Notes For Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records - PART II

by Tim Sweeney :: (www.tsamusic.com)

PART 2 : How To Sell Your First 10,000 CDs

Track 1 : What You Should Already Have
After reading the first book, Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records and using the information, you should have the following:

• A retail ready CD
• A Press Kit
• Some results from a previous campaign

Now that you have the basics, its time to take your career to another level.

Track 2 : How To Build The Foundation You Will Need To Sell Your First 10,000 CDs.
The first strategy you need to learn is how to use the radio, press and television to get more exposure for your music.

Understanding How To Use Radio:

• Only focus on college and commercial radio stations in your target markets that have real impact. Don't mail to them just because they are a college or commercial radio station. Focus on ones who's airplay can actually sell CDs.
• Ask record stores clerks, club bookers and press people which radio stations people listen to and if the stores sell CDs, people come to shows and the press becomes aware of it because of the airplay on the station.
• DON'T DO A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN! Focus on stations in markets where you will be able to play on a monthly basis. Commercial radio stations in those markets will typically respond if they are interested based upon how often you are playing in their market and how many people are coming to your shows and how many CDs you are selling.
• DO NOT HIRE A RADIO TRACKING SERVICE POSING AS A RADIO PROMOTER!!

Tips of figuring out who is a radio tracking service "pretending" to be a promoter:

1. They will tell you need to go after 300 plus radio stations or service radio stations across the country for the purpose of getting on a national chart.
2. Airplay on smaller stations will make bigger stations either take notice or make them play your music.
3. Getting on a national chart will help.
4. A radio tracker will only offer a weekly report that will consist of the station's call letters, city and state where they are located, rotation, amount of spins and a one line comment. NO market research of venues to play, press or impacted retail will be provided.

These companies are including your CD in a "laundry list" and are merely "reading" the artist's names (usually 8-10) off of a list. They are not promoting your music.

The stations that make up the bulk of their lists are ones that little or no market impact. Radio trackers focus on them because these stations will add almost every CD to continue receiving CDs in the mail from them. Other record labels won't mail them any because their airplay doesn't generate sales.

Even if you get airplay on all of the stations they ask you to mail to, distributors won't take your CDs because they know it won't sell through these non impact stations.

Understanding How To Use The Press:

• The Press doesn't care that you have a new CD unless that is all their publication is focused on. Over 40,000 new CDs are released each year. Having a new CD is not a news item.
• The key to not only getting attention from the Press but having them write about you is to provide them with a story in the right material. In today's fast paced industry, Press people ironically do not have a lot of time to be writing reviews and articles. They are looking for the "article" you have already written in your Artist Profile.
• The internet version of a publication can be different than the regular printed version of the publication. It can also be more valuable than the printed version because people can immediately go to your website and hear your music and buy it.

Understanding How To Use Television:

• You don't have to have a music video to use television to your advantage. You need 30 or 60 second commercial.
• Use major cable channels that have your potential fans watching their programs to advertise your upcoming shows and website.

Understanding How To Use Your Website:

• Most artists don't have a "proper or correct" web site that can benefit or help with their promotion campaign.
• Most artists don't know how to promote their music on the web to other sites or even to their own existing or future fans.
• Most artists mistakes about the web and their careers in general come from listening to fellow musicians. Others fail by listening to hype versus reality.

Understanding how to use the radio, press and television along with the internet is critical not only for success in your home market but throughout your home state, neighboring markets and eventually regionally.

Sales will come as you learn the following creative strategies and how you are going to use them to succeed.

** However, there is a key point here. Your music, the songwriting and the performance of your music and its connection to people is the "deciding" factor as to what level of success and sales you will have.

Track 3 -- How Getting Rid Of Your Existing Press Kit Is The First Step To Your Future Success.

• Artists are divided into 2 categories by major labels. "Non-Priority" artist or beginning artists which are provided with press kits. This usually means to the media, distributors and club bookers, if you have time to look at it great, if you don't, don't worry about it, this group or artist is not that important.

