Again, I'm continuing my blogs that I started last week on whether a career as a professional songwriter, musician, artist, or producer is right for you. Check out my other blogs on this subject. Next, I want you to examine whether you are a fan of music or a professional music creator?
According to dictionary.com, a profession is a vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or science: the profession of teaching. The American Heritage dictionary defines profession as an occupation or career; or an occupation, such as law, medicine, or engineering, that requires considerable training and specialized study.
However, dictionary.com defines a fan as an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.
So ask yourself this, am I just a fan of music or am I in the profession of making music?
See a fan is somebody who would rather watch others make music on Youtube instead of making music themselves.
A fan would rather google their favorite celebrities to see how famous they are, see how many magazines they are on, how many websites, how many fans they have, how many friends they have on a social networking site, etc. But a professional would work on becoming famous themselves, building their own buzz, making fans of their music, and promoting and branding themselves so that they too are generating fans.
A fan would rather watch TV shows of famous celebrities get awards than work on making award-winning music.
A fan would only admire what other famous people are doing but a professional studies what famous people do and do it themselves.
A fan, when seeing other celebrities in the music business venture out into other businesses and endeavors or expand their musical talents, would say, well I can't do that; but a professional would say, I can learn how to do that!
A fan doesn't study music, the business, and celebrities but a professional does.
A fan merely listens to music but a professional not only listens to music but makes music for them and others to listen to.
A fan knows everything possible about their favorite celebrity but a professional knows the things that he or she needs to know about that celebrity so that the professional can duplicate what that celebrity did to get to where the celebrity got to.
A fan won't do the things that a celebrity does but will only talk about all the things the celebrity does and is doing.
A fan doesn't do music as a living and only buys music; a professional not only buys music but makes music for people to buy.
A fan doesn't want to do music for a living but a professional knows that he is in a profession to make money and to earn a living so he sells his music.
A fan won't sacrifice or give up doing some things to get to where the celebrity is but a professional knows and understands that his or her time is better spent devoting it to studying, learning the business, and doing music.
A fan doesn't care what he or she doesn't know about the music business; a professional does.
What am I saying? As the dictionary.com stated, a profession is a learned occupation that requires considerable training and specialized study.
If you spend most of your time simply watching TV shows of all of your favorite celebrities rather than studying what they do, how they did what they did, finding out how you can do it too, learning your craft, expanding your musical talents, learning the business, etc., then you are merely a fan of music. You are really not interested in being in the profession of music. So again, I'd say, save yourself some money, get out of the profession of music, and find some other way to still enjoy music as a fan, such as becoming a music retailer, and stop attempting to become a professional songwriter, musician, artist, or producer.
Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Save yourself some money: Get out the Game!!!!!!
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Okay, I'm always attempting to be inspirational in this blog as well as help people learn the business side and the craft side of this business. On here, I'm always trying to inspire people to stay in the music business and to see their goals come to fruition. For all those who are really grinding it out, really about your business, really wanting to make your mark in the music industry, and are ready and willing to do business, but just need that extra boost, please check out all of my inspirational/encouragement posts if you need encouragement. They will surely motivate you to continue.
I've also attempted to provide some money-saving tips for those who are struggling independent artists. I've done some blogs helping you to not spend your money on things or people only to find out you didn't need what or who you spent your hard earned money on or that you needed something better. So please read the blogs on saving money.
But over the next week, I'm about to encourage some folks to save their money and leave this game, we call the music business because play time is over!!!!!! Play time IS over! Play time is OVER! Save your money and get out the game! This is the music BUSINESS, people!!!!!!! What? Did you think it was going to be easy?! That you were just going to breeze into it? That you don't have to put in the time, the money, the effort, the lack of sleep, the lack of freedom to do what you want when you want, to lose some friendships after seeing folks don't have your back or aren't as serious? That you weren't going to have to give up something to get something in return? That all you have to do is create music and that's it?!!!!!!
Play with YOUR time, play with YOUR own money, play with your keyboard, your MPC, your vocal chords, your creativity, or whatever is your choice of toy! But people who want to be in this business know that it's a business like any other business!
And trust me: some people know and understand it's a business. A billion dollar industry!
Check this out from this article I saw:
Read the full article here.
Did you see all the people and businesses who've set themselves up to profit off of your music? That's why I've been blogging about the music industry, about the mobile music industry, the global music industry, about new record labels, and putting up videos on this blog about the gaming industry, commercials, jingles, etc. because I want people to see all the opportunities to make money in this business! My question to you is: are YOU in a position to capitalize on this billion dollar industry or is music still a hobby to you?
Let me repeat that: Is music a hobby to you?
I'll help you answer that question in my next post so keep reading!
