As a struggling independent musician in a highly competitive over-crowded market it should be left unsaid that you need to stand out from the crowd. There are many ways to do this. There is music publicity, radio promotion, extensive tour presence, and the almighty music marketing and music promotion. You need to get your message out there –period.
Getting your music marketing message out there is one thing but getting the right message out there is another. Your professional image as an independent artist is of the utmost importance in order to rise above the sea of competition. Most independent bands and independent artists have some sort of a music press kit or music promotion kit that they use for promotional purposes. Generally, musicians will use either a traditional print music media kit, a digital press kit (DPK), or an online EPK (Electronic Press Kit). But just how professional and convincing are they?  It is essential that your song marketing kit is top notch. 

A frequently asked question that I get all the time from my independent artists and musicians is which type of press kit should we put together?What kind of things should be in a musician promotion portfolio?  What are the CD presskit essentials?   Which kind of music press kit works best and is most impressive and effective?  The answer to that question depends on a few things.

What I mean by this is that I recommend creating and maintaining two types of press kits — either a print or digital music press kit, and an electronic press kit. The reason for this is simple. Certain media outlets, labels, venues, music management companies, etc. prefer a print press kit or digital press kit with your full blown CD so it can be listened too on high efficiency stereo equipment to get the full effect of your music and its production qualities. Others prefer not to have their office congested with piles of press kits, and their preferred method is just reviewing your music online.

For the reasons just noted, we recommend you do a print or digital press kit and have one online as well. There’s really nothing to creating an online EPK so why not have it available. There are a few very good EPK services out there and they cost just a few dollars per month. But I am putting an emphasis on the fact that an EPK (Electronic press kit online) is not enough. You still must have the traditional print or digital press kit in your music promotion arsenal.
It is notable to mention that your Music press kit is probably your most valuable promotional tool and it needs to be taken very seriously. Other than your CD and live performance it is usually the first impression of you as an artist that labels, venues, and other music media outlets will receive. There are many graphic art firms that specialize in the preparation of media promotion kits that you may want to consider if your budget permits. If not, for a few dollars, a little creativity, and time and effort, you can do it yourself. Here are the basic elements of a print press kit and Electronic press kit, and the professional means by which to go about it.

In your traditional print music press kit version the elements to include are a professionally designed cover with your logo or photo, a cover letter of introduction, Band or Artist biography, a professional 8” x 10” black and white glossy promotional photo, media feature articles and press releases, album reviews and quote sheet, your full length – extended play, or professionally recorded demo CD, an industry CD-one sheet, a business card and professionally labeled envelope. The supplies needed are heavy stock paper, portfolio cover, large envelope, address labels, business cards, and your 8” x 10” glossy photo. Now here’s how to go about putting the print press kit together.

