Common Commercial Radio Myths

The way Tate Music Group is structured we happen to talk to musicians at different stage of the game. Undoubtedly the same misconceptions about radio airplay are apparent to anyone who hasn’t received tons of commercial radio play. I want to clarify that I am talking about Commercial Radio, not the mom and pop station that hasn’t updated their equipment in 20 years. If you have to send a physical CD to the radio station for them to play your music, more than likely they are not a large commercial station. Therefore they are probably not a reporting station and besides the fact that you can get easy spins there it doesn’t really matter.

One Myth is the DJ’s choose what songs are in their rotation. Again we are talking about Commercial Radio. The majority of people in the US listen to commercial regular-rotation radio and on these stations DJ’s have no say at all in what is being played. If you ask a DJ to listen to your music for possible spin consideration they are not allowed to say “No”. At the least it is up to the Program Director and sometimes they are completely out of the mix depending on how large or corporately owned the station is.

Myth – Good songs spread to other stations – Tons of research and money goes into every song you hear on these stations. The DJ’s just make it sound like they picked the record out of a hat, but in turn that is not the case.

Myth – College or Specialty Mix Shows will expand to Commercial – Just because you receive regular spins on a show like this doesn’t mean it will transfer over. Again this is usually just a testing ground and very few make the transfer.

Myth – Request calls will help – Having all of your friends call and request your song really doesn’t help. Your time will be better spent inviting people to your gigs. Stations know which calls are real and which are bands and their friends calling in.

These are just a few of the myths you can find out more by checking out the article on Music Biz Academy.com “Commercial Radio Myths” by Bryan Farrish.

Create a Fan Base Through Social Networking

One of the practices that should consistently be used by artist regardless of where they are in the music game is maximizing the opportunity social networks provide. This is a great way to get your music in front of tons of people. Just think of how many events you would have to play to equal the amount of personal exposure the internet provides. Once an artist is ready for marketing at Tate Music Group, we want to mobilize these networks to spread the word that the project is ready!

There are just a few steps to make this really beneficial to an artist and their project. Anytime you are sending a message, reaching out to someone or requesting anything be sure there is a link in your message back to your websites. Usually you have one opportunity to catch someones attention and you might just catch them at the right time where they feel interested enough to click through to your website and listen to your music. So be sure you don't miss any opportunities to attract a new fan.

(We used this very tactic in promoting Variance Magazine and garnished over 200K hits from it.)

I always suggest to search facebook, Myspace, Twitter and other social sites to find artists or influential people in your genre. Request them as friends, leave comments on their page and search their friends list to do the same. Again you are reaching out to music lovers of the same genre befriending them and asking them to check out your music.

Trust me this works. There are some bands that pride themselves on this. Building a bands social network is vitally important to their future growth. Think of it like building an online street team. These are the people that are going to spread the word about a new single, concert, or CD release.

Very important to remember that once you have fans you have to keep them. That means keeping your websites fresh with content. Do not let it become stale because as quickly as they come they will leave in the same fashion. You have to engage and mobilize social networks for them to be beneficial.

For other great Blog articles check out Music Man's Blog.

Jay Z and Warren Buffet Have More in Common Than One Would Expect

I was traveling back home to San Diego this last weekend for an early Thanksgiving with my family and I picked up the recent Forbes magazine with Jay Z and Warren Buffet on the cover. I usually try to read Inc., Entrepreneur and magazines focused more on marketing than the 400 wealthiest people in the world, but you have to admit the two individuals on the cover are interesting on their own let alone interacting together.

The article was great and actually the two have more in common than one would think. Steve Forbes led the interview and the three of them talked about business, money, inspiration and the art of giving back.

Check it out here Forbes Article

Variance Magazine Passes 200,000 Hits

The revolutionary music magazine passes 200,000 hits with their second issue. Variance Magazine is a magazine for the people by the people.

Industries boast that they are concerned with what their consumers want to hear about but Variance is the only one that actually puts truth behind that statement. The magazine accepts article submissions and publishes those articles in upcoming issues. More than half of Variances articles are written by people not employed by Variance.

Their tag line says it best when referring to article submissions "if you got em we want em".

Becoming Successful in the Music Industry (Clip)

Sam Feldman is the CEO of S. L. Feldman & Associates, Canada's largest full service talent agency. The company books dates for artists such as Robbie Williams, Dido, Coldplay, Sarah McLachlan and Bryan Adams, as well as managing the careers of artists and producers like Anne Murray, Martina McBride and Bob Rock. Feldman himself helps manage the careers of Norah Jones, Diana Krall, and Elvis Costello. Check out his video clip on Becoming Successful in the Music Industry. For other great music blogs check out Music Man's Blog.

Variance Magazine Releases Sophomore Issue

Variance Magazine just released their Sophomore Issue with a bang. The Goo Goo Dolls graced the cover and the issue was filled with captivating articles on some industry movers and shakers.

By far the biggest response we received was from the fan base of Cobus Potgieter. Within 10 minutes of Cobus posting on Facebook and Twitter the website was shut down due to the amount of traffic that was trying to access the issue at once. We were overwhelmed but in a good way.

This is a new experiment from Tate Publishing and Tate Music Group that is proving to be a success. As of today, which is 5 full days after the magazine released we have had 74,751 unique views. The big draws are obviously articles on artists the majority of the public have heard about (Goo Goo Dolls, Underoath, The Spill Canvas, Cobus Potgieter). We use those articles to drive attention to our artists. In this issue you can see TMG artists such as Jeff Chandler, Chuck Tocco, The Fab Rudies, Michelle Buzz, Vanessa Vasquez to name a few.

The best way I can describe the benefit of this publication is that the above mentioned TMG artist have just received 74,751 impressions in the last 5 days that wouldn't have been their without it. Tate Music Group is continually looking for ways to publicize and promote our artists, Variance Magazine is just another idea that we've executed. If you take a look at www.variancemagazine.com you will notice a tab named "Variance TV" which is underway now!

Variance Debut Magazine is a Huge Success

Variance Magazine released its debut publication July 1st and has since garnished over 65,000 unique impressions.

Variance is a new venture and I think we hit it out of the park for our first issue. I had a goal of 50k impressions by the next issue and it looks like we will destroy that number. The magazine is another killer marketing option TMG is able to provide our artists with. Along with Nationwide TV commercials, radio programing we have a share in the three major marketing and advertising mediums available. As Tate Music Group grows so will our share in all three. Variance gives us a go to resource for ads, reviews and articles that demands the attention of people interested in music, books and media. Tate Music Group and Tate Publishing have been able to drive thousands of impressions to our artists and authors this last week that wasn't available two weeks ago. As the viewership increases over time these numbers and results will only get better.

With the positive responses we've received we are excited to get started on the next issue!

Is One of the Worlds Largest Labels Shifting Their Focus

A recent press release from EMI leads people to believe that they are shying away from developing new artists and instead, focusing on exploiting their enormous back catalog.

“Owning and exploiting the copyright to songs, rather than selling recordings of songs, is where the money’s going to be from now on.” EMI’s new organization structure “implies a lighter commitment to breaking new artists in favor of relying more heavily on selling publishing rights to its enormous back catalog.” June 22nd Billboard article.

If you don't think the music industry is changing you are crazy. When the largest players in the industry shift their focus off of what has been a cash cow forever it is a great indication that the old model is dead and they are now trying to find new avenues of success.

Being an artist in todays market is much more blue collar than ever. Many can make a living if the effort is there but there will be fewer and fewer at the top.