  " Priority" artists have Artist Profiles which contain:

  1. The Biography. The biography is written in article form for the print media. It provides the insight as to who the artist is from an artistic point of view and where their music comes from. It should never be or reference from a historical base. The biography is the article or write up you want from the publication you are sending to.
  2. A Proper Retail One Sheet. This contains the database information for the buyers, a picture of the CD cover, the first paragraph of the biography with artist references and the bullet points of your marketing plan. **Never add or feature the song titles. This is a tip off of a fake Artist Profile or that you don't know what you are doing. Retail one sheets are also used to classify Non-Priority Artist's product. Make sure your retail one sheet like everything else in your Artist Profile is on your letterhead!
  3. Insights To The Songs. Next to the title of each song you will need to provide a 2-4 sentence description of the story behind the song. What is the song about and what is it trying to communicate. Do not describe the song in musical terms. Example: this ballad, its uptempo, its a got a Latin edge to it or I used my 12 string guitar here and, etc.

• These are the only elements of a proper Artist Profile. All of these elements go on your letterhead and inside of plastic page protectors in 1/2 inch wide, 3 ring binders with the plastic slip covers on the front of them. You will need to print out or get a 8 1/2 x 11 inch color copy made of your CD cover to slip into the front cover of the binder. NEVER use a black pee-chee folder for your Artist Profile!! That is what to use for a press kit.
• The last thing to include in your Artist Profile is a copy of your CD into the front inside pocket of the binder. Velcro or tape the back of it to avoid it sliding out.
• Always send your Artist Profiles in Priority Mail boxes (provided free of charge from the Post Office. Never send them in Media or 4th Class Mail. It makes you look cheap. Put them in the flimsy Priority mail envelopes first then in the box to secure the Artist Profile and give it better protection. DO NOT ship in yellow manila envelopes! People in the industry sort their mail by importance of how it was received. My company does not look at manila envelope packages for at least 4 weeks.
• The importance of an Artist Profile, even as an indie artist is the "perception" that you are a "Priority" artist in the industry!
• If you are having trouble putting a proper Artist Profile together or you are not sure it is right, don't make a critical mistake! Call me at 909-303-9506.

Track 4 -- Street Promotion. How To Effectively Promote Your Live Shows.

• At least 70% of all your CDs will be sold at, begin with or result from the promotion of and the performance of your live shows.
• Most artists suffer from the misperception that to effectively promote their future shows, they simply have to contact their mailing list again and send out press releases. The problem is that the same 25-50 people will show up again and they won't buy your CD because they already have it!
• Finding New Fans:
  1. Lets think about the club or venue where we are going to be playing. Where do your future fans live, shop or hang out?
  2. Limit your search to a 2-3 mile radius around the club. People don't like to drink and drive and have the cops chase them home.
  3. Give them CD samplers versus handing them flyers. Since no one can hear your music on a piece of paper, give them a CD sampler where they can hear your music.
  4. What is a CD sampler and why are they better? A CD sampler is nothing more than a 2 or 3 song CD in a plastic or cardboard sleeve that you give people to take with them after you have talked to them about who you are and your music. Invite people to drive around with them in their cars and email you through your site to let you know what they think of your music.
  5. The advantages of the CD samplers start with the ability of people to hear your music which encourages them to buy a copy through your site, online, or at the local store or to come to one of your shows and buy it there. Most new fans will spread the story of how they met you and how you gave it to them personally. CD samplers can also be used as a magic ticket to be traded to get in free to a show or a free drink or a shirt. or simply given to their friend to listen to in their car when they have bought your full length CD. Since you will be encouraging people to contact you from the information on the CD through your web site, it is a great way for people to remember your web site and get them to visit it.
     
• If you don't already have a copy, this is a good time to order a copy of Tim Sweeney's Guide To Successfully Playing Live. That program focuses on new strategies of especially what to do during your shows to increase your sales and how to evaluate your promotional campaign afterwards.

