Independent Artists: Internet Helps Bypass Gatekeepers

02-Apr-2020 By Tanay Mulukutla 1 Comment

The internet is a sea of opportunities if used optimally, and more so for emerging and independent artists. If you want to scale up and expand your reach, the internet is a great place to help you as an artist to bypass gatekeepers. An emerging culture of music streaming, as opposed to physical sales, has steered this ship in a direction where independent artists can freely carry out their artistic expression on social media platforms to attract an audience. Never before has it been this viable for alternative cultures such as underground music and art to surface and grow without necessarily having to budge for bodies of authority. This blog post will discuss how you as an independent artist can bypass those gatekeepers.

Use Facebook and LinkedIn to find Journalists to Write about your Music

As a matter of interest, magazines and tabloids are in an unrelenting search for new content all the time. All it requires from you is that you make yourself visible to them on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. To top it over, owing to the culture of a close-knit community, music journalists and music promoters will often work in conjunction. Not only would journalists write about you, but chances are that they might add you to their recommendation list to promoters. Though you’re busy writing the best music you can, it may be worth finding the time to make yourself heard on these social media platforms.

Follow Promoters on Twitter and Instagram

Promoters spend a lot of time on the internet, start following them TODAY. Start interacting with them, comment on their posts, establish a personal connection. Smart usage of the internet can help you secure gigs.

Send Newsletters to your Fans and Promoters

Newsletterring is a very effective approach to maintain fan exclusivity and retention. The idea behind this exercise is to establish a very personal rapport with all parties involved, where you as an artist show how much you care for your fans. Imagine the sense of suspense and exclusivity that comes with being part of a secret gig around the corner. This sentiment can be created by advertising your show through newsletters to a selected list of your fans.

Use Online Communities to Spread your Music

Online communities are certainly a very crucial part of building online visibility. One of the ways to spread your music on digital platforms is to share your music with fellow musicians, which always creates a room for opportunity. Collaborating with similar artists is a great way to build your repertoire and Facebook’s communities feature makes this much more lucrative. Here’s a full blog post on building an online community of fans.

youbloom is a platform that helps you as an artist to grow, sign up here and find out more: https://www.youbloom.com/artist-apply/

Independent Music Promoters: Represent Your City

01-Apr-2020 By Tanay Mulukutla Leave a Comment

While the world today is grappling with what’s to come next, so are independent music promoters, with all shows booked stand canceled, we are yet to determine when the next show will happen. Promoting great artists whilst building communities centered around live music can be challenging at certain times, but at youbloomConnect, against all odds, we believe it can be done soon!

We’ll be making our way to your city, which means you now have a chance to take the lead. If music promotion is your expertise, we have an opportunity for you. The ropes will be shown, and you’ll have our back. Nurturing and fostering independent music culture across the globe is the ethos we follow. If you believe there is potential for live music to not just grow, but thrive in your city, we are here to collaborate.

The role of a CityRep with youbloomConnect is that of a music promoter with several perks, we highly recommend you read our blog article, ‘How youbloomConnect impacts CityReps’. Our vision is to witness pockets of independent music scenes emerging in every corner of the world, and we are certain you as a CityRep will make it happen!

We’re very excited to hear from you! Click here to sign up as a CityRep and you’ll hear from us in 2 weeks’ time! To find out more or sign up as a CityRep, click here

If you want to learn more about the youbloom community follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

youbloom reserves rights of selection process.

Knowing the If, When, and How of Hiring a Manager

18-Jul-2018 By Josey Dunbar 2 Comments

Knowing when hiring a manager (and whether or not to hire one at all) is right, can be a tough call for artists…

Chasing Felix at youblooomDublin 2018 Music Festival & Summit

When deciding what’s right for your band, it’s important not only to weigh the obvious pros and cons, but also to consider the methods of attracting and choosing the best manager for your individual group of artists.

