An Easy Way to Find the Sweet Spot on an Instrument | Audio Issues

Ah the proverbial sweet spot. The place you can't describe or explain, you just know it when you hear it. Although so much of the time, many of us, at least, are listening through a set-up that is already missing too many frequencies to ever sound perfect. Do you miss them as much as I do?

Björgvin Benediktsson gives some great tips on finding the best sound on his blog Audio Issues.

An Easy Way to Find the Sweet Spot on an Instrument | Audio Issues

Metallic Music Chaos Case for iPhone 3 Iphone 3 Case-mate Cases by UROCKDezineZone
Browse Music Casemate Cases

Does giving your music away give you the opportunity to expose it more people? Or does it devalue it, ultimately making people less interested? Are you more or less inclined to download new music if it's free and available to all? Is taking the opportunity to (presumably) share with more people result in less people hearing it in the long run? If this is true, we're definitely doing it wrong.

This article from Digital Music News discusses some evidence that musicians who charge for their music may wind up with more attention, more listeners (some buyers, some not) and ultimately greater success.


Want More People to Care About Your Music? Then Charge for It…

Music Marketing [dot] com: 5 Steps for Musicians to Dominate Facebook (or ANY Social Media)

Music Marketing [dot] com: 5 Steps for Musicians to Dominate Facebook (or ANY Social Media)

Expand Your Gig Opportunities with Alternative Venues | DIY Musician

It's easy to get into the mindset that reaching the widest audience means playing to the largest audience possible. But, there are many tiny flaws in that approach. Larger metropolitan areas have many venues, many more shows, a lot of bands and a lot more competition. While the more remote rural areas and smaller towns are often starved for entertainment, and thrilled to see you when you come there to play. I remember playing to small mountain towns, and the week we were there we were the only game in town. And the whole town would make a point of coming down to the gig to check us out. And as long as everyone was having a good time, they'd stick around to enjoy the fun.

We may have made that trip to fill in for the slow times in the city, or to rehearse a new band before taking it on the A circuit, but out there we were rock Gods and they adored us. They always wanted to know when we'd be back. If we'd been selling CDs, shirts and hats, I'm sure they'd have been willing and eager to buy. It would have be the perfect place to start building a fan base, but I was 20, the music business was an entirely different animal, and my knowledge of marketing and fan base building non-existent.

So if your band isn't getting the number and quality of gigs you want and expect, don't keep chasing the larger venues in the heavily populated areas. Recognize the gold mine in smaller audiences eagerly waiting for you to come to them in smaller towns all over the country and go out and make friends. You'll find some wonderful folks out there. Give them your best show, have music and branded items to sell them, and make sure you get them on your email list. They'll love you for including them and delight in helping you in your rise to the top. They're your friends now, and we all know that friends love to help friends. And you can bet they know people in other parts of the country and they'll help you spread the word. And chances are, you'll have a blast doing it.

Explore the link below for some additional ideas and then go exploring.

Expand Your Gig Opportunities with Alternative Venues | DIY Musician

Basic Marketing Principles For Artists - Part 1 of 3: Increasing Your Fan Base - MTT - Music Think Tank

Let's face it, if you're trying to "make it" in the music business, what you need is a growing fan base. It's the key to everything . . . more money, more fame, a recording contract, it all starts with getting your music heard and building a fan base.

Basic Marketing Principles For Artists - Part 1 of 3: Increasing Your Fan Base - MTT - Music Think Tank

Dave Cool of Bandzoogle  does an amazing job of summarizing what it takes to consistently make the magic happen every time you perform live in this article from Music Think Tank. Recommended for performing artists of all kinds, it's a down-to-Earth blueprint on blending passion with pragmatism and practice.

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/the-four-ps-of-playing-live-shows-performance.html

A New Reason To Put Your Band on You Tube

If your band has videos, you should take advantage of You Tube's change in video profits. Even if the money you make from You Tube is insignificant, there's no better place to get you music heard and potentially go viral. Get it out there


Indie Musicians Get New Revenue Stream As YouTube Opens Partner Program To All - hypebot