I feel the need to write all of this down in order to keep track of it.
I have 3 facebook pages. 1 personal, 1 musician and 1 for my drum lesson business
I have two myspace pages. 1 personal, 1 business/musician related
I have my own website and domain.
Who sees these pages? Almost no one that I want to view it. How can I promote outside my close network and break into the unknown, the people that need drum lessons? Start posting ads everywhere - not spending money though. I will go to local lesson studios and apply for jobs. Place ads on craigslist for drum lessons.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Brian Casey from In the Groove
Brian Casey is a writer for ITG music which is based in Minneapolis. Most of his work is writing music for t.v. ads. Although the job seems cool, it would not be for me. I feel that if I were to write that much, I wouldn't have any creativity left for my projects or students. But I did benefit from this because I realized anything that I write, I could submit to these libraries. It is a great way to potentially earn money with out spending a whole lot of work or time.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Evan Barshack's financial presentation
Evan came into my Creating a life in music class at McNally a few weeks ago. He spoke about Investing and retirement. Here are the main points I got from it.
-When you are younger, you can take more risks. Equities, growthfunds.
-When older, shift to safe investing - Bonds and securities.
-Mutual funds. Investing in multiple companies, safer because if one company goes under, you are still invested with other companies.
-IRA (individual retirement account). Traditional vs Roth.
-Start a retirement fund ASAP. The sooner the better. Use the compound interest to your advantage. The longer you invest-the more money you make.
-Hardest investing principle- Buy all the way down. Keep buying even when the market is going down. If you look at the overall shape of the economy over many years IT ALWAYS GOES UP.
-LLC vs Liability insurance. LLC's good for over 100k salaries. Insurance is cheaper (just Evan's opinion, many would argue).
-When you are younger, you can take more risks. Equities, growthfunds.
-When older, shift to safe investing - Bonds and securities.
-Mutual funds. Investing in multiple companies, safer because if one company goes under, you are still invested with other companies.
-IRA (individual retirement account). Traditional vs Roth.
-Start a retirement fund ASAP. The sooner the better. Use the compound interest to your advantage. The longer you invest-the more money you make.
-Hardest investing principle- Buy all the way down. Keep buying even when the market is going down. If you look at the overall shape of the economy over many years IT ALWAYS GOES UP.
-LLC vs Liability insurance. LLC's good for over 100k salaries. Insurance is cheaper (just Evan's opinion, many would argue).
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Kareem's Social Media Presentation
I was able to come away with a few important key notes from Kareem's presentation.
1 - Myspace is not dead. Google usually has myspace in a very high rank in searches. Almost always on the first page. Having a myspace is important for getting exposure.
2 - Use social media for fan interaction and input. Don't just have fans on twitter and myspace, but have them give input and offer discounts and free stuff from your twitter to generate interest.
3 - Google analytics. Having more links to your sites will give you a higher ranking on google searches.
4 - Reserve your name on many websites. Getting your name saved on different sites will stop others from using your name and potentially damaging your online image. You can use namechk.com to see the availability of your name on a ton of different sites.
1 - Myspace is not dead. Google usually has myspace in a very high rank in searches. Almost always on the first page. Having a myspace is important for getting exposure.
2 - Use social media for fan interaction and input. Don't just have fans on twitter and myspace, but have them give input and offer discounts and free stuff from your twitter to generate interest.
3 - Google analytics. Having more links to your sites will give you a higher ranking on google searches.
4 - Reserve your name on many websites. Getting your name saved on different sites will stop others from using your name and potentially damaging your online image. You can use namechk.com to see the availability of your name on a ton of different sites.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Bunko & Art and Fear
The book Art and Fear is about how art, artists and fear all get along. There are many bold statements in this text
-Art has evolved through centuries and the function of art has changed.
Caveman who made art, were not trying to make art but were perhaps depicting a scene they had experienced. Lots of emotion is put into art (sometimes), either the artist or audience feels a certain way about a specific piece of art.
-People who made art weren't trying to make art.
What is art again? All up to the individual.
- Complete your art.
Even if you don't like it, being able to finish ideas is a great skill when you come across good ideas.
- Talent vs. hard work/perseverance.
With hard work comes talent. I think a steady mix of both sides would be the best bet to getting work. People with all one side will either be bad performers or be talented but be performing in their mom's basement.
Johnny Bunko is a book about a fellow who is unhappy with his career choice but meets a magical "all knowing" Diana. She tells him 6 important things to keep in mind.
-There is no plan
-Think strengths not weaknesses
-Its not about you
-Persistence trumps talent
-Make excellent mistakes
-Leave an imprint
I think all these ideas are good in theory but could be taken horribly wrong. The idea that there is no plan can be depressing, but you have to make your own goals and get after what you want. It wont be handed to you and life can change crazy turns in a moments notice. Knowing your strengths is good, but I think working on your weaknesses is a good way to balance out your skills. Persistences trumps talents....maybe in some cases but talent is required for musical performance. Making mistakes is good for practice rooms. Thats what they are good for. Making a mistake on stage or in the studio can be the end of a job in some situations. Leave an imprint. Stand out from the rest of the pack. Sean McPherson talked about this. Do the extra thing- lend a hand at all times, be kind, go the extra yard to put yourself above others. This may be the best way to get "in" with folks. People meet lots of people but leaving that extra impression will make sure they REMEMBER you.
