Madalyn's Music Biz Blog

Oct 17-Nov 4 GINA for Missing Persons FOUNDation hosts a tour called The International Squeaky Wheel Tour® or SWT. For 19 days: Artists touring or playing anywhere in the world are invited to join us in profiling missing people local to their gig. Collectively this grassroots movement of artists like you have helped to profile 1000's of missing people and over 300 have been found. Many GINA Artists have taken this mission on as their own and have found that by profiling missing people their music is heard and by asking their audiences to take a missing persons flyer to post people are found and suddenly their music is worth so much more. To become a GINA Artist/SWT go to: http://www.411gina.org/ginaartists.htm#beartist

My band, Clementine headlines the tour traveling in a tour bus filming a reality TV series called FINDing Gina about a band on the road trying to find one of their members sisters.You may remember my sister Gina has been missing for 8 years. She vanished after a performance in Lincoln, NE Oct 17, 2000. She is the inspiration for all of this.

We have several openings in our schedule where we could partner with other artists or would simply love advice on good venues to play in the area. Many of our events are fund raisers as it is very expensive to make this happen. We aim for maximum press (Radio, TV, Print) wherever we go and the families of the missing join us in order to gain exposure for their missing loved ones.

If you have a venue that you think would be interested and/or you want to join us in the cause or you just want us to crash your gig please email me directly. Clemstreet@aol.com.

San Fran Oct 18 ( we have 2 venue's that are maybe's here nothing confirmed)
Sacramento or Reno Oct 20 ( we have a nonprofit working with us here)
Colorado Oct 22 ( we have a couple of possible venue's here nothing confirmed)
Chicago or Madison, WI Oct 28 ( we have a nonprofit and one artist here)
Nov 5-6 in Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas or Oklahoma. ( we have several venues contacted nothing confirmed)
Nov 9 Amarillo ( we have a nonprofit supporting us here)
Nov 10 Sante Fe or Phoenix ( have a nonprofit and support here)
Nov 11 Las Vegas ( have a nonprofit and some artists here)
Nov 12 Los Angeles (lots of GINA Artist support here)
We web cast all events where high speed Internet is available.
We have several national TV shows filming us on select days during SWT.

Keep the light on...

Jannel Rap
Join The Squeaky Wheel Tour® Oct 17-Nov 4
http://www.411gina.org/
In honor of Gina Bos missing since Oct. 17, 2000
Clementine Tours US for 19 days www.myspace.com/clementinelive
YouTube - FINDING GINA 'To Connect"

Labels: GINA for Missing Persons

BMI has announced that it earned more than $901 million in revenues for its 2008 fiscal year, including its subsidiary Landmark Digital Services™, LLC. This is the first time any copyright organization has topped the $900 million mark for music performance revenues, and represents a 7.2% percent increase from the previous fiscal year. BMI also set a historic high in royalty distributions, and will disperse more than $786 million to the songwriters, composers and copyright owners it represents, an 8% percent increase over the prior fiscal year. With more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publisher affiliates, BMI is the world’s largest music copyright organization.

Both figures represent milestones in royalty collection and distribution for the public performance of music. BMI President & CEO Del Bryant said, “BMI has been extraordinarily successful in signing the brightest and most popular new music creators across all genres, building upon a repertoire that already includes the most beloved songs of America’s legendary songwriters and composers.” Bryant pointed out that BMI has consistently embraced new media businesses that use music, and developed innovative licensing solutions to permit these companies to reach new audiences, while assuring that creators and copyright owners are fairly compensated. “Our pro-technology and pro-business attitude has made it possible for BMI to continue to grow our revenues more than 7% each year, on average over the past 10 years, almost doubling our income in that period,” said Bryant.

BMI generated an impressive $664 million in domestic licensing income, an increase of 8% or $51 million over the prior year. BMI’s leadership in licensing the explosive growth of music in cable, satellite radio and satellite television brought in revenues of more than $208 million, accounting for more than 23% of the company’s consolidated revenue. Traditional broadcast radio and television accounted for $340 million, or about 38% of revenue. Growth in revenues from the performance of music in retail and service establishments, including restaurants, bars and the hospitality industry, increased to a total of $97 million, accounting for approximately 11% of BMI’s revenue. BMI’s New Media revenues increased to a total of $15 million. Thanks to growth in the mobile, social networking and website categories, BMI now licenses more than 6,500 digital media properties, an increase of more than 50% over the prior year. International revenues were also an especially bright spot, accounting for $238 million, or more than 26% of BMI’s revenues.

