ArtistsMBA Track 4 – Promotion, Marketing & Sales

How to Create a Fanbase From Scratch

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramBack in February, I interviewed Ariel Hyatt about how to create a successful crowd funding campaign.

The first thing you need to build a successful crowdfunding campaign is, well, a CROWD!

It seems obvious, I know – and yet you’d be shocked how often I get this question from people who have 150 names on their email list and want to know how to use kickstarter raise $10,000 to record a CD!

But a fanbase is more than a crowdfunding necessity!  A healthy fanbase will help you to:

  • Fill the seats when you play a venue
  • Buy your CD’s, downloads and merch (also known as making a living)
  • Spread the word about how awesome you are to all their friends and family (take you viral)
  • Build a successful, profitable and sustainable business doing what you love!

So, how do you create your crowd from scratch? In this class you’ll discover:

  • How to use live performance to build your fanbase
  • How to use internet marketing and social media marketing to build your fanbase
  • The 3 mistakes that artists make in creating their list
  • Now that you’ve got fans, what do you do with them?

By the way, these techniques will also work to expand your fanbase if you’ve already got one started!

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7 Secrets to Get Booked on Corporate Stages with Tiamo De Vettori

artists-marketing-business-academy-interview-with-expertsAt the Artists Marketing & Business Academy, we’re all about making a prosperous and sustainable living doing what you love. Are you sick and tired of playing small gigs that pay you next to nothing for your musical talent? What if you could play on huge stages in front of hundreds, if not thousands of people, and get paid like a rock star for it? Would that interest you?

Then it’s time that you discovered how to get booked on corporate stages! We’re thrilled to host guest lecturer Tiamo De Vettori. In this class, Tiamo will teach you:

 

  • How to get booked on the biggest and highest paying corporate stages that 6-FIGURE musicians don’t want you to know about
  • How to make career income from just a few gigs per year
  • How to use corporate gigs to grow your fan base
  • The 3 biggest mistakes musicians make when trying to break into the corporate market.
  • The #1 secret to getting paid like a celebrity in the corporate market

Tiamo’s class could change the path of your career!

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Debra Russell, Artists Marketing and Business Academy, Tiamo de Vettori, outsourcing, music business, music promotion, relationship building, team building, Contact Management, Time Management, OrganizationTiamo De Vettori

For music fans who want to feel connected, inspired, uplifted, and part of something bigger, we’ve found the artist for you. Often described as a cross between Jason Mraz and John Mayer, motivational acoustic-pop singer/songwriter, Tiamo De Vettori, was recently named L.A. Music Award’s “Male Singer/Songwriter of the Year” & San Diego Music Award’s “Best Songwriter”. Tiamo has been featured on FOX, CBS, NBC, and MSNBC and recently performed on stage at the Jimmy Kimmel Show. With a powerful voice, captivating stage presence, compelling lyrics, and melodies impossible not to sing along to, fans around the world have gravitated to Tiamo’s positive vibe and love for life.

Something that makes Tiamo so unique is that he is also a motivational speaker who combines his on-stage charisma with his inspriring personal stories, orginal songs, and acoustic guitar. Tiamo has performed and spoken to over 32,000 people around the country at seminars, trainings, colleges, and conferences, and has shared the stage with best-selling authors and speakers such as T. Harv Eker, Les Brown, Lisa Nichols, and Dan Millman. Tiamo has moved audiences since he was seven years old. During his childhood, he had the extremely rare opportunity to perform and tour the world with his Italian father, Franco De Vettori, an international opera singer.

Despite growing up on stage, Tiamo’s career as a singer/songwriter didn’t quite materialize until he intuitively hopped on a Greyhound bus headed for Virginia…just a few days after graduating from the University of Arizona. Shortly after, a close friend who had read Tiamo’s poetry and heard him sing, insisted that he explore the combination of songwriting and performing. Needing a friendly push, Tiamo had a hard time turning down his friend’s eventual offer to buy him a guitar as long as he kept one promise to his friend — get the guitar, let it sit in your living room, and as Tiamo’s friend put it, “the songs will just flow out of you”. Surely enough, Tiamo looked at his new guitar one rainy night, picked it up, and without any previous guitar experience, “accidentally” wrote his first song.

