There are an array of personality dynamics and characteristics that one will encounter when working in the entertainment industry. As with most personality traits, they can be viewed on a continuum where they are benign and work in the person’s favor all the way up to becoming destructive and pathological when they are exhibited in an extreme fashion. Personality traits not only impact the person himself, but all of the people he becomes involved with.
The personality structure of an individual develops early on in childhood. Personality traits and characteristics are exhibited as a pattern of long standing behaviors and internal experiences, which can present in one or a combination of the following areas. First, personality traits can consist of the way a person thinks, which impacts how the person interprets or perceives himself, others and events. Second, personality characteristics can consist of an emotional component, which is how a person expresses his feelings. Third, personality traits can deal with interpersonal relationships and how a person gets along with others. And, lastly, personality traits can deal with a person’s ability to control his impulses and delay gratification. Personality traits also tend to be inflexible, carry across a wide range of social/interpersonal situations and may lead to significant distress in a variety of social, work and other areas of functioning for the person (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV], 2000).
It is not atypical to see that entertainers tend to present as quirky, idiosyncratic and charismatic. The nature of the industry, in and of itself, calls for a particular type of individual. But with all of the personality traits we encounter, it is important to be aware of how they reveal themselves along with when they can be useful as well as become destructive. We will review several of the common personality traits and characteristics that are readily apparent in the entertainment industry along with providing examples to assist the reader in understanding the dynamics of them as well as how to become insightful when these traits become over the top and pathological. Keep in mind that each person who exhibits some of these traits may not fit into one category and can have a variety of these personality traits.
Paranoid Personality Traits
Individuals with paranoid personality traits are often suspicious and distrustful of the motives of others. They tend to interpret the motives of others as harmful, believe that people are trying to deceive them or misinterpret the meaning of what people are saying to them (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV], 2000). In the entertainment industry, having some of these traits is not necessarily a negative thing and can help people avoid being taken advantage of, which can lead to unfortunate outcomes such as losing a lot of money and being made promises that are never kept. For example, before an entertainer or musician signs with a manager, it is important to do your research, be diligent and ask questions. Please do not assume that everything the manager says is accurate and truthful. If a manager is closed off to being open to everything you want answered and gets annoyed or frustrated, then that is a tell tale sign that some manipulation may be going on. On the other hand, when these personality traits become extreme, it can lead to serious interpersonal problems, difficultly establishing any kind of trust in people and the belief that people are only out to harm them. For example, it will be extremely difficult for a band to be able to stay together if a member continues to have trust issues, feels that other members are trying to exploit him or becomes enraged when he perceives the motives of others as an attack on his character.
Borderline Personality Traits
Individuals with borderline personality traits present with a significant pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, intense emotions and problems with self-image along with a tendency to display traits of impulsivity. These individuals have intense/unstable relationships where one moment they love you and the next they hate you, fears of being criticized or abandoned, disturbances in their identity/sense of self, intense mood swings, impulsive and self destructive behaviors (such as overspending of money, alcohol & drug abuse, suicidal behaviors and other reckless behaviors) and chronic feelings/displays of anger (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV], 2000). Although a higher percentage of females display these characteristics, they are also present in males. There is not really a productive component of having any of these traits. A fan with these traits who befriends a musician in a band, which she looks up to will immediately develop an intensely close relationship where she idealizes the musician. The fan may want to help out and provide support by promoting the musician and his band. However, the musician may not see or have the same intentions of developing the close relationship that the fan expects. When the fan is not getting back in return what she anticipated (such as the band member calling her, getting together with her, etc), the fan is likely to become enraged and feel abandoned. As a result of this perceived rejection, the fan may verbalize or engage in self-destructive behaviors in an attempt to make him feel bad and get the relationship back to where she wants it to be.
Antisocial Personality Traits
Individuals with antisocial personality traits engage in behaviors where they disregard and violate the rights of others. These individuals perform acts where they violate laws, deceive others for profit or personal pleasure, lack remorse and can be irritable and aggressive (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV], 2000). Many people in the entertainment industry present with some varying degree of these traits. These traits can often been seen in managers and business persons. Entertainers who are empathic and care about others, may use these traits such as exaggerating their relationship with an big name acquaintance (without saying this specific person can help him or another person out) by saying that he knows the person better than he does, if he feels the person’s name holds some weight. Is this deceitful? Yes, the person is exaggerating the truth. But in this scenario, he is not trying to take advantage of another person or violating the rights of the other person he is talking to. On the other hand, it is unfortunately all too often that one will run into persons who display the extreme aspects of these traits. These tend to be successful managers, business persons and attorneys. For example, an amateur band may be approached by a manager who is interested in signing them. The band is so excited that a manager is taking an interest in them and only looks at the notion of ‘we are going to get signed.’ The manager then starts using these traits to lure the band in, make promises that are probably not all going to come to fruition, asks for a lot of money (as without money the manager can’t do anything) and in the end will display no remorse or empathy when the band walks away empty handed.
Narcissistic Personality Traits
Individuals with narcissistic personality traits present as grandiose, have an excessive need for admiration and lack empathy. These individuals feel that they are extremely special and unique, have an exaggerated sense of self importance, are self-entitled, interpersonally exploitative, display arrogance and believe that others are envious of them (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV], 2000). The interesting aspect about persons with these traits is that despite them appearing to be highly self-confident and special, many of them actually have an extremely fragile sense of self, which can begin to fall apart at the slightest attack by someone on their self-worth. The entertainment industry is wrought with people displaying these traits from CEOs to musicians to actors and the list goes on. Let’s not confuse self-confidence with being arrogant and grandiose. Having some of these traits such as being confident in one’s abilities and enjoying being admired are important to being successful and thriving in an industry that is challenging and will chew you up, then spit you out. Actors and musicians need some of these traits as they enhance their performances and ability to draw the crowd in. On the other hand, narcissistic personality traits in their severe form can be seriously destructive to the person (even though they are not aware of their deleterious effects) and those around them. The classical example is what musicians describe as Lead Singers Disease (LSD). Lead singers who display these traits to the extreme must have everyone admire them, show others how important they are, are arrogant, haughty towards others and will interpersonally exploit others by yelling at them and degrading them when their every need and demand is not fulfilled. It is unfortunate to see many entertainers who have been self-destructive to themselves and careers by letting these traits get out of control. Any how many bands have we seen fall apart as a result of LSD? Case closed!
Reference
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Revised 4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
The Value of Self-Promotion in the Music Industry via Facebook
Many musicians undervalue the concept of self-promotion and how much artists can do on their own to get their name out there and their music heard by others. With labels not having large budgets to financially support musicians, A&R reps not scouting venues as they once did and the internet becoming the new medium to take artists in a new direction, where does a musician start when you are all on your own and want to get your music out there for the world to hear?
There are many basic yet time-consuming and energy driving tasks that musicians can do to market, advertise and promote themselves and their music. Please keep in mind that all musicians have their own way of promoting their music and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The use of the internet and social networking sites are one of the most efficient, easiest and cheapest ways to get your music not only heard by the locals in your town, but also across the globe. There will be mixed reviews from all artists about which sites are better than others, but one of the major sites which have made a strong and significant impact is the use of Facebook.
Facebook can be a highly valuable and effective tool for promoting oneself as an artist along with one’s music. For instance, look at all of the major signed artists who regularly use this social media website. An artist can create a personal page, musician page among other types of pages, depending how many areas they are involved in within the entertainment industry. They don’t only use their music page as a supplementary page to their formal website, but those who do not have a website, often use it as their primary means of getting their music out to the world and connecting with their fans by joining Reverbnation and attaching it to their musician page so that their music can be heard. An essential and valuable aspect about Facebook for musicians is it is a One-Stop Shop! This means fans can access pretty much anything they would want to know about the band, such as a biography, photos, tour dates, videos, blogs and most importantly music! And please keep in mind that it is crucial for musicians to keep information on their pages relevant, consistent and up-to-date to in order to maintain your fans interest.
Although it seems simple enough to develop a Facebook page by registering with the site, to effectively construct one, it will take some dedication, time and effort on behalf of the artist. There are numerous tips and recommendations for creating Facebook page(s) to promote yourself as an artist. The first place to start with is to create a personal Facebook page. The personal Facebook page will serve as the foreground for the development of other pages such as a musician’s page.
Create a Professional Personal Page
It is important to treat your personal page as though it is analogous to a website or resume. Your personal page is the one page that your friends and fans can access information about you including your biography, contact information, your education, current employment and photos of you. It is essential to have your information outlined in a professional manner as how you present yourself to others will set the initial impression and perception of how others perceive you. For instance, an information section that is consistent with spelling errors and run on sentences to describe who you are will be perceived with less enthusiasm and interest than one that is characterized by a thorough biography that is grammatically correct and describes the artist in a professional manner. It is also up to the artist if he wants to keep his profile public or private along with how much personal information one wants to reveal. It is probably not the best idea to put your phone number out in public for all to see and would be safer to use an email address as the primary means for someone to contact you. After you establish a relationship with someone, then you can gauge how comfortable you feel with sending them your phone number in a private message.
Develop Your Friends, Fans & Networks
Once your page is professionally developed, start requesting and accepting ‘friends.’ As we all know, many of these ‘friends’ will be people we truly are friends with, some may be professional people in the industry we may be trying to connect with and others will be fans who are sending us requests. Please keep in mind that Facebook is different from other sites such as MySpace as you cannot request numerous ‘friends’ at once. It is recommended that you request a few at a time as if you go all out sending tons of friend requests, Facebook will starting asking if you really know the people and put a cap on your ability to request ‘friends’ for a specific period of time. Thus, please use your discretion when you send out friend requests.
Interact with Friends & Fans
It is imperative that everyone an artist interacts with is treated in a professional and respectful manner. Remember the world is very small and, well, so is Facebook, in some ways. We’ve all heard of the concept of ‘six degrees of separation’ and you never know who someone you are ‘friends’ with may know that could be of assistance to you one day. For instance, there are so many things that artists post on their walls, which range from acceptable things such as promoting their song or an upcoming show to more sensitive topics such as politics and religion. Politics and religion are being used as an example of a ‘sensitive topic’ as everyone has their own beliefs and is entitled to them, but Facebook is not the forum to be ranting and raving in comments, especially in a way that may be perceived as derogatory or demeaning if others don’t have the same view; as that may by all means negatively impact someone. And the last person you want to have a bad impression on is the person who may be the one which can provide support and assistance to your music or band.