During the year, BMI extended its eCommerce initiatives, significantly enhancing its business-to-business tools for songwriters, composers, and copyright owners, as well as its licensing customers. BMI added almost 30,000 new songwriters and composers to its rolls, with the vast majority joining online. The company launched new tools permitting licensees to initiate and renew contracts, report music use and pay license fees online. BMI also dramatically increased its royalty-processing infrastructure to handle the explosion of music reporting from its many digital licensees, processing more than nine billion feature audio performances during the year. The strategic use of technology in all of these initiatives permitted BMI to grow its business while lowering overhead to 11.7%, the lowest in the company’s history.

BMI’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. BMI’s consolidated financial information includes Landmark Digital Services™, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary. Landmark provides advanced audio-recognition products and services to BMI, as well as third-party clients, including content providers, copyright owners and consumers of music and digital entertainment.

Learn what you need to know about the PRO's!

How To Choose The Right P.R.O. (Performing Rights Organization) For You

by Madalyn Sklar

How do you go about choosing the right PRO for you? Well it takes some research and maybe a phone call or two. Word of mouth doesn't hurt. This e-Book is simply a guide to help you decipher the information before making a decision on which to join.

Order online at http://www.gogirlsmusicstore.com/

Labels: bmi, performing rights

CDs – DVDs – T-SHIRTS - PROMO
Madalyn Sklar at IndieMusicCoach & GoGirlsMusic.com recommends her friends at Crystal Clear Disc, Promo, and Apparel for your CD/DVD replication, T-shirt/apparel, and other music promotional needs. Serving the regional and national independent and major label music industry for over 35 years, Crystal Clear has grown to become one of the largest, most experienced and respected replication and music promotional products companies anywhere in the country. Visit them on the web at http://www.crystalclearcds.com or contact the head of Crystal Clear, Jim Cocke directly at 800-880-0073, ext 114 or jim@crystalclearcds.com. Be sure to let Jim know you were referred by Madalyn Sklar for great discounts and special offers!

Labels: cd manufacturing, Crystal Clear

by Madalyn Sklar

Sometimes we miss out on great opportunities because we think we know how something will turn out when really we are way off base. Keeping an open mind, going with the flow can do wonders.

That leads me to tell this story.

So it goes like this... on Saturday I was scheduled to be interviewed "live" on Paradize Radio. I was looking forward to it. It's always a great ego boost doing interviews and this was my second one for the week. I was on a roll! They asked if I would stay on for their 3 hour radio show. I'm thinking 3 hours, I don't think so! I had things to do but knew I could offer an hour of my time to do this. And I knew they would be playing tons of music but thought to myself, am I going to be bored while the songs are playing? Are they going to talk to me or will I stay busy surfing the web?

Oh was I wrong!

The lovely ladies, DJ Kathy and DJ Sexy, did such a great job interviewing me but really it was off air where we were having a blast. We talked and talked and talked. We bonded. We came up with partnership ideas. We laughed. We told stories. We watched Hurricane Gustav makes its way in the Gulf. We harassed one of our GoGirls members via text messaging to tune in if she wanted to hear her song played on the air. This just went on and on. So I decided to stay on for a second hour. They were thrilled. I was too.

So don't always think you know how something will turn out because you could be wrong. This turned into a great experience for me. I ended up with two cool new friends who rock AND I have a new Internet radio partner for GoGirls. DJ Kathy even announced on the air that she wants to get a GoGirls tattoo!

Opportunity. It's everywhere. Keep your mind and eyes wide open!

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Labels: internet radio, Paradize Radio

ConcertsInYourHome.com adds “how-to” videos to help artists promote house concert performances to their fans.

My friend Fran Snyder at ConcertsInYourHome.com has put together a really cool video that I wanted to pass along today. And check out his site at http://concertsinyourhome.com/.

Have a GREAT holiday weekend!
Madalyn Sklar

Labels: house concerts

By Monika Herzig

Madalyn's Note: I have enlisted a few writers from our GoGirlsMusic.com community to assist me from time to time with service and product reviews. Here is the first of many. Enjoy!

