December 8th, 2007

Royalty Free Music from RoyaltyFreeMusic.com and More about "Making It" in the Music Industry!

We've been continuing to roll out tips about how you can start a career in making music in every genre, style and of every type - whether background music, stock music, or simply music that broadcasts and is known throughout the world. Mike Bielenberg, composer of royalty free music and stock music talked to Derek Sivers, the founder of the successful music Web site, CDBaby and got a huge number of useful tips about how to really make music that gets heard. If you want to catch up on the conversation so far, visit the royalty free music news archives and start with installments one through four.

Many artists and musicians combine to create the stock music in our royalty free music and background music library of over 10,000 tracks of original music. These talented people are real, working musicians with collective experience in the 20's of years in the music industry. Many have enjoyed successful careers in multiple genres of background music, stock music and royalty free music. They have enjoyed successful careers in a variety of genres and continue to create new and innovative works of the best royalty free music found on the market. This means you and other professionals get just what you need to finish important projects in need of the best background music and stock music.

How much experience do you have making background music, stock music or any other type of music? Your level of experience really doesn't matter. No matter who you are - as you probably could guess - getting your name out there and being "seen" by the right people in the music industry (and in the music-listening community) is of the utmost important. Here we present three additional tips from Derek Sivers - in his own words - about getting yourself heard by fans, producers and others that will be integral to the success of your career.

1. "Grab People's Attention, Senses and Emotions"

TOUCH AS MANY OF THEIR SENSES AS YOU CAN.

The more senses you touch in someone, the more they'll remember you.

BEST: a live show, with you sweating right on top of someone, the PA system pounding their chest, the smell of the smoky club, the flashing lights and live-in-person performance.

WORST: an e-mail, a single Web page, a review in a magazine with no photo.

(Let's say that "emotions" are one of the senses.)

Whenever possible, try to reach as many senses as possible. Have an amazing photo of yourself or your band, and convince every reviewer to put that photo next to the review of your album.

Send videos with your presskit. Play live shows often. Understand the power of radio to make people hear your music instead of just hearing about it.

Get onto any TV shows you can. Scent your album with patchouli oil. Make your songs and productions truly emotional instead of merely catchy.

(Touching their emotions is like touching their body. If you do it, you'll be remembered.)

NEVER USE CORPORATE-SPEAK

Don't try to sound pro or use industry catch phrases.

Would you do that to a friend?

Your fans are your friends. Speak to them like real people.

Write every letter or email as if it were to a good friend. From you to your best friend Beth … even if it's going out to 10,000 people.

LEAVE 'EM WANTING MORE

What's more appealing? Someone holding a carrot in front of your face, then puling it back towards them slowly … or someone shoving 50 carrots in your mouth?

Brian Eno (my favorite theorist) says the best thing you can do is to bring people to the point where they start searching - not so plain or obvious that there's nothing left to the imagination, not so cryptic that they give up.

Give people just enough to pull them in, but make them want more. Make them go searching for clues, or details, or explanations, or "more of what you just gave me."

2. All the world's a stage … what character are you?

IMAGINE A PLAY WITH 1000 ACTORS ON STAGE.

Imagine you're in the audience of a play - in a big theater or an opera house. Imagine there are one thousand actors on stage. Which ones would stand out? Which ones would you remember?

It's not always going to be the loudest or most hyperactive.

Maybe you'd be drawn into the misty-blue woman with the long black hair in the deep blue cape with half her face hidden, standing silently at the edge of the stage.

Now you, as a musician, are one of the actors on that overcrowded stage.

Would you stand out? Would people remember you? Are you being strong enough version of YOU, so that people who DO want who YOU are can find you in the crowd?

(P.S. The most memorable actor on stage might be the one that gets off the stage, walks up to your seat, and gives you a kiss.)

BE AN EXTREME VERSION OF YOURSELF.

Define yourself. Show your weirdness. Bring out all your quirks. Your public persona, the image you show to the world, should be an extreme version of yourself.

EVEN CONSERVATIVE LEGENDS WERE EXTREME.

Think of the legendary performers in that conservative style. (The ones even your grandmother could like.) -- Frank Sinatra. Charlie Chaplin. Liberace. Liza Minelli. Barbara Streisand. Even the most conservative "legendary" performers were rather extreme characters.

Don't be afraid to be as extreme as you can imagine. Being in the spotlight is the excuse. You can get away with anything, all in the name of entertainment.

3. Think test marketing - proof of success.
TEST. IMPROVE. PERFECT. ANNOUNCE.

In this indie music world, the best thing you can do is think in terms of "Test Marketing."

This is what food companies do before they release a new product. They release it just in Denver (for example), and see what people think of it there. They get feedback. They try a different name. They try an improved flavor, based on complaints or compliments. They try a different ad campaign. They see what works. They are constantly improving.

When it's a huge success in Denver, they know they're on to something good. They can now release it in Portland, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Do the same thing.

When everyone seems to like it, they get the financial backing to "roll it out" and confidently spend a ton of money to distribute it around the whole country, or the whole world. The people investing money into it are confident, because it was a huge success in all the test markets.

Think of what you're doing with your music as test marketing.

When you're a huge success on a lower level, or in a small area, THEN you can go to the big companies and ask for financial or resource help to "roll it out" to the country or world. Then they'll feel confident that their big money is being well invested.

A GOOD BIZ PLAN WINS NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.

In doing this test marketing you should make a plan that will make you a success even if nobody comes along with their magic wand.

Start now. Don't wait for a "deal".

Don't just record a "demo" that is meant only for record companies.

You have all the resources you need to make a finished CD that thousands of people would want to buy. If you need more money, get it from anyone except a record company. And if as you're following your great business plan selling hundreds, then thousands of CDs, selling out small, then larger venues, getting on the cover of magazines... you'll be doing so well that you won't need a record deal.

And if a record deal IS offered to you, you'll be in the fine position of taking it or leaving it. There's nothing more attractive to an investor than someone who doesn't need their money. Someone who's going to be successful whether they're involved or not.

Make the kind of business plan that will get you to a good sustainable level of success, even without a big record deal. That way you'll win no matter what happens."

We're still not finished with our great tips from Derek Sivers for getting started in any type of music! Stay tuned for more great tips in the coming weeks and months. And don't forget to check out our large collection of great royalty free music, background music and stock music!

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