Breaking news: Music community helps members make money through community support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Thedy at hitsamillion at gmail dot com

January 2, 2009, Hitsamillion.ning.com, an online music community, announces a ground breaking movement of members supporting members!

Imagine this: you’re an artist or artist manager or author and you've got an upcoming project (album, or book) and 5 members buy it, and then tell 5 people. Imagine this: you’re a songwriter who needs to build your catalogue but you need beats. Producers need their beats sold. You buy beats from the Hits producers and build your catalogue.

Or say you're a great musician, artist, songwriter and you're great at what you do, and you just need exposure. Imagine members sharing your profile and telling all their friends to check out your profile. Imagine learning something about the music industry, (i.e. write GREAT lyrics, engineer a song, create a flyer, trick out your profile, imagine members showing you perhaps at a discounted fee or for free if you do something for them. Imagine wanting/needing to talk to music industry professionals being able to meet with them online.

That’s the Hitsamillion.ning.com movement!

Thedy B, CEO of Hitsamillion.ning.com explains, "Hits A Million, the name, the logo, and bull's eye symbol in the logo is about getting to a targeted goal! Hits A Million is a movement that is about members of the music community helping each other!! Why start another online music community if the community doesn't act like one? I believe that if the members pool their resources together, they can help each other's career and their career goals. Hitsamillion.ning.com is that place where members will do just that."

With an office in Atlanta, GA but with national and international membership, Hitsamillion.ning.com is the NEWEST and HOTTEST online social networking spots for music professionals! Currently at over 1,000 members strong, hitsamillion.ning.com is quickly becoming the premiere social network for music industry professionals and is becoming a one-stop resource for recording artists, producers, songwriters, artist managers, DJs, music publishers, record labels, promoters, poets and all other music industry professionals in the music business.

"Catering to our members is our ultimate goal: Our members benefit from the many professional groups, activities, events, television programs, and forums we have on the site. The members love the site and refer new members to it all the time." "Hitsamillion.ning.com is a great site and I love making it the best it can be." Thedy B, CEO of Hitsamillion.ning.com


For more information about Thedy B, Hits A Million, LLC, and this awesome online music community, go to hitsamillion.ning.com.

Music professionals must be traveling salesmen!

(c) 2008 Hits A Million, LLC All rights reserved. Feel free to share it but do not copy and paste it somewhere else.

In one of my prior blogs entitled, "Is MySpace making aspiring artist miss opportunities?" I advised aspiring music professionals to always be ready to meet a music industry professional in person and to give them exactly what they ask for when they ask for it. Then one of the commenters to that blog, Jason, went a stepped further and said aspiring artists should also be prepared to meet their fans. That comment sparked this blog.

To all the music creators, remember this: YOU.... ARE... A ... TRAVELING...SALESPERSON!

If I met you in person and asked you about your music and whether I could hear your music, would you have your music on you right then and there? Or would you only direct me to a website? A great traveling salesperson always has product on him that is ready to sell! A great traveling salesperson is never out of product. Are you?

But to know whether you are out of product, you've got to first know your inventory. Do you know what you have available to give? How many business cards do you have? Is your stock of business cards low? Do you need more? How many CDs do you have on you? Where are your CDs? Do you have them on you? in the car? in your purse, bookbag, briefcase, around your neck or your wallet (in case of jump drives)? Your music is your product. Therefore, your music is something that you should have on you at all times because you never know who you will meet and if the person you meet is ready, willing, and able to purchase your music on the spot!

Give your customers what they want every time they want it, however they want it, by always having on you what they want when they want it.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Music Professionals must be traveling Salesmen.


Thedy B,
Attorney/Songwriter/CEO
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.ning.com
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/thedyb

Networking is not Jumping Jacks

I hear people say all the time, "I'm grinding." Yeah...? Really...? Are you...? Or are you really just doing jumping jacks: moving but you ain't going nowhere? Many people continue to do the same thing over and over again and wonder why nothing's changed. Yes, some things come through persistence. But dog, if you been doing the same thing for 10 years and nothing has happened, then perhaps you need to change what you're doing or take it up a notch. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, expecting different results. Maybe it's time to stop doing jumping jacks, and start walking, no, sprinting to the next move in your music career!