Copyrights and Copywrongs is the title of a very interesting book by Siva Vaidhyanathan published in 2001. Siva takes issue with the rise of copyright enforcement and how it threatens to strangle creativity. His argument is for a future of “thin” copyright that allows creators to receive an incentive of their work but also the consumers to take advantage of the rich knowledge pool for enrichment and development. While we do need some revisions of copyright law to adapt to the digital age, copyright is here to stay. The constitution includes a copyright clause, the foundation of all copyright legislation: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Such intentions are noble and many authors and inventors have greatly benefitted from the exclusive rights guaranteed to them and contributed to the progress of mankind. At the moment of creation of a new work of art, such as a song, a picture, an essay, or a film, the creator owns the copyright. That seems simple enough, but what happens if someone uses the work of art without acknowledging the creator and getting necessary licenses? Well, usually there’ll be a friendly reminder about doing just that and if the infringer doesn’t comply, litigation becomes necessary. The court will evaluate the resemblance of the infringer’s product to the original, possible access of the infringer to the product in question, and compare dates of creation. If all factors are in favor of the litigating creator, the court will demand to see the official copyright registration certificate of the work. Well, it would be a shame and a difficult process if after all these legal costs and transactions that certificate couldn’t be produced in order to get final judgment and due reward.

Provemycopyright.com is a website administered in Sweden and set up as an alternative to the costly and lengthy process of copyright registration with the US copyright office. The process is simple. The user buys an account for $99 per year with one gigabyte of space and loads up any creations – music files, photographs, essays, etc. Every time a file is uploaded, an automatic watermarking system is activated and the user will receive a certificate with a time registration. Such a certificate can be most useful in proving the time of creation for copyright disputes. Considering that each registration with the copyright office costs $45 for paper registration and $35 for online registration, the process can become very costly for artists with large output. Provemycopyright.com seems like an efficient and money saving alternative. For example, a photographer might get inspired and fill up the memory of her digital camera with hundreds of photos. Many of them seem worth keeping and show potential for further use. A quick upload to provemycopyright.com doesn’t cost a penny besides the initial $99 account fee, but a registration with the US Copyright would get very costly and take 3 – 4 months. Remember it’s $45 per registration and a form needs to be filled out every time. For similar scenarios involving large numbers of art pieces, provemycopyright.com seems an ideal solution for quick registration and storage.

Provemycopyright.com is a useful tool to store pieces, get time stamps, keep track of creation dates, and provide a legal basis for protection. Especially for artists with large output this can be a great tool to document their output. Such time certificates will also support a dispute with infringers and can help settle cases without costly litigation. But please do register your most valuable work with the US Copyright office in addition as the certificate will be essential proof in case of actual litigation in court.

Copyright © 2008 Monika Herzig, http://www.monikaherzig.com/

Monika Herzig is a jazz pianist/ recording artist for Owl Studios and a full-time member of the Arts Administration Faculty at Indiana University. She has performed at many prestigious jazz clubs and festivals, such as the Indy Jazz Fest, Cleveland’s Nighttown, Louisville’s Jazz Factory, the W.C.Handy Festival, Jazz in July in Bloomington and Cincinnati, Columbus’ Jazz & Rib Fest, to name just a few. Groups under her leadership have toured Germany and Italy, opened for acts such as Tower of Power, Sting, the Dixie Dregs, Yes, and more. More info is available at http://www.blogger.com/www.monikaherzig.com. Her most recent releases are available at owlstudios.com. Thomas Garner from Garageradio.com writes about "What Have You Gone and Done?, her most recent release: "I was totally awed by the fine musicianship throughout".

Labels: copyrights, ProveMyCopyright.com

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." -- Marie Curie

I know life is not easy but you have to look past your issues and problems and look at yourself in a new light. Confidence is a MUST in the music business! Believe in yourself and others will believe in you. Yes, it's true! Tell yourself every day that you are incredibly awesome, incredibly gifted. If you feel you are not, ask yourself why. Write it down. Find ways to overcome it. Read motivational books, newsletters, blogs. Rise above because you my friend are amazing.

This motivational moment was brought to you by Madalyn Sklar. ;-)

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com for more info.

Labels: motivation

by Madalyn Sklar

I know, you are busy working your Myspace and Facebook pages. And trying to keep up with your calendar on your web site, Myspace and Sonicbids has turned into a pain in the ass. And you are saying to yourself why do I need Twitter too? I'm here to say WHY NOT?

I've been writing about Twitter for awhile here on my blog. It's an incredibly great tool you should add to your internet marketing arsenal, if you haven't done so already.

In simple terms, Twitter is a microblog of up to 140 characters. That means what you type is short and to the point. No long winded posts about why you think Myspace sucks or how to get a great gig. No, that is for your regular blog. Because your Tweets (as it's called) have to be short many people use it to link to sites, full blog posts, etc. There is so much you can do with it!

