Monday, October 01, 2007 

Dewey Beach Music Conference Recap

Dewey Beach is one of my most favorite music conferences. It's the only one that gives away FREE badges to ALL the bands. That is awesome. Vikki Walls has created such a great environment that includes VIP parties for everyone, including the bands. As an industry person, I'm the one who typically gets the royal treatment at these things but I have to say it's nice to see the musicians get the same respect as well as free food and beer!

Dewey Beach is a very small coastal beach town in Delaware that attracts a great local crowd who loves live music. Vikki offers up a fun atmosphere during the day at the trade show that included vodka snocones and a real red carpet for picture taking. I got mine taken with MTV's Matt Pinfield. There were panels and workshops plus our fun speed networking event I do with my friends at Human Factor.

But hey nighttime is an entirely different story. That is where the party and real fun begins. We had two great GoGirls showcases. Friday night we took over McShea's, a super cool Irish pub. Our performers were great. The sounds guys were awesome and fun to work with. How often does that happen?! Saturday night our theme was "What happens in Dewey stays in Dewey!" We had an incredibly wild time at Gary's. The music was great. Many of the performers came early and stayed late. The audience enjoyed the line up. People kept buying me vodka drinks all night. It was one memorable night.

So here's the bottom line about Dewey. No pretentious musicians or industry people in attendance. It's one of the few events that I truly enjoy going to so I can relax at the beach, put on a few awesome shows and meet great people.

See you there next year!

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Wednesday, September 26, 2007 

Rainmaker Public Relations Celebrates 12th Anniversary



Rainmaker Public Relations & Artists Management is celebrating its’ 12th anniversary this month. Rainmaker PR, one of the longest-running PR companies for independent artists, has worked with over 1,500 clients since it opened it’s doors in 1995. Being an indie public relations firm, Rainmaker does something that is much more specific and intricate than other PR firms. Aside from sending out discs and getting reviews & interviews for her bands and labels, Rainmaker also offers artist development consultations on a bi-monthly basis. In regards to this cutting-edge service, Kelley says: “It’s important to educate artists on the most cost effective ways to spend their money and give them a solid direction to achieve their specific goals.”

Not one to rest on her laurels, owner Rhonda Kelley along with her partners also launched and created The Virtual Publicist and The Virtual Publisher in May 2007. A downloadable press list with mailing labels and resources to make doing a D.I.Y campaign doable. Always one to help independent bands out, regardless of their budget, Kelley started The Virtual Publicist and The Virtual Publisher to give bands with limited means the ability of promoting their music to a wide array of magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets at a minimal cost. At last count, there are over 450 contacts in The Virtual Publicist, which is a large number considering the bargain-basement price of the service, a one-time only charge of $39.95.

Even before Rainmaker PR was born in 1995, Kelley kept busy in the creation and production process, creating the entertainment show, Edge TV. After publicists quoted her exorbitant fees to assist with the local musical guests on the show, Kelley had no choice but to do it herself. This led to the creation of Rainmaker Public Relations & Artist Development. Kelley explains what she thought when she was starting the agency: “Dedicating myself solely to unsigned musicians because they were the ones who needed my help most, I did something that was very unpopular in 1995 but is now a standard model. The best part of running Rainmaker Public Relations and Artist Management is being able to work every day with great musicians and help them further their careers. It’s exciting to wake up every day and know that my job is listening to great new music and making sure the world is able to hear it, too.”

Check out Rainmaker PR at www.rainmakerpublicrelations.com and The Virtual Publicist / The Virtual Publisher at www.thevirtualpublicist.com

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007 

Need Myspace Help?



Hey Indie Bands & Music Businesses:

Having a Myspace page is great but it takes a lot of precious time to really work it. Time that you can't spare. Wouldn't you rather work on your music or business while we promote you on Myspace? We have spent the last two and a half years working with indie artists and bands, helping them increase their presence on Myspace. In addition we have built an impressive Myspace page for GoGirls and our affiliate business sites. It has worked for us. It's worked for our artists and bands. It can work for you!