The Value of Supporting Others
The value of supporting others is paramount and cannot be stressed enough! This is probably one of the most important, if not most important concept. Artists need to be mindful that comments should not just be used in a self-serving manner such as only caring about one’s own music or band by solely posting and promoting their product. And please do not spam others pages by posting your product as a way to get you name out there unless you are also including something positive and meaningful about the person’s page you are posting it on. Facebook is described as a social networking site and should be used as such. For an artist to continue moving forward and establishing himself, it is so essential that the artist demonstrates support and assistance to others. This can range from promoting others music and upcoming events on their page, going to another artist’s page and providing them with positive and encouraging feedback and establishing ways to develop relationships with other artists so that support and assistance can be given to each other (e.g., going out to another artist’s show). Artists should show support and provide assistance to other artists because they truly care and want to see their counterparts succeed. Remember, as artists, we are all in this together. It should not solely be used as a means to manipulate and exploit another artist in attempt to get something in return as this will be short-lived and eventually back fire not in your favor. When you establish yourself as a professional artist and give to others, it will build a reputation for the artist and portray the artist as a professional. It is through this professional reputation that will lead others to gravitate towards you and may be even want to assist or work with you.
Social Perception, Statistics & Number of ‘Friends’
As the artist builds a professional reputation, it is important to keep in mind that statistically the number of ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ you have does impact the impression others will have about you. However, keep in mind that Facebook puts a cap on how many people you can request at a time. Requesting too many people at once, leads Facebook to question if you really know them and often results in the site putting a hold on your ability to request people for several days. Let’s get back to the original topic which started this paragraph. For examples, if an artist has 3,000 ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ it does relay a different message than an artist who has 500 ‘friends’ or ‘fans.’ As artists know, statistics do communicate information about your ‘likeability’ to other people who may be fans, managers, agents, etc. For example, compare your number of ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ to your number of downloads, how many persons have listened to your song on YouTube, etc. If you have a lot of ‘friends’ or ‘fans,’ managers and agents will see this as how popular you possibly are (or can be) and that is one piece of hard data for them to hold onto, of course, coupled with looking at your other statistics. And don’t forget to interact with your ‘friends’ or ‘fans!’ Make any of your fans become friends and show them that you care by sending personal messages and posting positive comments on their page to express your appreciation. There is nothing more meaningful to a fan, then to see an artist show that he is authentic and real as well as communicate his appreciation for their support.
Create an Artist/Musician Page
Now that you have your personal page developed, it is recommended that the artist also creates a musician/band page. The great aspect of creating a musician/band page is that it can serve as a website where the artist has all of the necessary information available for their fans including a bio, upcoming show dates, photos of the band and music. This is not meant to deter the artist, but creating a musician page is time consuming as the artist will also be required to join Reverbnation. Reverbnation is another site that is used for artists to promote their music and it has the option to be linked to one’s Facebook music page. It is recommended that an artist does this as it is important to keep in mind that social media sites are the primary way to go right now for an artist to get his name out there. Similar to the number of ‘friends’ and fans that you have, the more places that people can find out about you as an artist, the more likely you are to be remembered. And isn’t the goal to spread your name as an artist to the masses?! Remember that success is relative to that of the artist and what he wishes to accomplish. Putting in the hard work, time and devotion by incorporating these tips in this article may assist in paying off in a positive way for the artist.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Contributing Writer for Really Great Magazine and Talent Spotlight Magazine. It will be featured in the January 2012 Issue for Talent Spotlight Magazine and February 2012 Issue for Really Great Magazine.
There are many basic yet time-consuming and energy driving tasks that musicians can do to market, advertise and promote themselves and their music. Please keep in mind that all musicians have their own way of promoting their music and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The use of the internet and social networking sites are one of the most efficient, easiest and cheapest ways to get your music not only heard by the locals in your town, but also across the globe. There will be mixed reviews from all artists about which sites are better than others, but one of the major sites which have made a strong and significant impact is the use of Facebook.
Facebook can be a highly valuable and effective tool for promoting oneself as an artist along with one’s music. For instance, look at all of the major signed artists who regularly use this social media website. An artist can create a personal page, musician page among other types of pages, depending how many areas they are involved in within the entertainment industry. They don’t only use their music page as a supplementary page to their formal website, but those who do not have a website, often use it as their primary means of getting their music out to the world and connecting with their fans by joining Reverbnation and attaching it to their musician page so that their music can be heard. An essential and valuable aspect about Facebook for musicians is it is a One-Stop Shop! This means fans can access pretty much anything they would want to know about the band, such as a biography, photos, tour dates, videos, blogs and most importantly music! And please keep in mind that it is crucial for musicians to keep information on their pages relevant, consistent and up-to-date to in order to maintain your fans interest.
Although it seems simple enough to develop a Facebook page by registering with the site, to effectively construct one, it will take some dedication, time and effort on behalf of the artist. There are numerous tips and recommendations for creating Facebook page(s) to promote yourself as an artist. The first place to start with is to create a personal Facebook page. The personal Facebook page will serve as the foreground for the development of other pages such as a musician’s page.
Create a Professional Personal Page
It is important to treat your personal page as though it is analogous to a website or resume. Your personal page is the one page that your friends and fans can access information about you including your biography, contact information, your education, current employment and photos of you. It is essential to have your information outlined in a professional manner as how you present yourself to others will set the initial impression and perception of how others perceive you. For instance, an information section that is consistent with spelling errors and run on sentences to describe who you are will be perceived with less enthusiasm and interest than one that is characterized by a thorough biography that is grammatically correct and describes the artist in a professional manner. It is also up to the artist if he wants to keep his profile public or private along with how much personal information one wants to reveal. It is probably not the best idea to put your phone number out in public for all to see and would be safer to use an email address as the primary means for someone to contact you. After you establish a relationship with someone, then you can gauge how comfortable you feel with sending them your phone number in a private message.
Develop Your Friends, Fans & Networks
Once your page is professionally developed, start requesting and accepting ‘friends.’ As we all know, many of these ‘friends’ will be people we truly are friends with, some may be professional people in the industry we may be trying to connect with and others will be fans who are sending us requests. Please keep in mind that Facebook is different from other sites such as MySpace as you cannot request numerous ‘friends’ at once. It is recommended that you request a few at a time as if you go all out sending tons of friend requests, Facebook will starting asking if you really know the people and put a cap on your ability to request ‘friends’ for a specific period of time. Thus, please use your discretion when you send out friend requests.
Interact with Friends & Fans
It is imperative that everyone an artist interacts with is treated in a professional and respectful manner. Remember the world is very small and, well, so is Facebook, in some ways. We’ve all heard of the concept of ‘six degrees of separation’ and you never know who someone you are ‘friends’ with may know that could be of assistance to you one day. For instance, there are so many things that artists post on their walls, which range from acceptable things such as promoting their song or an upcoming show to more sensitive topics such as politics and religion. Politics and religion are being used as an example of a ‘sensitive topic’ as everyone has their own beliefs and is entitled to them, but Facebook is not the forum to be ranting and raving in comments, especially in a way that may be perceived as derogatory or demeaning if others don’t have the same view; as that may by all means negatively impact someone. And the last person you want to have a bad impression on is the person who may be the one which can provide support and assistance to your music or band.
The Value of Supporting Others
The value of supporting others is paramount and cannot be stressed enough! This is probably one of the most important, if not most important concept. Artists need to be mindful that comments should not just be used in a self-serving manner such as only caring about one’s own music or band by solely posting and promoting their product. And please do not spam others pages by posting your product as a way to get you name out there unless you are also including something positive and meaningful about the person’s page you are posting it on. Facebook is described as a social networking site and should be used as such. For an artist to continue moving forward and establishing himself, it is so essential that the artist demonstrates support and assistance to others. This can range from promoting others music and upcoming events on their page, going to another artist’s page and providing them with positive and encouraging feedback and establishing ways to develop relationships with other artists so that support and assistance can be given to each other (e.g., going out to another artist’s show). Artists should show support and provide assistance to other artists because they truly care and want to see their counterparts succeed. Remember, as artists, we are all in this together. It should not solely be used as a means to manipulate and exploit another artist in attempt to get something in return as this will be short-lived and eventually back fire not in your favor. When you establish yourself as a professional artist and give to others, it will build a reputation for the artist and portray the artist as a professional. It is through this professional reputation that will lead others to gravitate towards you and may be even want to assist or work with you.
Social Perception, Statistics & Number of ‘Friends’
As the artist builds a professional reputation, it is important to keep in mind that statistically the number of ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ you have does impact the impression others will have about you. However, keep in mind that Facebook puts a cap on how many people you can request at a time. Requesting too many people at once, leads Facebook to question if you really know them and often results in the site putting a hold on your ability to request people for several days. Let’s get back to the original topic which started this paragraph. For examples, if an artist has 3,000 ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ it does relay a different message than an artist who has 500 ‘friends’ or ‘fans.’ As artists know, statistics do communicate information about your ‘likeability’ to other people who may be fans, managers, agents, etc. For example, compare your number of ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ to your number of downloads, how many persons have listened to your song on YouTube, etc. If you have a lot of ‘friends’ or ‘fans,’ managers and agents will see this as how popular you possibly are (or can be) and that is one piece of hard data for them to hold onto, of course, coupled with looking at your other statistics. And don’t forget to interact with your ‘friends’ or ‘fans!’ Make any of your fans become friends and show them that you care by sending personal messages and posting positive comments on their page to express your appreciation. There is nothing more meaningful to a fan, then to see an artist show that he is authentic and real as well as communicate his appreciation for their support.
