Comments for Independent Music Advice

Comment on The Musicians Union – Support And Advice For Artists by Shaun IMA

Shaun IMA — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:48:33 +0000

Hi Michael. My guess is you would be able to house everything under one LLC, but I’m not expert on the matter. Maybe contact a business lawyer and see what they have to say? If you find out for sure please let us know.

Comment on How To Upload Your Music To Facebook And Sell It by Shaun IMA

Shaun IMA — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:26:12 +0000

Thanks for the feedback Pedro, much appreciated!

I think I’m going to be doing a mix of written posts and video in future, depending on what I feel will suit the topic best.

I’m glad you said that about no fluff, that was exactly my aim. Watching videos where people talk for ages instead of getting to the point seems super boring for me, and makes me want to switch off.

Glad you enjoyed the video though, the next one I’m planning for you is definitely not to be missed

Comment on How To Make A Mixtape, The Ultimate Guide Part 1 by Shaun IMA

Shaun IMA — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:33:33 +0000

Hi Joe. It’s probably best to contact the maker of the mixtape and tell them you want a cut of the profits. Depending on what the mixtape maker says, you can decide how to act next.

Does the mixtape track listing mention your name for the relevant track? If so, you may want to remember that this is still promotion for you. It may lead to people looking further into you, and maybe buying your music if they like it. They bought this mixtape after all, so if you appeared well on this CD, why wouldn’t they go on to buy into you?

Comment on How To Make A Mixtape, The Ultimate Guide Part 3 by Shaun IMA

Shaun IMA — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:22:04 +0000

Thanks for the kind words. You can perform other people’s beats at an open mic, this is what’s usually happens. You’re not making any money from it, you’re just show casing your vocal ability. If a DJ is there he’d be playing a load of other people’s instrumentals anyway.

I mentioned in the article that you should start by pressing up 100 CDs just to test the water. If you think you can sell 1000, just do 100 1st and see how things go. If you sell them fast and there’s still a lot of demand for more CDs, then press up however many you feel you can shift. If you do too little, you can always press up more later. Remember, pressing up too much will mean you’re out of pocket. By pressing up too little will mean that people demand it more and buy it quick next time before it sells out again (A good thing).

Music stores is a good place to leave free CDs as it’ll get in front of people who are into music. You can see some of the best ways to market your mixtape in the Academy.

Comment on Why You Should Never Give Out Your Music For Free by Shaun IMA

Shaun IMA — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:12:44 +0000

Hi Evan, great comment! Just for the record, the author’s name is Shaun. I’m him.., hi.

I just wanted to make one thing clear: Nothing in this article is set in stone. As with everything in life, there are always exceptions to the rule. Having said that, the points I make in this article are ones that I have seen to be true the majority of the time. Of course there are going to be people who do well by giving out 100% free music and their fans buying all of their albums later, but the majority of the time it doesn’t work like this.

The way I see it, if you have people buying your music, there will be people who will be able to get it for free anyway. There are people who buy every new CD out there solely for ripping it and putting it up for download on their site. Because of this, shared with the fact that people can view your videos for free / hear your songs for free if you get them on radio etc, you don’t need to give anything out for nothing at all.

Buy asking people to re-tweet / sign up to your mailing list to get your ‘free’ song, you are filtering out the serial downloaders (Read: People that don’t ever pay for music). On top of that, you’re getting the people who are more genuinely interested in you on your list.

By all means give you music out for free if you feel the need to, but from what I’ve seen making it a mutually beneficial process works best.

Comment on The Musicians Union – Support And Advice For Artists by Michael

Michael — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:36:05 +0000

Do I need to setup a publishing company, record label and a production company? Can I have everything under one LLC?

Comment on A Preparation Guide For Your First Live Performance by Andy Chubb

Andy Chubb — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:05:06 +0000

Thank you very much for the positive feedback. Playing a gig can get the legs of even the most confident musicians shaking! I’m glad that you agree with the points made and have found it useful in some way! Keep up the great work guys!

Thanks again

Andy Chubb

Comment on How To Make A Mixtape, The Ultimate Guide Part 1 by Joe Glass

Joe Glass — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:52:29 +0000

I’ve heard my song on the radio and found out that my original composition is on someone’s mixtape? Should I be compensated for this? I know that he is selling copies of his mixtape. How can I go about getting information and how should I move forward? Thanks

Comment on How To Make A Mixtape, The Ultimate Guide Part 1 by Shaun IMA

Shaun IMA — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:27:51 +0000

Hi James. First off, you need to find beats to put your vocals on. Once you have written you vocals, you need to go to the studio and record them. Do a few songs, then put them together on a CD. Press it up professionally and release your mixtape. That’s the short version of it.

Comment on How To Upload Your Music To Facebook And Sell It by Pedro Piedade

Pedro Piedade — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:14:26 +0000

Hi,
Thanks for the video.
I prefer video. Specially like this one: to the point, no fluff!!

Thanks again

Pedro Piedade