john

Hi Sassy, welcome to our family.

Welcome Ronnue! You'll see your video is a staff pick and was mentioned in our site newsletter Grats!

Hi Jake's Empire, welcome to the Songstuff family

Hi and welcome to Songstuff Worawut!

Hi and welcome to Songstuff Cj

Well I didn’t say there would only be 2 parts.... that’s just something you came up with lol

Hey Carlo Welcome to the Songstuff family. Great to have you aboard

Hi IPSymphony, welcome to our family

Good on you Chumpy. What is in your plans for 2018?

Hi Boogie, welcome to Songstuff!

Oh crap, I used the "P" word! Before you all run away I'll say this... It's not an abstract piece of officialdom intended to cramp your style. It's not a bit of business intent to suck your creative soul. It's not even a necessary evil. It's simply fundamental. Marketing your music requires a lot of different tasks, using a lot of different resources, on a lot of different platforms. More to the point it needs them all to be coordinated. Oh double crap! Now I've use the "C" word. No not that one, another one. I can't count the number of musicians and bands I see, who are looking for an easy solution. You know, that "off the shelf" answer to all their problems that will allow them to focus on their music while it becomes successful without them getting their hands dirty, without it costing too much, being too inconvenient or seeming too much like, you know? Work. They get a few solutions for specific problems, try them for a week or two and when they yield poor results they get tossed ion the trash while the musician carries on looking for magic beans. The truth is, the power in each individual strategy really lies in how it works with other strategies. Each works, dovetails with others, connects with others, to become something more than the sum of the parts. They amplify each other, support each other. Planning allows marketing to flow. Resources are planned for, so they are ready when needed, not hurriedly put together in the hope they fill a need. The need for resources does not foul the flow of the tasks. They do not interrupt optimum timing. The language used exactly fits the need for what needed to be said at that moment, not "whatever I could think of, I dunno, my mind kind'a went blank" . There is a lot to be said for being prepared. Imagine your elevator pitch. You meet a record exec/tv producer/music star who could change your life, in an elevator. You have 10 seconds to pitch your music/band. One version of you has a demo recording in their pocket, including an Electronic Press Kit, and a pre-prepared, authentic pitch that sums up what you are all about, in a way designed to impress. The other version of you has no demo, just "I can't believe I met you, I have a demo, can I send it to you?" They have no press kit, just "Can I write down my details for you. Do you have a pen and paper?" As for a pitch? Are you kidding the elevator door has already opened and they are walking away. Music marketing is like that all over. Stuff is meant to work together. Each thing has a "right time" and everything else is the "wrong time" So you decide to drive people to your website from your twitter feed. You want to recruit fans. You post a song link, for a song on your site. That should do it. Wait I have 500 people on my list, I only got 4 plays! What do you mean who pressed play? How am I meant to know? There is so much wrong with that scenario. Perhaps you recognise it? Because I see it almost every day. Part 2 to follow

Awesome Roberto. I think we can help with all those aims and interests. Who knows, maybe a few more besides

Welcome to the Songstuff family Roberto! A nice intro and there is absolutely no reason to apologise for your English What do you hope Songstuff can do for you? Remember to connect to Songstuff and Songstuff community members on social media

Your “noobieness” will soon change. Your post numbers are creeping up!

Hi and welcome to Songstuff

I should also say, this specific board is a discussion board. It isn't a training group or workshop, or a personal blog.

Fire away. My default is that whatever I post is up for discussion, it is after all just my opinion. It is rare for me to say something is not up for discussion. Normally a rule I feel fundamental, but regarding songwriting or anything else, even if I was teaching it, I would at least try talking over the subject. I guess if it was being destructive to the learning process as I saw it, I might say something... but yet again, it is just my opinion. People listen or don't. I just know I had a point to make relating to the universe as I saw it. Said what I had to say, food for thought for others. That's about it lol

