Working Indie Musician

Show notes:Welcome back. Happy new year!- Where have I been?- After episode 4 (interview with Randy Chertkow) in September I got busy with a freelance job- Finished up in mid December, then the holidaysFeedback- read email from Doug Hanna about giving away music- will do that next timeThings That Helped Me- not sponsored, just like them and use them- PaperMart.com- great if you sell a lot of CDs- sell CD mailers (roughly $.20 to $.30 each)- Must buy in lots of 100- 2 kinds: single CD and 1-4 CD- for 5 or more CDs I use Priority boxes from the post office- (show stuffing CDs into each)- Endicia.com- previously:- print out address, return address, stuff, stick- take to post office and hold up the line for 45 minutes- now: print one label that includes address, return, and postage- just drop them off at the post office- $15/mo, so only good for high volume- allows you to print postage right from your computer- buy postage which is credited to your account, then deducted when you print- you will need a scale, requires active internet connection- can customize templates and print on various labels- I use Internet Mailing Labels from Staples (2 to a sheet)- (print out test print)- don't need to tape single CD mailers closed with those

Show notes:Randy Chertkow is a musician with the band Beatnik Turtle and co-author of The Indie Band Survival Guide. Randy and I ran into each other at DragonCon this month and he was kind enough to grant me an interview.Send feedback to workingindiemusician@gmail.com.

Episode 3 show notes:- welcome to episode 3! (feels weird to be at 3)Feedback- from Jonathan Romley of Artist Force- moderator of the panel I talked about"I enjoyed your video. I also hoped for some more insightful vision of the future than I was able to extract. You've made a good point – often, our guess is as good as the next well informed social media fanatic. I wish you the best with your vlog."- from Doug Hanna, filmmaker"Love the show- Keep it up!I don't have a music Facebook page, but what I find from a Facebook Fan Page for my films and movies is that it does get you a few new fans. Facebook makes a big deal about anything anyone does so if someone becomes a fan of "Bob The Singer" it will come up on all of their friends home pages that says So-and-So became friends with "Bob The Singer". You might get fans that way."- goes on to talk about some of the general benefits of having a fan page.- This happened to me with The Leviathan Chronicles.So I Set One Up- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Devo-Spice/116693183739- the set up sucked - browser crashed 6 times while trying to upload photos - discography application kept erroring back to photo album application - after completing the photo album the discography application still didn't work- uploading music requires that you prove you're who you say you are by faxing them a copy of your drivers license, then takes a few days to approve - I was approved, but still don't know where users can play the songs I uploadedWas It Worth it?- maybe- 121 fans, as of now, roughly 1/3 of friends on personal page- however, many fans are not friends, possibly half, so I am reaching new peopleDon't Invite Friends?- couldn't figure out how to invite friends, so I asked a friend- she said don't, she hates when bands invite you to become fans- then volunteered to do it for me- I posted on Twitter, cross posted to my statusSet Up on TheSixtyOne.com- easy process- must have separate account as listener, can't be both artist and listener- makes a game out of listening to music and discovering new music- several friends jumped onto it after I did and have become hookedQuestion- What web sites do you use to promote your music, and how well has it worked out for you?- send feedback to workingindiemusician@gmail.com

Show notes:Feedback- like it, but don't record in front of a waterfallASCAP New York Sessions- I'm not happy with ASCAP, but that's a whole other show- I attended New York Sessions back in March, wasn't worth it, but I'm glad I went- I attended the Marketing from the Driver's Seat panel - basically do it yourself marketing- panelists:Moderator - Jonathan Romley - Founder, CEO - ArtistForceReed Calhoun - Director, Artist Relations - ArtistForce, Artist - Rock Kills Kid; Songwriter - Plain White T'sJonathan Eshak - Artist Manager, Brett Dennen, The Walkmen - Mick ManagementIrving Fain - Director, Digital Marketing & Content - Clear Channel Online Music & RadioLawrence Peryer - President - 23 OmnimediaThomas Silverman - Founder, CEO - Tommy Boy EntertainmentLucy Weber - Publicist - Swift PR- the panel went over the usual stuff: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.- 2 people then asked "what's next?"- THEY COULDN'T ANSWER- That's when I realized they don't know any more than I do- So what do they have that I don't?1. money2. connections- this realization was encouraging and discouraging at the same timeQuestion for you- Has setting up a Facebook fan page for you helped?- Are you getting any new fans from it, or is it just another place for your existing fans?Feedback to workingindiemusician@gmail.com

Show notes:Welcome!- my name is Tom Rockwell, aka Devo Spice- I do comedy rap, but don't let that throw you. This blog is for anyone working as an independent musician, full time or not.Why?- Lots of podcasts promise to help, but all seem to be from outside looking in.- Strength in numbers. If enough people get involved we can all help each other out. Hopefully we can learn from each other. My weak spot is promotion and marketing.Experiment- If it works, I'll continue. If not, I'll stop.- No set schedule for now.- Why video? So I don't spend more time than necessary on it.- If it was audio I'd feel compelled to polish it. I already spend roughly 10 hours a week on Manic Mondays. Can't afford another 10 hours a week.Today's topic: Time Management- This is something I'm good at.- 3 kids, wife, dog, house, full time job, weekly podcast, run The FuMP, freelance. Where do I find time for music? Wherever I can.- All those things I listed come before my music. The trick is simply to prioritize and do a little at a time whenever you get a chance.- Tell jar story from college.- Big rocks - family- Marbles - job, house, freelance- Sand - music- If something is important to you you will find the time to do it- May have to give up or cut down something else, like TV, video games- Used to do it in my head, but things were slipping through the cracks, and then I'd be up late as deadlines approached. Now I have a to do list- simple google doc divided into 4 sections:1. Do now - the current priority2. Ongoing - weekly or monthly stuff: podcast, accounting, etc.3. Active jobs - things I'm actively working on4. On hold - things I can't work on because I'm waiting for somethingTips1. Delegate when possible2. Invest more time now to save more later3. Do a little at a time whenever possible (lunch break, etc.)4. Prioritize - quick/easy things first to get them out of the way, then look at deadlines5. Learn to say no - Even to yourself. Really evaluate the value of a project before you undertake it. Will it be worth your time? If not, don't do it.Feedback- time management tips, tools, or any questions, future topics, whatever- send feedback to workingindiemusician@gmail.com