In one of my earlier post, I gave you a total of 33 different physical places you can go to network and meet producers, songwriters, artists, demo singers, A & R professionals, new fans, and new businesses who are looking for you! But some people will read that information and then not do it. Some will read it and take off with the information, taking their career to the next level.

What are you going to do?

Thedy B
hitsamillion.ning.com

Grind after you sign!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I went to an ASCAP event where Lyfe Jennings was on the panel and he said that he made more money and sold more records when he HAD to grind then when he got signed!

He said that once he got signed, he chilled and didn't sell as much as he had when he was grinding. Now he's back on his grind.

With record labels constantly dropping non-producing or low-producing and even mid-producing artists, artists better be on their grind to stay signed!

At another event, they talked about how Kanye West was signed to a record label and nobody at the record label was pushing his project. What did Kanye West do? He started pushing his project himself! All of a sudden the folks IN THE RECORD LABEL took notice and started getting behind Kanye's project!

So you see from those examples that just being signed to a record label is not the END of the grind; it's just the START! In other words, you must grind after you're signed. And you must grind to stay signed!

So if you know NOW that you really don't want to grind, perhaps you shouldn't don't do music to make a profit. You again can save yourself some money, time, energy, and effort by not trying to get involved in the music business. You again can always just play and write music for the fun of it and make your profession something else!

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com

Music is a business you must work!

Again, I'm continuing to help some of my readers decide whether they are in the right business. My other blogs have helped you decide whether you love music, love the music business, whether music is just a hobby to you, whether you are just a fan of music. All of these are very important questions to discover whether you should stay in the tough business of the music industry or whether you should find another fulfilling job in the music industry that does not entail the business of selling music.

So here's my next question: is music only fun to you and not work?

Dictionary.com defines work, the noun, by the following definitions:

1. exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil.
2. something on which exertion or labor is expended; a task or undertaking: The students finished their work in class.
3. productive or operative activity.
4.employment, as in some form of industry, esp. as a means of earning one's livelihood: to look for work.
5. one's place of employment: Don't phone him at work.
6. materials, things, etc., on which one is working or is to work.
7. the result of exertion, labor, or activity; a deed or performance.
8. a product of exertion, labor, or activity: musical works.

Dictionary.com defines work, the verb, using some of the following definitions:

1. to do work; labor.
2. to be employed, esp. as a means of earning one's livelihood: He hasn't worked for six weeks.
3. to be in operation, as a machine.
4. to act or operate effectively: The pump will not work. The plan works.
5. to attain a specified condition, as by repeated movement: The nails worked loose.
6. to have an effect or influence, as on a person or on the mind or feelings of a person.
7. to move in agitation, as the features under strong emotion.
8. to make way with effort or under stress: The ship works to windward.
9. to use or manage (an apparatus, contrivance, etc.): She can work many business machines.
10. to bring about (any result) by or as by work or effort: to work a change.
11. to manipulate or treat by labor: to work butter.
12. to put into effective operation.
13. to operate (a mine, farm, etc.) for productive purposes: to work a coal mine.
14. to carry on operations in (a district or region).
15. to make, fashion, or execute by work.
16. to achieve or win by work or effort: to work one's passage.
17. to keep (a person, a horse, etc.) at work: She works her employees hard.
18. to influence or persuade, esp. insidiously: to work other people to one's will.

So if you aren't exerting energy, time, labor or activity, if you are not productive, if you are not employing yourself to earn your own livelihood, and you aren't accomplishing anything with your energy, time, labor or activity, then it's safe to say you aren't working your music business! If you, your team, or your music isn't working to persuade or influence people to buy into you, your music, your brand, and your company, then your time, energy and efforts aren't working, i.e. they aren't productive. If you don't regularly go into your place of employment, which in this case, a studio, then you are not working. If you only go to work from time to time, then you are not laboring and therefore aren't really working.

