Ariel & Jody at SXSW

I am thrilled to announce that I will be co-hosting a seminar with the amazing Jody Gnat in Phoenix, AZ

What does music have to do with social media and community networking?

How can a songwriter or artist leverage social media for marketing success?

The landscape of the music world is changing. Whether you are writing,
recording, or promoting, the Internet offers the opportunity for
heavy-duty collaboration online. These tools, on their own, are
seemingly insignificant but when used in conjunction with Internet marketing to create your
own cyber-footprint, they have the potential to create great opportunity.

Social Media for Musicians Details:

Sunday January 25, 2009 - 10 AM - 2PM

Perfect Timing Entertainment
617 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
http://www.perfecttimingentertainment.com

No longer does living outside a major metropolitan area limit your chances of finding an audience that appreciates and supports your talent. Learn how to take this process from your living room to the virtual realm with online collaborating, promotion and live music performance, and how to make a living at the same time.

Jody & I will also cover

How do you get your music played on Podcasts?
Should you have a blog, or a website? Or, both?
How do you stay productive while managing your presence online?
How do you deal with the fact that, once you engage in social media,
all of the feedback might not be positive?
What metrics do you use to gauge the success of your social media commitment?
How much does social media contribute to lead generation vs. revenue
generation?

With media becoming interactive, the next generation of business
community members (and fans) is expecting greater communication and
involvement in the social media landscape through presence, content,
interaction and commitment.  But how can one make a living on the
Internet?

We’ll explore other sources of potential revenue generation:

Revenue generating video players
Ad supported blog networks
Sponsorships and Partnerships
Getting your fans to buy from you many times a year

We’ll discuss how we use the applications and networks we love, how
they help us, and our methods for finding balance online.

Once thing is for certain – the future of music is live, visual,
interactive, and mobile.
Come find out why!

Tickets are $47

Please email Ariel@ArielPublicity.com to register

Our Cyber PR Holiday Fundraiser is winding down. In conjunction with raising money for charities we promised our Holiday Fundraiser artists that in retrun for them participating we would do an Online PR Campaign pushing their holiday music! Wanted to give a quick update and a great BIG thank you to all the social media makers that featured their holiday songs!

Spud Show Podcast :
featured: Jana Mashnee - O Holy Night
http://spudshow.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=415683

Mental Nomad Podcast
featured: Carla Lynne Hall: “Please Come Home for Christmas”/Sam Marsh and the Happy Room Orchestra: “Super Saturnalia”
Jana Mashonee: “O Holy Night”
http://mentalnomad.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=415857

Windy City Radio
featured: ALL of our Holiday Fundraiser Songs during their holiday special!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/windy-city-radio

Unsigned and Underground Podcast
featured: Call That Christmas - Bryan Field
http://www.unsignedunderground.net

Artist House Music
Included our Cyber PR Holiday Fundraiser Artists in the Artists House Commmunity Christmas Compilation!
featured: Peace to the World - Andrew Hand/Please Come Home for Christmas - Carla Lynne Hall/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Carla Lynne Hall/(Moist Paula Henderson) SECRETARY feat. Big Boss/O Holy Night - Jana Mashonee/Christmas Morning - Tom St. Louis/Call That Christmas - Bryan Field/What Do You Want for Christmas - 308 Boyz
http://artistshousemusic.tumblr.com/post/66183522/artists-house-community-christmas-compilation

WZAP Radio
Added our Cyber PR Holiday Fundraiser Artist into the Christmas music rotation!
They featured:
Peace to the World - Andrew Hand/Christmas Morning - Tom St. Louis/What Do You Want for Christmas - 308 Boyz/O Holy Night - Jana Mashonee/Call That Christmas - Bryan Field/(Moist Paula Henderson) SECRETARY feat. Big Boss/Please Come Home for Christmas - Carla Lynne Hall/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Carla Lynne Hal
http://www.wzap.net/

Podsafe Christmas
featured:“O Holy Night” - Jana Mashonee
http://podsafechristmas.com/?p=102

Again its NOT TO LATE to include our Cyber PR Holiday Fundraiser songs on your site: http://www.arielpublicity.net/clients/2526

So our Holiday Fundraiser is well underway! Just received an awesome report from Tom St Louis who is participating in our fundraiser for the charity Sleeping Children Around the World!