Create an Artist/Musician Page
Now that you have your personal page developed, it is recommended that the artist also creates a musician/band page. The great aspect of creating a musician/band page is that it can serve as a website where the artist has all of the necessary information available for their fans including a bio, upcoming show dates, photos of the band and music. This is not meant to deter the artist, but creating a musician page is time consuming as the artist will also be required to join Reverbnation. Reverbnation is another site that is used for artists to promote their music and it has the option to be linked to one’s Facebook music page. It is recommended that an artist does this as it is important to keep in mind that social media sites are the primary way to go right now for an artist to get his name out there. Similar to the number of ‘friends’ and fans that you have, the more places that people can find out about you as an artist, the more likely you are to be remembered. And isn’t the goal to spread your name as an artist to the masses?! Remember that success is relative to that of the artist and what he wishes to accomplish. Putting in the hard work, time and devotion by incorporating these tips in this article may assist in paying off in a positive way for the artist.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Contributing Writer for Really Great Magazine and Talent Spotlight Magazine. It will be featured in the January 2012 Issue for Talent Spotlight Magazine and February 2012 Issue for Really Great Magazine.
Friday, August 5, 2011
A Positive Connotation for the Term: Exploitation! To Make the Most of, Maximize & Build Upon One's Own Efforts to Advance in the Music & Entertainment Industry
The term exploitation is often used in various ways in the entertainment industry. An artist may say that he was exploited or taken advantage of when he paid a large sum of money to have his album promoted by a management company, but then found out the company was a scam and did nothing for him. In another scenario, an artist may feel manipulated when he is asked by an acquaintance he barely knows to provide him with a major contact in the industry so that person can attempt to advance in his career. Most artists recognize how difficult it can be to advance and further their career in the music and entertainment industry. With the aforementioned scenarios, one can see that the connotation for the term exploitation often encompasses a negative perspective characterized by someone taking advantage of or manipulating a person or situation unethically or unjustly to use selfishly for one’s own needs.
But what an artist may not realize is that the road that he chooses to take in an attempt to get to the next level in the entertainment industry does not have to be characterized by taking advantage of and manipulating others to selfishly advance his career. Let’s reframe the definition of exploitation and see how it can be used in a positive and different light. Exploitation can also mean to make the most of, to capitalize on, to maximize and to build upon. An artist may ask himself, but how can one do any of these without possibly taking advantage of others? What this ultimately means is that it must come from within the artist via hard work, persistence and a positive attitude. None of this will be easy, but at least one can take heart in knowing that he didn’t abuse others along the way to fulfill his own needs (well at least if one is not a cold blooded psychopath…more on that another time).
Let’s take a look at some of the positive and constructive ways that an artist can proceed to maximize and build upon as a means to ethically and justifiably push his career in the right direction without resorting to manipulation while advancing to another level.
What can you do for me? How can you help me? I need this from you! Yikes! These self-serving and one-sided self-serving questions or statements explicitly make an artist look like he is only thinking about himself. Who doesn’t want to have to do the ‘grunt’ work where you pave your own way by spending countless hours networking on social media websites, making yourself present at various events/shows to meet new people and spending an inordinate amount of money on the production, duplication, artwork and legal fees, to name a few, on your album? However, no good deeds will go unnoticed. Well, maybe in the beginning they will. But it can be guaranteed over a period of time that if an artist works hard, engages in the above mentioned efforts and genuinely shows an interest in developing relationships with others, his efforts will pay off. Please be realistic because no matter how hard an artist works and how much effort he puts in, the industry is challenging and the artist may not always reach the goals he hopes for. To maximize one’s own efforts, here are some places that an artist can start to get recognition for his band and get his music heard. First of all, start with submitting your music to college and internet radio stations to increase your opportunities of getting your music heard and played. Unfortunately, major commercial radio stations often have to abide by a specific set list that they are given of exclusive artist signed to major labels. Secondly, seek to obtain interviews with on-line radio stations and on-line magazine interviews. Again, it is easier to secure interviews with independently run magazines and radio stations that are genuinely looking for new artists and music to feature and promote. Finally, put time and effort in by researching independent film makers who are in need of music for their films. They may have a minimal budget or none at all, but the purpose at this point is for the artist to get as much exposure as possible. Every artist has to start some where and if the artist puts on restrictions by only looking for paying opportunities, he is likely to be greatly disappointed when they cannot be secured. So in sum, the goal with maximizing your efforts is as simple as doing your research, being proactive and seeking out opportunities that can be built upon.
Additionally, the importance cannot be stressed enough about how valuable the use of social media websites can be. An artist can positively exploit himself by making the most of these websites. The artist can navigate these websites on his own by putting in as much or as little time and effort as he wants to advertise his music and artistry to the world. However, the more effort the artist puts in, the greater the returns will be. The goal is for the artist to get his name and product out there! This can be easily accomplished by joining multiple websites and creating multiple pages to promote yourself such as creating a personal Facebook page, band or musician Facebook page, MySpace page, Twitter page, Reverbnation page and the list continues to go on. The more places that people can find the artist, see the artist’s name and hear the artist’s music, the greater the likelihood that his name will slowly spread to the masses. Also, it is beneficial to meet other persons in the industry and this does not necessarily have to just be in the area you are involved in as an entertainer (e.g., meet a film maker, an actor, comedian, etc). Rather than seeing what someone may be able to do for you, reach out to the person and see how you may be able to provide assistance and support that person. When people see someone is genuinely interested in them who presents himself as a grounded, authentic person, the other person may one day assist you. Nevertheless, the artist should never have preconceived notions or expectations about what others can and/or should do for him as this will only backfire and create a reputation for the artist that he is only out for himself.
Any artist will be able to recall a not so memorable experience or, shall we simply put it, an experience that may make him rethink why he decided to get involved in the entertainment industry. Exploitation can also mean ‘to make the most of.’ At one point or another, an artist has most likely walked away from a situation feeling used or taken advantage of. But how can an artist learn from that experience and proceed differently in the future? Simple tactics and techniques that an artist can learn deal with reframing and redefining the situation that did not have a positive outcome. Unfortunately, a person may be extra nice to an artist when he believes the artist has something to offer. Let’s say on one of too many occasions, an artist took a person’s word at face value who defined himself as a manager and made multiple promises such as being told his music could be placed on radio stations, the artist could be secured shows opening for major acts and the artist could get his music featured in film and television shows. But, eventually the artist learned that he was taken advantage, lost a lot of money and none of the above took place. What the artist can do is reframe the situation from a positive angle by stating to himself that has learned not to put trust in people so easily, needs to do research on the people before investing money and instead can capitalize on his own efforts by putting in the work himself to see that most of what he expected above, he can accomplish on his own.
It can be unfortunate to know that some artists will get ahead in the industry by taking advantage of others or because of knowing the right persons. But that does not mean you should stoop to that level! Being professional, respectful and considerate of others are not often features that an artist puts at the forefront. Who wouldn’t want to get ahead if one could manipulate or take advantage of a person or situation to benefit oneself? But this is not the way an artist should conduct himself, as being deceitful and manipulative is guaranteed to be short-lived and in the end will be more self-destructive than beneficial. An artist needs to keep in mind that the music industry is much smaller than he may think it is. When an artist creates an unpleasant situation by taking advantage of someone, the person he manipulates may know or be connected with other ‘key persons’ in the industry. Similarly, an artist who decides to gratify his own needs and react impulsively has now destroyed any potential opportunities to work with this person or others by demonstrating he only cared about himself. It cannot be spoken about enough that having personal values where you care about others, truly want to establish relationships on multiple levels (e.g., friendship, business, etc) and act in a professional and courtesy manner, that it is these features that will be remembered about you and assist in your efforts to advance to another level in the industry.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It will be featured in the September 2011 Issue for Really Great Magazine.
But what an artist may not realize is that the road that he chooses to take in an attempt to get to the next level in the entertainment industry does not have to be characterized by taking advantage of and manipulating others to selfishly advance his career. Let’s reframe the definition of exploitation and see how it can be used in a positive and different light. Exploitation can also mean to make the most of, to capitalize on, to maximize and to build upon. An artist may ask himself, but how can one do any of these without possibly taking advantage of others? What this ultimately means is that it must come from within the artist via hard work, persistence and a positive attitude. None of this will be easy, but at least one can take heart in knowing that he didn’t abuse others along the way to fulfill his own needs (well at least if one is not a cold blooded psychopath…more on that another time).
Let’s take a look at some of the positive and constructive ways that an artist can proceed to maximize and build upon as a means to ethically and justifiably push his career in the right direction without resorting to manipulation while advancing to another level.
What can you do for me? How can you help me? I need this from you! Yikes! These self-serving and one-sided self-serving questions or statements explicitly make an artist look like he is only thinking about himself. Who doesn’t want to have to do the ‘grunt’ work where you pave your own way by spending countless hours networking on social media websites, making yourself present at various events/shows to meet new people and spending an inordinate amount of money on the production, duplication, artwork and legal fees, to name a few, on your album? However, no good deeds will go unnoticed. Well, maybe in the beginning they will. But it can be guaranteed over a period of time that if an artist works hard, engages in the above mentioned efforts and genuinely shows an interest in developing relationships with others, his efforts will pay off. Please be realistic because no matter how hard an artist works and how much effort he puts in, the industry is challenging and the artist may not always reach the goals he hopes for. To maximize one’s own efforts, here are some places that an artist can start to get recognition for his band and get his music heard. First of all, start with submitting your music to college and internet radio stations to increase your opportunities of getting your music heard and played. Unfortunately, major commercial radio stations often have to abide by a specific set list that they are given of exclusive artist signed to major labels. Secondly, seek to obtain interviews with on-line radio stations and on-line magazine interviews. Again, it is easier to secure interviews with independently run magazines and radio stations that are genuinely looking for new artists and music to feature and promote. Finally, put time and effort in by researching independent film makers who are in need of music for their films. They may have a minimal budget or none at all, but the purpose at this point is for the artist to get as much exposure as possible. Every artist has to start some where and if the artist puts on restrictions by only looking for paying opportunities, he is likely to be greatly disappointed when they cannot be secured. So in sum, the goal with maximizing your efforts is as simple as doing your research, being proactive and seeking out opportunities that can be built upon.
