Music Marketing Q&A with Bob Baker

I recently started posting a series of short audio answers to important questions about guerrilla music marketing, Internet music promotion, and more.

This page serves as a directory of links to all of the individual audio Q&A posts. Return to this page as I add more audio answers in the coming weeks and months.

Audio Q&As currently available:

What Is Guerrilla Marketing?

What's the Best Way to Promote a New Album?

Do Artists Today Really Need Their Own Website?

Can You Give Me 3 Examples of Guerrilla Music Marketing in Action?

What Should an Artist's Goals Be for Their Own Website?

This audio Q&A series was inspired by Jon Ostrow and a list of questions he sent me. My shorter text answers are featured on his MicControl.com website here.

-Bob

The image above is by Roy Blumenthal.

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Q&A: Best Ways to Promote a New Album

This is another in a series of short audio questions and answers I will post here on the blog to celebrate the launch of my Music Marketing Mentorship Program in January.
The question:

What are some low-cost ways that musicians can promote an album release using guerrilla marketing?

There are two ways to access my audio answers:

1) Listen now using this streaming audio player:


2) Download the MP3 using this link

Visit this page for a list of links to all of the audio Q&A posts.

This audio series was inspired by Jon Ostrow and a list of questions he sent me. My shorter text answers are featured on his MicControl.com website.

What album promotion strategies have worked for you? Leave a comment below ...

-Bob

Photo above by Pooki Lee.

Q&A: What Is Guerrilla Music Marketing?

This is the first in a series of short audio questions and answers I will post here on the blog to celebrate the upcoming launch of my Music Marketing Mentorship Program.

The first question:

What is Guerrilla Music Marketing? And why should emerging artists embrace a Guerrilla Marketing strategy?

There are two ways to access my audio answers:

1) Listen now using this streaming audio player:


2) Download the MP3 using this link

Visit this page for a list of links to all of the audio Q&A posts.

This audio series was inspired by Jon Ostrow and a list of questions he sent me. My shorter text answers are featured on his MicControl.com website.

Here are links to some of the things mentioned in this audio clip:

• The Guerrilla Music Marketing series of books
• Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson
• Guerrilla Marketing on the Front Lines

Do you agree with my definition? Leave a comment below ...

-Bob

Artist Development & the New Indie Music Reality

Read this excerpt on Artist Development from a Bob Lefsetz blog post:

So if you're a new act, stay indie. You've got to, in order to be in control of your own artistic destiny ...
And indie is about forgetting everybody else and focusing on your fans. If your fans are burned out on your music, you must make more ...

Artist development is not about growing your audience. It's about writing, recording and playing, and finding out if someone is interested. Your music is your calling card. People are only attracted when they can feel the passion and the excitement, which doesn't come from hype, but people, testifying one to another and occasionally in media. In other words, there are no shortcuts.

And if you're really good and have success, business people will come to you. Like flies to sherbet. That's when you hire a lawyer and decide who to play with. Please hire a lawyer. A bad deal can kill a career.

And a lawyer can craft a deal that allows someone to run with your music for as long as he or she generates success, otherwise you're free again.

And you don't want to be with the usual suspects. Not unless you make Top Forty music. The usual suspects only know how to do it the old way. They're all about the money, and you're all about the music. It's a bad fit. They're about instant stardom, you're about paying your dues, discovering exactly what it is you do that appeals to people.

In other words, you're in charge of your own artist development. We live in a DIY world. If you're waiting for someone to rescue you, to make you famous, you're delusional ...

There will always be a few superstars, culture demands it. But the new era is about tons of journeymen. Your goal should be to make a living playing music. If this is not enough, give up.

I'm sold. But I've been preaching this message for a couple decades, so I may be biased. What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

Read his entire post here.

-Bob

P.S. Get more tips like these when you subscribe to my free Buzz Factor ezine -- the longest running music career tips email newsletter on the planet. Since 1995. Go grab your free subscription now here.

Free Report: 10 Success Strategies for DIY Musicians, Managers & Promoters

In the spirit of holiday gift giving, I want to give you a brand new, six-page report called "10 Success Strategies for DIY Musicians, Managers, Promoters and More."

Use this direct link to the PDF file to open and print it.

(If you want to access it later, be sure to save the file to your hard drive or favorite ebook reader.)