Tiamo has climbed to #4 and #18 on the Australian top 40 radio charts and is receiving radio play in 12 countries including the U.S. Aside from his international success, Tiamo can be found performing at some of the most popular venues in his home town of San Diego such as the highly celebrated Humphrey’s by the Bay, large college campuses including the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University, and other highly regarded venues such as the House of Blues, the Belly Up and Hard Rock Cafe. He has also performed live on San Diego’s most-watched morning news shows, News Channel 8 and News Channel 10, and and has been featured on some of Southern California’s most popular radio stations such as KPRI 102.1 FM.

With the international release of his CD entitled “Back to Love”, a vision of creating positive change in the music industry, and a gravitating persona, you can’t help but cheer on this modest, rising star.

Internet Marketing and Social Media –Waste of Time or Key to Success in the New Music Business?

Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramThe internet has paved the way for the Artist Entrepreneur to create your own career without waiting for the record deal, the publishing deal or anybody to “discover” you.

But learning what you need for your business can be quickly overwhelming – do you need a website?  What should be on it?  What about Facebook?  Twitter? YouTube? GooglePlus?

In this class, we’ll explore:

  • Case Studies of Artists who are successful
  • What you need to know when it comes to Internet Marketing and Social Media
  • The fundamental do’s and don’ts best practices

Internet and Social Media Marketing, for the people using it correctly, their success is no accident. Discover how to apply it to your business and the best ways for you to use the power of the Internet to build the career YOU want!

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Your Tuition ($5 for first 14 days then $39 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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The Marketing Cycle with Music Marketing Expert Bobby Borg

artists-marketing-business-academy-interview-with-expertsIn the old paradigm of the Music Business, the Record Company took care of the marketing and the Artist took care of the music.

Those days are dead and gone – It’s a DIY Music Business.

So what do you need to know in order to handle marketing your music?

In this class taught by Special Guest, Bobby Borg, you will discover:

  • Important marketing concepts and terms,
  • The Ten Principles of New Music Marketing,
  • How to organize your thoughts into a detailed Marketing Plan of Attack

Join Bobby as he shows you how to create and execute your marketing plan effectively.

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Bobby Borg, music marketing

Bobby Borg

As a Major label, Independent, and DIY recording/touring artist, Bobby Borg has over 20 years experience in the trenches working with some of the most respected management firms, A&R representatives, music producers, music publishers, equipment manufacturers, songwriters, and journalists. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music with a BA in Professional Music, a graduate of UCLA Extension with a certificate in Instructor Development and Marketing Management, and a graduate of a number of UCLA certificate classes in business, writing, math, psychology, computer science, and music business.

Today, he is the owner of a thriving music consulting company where he speaks with clients around the country and is a regular guest speaker at major music industry events. As a music business instructor, Borg teaches at Musicians Institute where he held the chair of the music business department, as well as at UCLA where he sits on the board of entertainment studies and received the 2011 Instructor-of-the-Year award for his work in music publishing and music marketing courses. Borg was named Vice President of Special Events for The American Marketing Association and awarded the Volunteer of The Year Award in 2012. He is the author of:

As well the author of over 1000 music business articles published in journals around the globe.

Branding 101

Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramWhat is branding?

Branding is a fundamental marketing concept that is often misunderstood by business owners.

According to Wikipedia:
“A brand is a “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”[1] Branding began as a way to tell one person’s cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp.”

What does it mean in terms of your career, your creativity and your fans?

