McBride spoke a lot about strategies to maximise income. His conclusion – create a continuous supply of music to buy, not a piecemeal one album a year, but a track every month. That’s 12 tracks a year with a constant presence rather than one album a year with a short blip then forgotten presence. Versions of songs can generate multiple sales to different fans, including multi-lingual releases (Averil Lavrine: 7.5m downloads of one song, 200 million hits on Youtube). Releasing stems may work for fans who are musical. Use releases to grow your fan base.

But where does scarcity come in? The value is in creating scarcity of access to the artist from loyal super-fan gig tickets to special one off concerts and merchandise and access to ‘backroom’ activities like rehearsals, and songwriting sessions.

Someone in the audience asked McBride for his predictions and observations: brands will sign acts – especially acts that will align their tribe to the brand.

And the year? 2008.

I take a few minutes to write down what I have achieved, what I’ve learnt and what I am grateful for. A couple of weeks ago I met with a few musicians in a local pub and we did this together. It was amazing how long our list of achievements became. I also asked my partner because he often has a different perspective and comes up with things I find difficult to acknowledge or I’d forgotten. So my list got even longer!

So thinking back on last year, it has been a wonderful year. We fulfilled our plan to spend a long time in the States and it was even better than we had imagined. One of the highlights was recording in Studio 19 in Nashville with one of the loveliest artists I have ever met. Another was driving across the Mojave Dessert. On our return I wrote my book and launched The Fan Formula.

I am grateful to you for joining my email list this year and I feel happy knowing I’m helping you achieve the success you want in your music career, whether it’s in a big or small way.

So now I’m sitting here in my kitchen with a cup of coffee imagining what my life will be like in a year’s time. I’m thinking about what have I achieved, what’s going on around me. I’m feeling happy and grateful for the things I have accomplished. I am imaging what these achievements will enable me to do in the future. I’m not worrying about ‘how’ I will get there. I’m just visualising how things will be. I’m make my future a reality now. I’m allowing it to happen.

In the new year I challenge myself to get out there in a much bigger way …

With my very best wishes for the coming year,

“Ben has been playing guitar since he was 12. His guitar is attached to him. He plays it all the time. It goes everywhere with us – even on holiday.

Ben is self-taught. He is fiercely independent, clear about what he does and does not want but feels deflated by the music business and pessimistic about realising his dream of having a career as a musician.

To survive he works in a pub and restaurant. I feel like he is hiding and not getting out there with his music. He is a perfectionist and he tinkers a lot. He suffers from a lack of confidence and self-belief.

I am 100% behind him but I feel this whole situation is a risk to his creativity and I’m concerned about him. I see him turning things over and over in his head. He exists in a bubble. He feels deflated by the bigness of what he needs to do. He was working with another musician but that’s fallen apart now. He can see his energy and commitment was not matched by his partner. He now wants to meet other like-minded musicians who are as motivated as he is. He wants to make music and sell it but he is still searching for his own voice and how to get it out there.

What he really needs is a framework to work to so his problems don’t feel so huge. Ben likes how-to books so when I saw The Fan Formula has a structured, step-by-step approach I knew it would help him. He doesn’t have to invent it all himself. The book will give him short-cuts and a process to work through.”

I asked Ellen what she wants for her son.

“I want Ben to find other like-minded, passionate musicians to work with. I want to see him perform his songs. Above all I want Ben to feel happy and fulfilled as a musician. I feel certain The Fan Formula can help.”

To get a copy of the book for your son or daughter for Christmas, click here.

You may be stopping yourself achieving what you want because you are not clear what success really means for you. And that’s because vague goals don’t work. (There are theories to explain why they don’t work but I won’t go into those right now.)

So why has The Fan Formula got the hook line ‘Get your music out there in a big way’? I’ve just told you an achievable goal needs to be specific so why is my hook line so vague? It’s deliberate. Let me explain.

Something you need to know about me is I strongly believe in empowerment. The journey I’ve been on, up to writing this blog today, began many years ago. In my early career I was a lecturer. I used to stand in front of my classes quoting from my lecture notes. I freely admit it was not a good learning experience. Then I did a post grad in action learning and I’ve never looked back. I put away my lecture notes and opened up the whole learning experience by posing real-world problems and working together to find solutions. It was scary but the results were amazing. The solutions we came up with were so much richer for everyone’s contribution and the level of buy-in was huge. What I learnt then set me on a new journey which today strongly influences my values and beliefs. In a nutshell – I firmly believe the answer lies within you, you just need a little help to dig deep and discover your riches.

The more ownership you have of the solution, the greater the likelihood you will succeed – by a long, long way.