COVER AND LETTER OF INTRODUCTION:
Your professional music press kit should have an impressive cover. This should include a photo of the artist, artist’s name, and artist’s contact information. Sort of like the cover of a book. You should also include a cover letter of introduction. This should introduce you as the artist stating briefly a little about yourself. Don’t get too specific in this letter you can leave that for the bio and other media which you will include. Make sure you address the letter to one specific person – - being personal is important. It gives the appearance of a non-cookie cutter look and that you feel this media outlet, label, venue, or music agent has significance. Make sure that either at the top or the bottom of this letter you have included your full contact information or your artist’s representative’s contact information. The cover letter should be inserted just inside the kit’s cover prior to any other information. The contact information should also be included at the bottom right on every page in the music promo kit.
Artist or Band Biography:
The next page or what would actually be the first informational page of the music media kit would be your artist biography page. Here you should include a brief history of the artist or band, a little about each member if it’s a full band. This should be no longer than one page and should not be a long drawn out history of the band but just a brief synopsis of what you have accomplished and where you plan to go. More importantly, you should include things like significant shows or tours, contests won, radio play, or any achievements that you feel are noteworthy and may raise you above others in terms of popularity and development. Keep it simple, concise, and meaningful. If there are no writers among you or your friends than we highly recommend having your band bio written for you by a professional music copywriter. It’s so important and it must be professional.
Media and Press Section:
The following pages in your music promotion kit should be media and press. These are basically significant clips of any feature articles you may have received in music industry magazines, or newspapers. Don’t go overboard. Include only media clips that really highlight you as an artist. Pick the best five clips you have and make sure they are professionally reproduced. Noting irritates a person receiving these kits more that sloppy crooked copies of media. Take pride in the quality of the kit. Plastic see-through partitions should be used for each individual item.
Album Reviews and Quote sheets:
You may want to consider including good reviews of your CD and quotes you have received regarding the CD or your performance. This page should be professionally laid out with categorized headings. One should be “Album Reviews and the other should be Quotes. Don’t forget to put quotation marks before and after each review and quote.
CD: Either a Full Length Album, EP, or Professionally Recorded Demo:
There are a few different ways to attach your CD to your music press kit. If your portfolio has a sleeve in the rear you can just slip it in there. Another method is to use Velcro strips placed on the rear of the CD and attached somewhere on the inside of the back cover. This however is not the recommended method. Especially if the rear cover of your CD has important information printed on it. If you are enclosing a full length record or EP (Extended Play) the hope would be that you have taken the time to release a professional recording so its professionalism is up to snuff. However if you are only using a demo CD it is extremely important to note the following:
• Make sure it is of professional recording quality (No basement stuff)
• Make sure the production quality is as professional as possible
• Include no more than 3 songs, maybe four of your very best
• Place them in a sequence of best
• Do some semblance of professional cover art and labeling
• Make sure your contact information is displayed on the demo
• If you really want to make sure, have it evaluated by a professional
CD- Music Industry One-Sheet:
If you are enclosing a CD of a professionally recorded and commercially released full length album or EP than it’s a good idea to attach a music industry one sheet. One-Sheets are generally used during the music distribution process but by enclosing one it gives the recipient of your press kit more insight on your actual record. A one sheet usually includes a photo of the album cover, album title, artist’s name, brief description of the record, track listings, UPC code, price point and a few other things. Notes in the one sheet should include touring information, radio play, some quotes, and a few other things. The one sheet should be professionally written and produced as it is an item that generally can get into the hands of very important people.
Business Card and Professional Envelope and Labeling:
If you or your representative has a business card that should also be attached to the folder somewhere. Once the package is fully assembled it should be placed in a professional envelope with printed address and return address labeling. This may seem very time consuming and you may think, why can’t I just write out the recipient’s address. Well, that looks sloppy and unprofessional and remember what we said about sloppy. A lot of people won’t even open a package if it looks unprofessional on the outside. Some may call us anal-retentive, but we get results by utilizing these professional methods.
Some important notes to help you make the most of your print music press kit.
One thing you need to remember is that things are constantly changing with you as an artist. New feature articles, new national tour, new more updated image/photos, etc. Therefore once you get the first version of your music press kit finished, you are never finished. Keep updating it with new materials and new photos for future mailings. Remember when it comes to your music press kit, you are never done. It’s a work in progress.
Once you have sent your press kit to someone it does not end there. FOLLOW UP a couple weeks or so later with a phone call, email, or correspondence. Labels, media, and venues receive hundreds of press kits weekly. Don’t let yours get lost in the shuffle. Make sure to bring it to their attention and to the forefront of the barrage of music press kits they receive.
The Digital Music Press Kit (DPK):
The Digital Press Kit generally contains the same information as the traditional print music press kit, although it has the ability to allow you to actually add more without being overcrowded. Basically all your information, your bio, media articles, music, quotes, etc. are housed on a CD Rom as files. The DPK, because of certain expertise involved in programming, graphic arts, etc., should however probably be professionally done. Unless of course you, another band member, or someone you know, is proficient in doing this. The benefits of a DPK are pretty obviously. They take no paper, no portfolios, no paper photos, or any print media. Everything is digital. The DPK is usually housed in a DVD Case which has professional artwork. So there is still the element of graphic artwork involved on the cover and CD stamp. Overall, the DPK is a good alternative to the print music press kit.
Electronic Press Kit (EPK):
The Electronic Press Kit, better known as the EPK is basically an online version of your promotional materials — sort of like a website but not quite. It’s similar to the DPK only in that all the files and graphics are digital. You basically create an EPK like you would create a website. However there are a few good services out there that provide template based WYSIWYG editors that basically give you the opportunity to simply upload your files. There is usually a section for your biography, your photos, your press, your music, your videos, and your backline requirements. The EPK is something that you should use in addition to your print or digital music press kit.
Whichever kind of press kit you decide to use, please remember it must be professionally reproduced and prepared. This is your first impression so you must make it a good one.