Step One: Consider the Pros of Hiring a Manager

1) Experience

Managers can provide outside knowledge of the music industry for your band. Whether you’re an up-and-coming group or have years of experience preforming, hiring a manager will provide knowledge that can prove to be essential when dealing with hosts, venues and sponsors.

2) Third Party Ear

In addition to providing knowledge of the industry, managers can also serve as a third party perspective when disputes arise within the band. Having an unbiased opinion can help to resolve budding conflicts between artists.

3) Concentrate Vision

Hiring a good manager can also be a perfect way to narrow in on a brand for your band and develop a solid vision for your group’s future.

Step Two: Consider the Cons of Hiring a Manager

Chasing Felix at youblooomDublin 2018 Music Festival & Summit

1) Money

Managers aren’t free nor are they cheap. If your band is going to end up losing money or barely breaking even by hiring a manager- maybe consider holding off for the time being.

2) Loss of Artistic Freedom

It’s no secret that a band loses the total control they started with when they decide to hire a manger. Though releasing some control may prove to be beneficial for the musician’s future, you must decide if the end goal is worth it.

At the end of the day, hiring a manager is an investment that only you can deem worth the expense and risk.

But the important decision-making doesn’t end there; after deciding if a manager is the right move for your band, it’s time to decide how to attract and choose the right one.

Step Three: Attracting a Manager

Katie Ferrara

After deciding to find a manager for your band, you’ll learn the first step in finding the right one is to not look. No you did not read that sentence wrong—don’t go looking for a manager; the right manager will come looking for you.

With that said, there are certainly methods of speeding up the process.

1) Growing Your Fanbase

The more buzz there is around your band, the more managers will know who you are and where to find you. To learn more about growing your fanbase check out “How To Hook the Super-Fans.”

After you attract managers who embody the same vision you have for your group, don’t be afraid to give them some control while still maintaining your own individuality, of course.

Maintaining some control of your own booking and touring can be made easy for those who choose to hire a manager and those who fly solo through youbloomConnect. Learn more at youbloom.com

How to Hook the Super-Fan

07-Jul-2018 By Josey Dunbar Leave a Comment

Contrary to popular belief, a super-fan is not always a crazed group of followers or a die-hard groupie. All brands have super-fans. They’re a key component in building and sustaining a successful career by enagaging a solid fanbase.

The question then becomes: what classifies as a brand and how do you build one that attracts enough super fans.

Dreaming of Jupiter at Musikmesse 2018

The term super-fan refers to an individual who supports a brand and everything that brand produces. Artists depend on super-fans as a bedrock of support. When on tour, a band can trust that their super-fans will show up, buy merch, and be tweeting about the show long after it’s over. When band’s establish a healthy base of super-fans, they are establishing a continuous body of support that can last throughout their careers.

From Starbucks to your local coffee shop that plays nothing but bluegrass, all brands attract super-fans. This comes down to the fact that people are drawn to originality. Every brand needs its own niche to attract a sustaining number of super-fans.

Who will your super-fans be?

Before a company, artist or individual can successfully attract, engage, and retain super-fans they must have a well-established brand. At the end of the day, there are billions of different people in the world with trillions of different interests; this means every brand who successfully markets a clear and individual niche has a high likelihood of attracting super-fans.

Building a brand comes down to three things: intended audience, clarity of product, and quality of service.

Whether you’re trying to market your sound or attract a wider demographic of ticket-buyers, your brand begins with your unique offerings and intended audience. Detecting what sets you apart is the quickest way to identify the basis for your brand.

After establishing a solid brand with individualized characteristics that will attract super-fans, the task becomes maintaining engagement from those fans. This maintained loyalty is often seen when artists create personal relationships with fans and release a steady flow of their branded product (shows, recorded music, etc.).

In addition to establishing these bonds, the branded product must retain its super-fan as the brand grows.

Joining a community with inter-industry connections can make a huge difference too. Today, a lot of artists are finding security in artist networks, like youbloomConnect, which help bands grow their fanbase and develop their brand through artist-partnering and co-marketing tactics. Definitely check out our guide to how youbloomConnect works if you want to learn more about our strategy.

