The Guitar Player's Resource
The other day I was asked if there was anything that all music artists have in
common. Of course there is! The lack of time.
Whether you are doing your music full time or balancing a day job and building your
career, you never have enough time to do all the things on your list to promote your
music. And this is where the problems begin.
When you have a long list of things to do when it comes to promoting your next show
or trying to get a review or airplay, you are going to fail. The reason why is
because you are trying to accomplish too many things at once. But before you waste
your money by running out and hiring a publicist who still uses outdated press kits
and old fashion bios or a "radio tracking" service who claims to be a radio
promoter, lets sell the CDs you already have sitting on the floor.
Your first step is to cross off 90% of what is on your "to do" list. Focus on two
basic principals. One, you need to promote your music at all times! Whether you have
a show coming up or not, you need to be talking to everyone about your music and
give them a "proper" CD sampler. (Like the ones I have outlined in my workshops).
Two, you need to focus on your home city. Instead of driving hundreds of miles to
play for 25 people, build a fan base of a few hundred fans at home before you start
touring.
The key to selling your first or next 1,000 CDs is not airplay on a college radio
station where they will play your song 3 or 4 times a week or airplay on the local
show of a commercial radio station. It's not getting a review in a magazine that is
primarily read by musicians who aren't going to buy your CD or traveling hundreds of
miles to play another show where you don't have a lot of fans. The key to selling
your first or next 1,000 CDs is you. People want to connect with you. Your music is a means for them to do that. Since you are the key, this means focusing your daily, weekly and monthly "to do" lists down to only a few items at a time that you can
actually do. And again, these are items that will help you sell CDs right now! (For
more ideas and strategies order Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records, Part 2).
Before you spend the time making some grand marketing plan for the year that won't
sell your first 1,000 or even 10,000 CDs in your home city (because you will be just
repeating what you did last year that didn't work), check out my upcoming seminar.
If you want help right now with selling the CDs sitting on the floor in your house,
email, or call me directly at 951-303-9506.
Author Tim Sweeney is head of Tim Sweeney & Associates, who are entering their 18th year of being, "the only true artist development company in the world."
Tim is one of the music industry's most sought after experts and consultants, and has written several influential books including "Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records".