Additionally, the importance cannot be stressed enough about how valuable the use of social media websites can be. An artist can positively exploit himself by making the most of these websites. The artist can navigate these websites on his own by putting in as much or as little time and effort as he wants to advertise his music and artistry to the world. However, the more effort the artist puts in, the greater the returns will be. The goal is for the artist to get his name and product out there! This can be easily accomplished by joining multiple websites and creating multiple pages to promote yourself such as creating a personal Facebook page, band or musician Facebook page, MySpace page, Twitter page, Reverbnation page and the list continues to go on. The more places that people can find the artist, see the artist’s name and hear the artist’s music, the greater the likelihood that his name will slowly spread to the masses. Also, it is beneficial to meet other persons in the industry and this does not necessarily have to just be in the area you are involved in as an entertainer (e.g., meet a film maker, an actor, comedian, etc). Rather than seeing what someone may be able to do for you, reach out to the person and see how you may be able to provide assistance and support that person. When people see someone is genuinely interested in them who presents himself as a grounded, authentic person, the other person may one day assist you. Nevertheless, the artist should never have preconceived notions or expectations about what others can and/or should do for him as this will only backfire and create a reputation for the artist that he is only out for himself.
Any artist will be able to recall a not so memorable experience or, shall we simply put it, an experience that may make him rethink why he decided to get involved in the entertainment industry. Exploitation can also mean ‘to make the most of.’ At one point or another, an artist has most likely walked away from a situation feeling used or taken advantage of. But how can an artist learn from that experience and proceed differently in the future? Simple tactics and techniques that an artist can learn deal with reframing and redefining the situation that did not have a positive outcome. Unfortunately, a person may be extra nice to an artist when he believes the artist has something to offer. Let’s say on one of too many occasions, an artist took a person’s word at face value who defined himself as a manager and made multiple promises such as being told his music could be placed on radio stations, the artist could be secured shows opening for major acts and the artist could get his music featured in film and television shows. But, eventually the artist learned that he was taken advantage, lost a lot of money and none of the above took place. What the artist can do is reframe the situation from a positive angle by stating to himself that has learned not to put trust in people so easily, needs to do research on the people before investing money and instead can capitalize on his own efforts by putting in the work himself to see that most of what he expected above, he can accomplish on his own.
It can be unfortunate to know that some artists will get ahead in the industry by taking advantage of others or because of knowing the right persons. But that does not mean you should stoop to that level! Being professional, respectful and considerate of others are not often features that an artist puts at the forefront. Who wouldn’t want to get ahead if one could manipulate or take advantage of a person or situation to benefit oneself? But this is not the way an artist should conduct himself, as being deceitful and manipulative is guaranteed to be short-lived and in the end will be more self-destructive than beneficial. An artist needs to keep in mind that the music industry is much smaller than he may think it is. When an artist creates an unpleasant situation by taking advantage of someone, the person he manipulates may know or be connected with other ‘key persons’ in the industry. Similarly, an artist who decides to gratify his own needs and react impulsively has now destroyed any potential opportunities to work with this person or others by demonstrating he only cared about himself. It cannot be spoken about enough that having personal values where you care about others, truly want to establish relationships on multiple levels (e.g., friendship, business, etc) and act in a professional and courtesy manner, that it is these features that will be remembered about you and assist in your efforts to advance to another level in the industry.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It will be featured in the September 2011 Issue for Really Great Magazine.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Proceed with Caution! Tactics for Musicians & Other Persons in Entertainment to Utilize to Avoid being Taken Advantage of & Exploited in the Entertainment Industry
While they do exist and are difficult to find, legitimate persons and companies with solid and reputable management backgrounds are available in the industry to assist artists who are attempting to reach the next level in entertainment. However, it’s unfortunate that a vast majority of the entertainment industry is flooded with significant amounts of dishonest, disloyal persons and/or organizations that exaggerate or misrepresent their credentials and make claims that they ultimately cannot fulfill. For instance, how many times has an artist heard a person or company suggest that they can manage the artist or band to become the next ‘Big Thing,’ push the artist’s single to the top of the charts on the major Top 40 radio stations and get the artist or band so much press that they go viral?
Without singling out or identifying certain persons and/or companies, similarly how many times has an artist come across the following scenarios: “As a well-renowned music organization promoting major artists, give us $1,500.00 and we’ll push your single to every major station across the country to get you radio air play!” and “We’ve placed major artists and their music in countless television shows, films and commercials. All you have to pay is $250.00 to submit your music and we’ll include it in our library so your music can be searched. It’s only a matter of time before your song is recognized and placed!” These statements are made to captivate and lure the artist’s attention followed by draining their wallet with nothing to show for their investment. So what are some ways that artists can avoid being scammed, taken advantage of or exploited? There are several simple and basic tactics that artists can use regularly and readily engage in to minimize or prevent unfortunate outcomes where one not only loses vast amounts of money, but much more including feelings of self-worth, distrust and discouragement.
Conduct Your Own Research
Although it will take some of the artist’s time, the key to not getting scammed or taken advantage of, partially per se, lies in the hands of the artist. Whenever an artist is approached, for example, in person or via receiving an email about an opportunity where the artist is being asked to submit their music to a music library to have it considered for placement or shell out money to have a song forwarded to radio stations across the country, the artist often is so excited about the prospective opportunity that he takes the words at face value and proceeds to fork over a lot of money without much thought. However, what the artist needs to first do is take a step back and push aside the excitement to find out most importantly if the person or company approaching the artist is legitimate and reputable. One way to proceed which does not cost the artist a cent is to start doing research on the internet about the person or company to find out the details about who they are, what they have to offer and are there any red flags or warning signs about getting involved with them. So use the traditional search engines, do your research and find out everything you can before you give them any money. Artists will be surprised to find that if there are any warning signs about the company, these will often include words such as ‘scam’ as soon as you do the search, to only find limited or no detailed information about the company and/or testimonials from others who have been taken advantage of.
Engage in Logical & Critical Thinking
The importance of conducting research and being informed as an artist was previously discussed before becoming involved with shelling out money to get your music played or placed. Let’s discuss another crucial step which is to engage in logical and critical thinking. If the research completed by the artist comes to the conclusion that the company is a scam, the easy answer is to forget about getting involved and move on. But, what if the company appears, from your findings to be legitimate? The artist should move to another crucial step which is to look beyond what the company is simply reporting and not assuming what is stated at face value. Maybe some of the information is true, in such that you give $1,500 and your music is shipped to radio stations all over the country. But by thinking critically about this scenario, an artist should be able to formulate questions such as what specific stations are receiving it, who will be listening to it (if anyone) and how does anyone ever know if it is played. Furthermore, let’s be realistic, what radio station is going to go through 100s of 1000s of random songs from unsigned artists? Not only do the stations not have the time, but sadly, they just don’t care. It is so important for an artist to think about these relevant questions. Although no artist wants to hear this, remember that most, if not all, radio stations have their own format and list of songs to play, which only include major artists that are represented by serious management and are signed to exclusive labels. Finally, a reputable management company that does provide these above services will first review the artist’s music to evaluate it and determine if it will be further listened to by a station. If the answer is it will be, a serious radio marketing campaign will range from a few hundred dollars per week to thousands of dollars per week.
Obtain Formal Referrals & Follow-Up
When an artist is considering moving forward to work with a person or company to promote their music after they have conducted their research and engaged in posing logical questions, the next step is for the artist is to ask for formal referrals that have worked with this specific organization. If a person or company is legitimate, they should have no problem with giving the artist some artists to contact so that they can ask questions about the artists’ experiences in working with the company. If the person or organization is closed off to this and/or makes a statement such as “don’t worry about anything…you are in good hands…you can trust us,” the artist should reconsider moving forward. If the artist does want to move forward, the artist should discuss and make an offer where the artist will only submit a limited amount of money and work with them for a specific time period. By doing this the artist can communicate that if after this time period passes, working further with them will only be reconsidered if they can demonstrate that they have produced visible results for the artist. Additionally, the artist may want to come up with an arrangement where they will get a certain portion of their money back if the company does not follow through and get the artist’s music played or placed.
Manage Yourself as an Artist
What artist doesn’t want to be managed by a company or label? It makes the artist feel good about his capabilities, gives himself and others the impression that he is more established (than he may be) and creates a false perception that he does not need to do any work to promote his music. However, there are other ways an artist can get his music out there without solely resorting to being managed by a person or company. Many of these pitfalls discussed above can be avoided if an artist takes his destiny into his own hands, at the very least, initially when one is starting out. When an artist is new to the industry, many question how a person or company can even consider managing an artist who does not have much to show for himself in terms of accomplishments. The only way a management company will consider an artist without having done anything is if the company is certain that the artist is so talented that they can make money off of the artist. This is by no means meant to knock the artist, but to assist the artist in understanding that there are many ways he can start promoting and pushing his music. Every artist has to walk before he can run. No artist can hit the majors by being played on a national radio station or having music placed in a major film without establishing himself unless, unfortunately, he knows someone who can get the music into the right person’s hands or, as mentioned, above is such an extreme, rare talent.
So let’s close on a positive note. No hard work, persistence, dedication and perseverance will go unrecognized by the artist who approaches the industry this way. What the artist needs to do on his own, which again is extremely time consuming, tedious and at times frustrating, is to use all forms of social media on a daily basis (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc) to build a substantial fan base where the artist must regularly interact with fans who need to become friends. The artist also needs to seek out realistic opportunities to get his music placed by, again, doing his own research and reaching out to places such as college and internet radio stations, seeking independent, low-budget films that are looking for music and providing support while networking at local shows by handing out his music for others to hear. If the artist considers following these recommendations and/or develops his own creative ways to get his music out there, he will be less likely to be taken advantage and will see progress over time. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, unfortunately, it probably is too good to be true.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It was featured in the June 2011 Issue for Really Great Magazine and July 2011 Issue for Talent Spotlight Magazine.
Without singling out or identifying certain persons and/or companies, similarly how many times has an artist come across the following scenarios: “As a well-renowned music organization promoting major artists, give us $1,500.00 and we’ll push your single to every major station across the country to get you radio air play!” and “We’ve placed major artists and their music in countless television shows, films and commercials. All you have to pay is $250.00 to submit your music and we’ll include it in our library so your music can be searched. It’s only a matter of time before your song is recognized and placed!” These statements are made to captivate and lure the artist’s attention followed by draining their wallet with nothing to show for their investment. So what are some ways that artists can avoid being scammed, taken advantage of or exploited? There are several simple and basic tactics that artists can use regularly and readily engage in to minimize or prevent unfortunate outcomes where one not only loses vast amounts of money, but much more including feelings of self-worth, distrust and discouragement.