There are no hand outs, no free rides, no get in free passes, no mandatory regulations or laws saying the music business has to include you! The music industry and success in the music business is solely determined by your level of hard work, dedication and determination.

So again decide for yourself: do I really want to be in the music industry?

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter

Hits A Million, LLC

hitsamillion.blogspot.com

I love music but I don't love the music business?

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I hope you've been reading my latest blogs on should you save yourself some money and get out the game we call the music business. And if you read them, you may say well, I love music but I don't love the music business!

I personally prefer calling the music business, the music industry. Why? The music industry, for example, entails the business of selling records, but it's not solely define by that. The record business is solely defined by the business of selling records. The music industry, however, has so many other things that songwriters, producers, beatmakers, etc. can do besides sell records. So you can love music and not sell records and do other things in the music industry.

For example, you can teach people how to create music by becoming a music teacher. You'd still be a songwriter or musician or a producer but you won't have to concern yourself with the song's marketability, or commercialism. That may be a great profession for those who just love music and don't want to sell their music.

Or you can be like JaWar and write some books about the music industry. Or you could write about music, about musicians, songwriters, music industry professionals, etc. I myself am about to write some books about songwriting so stay tuned for more details!

As an author, you can still enjoy music and again you don't have to worry as much about some of the negative things that come with the business of selling records. So yes, you can love music and not love the music business, and still love what you do in the music industry. There's nothing stopping you from doing something else.

Berklee lists over 70 different careers in the music industry!!!!!
Kenfoster.com lists all the qualifications, if any, that are needed to do some of these other careers in the music industry and their salary ranges. Menc.org also has a chart detailing salary ranges and qualifications of other careers in the music industry.

Just do a google search like I did for careers in the music business and you'll find lots of ways to still love music and have a career in the music industry.

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com

Do you love the music business?

Hopefully you've read my blogs before and you know I always try to inspire people to stay in the music business and to see their dreams come true. But again, this week my goal is to encourage you to find your true passion if it ain't music. So in my last two blogs, I helped you analyze whether music was just a hobby to you and whether you love music or not. Hopefully by now, you know music is not a hobby to you and that you love music.

In a recent forum on thestudioexposed.com, I created a forum and asked aspiring producers, songwriters, artists and beatmakers, what they love about the music business. Here's some of the things I said in that forum:

What I like or love about the music business:

1. I love music.
2. I love the creative process.
3. I love the challenge of coming up with a hit record.
4. I like knowing that people can be successful in the music business.
5. I love that there are many places that music is being put now and that companies, businesses, engineers, and inventors are coming up with new ways of hearing, getting, transporting, and sharing music all the time.
6. I love the fact that some artists, producers, and songwriters can have long careers in the music business.
7. I like the fact that I can be an entrepreneur in the music business.
8. I love the fact that it gives musicians the opportunity for people to hear their music and share it.
9. I like the fact that you constantly meet a different array of creative people.


If you can't think of these reasons why you love the industry and more, then again I'd suggest you save yourself some money, stay out the music business, find out what you really love to do, and make money doing that! In my next post, I'm going to talk about what some of the other careers are in the music industry that you can do for those of you who are tired of the music business and want to do something else.

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com

Is Music What You Love to Do?

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So I've been posting for the past couple of days about saving yourself some money by getting out the game called the music business. In my last post, I gave you some tips on finding out if music is just a hobby to you. Again, if it is, save yourself some money: don't attempt to get into the music business. Instead, find something else that you really love to do.

So I ask you: Is music what you love to do? Let me ask you a couple of questions so you can be the judge:

Is music what you think about all the time?

Do you fantasize about music and having a career in music?

Do you see yourself doing music?

Do you see yourself being successful doing music?

Do you spend a lot of your time making music?

Have you sacrificed some relationships over music?

Have you stayed up long nights making and creating music?

Have you spent lots of money trying to make it in the music business?

Have you borrowed money to make it in the music business?

Have you tried other careers, but the music industry is the only thing that you keep coming back to?

Have you even left music alone for awhile but still found yourself missing it?

Do you spend time learning it and studying music?

Do you spend time researching how others who do music, do it?