Sorry for the tone of this post but this is even a message I'm taking to heart myself, Thedy B. And, I don't know about you hitsamillion.blogspot.com readers, interviewed.blogspot.com readers, but I'm making music my career, not a hobby. I hope you are too!
Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
Okay, I'm always attempting to be inspirational in this blog as well as help people learn the business side and the craft side of this business. On here, I'm always trying to inspire people to stay in the music business and to see their goals come to fruition. For all those who are really grinding it out, really about your business, really wanting to make your mark in the music industry, and are ready and willing to do business, but just need that extra boost, please check out all of my inspirational/encouragement posts if you need encouragement. They will surely motivate you to continue.
I've also attempted to provide some money-saving tips for those who are struggling independent artists. I've done some blogs helping you to not spend your money on things or people only to find out you didn't need what or who you spent your hard earned money on or that you needed something better. So please read the blogs on saving money.
But over the next week, I'm about to encourage some folks to save their money and leave this game, we call the music business because play time is over!!!!!! Play time IS over! Play time is OVER! Save your money and get out the game! This is the music BUSINESS, people!!!!!!! What? Did you think it was going to be easy?! That you were just going to breeze into it? That you don't have to put in the time, the money, the effort, the lack of sleep, the lack of freedom to do what you want when you want, to lose some friendships after seeing folks don't have your back or aren't as serious? That you weren't going to have to give up something to get something in return? That all you have to do is create music and that's it?!!!!!!
Play with YOUR time, play with YOUR own money, play with your keyboard, your MPC, your vocal chords, your creativity, or whatever is your choice of toy! But people who want to be in this business know that it's a business like any other business!
And trust me: some people know and understand it's a business. A billion dollar industry!
Check this out from this article I saw:
In North America, the music business will total $26.5 billion in 2011, growing at an average annual rate of 2.8% from $23.1 billion in 2006. Recorded music revenues will remain flat as declining CD sales cancel out the sharp gains in digital sales. Music publishing and live music will grow.
In one dramatic example, live tours were once used as marketing vehicles to promote recordings, but today that model is being flipped on its head as increasing numbers of top-tier and mid-level acts earn more income from concerts than from CD sales.
Every major category of the live music industry has been growing and is poised for continued expansion, including ticket sales, merchandise sales, ancillary venue revenue and tour and special-event related sponsorships.
Read the full article here.
Did you see all the people and businesses who've set themselves up to profit off of your music? That's why I've been blogging about the music industry, about the mobile music industry, the global music industry, about new record labels, and putting up videos on this blog about the gaming industry, commercials, jingles, etc. because I want people to see all the opportunities to make money in this business! My question to you is: are YOU in a position to capitalize on this billion dollar industry or is music still a hobby to you?
Let me repeat that: Is music a hobby to you?
I'll help you answer that question in my next post so keep reading!
Sorry for the tone of this post but this is even a message I'm taking to heart myself, Thedy B. And, I don't know about you hitsamillion.blogspot.com readers, interviewed.blogspot.com readers, but I'm making music my career, not a hobby. I hope you are too!
Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
Monday, May 5, 2008
Save yourself money on entertainment attorney/legal fees!
In my prior blogs, I gave you some tips on finding an entertainment attorney, tips on selecting an entertainment attorney, told you about the benefits of having an entertainment attorney, and even gave you tips on firing an entertainment attorney. Also in prior blogs, I gave you tips on how to save money and make the most of your music money. Now I wanna help you save on entertainment attorney fees! Yes, you can save yourself a lot of money in entertainment attorney fees. Again, before I do that, let me put my disclaimer here: These pages are created to inform and educate the public only. They are not and should not be considered legal opinions or advice. You do not and cannot have any client-attorney relationship with me based on these blogs. You should not act upon legal advice found here but are instead advised to seek professional counsel before taking any action based upon information found on this blog.
Okay, with that being said, here's how you can save money on entertainment attorney fees:
1. Educate yourself!!!!!!! Read some of these books on the legal side of music business that I've recommended. Click here to see my list of recommended books.
2. Select the right entertainment attorney! Again, read my blog on how to select the right entertainment attorney. Selecting the right entertainment attorney will save you money from having to fire the attorney and then start all over again with a new entertainment attorney who will likely bill you for the time it takes him or her to become familiar with everything your prior attorney did or needed to do.
3. Ask the right questions! If you educate yourself on the business, you won't spend time asking your attorney questions that you should know, such as what is a copyright? what is a trademark? Sure you can pay an entertainment attorney by calling him or her with these same questions but why when you don't have to?