In one way it seems the obvious thing to do, in another way it seems hard to attain... like grabbing smoke. Ultimately, connecting to people is largely about understanding them, so that when you speak, you speak in a language they understand. More than that, Marketing to people is about really knowing them, and using that knowledge to communicate effectively. We we all know that the way we say something will have an effect on how people think of the subject. Marketing is about knowing our target audience well enough that we can say the right things in the right order to ensure the best chance of the result we want. People do that all the time. At home to watch the Tv program they want to when their partner wants to watch something else. When negotiating a better job or salary at work. When trying to avoid a fight with a drunk at 11pm. When talking to a Policeman who has pulled you over for driving too fast... we do it naturally. We open our mouths to speak... and we effect the world around us. Like it or not, we manipulate the world to best suit us, or those we care about. Marketing breaks that down into large chunks, and breaks those large chunks into smaller and smaller pieces. It looks at the structure, how connected and dependent different aspects are. It looks at the effects of the bits in isolation. It loos at how they work in combination. It does what we do within our own minds... except it doesn’t tend to forget. The mind is still an important part of the marketing mechanism... at least during the setup and testing phase. We apply our creativity alongside what is proven to work. Importantly, we efficiently learn. There are generally accepted principles, and common traits, but understanding is necessary,,, especially for those times we speak in a way that is focused on a niche audience. In other words, we talk to people about topics that resonate with them. We talk in a way they relate to, a way they understand,,, and we do that by conducting market research. Also known as listening. Ok, we guide them to talk on subject that interest us... but fundamentally we listen to what they say, and use that to inform us what to say to be understood. In general marketing tat may go as far asking a group what they would buy, then finding or creating that product and selling it to them, using all the reasons they told they wanted it in the first place. Some call that pushing buttons. Others call it giving them what they want. That certainly goes on within the music industry. Big time. They also try to work with those that observe and encourage trends the other way... taste makers, key influencers. The truth is, that there is nothing wrong with gathering information, to be better informed. We do that for a reason. But with great knowledge comes great power and great responsibility. It is poor ethics in what some people do with information that gives marketing such a bad name. But you are not “some people”. In the music industry, knowing your customers manifests in several ways. In can directly or indirectly influence the creation of the music itself. Regarding working with fans and potential fans, it starts with building audience profiles. Who are your fans? Who are your potential or target fans? What else do they listen to? What fashions and trends do they follow? What are their politics? Gender balance? Age balance? Income? Where do they live? How do they travel? By knowing these things we can improve our communication. Imagine for a moment we hadn’t made any music yet. We had no image. It had yet to be decided. All we have is our taste. We know we hate Smooth Jazz. We generally like heavy metal with Goth overtones. In front of us we have have two lots of fans. One lot are Goths. The other lot like polo necks, corduroy jackets and goatee beards. These are the only two types of fans. So you go and make your music, you make merch that suits your music, and you get an image make over that suits your music, and the night comes to book a venue to showcase your album. Do you: Book the Cemetary Club Book the “Smooth Jazz Club” ? Only 4 merch items were available. Keychains, black tee-shirt (can be printed with your design), pipes, slippers. You can only pick two. So which venue do you rock up in front of? What are your two Merch items? What type of music are you playing? So you picked heavy music that Goths would like, you booked the cemetary club, and decided on the Keychains and black tee (which now sports a nifty skull design). Why would you make those choices? Well you chose music that is close to the stuff you listen to. You enjoy playing. It has a natural audience, who typically like things like cemeteries... so you know what club to buy because you understand what Goths like. Same goes for picking the keychain and tee. Understanding your audience helped you pick items that your fans would likely enjoy. This isn’t rocket science. So how do you get the info you need? That is another post!

Jigsaw Sequence Jigsaw Sequence is a singer/songwriter who lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland. Never happier than when tinkering with his latest piece of audio gear, Jigsaw Sequence has decided to share his music with the world. Jigsaw Sequence has released his debut single, "Heroes". It is available on most music platforms. Read our interview with Jigsaw Sequence, and find out a little about the background to recording and releasing the single! Read More About Jigsaw Sequence

I found it greatly depends on how you grow your list in the first place. Never use any of those follower exchanges. Nightmare. The quality of followers is about as low a grade as they can be. Often users of such systems are very spammy. I had a look in order to evaluate a number of tools. If instead you have a decent targeting strategy the result is more collaborative and supportive. You can easily target fans that are likely to like what you do. Using it without strategy causes low quality, poor matches to prevail