Yesterday I came across a really great blog post on Why Musicians Should Jump on the Twitter Bandwagon. They point out that Twitter is not just for techie geeks anymore. It's ideal for DIY musicians and I couldn't agree more! Check out the article for great ideas on how to use Twitter to promote you and your music.

Here are my Twitter pages:
http://twitter.com/madalynsklar - it's my blogger/social networks/music page

http://twitter.com/gogirlsmusic - this is my gogirls music page

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com for more info.

Labels: twitter

by Madalyn Sklar

I love attending music conferences. There are so many good ones out there. Hyperfest is one of my favorites and for only being around three years I find it worth taking note. It's in Albuquerque, NM where it's hot and dry. But aside from that it's FUN!

Executive Director Allison Shaw and Festival Director Jenny Gamble have a great vision of bringing together both great live music and fascinating music industry professionals to participate on panels. It's a win/win.

I was busy Twittering at the Touring panel on Saturday. Here are some of the remarks...

"If you don't ask it won't happen" when trying to get opportunities says Ryan Cano of The Loyalty Firm

"Don't play too much in your own backyard." Tom Frouge, Globalquerque

"You have to get a street team everywhere." Jenny McPhee, TKO Booking

"Become friends with your audience." Chris J, Army of Freshmen

"The best bands are at the merch table talking to their fans." Jenny McPhee, TKO Booking

I moderated the Press Kits panel next which was made up of local print papers as well as a local DJ and my new techie friend Catfish. After that was the panel on 360 deals headed up by my friend, entertainment attorney Ken Abdo. A little later was the producers panel led by my friend Robert Case of New Pants Publishing. I had to miss it because I was off doing my Social Networks for Musicians Workshop, which rocked by the way!

And the music was great!! It was everywhere. All you had to do was walk from venue to venue.

Check out more on Hyperfest at http://www.hyperfestival.com.

If you want to see all my pics from Hyperfest3 go to http://tinyurl.com/5cw2bg.





Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com for more info.

Labels: Albuquerque, conference, festival, hyperactive music, NM

I'll be out of the office now through the weekend at the 3rd annual Hyperactive Music Conference + Festival in Albuquerque, NM. Check it out at http://www.hyperfestival.com. I'm moderating the press kits panel, running a speed networking event and hosting a Social Networks for Musicians workshop. If you are in the area, track me down!

I'll be Twittering "live" from the event so follow along at http://twitter.com/gogirlsmusic.

Rock on,
Madalyn Sklar

Labels: Albuquerque, hyperactive music festival conference

by Madalyn Sklar

I know, I know... there are so many darn social networks sites out in the web universe. Some are really cool and fun while others... well suck. I'm here to tell you that I have been playing with and really enjoying Stereofame. It's different from many others you have probably run into.

Here is a bit about Stereofame:

Sterofame.com is an online game of "Virtual Record Labels". The object of the game is to get as many points as you can so you can cash them in on great rewards.

Bands get points when a listener visits their profile or listens to a song, and can earn additional points each time their song gets a thumbs up vote.

Fans get into the game by listening to music and creating Record Labels.
Each Label earns points based on the popularity of each artist they've signed. When an artist or song gets a thumbs up it benefits the label. Also, Labels earn more points for being the first to sign a band, and extra points if an artist gets a lot of attention during a small period of time.

Check out my page at http://www.stereofame.com/gogirls and let me know what you think. I'ved been racking up points by signing artists to my "virtual label". I can then redeem points for cool prizes like gift cards, iPods, etc. For artists I think it's a great way to gain exposure for your music. And you too get points that can get redeemed for prizes. They have cool widgets you can post on your web sites too. It's worth checking out!

And to get you jump started, I've been authorized to get you 1000 bonus points just for signing up. Yeah cool I know! Just click here to get started.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I'd love your feedback!

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Labels: social networks, Stereofame

by Madalyn Sklar



I was just reading an interesting article The LA Times put out today, Record labels seek more action on Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Greed is green here. The labels want to line their pockets at the artist and gaming industry's expense of course. Nothing new, I know. Because of the widely success of these popular games should their manufacturers bow down to the major labels? Well unfortunately they have to if they want the music. But like Susan Kevorkian's quote below, the labels should get proactive rather than play victim. As we all know the real victim here is the artist! Yet another reason to NOT sign your music away.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Here are a couple of quotes from the article that should rile your up...

Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman and chief executive of Warner Music Group, recently grumbled that the record labels deserved a bigger piece of the spoils from the games' success.

