Archive for April, 2011

Selling Your Music at Live Shows

attorneycross On April - 29 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

Selling Your Music at Live Shows

 

The Heretic’s comment:  For the independent musician the rule for live shows is this; never perform live without setting up a way to sell your CDs.  Selling your CDs is the ultimate goal of music marketing. All the activities —all the planning and coordination that a label puts into marketing a record—have the sale of CDs as their ultimate goal.

 

Live performance sales can provide you with the largest percentage of profit, per unit sold, than any other method of distribution or sales. Make the most of this opportunity, and never even think about doing a live show without mentioning to the crowd that your music is for sale at the venue. The revenue you receive from your live show sales can help pay for expenses you incur on the road. In many cases the amount of money you receive from sales of your CDs at live shows will be much higher than the performance fees you receive.

 

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The Official Release of the  “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall.  On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. Weare very excited about this Project!!!!

 

 

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The Business of Live Performance

attorneycross On April - 29 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

 

The Business of Live Performance

 

The Heretic’s comment:  Live performances of recording artists are streaming on the Internet these days, or are available at websites in large archives of previously posted live performances. Offline, playing a live show of any kind is glamorous and exciting. However, performers do not realize that when they perform in a good old-fashioned club and other live venues, they’ll deal with business owners and these business owners have a different perspective on music.

 

For traditional live venues, it is a business, a very serious business with risk and competition.  Most musicians think a club date is the ultimate live gig. Granted, playing the club circuit can be lucrative if planned properly.

 

A club makes most of its money from people who buy drinks from the bar, or order food from the kitchen.  A club can’t book an act that draws flies; it needs an act that draws people in droves who drink and or eat.  Artists who want to get booked should already have a solid fan base to show the club’s booker in their promotional kit.

 

There are many kinds of live venues besides clubs.  How many can you name?

  • Bars and Taverns Conventions
  • Book Stores
  • Coffee Houses
  • Music Conferences Showcases
  • Record Stores
  • Festivals
  • Industry Showcases
  • House Concerts
  • Fairs  
  • Non-Profit Charity Organization Shows
  • Frat and Sorority Gigs
  • Concert Halls Association Functions
  • Shopping Malls
  • Schools  
  • Street Corners
  • Restaurants
  • Churches
  • Raves …more? 

 

So, how many more live music venues can you think of? The above is just a partial list, the point is for you to think about all the alternatives you have for playing in front of an audience .If you do well at non-traditional venues, the nightclubs may be more inclined to book you— especially when they know that your shows have been selling out wherever you play

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The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
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The Official Release of the  “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall.  On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. Weare very excited about this Project!!!!

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Make Money Licensing Cover Songs for Film, TV, and Advertising and Collecting Performance Royalties
The Heretic’s comment: Alex Holz (Senior Director of Artist & Community Relations, RightsFlow) provided CD Baby with powerful insight on Performance Royalties. Enjoy!
Unlike most countries in the world, recording artists do not receive a royalty from terrestrial radio (AM/FM) airplay in the United States. Recording artists who did not write their own material would only benefit by association/promotion only without seeing direct airplay revenue.
However, there is a sound recording royalty associated with certain digital transmissions (satellite radio, internet radio, etc.). SoundExchange is the designated agent in collecting and distributing statutory royalties from these transmissions to recording artists, sound recording copyright owners, and backing musicians.
So how do artists make money through SoundExchange? Simple – just as recording original music increases the chances for making new fans, selling more music, etc., creating cover recordings increases the chances of collecting internet and satellite radio performance spins (especially through stations and non-interactive streaming sites that feature such catalogue). A great recording artist who doesn’t write their own material would ordinarily miss out on performance royalties in the terrestrial world, but digital picks up the slack and can pay out incremental revenue.
Like creating cover versions for sync placement, increasing revenue still requires legwork – including contacting and making your music available to tastemaker DJs (such as Coverville), but generating online airplay is easier than terrestrial radio and one of the most accessible ways to promoting music to a larger audience.
Once you’ve created your own recordings and promoted them to relevant sources, the collection process comes into play. In order to collect, sound recording copyright owners, backing musicians, and artists (including those who are also songwriters represented by ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC) need to sign-up with SoundExchange via their online forms. Since inception, SoundExchange has paid out over $537 million in royalties for major-label and independent artists alike (including $252 million in 2010 alone), so signing-up is a good idea to start collecting on your covers and original recordings alike.”

http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2011/04/cash-for-covers-make-money-licensing-cover-songs-for-film-tv-and-advertising-and-collecting-performance-royalties/?utm_source=DIYNews&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=042711

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Let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall. On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. We are very excited about this Project!!!!