So how does someone so focused, goal driven and successful come up with a hook line like ‘get your music out there in a big way’? What does ‘get your music out there’ mean? What does ‘in a big way’ mean?

Get your music out there in a big way means what you want it to mean.

I could not write a one-size-fits-all book or create one-size-fits-all programs* because I know you are unique. It would be wrong of me to assume I know what you want and to deliver solutions to fit my version of what you want. That’s not empowering for you.

My promise to you is, in everything I do, I will help you get super clear about what you want so you can achieve success in your music career, on your terms.

I can help you remove the blocks that come up on your journey. I can help you succeed by giving you tools to draw out your strengths. I can be your sounding board and keep you accountable.

‘Get your music out there in a big way’ is unique to you. You make it yours. It’s your music. Your career. Your success.

My goal is to empower you. I look forward to helping you achieve all the success you want in your music career.

Your music career success coach & author of The Fan Formula

* New programs coming soon to help you achieve success – affordable, high value, bite-sized “Success Boosters”. Can’t wait for a program and not got ‘the book’ yet? Click here to get started now.

Ben & Georgia, Bitter Ruin

Bitter Ruin are on a mission to get their music into the UK charts on Sunday 9th October.

“We all want that so what’s new”, I hear you say.

Well of course it’s not new but what’s different is Bitter Ruin are seeing the results of a very good piece of planning that everyone can learn something from. Plus there’s the fact that they’re unsigned and doing all of this themselves with grace, enthusiasm and a good pinch of strategic thinking.

Bitter Ruin formed in 2007 in Brighton when Ben Richards and Georgia Train met at music school. Although they understood each other musically through their classical training, they had dramatically opposing music tastes. Georgia listened to Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor and The Talking Heads whereas Ben preferred rock and bands like Metallica. The result? ‘Contemporary Expressionism’ with passion and musical intelligence at the heart of what they do. Their songs are about the darker side of life and their innovative performances come alive with theatricality, strong sparing vocals, harmonisation and raw instrumentation.

Bitter Ruin put in the hours and are persistent. They have a strong belief in themselves. After doing over 500 gigs they were good enough to be paid and they started getting great support slots in bigger venues. They’ve toured before now but it wasn’t the right time for them. This time it was very different.

Their plan was masterful and it payed off. They recorded their single and made a video (the first thing you see when you visit their site http://www.bitterruin.com/). They decided on a release date for the single and went on a three month tour in the lead up to it. During the tour they concentrated on growing their email list and afterwards, back home, they plugged the single using Facebook and Twitter. They are clear about their mission and give their fans clear a ‘call to action’ to support them. Their single, ‘Trust’, is only available in outlets that notch up sales registered in the charts. They know how many sales they need to get to number 1.

All good stuff. Their big break came when Stephen Fry got involved. Then followed radio and TV interviews on local stations.

And their ultimate goal? To have someone do the leg work for them so they can spend more time doing what they love - creating great music for their fans.

10th October update : Bitter Ruin achieved a #19 placing in the Official UK Independent Singles Chart. A fine achievement.

http://www.bitterruin.com/

http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/14/2011-10-15/

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Simon Scardanelli (photo by Paul Winter)

When Simon Scardanelli started gigging with a band again he made a firm decision – “we don’t play for free”. There are a few exceptions of course, however the large majority of Simon’s gigs are paid. And we’re talking in the £hundreds.

So how does he do it?

Simon Scardanelli is a child of the 60’s. He’s been singing, writing and recording since the age of 16. He’s worked extensively in Europe and the US. Having been signed to both major and independent labels, Simon has an uncompromising attitude to his work and now releases independently through Resonator Records.

A charismatic and engaging performer, Simon’s live shows are peppered with wry anecdotes and dry, self-deprecating humour – he is able to look back on a long and varied career with an ironic appreciation of its highs and lows.

Scardanelli enjoyed chart success in the late eighties with Anglo-Canadian duo Big Bam Boo (MCA). When the band scored a top 20 radio hit in the US in 1989, they re-located to New York. When Big Bam Boo had run its course, Simon stayed on in New York composing installation works for Art Events and experimental films, became a regular at the infamous Lach’s AntiFolk nights at the Sidewalk Café in New York’s East Village and gigged up and down the East Coast. In ‘95 Simon returned to London and shortly afterwards moved to Brighton to study 20th Century Music at Sussex University. Over the next few years he put his energies into experimenting with sonic-composition and was awarded a PhD in musical composition (University of Birmingham).

Returning to the live scene in 2005, Simon released the acoustic album Hobohemia. Working solo Simon found the plethora of “acoustic” nights at pubs and clubs rarely paid, even expenses. So earlier this year when he formed his new band, Dr Scardo, he was determined to play only paid gigs. Even though the band play originals songs, no covers.