Ultimately, developing a brand comes down to originality. Pursuing what sets you apart and working to maintain relations with super-fans as your brand-base expands will ensure your success in the future marketing of your music.

The 6 Music Conferences & Festivals in LA this Summer – 2018

11-Jun-2018 By Robert Loustaunau Leave a Comment

In the Golden Age of Festivals it’s Easy to get Lost in the Noise

It’s 2018 and we’ve graduated from festival culture. These are nuanced times we are living in where “music festival” is no longer synonymous with patchouli and Birkenstocks. Music producers, labels, and artists converge at music conferences to scout, network, and discuss the industry’s hottest topics and tech.

If you’re wanting to elevate your festival experience this Summer, here’s our pick of Top Music Conferences in Los Angeles. Not ready to ditch the over-sized festival floaty just yet? No worries, check out our top picks for Music Festivals in LA this Summer.

SongWriterCamps

October 15 2018 – October 18 2018
Palm Springs, CA

While not an official ASCAP event, SongWriterCamp is a retreat hosted by ASCAP affiliates Pam Sheyne and Richard Harris. For an extended weekend, aspiring songwriters take part in masterclasses, workshops, and performances under the guidance of seasoned lyricists. If you’ve been meaning to get pen to paper SongWritersCamp is just the music festival for you. As a bonus: members of ASCAP get a discount on tickets.

The MIRA Conference

June 25 – June 26, 2018
West Los Angeles, CA

Brought to you by The Music Industry Research Association, the MIRA Conference is as cerebral as a music conference gets. All corners of the musical spectrum come out to play here. Discussion topics range from industry policy to groundbreaking research among the academic community. This year, MIRA will be tackling topics such as streaming corruption, piracy, and diversity and inclusion in the industry. Take a look at the full program.

Youbloom LA Music Festival & Summit

September 20- September 22, 2018
Los Angeles, CA

Some have called the youbloom Music Festival & Summit the biggest little music conference in SoCal. Based in Los Angeles, California, youbloom has prided itself on drawing an international community of artists from across the globe for a weekend of workshops, discussion panels, and stellar music making. Think SXSW but less food trucks.

Attend workshops on marketing yourself as an independent musician, and participate in 1-on-1 Q&A sessions with agents and producers. By night, attend free shows across some of LA’s hottest venues and showcase your own band. youbloomLA is definitely the top pick for DIY musicians and bands looking for a leg up in the industry. See this year’s speaker and apply to play for youbloom LA.

The PMA’s Production Music Conference

September 26 – September 28, 2018
Hollywood, Ca.

Every year, the Production Music Association (or PMA) holds its official Production Music Conference right in the heart of the entertainment industry. For 3 days, Highland Avenue in Hollywood is awash with composers, tech vendors, and music industry gurus. It is one of the larger music conferences that happens every year and if you’re planning on operating in these types of circles, you will want to be meeting the people who attend this.

Force Music Conference & A&R Artist Showcase

November 10 – November 11, 2018
Los Angeles, Ca.

Perhaps you already know your niche in the industry and you’re looking for music conferences that are more specific. If your future is in A&R (Arts and Repertoire) than Force Music Conference & A&R Artist Showcase is your bread and butter. This particular event packs a lot in a weekend long conference. From mixers, to live radio shows, to artist showcases, Force is a conference for the movers and shakers of the music industry as well as a peak at the industry machine in motion.

The Indie Entertainment Summit

August 9 – August 12, 2018
North Hollywood, Ca.

Just because it’s a conference doesn’t mean there’s no live music. The Indie Entertainment Summit is a 3-day coming-together of the big heads of the Indie music scene. The event is filled to the brim with panels, guests speakers, and independent artists showcasing their talent at venues throughout the city. Panel topics this year are to include marketing strategies for growing your own artist brand, music tech developments, and the state of the music industry. It’s also not a bad place to be in order to stop being independent, as agents have been known to attend this event in past years.