In this overview of of Branding we will explore:

  • The 2 facets of Branding that you must consider when designing your brand
  • Expressing yourself authentically through your Brand
  • Using your BOP* to establish your BRAND

*BOP – Bold Outrageous Provocative statement of who you are and what you stand for – see Multiple Streams of Art/Music Income for more information about the BOP.

In order to create success in the music business, film industry, show biz, or visual arts, you must stand out from the competition.  The trick is to intentionally design a magnetic brand that attracts your fans/customers/clients to you.

And then make everything you do in your website, your social media, your live performance and your product packaging an expression of your brand.

What is your Brand?  Do you know?

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Internet Marketing 101

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramSEO! SEM! PPC! Oh My!

The internet has paved the way for the Artist Entrepreneur to create your own career without waiting for the record deal, the publishing deal or anybody to “discover” you. But learning what you need to know and figuring out how to apply it to your business can quickly become overwhelming.

In this class, Debra Russell will give you the basic, fundamental, what everyone needs to know to get started, primer on internet marketing. You’ll discover:

  • What all those initials mean AND what they mean to your business
  • The difference between black hat and white hat marketing methods – or what NOT to do
  • Three quick and easy ways to drive traffic to your website

We know the internet is here to stay. We know that if you don’t have a web presence no one will take you seriously. But having a website isn’t enough. You must learn how to get people to FIND you. And that means Internet Marketing!

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Music Marketing in the Real World – An Interview with Michael Brandvold

artists-marketing-business-academy-interview-with-expertsKISS, yeah the band. The guy who spits blood and sticks out his tongue. The band that wears more makeup and higher heels than your mom. What can you learn about marketing from them?

KISS is alot more that just caskets and condoms.

Michael Brandvold will share with Debra Russell some of the marketing lessons he learned from working with the band. Lessons such as:

 

  • It’s All Branding
  • Not Everything You Do Will Succeed
  • Listen To Your Fans, You Work For Them
  • “The Secret To Success Is To Offend The Greatest Number of People”
  • If You Don’t Ask For It, You Won’t Get It

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Michael Brandvold

From working with up-and-coming independent artists of all genres to overseeing online marketing for major acts like KISS, Britney Spears, and Dream Theater, Michael Brandvold’s impact on the modern music industry is without question.

In addition to spearheading digital strategy creation and online social media management for bands, he has helped create marketing strategies that have made millions of dollars for clients.

WordPress Websites for Musicians – An Interview with Middle Tennessee Music

artists-marketing-business-academy-interview-with-expertsI’ve been saying it for years, MySpace, Facebook, ReverbNation – I don’t care – If you are (or want to be) a Professional Musician or financially sustainable Band:

YOU MUST HAVE YOUR OWN WEBSITE!

Thanks to platforms like WordPress, building your own website or hiring someone to build it for you no longer has to cost thousands of dollars.

But whether you build it yourself, or you hire someone to do it, it is up to you to decide what goes in it, on it and how it looks and feels.  I’m thrilled to have 2 specialists in building websites for musicians, Josh and Bret, to help us figure out:

  • What must every Musician/Band website have?
  • To blog or Not to blog?
  • What are the best WordPress plugins for musicians’ websites?
  • How do you integrate and brand yourself from Social Media to your website?
  • And what about SEO?

We’ll be talking about this and more!

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C Bret Campbell and Joshua Smotherman

Middle Tennessee Music is comprised of C Bret Campbell and Joshua Smotherman:

Our Work

Joshua Smotherman, Bunks Media, Middle Tennessee MusicJoshua Smotherman‘s Bio:

Back in 1999, along with a childhood friend, I started writing, producing, and recording full-time as part of the hip hop duo, BUNKS.  With no desire to ever sign a recording contract with a big label, we decided to build our own label and to use the Internet to promote the music.

Back then, Social Media did not exist, but we had services such as MP3.com and Soundclick which allowed us to create profiles, upload music, and share it with listeners across the world.  Forums and Messages Boards were the go-to sites for interacting with the independent music community. Specifically in Hip Hop, large numbers of emcees, producers, and fans spent hours engaging in writing lyrics, sharing recordings, and collaborating on instrumentals.