Track 5 -- Creating An Effective Web Site

• An effective web site needs to be built on your Artist Profile. This means using key elements from your Artist Profile as the foundation points for your site.
• The first step to having an effective web site is the domain name. It is critical that as an artist you don't have your record company name.com but your name or the group's name.com or something close to it. DO NOT use free site names or stupid names. The domain name is the way people will recognize and find you.
• The first page of your site should be the Splash Page. This sets the tone for the site. Since the vast majority of all music fans have AOL and 56 K dial up modems, make sure the page loads fast. Preferably in 5 to 10 seconds. The splash page can be as simple as having your band or artist name and your CD cover.
• The next page should be your Home Page. Since you are already familiar with that it should go without saying, make it easy to follow and for people to find their way to the sections they want to visit.
• The Biography or Story Page as it is better know is one of the most critical pages. Most artists lose their potential for sales right here. They use their press kit bio here. Since that bio doesn't contain the elements people want to know about they become disinterested and either leave the site or don't pay attention any more. Always use the bio from your new Artist Profile. It will provide the initial bond people want.
• The Music Page. This is where the insights to your songs will be used. Next to the title of each song provide the insights. Then next to them Real Audio or Windows Media files of a portion of each song. That way people can pick and choose which songs appeal to them based upon your description. Use Real Audio or Windows Media Files because they can be streamed in a few seconds versus an MP3 file which can take 10 minutes or more to download.
• The Contact Section. Make sure in your contact section that there are various ways for people to contact you by phone, fax, mailing address as well as through email.
• "Buy Buttons." On each page of your site (after the splash page) have an advertisement encouraging people to buy the CD now. Don't wonder if they went to the music page and found how to order. You would be surprised that literally thousands of music sites offer no ability for fans to buy a CD. Not even a link to the artist's page at Amazon.com
• The Events Section. This is the page which features your upcoming shows. It should not feature old shows that people missed. Make sure to update this section frequently. Provide the fans with the date, time, club or venue name, street address, time you believe will perform, phone number that someone answers at the club and even a link to a map program online to help them get there.
• I have co-written a very complete book on the subject of effective web sites and how to properly and effectively market your web site. If you don't have a copy, order a copy of The Complete Guide To Internet promotion For Artists, Musicians and Songwriters, now! Call 909-303-9506 or order online at www.tsamusic.com

Track 6 -- Distribution vs. Consignment

• Every artist thinks they need a distributor. Again they mistakenly believe they need a national distribution deal even though they will never play nationally or get airplay at market impact stations nationwide.
• If you want a distribution deal, focus on regional distributors who focus on your target markets. Don't contact them until you have built a sales history with the record stores yourself and you can no longer handle the orders.
• While distributors are attractive, they won't pay you all of your money in the so called promised 60 day period. Since the stores order from the distributors by credit, if their credit line runs out, which happens on a regular basis, there goes your sales because they can't order copies of your CD to sell.
• Focus on consignment first with key record stores in your area where you think your CD will sell. If they want it from a distributor instead of dealing with you find out which one.
• Understand how consignment works:
  1. Stores don't pay until the product sells.
  2. In distribution deals, the stores have to pay in 30 or 60 days even if the CDs they ordered don't sell. They can't return the CDs for credit until 90 days.
  3. In consignment, you get paid in full every week, 2 weeks or month. Whenever you check the stock or have agreed to with the store.
  4. You can put the amount of CDs in the store that you want and make sense. In distribution deals, you are lucky to have more than 2 copies per store.

Track 7 --The Press

• There is no question that a proper Artist Profile will help you receive more attention from the print media than a press kit. However it is important that you understand that you must focus on the daily newspaper and alternative newsweeklies in the markets you are targeting.
• A key point to always remember is "what is my story?" Even though it should be clear in your bio, you have to be able to quickly explain it to the press people over the phone.
• The key to finding the right writer at the publication for you and your music is to review some of the previous articles they have written in the past.
• Always take advantage of voice mail! It can be more effective than getting a hold of the person on the phone and not knowing what to say!
• Until you are touring nationally on a regular basis and have sold thousands of CDs through out your home region and are expanding your campaign, skip the national press.
• Even with all your efforts with the press keep one thing in mind, reviews won't sell a lot of CDs. As we have talked about before, if people can't hear your music they aren't going to buy it. That's why internet publications or the internet versions of print publications can be more valuable. They can offer the reader the opportunity to hear a sample or the person can jump onto your web site and hear a sample (not an MP3 file!).