“How does my band get paid gigs? That’s the decision I made after travelling all over the country as a solo artist for little or no money. You can’t get the commitment from a band if no-one’s getting paid. We have an up to date EPK on Reverb Nation and we use their venue booking tool. We focus on the quality of the songwriting and the performance. A lot of the songs are up-tempo and we make sure our fans having a good time at our gigs. You have to convince the venue that you’re going to be as a good as or better than a cover or tribute band. Rather than taking any gig that comes our way, we have concentrated on building a good reputation and being good enough that venues are more than happy to pay us to play. Of course it helps that I’ve got a large back-catalogue – that means we can do two 45 minute sets of good originals. What’s interesting though is that most of the paid gigs are not in Brighton – the market is flooded with bands here. Outside of Brighton, fans will fill a venue to see a good band.”

Scardanelli’s most recent album – That Dangerous Sparkle – was released in June 2007. As Maverick Magazine said – “You never know what is lurking around That Dangerous Sparkle’s dark corner, but whatever it is will always shock and surprise. Scardanelli is always prepared to take a risk, and we should all hope that it is this experimentation that is the future of British singer-songwriters.”

Dr Scardo’s debut single is WALL STREET HUSTLE, a song in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It can be previewed at their website.

Further details

Dr Scardo (photo by Paul Winter)

I am very happy to answer any questions you have about The Fan Formula, the book, ‘the formula’, workshops and planning sessions, featured artists or working with me as a private access client. I will respond as soon as I can.

Thanks,

.

“If you’re an artist and you haven’t read The Fan Formula yet be sure to grab a copy soon. A very beneficial read!!!”  Roberts Western World, Nashville, home of Brazilbilly

Midem, held Cannes, France at the end of January, is more business oriented. It focuses on the ‘relationship between people and music’, aims  to ‘transform audience engagement’ and to provide opportunities to ‘form new business connections’. One of its strengths for bands, in my opinion, is the focus on brands and the opportunities  to meet them. To showcase at Midem you need to win a spot or sort out your gigs yourself. And the venues charge you to play.

South By Southwest (SXSW) held in Austin, Texas in mid March has interactive and film themes as well as music – there’s a lot of cross over between these three themes these days creating something pretty unique. If you’re a UK band, SXSW is for you if you have great career potential, are “bursty out of your home market” and wanting to launch your career in the US.

For both SXSW and Midem, the UK Trade & Industry representatives at the Briefing in London stressed the need for a plan of how going to one of these events will develop your act. Even more so if you need funding (and you would need it for SXSW for sure; the US Performance Visa alone costs about £800 for a four-piece act).

The British Music Abroad scheme is funded by Arts Council England, UK Trade & Investment and PRS for Music Foundation. The scheme offers financial support to emerging UK acts that have been selected for key overseas industry facing events which will enable them to develop their international market.

If you are thinking of going to one of these events don’t leave it too late to register - early bird rates expire very soon and to get a musician’s visa for the States you need to apply before Christmas. You also need to put in a serious amount of work outside of doing the gigs.  It’s a blast being there but maybe you could spend the money in better ways? Depends on where you are in your career.  There are showcase opportunities nearer to home. What could you do locally with that amount of cash?

If you do go, be realistic - there are a lot of gigs going on at the same time so you need to get noticed. One very simple thing you can do is make sure your listing clearly states what you are about so your audience comes to you.

If you do go make the most of it back home. The qualifying criteria for SXSW, for example, is very high so if you are selected you can  make a noice about it back home (add that into your plan).

UKTI specialise in helping bands expand into markets abroad. They offer a lot of help and advice. Take advantage of it.

And one final tip – the best accomodation (location-wise) goes very fast. Book early.

http://sxsw.com/

Good FAQ on the SXSW site http://sxsw.com/music/shows/faq

http://www.midem.com/en/homepage/

http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/britishmusicabroad/index.htm

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export.html

Since then I have been following them on Facebook but I thought it was time I took a better look at their website. I decided to write a blog about it because it is a great example of how to convert potential fans into fans using a ‘squeeze page’.

On first visiting their site you get a great welcome message and strong ‘call to action’ to sign up to their email list and tell your friends about the band. The incentive is free tracks and you can get more prizes for doing extra work. The page is clear an uncluttered.

Have a look yourself at www.jukeboxtheghost.com

Learn how to convert potential fans into fans to build your fan base easily and quickly in The Fan Formula. Download it here.

“The Fan Formula gave me clarity about how to build my fan base and keep people on my list. It saved me a lot of time!”

I look forward to hearing all about your successes (link is in the book). 

- Eliza -