Growing a fanbase can happen much quicker with authentic support and influence of the media. By borrowing an audience already eager for new music, an artist can gain hundreds, if not thousands, of new followers and ticket-buying fans.
Any time and artist comes to me for consulting, the first question I ask them is, “Why are you doing music?” More often than not, I get some existential answer like:
The only answer I never seem to get, is the one I’m actually looking for… “TO MAKE SOME G.D. MONEY!”
on Wed, 09/10/2014 - 2:08pm
We asked a panel of seasoned radio programmers and industry professionals, “How much money does it take to start pushing a single?” After a few minutes of discussion about relationships and passion, we were presently surprised to get a very honest and straightforward answer from Sonja Norwood, music consultant and mother to R&B Super-stars Brandy and Ray-J.
on Thu, 06/05/2014 - 10:37am
It’s no secret that some songs just get hammered on radio. Did anyone manage to not hear Lorde’s inescapable ‘Royals’ in the last year? And hearing Pharrell Williams’ bouncy chart hit ‘Happy’ might not make you so cheery after you’ve heard it spun the umpteenth time in an hour.
on Wed, 05/07/2014 - 8:37pm
Found this great study that breaks down how people discover new music. At first glance, you'll quickly notice that AM/FM radio dominates with 35%, but if you really study the numbers there is more to learn. Here are a couple of key points we pulled from the data.
on Thu, 03/13/2014 - 2:58pm
Everytime I personally attend a music conferences or speak on a panel I get a flood of independent artists telling me why we "need" to put them on the cover of Makin' It Magazine. While press coverage is a crucial ingredient for a successful career, how you approach media outlets will often be the differnce between your EPK turning into a front page story or ending up in the recycle bin. Here are 7 great tips every independent artist should implement for more successful media requests courtesy of @MsRivercity.
on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 8:20pm
You spend months, even years, recording material for your mixtape – don’t throw it all away with poor planning and rookie mistakes. This article mostly applies to artist mixtapes, not DJ compilations. But DJs can take some advice from this as well. Make sure to leave your opinions and additional suggestions in the comments and/or Tweet me: @MsRivercity.
on Sun, 07/15/2007 - 12:00am
Every month I find myself in a barbershop, record store, or club parking lot listening to artists complain that record labels will sign just about anybody. I hear them complaints about radio stations not playing independent music. I also hear them talk about the lack of opportunities for artists with real talent to get heard. I've listened to so many different versions of these same arguments for more than five years as an artist, a manager, a studio owner, and a consultant. These complaints were the exact reason that we put together our OnTheGrindMixtape.com. The goal of this site was to establish a level playing field where artists could submit music to DJs and A&Rs, with the best records receiving a serious promo push including placement on 5,000 Mixtapes distributed in Atlanta. Ironically, when I mentioned this program most artists would be all ears until i told them there was a $20 submission fee. I've had artists tell me everything from "You need to put me on there for free..." to "You should be paying me to submit music." I laugh it off because these are the same artists that sit around complaining about their situation, which brings me to the title of this article, "Why Wack Artists Get Deals!"