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In the course of assisting independent artists promote their music both online and offline we have found a time saving very effective service.  They will submit your music and profile to thousands of reviewers, A&R, Radio, and so on.  The service is cheap, easy, and it has worked for many of our artists.  Check it out.

In my previous article, Music Marketing Plan Part II, we went through a brief summary of how to do the research and structure your informal music marketing plan.  The plan you will personally use to lay out your day to day marketing strategies, time frames, and initiatives.  We talked about doing your market research, listing all the marketing methods you will pursue and implement.

In this Part III article we will talk about formulating your formal music marketing plan.  This plan contains the exact same information as outlined in your informal marketing plan.  However, it will also lay out in addition, the all-important financial projections.  These will be used to demonstrate to a potential investor the ROI (Return on Investment) they could expect by investing money in your independent music career.

Brief Summary of the Formal Music Marketing Plan (The Financial Projections)

Adding financial projections, what kind of income can be expected from record and merchandise sales, royalties, and performances, will show the potential investor in detail the projected income from your project.  This is a crucial section of your formal music marketing plan and it is very important that you do your market research, including demonstrating your past history of overall sales.

When attempting to acquire financial backing for your music project you must remember, the number one question on the mind of any potential investor in a business is “How much money can they expect to make from their investment?”  In the financial projection section of your music marketing plan, you attempt to answer these questions.

Questions Like:

* Who are the artists behind the project – What is their experience?
* What are your sales goals for records, merchandise, and performances? 
* How to you plan to market and promote your products? 
* What kind of profit margin do you expect?
* When do you project that your project will be profitable?
* Are there significant debts that need to be taken and later repaid, such as for CD manufacturing, cost of merchandise, tour bus, or equipment, music publicity? If so, you need to factor such things into your financial projections.

A potential investor in you independent music career reading your financial projections will want to know that you have taken everything into account and produced some realistic expectations for your music project and the gross income that can be expected.  This is why researching all these areas to come up with realistic projections is vital.  Don’t bloat figures out of proportion – be honest with your projected income figures.  A savvy investor who knows a little bit about the music industry trends will be able to determine if the figures you have input into your music marketing plan are really possible to achieve. 

The financial projections in a marketing plan, specifically a music marketing plan for an independent artist, can be pretty challenging to come up with.  The assistance of a music business manager or consultant who has business experience in preparing these plans and projections may be your best bet.  Remember you only have one shot at one particular investor.  If he or she is not dazzled with your music marketing plan and does not realistically believe they can get a good return on their money based upon your written plan then all bets can be off.  Make sure it’s professionally prepared, accurate, realistic, and done right the first time.  Good Luck!

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As I talked about in part one of my three part article series on the preparation of a solid music marketing plan there are actually 2 types of plans and marketing strategies guide that you should research and assemble.  In this article we are going to very briefly discuss the first kind of plan — The Informal Music Marketing Plan.  This is the plan you will use and follow to put into place all of your music marketing and music promotion strategies on a daily basis and the research that will be necessary.  In part three of this article series I’ll discuss in more detail the elements of a formal marketing plan.  This will plan will have all the essential elements of your informal music marketing plan with the added aspect of financial projections.  This is the plan you will use to attract an investor in your music career.