The game publishers pay the record labels about $10,000 for the rights to re-record a song and up to about $25,000 for master recordings by the original artist or new releases, according to executives close to the negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms are confidential.

But IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said the "major music labels need to reposition themselves as proactive players in developing digital music businesses rather than victims. They have a lot of power." Not as much as they once had. The games have moved from niche to phenomenon, and musicians want in.

Post a comment with your two cents on this. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Labels: gaming, greed, major labels

by Madalyn Sklar

I've been on the Social Networks bandwagon for sometime now. I can't help it, I'm a techie geek. I love new technologies. I get it. It make sense to me.

It's so cool how my two business worlds have collided by being a techie in the music business. On the flip side I find it interesting that there are plenty of music biz professionals out there who seem to think they get the techie stuff. Many don't. You can't just read about it and decide you're an expert. You have to do it, live it and teach it. And for a good while, no doubt.

So let's discuss my favorite social networks for musicians and why.

Myspace:

I have been a big fan of Myspace since early 2005. I will admit it was much easier to use up until earlier this year. Seems people have really bogged it down with their image heavy pages. Some take forever to load with their backgrounds, photos, videos, etc. I have been an internet marketer and web site developer since 1996 and I have to say download time on a homepage is critical. It can make or break a site. We live in a "hurry up and give it to me now" age. We don't have time to wait 45 seconds for a page to load. You have seconds to make a lasting impression. Sad but true.

What's so great about Myspace today? Well it's still a valuable site to gain new fans who will come to your shows and buy your music. Fans who will become your street team members, advocating your music. Like any social network, it doesn't work unless you work it. You have to spend consistent time on it.

Check out my Myspace pages:
http://www.myspace.com/gogirls
http://www.myspace.com/indiemusiccoach

Facebook:

I will admit that like most of you it took me awhile to like Facebook. We all got comfortable with Myspace so when we tried messing with Facebook it was so different. So confusing. But I soon found that I could have a really great presence on Facebook with little effort. How? They provide some great applications that shortcut things for you. I could set up Notes to automatically import my blog posts. Every time I blog it shows up on my Facebook page. Awesome I know! I also set up my Flickr photos to do the same as well as my Twitter posts. I then added ReverbNation's music application. And the mobile photo upload feature is great. I can take a picture with my iPhone (or any camera phone) and email it right to my Facebook page. Only takes seconds! I figured out so much that I recently put together a FREE "Facebook Marketing Tips for Musicians" e-Course at http://www.socialnetworksformusicians.com/. I would love for you to enroll in my free course and then let me know what you think.

Check out my Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=696545329

Twitter:

This is a techie favorite. It's taking longer for musicians to embrace Twitter but it's slowly happening. I think the biggest problem is that musicians are saying, "do I have to join ANOTHER site??" Um, no you don't... just the ones that matter is what I say. And you know what, this one matters in my opinion. Twitter is micro-blogging, plain and simple. You can only type up to 140 characters so you have to be concise. I love that! I've watched musicians use Twitter to let their friends and fans know what they are up to whether it's busy recording in the studio, being out on tour or just sharing a bit of their everyday life. What I love about Twitter is that it's a great resource for news and information. So many people are using it to share articles, blog posts, etc. And like Facebook I can email photos from my iPhone using Twitpic. Last night I was at the Melissa Etheridge concert here in Houston and Twittered photos in real-time. It's super cool and easy to do.

Check out my Twitter pages:
http://twitter.com/gogirlsmusic
http://twitter.com/madalynsklar

I recently polled our GoGirls Elite members, asking them what was their favorite social network and why. Interestingly one member said it was GoGirlsMusic.com. Funny how I started an online community for women in music 12 years ago not realizing that I had created a social network. There just wasn't a name for it then other than online community.

Here's some interesting responses to my poll:

"I thought I’d let you know about this new place I found called Reverb Nation. It seems a lot friendlier to musicians as far as downloads and such, plus it’s got this cool feature called widgets that they give to you and you can inbed in all your other pages (websites, myspace, etc) to make navigation and updating a whole lot easier. I’ve only just started using it but I can see a lot of potential for a non-geek like myself to be a little more in control of a my geek pages." -- Lojo Russo, http://www.lojorusso.com