I encourage you to share this free report with anyone you feel could use it. Blog about it and link to the file, post a tweet or Facebook update about it ... you know, spread it around!

That's why I published these 10 DIY music strategies - to inspire and empower music people who really need to GET these principles.

The only stipulation for sharing this: Please do not alter the report or charge money for it.


10 Success Strategies for DIY Musicians by Bob Baker is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Enjoy!

And Happy Holidays!

-Bob

How to Be a Holiday Hero This Year!

You're an artist, right? Of course you are -- no matter what role you play in the music biz, there's no doubt you are a creative being.

And because of that, I bet you have lots of friends and loved ones who are also creative types -- songwriters, singers, musicians, as well as visual artists, writers, and performers of all stripes.

Wouldn't it be cool if you gave them something they can actually use this holiday season?
How would the special creative people in your life feel if they received a book from you that was personally signed by the author TO THEM?

Of course, you could just give them a toaster or a gift card. But, come on ... how special is that?

Here's a suggestion that will turn you into a Holiday Hero this year:

Look over the selection of paperback titles on this book page.

Purchase any assortment of titles between now and Friday, December 10 ... and I'll give you 20% off any order of $30 USD or more.

Just enter the promo code DEC10 on the shopping cart page when you check out.

Then list the name of the person you want the book(s) autographed to in the "Comments / Special Delivery Instructions" section of the final check-out page, and you're done. (See my note below in the P.S. for shipping times.)

Remember, these books are not just for musicians. "Unleash the Artist Within" is for creative people of all types -- painters, photographers, actors, filmmakers, you name it.

And "55 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Book on the Internet" is perfect for writers, authors, bloggers, speakers, consultants, and anyone wanting to establish themselves as an expert online.


Do you know anyone who could benefit from this type of guidance and inspiration?

Of course, for the musicians in your life, there's always the classic "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and "Guerrilla Music Marketing, Encore Edition" titles.

Ready to be a Holiday Hero this year?

Start browsing the available titles and get ready to save 20% and make someone very happy this holiday season!

-Bob

P.S. I will ship books Priority within the U.S., so there should be no problem getting the autographed books to you in time for Christmas (if you order by Dec 10).

Books shipped to Canada and all other countries are sent Priority International (and often take 10 to 14 days or longer to arrive). I can't guarantee delivery times. So it's best to order sooner rather than later.

P.P.S. The image above is by greengymdog.

Connection Addiction: Lessons from 28 hours 'Off the Grid'

Yesterday, I tried something that was out of the ordinary for me. I actually -- gasp! -- went a whole 28 hours without posting any new updates to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

If you pay attention to my online social media stream, you know that's unusual, as most days I post from 8 to 10 updates.

The idea for this social media retreat came while reading Leo Babauta's new book "Focus" (which you can get in both free and paid versions here).

Leo writes about "Connection Addiction" and how it can distract us from our creative output and enjoyment of life.

Like Leo, I am not bashing all the wonders of technology and instant access we have today. These tools allow me to make a living and serve in a greater way than I ever did prior to their existence. I'm grateful and plan to keep using them.

But it was eye-opening to experience what I went though yesterday. Let me explain ...

My last post before the break promised "I will completely disconnect today. No Tweeting, Facebooking, etc for a full 24 hours. Wish me luck!"

I did live up to my promise to not post anything new for a full day. But I did not "completely disconnect" during that period. And that certainly led to some new insights into the role of technology in my life.

I did manage to stay away from my desktop computer most of the day and get out and do things. But ... of course, my iPhone was always close by.

Throughout the day, I often felt the need to see if anyone was commenting on Facebook or Twitter. Most of the time, I resisted the urge. But many times, I gave in. I checked email, opened the Mashable app to see the latest tech posts, and more.

This technology thing really can be addictive. And like anything, it can be used to enhance and improve your life ... or used to distract you and get you off track.

How often have you logged into Facebook or sat down to check email ... and the next thing you know, two hours have gone by?

Luckily, I don't get sucked into games or cute kitty videos or similar trivial content online. But I admit I get sucked in -- and could benefit from a serious accounting of how I spend my time online and off.

Can you relate?

I'll wrap up this post for now, but I do hope to return to this topic with some specific strategies for dealing with Connection Addiction and making the best "good use" of technology.

I welcome your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Bob