Conduct Your Own Research
Although it will take some of the artist’s time, the key to not getting scammed or taken advantage of, partially per se, lies in the hands of the artist. Whenever an artist is approached, for example, in person or via receiving an email about an opportunity where the artist is being asked to submit their music to a music library to have it considered for placement or shell out money to have a song forwarded to radio stations across the country, the artist often is so excited about the prospective opportunity that he takes the words at face value and proceeds to fork over a lot of money without much thought. However, what the artist needs to first do is take a step back and push aside the excitement to find out most importantly if the person or company approaching the artist is legitimate and reputable. One way to proceed which does not cost the artist a cent is to start doing research on the internet about the person or company to find out the details about who they are, what they have to offer and are there any red flags or warning signs about getting involved with them. So use the traditional search engines, do your research and find out everything you can before you give them any money. Artists will be surprised to find that if there are any warning signs about the company, these will often include words such as ‘scam’ as soon as you do the search, to only find limited or no detailed information about the company and/or testimonials from others who have been taken advantage of.
Engage in Logical & Critical Thinking
The importance of conducting research and being informed as an artist was previously discussed before becoming involved with shelling out money to get your music played or placed. Let’s discuss another crucial step which is to engage in logical and critical thinking. If the research completed by the artist comes to the conclusion that the company is a scam, the easy answer is to forget about getting involved and move on. But, what if the company appears, from your findings to be legitimate? The artist should move to another crucial step which is to look beyond what the company is simply reporting and not assuming what is stated at face value. Maybe some of the information is true, in such that you give $1,500 and your music is shipped to radio stations all over the country. But by thinking critically about this scenario, an artist should be able to formulate questions such as what specific stations are receiving it, who will be listening to it (if anyone) and how does anyone ever know if it is played. Furthermore, let’s be realistic, what radio station is going to go through 100s of 1000s of random songs from unsigned artists? Not only do the stations not have the time, but sadly, they just don’t care. It is so important for an artist to think about these relevant questions. Although no artist wants to hear this, remember that most, if not all, radio stations have their own format and list of songs to play, which only include major artists that are represented by serious management and are signed to exclusive labels. Finally, a reputable management company that does provide these above services will first review the artist’s music to evaluate it and determine if it will be further listened to by a station. If the answer is it will be, a serious radio marketing campaign will range from a few hundred dollars per week to thousands of dollars per week.
Obtain Formal Referrals & Follow-Up
When an artist is considering moving forward to work with a person or company to promote their music after they have conducted their research and engaged in posing logical questions, the next step is for the artist is to ask for formal referrals that have worked with this specific organization. If a person or company is legitimate, they should have no problem with giving the artist some artists to contact so that they can ask questions about the artists’ experiences in working with the company. If the person or organization is closed off to this and/or makes a statement such as “don’t worry about anything…you are in good hands…you can trust us,” the artist should reconsider moving forward. If the artist does want to move forward, the artist should discuss and make an offer where the artist will only submit a limited amount of money and work with them for a specific time period. By doing this the artist can communicate that if after this time period passes, working further with them will only be reconsidered if they can demonstrate that they have produced visible results for the artist. Additionally, the artist may want to come up with an arrangement where they will get a certain portion of their money back if the company does not follow through and get the artist’s music played or placed.
Manage Yourself as an Artist
What artist doesn’t want to be managed by a company or label? It makes the artist feel good about his capabilities, gives himself and others the impression that he is more established (than he may be) and creates a false perception that he does not need to do any work to promote his music. However, there are other ways an artist can get his music out there without solely resorting to being managed by a person or company. Many of these pitfalls discussed above can be avoided if an artist takes his destiny into his own hands, at the very least, initially when one is starting out. When an artist is new to the industry, many question how a person or company can even consider managing an artist who does not have much to show for himself in terms of accomplishments. The only way a management company will consider an artist without having done anything is if the company is certain that the artist is so talented that they can make money off of the artist. This is by no means meant to knock the artist, but to assist the artist in understanding that there are many ways he can start promoting and pushing his music. Every artist has to walk before he can run. No artist can hit the majors by being played on a national radio station or having music placed in a major film without establishing himself unless, unfortunately, he knows someone who can get the music into the right person’s hands or, as mentioned, above is such an extreme, rare talent.
So let’s close on a positive note. No hard work, persistence, dedication and perseverance will go unrecognized by the artist who approaches the industry this way. What the artist needs to do on his own, which again is extremely time consuming, tedious and at times frustrating, is to use all forms of social media on a daily basis (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc) to build a substantial fan base where the artist must regularly interact with fans who need to become friends. The artist also needs to seek out realistic opportunities to get his music placed by, again, doing his own research and reaching out to places such as college and internet radio stations, seeking independent, low-budget films that are looking for music and providing support while networking at local shows by handing out his music for others to hear. If the artist considers following these recommendations and/or develops his own creative ways to get his music out there, he will be less likely to be taken advantage and will see progress over time. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, unfortunately, it probably is too good to be true.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It was featured in the June 2011 Issue for Really Great Magazine and July 2011 Issue for Talent Spotlight Magazine.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Audio Zombie - World Class Sound Design for the Horror Industry
The fear factor of nearly every film and walk through attraction would decrease dramatically without the impact of creative sound design. Audio Zombie is an innovative company which provides world-class sound design to the horror and entertainment industry. In a short period of time, Audio Zombie has made a strong and lasting impact in the horror world and industry.
Audio Zombie was started approximately a year ago when it developed out of the birth of Lollipop Recording Studio. Lollipop Recording Studio was experiencing a lot of success recording horror and metal influenced bands. Along with recording and producing bands in the horror/metal genre, Lollipop Recording Studio began composing creepy and disturbing intros for the bands. An interest sparked when bands started telling Lollipop Recording Studio that these sound creations were exactly what the horror world lacked and needed. It was at this moment that Lollipop Recording Studio expanded and Audio Zombie evolved into composing horror film scores. As the word started to spread, haunted attractions were approaching Audio Zombie as a result of their customized, unique and over-the-top sound design. Audio Zombie puts pride in taking horror to another level by using old school creative sound design where every sound is customized and composed from scratch.
Audio Zombie has been working with the haunted house market since the company started about a year ago. People in the haunted house market were exposed to the horror films they had created sound design for and since it was nothing like they had heard before, inquired about how Audio Zombie could customize sound design for their haunted attractions. Over the past year, Audio Zombie’s unique approach to sound design has created exclusive audio products which can be heard pouring out of some of the biggest attractions nationwide, such as top-rated haunted houses, theme parks, museums and independent films. These major attractions and film projects that Audio Zombie has created customized scores and sound designs for include The Bates Motel (Glen Mills, PA), Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (New York, NY), Fear Itself at Legend Skream Park (Mishawaka, IN), House of Haunts (Wildwood, NJ) and the independent film: Fallow Ground (Emerald Productions) winning Best Audio Design at the Project Twenty1 Film Festival.
Audio Zombie is a company based on the concepts of respect, pride and valuing the people they work with. It’s unfortunate that a significant portion of the music and special attractions industry is often filled with people who do not share connections or help each other out. In contrast, developing strong, solid relationships with their clients and sharing connections to help each other out is a major cornerstone of Audio Zombie. Furthermore, they are strong supporters of the horror scene along with all genres in the music scene. Once you work with Audio Zombie, it does not end there as they tell people you exist, share connections and refer people to other businesses.
Some of the things Audio Zombie has seen about the haunted house market that they especially like include meeting a diverse group of people with different backgrounds who come from all walks of life and share a common passion. Many people have the misconception that people have to be strange or odd to have an interest in the horror market and industry. However, at horror conventions, Audio Zombie has had the pleasure of meeting everyone from your small business owners to powerful business executives and physicians who have a passion for the haunted house and horror industry.
The tips and recommendations that Audio Zombie can provide to haunted house owners is to be unique and set yourself apart with a custom sound design that no one else has. Sound really changes everything and it is so important to have a distinctive, exclusive piece that fits your business. Audio Zombie truly appreciates and values the concept that details matter and there is no more important detail than one of custom sound design. Audio Zombie also notes that there is often a mistaken belief that sound design work is very expensive. What they want people to know is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get something customized and unique for your haunted attraction. Audio Zombie offers the best audio possible with a high end service at an affordable price. They also work on many scales with various budgets that even the every day home haunter can afford.
Audio Zombie offers custom sound design services to the haunted house market and horror industry including haunted attractions, film makers, web designers, home haunters, animatronics designers, ghost tours and much more. They also offer a full line of royalty-free sound libraries that are perfect for any of the people and business they service listed above. Our royalty-free sound libraries include Morbid Circus, Zombie’s Playground and MY9D-FKD. Morbid Circus consists of really twisted clown music that produces an uneasy tension feeling along with disturbing tones and melodies. Zombie’s Playground is composed of creepy atmospheric music that is organically created. And MY9D-FKD, a sequel to their most popular disk, Zombie’s Playground, consists of disturbing frequencies and atmospheric tones. In this year, Audio Zombie’s sound libraries have made their mark in the horror world by having a strong presence at many horror conventions as well as receiving five star reviews from industry magazines.
Audio Zombie’s staff is composed of a small group of professional producers, audio engineers and musicians whose work can be found on countless projects ranging from independent films to national touring musical acts. All of the works are recorded in a state-of-the-art studio that is fully equipped with top-notch equipment to produce sound imagery for any type of production needs. Audio Zombie’s staff consists of:
Jason Ruch is the CEO/Owner of Audio Zombie. Along with being the CEO/Owner, Jason works as the Chief Sound Engineer and Sound Designer as well as a Producer with over 17-years of experience in the extreme dark rock/metal music world.
Jonny Croce is a part owner of Audio Zombie. Along with being part owner, Jonny is the Lead Composer and Studio Musician with over 15-years of experience in various aspects of the music industry.
Kerri Edelman, Psy.D., is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations with Audio Zombie. Along with being the Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Kerri is a Modern Rock Recording Artist (www.kerriedelman.com) and Voice-Over Musician with over 10-years of experience in various aspects of the music industry.
For more information on Audio Zombie and our services, please visit www.audiozombiesound.com
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It will be featured in Haunted Attraction Magazine.