Tom Wrote…

Update…on fundraising…

so far, 7 bedkits x $35 = $245 Canadian.

May not seem like much, but seven kids will be thrilled and will significantly benefit, so I thank you.

Awesome News!

Hello

Welcome to the last issue of Sound Advice 2008!

I hope you are gearing up for some form of holiday celebration, and that you get at least a few days of rest and relaxation and some time to reflect on the year that is coming to a close.

When I started thinking about how I wanted to wrap up Sound Advice for 2008, I was reminded of a written exercise that I did in at a seminar in San Francisco this past spring that was very powerful, and I want to share it with you.

During times like this when the television and the newspapers seem to be chock full of only doom and gloom, it is an appropriate exercise and it is simple. Here it is:

Your Notable Accomplishments of 2008:

Write down at least 20 notable accomplishments that you have achieved over the past twelve months. They don’t all have to be music-related, of course. Some of them can be things that are happening in your family, or at work, if your work is not being a full-time musician. Some examples are:

1. Released an album
2. Made 30 new friends on Facebook
3. Played a benefit concert.

You get the idea…

When you have written them all, take a look at them, fold them up, and carry them around with you in your wallet. The next time you’re faced with the doom and gloom, read them to yourself and acknowledge what you’ve done.

Bonus round, write down your lifetime accomplishments on the other side of the paper.

I am humbled and honored that I get to do what I truly love, help artists find their own marketing voices. I want to thank you for reading Sound Advice in 2008. I promise a lot more issues for next year

Happy holidays and may you have a healthy and successful 2009!

Ariel

Cyber PR Holiday Fundraiser: Musician Participants

As our way of celebrating the holiday season, we want to work with musicians to raise money for musicians in need, and contribute to the future of creativity and music! We are thrilled to announce our First Annual CYBER PR 2008 Holiday Fundraiser

Here are our Holiday Fundraiser musician participants and the charities they are raising money for!

You can download any of their Christmas song for your site and find out more about the participants here:
http://www.arielpublicity.net/clients/2526

Jana Mashonee - Grammy Nominee -Charity: Jana’s Kids
Song: O Holy Night - Jana Mashonee
http://www.janamashonee.com/
Jana’s Kids is a 501(c)3 organization that helps Native American youth achieve their dreams through it’s programs and scholarships.

308 Boyz -Charity: NOAHH - New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
Song: What Do You Want for Christmas - 308 Boyz
http://www.myspace.com/the308boyz
The Musicians’ Village is providing local musicians and other qualifying partner families the opportunity to own a home in a thriving community of committed individuals and families.

Brett Ryan Stewart/ Wide Eyed Sleeper -Charity: Musicians on Call
http://wideeyedsleeper.com/

Musicians On Call uses music to promote and complement the healing process for patients, families and caregivers. Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization formed in 1999, brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities. Musicians On Call uses music to promote and complement the healing process for patients, families and caregivers.

Tom St. Louis -Charity: Sleeping Children Around the World
Song: Christmas Morning - Tom St. Louis
http://gmsiamovie.wordpress.com/
Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) donations provide bedkits to children of any race and/or religion who will benefit the most; typically being located in underdeveloped and developing countries.

Andrew Hand - Charity: World Hunger Year & Musicians on Call
Song: Peace to the World - Andrew Hand
http://www.andrewhand.com
WHY is a leading advocate for innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty. WHY challenges society to confront these problems by advancing models that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food.

Carla Lynne Hall- Charity: Songs of Love Foundation
Songs: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Carla Lynne Hall
Come Home for Christmas - Carla Lynne Hall
http://www.rockstarlifelessons.com/
Non profit organization that provides a personalized song for children and young adults with life threatening illness.

Chris Huff- Charity: National MS Society
http://www.huffmusic.com/
The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving.  National MS Society exist to make sure it doesn’t.

Larry Johnson- Charity: NOAHH - New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
The Musicians’ Village is providing local musicians and other qualifying partner families the opportunity to own a home in a thriving community of committed individuals and families.

Moist Paula Henderson - Charity: Sweet Relief
Song: Holiday Expectations - (Moist Paula Henderson) SECRETARY feat. Big Boss
http://www.myspace.com/moistpaula
Sweet Relief provides assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems.

