From the monthly archives:

February 2010

11 Ways to Increase Your Sales on CD Baby

by Chris Robley and Andre Calilhanna February 25, 2010

There are conflicting fundamental truths when it comes to success in the indie music universe.

It’s true, of course, that tools and opportunities exist now that did not in the past. Legitimate worldwide distribution is available through the web, shattering the barriers that existed a scant 10 years ago. Read more…

18 comments

Sell More Than Just Your Music – 9 Quick Tips to Boost Gig Sales.

by Chris Robley February 25, 2010

Your merch display doesn’t have to be attractive, but it has to be ATTRACTING! Whether you’ve pimped out a thrift-store suitcase, constructed a sleek and chic portable display, or simply spread CDs, T-shirts, and candles across one of the venue’s tables, you’ve got to make sure that something besides your undeniable musical genius catches the attention of the people in the audience. Read more…

12 comments

Do You Have a Video Policy?

by Scott James February 24, 2010

I recently went to a show at a small L.A. venue called the Baked Potato. The band was phenomenal. One of the best guitar players I’d ever seen. However, half-way through the set he spotted a fan videotaping the show. Apparently he didn’t like that too much and chastised and embarrassed the fan in front of the entire crowd. As much as I loved the band I had to question why they thought it would be a good move to make their fan feel like a jerk in front of everyone for doing something that could help them reach more people. Read more…

7 comments

How Valuable is Your Database?

by Disc Makers February 23, 2010

Consider this scenario: Let’s say you own a trendy shoe store. To build store traffic, you’ve printed a post card mailing going to 1,000 people. And now you’ve got two equal stacks of addressed mailing pieces in front of you.

In one stack is 500 cards addressed to people on your own list – the marketing database you’ve built customer by customer. You know where they live and what they buy. If you’ve done your homework, you even know how often they come into your store, their shoe sizes, their favorite shoe colors, and whether they buy socks and shoelaces, too. Read more…

2 comments

CD Release Tips

by Scott James February 22, 2010

So you’ve put your blood, sweat, time, and money into making your brand new CD. Now what? Do you have a plan to make it successful, or were you just going to “get it out there?”

One of the best ways to ensure disappointing results with your new CD is to release it with no plan for how to market it. You can do better than that! Time and time again I’ve seen artists release CDs by just “making it available.” They just put out a CD and ask people to buy it. They don’t pick a single and they don’t have a good plan to build anticipation for the release. Don’t let that be you! Read more…

48 comments

Rest Is the Best Medicine, Says “Liverpool Beat” Doc

by Leah R. Garnett February 22, 2010

Stephen L. Cash lives a double-life: Chief hand surgeon at Lankenau Hospital outside of Philadelphia and “George” in the Beatles tribute band “Liverpool Beat.” Dr. Cash graciously agreed to be interviewed by Music After 50 on aches and pains of older musicians. Read more…

3 comments

Digital Mixtapes: The Future of Music Distribution

by Dexter Bryant Jr. February 19, 2010

Mixtapes have been a staple in hip-hop culture for decades. Artists primarily use them to build buzz for their commercial releases in an effort to increase their album sales. As useful as mixtapes have been for the artists who use them, it wasn’t until relatively recently that their effectiveness as promotional vehicles surfaced in pop culture. Read more…

4 comments

Gigging and Touring as an Indie

by Andre Calilhanna February 16, 2010

Playing live gigs is one of the most traditional ways for musical artists to spread the word about themselves, entertaining fans and attracting new ones. And nothing beats gigging as a way to build a band’s musical chops.

Playing gigs also gives you a recurring reason to contact your fan base and promote your act, it’s a great vehicle to collect names for your email list, and it’s the best forum to sell products like CDs and t-shirts. Read more…

6 comments

Beyond Classical: Ann Marie Calhoun Stretches Boundaries

by Disc Makers February 16, 2010

Ann Marie CalhounAnn Marie Calhoun has been touring and sharing the stage with music legends Ian Anderson, Steve Vai, and Ringo Starr, as well as composing and recording material for the recently-released Sherlock Holmes’ movie. Soft spoken and thoughtful in person, she’s a different personality on stage with a fiery presence and a knack for sizzling violin solos. Read more…

1 comment

Reverse Piracy: Pirate Your Own Music

by Dexter Bryant Jr. February 15, 2010

reverse piracyFace it. Music sales are being bastardized by “pirated” free downloads and the free will of consumers. Sure, the legal digital music market is growing but it won’t pick up the slack for declining CD sales because singles rule the market.

Analyzing the purchasing habits of the music-buying public, it is quite clear that they are much more interested in spending money on singles than on albums. Read more…

10 comments

CD Baby Introduces the Classical Music Podcast

by Disc Makers February 11, 2010

Explore the best in independently-released Concert Hall music from the Baroque era through modern Avant Garde. CD Baby is home to thousands of fine Classical recordings and each month we’ll share some highlights from our collection in this podcast. We’d love for you to check it out on itunes and give it a good rating. The debut episode features the work of Brahms, as performed by cellist David Requiro with the highly respected pianist Elizabeth DeMio. The San Francisco Chronicle has said of David’s playing “Young lion tames old masters.” The duo’s elegant and charming sound is winning fans worldwide. You can check out their album at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/requirodemio. Read more…

1 comment

A Few More Thoughts On Jazz Tribute Shows

by Jason Parker February 9, 2010

There’s been some negative talk about jazz musicians playing tribute shows to other jazz musicians recently. Journalist Phil Freeman discussed the idea in this Twitter conversation, jazz blogger Peter Hum took a little shot in this post, and trombonist Vincent Gardner wrote the most extensive piece on the subject in an article for All About Jazz titled “Let’s Tribute Ourselves”. Read more…

0 comments

Creating a Great Composite Vocal Recording

by Keith Hatschek February 5, 2010

Creating a Great Composite Vocal RecordingOne of the themes through many of the articles on Echoes consider the practicalities of how to make the most of home recording, both the equipment needed and the techniques for getting the best results from your own efforts. This article will take a look at the techniques used to create composite lead vocal tracks, referred to as “comping” the lead vocal by studio engineers. Read more…

20 comments

Fast Path to Blu-ray: Bruce Nazarian Interview, Part II

by Lee Purcell February 4, 2010

Bruce NazarianDespite justly being known as a digital jack-of-all-trades (aka Mr. Digital Guy), Bruce Nazarian thoroughly enjoys his vinyl collection, including many records he personally produced early in his rich and varied career. Much of his work has involved pushing the outer boundaries of creativity in the digital media realm – from pioneering achievements in direct-to-disk recording to evangelizing the potential and use of DVD and Blu-ray discs. Read more…

1 comment

Grammys: That’s Not MY Music Industry

by Jason Parker February 2, 2010

Watching the Grammy Awards tonight I was struck with one thought: they might call that the Music Industry, but that has nothing to do with what I do as a working musician. I have been a professional musician for 15 years, and it’s been my sole job for 9 of those years. But whatever that was on the TV tonight, that’s not even close to my world.

And you know what? Rather than that thought being depressing it is actually quite liberating. Just when I started to get upset about the things I was seeing I realized that the only reason for it to upset me is if it affects me, which it doesn’t. Read more…

7 comments
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