Audio Zombie was started approximately a year ago when it developed out of the birth of Lollipop Recording Studio. Lollipop Recording Studio was experiencing a lot of success recording horror and metal influenced bands. Along with recording and producing bands in the horror/metal genre, Lollipop Recording Studio began composing creepy and disturbing intros for the bands. An interest sparked when bands started telling Lollipop Recording Studio that these sound creations were exactly what the horror world lacked and needed. It was at this moment that Lollipop Recording Studio expanded and Audio Zombie evolved into composing horror film scores. As the word started to spread, haunted attractions were approaching Audio Zombie as a result of their customized, unique and over-the-top sound design. Audio Zombie puts pride in taking horror to another level by using old school creative sound design where every sound is customized and composed from scratch.
Audio Zombie has been working with the haunted house market since the company started about a year ago. People in the haunted house market were exposed to the horror films they had created sound design for and since it was nothing like they had heard before, inquired about how Audio Zombie could customize sound design for their haunted attractions. Over the past year, Audio Zombie’s unique approach to sound design has created exclusive audio products which can be heard pouring out of some of the biggest attractions nationwide, such as top-rated haunted houses, theme parks, museums and independent films. These major attractions and film projects that Audio Zombie has created customized scores and sound designs for include The Bates Motel (Glen Mills, PA), Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (New York, NY), Fear Itself at Legend Skream Park (Mishawaka, IN), House of Haunts (Wildwood, NJ) and the independent film: Fallow Ground (Emerald Productions) winning Best Audio Design at the Project Twenty1 Film Festival.
Audio Zombie is a company based on the concepts of respect, pride and valuing the people they work with. It’s unfortunate that a significant portion of the music and special attractions industry is often filled with people who do not share connections or help each other out. In contrast, developing strong, solid relationships with their clients and sharing connections to help each other out is a major cornerstone of Audio Zombie. Furthermore, they are strong supporters of the horror scene along with all genres in the music scene. Once you work with Audio Zombie, it does not end there as they tell people you exist, share connections and refer people to other businesses.
Some of the things Audio Zombie has seen about the haunted house market that they especially like include meeting a diverse group of people with different backgrounds who come from all walks of life and share a common passion. Many people have the misconception that people have to be strange or odd to have an interest in the horror market and industry. However, at horror conventions, Audio Zombie has had the pleasure of meeting everyone from your small business owners to powerful business executives and physicians who have a passion for the haunted house and horror industry.
The tips and recommendations that Audio Zombie can provide to haunted house owners is to be unique and set yourself apart with a custom sound design that no one else has. Sound really changes everything and it is so important to have a distinctive, exclusive piece that fits your business. Audio Zombie truly appreciates and values the concept that details matter and there is no more important detail than one of custom sound design. Audio Zombie also notes that there is often a mistaken belief that sound design work is very expensive. What they want people to know is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get something customized and unique for your haunted attraction. Audio Zombie offers the best audio possible with a high end service at an affordable price. They also work on many scales with various budgets that even the every day home haunter can afford.
Audio Zombie offers custom sound design services to the haunted house market and horror industry including haunted attractions, film makers, web designers, home haunters, animatronics designers, ghost tours and much more. They also offer a full line of royalty-free sound libraries that are perfect for any of the people and business they service listed above. Our royalty-free sound libraries include Morbid Circus, Zombie’s Playground and MY9D-FKD. Morbid Circus consists of really twisted clown music that produces an uneasy tension feeling along with disturbing tones and melodies. Zombie’s Playground is composed of creepy atmospheric music that is organically created. And MY9D-FKD, a sequel to their most popular disk, Zombie’s Playground, consists of disturbing frequencies and atmospheric tones. In this year, Audio Zombie’s sound libraries have made their mark in the horror world by having a strong presence at many horror conventions as well as receiving five star reviews from industry magazines.
Audio Zombie’s staff is composed of a small group of professional producers, audio engineers and musicians whose work can be found on countless projects ranging from independent films to national touring musical acts. All of the works are recorded in a state-of-the-art studio that is fully equipped with top-notch equipment to produce sound imagery for any type of production needs. Audio Zombie’s staff consists of:
Jason Ruch is the CEO/Owner of Audio Zombie. Along with being the CEO/Owner, Jason works as the Chief Sound Engineer and Sound Designer as well as a Producer with over 17-years of experience in the extreme dark rock/metal music world.
Jonny Croce is a part owner of Audio Zombie. Along with being part owner, Jonny is the Lead Composer and Studio Musician with over 15-years of experience in various aspects of the music industry.
Kerri Edelman, Psy.D., is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations with Audio Zombie. Along with being the Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Kerri is a Modern Rock Recording Artist (www.kerriedelman.com) and Voice-Over Musician with over 10-years of experience in various aspects of the music industry.
For more information on Audio Zombie and our services, please visit www.audiozombiesound.com
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It will be featured in Haunted Attraction Magazine.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A New Year! A New You! Discovering the Fundamental Aspects of Ourselves to Become a More Confident, Assertive and Authentic Musician in 2011
With the passing of another year, many artists often reflect back on what has occurred over their careers in the past year. This reflection may be to see if we pleased those around us (e.g., managers, labels, etc), did we accomplish the goals we set and if we did not, what went awry in the process. Reflecting back on the past is a positive thing and learning from our experiences (or the experiences of others) about what went right or did not can provide useful information; so that we can modify what direction we take our music in the future.
But, as artists, we sometimes along the way forget to consider some of the fundamentally core aspects of ourselves that are essential in our development and growth as musicians. Uncovering and developing these basic yet necessary concepts is very individualized as different artists may find that only some apply whereas others may feel that they are all applicable. The following core concepts may also be impacted by where the artists are in their career path as an established, seasoned musician may have a more solid foundation in these areas. Nevertheless, the goal is to assist musicians with being mindful of these as not being aware of what provides us with a basic sense of well-being can make getting involved in the music and entertainment industry even more difficult and challenging.
Build Self-Confidence
Confidence is described as a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or reliance on one’s circumstances. It is also the belief that one will act in a right, proper or effective way. Confidence should not be confused with arrogance or narcissism. A confident artist is able to calmly carry oneself in a humble manner without boasting about how great one is, displaying extreme forms of egocentricity, exhibiting rashness or making others feel less important. As an artist, it is important to be self-assured and believe in one’s abilities. However, developing self-confidence takes time, comes with experience in the industry and is often impacted by how one was treated (or mistreated in the past). There are many ways to improve our self-confidence which include finding seasoned musicians to serve as positive mentors, using positive, constructive feedback to further develop one’s skills and immersing oneself to learn about the industry by reading about it, getting involved with assisting other artists and befriending others with similar goals, to name a few. Nonetheless, it will be difficult to build self-confidence and improve one’s self-esteem, if an artist regularly surrounds oneself with negative/critical musicians who bring one down, don’t believe in one’s abilities or take their own problems out on the artist. This leads into the next core concept of becoming assertive.
Become Assertive
Assertiveness is described as being confident in claiming one’s rights or putting forward one’s views. Being assertive does not mean being aggressive where in one intimidates or becomes hostile/destructive in a verbal or physical manner towards another. It is the ability for the artist to clearly communicate and convey what is in their comfort zone. It is all too often that artists will encounter those in the music industry who put demands on them that they may not feel comfortable carrying out. When an artist is confident and self-assured in one’s ability to make a rational decision, the artist will take an assertive stance and communicate what the artist believes is in their best interest. Again, being assertive is something that takes time and does not always feel good (as who wants to potentially make someone upset or angry), but it is essential to survive in the industry. With the development of self-confidence, one will feel more comfortable being assertive. Lacking self-confidence and an inability to be assertive often leads to the artist being taken advantage of where one becomes a puppet who’s every move and decision is dictated by that of another.
Develop Patience
Patience is defined as the ability to deal with provocation, annoyance, misfortune or pain without complaint, loss of temper or irritation. The classic example of learning to deal with patience is the artist who has worked extremely hard to put out an album and because of one’s professionalism, perseverance and dedication believes that one should be signed to a major label and out on the road touring with a solid music career in a short period of time. Unfortunately, as it was previously discussed in the last article on ‘Self-Promotion in the Music Industry,’ our best thought out plans may not succeed. This is likely because of how the industry has changed and many artists are trying to climb up this never-ending mountain on their own. To assist in establishing oneself as an artist, one should start with the following, to name a few: set short-term goals that one can accomplish such as getting a song on an internet radio station, locating indie films that are looking for music placement and using social networking sites to promote your music so that others can hear it. Many artists can relate to and empathize with how it is not easy to be patient, but it’s important to take pride in whatever accomplishments one makes as that will assist with developing one’s self-confidence and becoming assertive as one begins to recognize their capabilities.
Maintain a Healthy Sense of Paranoia
Paranoia is defined as a tendency on the part of an individual toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others. This term is not be used in a negative fashion, but rather for the artist to develop what is sometimes termed ‘Healthy Paranoia.’ How many times has an artist been made promises by others such as ‘I’ll get your music on a radio station’ and ‘Give me X amount of dollars and I’ll help you get signed to a record label, get you major management or get your music in front of the right people,’ for example. Developing a healthy sense of paranoia is the ability for the artist to remain logical, grounded and realistic with a subtle sense of suspiciousness when these types of promises are made. It is not to say that these things can’t happen, but it is all too often that artists put too much trust into others to only be misguided, let down or worse, lose a lot of money in the process when they are scammed by others. Having the former happen (where one is offered things by others that don’t come to fruition) is not necessarily a bad thing as it teaches the artist the importance of a strong work ethic, how challenging the industry is and that being skeptical about what others say can prevent bigger mistakes from happening (such as forking over a ton of cash and getting nothing in return).
Master Cognitive Reframing
Cognitive Reframing is defined as taking a situation or particular circumstance and changing the meaning you’ve ascribed to it. Learning to develop this type of a skill can be particularly useful in the music and entertainment industry. It is not unlikely that when an artist hears something not so positive about their music, that one will tend to personalize the comment and believe it has to do with one’s performance. For example, say an unsigned artist passes along their music to a radio station (and actually hears back from them as this is a rarity when the station is receiving 100’s of 1000’s of albums) and is informed that the station is not interested. In most situations, the artist is likely to be inclined to think that their music is not good enough or one is not a good performer. Cognitive reframing works by the artist instead taking the disinterest from the station and telling oneself that their music is possibly not the right fit for the format, it may have been not the musical taste of the person who listened to it or it’s possible that this is a generic response given to all unsigned artists and the station never even took a moment to listen to it. The goal here is for the artist to not always assume the worst and to assist with restructuring how one thinks about situations so as not to negatively impact our self-confidence. Once an artist gets the hang of using this technique, it is invaluable and can be used in many aspects of one’s life.