Basic Promotion Package:

We will add friends, post your bulletins and blogs, send messages and leave comments on your friends pages. You can expect increased exposure resulting in more profile views, song plays, comments and messages.

Increased Myspace Exposure = Increased Opportunities for You!

Get additional information and pricing at http://www.gogirlsmusic.com/promo

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/
Madalyn Recommends:

Using Myspace to...Promote You & Your Music
(newly revised edition!)
available in the GoGirls Music Store

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Friday, September 21, 2007 

FREE 'TuneWidget' from Reverbnation

I get lots of information that relates to the music business. From time to time something really cools pops into my inbox. This is one of them...

ReverbNation

Friends of ReverbNation,

I'm writing to tell you about our latest innovation a few days ahead of the official announcement. Its called 'TuneWidget', and it is live and available to our users today. Its our belief that this widget will become an indispensable tool in the music promotion and cross-promotion arsenals for artists, labels, and managers. Play around with a working sample here:
http://www.reverbnation.com/main/tunewidget_overview

What's so cool about it?

1. Its the closest thing to having an entire band website in a portable, sharable, trackable widget. It contains music, video, an interactive tour map, join the mailing list function, and more.... with more to come (including selling music).

2. The artist, label, or manager can customize the background image of the widget and change it whenever they want (thus changing the image in real-time on all outstanding widgets). This is an effective way to make real-time announcements about things like a new CD launch, tour, etc using the image as a communication vehicle.

3. The most unique, and arguably most important feature of Tunewidget is that it allows artists to cross-promote other artists to their fan base. Labels and managers understand the value of cross-promotion as a way of introducing new acts to their established fan bases, and for years artists have used the MySpace Top 8 as an effective way of recommending other artists. TuneWidget makes it easy for anyone to cross promote friends, label-mates, touring partners, etc. across the web as a whole. They can have any number of recommended artists in rotation at any time, and can change who they are recommending in real time. Clicking on the "recommended" artist at the bottom of the widget switches the widget to display the complete mini-site of the recommended artist (including songs, schedule, video, mailing list, etc).

Like everything else we build, the TuneWidget is tracked and comprehensive stats are reported back to the user.

Does it work as a promotion and cross-promotion tool?

Beta test results indicate that TuneWidget is extremely effective for both promotion and cross-promotion:

* Fans played the music at double the rate of other music widgets

* Fans stayed engaged longer with TuneWidget than other music widgets

* Fans switched to view recommended artists almost 50% of the time if they had played the primary artist's music

* Fans tended to listen to a significant portion of the song from the recommended artist when they switched to them

Update on ReverbNation.com

TuneWidget joins our other widgets, the My Band application at Facebook (creates a mini artist profile on your facebook page), the integrated music player at Freewebs, the TunePaks that send music via email and IM, the FanReach email system, and our Street Team module to create a complete online "hub" where artists, labels, and managers can base their promotional efforts and track the results.

Every metric on the website is growing at over 30% month over month, with artists adding over 1,500 songs each day. Growth is good and important, but we continue to focus on our "artist first" philosophy, believing that we can create a company that has real lasting value for the customers we serve.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you have about TuneWidget or anything else at ReverbNation.

Best,

Jed

Jed Carlson
Chief Marketing Officer
ReverbNation
jcarlson@reverbnation.com

501 Washington St.
Suite D
Durham, NC 27701
919-321-2268

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007 

IndieMusicCoach Special

Thanks for visiting the blog today. I wanted to let you know about the special I'm running at IndieMusicCoach. You can take advantage of my "intro consult" call for only $35. It's normally $50 so this is a nice savings!



You can arrange a 30 minute phone call with me to discuss your current needs, help set goals and an action plan to achieve your goals, or just pick my brain. I have over 11 years of experience working with indie artists. What can I do for you?

