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Hop On Pop
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10/8/2010 8:36:52 AM
---- Updated 10/8/2010 8:40:44 AM
F*cking disheartening
It's been 9 months since I released my album. The label sent it out to at least 30 media outlets. I've sent it out to at least 10 more, and we've gotten 2, count 'em: TWO reviews.
It's not even that there are bad reviews, it's that we cannot get anybody to even listen to the damn thing. Even places that reviewed - and liked - the first record are not responding. No wonder he's packing it in. He's tired. I'm tired, too.
Thank god for IAC. It's just about the only place that anybody is actually listening to my music.
Are any of the rest of you having any more luck getting folks to listen? It can't be just me.
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Bryon Tosoff
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10/8/2010 8:58:53 AM
hmm, well your cd is a rockin groovin vibe to me Todd, ven though I dont have it, but i have listened to what you have here at iacmusic, so my adage is this,
it is like the cocking of the gun, maybe like the bullet ready to been fired in the chamber, the the trigger has not been full pulled back and engaged, it doesnt just happen, perhaps time chance circumstance....
sometimes you can have a killer cd, but if you dont have the support behind you and advocates besides yourself to market and promote it to the right people then yes it can be disheartening indeed.....
what do you want, what was your plan from the start, what was your purpose in doing the cd in the first place, yeah, record make music, get it out there. but why
this is what i always ask my clients, anyone can do a cd in this day and age,
'
I hate to add a downpour of rain on your already pissed off frustrated feelings
but i am just being real
and dont be mad at me for laying it out here like this,. it is just me being me
like a sliver under your fingernail
send me an email and maybe fire your cd to me and I will give it a whole big listen then maybe make some recommendations for you
stay strong man, you got some great talent and fine songcrafting skills
beleive and dont give up,. just pick yourself up and keep moving forward
remember, music first and foremost is fun. dont limit that part of it., enjoy what you have accomplished already
bryon
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Hop On Pop
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10/8/2010 9:06:06 AM
I think that, perhaps, I was leaning a little too hard on my label to get the disc out there. But then, he has the contacts, and no family. And I... I have a difficult (if fulfilling) family life that takes up almost all the time that I have outside of work. And, I have no contacts, etc...
What was I looking for? Just to get heard. And, as I said, IAC has been the best place for that. Pretty much the only place for that, so thank you all.
And yes, music is fun. I don't expect to get rich or famous out of this thing. All I want is to be heard. Even if nobody knows that I wrote this song or that, it would be good enough just to have folks know the song.
But, I am genuinely curious as to how the rest of you are doing in getting heard/getting press/reviews, etc. And, how/what are you doing?
I'll send you an email Bryon.
Thanks for the offer.
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Tom O'Brien
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10/8/2010 1:21:01 PM
I feel for you, man. I think there's something in all of us that wants to be heard - artists and non-artists alike. But for a songwriter, who is pouring the essence of his existence into every note and word, it is especially validating to be heard by as many people as possible. Sometimes I wonder if I didn't become a musician because I never felt heard by my parents. Does this sound familiar?
I hope you revel in your live gigs, because even though the audience may be drunk or stoned, they're really right there, breathing in the music as you play it. You are coloring there very experience with your music, connecting to them and adding a new experience to what may be their hum-drum lives.
I haven't been playing live for a few years, but I sure miss that connection. Explore film and TV licensing - there's a lot of possibility to be heard there. Check out www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com.
Also, how about investigating IAC's managed account. Do you have a manager? It might be a good investment to have someone working for you so you can concentrate on making good music.
Just for the record - I hear you.
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Chandra Moon
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10/8/2010 2:44:58 PM
I feel for you too - I released my album in Feb 2008 independently through CD baby and have only sold about 300 plus some downloads. Every now and then someone plays a track on the radio! The only time I really feel good about my music is when I play live and see someone really listening eyeball to eyeball or sometimes when someone tells me they've really enjoyed listening to a track. I don't think it's about numbers - it's about connecting with other human beings through the medium of music - it's like a fix and it keeps us going. In the end you have to just keep going because you can't help it - you're a musician - you make music - you can't stop - you keep going regardless if you sell thousands of albums or sing to three people in the pub. Try not to be disheartened - it's a difficult moment with your label and everything but keep going - your music is great - I love it and I'm sure I'm not the only one!
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John Pippus
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10/8/2010 5:42:06 PM
You've got good songs. Catchy, contemporary and original. Well recorded. So the problem is that you're not putting in enough time promoting it. With a job and family, I know that means there are only so hours you can devote to promotion. But that's where your problem is. That, and HOW you are promoting it.