Take a Time-Out
Time-Out is defined as a brief suspension of activity, intermission or break. Most artists have probably heard this psychological term used with younger children who are not following directions and are asked to ‘take a time-out’ by removing oneself to a quiet area for a specific period of time in order to reflect on the reasons for their ‘time-out.’ When an artist is constantly on the go, maintaining a full-time job and trying to handle every aspect of their career on their own including managing a band, booking shows, promoting the album, maintaining various websites, etc., it can become daunting, draining, one can lose patience and mental burn-out (not related to drugs) can set in. Taking a time-out can be a positive task for an artist as it allows one to take a break and reflect on what has or has not been working. During this mental break, take time to do other things one enjoys, make a list evaluating the pro’s and con’s of one’s musical endeavors and spend time with those who are supportive of one’s music career.
Maintain a Support System
A support system is defined as a network of people who provide an individual with practical and emotional support. It is not uncommon for artists to become so immersed in their musical endeavors that they have lapses in their attention and periodically forget about staying in contact with friends, family and other meaningful persons in their lives. On the other hand, it is also not uncommon for artists to become involved with a group of individuals who are negative, critical and unsupportive of their musical endeavors. Getting involved in music and entertainment can be an extremely difficult and challenging industry, which leaves artists questioning the likelihood of their success when the odds are stacked against them. Having a support system of encouraging and understanding people who are meaningful to one is essential for an artist who plans to keep pressing forward. Artists will often hear many no’s, critical feedback and experience letdowns in the industry, which is why keeping those who are supportive close to them can help foster and further develop the artist’s self-esteem, assertiveness and ability to maintain a sense of patience.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It was featured in the February 2011 Issue for Really Great Magazine and August 2011 Issue for Talent Spotlight Magazine.
But, as artists, we sometimes along the way forget to consider some of the fundamentally core aspects of ourselves that are essential in our development and growth as musicians. Uncovering and developing these basic yet necessary concepts is very individualized as different artists may find that only some apply whereas others may feel that they are all applicable. The following core concepts may also be impacted by where the artists are in their career path as an established, seasoned musician may have a more solid foundation in these areas. Nevertheless, the goal is to assist musicians with being mindful of these as not being aware of what provides us with a basic sense of well-being can make getting involved in the music and entertainment industry even more difficult and challenging.
Build Self-Confidence
Confidence is described as a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or reliance on one’s circumstances. It is also the belief that one will act in a right, proper or effective way. Confidence should not be confused with arrogance or narcissism. A confident artist is able to calmly carry oneself in a humble manner without boasting about how great one is, displaying extreme forms of egocentricity, exhibiting rashness or making others feel less important. As an artist, it is important to be self-assured and believe in one’s abilities. However, developing self-confidence takes time, comes with experience in the industry and is often impacted by how one was treated (or mistreated in the past). There are many ways to improve our self-confidence which include finding seasoned musicians to serve as positive mentors, using positive, constructive feedback to further develop one’s skills and immersing oneself to learn about the industry by reading about it, getting involved with assisting other artists and befriending others with similar goals, to name a few. Nonetheless, it will be difficult to build self-confidence and improve one’s self-esteem, if an artist regularly surrounds oneself with negative/critical musicians who bring one down, don’t believe in one’s abilities or take their own problems out on the artist. This leads into the next core concept of becoming assertive.
Become Assertive
Assertiveness is described as being confident in claiming one’s rights or putting forward one’s views. Being assertive does not mean being aggressive where in one intimidates or becomes hostile/destructive in a verbal or physical manner towards another. It is the ability for the artist to clearly communicate and convey what is in their comfort zone. It is all too often that artists will encounter those in the music industry who put demands on them that they may not feel comfortable carrying out. When an artist is confident and self-assured in one’s ability to make a rational decision, the artist will take an assertive stance and communicate what the artist believes is in their best interest. Again, being assertive is something that takes time and does not always feel good (as who wants to potentially make someone upset or angry), but it is essential to survive in the industry. With the development of self-confidence, one will feel more comfortable being assertive. Lacking self-confidence and an inability to be assertive often leads to the artist being taken advantage of where one becomes a puppet who’s every move and decision is dictated by that of another.
Develop Patience
Patience is defined as the ability to deal with provocation, annoyance, misfortune or pain without complaint, loss of temper or irritation. The classic example of learning to deal with patience is the artist who has worked extremely hard to put out an album and because of one’s professionalism, perseverance and dedication believes that one should be signed to a major label and out on the road touring with a solid music career in a short period of time. Unfortunately, as it was previously discussed in the last article on ‘Self-Promotion in the Music Industry,’ our best thought out plans may not succeed. This is likely because of how the industry has changed and many artists are trying to climb up this never-ending mountain on their own. To assist in establishing oneself as an artist, one should start with the following, to name a few: set short-term goals that one can accomplish such as getting a song on an internet radio station, locating indie films that are looking for music placement and using social networking sites to promote your music so that others can hear it. Many artists can relate to and empathize with how it is not easy to be patient, but it’s important to take pride in whatever accomplishments one makes as that will assist with developing one’s self-confidence and becoming assertive as one begins to recognize their capabilities.
Maintain a Healthy Sense of Paranoia
Paranoia is defined as a tendency on the part of an individual toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others. This term is not be used in a negative fashion, but rather for the artist to develop what is sometimes termed ‘Healthy Paranoia.’ How many times has an artist been made promises by others such as ‘I’ll get your music on a radio station’ and ‘Give me X amount of dollars and I’ll help you get signed to a record label, get you major management or get your music in front of the right people,’ for example. Developing a healthy sense of paranoia is the ability for the artist to remain logical, grounded and realistic with a subtle sense of suspiciousness when these types of promises are made. It is not to say that these things can’t happen, but it is all too often that artists put too much trust into others to only be misguided, let down or worse, lose a lot of money in the process when they are scammed by others. Having the former happen (where one is offered things by others that don’t come to fruition) is not necessarily a bad thing as it teaches the artist the importance of a strong work ethic, how challenging the industry is and that being skeptical about what others say can prevent bigger mistakes from happening (such as forking over a ton of cash and getting nothing in return).
Master Cognitive Reframing
Cognitive Reframing is defined as taking a situation or particular circumstance and changing the meaning you’ve ascribed to it. Learning to develop this type of a skill can be particularly useful in the music and entertainment industry. It is not unlikely that when an artist hears something not so positive about their music, that one will tend to personalize the comment and believe it has to do with one’s performance. For example, say an unsigned artist passes along their music to a radio station (and actually hears back from them as this is a rarity when the station is receiving 100’s of 1000’s of albums) and is informed that the station is not interested. In most situations, the artist is likely to be inclined to think that their music is not good enough or one is not a good performer. Cognitive reframing works by the artist instead taking the disinterest from the station and telling oneself that their music is possibly not the right fit for the format, it may have been not the musical taste of the person who listened to it or it’s possible that this is a generic response given to all unsigned artists and the station never even took a moment to listen to it. The goal here is for the artist to not always assume the worst and to assist with restructuring how one thinks about situations so as not to negatively impact our self-confidence. Once an artist gets the hang of using this technique, it is invaluable and can be used in many aspects of one’s life.
Take a Time-Out
Time-Out is defined as a brief suspension of activity, intermission or break. Most artists have probably heard this psychological term used with younger children who are not following directions and are asked to ‘take a time-out’ by removing oneself to a quiet area for a specific period of time in order to reflect on the reasons for their ‘time-out.’ When an artist is constantly on the go, maintaining a full-time job and trying to handle every aspect of their career on their own including managing a band, booking shows, promoting the album, maintaining various websites, etc., it can become daunting, draining, one can lose patience and mental burn-out (not related to drugs) can set in. Taking a time-out can be a positive task for an artist as it allows one to take a break and reflect on what has or has not been working. During this mental break, take time to do other things one enjoys, make a list evaluating the pro’s and con’s of one’s musical endeavors and spend time with those who are supportive of one’s music career.
Maintain a Support System
A support system is defined as a network of people who provide an individual with practical and emotional support. It is not uncommon for artists to become so immersed in their musical endeavors that they have lapses in their attention and periodically forget about staying in contact with friends, family and other meaningful persons in their lives. On the other hand, it is also not uncommon for artists to become involved with a group of individuals who are negative, critical and unsupportive of their musical endeavors. Getting involved in music and entertainment can be an extremely difficult and challenging industry, which leaves artists questioning the likelihood of their success when the odds are stacked against them. Having a support system of encouraging and understanding people who are meaningful to one is essential for an artist who plans to keep pressing forward. Artists will often hear many no’s, critical feedback and experience letdowns in the industry, which is why keeping those who are supportive close to them can help foster and further develop the artist’s self-esteem, assertiveness and ability to maintain a sense of patience.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It was featured in the February 2011 Issue for Really Great Magazine and August 2011 Issue for Talent Spotlight Magazine.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Value of Self-Promotion in the Music Industry via the Use of MySpace
Many musicians undervalue the concept of self-promotion and how much artists can do on their own to get their music heard by others. With labels not having large budgets to financially support musicians, A&R reps not scouting venues as they once did and the internet becoming the new medium to take artists in a new direction, where does a musician start when you are all on your own and want to get your music out there for the world to hear?
There are many basic yet time-consuming and energy driving tasks that musicians can do to market, advertise and promote their music. Please keep in mind that all musicians have their own way of promoting their music and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The use of the internet and social networking sites are one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get your music not only heard by the locals in your town, but also across the globe. There will be mixed reviews from all artists about which sites are better than others, but one of the sites which have been around for a long time is MySpace.
