For years we’ve talked about the downfalls of streaming fraud, the importance of doing your research when it comes to playlisting, and the argument for slow growth in favor of genuine relationships. Now, it’s not just about ethics, it’s about staying out of prison. 18 months in prison for streaming fraud In a landmark case, a Danish man has been sentenced to prison for manipulating streaming counts. Using bots to artificially grow his streams on over 600 tracks across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouSee Musik, it’s reported that 244 tracks were “listened to” 5.5 million times in one week, with th ..read more

Superfans in the new buzzword of the year.  This is amusing to me because I have focused on superfans for the last 2 decades and I’m struck by the fact that even though it is necessary to keep learning new strategies, apps, and platforms, the basics of human interaction are actually what makes superfans. We are all interested in connection and music, of course, is one of the deepest connectors for humanity. A Lesson In Building Community  & Superfans  This brings me to Rob Gordon – my first boss at the only record label I ever worked at: What Are Records? What I learned ther ..read more

When was the last time you ran your own DIY PR campaign? If you have to stop and think, it’s probably been too long. I get it—putting together a PR campaign can feel overwhelming sometimes, trying to figure out everything from which single to push first to how to write the pitch, contact the best writer, and everything in between to make it as successful as possible. But, part of the key to a successful music career is consistency, and that includes your publicity efforts. The good news is, there’s a new tool that can help you do all of this and more: the research, the writing, the subject lin ..read more

If you are looking for Sustainable Strategies to increase your artist income, you’re going to love this! There are three key components to increase your income as a musician. We’ve gone over Part One and Part Two already, so if you haven’t yet take a second to catch up on those. As the head of a music PR firm, I have the pleasure of speaking to a lot of artists who are looking to earn more money with their music. Most call me inquiring about PR wrongly thinking that getting more music blog exposure will be a path to a sustainable living.  They are sadly mistaken. PR has its plac ..read more

To Increase Your Artist Income you Must Multiply Purchase Frequency Let’s talk about the elephant in the room — very few people still buy an artists music. If you’re waiting to make a palpable artist income you probably should not be relying solely on the amount of money from Spotify, Apple, or Pandora streams… you are sadly going to be waiting a long time. To Increase your artist income, you will need a much deeper plan. This 3-part series provides tips that help you to put money in your pocket. The reality is your music acts as a hook, pulling fans in, only then can you start to sell them t ..read more

To increase your music income you must first increase your active fanbase This is the golden rule that, in my opinion, isn’t talked about near enough. There is no magic bullet to making money off your music. The reality is hard work but it is simple — increase your existing fanbase.  While not rocket science, mastering the three fundamental principles that lead to financial success does demand dedication and strategic planning. Unlike products addressing tangible needs, music appeals to emotions and experiences. That means it requires something a little different; a tailored strategy that ..read more

The ongoing dialogue about the similarity between independent musicians and entrepreneurs is a well-worn one. Both are responsible for shaping their own careers, building their own teams, setting their own goals and working towards the milestones that will turn their dreams into reality. But they also suffer from one very common struggle: time management. Understandably! Whether you are a solo artist working on your own or have a band that you can share the responsibilities with, the amount of time it takes to get through the never-ending task-load can very quickly surpass the number of hours ..read more

Every Artist Has Three Communities – they are separate from one another. The problem is most artists have only one strategy for marketing and promoting to three totally separate groups. The online space has helped to create a problem that many artists are unaware of – that problem is: the billions of people. It’s amazing to have such never-ending access to our fans, but it also means everyone has this access, and thus standing out can become more difficult. In the desperate desire to try to connect with as many fans as possible artists are forgetting something: not everyone out there is the sa ..read more

Every Artist Has Three Communities – they are separate from one another. The problem is most artists have only one strategy for marketing and promoting to three totally separate groups. This post focuses on how to energize and connect with your second community, which we call Community 2 – Engaged Fans. These fans are your Active Online Audience. They are newsletter subscribers, blog readers, video streamers, and active Social Media followers who comment & engage sometimes (but not nearly as frequently as your Super Fans) They’re engaged with you in what the New York Times brilliantly ..read more

Every Artist Has Three Communities – they are separate from one another.  The problem is that most artists have only one strategy for marketing and promoting to three separate groups – super fans, engaged fans, and ambient fans. This is part 3 and it focuses on your Ambient Fans. There are the ones who are in your orbit but they don’t know you really at all.  The key is to create reasons for them to know you and to do this you need to have systems and you also need to make the time to convert them. I spoke to an artist just a few days ago who took time to really observe her Instagram ..read more