Do you find yourself talking about music all the time?

Are most of your friends fellow music lovers?

Do you have a large music collection?

Well, if you answered yes to those questions, music is what you love to do.

So do it! Go for it! Stay with it! Be committed! Don't treat what you love to do as a hobby, respect it!

But if you don't love music, save yourself some money, get out the game, find what you REALLY love and do THAT!!!!!!

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com

ASCAP Writer's Roundtable - Part 2 (the Scoop)

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Here's why I say you need to get out the studio some and network. And yes you can network because I've given you over 40 tips on the do's and don'ts of networking at music conferences, the do's and don'ts of networking via email, upcoming music conferences where you can network , explaining why networking is important, how it's helped me, and gave you over 30 places where you can network.

In my last blog, I told you that I would reveal what was said during the songwriting panel at the ASCAP Writer's Roundtable, which was held on March 6, 2008 at the Robert Woodruff Library Exhibition Hall at Clark Atlanta University. Okay, so here it is:

1. Publishing - much was said about this subject, a subject that is near and dear to the hearts of all songwriters.

• If you can wait, wait. Most of the songwriters suggested that you wait before getting a publishing deal. In particular, wait until you have a single and wait until the publishers are coming to you asking you for a publishing deal. The reason behind this advice was so that you can get a better deal. Having a single will provide you better bargaining power. If you instead only have album sales, you still can get a publishing deal but the publisher will most likely not give you the best publishing deal because you don't have a single. By album sales, I mean you have a song on someone's album and you have sales only because people bought the entire album, but your song wasn't released as a single.

• If you need the money, then do the deal. Depending on how desperate you are in terms of money, you should decide on whether to sign a publishing deal or not. Again, if you can wait, then wait.

• Sign a publishing deal that requires the least amount of published songs. Johnta Austin, one of the panelists, mentioned that publishing 10 songs a year or even 4 songs a year is still a lot of songs. Why? Because most publishing contracts require that you publish a certain number of whole songs. If you collaborate on the song with other writers, then you only get credit for your portion of the song. So if you and a 3 other writers wrote a song, then you'd only get credit for writing 1/4 of a song. You still have 3 3/4 published songs to go. If you use samples of a song, you may also have to share a portion of your song with the original artist and that will again, cut into your credits. I say may because RL indicated that he refused in one instance not to give up part of his publishing to a producer who unilaterally chose to use a sample in his music to which RL wrote the lyrics and melody. Since RL didn't make the decision to use the sample, he refused to allow his portion of the publishing to be diminished because a sample was used. Plus, the publishing contracts require that the songs be published. Since the number of albums being put out are diminishing and the number of artists are too, then getting your required number of songs published is harder than it was previously. For these reasons, the panelists suggested songwriters sign a publishing deal which requires the least amount of songs.

• Be sensible about the amount of money you are requesting in your publishing deals. Why? Because first, you only get paid after recoupment. Publishing contracts are essentially loans that you must pay back. You only get paid after the publishing company recoups the money loaned. So with that in mind, the panelists recommended that you make sure you only get the amount you need and don't spend your advancement on frivolous things yet.

• Publishing contracts have bonuses in them. There are bonuses in some publishing contracts that will reward you if your song is ranked, and the length that it is ranked, and I think also if your song is placed with major artists. They all said they liked the bonuses.

• Artists may try to get a portion of your publishing. They indicated that some artists will attempt to get a portion of the songwriter's publishing. Artists will sometimes ask to get a writer's publishing because of the artist's reputation or because they want to be seen as part of the writing team, and/or because they want some of the publishing money even though they didn't write any of the song. So the panelists recommended that you consider the source of that request. If the artist is major and you know that your song will be a single, then perhaps giving up a portion of your publishing will be worth it. Johnta Austin and Manuel Seal both said that even if you gave away all your publishing to a major artist, you will still win because your name is on the song and your name on the song will now lead to other songwriting opportunities. However, they indicated that if the artist is just starting out, is not signed, etc, then there may be less of a reason to give up portions of your publishing.