MySpace can be a highly valuable and effective tool for promoting one’s music. For instance, look at all of the major signed artists who continue to use it. They don’t only use it as a supplementary page to their formal website, but those who do not have a website, use it as their primary means of getting their music out to the world and connecting with their fans. An essential and valuable aspect about MySpace for musicians is it is a One-Stop Shop! This means fans can access pretty much anything they would want to know about the band, such as a biography, photos, tour dates, videos, blogs and most importantly music! Although, please keep in mind that it is crucial for musicians to keep information on their pages relevant, consistent and up-to-date to in order to maintain your fans interest.
Although it seems simple enough to develop a MySpace page by registering with the site, to effectively construct one, it will take some dedication, time and effort on behalf of the artist. Here are some tips for creating an effective MySpace page to promote your music:
Create a visually appealing MySpace Page
Although we would all like to have a fancy MySpace page like the major artists, don’t worry if you are not a graphic designer or do not have the budget to hire one. The primary goal is to figure out what you want to convey to your fans. For instance, put a cool photo of the band or a logo on the top of the page which will introduce who you are to your fans. All you need is a professional photo or logo to initially capture your fans attention along with the other user friendly and eye-catching images with the tools and applications MySpace provides to assist in creating your unique, original page.
Make a simple to navigate MySpace Page
Once you develop a page that can catch the eyes of others, you want to also hold their attention. It is easy to keep others on your page by making sure it is simple to navigate and does not visually have too much going on to distract the viewer. For instance, it has happened all too often that the friend request button is located in some random area of the page that cannot be located by the viewer. The last thing you want a potential ‘friend’ to do is leave your page because he/she becomes frustrated about not being able to locate the friend request button.
Develop a fan base
This seems simple enough. Well, it is easy to do, but it will take time and effort by the artist. We all see pages that have thousands upon thousands of ‘friends’ or what can also be referred to as ‘fans.’ But how do we get them? To get fans, the easiest way is to start requesting ‘friends.’ To build a fan base quickly, it is recommended to set a quota aside each day by requesting, for example, 10 ‘friends.’ For instance, if you have four band members who are all actively involved and they each request 10 ‘friends’ a day, you could potentially have 40 new ‘friends’ per day.
Accumulate 1,000s of ‘friends’
Does the number of ‘friends’ you have mean anything? Yes, it does mean something. Although it is unknown if there is formal research to support this concept, the society’s perception often follows in the direction that the greater your number of ‘friends,’ the more likely you are an established and professional artist. It is not recommended that you sit around for hours requesting ‘friends.’ Once you start developing a moderate number and getting your name out there, you will see people start to request you. There is also what can be referred to as ‘free friends,’ which are major bands and companies that have their default set to accept anyone who sends them a request. This means you automatically become a ‘friend’ without having to wait for approval. And finally, it is not recommended to use tools such as ‘friend blaster’ to increase your ‘friends’ as it is illegal and the last thing you want is your hard work to be affected by MySpace shutting down your page.
Post and receive positive comments
Receiving comments on your page, especially when you are a new artist, also exudes a sense of where you ‘fit in the music world’ to your ‘friends.’ Of course, it feels good and positively impacts our self-esteem to receive a positive comment about our music from a random ‘friend.’ But it will also take time for this to happen. In order to start receiving comments, an artist will need to take time and leave comments on others pages. Leave a positive comment about something you like about the band or person. In return, kindly ask for them to check out your music and leave a comment. Don’t get discouraged if you are making a lot of comments and only receive a few in return. Leaving comments on others pages, allows their ‘friends’ to see you and potentially send a friend request to you (so now you are increasing your number of ‘friends’ which in return ties into ‘Developing a fan base’ and ‘Society’s perception of having 1,000s of friends’). Finally, it is recommended that you have your comment default set for you to approve those by others as the last thing you want is a negative or critical comment on your page for the world to see.
Network with other artists
The use of MySpace is a great tool to use to network with and meet other artists who have a similar genre or sound to your music. This is especially important when you are a new artist and/or band looking to start playing shows. Being social and friendly while sending a professional email to introduce yourself is highly looked upon. However, don’t be discouraged if the artist does not respond back to you. It is readily known and important to realize that there will be many more no’s than yes’s in the challenging music industry. But the important thing is you keep reaching out and trying. If you work hard, are professional, dedicated and persistent, you will see progress over time.
Use other social networking sites to promote your MySpace Page
Since MySpace, especially when you are a new artist, can initially be your One-Stop Shop, it’s important to spread the word about your page by promoting it on other social networking sites. There are so many out there which, at times, can be overwhelming for an artist to know which ones to use. However, the ones that are recommended when starting out include Facebook and Twitter. Again, these sites are simple to put together, easy to navigate and extremely effective to get the word out about your music. As you become comfortable using these sites, start slowly branching out to other sites which tend to focus more on your music such as Reverbnation, Purevolume and last.fm, to name a few. Nevertheless, keep in mind that the more sites you join, the greater the likelihood that your music will be recognized and heard by others.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It was featured in the December 2010 Holiday Issue for Really Great Magazine.
There are many basic yet time-consuming and energy driving tasks that musicians can do to market, advertise and promote their music. Please keep in mind that all musicians have their own way of promoting their music and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The use of the internet and social networking sites are one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get your music not only heard by the locals in your town, but also across the globe. There will be mixed reviews from all artists about which sites are better than others, but one of the sites which have been around for a long time is MySpace.
MySpace can be a highly valuable and effective tool for promoting one’s music. For instance, look at all of the major signed artists who continue to use it. They don’t only use it as a supplementary page to their formal website, but those who do not have a website, use it as their primary means of getting their music out to the world and connecting with their fans. An essential and valuable aspect about MySpace for musicians is it is a One-Stop Shop! This means fans can access pretty much anything they would want to know about the band, such as a biography, photos, tour dates, videos, blogs and most importantly music! Although, please keep in mind that it is crucial for musicians to keep information on their pages relevant, consistent and up-to-date to in order to maintain your fans interest.
Although it seems simple enough to develop a MySpace page by registering with the site, to effectively construct one, it will take some dedication, time and effort on behalf of the artist. Here are some tips for creating an effective MySpace page to promote your music:
Create a visually appealing MySpace Page
Although we would all like to have a fancy MySpace page like the major artists, don’t worry if you are not a graphic designer or do not have the budget to hire one. The primary goal is to figure out what you want to convey to your fans. For instance, put a cool photo of the band or a logo on the top of the page which will introduce who you are to your fans. All you need is a professional photo or logo to initially capture your fans attention along with the other user friendly and eye-catching images with the tools and applications MySpace provides to assist in creating your unique, original page.
Make a simple to navigate MySpace Page
Once you develop a page that can catch the eyes of others, you want to also hold their attention. It is easy to keep others on your page by making sure it is simple to navigate and does not visually have too much going on to distract the viewer. For instance, it has happened all too often that the friend request button is located in some random area of the page that cannot be located by the viewer. The last thing you want a potential ‘friend’ to do is leave your page because he/she becomes frustrated about not being able to locate the friend request button.
Develop a fan base
This seems simple enough. Well, it is easy to do, but it will take time and effort by the artist. We all see pages that have thousands upon thousands of ‘friends’ or what can also be referred to as ‘fans.’ But how do we get them? To get fans, the easiest way is to start requesting ‘friends.’ To build a fan base quickly, it is recommended to set a quota aside each day by requesting, for example, 10 ‘friends.’ For instance, if you have four band members who are all actively involved and they each request 10 ‘friends’ a day, you could potentially have 40 new ‘friends’ per day.
Accumulate 1,000s of ‘friends’
Does the number of ‘friends’ you have mean anything? Yes, it does mean something. Although it is unknown if there is formal research to support this concept, the society’s perception often follows in the direction that the greater your number of ‘friends,’ the more likely you are an established and professional artist. It is not recommended that you sit around for hours requesting ‘friends.’ Once you start developing a moderate number and getting your name out there, you will see people start to request you. There is also what can be referred to as ‘free friends,’ which are major bands and companies that have their default set to accept anyone who sends them a request. This means you automatically become a ‘friend’ without having to wait for approval. And finally, it is not recommended to use tools such as ‘friend blaster’ to increase your ‘friends’ as it is illegal and the last thing you want is your hard work to be affected by MySpace shutting down your page.
Post and receive positive comments
Receiving comments on your page, especially when you are a new artist, also exudes a sense of where you ‘fit in the music world’ to your ‘friends.’ Of course, it feels good and positively impacts our self-esteem to receive a positive comment about our music from a random ‘friend.’ But it will also take time for this to happen. In order to start receiving comments, an artist will need to take time and leave comments on others pages. Leave a positive comment about something you like about the band or person. In return, kindly ask for them to check out your music and leave a comment. Don’t get discouraged if you are making a lot of comments and only receive a few in return. Leaving comments on others pages, allows their ‘friends’ to see you and potentially send a friend request to you (so now you are increasing your number of ‘friends’ which in return ties into ‘Developing a fan base’ and ‘Society’s perception of having 1,000s of friends’). Finally, it is recommended that you have your comment default set for you to approve those by others as the last thing you want is a negative or critical comment on your page for the world to see.
Network with other artists
The use of MySpace is a great tool to use to network with and meet other artists who have a similar genre or sound to your music. This is especially important when you are a new artist and/or band looking to start playing shows. Being social and friendly while sending a professional email to introduce yourself is highly looked upon. However, don’t be discouraged if the artist does not respond back to you. It is readily known and important to realize that there will be many more no’s than yes’s in the challenging music industry. But the important thing is you keep reaching out and trying. If you work hard, are professional, dedicated and persistent, you will see progress over time.
Use other social networking sites to promote your MySpace Page
Since MySpace, especially when you are a new artist, can initially be your One-Stop Shop, it’s important to spread the word about your page by promoting it on other social networking sites. There are so many out there which, at times, can be overwhelming for an artist to know which ones to use. However, the ones that are recommended when starting out include Facebook and Twitter. Again, these sites are simple to put together, easy to navigate and extremely effective to get the word out about your music. As you become comfortable using these sites, start slowly branching out to other sites which tend to focus more on your music such as Reverbnation, Purevolume and last.fm, to name a few. Nevertheless, keep in mind that the more sites you join, the greater the likelihood that your music will be recognized and heard by others.
This article was written by Kerri Edelman, Psy.D. who is a Freelance Writer. It was featured in the December 2010 Holiday Issue for Really Great Magazine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)