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007 

What If We Could Do Anything We Wanted?

by Madalyn Sklar

I know, sounds silly. But really, what if we could do anything we wanted like fly to the moon or sell 1,000,000 records. Why does it have to be so far fetched? Why do people always tell us we can't do it? Because it's drastic? I think it's time to set the world straight with your goals, aspirations and dreams. If your goal is to make a living with your music, doing it full-time, then you need to start making that dream come true NOW. What are you waiting for?

I know, I know, life keeps us on a short leash. There is never a good time to start something new. There is never enough money in the bank to venture out on our own. There are not enough hours in the day to pursue our true happiness, our true passions.

Why?

I question this because you should not let things hold you back. If you truly love slinging burgers for a living, good for you! Most of us are stuck in a job we hate. Hate may not even be a strong enough of a word to describe what you feel. But you know what I mean.

So how do you break free from the prison chains?

It's starts with you and now. There is no better time to make your dreams a reality than right this minute. What is the one thing you want to do most in this world? Start right now with steps to making it happen. I don't mean quitting your job today and joining the circus tomorrow. I mean make a well thought out effort to start a plan. Everything starts with a plan. Write down what you want. What are your dreams and goals? I know for most of you that would be doing music full-time, touring and selling tons of CDs. That's great!

Get pen and paper. Write it all down. Set goals and deadlines. Deadlines are key. It's what holds you accountable. Even better is sharing this with a trusted friend who can help you stay focused and on track. Or a music business coach like myself. If you follow these steps you have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

Copyright © 2007 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach, consultant and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 11 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world - U.S., Canada and Japan thus far. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out www.indiemusiccoach.com for more info.

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Friday, September 14, 2007 

earBuzz.com

Attention All Artists!



Check out this GREAT web site where you can sell your CDs in digital format. I'm a fan of earBuzz.com and encourage you to check them out. Don and his staff are awesome.

Sign up now and go live this week while receiving 100% of your digital download sales. Artists receive 100% of the purchase price from digital download and physical CD sales at the new earBuzz.com, supporting indie artists 100%. “no other site comes close” - Indie-Music.com. Artists membership is $2/mo and $25 per CD title. Sell your music to the world within a week and keep all of the purchase price. High-Quality 256-bit AAC and mp3.

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/


Madalyn Recommends:

Learn how to make the most of a music conference!
Get the MP3 download!
available in the GoGirls Music Store

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Thursday, September 13, 2007 

You Get Out What You Put In

by Madalyn Sklar

Have you ever wondered why sometimes things just don't work out. You are not selling enough CDs or getting people out to your show. Sometimes you should think about what you are putting out there... what are you doing for others. We all know, people like to help people they like. Are you getting yourself out there? Are you making the most of your connections.

I've met many indie musicians who exhibit a "gimme" attitude. They think they deserve so much when they are not doing anything for others.
Why not set up a benefit show? Or offer a % of CD sales to your favorite charity?

You Get Out What You Put In.

I feel strongly that when you are a giver, great things will come back to you. It may not be right away. It could take months, even years. But it's a nice feeling when others return what you put out.

Here's an example:

Veronica is a hard working indie artist in Houston. She supports many local bands. Even though she has a family at home - husband and kids, she makes it a point to get out and support the local music scene. She gives up a lot but in return she gets so much! Every year she produces an amazing benefit show. You should see the support she gets! It's because she devotes a great deal of time with no expectations. She is a giver and in the process gets so much in return.

Another example:

I'm in Atlanta right now. Last night something amazing happened. A benefit show for ME! Because of my giving, someone wanted to give back. Her name is Ronnda. She is an indie artist and a huge giver. When she found out that I was going into the hospital back in January and would be racking up large medical bills, she wanted to do something about it. She has been planning this benefit all year. She secured a great headliner and asked other supporters of mine to participate. It was truly a memorable night. It wasn't about the money for me. Yes, it helps. But it was about the true nature of giving. It's a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that people care and want to support you.

Are you a giver or a taker?

I'm a giver. I give so much of my time to help indie musicians. It's become a way of life for me. I wouldn't have it any other way. In the early years when I had more time, I offered to help bands with their web sites. Some would ask what I wanted in return. I was boggled by this. I would say that I simply wanted to help. There are so many people who don't know what to do with that. I say accept help from all sources and then give back.