• People get publishing deals because they are scared. Lyfe Jennings said that. He said people get publishing deals because you are scared of what to do with your success and the money. He suggested having a plan for what you are going to do with the money that you get from a publishing deal, such as investing it into real estate or a business.

• In addition to keeping your deals to the lowest number of songs, keep the number of years of the publishing deal low too. Lyfe Jennings said that he was in a three-year publishing deal which he liked because afterwards he can do his own thing. He doesn't need the publishing deal after that.

• Know why you need a publisher. New writers need publishers because they don't know anybody in the business. They don't have direct access to major artists. They need help with getting placement of their songs. They need better relationships. However, once you become a seasoned writer with some hits, you then have direct access to major artists. The artists themselves will call the writer asking to write with that writer. No in-between person is needed then. At that point, the writer needs a publisher just to exploit the copyright to its maximum by getting the song licensed to say film, ringtones, overseas, etc. So know what you need and why you need it.

2. Writing - the essence of what we do!

• Write real records! By that, each panelist meant that you as a writer should write songs that you can feel. (This goes back to my three key elements needed to write a hit, one of which was that the song had to be heart-felt).

• Write songs that are timeless. Don't "date" your record by simply writing songs that are going to be hits now. Johnta Austin noted that some songs, when they are timeless, may not be hits at the time the song comes out. But because the song is timeless, it still has the potential to become a hit. He gave examples of Lyfe Jennings' CD which during its first week sold only 3,000 copies but is now a platinum album. He also cited John Legend's album as another album that didn't have a lot of sales the first week out but because it was a good album, has sold millions of copies and go on to win various awards.

• Real, timeless records will always in the end win. Johnta Austin noted that because Clive Davis believed in Alicia Key's talent and sound, he kept her with just her piano and vocals without the use of rappers on the track. They said so don't succumb to writing songs that are dated or try to keep up with the times just to stay relevant.

• Hit records consists of: a great melody, great lyrics, a good song concept, great production, great performance of the song, believeability of the song, and a team who believes in, and works, the song, according to Manuel Seal. He said that a great performance of the song where an artist really believes what he's singing and the song is ringing true to the artist will make a good song a great song. He said that it used to be that artists were really worked in the studio on making the song believable and making sure the artist felt the songs they sung. I recently saw an example of this when Sean "P. Diddy" Combs refused to allow the men from the Making of the Band IV (or Day 26 as they are now known) to go into the studio and record until the men became passionate about what they were singing about. P. Diddy got the guys a vocal coach, Ankra, not because they were off key, or needed vocal training, but to help the fellas connect with the song and with their audience.

• Write simple words and hooks: Atozzio said that he had to simplify his lyrics to keep up with the times. He noted that at times he wrote a more catchy hook by simpling repeating a line. Lyfe Jennings said that his hardest problem with writing was saying more but saying it more concisely.

• Reseach your song concept idea: Cri$tyle said that she researches her song ideas before writing the song. She studies whatever she is writing on so that she can clearly and effectively write a song about say, water. For her, researching helps her creativity. And I agree. I recently wrote a song about a subject that I myself wasn't familiar with but always wanted to know. I researched the subject by going to Wikipedia. It helped my creativity.

• Spark your creativity: Cri$tyle indicated that she prays before writing every song. Atozzio and Johnta Austin related that their songs sometimes come from his experiences or from things they simply wanted to say but couldn't. Lyfe Jennings indicated that he tries to put himself in the song as well as think of other people who are also going through the same situation and how they must feel. RL said that sometimes because writing is so personal that sometimes its a writer's therapy so don't be afraid of what content comes out during difficult times. He indicated that the songs he wrote while going through a divorce were all related to those feelings. I laughed in agreement to this statement since I was recently looking at the slant that all my recent songs were taking and thinking they all dealt with one subject, love.

• Write and then move on. Cri$tyle indicated that she would mistakenly marry her songs. By that, she explained she meant that she couldn't write another song because she was still worried about the last song she wrote. She knew that the last song she wrote was great so she worry about its placement and what everyone else was doing with that song, instead of just writing. I could definitely relate to that as well! Write, give the song to your publisher, let them deal with the particulars, and just keep on writing!