Anthony Taylor - Charity: MusiCares &  NOAHH
The MusiCares Foundation, Inc., was established in 1989 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn, in times of financial, personal, or medical crisis, its primary purpose is to focus the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues which directly impact the health and welfare of the music community.

Cyber PR Holiday Drive Social Media Partners

We want to send a BIG thank you to all of our new media friends who helped us get the word out about our Cyber PR Holiday Fundraiser

Lou Plaia of Reverb Nation was able to place our Holiday Drive on every page of ReverbNation.com!
http://www.reverbnation.com

Thank you to Jason Tippitt with Pod Across America and The Mental Nomad Podcast
http://podacrossamerica.blogspot.com
http://mentalnomad.libsyn.com

Thank you to Bond of Bonds Big Leather Couch blog
http://bondsbigleathercouch.blogspot.com

Thank you to Allen Sale of Astral Audio Productions
http://www.astralaudio.net

Thank you to Rod G of Blockhead Radio
http://blogtalkradio.com/blockheadrod

Thank you to Zack Daggy of the Mothpod Podcast
http://holidayz.zackdaggy.com

If you featured the Cyber PR Holiday Drive on your site please let us know at contact@arielpublicity.com.

http://mentalnomad.libsyn.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mentalnomadshow

Mental Nomad Podcast: Eclectic music podcast. I play almost every sort of music, though geared a little more toward singer-songwriters.

Pod Across America: Also an eclectic music show, but each episode focuses on one American state at a time.

Q: How long have you been broadcasting?

A: The Mental Nomad Podcast started in March 2007; it was initially a twice-a-week show but has been weekly for about a year now, with a few exceptions. The show’s eclectic, with an intention toward including music from outside the United States and music from female vocalists in almost every episode.

Pod Across America started in October 2008 and will be two episodes a month, usually one episode per state. I started in Delaware, the first state, and will go through Hawaii, the 50th state, in order … a few states will get two episodes just due to the sheer number of musicians from those states.

Q: In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?

A: To me, a good song is one that gives me some sort of emotional reaction … thrilling to the highs, coasting through the lows, laughing at a clever turn of phrase or feeling my stomach churn over some emotional conflict that rings true to me.

A song can be really simple and yet really powerful: Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” and Queen’s “Bijou” contain very short, very simple lyrics but the mix of the lyrics, the vocal delivery and the music turns them into something magical.

Most of the music I really enjoy has lyrics, and usually the lyrics are in English. I do listen to some instrumental music, and I do listen to some non-English-language music, but the instrumentalists or vocalists really have to soar above and beyond for me to really engage the music.

Q: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?

A: Attorney and writer Andrew Vachss has observed that “blues is truth,” and I agree wholeheartedly. Blues gets down to the core of the human experience, the raw truth of emotions laid bare. It’s naked and honest, and even when the blues singer engages in bragging, the exaggerations point the way toward his or her insecurities.

More broadly, music that tells a story is what really gets my attention. Blues, certainly folk music, certain rap and rock ‘n’ roll, the cabaret storytelling of a Tom Waits or the deeply emotional jazz of Jimmy Scott … music with personality.

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc., have affected you most?

A: I feel unqualified to answer this question. I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the legal issues, whereas I probably should pay more attention. In early episodes, I was a lot quicker to download a song from MySpace and play it, then ask permission after the fact. I wouldn’t dream of doing that now.

Using a content provider such as the Podsafe Music Network and working with publicists such as the folks at Ariel Publicity — where the music is pre-cleared and podsafe — is the smart way to go, I’ve found. I’d rather be able to find new music I might not have heard before and play that than risk getting sued for playing a U2 song that everyone’s going to hear all over the place, anyway.

So the limitations put in place by respecting the law challenges me to look for the next Bob Dylan, the next Tom Waits, the next Emmylou Harris.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales; do you feel podcasts have that power?

A: I haven’t personally experienced any huge revenue surge from doing podcasts and the blogs associated with them, though I do include links to both the music I play and, to a lesser extent, to the videos that strike my fancy from artists podsafe and non-podsafe.

That said, I have absolutely discovered new music that I’ve subsequently bought through blogs and podcasts. Blogs and podcasts offer a great way to sample a lot of music that I wouldn’t hear on heavily formatted local radio or even the music channels on digital TV.

