Recent Posts in ‘MarkLaFay.com’
The Parallels Between Bands and Startups
Over the past 9 months I’ve been working on launching a software product into the market place. I have been up to my eyeballs in executive summaries, fine-tuning business plans, tweaking pro-formas, marketing plans, sales strategies, beta testers, data, and…well… you get the idea. What’s interesting is that the further down the road I get
Music Business Jobs
There have been a lot of questions lately relating to the jobs in the music industry. If you want to get into music, you have to be strategic. There are so many people wanting to “break into” music. Universities are offering music business degrees, there are trade universities like Full Sail that are growing exponentially
Free Text Messaging Platform for Musicians
Ever think about having a phone number that your fans could use to communicate with you? Years ago there was a tool called SayNow that gave bands the ability to send voice messages and text messages to their fans. Fans could also call in and leave messages on the band’s voicemail. A few months into
Offer a Free Download Instead of a Stream
In recent months, I have given great consideration to the value of offering free streams of new music. All the way back to when I was just starting out in the business, there was a pattern to releasing new music. Once all elements of the album were completed you would start trickling pieces of album-related
Still Remains Kickstarter
There is a lot of debate going on out there about whether or not it is “cool” for bands both new and old to ask their fans to fund their album-making and marketing process. My buddies in the band Still Remains have recently joined the ranks of post-hiatus bands that have come back into the
Musicians Need Websites
Years ago, one of the first things a band would do once they formed was build a website. Sometimes it was before a single song was recorded and, in many times, even written. The URL was purchased immediately because you didn’t want someone else taking your dot com. The website went up and the songs
Email Marketing for Musicians v.3
Did you start off with these: Email Marketing for Musicians v.1 Email Marketing for Musicians v.2 By this point you should have a list started and, with any luck, it should be growing daily. Before you can send out your first email, you really need to think through a few more components that relate to
Q&A: How Do We Get A Booking Agent
From: Ross Question: My band is one of the more solid and fairly popular bands from our area, however, despite countless weekends spent out-of-state, we can never seem to book more than a few days away from home. So my question is; how do we get a booking agent? —————————————————————————— Getting picked up by a
Be a Concert Promoter 5.0: Day Of Show!
Read these first: Be A Concert Promoter (Overview) Be A Concert Promoter (Make an offer) Be A Concert Promoter (Market your event) Be A Concert Promoter (Produce your event) Over the years, I would stress about every show that I promoted. The fear of whether or not it would make money, or that bands ands
Three items in a management contract you should be aware of
I am a bit biased, but, a manager can be the most important addition to your “team.” A manager can bring experience, history, relationships, connections and a whole lot of elbow grease. But before you commit to a relationship with your new manager, make sure you get the details of your relationship in writing. Contracts
Email Marketing for Musicians v.2
Now that you have an email database, it’s time to make sure the emails are good. There are several tools out there for checking the validity of an email address. You CAN simply load the list into MailChimp and send to the list without checking it. High bounce rates may get your hand slapped. By
Coming to America. I mean Canada.
There is a lot to be said for making your own way in whatever it is you do. Self-made is a good thing. When I started in music, I made my way. Trial & Error + books + a great friend and mentor (Joseph Madonia, ESQ.) = my start in music business. Needless to say,