-Art has evolved through centuries and the function of art has changed.
Caveman who made art, were not trying to make art but were perhaps depicting a scene they had experienced. Lots of emotion is put into art (sometimes), either the artist or audience feels a certain way about a specific piece of art.
-People who made art weren't trying to make art.
What is art again? All up to the individual.
- Complete your art.
Even if you don't like it, being able to finish ideas is a great skill when you come across good ideas.
- Talent vs. hard work/perseverance.
With hard work comes talent. I think a steady mix of both sides would be the best bet to getting work. People with all one side will either be bad performers or be talented but be performing in their mom's basement.
Johnny Bunko is a book about a fellow who is unhappy with his career choice but meets a magical "all knowing" Diana. She tells him 6 important things to keep in mind.
-There is no plan
-Think strengths not weaknesses
-Its not about you
-Persistence trumps talent
-Make excellent mistakes
-Leave an imprint
I think all these ideas are good in theory but could be taken horribly wrong. The idea that there is no plan can be depressing, but you have to make your own goals and get after what you want. It wont be handed to you and life can change crazy turns in a moments notice. Knowing your strengths is good, but I think working on your weaknesses is a good way to balance out your skills. Persistences trumps talents....maybe in some cases but talent is required for musical performance. Making mistakes is good for practice rooms. Thats what they are good for. Making a mistake on stage or in the studio can be the end of a job in some situations. Leave an imprint. Stand out from the rest of the pack. Sean McPherson talked about this. Do the extra thing- lend a hand at all times, be kind, go the extra yard to put yourself above others. This may be the best way to get "in" with folks. People meet lots of people but leaving that extra impression will make sure they REMEMBER you.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Dessa Darling
Unfortunately I missed Dessa in class, but I have read about her in other blogs and websites.
Here is what I've gathered so far.
Get yourself or your band in media - magazines, radio, TV...etc. When doing this be very easy to work with - send in already written articles, the correct style of picture, b&w or color? Contact the editors in local papers like City Pages, Vitamin with your submission. With very good writing, you will be much easier to publish than the other thousands of submissions these editors get.
Being a jack of all trades can be very helpful to getting jobs. I could definitely utilize this more. I believe I am a decent writer but I am also a photographer. Artists and bands are always looking for band pics this would be a great way to meet people and run into people who are might also be looking for a drummer.
I am seeing a pattern with local musicians.
-Become friends with many fellow musicians
-Be a jack of all or many trades
-Get exposure
Here is what I've gathered so far.
Get yourself or your band in media - magazines, radio, TV...etc. When doing this be very easy to work with - send in already written articles, the correct style of picture, b&w or color? Contact the editors in local papers like City Pages, Vitamin with your submission. With very good writing, you will be much easier to publish than the other thousands of submissions these editors get.
Being a jack of all trades can be very helpful to getting jobs. I could definitely utilize this more. I believe I am a decent writer but I am also a photographer. Artists and bands are always looking for band pics this would be a great way to meet people and run into people who are might also be looking for a drummer.
I am seeing a pattern with local musicians.
-Become friends with many fellow musicians
-Be a jack of all or many trades
-Get exposure
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sean McPherson @ McNally
Sean recently visited my Creating a life in music class at school. He is very experienced in the music business and music scene.
The most imported things I learned were -
-Communication. Communicating about money, participation, all band activities is very important to do. It is best to talk about these things before you don't get paid or feel like you got ripped off. I've had this happen to me before in the past and I've learned my lesson from it. Another part of communication is being honest - sounds like something a marriage councilor would say but it is true. If you can speak your feelings to fellow band members chances are you will have a better outcome and feel better about it.
-Reputation. Your rep can be the difference between a gig and no gig. Being reliable is a huge thing is this business because it is so competitive that if you aren't reliable- the person with the money can easily find someone else who can get the job done.
-Networking....yes we all hate the word but its true. It's all about who you know....I don't need to say more on this as its been covered over and over again
The most imported things I learned were -
-Communication. Communicating about money, participation, all band activities is very important to do. It is best to talk about these things before you don't get paid or feel like you got ripped off. I've had this happen to me before in the past and I've learned my lesson from it. Another part of communication is being honest - sounds like something a marriage councilor would say but it is true. If you can speak your feelings to fellow band members chances are you will have a better outcome and feel better about it.
-Reputation. Your rep can be the difference between a gig and no gig. Being reliable is a huge thing is this business because it is so competitive that if you aren't reliable- the person with the money can easily find someone else who can get the job done.
-Networking....yes we all hate the word but its true. It's all about who you know....I don't need to say more on this as its been covered over and over again
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