Podcasts come to you. Blogs come to you, if you syndicate their feeds through a reader. They require less effort than logging into MySpace or Facebook, slogging through the many pages of contacts you have, and noticing when a particular band has updated the profile. So yes, I think podcasts are a more forward-thinking way of marketing a band — it’s letting other people be your street team, rather than trusting people to find you.

Just an old soul who decided he needed a place to express himself and stumbled into blogging.

http://bondsbigleathercouch.blogspot.com

Q: How long have you been blogging?

A: I began back in 1972 on the campus of RIT in Rochester, NY. I then went on air at the local FM station for a time. I have also worked with a company that distributes content to stations around the country who need to fill air time. Recently, my music disbursement is mainly through my blog “Bonds Big Leather Couch” (http://bondsbigleathercouch.blogspot.com), where I review new artists, new CD’s and also put together history’s of artists and bands. I am also affiliated with BlogTalk Radio, where I am part of the team of hosts for “Doctor Blogstein’s Radio Happy Hour”. We have had many new artists on the air for interviews and are always looking for new talent to feature. I am also in the middle of trying to get airtime on the local community radio station here in Memphis.

Q: In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?

A: For me, a good song contains real musicians playing real instruments. I tend to lean toward rock, but enjoy all genres. When listening to a new CD, I am listening to the interplay between the rhythm section and the lead instruments as well as the depth of the music itself. A great song does not have to be complicated in it’s arrangement. Some of the great songs of our time are simple 2/4 - two chord songs. Lyrics are also important. I am looking for the story…the guts to what the composer was trying to get at. Of course, it is not always a straight line to their meaning, but that is part of the fun.

Q: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?

A: Favorite band has to be the Allman Brothers. They opened the door to so many other bands from the south including Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Marshall Tucker etc…I am partial to the Southern Rock genre, but also have a deep love for the San Fransisco sounds of the 60’s and the Delta Blues artists of early last century including Sonny Terry, Howlin’ Wolf, Pinetop Perkins…and I could go on for 3 pages!

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have effected you most?

A: Not sure I have been effected by the new law changes, as I honor the artist’s rights to own their music. I tend to shy away from music that uses graphic language or that promotes violence, so i don’t have to worry about content, though that really is not a new concern.

In the 70’s Janis had many live songs where she would drop the F-bomb and we tended to not worry about it for a one time shout.

I do believe the record companies have gone to the extreme with the rash of court cases against individuals over peer-to-peer sharing. The rash of artists taking control of their own music through self-recording, or making individual distribution deals and by sharing their music on sites like MySpace and Facebook or on their own individual web sites is bringing the power back to the artist and stripping the record companies from owning everything.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel blogs have that power?

A: As a blogger, I want to agree with that statement. I am not a user of the MySpace area, though i have visited the sites of artists I have been introduced to and want to find more about.

I can speak from experience that a number of the new artisits or albums I have reviewed have generated a response from my readers and they went out and purchased product.

Sound Advice TV with Derek Sivers - youtube.com/ArielPublicity

Derek Sivers is a dear friend of mine and has long been a beacon of light for most of us in the music industry. To celebrate the launch of my new Sound Advice Video Series featuring Derek as my premiere guest, I wanted to share some of his marketing basics.  These are highlights from a talk he gave at Bob Baker’s Indie Buzz Bootcamp.

I constantly like to return to the lessons that Derek teaches. I have heard him speak many times and I always walk away feeling inspired. I am delighted that he is my first guest on Sound Advice TV.

To view a segment of Sound Advice TV featuring Derek Sivers click here

Derek Sivers 7 Critical Marketing Basics Every Musicians Should Know

Here are 7 wonderful lessons, which are great to revisit no matter how strong your marketing muscles are.

But before I dive in I want to start with how Derek got his own music career off of the ground. This speaks volumes about how he achieved his CD Baby success later in his career.  There is a huge marketing lesson in this story…

When he was a student at Berklee College of Music, Derek was attending a music business lecture.  Before the lecture started, he overheard his professor whispering to the guest speaker, Mark Fried from Warner Chappell Music, that there would be no time to eat before the lecture and it was a 3-hour talk. Mark was looking hungry and there had clearly been a miscommunication about eating before the class started. So, Derek slipped out of the room to a pay phone and ordered pizza for Mark and for the entire class.  Forty-five minutes into his lecture, Mark was eating pizza with the class and was extremely grateful to Derek (who was one of many students in the room) who went out of his way to help him.