Pay It Forward.

Do something nice for someone with no strings attached. You've heard the stories. Someone stops at the toll booth and decides to not only pay for themselves, but they pay for several cars after them. Paying it forward.

You Get Out What You Put In.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Madalyn Recommends:

Artist Development
Learn key elements of the music business!
available in the GoGirls Music Store


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Monday, September 10, 2007 

The Independent Recording Artist's Number One Resource...

The Indie Bible

I advise plenty of indie musicians about great resources and this is one of them. I've been using the Indie Bible for many years and it's one of the best publications out there.

I can even offer you a discount if you click here!

Derek Sivers from CD Baby says... "It's SOOOOOO good! I just got it last week, and I'm amazed! A must for anyone wanting to spread their music - everywhere!!"



If you are not familiar with the Indie Bible, here is what their web site says:

The Indie Bible lists THOUSANDS of places where you can get your music REVIEWED and your songs PLAYED on the radio. ALL genres of music are covered! The contacts listed are music reviewers and radio personalities from around the world that will listen to your music, and if they like it, will present it to their readers and listeners. The Indie Bible shows you where to promote your music, regardless of your musical style, and will save you MONTHS of valuable time!

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 

Send FREE Mobile Text Messages To Your Fans!!

It's amazing how the Internet and new technologies have invaded our everyday lives. Some people complain about it but I embrace it. Okay I admit it, I'm a techie. I'm always looking for ways to improve my marketing efforts.

Now you can reach your fans via text messages!

I love this. It's a great way to stay connected. Yes, you still want to utilize your web site, mailing list, email list, myspace marketing, etc. But now you can add another great tool to your arsenal and that is FREE mobile text messaging.



I have been using this service for awhile now and love it. The company is called Mozes and what they do is offer a FREE service that allows you to connect with your fans. I encourage you to check out this web site and explore the possibilities!

You can sign up for my FREE motivational text messages by texting MOTIVATE to 66937. It's that easy!

Bands, sign up for your FREE keyword and start texting your fans!

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/
Madalyn Recommends:

Indie Music Success DVD - Getting Motivated!
Are you ready to earn more $ in the music business?
available in the GoGirls Music Store

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007 

PLAN YOUR BAND!

I'm a big fan of Peter Spellman. He is a well respected author and teaches at Berklee College of Music in Boston. I met him years ago at 2NMC in Nashville and had the opportunity to see one of his lectures.

Peter has written some great books and I'm always happy to promote them.

Here's his latest:

PLAN YOUR BAND!
Sample High-Impact Band Business Plan and Music Investor Proposal All-in-One



Are you starting a band?
Are you managing a band?
Are you serious about making it work?

Then put a plan into your passion. PLAN YOUR BAND! is both a Sample Band Business plan and an Investor Agreement all in one. It lays out the key pieces of how to achieve band success today.

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Friday, August 31, 2007 

Learn tricks for getting press and discounted advertising!

Get your copy of the hottest teleseminar yet!

“Press & Promotion”
is now available as an MP3 download!



Madalyn Sklar interviewed Mara Hitner of Flying Coaster PR and Music Connection Magazine about using the media to promote your music, tricks for getting press and discounted advertising and the importance of your bio and press releases.

Order you copy here.

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007 

How to make the most of a music conference



Coming up next month is one of my favorites, the Dewey Beach Music Conference. There will be so many great opportunities to meet and network with lots of great industry people. But what do you need to do to prepare?

There are lots of things:

*Load up on business cards and CDs.
*Have pen/paper to take notes
*Bring flyers about your show & don't be afraid to pass them out
*Show up with a positive attitude
*SMILE - it will make a huge difference

I have two great resources available in the GoGirls Music Store that can help:

Music Conference Teleseminar Panel
Earlier this year I hosted a Music Conference Panel featuring Allie Shaw (Hyperactive), Angie DeVore (Dfest) and Vikki Walls (Dewey Beach). They dished out lots of information and advice on music conferences. Including a Q&A session with the audience!