3. Building business relationships - each person opened up the panel discussion by talking about how they got started in the business. Inevitably it all boiled down to meeting the right people.

4. Humility- All of the artists expected greatness from themselves but they were so humble. Cri$tyle was the most humble as she said several times that she felt so blessed to just be able to write for the people she has been able to write for. When asked does she get upset or feels it is unfair that a track is being given to her as well as to other more seasoned writers who have the ability to directly talk to the artists and find out exactly what the artist wants to talk about, she said no, she doesn't get upset. Instead she expressed her gratitude about even being considered in the same category as these writers to get the same tracks they get. She said that as a new writer, she understands paying her dues. She understood that she doesn't have the business relationship with an artist that say a Johnta Austin has since he's been in the business much longer and has written for so many different people and has some awards and hits under his belt. So the point is, be humble, stay humble.

Thanks for reading! And remember, if you like reading my blogs, subscribe today and tell a friend!

Thedy B

Hits A Million, LLC

myspace.com/hitsamillionllc - network with me!

hitsamillion.ning.com - network with others!

Song Selection for Recording Artists Part 4

In my prior series of blogs in 2007 on Song Selection for Recording Artists, I discussed three things that artists should look for in choosing a song for their next album. As you can see from my 2008 blogs, record sales are down. So it would behoove any recording artist, and I do mean ANY, recording artist to make sure your songs have the three things I mentioned in them if you want your album to have any real measure of success. Take for example, Janet Jackson....

Janet Jackson's career and her latest singles, Feedback and Rock with U, were discussed on the Frank Ski and Wanda Smith morning show on V-103 recently. Frank Ski and Wanda Smith were asking listeners the question of whether (and how) Janet Jackson can boost her career? Or, they asked, should she retire? One radio listener said that he felt the reason that Janet Jackson's come-back has not been successful is because Janet continuously chooses the wrong songs. In this listener's opinion, R & B music that is successful nowadays are songs that have soul in them and he named Alicia Keys and Keyshia Cole's music as examples of R & B music with soul. No soul, no sales. This listener felt that Janet Jackson's music lacked soul.

Another listener essentially echoed the prior listener's comments, saying that she couldn't even understand the words in Janet Jackson's songs! This listener expressed some dismay that Janet Jackson had such a great music production team at her disposal with Jermaine Dupri and his camp; yet she couldn't actually hear Janet Jackson's voice or the lyrics to the song. This listener was also disappointed in the content of the songs, saying she didn't even know what Janet was singing about anymore. She didn't understand the message in the music and even if she could, the message simply didn't appeal to her. These listeners were disappointed fans who expressed their desire for both "the old Janet Jackson" and for the old songs Janet used to sing, naming songs, such as "Let's Wait Awhile" and "Control" as songs that they remember which really had an impact on them while listening to music back in the day.

Frank Ski also compared Janet Jackson to current hit recording artists such as Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Ciara, and Rhiana, and said some people are even questioning whether Janet Jackson can compete with these artists vocally? Frank Ski said some folks think Janet Jackson can't really sing.  He was just putting that thought out there and not saying that himself.

Now I'm not hear to knock anyone else's songs and music production, and truly every artist is getting hit with a decreased in record sales - and that's across the board. But essentially, what these listeners and Janet Jackson's critics are talking about are the three things that I mentioned in my blogs about song selection for recording artists. If hit recording artists want to remain as such, choose songs that have great content, that accentuates their vocal range, and that are heart felt! Now what I'm about to say is probably not true of Janet Jackson (since we know that she is wonderfully committed to her music career.  But if you are a recording artist who believes that simply because you are/were famous before, that your audience will simply just buy your album. Not so anymore! The music game has changed! Artists with that sort of thinking will find their album sales declining as people buy the one or two songs they like and that's it. Artists who instead step up their game and pick all the rights songs for their album will find their album sales continue to hit a million record sales and downloads. So pick songs that again have great content, show your vocal range, and that are heart felt and your record sales will be unchartered. Just ask Alicia Keys, Ne-yo, and Mary J. Blige!