When Myspace became the most popular social networking site in the U.S. in 2006, we dove head-first into Social Media and began sharing and promoting our music with the Myspace community.

Shortly after, it was YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, ReverbNation, and an ever growing list of social networking services.  It became hard to keep up with everything going on, but we quickly learned that the World Wide Web was changing, growing, and evolving on a daily basis.  It was necessary to learn and maintain flexibility as well as spend a few hours each day reading and researching the latest developments.

The more time we spent with Social Media, SEO, and all the research involved; the less time we had to focus on writing music, booking shows, and releasing albums, BUT…

Other bands, venues, and indie labels noticed our presence and began asking questions. Then they began asking for help. Then somewhere along the line people started paying us for our advice as well as asking us to oversee their Internet Presence (from the Website to all their Social Media accounts).  Things began taking off in unexpected directions but we rolled with the punches and soon realized the music community could use our help.

After years of learning, researching, and throwing ideas back and forth, Middle Tennessee Music was born.

Small Barn Sound, Middle Tennessee MusicC Bret Campbell‘s bio:

C Bret Campbell is owner of Small Barn Sound recording studio in Hillsboro, TN; known for it’s artistic vibe and down home feel. The philosophy at Small Barn is that beauty and integrity of performance comes first. The drive is a desire to see the underdog succeed.

He is also Vice President of Middle Tennessee Music. Founded in 2011 as a merging of Small Barn’s promotion services with those of BUNKS Multimedia, Mid Tenn focuses on independent musicians, labels, venues, publications and web partnerships. Along with free information and promotion services Mid-Tenn act as consultant, webmaster, and online marketing director for bands, artists, indie labels, radio promo companies, and others. We build, host and maintain websites, handle social media campaigns and help build the professional team that an artist on the rise needs.

Bret has been a musician for 35 years, and involved in the music community in some way or another all of that time. He is currently making music, and writing PR and reviews. He covers Social Media forThe Saturday Independent newspaper, the Tennessee music scene for 101 Distribution, and a multitude of topics on Mid Tn and Small Barn Sound. He also organizes and participates in charity concerts for several organizations.

He is blessed to be a happily married father of 3 beautiful children who constantly give him inspiration to be the best he can be.

Social Media – The Art of Engagement

Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramTwitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube – OH MY!

Social Media is everywhere and it’s clear that there are some Artists and business owners in the Arts & Entertainment Industry (including the Music Business, Film Industry and Publishing) who are using it to build real world success.  But there are a lot of people who are overwhelmed and confused by it, and whatever they’re doing isn’t working.

I believe that Social Media Marketing offers you an enormous opportunity never before seen.  For the people using it correctly, their success is no accident.  So, how do you apply it to your business?

In this class, we’ll explore:

  • What is Social Media and why do we care?
  • How to use Social Media Marketing as part of your overall marketing plan
  • The Do’s and DON’Ts of Social Media Marketing
  • The differences between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube and why it matters
  • How to wisely use your time on Social Media

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Your Tuition ($5 for first 14 days then $39 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Multiple Streams Step 8: BOP Positioning

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramThe final step of the Multiple Streams of Art / Music Income process, establishing your BOP (Bold, Outrageous, Provocative) Positioning, is bigger than your Branding, or your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

Your BOP Position is about who you are and what you stand for as an artist, as a business and as a human being.

What is Your Purpose?

In this Class, we’ll discover:

  • What is a BOP?
  • How some artists are using their BOP to make a difference in the world
  • 3 Key questions to help you identify your BOP
  • How do you use your BOP to build your Multiple Streams of Art / Music Business?

Your BOP is your BOLD OUTRAGEOUS PROVOCATIVE statement of who you are and what you stand for.  What is your BOP?

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Next Class:

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Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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