When artists promote their own music, they need to be confident in their music, a bit pushy... but in a positive, enthusiastic way. Let their natural enthusiasm for their music, for music in general, spark and fuel the enthusiasm within others. Getting people on board is about inspiring them with a vision. Give them something to believe in. Encourage their hunger. And feed them your music. Interact with them in positive ways. Even when things are dark for them, your music should be there. You should make it accessible to them. Encourage them to reach for your music. You can do that through the music itself, but really, it is all about connections and comfort. Make new connections. Inspire them. Where there are connections, encourage them. Where there are tired connections, revitlise them. Through music, through performance, through interaction... show them there is more, and feed them. People are always trying to find what they need, and find what they want. If you give that to them, you can make a fan for your music for life. Fans will value your music, if you value your fans. You can value your fans through the music itself, through your public statements... in whatever way you can. You will hardly inspire loyalty in your fans if you don't demonstrate that the fans are important to you. There are so many ways to do that. Write a blog as an artist, as a writer. Take part in forums, in chat rooms... even if they are specifically for your existing fans. Talk to people. Personalise their experience. Make them feel like they are important to you.... and you do that by taking an interest, and actually giving a damn. They will feel important, if you actually feel they are important. If you focus on inspiring people with your music, and inspiring them with your behaviour... it will make a world of difference. If you think that is overstating the case... imagine an artist who constantly described their music as crap, their fans as disinterested, uninspired. Do you think that likely to inspire you to be a fan? Unlikely. More likely you would look elsewhere. If you can believe that you can have a negative effect on the adoption of your music, the way it is regarded... well you must also believe that by chosing to do nothing you can have the effect of not naturally destroying your listener base. It follows that if you actually convey your belief that you make good, enjoyable music... then others will pick up on it, and change their view of your music. Sometimes this can have a far bigger effect than the music itself. So neglect positivity at your peril. Give your music a chance. Inspire.

I hope so too!

Doh!

Topic tidied up to remove off-topic discussion.

Hi All I am posting it here so that you are aware of changes in our community, and your involvement in making those changes happen. Firstly, my profound apologies for letting the atmosphere of our boards deteriorate to a level where any member, especially long standing members, believe that it is okay to ignore our rules and treat each other with such disdain. Those days are gone. Those that cannot reconcile their differences with this, will not be here long. If it means we lose a few members, so be it. My bet is that we would build a far stronger community with such an approach than if we allow any problems to continue unchecked. Antagonistic or Aggressive Behaviour, Flaming, Trolling etc. The days of tolerating or enduring antagonistic or aggressive posting are over. Members will treat each other with courtesy and respect. Such aspects of behaviour are a part of our rules for good reason. Tone and attitude are important when posting. All the more so when a good atmosphere is required to encourage critique to occur. While a degree of confrontation will happen from time to time, both cause and conduct are considered in each circumstance. Rule Enforcement Once upon a time Songstuff was more heavily moderated, and members were expected to treat each other with respect. Members are still expected to treat each other with respect. That has never changed. The fact that this doesn’t always happen is unacceptable. As such, things are going to change around our community regarding rule enforcement. In a bid to be a more relaxed feeling board, rules enforcement had become too relaxed. That is my fault. For the vast majority of members of Songstuff, enforcement will not change what they do, because they by and large adhere to rules and treat each other with respect. It will however transform the atmosphere that has begun to develop in our community. As said, only a very small minority have been pushing the rules. Flaming, trolling, bullying, being aggressive or antagonistic, will all be dealt with in line with our site rules. My personal tolerance of such behaviour, the tolerance of the staff, and I believe the broader community, has come to an end. This is not just about the letter of the rules and guidelines. It is about the spirit of those rules. In other words, finding loopholes will not be an excuse for bad behaviour. Similarly, abusing the letter of the rules as a way to kick against the system will be deemed as trolling the community. Reporting If you encounter someone behaving unreasonably, abusing the systems put in place to keep this a fair and tolerant place, report the issue. While you can confront rule breakers , please do not break site rules yourself. Line In The Sand I am drawing a line in the sand right now. Should anyone decide to step across that line in the sand in future, warning points will surely follow, along with any other consequences that result from your actions, up to and including loss of privileges, moderator approval of posts, suspension and even ban. Believe me, severe breaches can take a shortcut right to a ban. By continuing to use this community, you reaffirm your acceptance of our rules and guidelines. Should our rules and guidelines not be acceptable, please inform me by PM and we can proceed accordingly. Here’s to a new day. Cheers John