"i am really loving facebook right now. i jumped into it a few weeks ago and every time i use it, i'm kicking myself for not joining sooner. why? lots of reasons, but for now, here's the top 3: unlimited photos; i can connect it to my blogs in the "notes" section, which saves a lot of time and work; the fans can interact with me and with each other, and that's especially cool. myspace is too massive to ignore and i'm updating there regularly but facebook feels like the next wave." -- Queen Esther, http://www.queen-esther.com

"MySpace continues to be my favorite social network because I've worked out a system that works for me. When it comes to networking with bands, industry people, venues and building relationships with potential new fans, MySpace is still #1 with me. Sean, my drummer, is our Facebook guy and he loves Facebook because it is easier to add friends and the ability to use applications that import your blog, schedule, etc. make it lower maintenance than MySpace. I'm just not sold on the rewards of Facebook in comparison to MySpace." -- Tish Meeks, http://www.3kisses.com/

Post a comment and tell me what are your favorite social networks and why.

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Labels: Facebook, flickr, myspace, ReverbNation, social networks, twitter

Reposted from 6-26-07. Yes, this article was so good the first time around that it's worth sharing again!



House concerts have become quite the rage for indie artists looking to increase their income. What's so great about it? Imagine playing in an intimate setting where people really want to hear you and experience your music. Not some noisy bar laden with loud drunks.

I have put together a list of links that you will find useful in your quest to learn more about this cool way to build your fanbase, sell more CDs and earn more $.

Concerts in your Home - the most comprehensive and up-to-date house concert site on the web
HouseConcerts.com - great list of venues across the U.S. to check out
House Concerts - great info on how to put on your own house concert
FolkMusic.org - lists house concert venues across the U.S.
The Complete Guide to House Concerts - interesting book on the subject, available at Amazon
House Concerts - a great how-to guide online
House Concerts FAQs - another great how-to guide
Article: Acoustic Music, Live From the Living Room - great article!
Article: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, The Joys and challenges of playing house concerts - another good article
Article: House Concerts - Promoting Music & Freedom of Speech - interesting article addressing the legal aspects of hosting a house concert

This is just the tip of the iceberg on the subject. I hope you find the information useful. Send me your comments and two cents on this. Any links that should get added? Let me know!

Copyright © 2007 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Labels: house concerts

by Madalyn Sklar



I get asked this all the time by indie artists... "How do I find a manager?" or "Do you know any good managers?"

There is no simple answer to this to question because it really boils down to several things.

1. It's who you know baby
That's right. This is a relationship business so you have to get out there and network. I always suggest doing this at music conferences, events, workshops, etc. People know people. People like to help people they like. BE LIKEABLE! And just because you meet someone who runs a music organization promoting women in music (yeah that would be me) so you automatically think she can't help you I guarantee you she knows more influential people in the biz than you give her credit for. I can't tell you how many guy bands are afraid to chat with me because they automatically assume (keyword ASSume) I cannot do anything for them. Don't fall into that. Make it a goal to increase your music business contacts. Turn everything into an opportunity.

2. You think you rock? So does every other band!
What sets you apart from other artists and bands? Here's the thing. You don't just hire a manager. You can't just call up a good, reputable manager and say, "hey we are the bomb and you need to manage us." Sorry that is not how it works. It's like a label, the good ones will come to you. If you are generating a great buzz, selling lots of music (CDs, digital downloads, etc) and selling out your shows, they will hear about it and get in touch. The problem I see is everyone is impatient. They want their success and they want it now. They want a manager right now. They want a booking agent right now. Slow down! Focus on making incredibly great music. Focus on putting on a kickass show. Create a buzz. Network. Those are the keys.

Okay so back to finding a manager. A good one no doubt. Ask around. Ask your music business friends. Ask you musician friends. Read music business message boards. Attend music business social gathering and events. Bring business cards and CDs. NETWORK!

From there you build relationships. Nothing happens overnight. Don't get your hopes up too high. Just be realistic.

I found a few articles on this subject you may find helpful:

How to find a manager
http://www.musicmanagersforum.co.uk/findamanager

How to Find a Manager, and What You Need to Know Before Contacting Management
http://tinyurl.com/6b8u5a

TAXI articles on management
http://www.taxi.com/faq/mgmnt/

Send me your comments. I would love to hear what you have to say on this subject!

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She founded IndieMusicCoach and has spent over 12 years working with a wide range of independent musicians all over the world. Her goal is to help indie artists achieve greater success in the music business by working smarter not harder. She is also the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians, with a vision of bringing together and empowering musicians from around the world.

Madalyn is available for one-on-one consulting and coaching at affordable prices. Check out http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/ for more info.

Labels: music business management