Track 8 -- Radio Airplay

• Focus on radio stations that have a real audience of the demographic your music matches up with. Don't waste time on worthless college stations that broadcast to corn fields, public stations where the best you can hope for is one spin a week on a specialty show or even commercial radio stations in the middle of nowhere that you hope charting on will draw the attention of some other station that has real market impact.
• Only focus on radio stations that have real market impact and are located in the markets where you will be playing on a monthly basis. Ask yourself the following question, if I get airplay on a small station 2,000 miles away from where I live, how many time a month am I going to travel there at my own expense to play shows for 25 people? How much money am I willing to lose on each trip to sell 3 or 4 CDs at each show?
• The trick to winning over the music fans of commercial radio stations is not to mail a CD to the radio station! Instead of running out the door to mail a CD to the commercial radio station you want to be on before you have the right materials, a story developed or a sales history that will impress them, learn how to connect directly with their fanatic listeners.
• To find the fanatic listeners or fans of the radio station, go to the free events the radio puts on. Meet the fans you are trying to reach through ariplay. Talk to them about your music and give them a CD sampler with your contact information. The fans or listeners of radio stations want to meet the artists they hear on the station. That's why they are coming to the events. This is a great opportunity for you to meet in person the people you want to reach through the airplay on that station that isn't interested in you right now. You don't need the radio station's airplay to meet the fans in person!
• If hundreds of fanatical station listeners start coming to your shows and buying your CDs, the radio station will notice. If your impact or influence on the market becomes stronger and stronger, the radio station will be forced into playing your music to keep their listeners happy.
• Instead of conforming to a musical genre dictated by the radio stations, keep in mind that you maybe ahead of the musical trend. Bands like Phish rarely get airplay but have sold millions of records from shows and the word of mouth.

Track 9 -- Television

• Television commercials are a great way to introduce your music to hundreds of thousands of people or even millions through the medium they pay attention to the most. You can buy commercials on major cable channels for significantly less than major networks and you take advantage of their target audiences to reach the demographics you want more effectively.
• Local cable providers in the markets you are targeting can cut out national commercials and resell the spots to local people for whatever price they can get for them. That's why you see the local car dealers on major cable channels.
• Prime time commercials in most major markets that are targeted into the areas where you will be performing and handing out CD samplers will range from $25 to $50 per spot. Pick where and when you want your commercials shown and negotiate the price down.
• Your television commercials should be advertising your website, your CD and your upcoming live shows.
• Getting started on investigating this is very easy. Call your local provider and ask for a "media kit.." Once you are familiar with it, track down the local cable providers for the areas in which you are going to be playing.

Track 10 -- Making Room In Your Life For Success

• Review all the notes you have made while listening to this program. To create even more effective notes, listen to this program again right now.
• Listen to this program for a third time with either all of your band members together or with the people supporting or working with you. Have an open discussion about the strategies. Which ones can you implement right now? What creative new marketing ideas of your own did you come up with after listening to the program a few times?
• Transfer your notes from listening to the program and the notes from your meeting with your band members or the people working or supporting you into a journal which you can them write down what you are doing everyday to move your career forward.
• Be sure to make detailed notes of what is working for you and especially, what is not working or getting you the kind of results you wanted.
• If you have any questions or concerns or simply need someone who can help you make this reality, call me directly at 909-303-9506 or email me through the address on my web site at www.TSAMUSIC.com

Thanks Again for purchasing this program and allowing me to help you through it. I look forward to talking with you in person at one of the Music Strategies seminars or over the phone.

Best Regards,
Tim Sweeney