Ariel Publicity

Being Derek Sivers’ best friend is a blessing.

He’s my friend who:

Helped me create Cyber PR® In fact the design of the Cyber PR® campaigns and software were his idea.

Always cheers me up and talks me through whenever I think that I can’t do something

Is the first call on my birthday

This list can go on for pages but I will stop here and say

Congratulations Derek on your new book!

“Anything You Want – 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur”

And speaking of Entrepreneur, I interviewed him in depth on just this subject… It’s long but it is a wonderful deep dive into all things Derek…

Enjoy!

See the book announcement here: http://sivers.org/ayw

And the book page here: http://sivers.org/a

Ariel Hyatt & Derek Sivers… On Being An Entrepreneur

Derek Sivers. Derek founded CD Baby in 1997, and he invented what today is the distribution paradigm model for all independent musicians. Before CD Baby there was no way for independent musicians to get distribution without a record deal. Derek left CD Baby in 2008 to start a new business to help musicians called MuckWork.  He had reached a point where he felt like CD Baby could function without him and he had this new idea that he could not hold at bay. Derek often speaks to musicians about the state of the music business, and how to sell and market themselves. This is a rare interview because it shows Derek’s business-owner side and it addresses thoughts for people who want to get into the business and not musicians.

Entrepreneurs are by definition problem solvers and Derek had a double-sided good fortune.  As a musician he was frustrated by the fact that he could not get distribution for his own CDs. Because of personal experience, he identified a few major problems and he solved them with CD Baby.

Problem #1: Musicians could not get distributed anywhere unless they were signed. He solved this issue it by providing artists with an online distribution channel that allowed artists to accept credit cards

Problem #2: Distributors were only paying their artists 2-4 times a year and holding up valuable capital that was necessary for artists to use to self-fund their own development. Derek created a system that paid artists once a week no matter how many or how fee CDs they had sold which was revolutionary for artists who were not used to getting paid so regularly and fast.

Problem #3: Musicians are inherently lazy.

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When I read “BILLBOARD’S 2009 MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIST” a few weeks ago, I thought The Onion had taken control of the venerable music trade magazine with a satirical piece.

“Today the ways artists can promote their music have proliferated so rapidly that it can be hard to keep up with what’s new – what’s actually cutting through the clutter,’  the article began. “It’s in this context that Billboard decided to geek out with 25 promotions and publicity experts across genres and mediums to create the ultimate multimedia metric: Our first Maximum Exposure List.”

Sounds fine until you read on and find a list of filled with old school, unachievable and down right “this might actually hurt your career” advice. A small sample:

#2: PERFORMANCES ON “THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW”
#35: COVER STORY IN ROLLING STONE
#71: TOUR SPONSORSHIP WITH LEADING MOBILE CARRIER
#89: SONG PLAYED ON ABC’S ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’

Indie music marketing guru and author Ariel Hyatt (twitter: @cyberpr) of Ariel Publicity also read the same Billboard article; and unlike me, who just found the list sad and amusing, she decided to do something about it.  As with all things Ariel, her response, “THE INDIE MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIST” (A GUIDE FOR THE REST OF US) is filled with realistic and achievable suggestions.

It’s also a collaborative effort, bringing in a team of industry experts who are, like Ariel,  in the trenches with independent artists every day. She also asked several artists who make a living as musicians to contribute. Her dream team includes Derek Sivers (Sivers.org), Jed Carlson & Lou Plaia (both from Reverb Nation), Tom Silverman (New Music Seminar & Tommy Boy ), Emily White (Whitesmith Entertainment) and musician Jonathan Coulton.

The resulting “INDIE MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIST” is a must read if you’re an artist who wants to move their career forward, someone who works with those artists or even if your a fan who just wants to  understand how this whole Music 2.0 thing works. Download the PDF here: http://www.tinyurl.com/indimax

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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.

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…

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I just completed the 5-day World’s Greatest Marketing Seminar in California and it was an amazing amount of information condensed into 5 jam-packed days of fantastic information. While I was on my way back to New York I had an hour long conversation with Derek Sivers about marketing for Independent Musicians…

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