After the lecture, Mark gave Derek his card and told him to keep in touch, which Derek did for the remaining 2 years he was at Berklee.  When he came to New York he would meet Mark for coffee and their friendship grew.  A week before his graduation, Derek called Mark to ask if there were any jobs at Warner Chappell opening up. Seven days later Derek had a job working at Warner Chappell in the tape room.

Lesson #1 A Marketing Golden Rule: It’s about THEM Not YOU

What struck me about this story is a simple marketing lesson that is also one of the golden rules. Always think about this question: How can I be helpful to other people?  That is what will make you memorable in the long run. It was Derek’s courteous consideration that opened all doors for him in the music business.

The pizza took Derek one phone call and $25 and it secured him a job in the music industry.  There were probably 45 students sitting in that lecture hall that day and he was the one who ended up with a relationship with Mark and in the end…a job.

Lesson #2: Unsolicited Actions Will Get You Nowhere

Derek then went on to explain what it was like in the tape room at Warner Chappell.  It was there he got to see first hand what it looks like from the inside when indie musicians send unsolicited music to a publishing company.  Warner Chappell is a large publishing company that was not looking to sign new artists and Derek saw the packages arrive by the dozen on a daily basis. From this he learned exactly what never to do.

Lesson #3: No One Is Coming To Save You In The Music Industry

Derek points out (and I have repeated this line in my own talks) that no one will come along and be your music business “fairy godfather”, it all has to start internally.  If you hire anyone to be on your team, no matter what they are doing for you, you must understand that that person is your hired partner.  You will both have to work to achieve your desired result. This is especially true in the realm of social media and online marketing.

Lesson #4: Marketing = Consideration

Reach People the Way You Want to Be Reached

Stop thinking of it as Marketing and start thinking of it as creative ways to be considerate. Think of things from the other person’s point of view: Imagine if you called your friend up and screamed into the phone: “THURSDAY COME SEE ME PLAY NEXT THURSDAY!” (HANG UP)

You probably would not show up if you were spoken to that rudely and then hung up on and it was funny to see Derek act this out but his point was: This is exactly the way most musicians speak to their newsletter lists.

If your friends spoke to you the way you speak to them on your newsletter list you wouldn’t be friends. Begin to pay attention to other artist’s messages and notice what works on you. The considerate thing is to be so novel and creative and innovative so that people say: you have GOT to see / hear this musician play!

Lesson #5:  Sharply Define What You Do

You cannot slice through the world’s attention if you are using a blunt knife and you will most definitely be blunt if you are trying to be all things to all people.  Your message must be sharp and pointed. It’s OK to exclude 99% and have 1% worship you! Be unapologetic in your bluntness.

3 CD Baby Artists Who Are Sharply Focused

Eileen Quinn - Create A Niche

One of CD Baby’s all time top-sellers is an artist named Eileen Hoyton. Eileen is from Nova Scotia and she owns a boat.  She recorded her music on the boat and the title of her album is called Songs For Sailors, and it’s a top seller at CD Baby. Why? Because it’s laser focused. It speaks directly to a niche audience. I bet you can find a copy of her album on every boat that you set foot on. Eileen also laser focused her PR and marketing efforts on her niche audience.  Since sailors read boating magazines, she went after reviews and features in boating mags, (she could have cared LESS about Spin and Rolling Stone) and she got publicized to a select group of people she knew would love her music and she sold tens of thousands of albums!

Regina Spektor - Don’t Be Afraid To Be “Out There”

Regina Spektor also understood laser focus but it took time. She did a Tori Amos style thing for years and with those albums, she did OK but when she added the hiccups and the “weird” themes and she started banging on her piano bench with a drumstick while she played people really started to notice her. This is what led her to her record deal and to her popularity.  She really stood out from the crowd.

David m. Bailey - Find A Small Hill To Dominate

David was a lawyer who was diagnosed with brain cancer. Out of that experience he became a top seller at CD Baby. David was given a few months to live and he immediately quit his job and decided to record an album.  He beat the odds and he survived brain cancer.  He is now the poster child of surviving brain cancer.  He has since recorded 7 albums and brain cancer patients often find him online through research, they then logon to CD Baby and buy all 7 of his albums at once.

Ariel Hyatt, Derek Sivers & Michael Laskow at Taxi Road Rally

Lesson #5: DIY D