Check out this teleseminar call and learn how to make the most of a music conference!



Using Myspace to...
create a buzz @ a music conference

In this e-Booklet I'll show you how to use Myspace to get attention at a music conference! I talk about image & branding as well as useful tips before, during & after the conference.

I also provide Myspace page examples plus details on how to track friend requests. You'll learn valuable tools in this e-Booklet!

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Monday, August 27, 2007 

When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around

I know, this is the title of a song by The Police. But it is also something to think about.

When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around

We all get those days. The ones where no matter what you do, it's just not happening. You have the day job that you're stuck in. Your band is barely holding on. You are not getting enough people out to your shows. You are not selling enough CDs. You wish you had better gigs and made more money.

Sounds like your world is running down.

But how about making the best of what you got!

You have fans. Make the best of them! I'll bet you are not taking full advantage of your email list. You should be sending emails regularly to your fans even if you are not gigging right now. Let them know what is going on. Are you in the studio? Tell them! Show pictures. Start a BLOG and tell your fans about the experience. There is so much you can do!

Make the best with what you have and strive for more!

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Madalyn Recommends:

Teleseminar: Radio Tips for the Indie Artist
Get the MP3 download!
available in the GoGirls Music Store


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Friday, August 24, 2007 

Indie Music Success - Getting Motivated! DVD

Check out Madalyn's latest DVD!


Indie Music Success - Getting Motivated!

Are you ready to earn more $ in the music business?
What if you could earn more money than you ever imagined as an indie artist. Do you have what it takes to succeed? Stop holding yourself back from the success you desire and deserve!

Check it out at http://www.gogirlsmusicstore.com/

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Thursday, August 23, 2007 

Music Industry Survival Manual

I found this really cool PDF booklet on how to market, promote and make money from your music. It's from the people over at TuneCore.



http://www.tunecore.com/images/artwork/templates/pdfs/tunecore_manual_dl.pdf


Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007 

YOU CAN LIVE YOUR DREAM

You have to make your own opportunities.
Your future is not a matter of chance.
It's a matter of the choices you make.
It's not something you wait for.
It's something you must actively pursue.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities.
Seize common occasions and make them great.
Opportunity can come disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.

Start today, right where you are.
Distant fields will always appear greener.
Yet, golden opportunities are all around you.

THE DAILY GURU

**********************************************
©2006 by Max Steingart

Madalyn's Note: What are you waiting for? Opportunity is everywhere and every step you take will get you closer to your dreams. Open your eyes and see what is right in front of you. Life is what YOU make of it!

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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Friday, April 06, 2007 

Music Articles From Galaris.com

Here's a little goldmine of info I found for you...

Marketing Your Music Articles
http://www.music-articles.com/marketing

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com

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Monday, March 26, 2007 

The Virtual Publicist


Hey everyone,


I have teamed up with Rhonda Kelley of Rainmaker PR and Ben Schulkin of 3000K to bring you The Virtual Publicist.

It's a great contact list filled with music press contact information for over 400 music magazines, zines, blogs and freelance writers; and ready-to-use labels for mailing your press kits. It's ideal for musicians, labels, bands, etc who are looking to do their own publicity quickly and effectively. It's only $39.95 which makes it an affordable investment towards your music career. I recommend adding this to your arsenal!


And so you know, I have personally used The Virtual Publicist and can say I absolutely love it! While busy promoting our "Invasion of the GoGirls" during SXSW weekend I wanted to get our press release out to as many places as possible. I was able to quickly send out the release (in less than 5 minutes!) to relevant music magazines, blogs, writers, etc. I'm all about working smarter not harder and The Virtual Publicist allows me to do this!


Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar
IndieMusicCoach.com
~providing one-on-one indie music consulting & coaching~
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/

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WHO IS MADALYN SKLAR?


    Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 15 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.

    Madalyn's Sites:
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    * Social Networks for Musicians
    contact: madalynsklar(at)gmail.com

         

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