Busy, busy, busy!
It’s been a LOOONG weekend here at Club HQ. We have been working since Thursday to upgrade our software and move our servers to a new data center.The one thing that kept us going all weekend was the pile of…
News
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Fewer venues in Canada, too…
The crux of our next book is that, with fewer venues to play, it’s crucial for artists and fans to create more of their own opportunities — just like the folks at iMusic in Canada.
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Teleclass Cancelled.
Sadly, we’re going to have to cancel this afternoon’s teleclass on street teams, due to a client emergency that we’re handling. We will reschedule this event for early June. Sorry for the inconvenience!
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Are you ready to take a bite from the Apple?
Apple’s new iMusic service is going gangbusters — and it’s encouraging that they’re ready to start bringing more indies into the mix. Keep in mind, before you start firing off press kits, that you still need to have an established…
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Is your site crappy?
I usually like to frame my website critiques as constructive criticism, but the folks at CrappyPromo have come up with some truly unsalvageable sites. If yours is on this list (or deserves to be), please call our office today. We…
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Burninator of the week…
She has street team members working in eight markets, with her label’s debut CD not even dropping until November and the launch of a mall outlet and a clothing line soon after. Did we mention she’s 17? So what did…
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Q&A: Should I own my masters?
From the inbox… PabloBrazil writes: “How does it benefit me to own my own masters (recordings) vs. the record company, as long as the royalty and publishing arrangements remain the same?”There’s a lot of debate on this subject, and Peter…
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Building…
A big part of preparing for growth is making sure you’ve got the right infrastructure. So that’s what we’ve been spending our time on this week!Please take a moment to swing by IndieMusicClub.com. Based on your feedback, we developed a…
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Don’t Take Your Audience For Granted!
What can we all learn from last week’s American Idol drama? Never, ever assume that your audience will support you if you don’t clearly ask for their help. Ruben’s been our favorite in the office, because he’s exhibited — either…
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Pardon the dust…
While we percolate over the submissions for the EMBARCADERO compilation CD, I thought it was time to unveil a new look. I was fond of the blue-techno vibe, but it was a little tough to read at times. The new…
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Welcome New Sponsors: David Hooper & IndieBiz.com
In the “Sponsors” block on the left, you’ll start to see some links to a promotional course offered by our friend and colleague David Hooper. Dave’s the author of an excellent book that’s a great companion to Grow Your Band’s…
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Homecoming Queen
You know you’ve grown your audience into something that will support you when most of your hometown shows up for a charity gala in your honor. Especially when only 6,000 people live in your town. Loreena McKennitt’s story is a…
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Tired of crummy festivals? Start your own!
Ticketholders actually suing Creed for that legendary performance. What would Randy Jackson say? Something like, “dawg, dawg, dawg, dawg, DAWG.”|More reasons to stay sober on stage… TRIAL LAWYERS!|5||”Ticketholders actually suing Creed for that legendary performance. What would Randy Jackson say?…
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Get that first gig… and make it great!
Once you’ve got that first gig, here are some tips for making that show better.
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Ribbit… Media Kit
Scroll past the dancing frog for great tips on what to include in your media kit, from a booking agent in Michigan.
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More great first gigs…
From our friends in Arizona — how to target the right “early gigs” for yourself or your band.
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Buy the sound guy a drink…
…just make sure he isn’t already a little toasty!
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Joe’s Column – 4/22
There are 20% more people reading this week’s issue than last week’s. THANK YOU! Your support, and the way you’ve been spreading the word about our project, really makes the difference.I wanted to highlight a few of our subscriber benefits…
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Get exposure at MP3.com and on College Radio
DJ Catatonic is one of the few folks I have met who’s actually helping artists use MP3.com to its full potential. He’s got two excellent sites that you should know about.At Hard Core Promo, you can register to add your…
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My moto brings the beats…
Indie-friendly Urban Hitz Radio is pioneering streaming radio to cell phones! Click in, show some love, and submit your music!
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Your Local Forecast… Leads to a Royalty Check!
Congrats to Ryan Farrish, who’s been earning some mailbox money this month by licensing his tracks to (of all places) The Weather Channel.
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The future of indie music IS your audience…
I was fortunate, early in my career, to work with Todd Rundgren as he was figuring out things like PatroNet. This week, Pat Dinizio takes the artist subscription model a few steps further with his P.A.T. program. Regardless of what…
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House Performance Network
DIY Reporter’s building a new database of house concert venues!
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Enter The Record Pool
An ambitious new service just sprung up at TheRecordPool.com. Unlike record pools of the past, DJs and clubs are paying a subscription fee to download tracks provided by labels. (Didn’t it used to be that the labels would pay for…
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MP3.com — we hardly knew ye…
Evor Street Journal covers the decline and fall of MP3.com.