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Create Promo Videos Without a Video Camera

attorneycross On April - 29 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

Create Promo Videos Without a Video Camera
The Heretic’s comment: Sure, content is King…
But what if you don’t have the tools to create compelling video content? Don’t fret! You don’t need to own video production equipment or hire Michel Gondry to promote yourself and your music on the highly visual realms of YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc. Instead, use someone else’s tools.
Here are a few options:
1. GoAnimate and Xtranormal Movie Maker allow you to create animated videos by simply entering text/dialog. Here is an example, where two funny looking bear cartoons discuss writing a novel. But you could use these tools to make a short, entertaining video about your upcoming CD release party or to discuss the making of your latest album.
2. Stupeflix allows you to easily create a video slideshow of existing photos and clips. Make a photo montage of your recording experience, of your recent tour, of your favorite fans, etc.

http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2011/04/create-promo-videos-without-a-video-camera/?utm_source=DIYNews&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=042711

If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!
Let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
www.thecrossfirm.com
Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross
Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic
The Official Release of the “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall. On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. We are very excited about this Project!!!!

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The Champions on Your Side

attorneycross On April - 29 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

The Champions on Your Side
________________________________________
Resistance is the enemy to great work, says author Steve Pressfield. But with enemies come allies. Consider, who and what will push you through the dips and help you do the work that matters.
Here’s an Eexcerpt from Do the Work about the champions on your side:
1. Stupidity
2. Stubbornness
3. Blind faith
4. Passion
5. Assistance (the opposite of Resistance)
6. Friends and family
Stay Stupid
The three dumbest guys I can think of: Charles Lindbergh, Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill. Why? Because any smart person who understood how impossibly arduous were the tasks they had set themselves would have pulled the plug before he even began.
Ignorance and arrogance are the artist and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. She must be clueless enough to have no idea how difficult her enterprise is going to be—and cocky enough to believe she can pull it off anyway.
How do we achieve this state of mind? By staying stupid. By not allowing ourselves to think.
A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.
Don’t think. Act.
We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted. But we can accomplish nothing until we act.
Be Stubborn
Once we commit to action, the worst thing we can do is to stop.
What will keep us from stopping? Plain old stubbornness.
I like the idea of stubbornness because it’s less lofty than “tenacity” or “perseverance.” We don’t have to be heroes to be stubborn. We can just be pains in the butt.
When we’re stubborn, there’s no quit in us. We’re mean. We’re mulish. We’re ornery.
We’re in till the finish.
We will sink our junkyard-dog teeth into Resistance’s ass and not let go, no matter how hard he kicks.
Blind Faith
Is there a spiritual element to creativity? Hell, yes.
Our mightiest ally (our indispensable ally) is belief in something we cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or feel.
Resistance wants to rattle that faith. Resistance wants to destroy it.
There’s an exercise that Patricia Ryan Madson describes in her wonderful book, Improv Wisdom. (Ms. Madson taught improvisational theater at Stanford to standing-room only classes for twenty years.) Here’s the exercise:
Imagine a box with a lid. Hold the box in your hand. Now open it.
What’s inside?
It might be a frog, a silk scarf, a gold coin of Persia. But here’s the trick: no matter how many times you open the box, there is always something in it.
Ask me my religion. That’s it.
I believe with unshakeable faith that there will always be something in the box.
Passion
Picasso painted with passion, Mozart composed with it. A child plays with it all day long.
You may think that you’ve lost your passion, or that you can’t identify it, or that you have so much of it, it threatens to overwhelm you. None of these is true.
Fear saps passion.
When we conquer our fears, we discover a boundless, bottomless, inexhaustible well of passion.
Assistance
We’ll come back to this later. Suffice it to say for now that as Resistance is the shadow, its opposite—Assistance—is the sun.
Friends and Family
When art and inspiration and success and fame and money have come and gone, who still loves us—and whom do we love?
Only two things will remain with us across the river: our inhering genius and the hearts we love.
In other words, what we do and whom we do it for.
Get your copy now. Do the Work is available for free on Kindle for another three weeks only (thanks to GE) and for purchase in hardcover, 5-pack, 48-pack and audio.

