10 Steps You Must Take to Promote Your Tour or Show

Do you have a tour or one-off show coming up? Let’s talk about how to promote it. Now, I understand that there are many debates on where the responsibility of promoting lies (some argue the venue/promoter, some argue the artist). Those debates aside, let me say this: the time and money that goes into strategically … Read more

Why You Should Use Niche Markets When Approaching Sponsors

The biggest mistake that anyone can make in marketing is trying to appease everybody. Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know about the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Not only is this true for business in general, it’s also true when it comes to getting sponsorships. If … Read more

Question of the Week: How Much You Should Ask from Sponsors?

Recently, I received an email with two commonly asked questions about sponsorship that I’d like to address: 1) How much can you ask from a sponsor?2) My project costs X dollars, should I mention that in my pitch? In my book, I talk about a new way of looking at sponsorship: a partnership. Approaching a business … Read more

Where You Should be Touring/Performing

When it comes to touring, I find more musicians focused with the “How,” “When,” and “Where” aspects but not enough of the “Why.” Of course, touring can be an incredibly important step in most artists’ careers but you should definitely take some time out to create solid goals and a definitive strategy before you decide … Read more

Artist Spotlight: Katey Laurel

I recently had a chance to sit down with Katey Laurel, a self-described “Colorado hippie cowgirl with a pocket of folk-pop songs,” and talk about her music. She’s an award-winning artist and folk music powerhouse in the Colorado scene. She’s also got some great out-of-the-box ideas that artists and music industry professionals can learn from! … Read more

Creating a Booking Contract or Performance Agreement

Last week, I received several questions about bands or venues canceling last minute and what the repercussions were. Between that and taking law classes at night, I’ve had a lot of contracts on my mind. Hopefully, this will help answer some of your questions about band contracts, if you need them, and how to create one. I’ll … Read more

How to Find a Booking Agent

A while ago, I wrote an article for Music Think Tank: 5 Tips on Getting a Label, Sponsor, or Booking Agent. This week, I got some follow up questions on the best route to go for choosing and pitching to a booking agent or agency. Here’s my thought process on how to find the right partner … Read more

Pitching Your Band

If you were presented with the opportunity to pitch your band directly to the Chief A&R representative for Capital Records, what would you say? If a venture capitalist was looking to invest in the dreams of one band, how would you convince them to choose you? If your favorite band was in town and looking for an … Read more

Free Consultation Giveaway

Last September, I gave away ten 30 minute consultation sessions to ten different artists. I completely forgot about that until several people emailed me last week asking for some more free advice. Well, I’m happy to do something like that again… What is the Artist Consultation? I usually book one hour sessions with artists who … Read more

Music Licensing Tips

There’s a wealth of information out there on how to get your music into video games, on films, tv shows, commercials, and other opportunities. For now, I’ll just focus on a few general thoughts to get you started in this area: Keep doing research but make sure you read the fine print. Licensing opportunities are … Read more