4. Do it yourself! While I do highly, highly, highly recommend getting an entertainment attorney's advice, there are some things that simply do not require an attorney's help. The Internet has made it so that you can do some things just by researching them on the Internet and filling out the paperwork yourself. For instance, you can fill out a copyright form yourself. You can find and fill out split sheets yourself. If you wanna know some of the things that I'd suggest you get an entertainment attorney, click here!
5. Go to music conferences! I stress over and over in my blogs that I go to music conferences. Some conferences have a whole panel with entertainment lawyers or at least have one or two entertainment attorneys on a panel who provide their legal advice just to the attendees. At the recent ASCAP I Create Expo, there was a whole panel just on that. The entertainment lawyers told attendees that for that one hour panel discussion, they had saved themselves $1,500 in attorney fees! For a complete list of 2008 music conferences, click here or here!
6. Do things right the first time! Lawyers and attorneys are brought in sometimes when the problem is big. By that time, you have to spend a lot of money in attorney fees fixing a problem. If you know you are struggling with doing things yourself, I'd suggest you SAVE money by hiring an entertainment attorney and avoiding a lot of back end legal fees. For example, it's a lot cheaper to start or fight a copyright infringement suit with a registered copyright form in place than without one. Another common scenario: At a recent conference I went to, some entertainment attorneys told the story of one of their clients who didn't find out if the name he used was registered as a trademark, the client used the name, the name became popular because of the client, and then suddenly when the name became popular, someone in a distant city in another state noticed that someone was infringing his trademarked name and prohibited the client from using the name! Moral of the story: do it right the first time.
I want to caution you though that cheaper isn't always better. So really weigh all that I've said in my prior posts on when to get an entertainment attorney and this post on when you don't need an entertainment attorney. Google this issue some more and then make your final decision!
Much success!
Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
interviewed.blogspot.com - contains interviews of top producers, songwriters, & music execs
globalmusicbusiness.blogspot.com -helping you go global with your music
musicpanels.blogspot.com -missed a music conference, find some clips of it here
mobilemusicbusiness.blogspot.com -go mobile with your music, find ways to do mobile marketing
musiclabels.blogspot.com - find out information on new record labels recently launched
hitsamillion.ning.com - network with other producers, singers, songwriters, and beatmakers
Okay, with that being said, here's how you can save money on entertainment attorney fees:
1. Educate yourself!!!!!!! Read some of these books on the legal side of music business that I've recommended. Click here to see my list of recommended books.
2. Select the right entertainment attorney! Again, read my blog on how to select the right entertainment attorney. Selecting the right entertainment attorney will save you money from having to fire the attorney and then start all over again with a new entertainment attorney who will likely bill you for the time it takes him or her to become familiar with everything your prior attorney did or needed to do.
3. Ask the right questions! If you educate yourself on the business, you won't spend time asking your attorney questions that you should know, such as what is a copyright? what is a trademark? Sure you can pay an entertainment attorney by calling him or her with these same questions but why when you don't have to?
4. Do it yourself! While I do highly, highly, highly recommend getting an entertainment attorney's advice, there are some things that simply do not require an attorney's help. The Internet has made it so that you can do some things just by researching them on the Internet and filling out the paperwork yourself. For instance, you can fill out a copyright form yourself. You can find and fill out split sheets yourself. If you wanna know some of the things that I'd suggest you get an entertainment attorney, click here!
5. Go to music conferences! I stress over and over in my blogs that I go to music conferences. Some conferences have a whole panel with entertainment lawyers or at least have one or two entertainment attorneys on a panel who provide their legal advice just to the attendees. At the recent ASCAP I Create Expo, there was a whole panel just on that. The entertainment lawyers told attendees that for that one hour panel discussion, they had saved themselves $1,500 in attorney fees! For a complete list of 2008 music conferences, click here or here!
6. Do things right the first time! Lawyers and attorneys are brought in sometimes when the problem is big. By that time, you have to spend a lot of money in attorney fees fixing a problem. If you know you are struggling with doing things yourself, I'd suggest you SAVE money by hiring an entertainment attorney and avoiding a lot of back end legal fees. For example, it's a lot cheaper to start or fight a copyright infringement suit with a registered copyright form in place than without one. Another common scenario: At a recent conference I went to, some entertainment attorneys told the story of one of their clients who didn't find out if the name he used was registered as a trademark, the client used the name, the name became popular because of the client, and then suddenly when the name became popular, someone in a distant city in another state noticed that someone was infringing his trademarked name and prohibited the client from using the name! Moral of the story: do it right the first time.
I want to caution you though that cheaper isn't always better. So really weigh all that I've said in my prior posts on when to get an entertainment attorney and this post on when you don't need an entertainment attorney. Google this issue some more and then make your final decision!
Much success!
Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
interviewed.blogspot.com - contains interviews of top producers, songwriters, & music execs
globalmusicbusiness.blogspot.com -helping you go global with your music
musicpanels.blogspot.com -missed a music conference, find some clips of it here
mobilemusicbusiness.blogspot.com -go mobile with your music, find ways to do mobile marketing
musiclabels.blogspot.com - find out information on new record labels recently launched
hitsamillion.ning.com - network with other producers, singers, songwriters, and beatmakers
Friday, February 29, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Creative Uses of Your Music Money
As I mentioned in my last blog, when I attended Patchwerk Studio's Music University IV, Coach K, Snake, and Melinda Dancil all stated that artists and artist managers need to be creative with their money. In other words, artists and we as songwriters must be smart with our money. You might not have agreed with me that paying $75 for people to attend Patchwerk's Music University IV was relatively expensive for a one-day conference. Some of you may not have even hesitated to spend the money. That's great. But I've decided to be more conservative, i.e. smart or creative, with my time and money. And I heard this said also from DJ Tony Neal at the Southeastern Music Awards in January 2008. At that event, he cautioned the indie artists about looking better than the major label artists who have deals, especially when the indie artists aren't working and do not have a deal but have wrapped vans, bling, designer clothes, and other expensive items to promote themselves. In other words, make sure you are getting your money legally, first! Then next stay within your budget and use your money for things that are really going to enhance and further your career. So some things just simply aren't worth my money.
Here's 6 tips on how to be creative with your music money (more will follow in future blogs):
1. Instead of continuously buying studio time, consider investing in a home recording studio. You can go to outlet stores, Guitar Center, and other music gear retail stores and buy music recording software (such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cake Walk, Fruity Loops, Nuendo, etc.) and equipment (mics, cords, headphones, speakers, mixer, and compressor) for approximately $2,500 - $3,500 depending upon the brand of the equipment.
2. Instead of buying cheap music equipment, be smart with your money: invest in quality equipment.
3. Want quality recordings? Invest in plug-ins. Invest in yourself to learn to use it or build a relationship with a studio engineer or a place that will mix and master your records.
4. If you a ghost songwriter and you have an okay voice and you pay to have other singers sing your songs for you, consider investing in a vocal coach instead. Yes, they can charge on average $25/hr to $100/hr. But again, you will recoup that money over time when you don't have to wait for an artist to fit your demo work into their time, when you don't have to pay anyone else to sing your songs, when you can sing the song exactly how you want it sung without having to spend time with vocal production having to teach the song to someone else, and when you save time.
5. If you press up a lot of CDs, it may be smart to purchase a CD/DVD burner instead of continuously using a CD duplication service.
6. Even smarter, purchase jump drives to store your music and to pass out to people. It holds more music than a CD/DVD. It won't skip and you won't have problems with scratches. However, because jump drives are so small, I do recommend buying something like a key chain or lanyard (if your jump drives doesn't come with one) to help you and whoever you give the jump drive to, to keep up with your jump drive.
Thedy B, Attoprney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
http://myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
http://hitsamillion.ning.com/
Here's 6 tips on how to be creative with your music money (more will follow in future blogs):
1. Instead of continuously buying studio time, consider investing in a home recording studio. You can go to outlet stores, Guitar Center, and other music gear retail stores and buy music recording software (such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cake Walk, Fruity Loops, Nuendo, etc.) and equipment (mics, cords, headphones, speakers, mixer, and compressor) for approximately $2,500 - $3,500 depending upon the brand of the equipment.
2. Instead of buying cheap music equipment, be smart with your money: invest in quality equipment.
3. Want quality recordings? Invest in plug-ins. Invest in yourself to learn to use it or build a relationship with a studio engineer or a place that will mix and master your records.
4. If you a ghost songwriter and you have an okay voice and you pay to have other singers sing your songs for you, consider investing in a vocal coach instead. Yes, they can charge on average $25/hr to $100/hr. But again, you will recoup that money over time when you don't have to wait for an artist to fit your demo work into their time, when you don't have to pay anyone else to sing your songs, when you can sing the song exactly how you want it sung without having to spend time with vocal production having to teach the song to someone else, and when you save time.
5. If you press up a lot of CDs, it may be smart to purchase a CD/DVD burner instead of continuously using a CD duplication service.
6. Even smarter, purchase jump drives to store your music and to pass out to people. It holds more music than a CD/DVD. It won't skip and you won't have problems with scratches. However, because jump drives are so small, I do recommend buying something like a key chain or lanyard (if your jump drives doesn't come with one) to help you and whoever you give the jump drive to, to keep up with your jump drive.
Thedy B, Attoprney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
http://myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
http://hitsamillion.ning.com/
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