Article by Amber Rae
Amber Rae is The Domino Project’s chief evangelist. A creative catalyst and starter of meaningful things, she lives for inspiring people to act on their ambitions. You can find more of Amber at heyamberrae.com or on Twitter @heyamberrae.
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If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!

Let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..

www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall. On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. We are very excited about this Project!!!!

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50 Cent Launches Comedy Tour

attorneycross On April - 28 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

50 Cent Launches Comedy Tour

The Heretic’s comment: 50 Cent is venturing into the world of comedy. Thisis50.com has launched a comedy tour in partnership with Jam House Live. Broadcasting live on the last Thursday of each month on Fif’s Web site and jamhouselive.com,  the show will premiere this Thursday, April 28.

Similar to Russell SimmonsDef Comedy Jam and Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, each half-hour episode with feature a slew of comedians, including thisis50.com staple, Young Jack Thriller. According to MTV, it will cost $2.99 to watch each online show, while proceeds from the sales will go to aid Japan in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown earlier this year.

http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/04/50-cent-launches-comedy-tour/

If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!

Let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..

www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the  “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall.  On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. Weare very excited about this Project!!!!

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Topspin‘s Announces New Data Product at Rethink Music Panel

The Heretic’s comment: Topspin will soon roll out a data product centered on analyzing the effectiveness of artist communications with fans through social media and other online avenues. It will create measure how effectively different ways of communicating turn into clicks, retweets and downstream commerce.

 ”A lot of what we’re trying to do is give people analytics so they can see what they’re doing that’s working,” said Ian Rogers, CEO of Topspin.

 As a business owner, it is imperative to know that you are reaching your target audience and that you are reaching them effectively.

 http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/topspin-s-ian-rogers-announces-new-data-1005159232.story

If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!

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The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the  “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall.  On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. Weare very excited about this Project!!!!

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Lyor Cohen Talks 360 Deals, High Salaries, The Future of Labels — But Not Warner Music Auction — At Rethink Music

The Heretic’s comment: Warner Music Group head Lyor Cohen preached the gospel of artist development and loving the business at the Rethink Music conference here, but he wasn’t talking about the auction for WMG. In fact, audience members were asked not to inquire about the Goldman Sachs-run auction underway for Warner, with prices reportedly hovering in the $3 billion range.

 Cohen said combining intense attention to artist development with 360 deals is necessary to succeed — and sustain the salaries of a company’s top-notch staff — while keeping a smaller roster of artists and releasing fewer records.

“We are reactivating the lost art of artist development, I really believe that,” he said.

Audience questions probed for 360 details. Is Warner sharing ownership of master recordings with artists? “No,” said Cohen. Do 360 artists still have to recoup? “Yes.” He added that the company has tried true 50/50 deals in the UK.

 http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/lyor-cohen-talks-360-deals-high-salaries-1005158962.story

If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!

Let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the  “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall.  On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. Weare very excited about this Project!!!!

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10 Things You Need to Know About NBC’s ‘The Voice’

The Heretic’s comment: The Hollywood Reporter breaks down 10 things you need to know about The Voice.

1. Focus on quality: Instead of weeding through open auditions a la American Idol, The Voice’s A&R team went out looking for performers, upping the overall performance. While some of the auditions are challenging, there aren’t any colossal train wrecks like we’ve seen on Idol.

2. Traces of Survivor: Once contestants have joined a team, the Battle Round begins, where coaches select two of their own teammates to go head-to-head in a performance of the same song. Coaches then consult one another on each performer’s merit, offering feedback that could potentially sabotage each other. During the premiere, a rivalry between Levine and Aguilera is born as they go head-to-head for many of the same contestants. Blake, meanwhile, seems to stick to the country music genre for which he’s known, while Green is more of the risk-taker — and flirt — of the bunch.

3. More Paula Abdul, less Simon Cowell: While Idol has been known to be brutally honest, the format for The Voice celebrates the performers and is more Paula Abdul, less Simon Cowell. Aguilera cemented that, saying: “At the end of the day, that’s what The Voice is really about — emotion and touching people.” Banter between coaches is lively and funny, with Levine standing out as the class clown as he vies to land contestants in ties with his fellow coaches. And the coaches know their stuff: The four have 32 Grammy nominations and 11 wins between them.

