Macklemore: The Importance of Remaining Independent in the Music Industry

Most recording artists and bands want to get signed to a major record label and make it big in the industry. Most artists believe that getting signed to a major or independent record label is the “only” way to make it in the industry. What most recording artists and bands don’t realize is that being an independent artist can be just as beneficial as getting signed to a major or independent label. In some cases it can be better than getting signed to one of the big majors.

Most recently there has been an independent recording artist who has said that not being on a record label helped him succeed. Recording artist Macklemore explains that his success is a testament to how independent recording artist can make it big in the industry. He has currently sold over 4 million copies of his song “Thrift Shop” with views on YouTube reaching over 200 million. In an interview with Chris Hardwick on the Nerdist podcast Macklemore explains his logic of remaining independent. He states that the success of the song “Thrift Shop” is an example of how the music industry is changing.  He stated that it gives off the notion of a do-it-yourself attitude behind the music.

Macklemore also explains that there is no need for a record deal at this point in the game for him and Ryan Lewis. He stated that with the power of the Internet and the real personal relationship that you can have via social media, there is no need to get a label involved. He states that people complain about how MTV doesn’t play videos no more and how YouTube is totally the new way to view new music videos. He states that record labels go and spend millions of dollars on branding an artist and they have no idea what they are doing. The thing that sets Macklemore apart from the rest is his ability to figure out his target market and identify who is going to be receptive to their kind of music.

It is important to remain true to your craft and figure out what your target market is. Don’t waste energy on trying to get the labels to pay attention. Target your fans and have them pay attention to you!

What Can You Do To Improve Your Brand’s SEO?

This month we have focused on the importance of Search Engine Optimization. We learned that with SEO being discovered online is improved and we gain a lot more customers, subscribers, etc. So the question is how can you improve upon your SEO results. One of the answers is starring you in the face at this very moment. Blogging can improve upon your SEO results. According to Rocketmedia.com blogging provides fresh relevant content. Blogs also attract external and internal links, which gives bloggers the advantage of providing quality content and being credited by other sources.

What does this mean for the recording artist and band? This is a great opportunity to get content out in to the world. Blogging provides musicians the opportunity to expand their audiences by providing their content whether it is though media mediums such as YouTube videos or musical content uploaded to Soundcloud.com.  One of the most popular blogs in the city of Chicago that follows recording artist and bands is FakeShore Drive. This blog site provides the most up to date information about what is going on in the music scene in the Chicagoland area.

So we mentioned blogging as a way to improve your brands SEO another way is providing good keywords related to your brands website or blog site.  Keywords provide search engines a way to measure how people search for your particular brand. Websites that can help with generating good keywords for your brand include Google AdWords. Having the right keywords pertaining to your company’s website or blog is the determining factor in how you rank amongst search engine results. Also having strong keyword density provides you with the ultimate search power for your company or brand. As a recording artist or band it is important to have strong SEO to be discovered amongst the vast majority of content on the Internet. Distinguishing yourself amongst the other musicians is most important in this industry, especially online. 

How Can Search Engine Optimization Help the Independent Recording Artist or Band?

Many independent recording artist and bands believe that major labels provide the best marketing concepts and funds. They believe that big budgets are the way to go in terms of getting the recording artist or band on the map. Believe it or not record labels aren’t the only way to get a good following. The Internet has proven time and time again that you are bound to get discovered through websites such as YouTube and Facebook. Social networking sites are one of the major movers of independent recording artist and bands. What it comes down to is how you use your words to describe what you do.

Search Engine Optimization is simply the development of web pages so that your target audience can easily discover them. The way that you word your content and stay current with your web presence is vital for your independent marketing survival. According to SEO Workers.com, the development of Search Engine Optimization can make the content of your web pages more relevant, more attractive, and more easily read by search engines and their crawling and indexing software. This is what sets apart the discovered and the non-discovered in the music industry. As an independent recording artist or band it is important to pay attention to developing social networks and most importantly personal websites and blogs.

According to an article from The DIY Musician.com, search engines are looking at other factors as well, such as domain age, time spent on your site and if you’ve been delivering consistent quality content. This is why updating websites, adding new content, and being creative in the way that people search for your content is crucial to the survival of your viral campaign. Having good keyword placement and relevance to your content is very important in gaining a consistent following on your website or blog.

 Below is a video by Josh Bachynsk: Google Search Engine Optimization

Print-On-Demand and the Independent Recording Artist or Band

Music is diverse in the way that it is delivered to the consumer. Musicians and recording artist have alternative ways to package and distribute their works in the industry using Print-On-Demand services. It puts the power of publishing music in the independent publishing company’s hands and allows for artist or artist management firms to keep track of what is going on with the product from sales stand point. These services provide the independent recording artist a way to self package, design and distribute creative works such as albums for sale to stores or to online stores such as Amazon and iTunes. You can custom design album artwork and CD artwork to your liking.  

The economics behind Print-On-Demand services is quite unique. According to P.O.D. site CreateSpace their share is calculated by taking a percentage of the list price plus a fixed charge. The fixed charge is $4.95 for each unit and the percentage of the list price depends on where each different sale occurs. For the recording artist or record label accroding to CreateSpace if you sold a CD with a list price of $25.00 through a CreateSpace eStore, you would earn a royalty of $16.30. The calculation breaks down for selling an album is as follows: If the product is listed, as $25.00 CreateSpace share is $8.70. The profit you would make off of a $25 CD would be $16.30, which is considered a royalty rate for the seller.

There are many different P.OD.s to choose from. The best way to see what P.O.D is good for you is looking at what each of the sites offers and what you are willing to put into the project and what your expectations are. Below is a list of P.O.Ds that can help you with your next publishing project. 

Happy Self-Publishing!

www.createspace.com

http://www.lulu.com/

What Artist Managers Look for When Signing on New Talent

The task of artist manager is quite arduous when deciding what talent is worth managing or not. Personally I have worked with recording artist who has a unique message. That message could be to create awareness about a situation going on in a city. Mainly the most important thing I look for in a recording artist is determination to get tracks made and performing those tracks to the best of the artist’s ability. I have to see that the artist has passion and my arms are getting goosebumps.  That might seem funny but it is apart of the feel you want your audience to experience whether it is physical or mental. The consumer has to connect with your music in some way.

According to an interview on Artist HouseMusic’s website with artist manager Michael “Blue” Williams who has managed big recording artists such as OutKast, Scarface, and Killer Mike he states that you have to be able to spot that star quality.  He also states that an artist is always going to look good. So as a recording artist you have to present your best performance or best song with your heart in it. You can’t just put out garbage and expect for a manager to help you get to where you need to go. Help the manager help you and make good music.

At the end of the day the manager needs artist more than the artist needs the manager. Recording artists has the ability to self manage to a certain point. That certain point is reached when the business side of the artist’s career starts to be too hectic. Recording artist starting out should try to self manage as long as possible. If you become that artist that everyone is looking and wanting to hear you will need a manager.