we become
everything from frustrated and rattled by it to a state of
mind where we are unmotivated and depressed. But where did
it come from? You spent days and weeks writing songs and
fine tuning them to capture the experiences and elements of
life that have impacted you enough that you had to express
them. Once you had them down the way you wanted them, you
decided they had to be recorded in the studio so you could
put out a new CD for others to hear them. After all, these
songs are much better than your previous material. (Sounds
familiar?) Then you made a decision to save money from your
day job, borrow from friends or family or even pre-sell CDs
to pay for the studio and manufacturing of your new CDs.
Then after months of hard work and frustration in the
studio, at work and with the manufacturer, your new CDs
arrived. Boxes of them.
You gave some out to your family and friends or sold them a
few of the initial copies. You sent out an emailer to your
mailing list and said check out my new CD on my site and
come buy one. Maybe a few did but not hundreds. Then you put
them on other music sites that sell CDs. It should have sold
hundreds or thousands of copies. After all they claim to
have thousands or even millions of customers. But again that
didn’t seem to work either. But that’s okay, you just need
to play a CD release party and hit your mailing list again
and send an invitation to the various press people about the
show and hundreds of people will show up! However that
didn’t work the way it was supposed to either because most
of the initial 1,000 CDs are still sitting there on your
floor.
The next step you tried was to hire a radio promoter or
publicist (who really aren’t and who don’t care about CD
sales). You paid them thousands of dollars to get you
college or low ranking commercial stations to play your CD
for a few weeks in cities and states where you can’t even
travel to play shows or for 2-3 sentence write ups in
publications that didn’t generate any new fans at your site
or at shows. And now you are becoming unmotivated and
frustrated because after they “supposedly” did their job,
you still didn’t sell hundreds of CDs. Even after more shows
in our hometown and more promotion to your mailing list you
don’t seem to be selling very much!
If this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone! This is
what I hear from almost every artist that contacts me and
wants me to help them. How do I fix this scenario so the
artists become more successful? I work with them on the
following.
1. This is your passion.
As artists the first thing we have to do is stop taking the
rejection we receive as something personal. Instead of
learning from what we are not doing to effectively tell
people about the messages in our songs, we see them not
paying attention or not wanting to hear our music as a
personal attack. This includes the media not wanting to
write about us or our upcoming shows or play our songs on
the radio to people not coming to shows or even if they do,
not wanting to buy your CD afterwards. The first step in
solving the problems mentioned here is to stop doing what
you are doing.
Throw away your press kit and one sheet that “supposed”
publicists and radio promotion people think is right (but
only signifies you as a non-priority that people can ignore)
and create an Artist Profile. One that talks about who you
are as an artist and what your music is about. Two, use
what’s in your Artist Profile at shows. Don’t play the same
shows as before, give people you. 45 minutes of music is not
going to motivate people to buy CDs. Learn to interact with
them before, during and after your shows.
2. Reconnect with the reasons why you wrote the songs.
What inspired you to work that crappy day job and save money
to record these songs in the first place! What motivated you
to keep going when it looked like you wouldn’t get the
project done? Where did that go? Nowhere. It’s still inside
of you! Just waiting for you to bring it out.
3. To reactivate your passion and inspire you to stop
sitting around and making the same mistakes, we must change
your focus.
You will now focus only on the things that will get people
to shows, get you exposure in your home city and generate
sales. First, a new specific marketing plan that will focus
on how to double your fan base that actually comes to shows.
Second, a small list of daily actions you can take with the
limited time you have to promote your music. For example,
researching the media in your home city and what are they
writing about or what they are playing on the radio these
days. Who is drawing most of the music fans in town to their
shows and how are they doing it? You must focus on the
things that will work right now. Mailing CDs around the
country where you can’t put them in stores, play shows or
won’t get enough attention that it will generate any online
sales either isn’t.
4. Interrupt your pattern.
If you can’t think of new ideas sitting at home then do what
successful people do, leave. Go to the gym (another place
you promised to go to); go outside, to a coffeehouse, the
park or go play golf instead. Change your environment and
you will begin to remember what inspired you to take this
path.
5. Understand that this is your passion. Not others.
You must communicate it to people whether in person or in
writing. Who cares what other people think is right or wrong
for you. Be bold and passionate. You wanted to influence
people with your music and change them, do it by showing
that same passion everyday! Hand out CD samplers every week
so you can meet new people and let them know what you are
doing. Play shows in new places.
The passion you have for your music is still in you! You
just to find it again. Here’s two ways you can find it right
now. One, my two audio books, Guide To Releasing Independent
Records Part 2 (which is NOT the same as the first one) will
give you new promotion and marketing ideas you can use in
the next few minutes. It will also help you write your first
draft of an Artist Profile and help you create the materials
you need to talk about your music. My other new audio book,
Understanding Who You Are As An Artist (which seems to be
everyone’s favorite), will give you specific ideas of what
you need to do to more effectively communicate your passion
to people and get yourself remotivated when you are
frustrated or depressed. Both of these audio books are
designed for you to be able to take the ideas and work with
them immediately. You can order them through this link:
http://www.TSAMusic.com/products.asp
The second way I can help you is directly. The books will
help you get going again and will be a great source of ideas
you can listen to again and again, but sometimes you need
someone who has been through it to help you create a
specific plan. A plan that you can actually do and write the
material with you and help you accomplish the things you
want to do so you can sell the first 1,000 CDs and start to
influence people in your home town like you wanted to. I
have helped and continue to help thousands of artists in
these very areas and help them get on the path they need to
sell more CDs and accomplish what they want with their
music. Call me at 951-303-9506 or mail me your CD and promo
material.
Include a note or a copy of this email in it. I will be
happy to review your CD and promo material and let you know
how I can help you.
If you are looking for some new strategies right now that
can kick start your sales, get more people on your mailing
list and your upcoming shows, learn more ways of selling your CDs, order a copy of my
new audio book, Tim Sweeney’s Guide To Releasing Independent
Records Part 2 through my website.
Tim's book available at his site:
www.tsamusic.com
Past Articles:
Getting
More Press Reviews
by Tim Sweeney
Motivation
by Tim Sweeney
Who's
on Your Mailing List?
by Tim Sweeney
How To Generate
More CD Sales In Record Stores by Tim Sweeney
Being in Control of Your Music
by Tim Sweeney
How to
Put Out Your Own Record by Wendy Day
Business Basics by Wendy Day
|