Did you follow up on any of those 40 mail outs? I've found that following up is the single best thing I can do as I promote my albums. BTW, I've mailed out over a 100 albums, and sent query emails to a couple of hundred stations, producers, tv/film supervisors just in the past couple of months, and to me, that's just scratching the surface. (Mind you, I don't have a day job, and the kids are grown and gone, so I do have the time).
You have to be as creative with your marketing as you are with writing and recording your music. You don't have to LIKE it as much, but you do have to be focussed and inventive. (Being just lucky works for the very few).
For example, I've written a one-man musical play (that features my songs) and performed it at fringe festivals. I've raised $3,000 on a site called Kickstarter to help finance my album. When I DO get write ups, reviews, or airplay, I contact the person responsible and thank them.
Try this. Send out five emails a day to industry folks making them aware of the songs, and trying to develop relationships on a basic level (like you do here on IAC). Not everyone - or even most - will respond. But a few will. Guaranteed.
Also, I've hired Bryon as my radio promoter on a three month contract. So far, that's been very productive in terms of airplay.
The fact is - like Bryon says - it's relatively easy to make a good-sounding CD these days. As a result, you are competing with thousands of others to get heard. But if you believe in your songs (and I think you should), then you'll find a way to get them noticed.
John
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The Man With No Band
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10/8/2010 7:31:34 PM
I agree with a lot that's been said here ... but I think John Pippus put it best when he said "BE CREATIVE" ... I'm not an expert on selling Cd's (don't have one yet) .. but I have sold a lot of things ... and there are an amazing array of things that work ... but I'll tell you the BIGGEST thing you should concentrate on IMO ...
Just as YOU want to be heard, PEOPLE want to hear ... it's a rapport that is necessary ... People want to feel important, they want, not what they are buying, but how what they are buying makes them feel ...
Networking has become somewhat of a dirty word, but it is vital to an artist selling his wares ... People want to be a part of what they are promoting ... give some college kids some thought, they know a lot of listeners ... DO SOMETHING FOR THEM, don't ask them to listen, make them want to ask you ...
John talked about follow-ups ... THEY ARE A MUST ! ... I've sold hundreds of items on e-bay ... and every person who has ever bought anything from me has received at least two personal letters from me and in one of those letters I include a four leaf clover ... those clovers are free to me, (I pick them by the thousands) but they have become invaluable for the loyal customers they have brought me ...
Run small promotions with local boutiques and such ... if you can bring customers into THEIR store, they will let you sell YOUR wares there ...
If you have no time to dedicate to this ... HIRE someone that knows what they are doing ... Not to knock your old label but I'm not sure he was creative enough in his marketing ... or had the nan power to do this for the amount of clients he had ?
Just thoughts ... wish you well Todd
Peace
Sam
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LyinDan
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10/8/2010 8:52:18 PM
You're fuckin A it's disheartening and discouraging.
We need us a revolution. But the Bourgoise (sp) aren't biting at this time of century. Maybe you should trip Trip Hop, and use the word "ass" or "bootay" in your lyric more often. Apparently a lot of folks nowadays light up when they hear that and just have to have the record they heard "ass" and "bootay" on. Possibly you should mention your "humps".
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LyinDan
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10/8/2010 8:55:26 PM
Chandra
300 sales is doing pretty damn well by today's standards and expectations.
Unless your lyrics mention "(see comments to Todd above)".
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Chris Hance
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10/9/2010 3:27:57 AM
Guys as some of you know I decided to try posting 15 albums on rs and torrents. Rather than pi55 about trying to get other skint synth players to listen, I posted on pirate/underground/illegal downloader sites, posted as a pirate, not a muso,
I've had loads of downloads from all over,(albeit feedback is minimal)
Like most of you I know its not about money, its the creative in you just cant switch it off, thats good, you have to keep doing it even if it appears obsessive, and even if your on your last cent before starvation,
You are musos and you have to do it, without musos, issues would not enter the public domain, but remain in that greyness and anger department of gov that switches the majority off, the musos support the hungry, the musos support the disadvantaged, the musos support the disenfranchised, the impoverished, the underclass,
They depend on you musos to highlight where you see injustice, discrimination and prejudice,
You have to take these scenarios and weave them through your music and remind us why we have to care and not leave everything to the plastic politics of multinational globalisation.
Todd, dont stop. be strong.
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