and now internet Radio

Well well well.... it worked? Holy moly did it work. Market saturation for FREE. Here is the short and sweet of it, post to every internet radio you can as fast as you can. Think of it this way. Each station has 5-10 listeners whom are there friends. Thats 10 possible fans in one FREE post. The reach from 10 people is MASSIVE.. GO INTERNET RADIO.. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM not just pandora.. GO TEAM INTERNET... The Reverend

To post or not to post on Facebook

This is a side step in the many things that we have been talking about here, but I can tell you this is a simple simple thing. If you're trying to sell a record, don't bother. You'll be bugging the crap outta your "Friends" for no reason whatsoever. Take to other online media. Look for places to place ads that matter, and that people are looking for music. Facebook is a place people seem to like to discuss there lunch and dinner. Maybe even tell you exactly where they are at all times, so that smart burglars can make sure they know exactly when to go to there houses. THAT is Facebook!!

lets step back to WHERE you record

I can't spend enough time talking to you all about making the right choice as to where you record your record. Sit back, tour the local studios, travel to the places that make the records you love. Never assume you cant make it to the studio that you want. ALL studios are. negotiable. If they're more expensive then you can afford, SAVE.. If you are not established, your going to get ONE shot at the big time, and one chance to develop a BAD name..

SHOOT for the ROOF...

The Order of your songs MATTERS

oh yes it does.. Think about this in the simplest way possible. Make the overall CD just like you would and individual song. there should not be lows in the CD. You want to make sure you take the listeners on a Music path. Start in there face but NOT bashing... Don't club them over the head.. Hit Single song 2-3 spot... MUST have some energy in the song 7 spot and commonly the B side single.. Use this logic when picking songs and you'll do well. Not to many slow ones in a row.. With me?

Simple..

Today we talk PRESENTATION !!!

OHHHH god yes that's important. Here you sit with this brilliant CD. All MASTERED, yea, you mastered it right? Like got the levels set to STANDARDS for the RADIO and Licensing houses? Right? OH, wait, you one of those DIY guys/gals... NO NO NO NO!!!.. MASTERED.. PROFESSIONALLY.. then come back here..


ok - So - now your CD is mastered. lets talk look and feel. No matter if you thinking digital download or selling in the few remaining stores, the cover still matters. The info inside matters. The SIZE and STYLE of the Jewel case matters, folks. Thin line? NO, unless this is a free promotion disk and that's all. So do it right the first time, is more my thing. You save money just getting things done to the mass standards. You can't really be sure at this point where the bulk of your listeners or sales are going to come from so, best plan for the lowest common denominator. FULL SIZE JEWEL cases with a 4 panel minimum insert.

BAND NAME.. if you don't already have it, put some effort into it. Yes it matters.. Your name if your a solo artist.. YES.. that makes lots of things a lot easier, like the publishing and the trademark.. Otherwise.. THINK, and SEARCH.. if there are 52 other bands on MySpace with that name.. Trademarked or not.. LAME IDEA.. be original, be clever, but not lame.. hard? yup.. wanna name your band LIGHTNING ROD.. not such a good idea. there are 50 million entries that come back on the net for that, and they AIN'T gonna be your band.. THINK...

ART - HIRE A PRO.. PHOTOSHOP NO NO NO.. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.. PRO... ORIGINAL art. That is all I will say here.. it matters.

FULL SIZE JEWEL CASE - Why? Store Racks.. they are set to hold and accept a certain sized Cd, and they aren't going to change for little old you. You want to make sure you can conform to them. With the way the RECORD STORE industry is, you never know, here today gone tomorrow? OR... A resurgent.. I remember people telling me that Vinyl was GONE by 1985.. well... NOT so much, there are MORE stores selling Vinyl then CD's boys and girls. THING IS MP3's sound TERRIBLE compared to a REAL CD.. People have racks at HOME for the full sized. THAT is ADVERTISING.. THEY SEE YOU AT HOME, On there shelf, and they FIT a full sized Jewel case.. get with it.

Solve these two things and see me here tomorrow.. YES !! tomorrow.. we don't have all day, your gonna be 25 this year!!! time is ticking....

Decide.. what do I want from it... and what will I give...

There is nothing more important we can talk about, than this. THIS is the fundamental for all the decisions you're about to make. Sound easy? It ain't. Let me guess; sell a million records and be a rockstar. Right.. lets skip this conversation as it's too lame a statement to bother with. So, I think better we talk in real terms of things like:

I want to make my living from playing ORIGINAL music.

What is the Price I will Pay?

What do you mean? you ask?

Well, for instance. In 2 months of focusing on it, I was making enough from my CD to live FULL time, as long as I lived in Thailand. Weird? Then your not thinking correctly and you need to seek to understand the Question. STOP and GET THIS.

90% of what I was doing was selling on the internet, licensing to soundtracks, etc.. 10% was shows. So, there was nothing to lose on the revenue stream by moving. Seem extreme? It is. We need to ask ourselves, HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS? AND WHATS THE GOAL? Trying to be to big to fast will only cause you to fail. For example; Lets say your goal was to get outta bed, eat and go back to bed. That would be somewhat easy to do, and your life would have fulfillment and success somewhat easy, eh?

So, set WEEKLY goals of the SAME size. Understand the OVER ALL goal. THATS number one. Then look at a time line. If you are making "X" by this time ("X"), then you're happy, if not, then I need to change. YOU MUST KNOW YOUR LIMITS. Failure only comes from goals NOT REACHED. Think on that. Not as simple or dumb as it sounds. Decide what's the most important. Living off the Music, or just being involved in music. Would you rather play music and live in Thailand? Or a computer job to stay in America as long as you get to be a weekend warrior? ALL UP TO YOU...

Tomorrow we talk STEP TWO: Day one of telling people your here..

You just completed your Music CD, NOW WHAT?

This is a blog devoted to the information I have compiled of the last 15 years of being a professional music. Some of that for the largest companies in the world, and some of that 100% on my own. Here we'll talk about what works and what does not.. First conversation...

MYSpace: To Myspace or NOT to MySpace.

Stay tuned for tomorrows Blog cast...