Artist Survival in 15 Steps

I attended another music business seminar at Music Industry Workshop, MIW, in Chicago, Illinois. This week’s guest speaker was Randy Chertkow, co-author of Indie Band Survival Guide. Randy led a discussion on marketing and branding, which appears to be one of today’s hottest topics in the business. Not only is Randy an adroit author, he is a gifted jazz musician and IT guy. He discussed successes via his experiences with his band, Beatnik Turtle. Beatnik Turtle has over 500 songs, which has been published via podcasts, television, and radio shows. Beatnik Turtle has been one of the very few bands to be able to release a song a day from their catalogue for a straight year. They have a website dedicated to just that, The Song of the Day.com. I think that idea is just brilliant! There aren’t many artists out there that can do that. In fact, there aren’t many artists out there that want to do that. If you know of any such artists, please place the link in the comments section below.

The precious gems I gathered from Randy were bountiful. Although the Internet is easily accessible via our fingertips, I will outline the prerequisites and essentials to an artist’s survival in 15 steps.

Step 1

The Song/Product:

An artist should establish their identity or brand via their song selections and genre of music.

Step 2

The Producer:

An artist should know when to obtain a competent producer, which can bring the best out of the artist. It doesn’t hurt to have a non-biased professional ear. Sometimes artists become too close to their own material.

Step 3

The Recording/Mix Engineer:

If an artist is a great producer, a good recording/mix engineer can optimize the song’s recording and mix. Even the best producers have their own personal recording/mix engineers who know how to aid and assist the producer’s direction of the song. Please note, this can and, perhaps, should be two different people.

Step 4

The Mastering Engineer:

Mastering is an art in itself. Don’t get a bundle of plug-ins and instantiate a mastering suite plug-in over the master buss and expect that you have mastered your album. It takes years to obtain this status. I implore you, let the masters be the masters. Read the credits of your favorite commercially released songs and utilize that mastering engineer.

Step 5

Manager:

Once an artist is ready for the public, a manager should be procured for consultations. A manager will validate the artist’s worth. Potential clients will take the artist more seriously. It also allows the artist to stay creative and out of heated negotiations.

Step 6

Booking Agent:

The agent books live shows for the artists. This is not the manager’s job, especially in the larger markets or cities. A manager will help with the consulting of the negotiations.

Step 7

Music Attorney:

An entertainment attorney will negotiate, to the best of his ability, any possible deals presented in favor of the artist’s intent.

Step 8

Publicist:

A publicist exploits the artist’s awareness via media and press. An EPK or an electronic press kit should be prepared for this stage.

Step 9

Web Designer/Webmaster:

Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are assumed denominators. However, a formal web page should be established for additional presence. In fact, all websites should link to one another. There are many free templates out there to use, but a more tailored approach should be considered.

Step 10

Graphic Designer:

Different from a web designer, a graphic artist can create logos, banners, and favicons. The GD will be able to generate vector, jpg, GIFF, TIFF, and rasterized images for different uses. Chertkow emphasized, “All images should be placed in a ‘Branding Tool Box’ for artist’s ease of accessibility and distribution to potential clients.”

Step 11

Photographer:

An artist should have a set of high-resolution photos taken. Image is everything. The graphic designer should be able to enhance and touch up the photos.

Step 12

Video Director/Editor

Mostly every single has a video shot for it. With video distribution channels such as YouTube, Vimeo, and Viddler available, a great video can enhance the positioning of an artist’s brand. A video director and editor are two different positions. Not all directors are good editors and vice-versa. Do your homework!

Step 13

Accountant:

Once an artist begins to make a decent living from his or her art, then an accountant should be sought. Keep in mind, most of us our independent contractors. This means we have to file a 1099-MISC form at the end of the year. A good entertainment accountant will be able to itemize relevant deductions.

Step 14

Marketer:

A marketer is different from the PR. A marketer will be able to position the artist or band in front of their target markets. Research should be conducted to identify which markets are intended. Good marketers will be capable of providing services for SEO and social media publicity.

Step 15

Distribution:

The artist’s product and merchandise should be available for customer’s attainment via digital distribution, websites, live shows, and brick and mortar channels.

Thank you.

Name: Ricciano Lumpkins

Gmail: rlumpkins@platworldprojx.com

Blogger Link: http://micromusicbiz.blogspot.com/

References:

Chertkow, Randy. Indie Guide. Retrieved from http://www.indieguide.com/

Music Industry Workshop. Retrieved from http://www.miworkshop.com/

The Song of the Day. Retrieved from http://thesongoftheday.com/