Brief Anatomy of an Informal Music Marketing Plan

A good music marketing plan should include some of the following elements.  First though however, you must ask yourself; where do you want to be in 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years as an artist or band?  Lay out the time frame.  Be clear, truthful, realistic, and concise, with yourself.  Write it down.  Keep in mind that part of putting together a realistic and effective plan will require a good deal of market research.  So please be prepared to do some if you want to do it right.

 First Step:  Do your “Due Diligence and Research”
So what do I mean by due diligence and research?   The first thing you must remember during this entire process is that as an independent artist trying to sell your product (CDs and Merchandise) after all, as an independent artist, in essence, You Are in Business.  Please make no mistake about this.  You are in the business of selling yourself, your band, and your products.  And as in any business, you have to explore the market environment for your particular offering in order to be competitive, and make certain that you are concentrating your efforts in the right place; which of course is your particular niche music market.  Whether your genre of music is Rock, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Punk, or whatever, it matters not.  What matters is that if you are in the Alternative Rock Market then this is where you need to focus your marketing research and implement your subsequent marketing tactics.  

The Music Industry Climate in General and in Your Particular Niche
First of all, you want to research and determine the music industry climate in general — all genres.  You do not need to focus too much time and attention on this it’s more important that you research your particular market.  So how do you research your music market and what exactly is it that you are trying to determine and why?  Let’s say for example, your band is in the Rock/Alternative Rock Genre.

Describe the current state of the music industry in that particular music market and lay out in detail just how you plan to overcome any strategic barriers that you may come up against as an artist.  Describe in details thinks such as:

What distribution channels are best suited for your particular CD?
Explore the radio market – Which best suits your recording?
How saturated is your particular market
Do a competitive analysis- Outline your strengths verses your competitors and visa versa
What kind of touring opportunities are available in your market?
What is the best music media to pursue?
Describe the optimal geographic regions for your music
Who would you consider to be your most aggressive competitors?
Explore and detail the demographics of your fan base
Define and detail your target market and audience

The Challenge:
A brief summary of the product … the record that is to be promoted, and associated goals, such as record sales you project that you will receive, and other strategic goals…

Describe the music industry trends as they exist today
What is your most challenging market and how will you overcome it?
What trends in the industry are on your side and which are not?

Detail and list your marketing strategies and the time frame for implementation

Determine a street date for your new release
Describe the distribution channels in detail you plan to pursue
Define which regions you will focus your distribution on
Define which forms of music media you plan to go after
Determine your touring regions best suited to you as an artist

Now what we have talked about in this article is merely the tip of the iceberg.  The plan needs to go into far more detail than is discussed here.  This article is only geared toward giving you an idea of what you need to do and just how important actually having a written music marketing plan really is.  Part 3 will go into the financial aspects of a formal marketing plan.

If you’re truly serious about advancing your music career you may want to consider having your music marketing plan prepared by a music industry expert with experience in planning the careers of independent musicians.

Most importantly, whoever prepares your marketing strategy plan, Follow It Closely.  There no use in taking the enormous amount of time it will take to gather the necessary information and writing the plan or spending the money to have a professional do it, unless you use it.  Good luck.

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It’s estimated that approximately 95% of independent musicians and bands either fail to gain any aspect of success or only achieve minimal success in the music business.  As an independent musician, artist, or full band, you have chosen a field which is probably one of the most competitive in which to try and be successful.  However, this in no way should discourage you from going after your dream.  After all, it can’t – Music is in your heart and soul and it’s simply something that you must do.  Therefore, since it is something that you literally must do to be happy then why not give it your best shot by doing everything right.  Doing everything right means beginning with a solid foundation.  This is where your music marketing plan comes into play as the first and foremost element in creating the music industry success that you so desire.