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Big bang for promo bucks
It’s almost overlooked these days that finding low cost ways to get your music into audience’s hands is crucial. When you make a small investment in your music, like these bands did. Two key reasons for success: bands pitch in…
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Your indie retailer, your friend…
On one hand, our history is littered with stories of mom-and-pops who took product on consignment, for which artists never saw a dime. But for each place like that, there are nine or ten who really do care about the…
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Wine, no cheese
Another great example of a company that creates a new outlet for live performance, and discovers music makes for good business.
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L.A. Story… and it’s good news!
L.A.’s been ahead of the curve on house concerts and home parties for half a century. But the droves of folks looking to skip the club scene are growing! Look to the neighborhoods for your next gigs…
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Independents’ Day
From our friend Bob Baker, a report that outplacement is alive, well, and surprisingly effective. Among statements at the press conference: “File sharing and CD burning have had no effect whatsoever.”|The right man for the job…|5||”From our friend Bob Baker,…
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r u gtn dis?
Labels are experimenting with SMS text messaging to promote albums and videos — are you collecting cell phone numbers on your website? Is it working? Let us know!
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Right On The Money
PBS television series Right On The Money spotlights the financial rollercoaster that IS life as an indie artist, on this week’s show.
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The Father, The Son, and the Holy A&R Rep…
I used to make the mistake of underestimating churches as venues, until I started working on the “Host Your Own Concerts” project. Turns out that there are more churches looking to break into indie music than I thought!
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Fog Machines Coming Soon To Restoration Hardware?
Although the article focuses more on dance music and ravers than live performance, there are some great ideas in L.A. Times piece on how private music parties are meeting demand for entertainment in Cali. (Especially under the premise of an…
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We’re an Editor’s Pick!
Thanks to the guys over at MI2N.com for making us an Editor’s Pick! If you’ve never heard of MI2N, it’s — in my opinion — the best and most newswire for the music industry. And, believe it or not, it’s…
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Essential Interview with Amy Ray – Indigo Girls Going Indie
Among the gems in this really wonderful interview at StarPolish, Amy Ray talks about the importance of teamwork, the keys to their success over the years, and why it’s a good business move for them to go independent when their…
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Welcome to IndieMusicClub.com!
Welcome to the first edition of the revamped IndieMusicClub.com e-newsletter! If you previously subscribed to the “Grow Your Band’s Audience Tips & News??? e-zine, you’ll be receiving this from now on. It’s an opportunity to continue to serve our audience…
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Go, R5!
What Sean is doing in Philly is exactly the kind of stuff that we’ll be talking about in our next book. You can host concerts, make bands and audiences comfortable, and get yourself fed in the process.
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Grow Your Band’s Audience SEMINAR in Orlando, May 19
We’ve started taking signups for our next LIVE seminar in Orlando, May 19th from 7-10pm. In addition to the original GYBA material, I’ll debut the new “Host Your Own Concerts” manifesto, and release some snazzy new workbooks. Please head over…
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ClearChannel is REALLY starting to scare me…
Our forthcoming “Host Your Own Concerts” book takls about $10 being an important ticket price. That’s the highest you can really go and still have folks that don’t know you come to your gig. So this press release from ClearChannel…
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LA Folks! ESSENTIAL seminar/discussion tonight…
If you’re in L.A. or in driving distance of L.A., get yourself there for this stellar discussion, and know that I am jealous. Should be a good one.
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More L.A.: Ruff Ryders Exec Seminar in June
If one good thing comes from the current industry shakedown, it’s that execs are much more willing to share their experiences. (Even if it’s only a sideline — access to this kind of knowledge is still rare and valuable!)
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Meet System X
I’m remiss for not publishing this much, much sooner. Chris Standring has published an excellent e-book for artists who want to seriously grow their audiences. It has all the nuts and bolts instructions that we didn’t have room for in…
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New Edition of Internet Promotion Classic
The folks at Music Biz Academy have just updated David Nevue’s classic work, Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet. Where Grow Your Band’s Audience focuses on growing audience in your own backyard, Nevue highlights ways that you can use…
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Add Your Links!
We’ve opened up our all new links board — log on and add your link!!
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$9 gets you a domain name. So just do it!
I’ve been using GoDaddy to register domains for myself and for my clients, and I’m really impressed with their service AND with their prices. I keep seeing submissions from bands with domain names that look like myband.blahblah.someothersite.net — stop the…
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Are you feeling lucky?
I just came across an article that Dave Jackson wrote about a clever little way to engage your audience while making a few bucks at the same time. You can read it here.I’ll challenge you to take this technique up…
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Promo opportunity of the day…
I’m as hestitant as anybody about working with ClearChannel on anything these days, but there’s something really sincere about their new independent music project. (Just keep your eyes on the terms of service!)
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How to lead a RICH life…
Can money buy happiness? What is the measure of true wealth? Why do so many people with high incomes have such limited assets? Why so many questions?Polly LaBarre explains that it takes more than Bentleys, Blue-Label Scotch, and a big…
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Stand By For NEWS!
Thanks for your patience as we’ve been working hard to get this thing started. Our official launch is Monday, and you’ll see us slowly pull the protective sheeting off of all the shiny new stuff.