I believe in Janet Jackson!  I'm an fan of hers but I am more of a fan of her older work.  I wish her newest album much, much, much, much success to put her fans at ease and her critics to shame.  And I just believe that Janet Jackson has the skills, heart, the presence, love for her career, and love for music to come back and hit a million record sales! I'd love to write some songs for her too and I hope to work with her in the future.

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter,
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc

Creative Uses with Your Music Money - Part 2

As I mentioned in my prior blog, be creative with your money. Invest in the right things to build your music business and those right investments will reward you!

In addition to the first 6 tips I gave you, here are 7 more tips on being creative with your music money:

7. Take advantage of FREE advertising. Network on all the free social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Youtube, ReverbNation, Ilike, TheSingersRoom, etc. Google social networking sites to find new ones, which are popping up every day.


8. Get your own website! Though you can advertise on the various social networking sites for free, I would highly recommend that you get your own websites. Getting your own website means you can design it however you like. You won't be restricted as you are on other sites. You can advertise your music to your heart's content. Fans of your music will know where to go to find you. You can post pictures, do blogs, put up videos, get email addresses, get detailed information about your sites' traffic so you can see who your music is appealing to, etc. Besides, you can always post links on your MySpace page and Facebook page, for example on your website. Plus, websites are only $7 a year!


9. Ways to get your music out: In my last blog, I mentioned burning CDs or using jump drives as 2 means to get your music out. You can also email your music. It is free and practical. Say an A & R person wants a sample of your music, you can simply send that person a email with your songs on it without waiting to send it through the mail. Plus you have proof you sent it. Most DJs will tell you that they prefer that you email them your music.



10. Buy business cards. Be smart with your money and buy them in bulk. But make sure that your business cards are quality! I can't tell you the number of business cards that I've seen that are in such poor quality. And whether you believe it or not, your business card is a representation of you. If your business card looks cheap, then people won't take you OR your music seriously! Plus you want your business card to be sturdy enough to withstand being in someone else's pocket or purse. Does it mean you have to spend a lot of money on cards? No, you can go to vistaprint.com to get some free business cards online.

11. Build a relationship with a graphic artist, refer business to that graphic artist, and negotiate your price to get a unique brand, logo, etc.

12. Invest in attending and/or participating in music conferences, seminars and showcases. But be smart with your money, first purchase the Truth Book about Record Pools & Music Conferences, Talent Shows, and Open Mics from JaWar and read JaWar's blogs at http://atlantashowcase.blogspot.com/ and http://mymusicconnection.blogspot.com/ on how to effectively attend a music conference so that you won't waste your money and time at one of those events. To get the book, click here to view more details

13. Invest in video equipment, which serves to visually promote your music. You can now buy a 30G hard drive camcorder for under $400! And in most cases that camera also comes with other functions such as an Mp3 player, a camera, a voice recorder, etc. Google camcorders to see which ones best fit your budget.

14. Invest in a team - an attorney, manager, and/or consultant who will all assist in you in not making costly mistakes related to trademarks, copyrights, establishing your business, negotiating your publishing contracts, signing contracts and deals (especially with the new "360 deal" being offered to artists). While hiring a family member or friend as a manager may be cheaper, make sure that person has the skills to go with you to EVERY level of your success. Monica, Usher, and some other famous people made the right decision in hiring a family member but that family member has shown demonstrated success in making that celebrity successful.

Bryan-Michael Cox at PatchWerk Music University IV

I was so excited when I heard that Bryan-Michael Cox (or B. Cox) was going to be a panelist at Patchwerk's Music University IV! I'm such a fan of B. Cox's music. Since I consider myself a student of music and the music industry, I thought maybe going to Patchwerk's Music University IV just to hear B. Cox would be well worth the money for attending. Was I right?

I'll tell you in a minute. . .