Your music marketing plan is essential in your overall strategy and is the roadmap that once properly researched and outlined, you must absolutely follow if you intend to achieve any semblance of music career success.  It will provide the stability you need to stay focused on your course of action.  The music marketing plan will be used to lay out your plan of action for marketing you as an independent artist or your band but it can also be used for seeking the “ALL IMPORTANT” investment money that can be used for serious music promotion.  Essentially, this is your blueprint.  And like any other blueprint, for example in the construction of a building, it must be taken seriously and followed precisely for that building to be constructed solidly.  You can write it, but if you don’t adhere to it, it’s useless. 

There are actually two types of plans that you can prepare:

An Informal Music Marketing Plan:
This plan should consist of a summary of your band structure, responsibilities, and a  roadmap of the day to day marketing and promotion efforts that you should pursue along with the timeframes for their implementation.  Your plan should cover methods by which you will market, promote, and develop as an artist, and the steps to take in order to market and promote your product (CD). You should segment efforts to develop as an artist and the promotion of your product separately in two different categories for easier dissemination.   Some research and music market analysis is necessary so that you have a clear picture of what it is you are trying to overcome and eventually achieve.  This should essentially be an outline and blueprint that when adequately developed and clearly written should act to keep you highly focused on the paths you must take. 

A Formal Music Marketing Plan:
The formal music marketing plan should be professionally laid out and prepared, and contain substantial specific financial projections and details – mainly because you may want to use this version of the plan to entice potential investors in your music career.  This plan should not only contain your development and promotion summary, structure, and product marketing initiatives, but should also consist of more detail on projected finances, income, and statistics if you are going to go after investment money from an outside source. 

Music investors or “Angels” as they are sometimes referred too want to be assured that they will receive a return on their investment.  Any doubt or weakness in the proposed formula to provide the potential investor with a reasonable return on their money can result in “No-Takers”.  Therefore your formal music marketing plan should clearly point out exactly how you plan to bring in the money through record sales, performances, merchandise, and media appearances, that will create the return for the music career investor as well as your informal blueprint to follow to get to where you want to go as an artist and how you are going to market your products which essentially is your CD’s and merchandise.  Having the ability to get serious money behind you for the marketing and promotion of your career and your products gives you a major advantage over most other Indie artists.  If you can get it …  you should jump for joy and be extremely grateful because it means your chances of success in the music business increase immensely.  But in a plan to attract this money you need to be honest, precise, and highly detailed with the financials.

These are the basic ideas for the 2 types of marketing plans you should seriously consider putting together prior to even starting your music marketing effort.  The plan will provide an easy to follow map of day to day music promotion strategies that you should employ to get you where you want to go.  I go into the essentials and details of both a formal and informal plan, in our next post.

Writing your plan can be a daunting and time consuming task.  There are many elements that must be researched and included.  If you would like advise or help preparing your music marketing plan, surely we can help.  Vist our website for more details.

http://www.indiemusicconsultant.com

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As an independent musician you probably all ready know it, if you don’t you better get with it.  Marketing and promoting your music online is the way to go today.  Even major signed artists are going this route, some major players even going to the extent of releasing a new album in digital download format only. 

In a pretty detailed telephone conversation with a good friend and associate who is the president of a pretty big independent record label he reports that digital music sales or digital music downloads has now reached the 50% point of all music sold.  That means that pretty soon there may not even be a need to have a physical product.  Needless to say it will sure beef up the budget for independent artists not having to put out for CD pressing and manufacturing.  Not to mention how much easier it will make your music distribution initiatives.

So, long story short, where am I going with this?  What I am saying is that you should be putting the majority of time, effort, and money, into promoting your music and project online.  You should seek cyber publicity in a larger proportion over traditional print publicity.  After all, look at all the print newspapers and magazines going out of business today or transferring all their publications to a strictly online version.  Yep, we should face it.  If you’re not on the Internet band wagon yet for promoting and marketing your music, you better get there quickly.  Keeping in touch with your fans in as many ways as you can is the way go today.  Do not make them come to you, reach out to them.

To briefly summarize, here are a few of the methods you should be employing as an independent artist in order to promote your music and music career, and stay in touch with your fans in the today digital age.