4. Emcee Daly, meanwhile, told THR  that his style is more in line with Hell’s Kitchen’s Gordon Ramsay than Ryan Seacrest and will cut right to the chase. “I watch a lot of Hell’s Kitchen and what I like about him is his honesty and the way he carries himself on camera,” he said. “Music is my cooking — it’s what I’m passionate about — and the artists are like my chefs. I thought a about what I enjoy when I watch him on TV, and I realized that it’s his no B.S. approach.

5. It tweets: Twitter is worked into the show with #TheVoice hash tag prominently displayed, as rivalry tweets between coaches and messages of support to both contestants and those who fail to make it regularly appearing on screen. Sibling network Comedy Central found success with the hash tag strategy last month with its Donald Trump roast.

6. Come one, come all: Duos, semi-professionals and former reality series contestants are all welcome. Season 2 American Idol contestant Frenchie Davis  – who was disqualified in 2003 after racy photos surfaced — is among those featured in the premiere.

7. It takes advantage the Glee effect: All songs performed on the show are immediately available for purchase on Apple’s iTunes. Idol didn’t begin offering iTunes availability until Season 7, when only live performances and studio recordings were offered. Idol has since expanded its offerings and now includes weekly studio recordings and compilation albums after performance night.

8. Green turned down Cowell’s X Factor. The coach recently told reporters that he was “unfamiliar with the concept of The X Factor. I knew the name and I knew the parties involved, but as an enterprise, I didn’t know what made it distinctive enough. Quite honestly, I felt like American Idol and these other entities had run their course.”

9. Hot seats: The much-hyped Star Trek-like chairs only stick around for the first two episodes — the time in which it takes the coaches to pick their team members. The large buttons attached to the desks signal when a coach wants to select the performer for his/her team and prompts the chair to turn and face the stage. “I love that I get to sit with my back turned away and use one sense alone: to hear these voices,” Aguilera said.

10. Less may be more: The winner will receive a $100,000 recording contract with Universal Republic. Cowell’s X Factor, meanwhile, will reward its winner with a $5 million deal.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/10-things-you-need-know-182265

If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!

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The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the  “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall.  On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. Weare very excited about this Project!!!!

10 Things You Need to Know About NBC’s ‘The Voice’

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10 Best Music Apps for iPad

attorneycross On April - 28 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

10 Best Music Apps for iPad
The Heretic’s comment: The floodgates opened for companies to create innovative mobile extensions for their brands when Apple came out with the iPad. he following is a list of Spinner’s picks for the top musical iPad apps out there — all guaranteed to deliver an awesome aural-neural experience. Here are our favorites:

1. D0TS Echoplex – Recreate Nine Inch Nails’ song ‘Echoplex’ with this amazing visual sequencer, similar to the one used onstage during the band’s ‘Lights in the Sky’ tour.
2. The Little Black Songbook – This app features more than 60 Bob Dylan cuts, complete with lyrics, chord charts and a chord library.
3. My Pink Friday – Explore the ‘Nictionary’ and learn the wise vernacular of Minaj while sampling her newest album ‘My Pink Friday.’
4. Decoded – For a cool $9.99, you can own this 36-song set of interactive and annotated song lyrics, including all of Jay-Z’s personal stories, 17 never-before-seen video interviews, plus two bonus videos — ‘Rap Is Poetry’ and ‘The Evolution of My Style.’ You can also vote on what Jay-Z song gets ‘decoded’ next!

http://www.spinner.com/2011/04/21/best-music-apps-for-ipad/

If you enjoy The Heretic™ and the information we provide please sign up as a subscriber today! Thank You!!!
Let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Heretic™ © 2011 Cross Live Media All RIGHTS RESERVED For the MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY Movement……..
www.thecrossfirm.com

Follow us on Twitter @attorneycross

Join our Facebook Fanpage: Search for Music Business Heretic

The Official Release of the “Before You Sign That” a is August 1, 2011. An indie artist inspired book Authored by The Heretic’s very own Leslie W. Cross Jr. and co-authored by platinum recording artist Paul Wall. On May 1, 2011 pre-order your copy. More details coming soon. We are very excited about this Project!!!!

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