B. Cox was on the Artist & Producers panel at Patchwerk's Music University IV along with Little Drumma Boy (Drum Squad) and L.T. Moe (Trey Songz, Bobby V). All three producers talked about:

1) insider tips on getting a good music publishing deal,

2) believing in your music regardless of what level you are on,

3) the power of networking - see my prior blog to see how I was convinced about networking

4) the advantages of having a manager working for you

5) having a game plan when you enter the music business

6) knowing and being honest about where you are in terms of your development

7) the power of music internships and understudying;

8) about the advantages of joining SESAC, BMI or ASCAP; and

9) how building your brand and making hits increases your earning potential.

Plus, again we got all of these producers' contact information!

So was going to see B. Cox worth my time and money? Let me answer it this way: If you are a songwriter or a producer trying to break into the music industry as such, whenever some of the superproducers such as B. Cox, J. Que from the Clutch, and others are participating as a panelist, GO! It will be well worth the money. Look for them at a music conference or seminar near you. If you wanna know about upcoming music conferences nationwide, check out JaWar's blog at atlantashowcase.blogspot.com or at http://mymusicconnection.blogspot.com/

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter

Hits A Million, LLC

http://myspace.com/hitsamillionllc

http://hitsamillion.ning.com

Get out of the studio!

As I said in a prior blog, success in the songwriting business is based on many things but one of the most important things besides writing a hit is networking. You CANNOT succeed in this business without networking. The music business is about who you know. People sometimes get mad because certain songs get played on the radio. Those who get mad often feel the song they wrote is much better than the songs that are on the radio. But those people who were able to get their songs on the radio may know more about networking than the person complaining. Just to show you how networking is working for me, here's just one example.

I met JaWar, author of the Music Industry Connection book series, Cappriccieo Scates, an associate director for SESAC, and Dr. William Ashbourne, a professor at Alabama State University and an entertainment lawyer, at the Atlantis Music Conference in August 2007. I started building a relationship with these three great guys. Since then and through these three individuals, I've met other prominent people in the industry and this is how.

JaWar told me about Tempo Tuesdays at the Atlanta SESAC office so I started regularly attending that event and meeting people. I also purchased JaWar's book, the Atlanta Music Industry Connection book (which I highly recommend) and later read his music industry blogs. From that, I learned about additional networking opportunities, such as music conferences, seminars, showcases, etc. Then I decided to get out the studio more and go to some of these events he'd mentioned. It was through going to these different events that I met people and from continuously going to different events, people in the industry saw (and see) my passion, zeal, and seriousness about my craft. I just recently attended the Southeastern Entertainment Awards (SEA) in Tunica, MS and there I learned about getting songs played on the radio.

After returning home, I contacted Cappriccieo from SESAC and told him about what I learned and how I'd like to learn more about that subject. Tempo Tuesday occurs every second and fourth Tuesday of the month and during this event, Cappriccieo invites different music industry guests to help songwriters learn more about the music business, finances, real estate, whatever he feels would benefit the whole person. So because of our discussion, this time he invited a radio DJ to the next Tempo Tuesday to discuss getting songs played on the radio. Those at Tempo Tuesday that night met an AM radio DJ who is looking for new music. Had I not gotten out of my studio and stopped my songwriting for an hour, I would have never met this radio DJ. I would never know he's looking for music. I would not know the format in which he prefers artists to submit their material to him. I wouldn't know what types of songs he is NOT looking for. I wouldn't know the format of his show or that he changes it up often unless, of course, I listen to his show. He and I also exchanged numbers and he called me the same night. We have been in communication since then. I anticipate that not long from now, my new songs, like one of my other songs which was played on the number #1 gospel radio show in Seattle, WA, will also be on the radio. I've never been to Seattle but that didn't keep my networking efforts on some of my social networking sites from causing someone to take notice and put my music on that station.

These stories aren't to name drop or brag but just to remind artists and songwriters to get out the studio sometimes and just meet people. In fact, nowadays, you can network from the comfort of your home thanks to the Internet and social networking sites. Looking for some sites? I have a few social networking sites that you can join and meet some of the people I've met so join me at myspace.com/hitsamillionllc and hitsamillion.ning.com. Bottom line: network, network, network! You'll never know what may transpire from just meeting a few people!

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter,
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.ning.com
thedyb.magnify.net