 Para Social Relationships Online
You should be setting up a presence for you or you band on as many social networking websites as you can.  Surely you have a myspace website, which we all know is important, but today, that is just not enough.  You should be keeping your fans and potential fans informed constantly by using social websites such as Twitter, Facebook, iLike, Squidoo, iMeens, Reverbnation, and there are many more.  Socializing in music forums specific to your music genre is another thing you should be doing a lot of.  Setting up meet and greets via these Internet portals is also quickly becoming a new way to keep interactive with your fans.

 Official Band or Artist Website and Blog
Your official band or artist website is important as well.   It should be as professionally designed as possible and be consistent with your artist image. This is your home on the web and should be updated and kept fresh constantly.  It should have a news page, a press page, and audio page which should be kept fresh with new news, press clips, and music. You should also have some interactive functionality going on at your home page so fans can get involved, place comments, and interact with you.  A blog is another great way to keep fans informed provided you keep it fresh and updated as well.  With a blog, fans can subscribe via RSS Feed, and everything you post will be delivered instantly to their desktop.  Very powerful.

Online Press Kit and Publicity
An online press kit, also known as an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) is a promotional tool that every artist or band should have, even if you have a print or digital press kit.  The online EPK allows you to quickly send out your bands information and music samples to venues, labels, agents, and even fans for the purpose of music promotion.Widgets — A Big One
Widgets, as I write this article, are a relatively new form of online music promotion but if used properly are an extremely powerful method of viral Internet marketing.  Essentially a widget is a digital screenshot of your profile and can contain streaming or downloadable music, bio, publicity, etc.  It also enables you to gather fans email addresses.  The widget code should be placed on each and every website from the official, to as many social sites, including your myspace site as possible.  The beauty of widgets is that they enable fans to actually grab the widget from your websites and place the code on their own website – hence spreading the word to eventually thousands of new fans.  You can get your widgets free just by signing up for an account on a place like reverbnation.com.  Are you starting to get the meaning of Viral Music Marketing?

Digital Mailing List
I should not have to mention it but unfortunately most new artists at early stages of development I take on still do not get it.  That is, the vital importance of a digital email sign up module on all websites.  Gathering your fans and potential fans email address and storing it in a database for distribution is crucial.  What you can do with that mailing list is amazing.  Announce all show details – hence bringing out more fans, send out a new news or publicity announcement, broadcast a contest, and announce new CD releases – hence more record sales.  A digital mailing list is something no artist – independent or major should be without.

Advertising on Genre Specific Web Portals
Another good online idea, if it fits your budget, is to consider banner advertising on music portals that are within your music genre.  You can advertise a new release, a tour, or a new deal of some sort.  Some music portals get many thousands of visitors a month and this can definitely increase your exposure.  Make sure however, that the banner is professionally designed and animated if possible.  Some of the genre specific music portals I speak of will only charge twenty to thirty bucks a month to advertise your brand.  As I mentioned, if you have disposable money in your budget, it sure cannot hurt.

Search Engine Marketing – Drive the Traffic to all of Your Websites
Needless to say, you can have the most professionally design, stunning, and functional websites online but if no one visits them they are not much good, are they?  So you want to take some time and effort to explore search engine optimization.  Find out all the techniques search engine savvy techies use to get ranked high in all of the search engines and especially in music related results.  Search engine optimization, done right, is not easy if you do not know much about it.  Again, if you have a few extra bucks in your budget you may want to consider hiring a search engine optimization expert.  Getting your band found in the search engines can be an awesome boost to your awareness.

Digital Distribution
Distributing your music online is key.  As I mentioned in the first or second paragraph of this article, digital downloads now hold 50% of all worldwide music sales.  It will very soon be exceeding physical CD sales completely – never to turn around again.  You should make your music available for digital download on as many digital distribution portals available.  Some of these include iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, and there are a ton more.  When making your product available online for digital download make sure to include a profile on each portal.  Also find out how they do their sales stat reporting.  You want to make sure you are getting the proper credit for sales in the industry as on sound scan and sound exchange for your downloadable sales.

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