How I Recorded and Released 12 CDs in Just 12 Months and Lived to Tell the Tale

The Idea

On January 1, 2012 I set out to record and release 12 CDs in only 12 months. Not just digital albums to download, but real hard copy store ready physical CDs.

Each CD had to have 12 tracks, 10 of them brand new, written by me or other writers. Up to two tracks could be remixed, rerecorded, updated…whatever. I thought doing 10 songs of new material was fine and I could take some of my old stuff from CDs not selling anymore and breathe new life into it (correct mistakes, like singing out of tune, etc.)

I did have some success in the past recording fast. I wrote, recorded and released a CD called “Rock and Roll Railroad” is seven days while on the road in 2010. I actually did some of the tracks during rush hour in Chicago in my car!

Why?

Some people do marathons, triathlons, climb mountains, etc. I will never do that, BUT, this was something I thought I could do…a defining feat…my legacy?

How I Did it

I have been recording for years on my old Acer desktop running Sonar Producer, but I wanted to make this project go faster, be mobile, and not have to battle the computer and beg it to work every other day. I decided to go Apple. Problem, I have very little money!

So, first I entered a vocal posting contest and won an iPad 2 (I posted my butt off!). Next, I picked up an old MacBook (not Pro) from CraigsList and fixed it up. I got GarageBand working on both and added my OLD Samson USB mic. Aside from my guitars and drums and stuff, that was all I used to do EVERYTHING!

The Process

First I asked my mailing list what the topics of each CD should be. I used a poll widget to do it.

I like making CDs with themes. I think it’s easier to market and sell something that is a specific niche. Also, by asking my fans what they wanted, I knew I could sell to them because I used their ideas, right?

The process was really simple -- pick a topic, find or write 10-12 songs on that topic. Boom. Done.

The Studio

Ahhh, the studio. My studio is called “Starbase 23.” It has been for over a decade.

The studio isn't real though. The studio is wherever I am recording at the moment. Many of these CDs were recorded in my bedroom, living room, and kitchen. I also recorded in my car (GREAT VOCAL BOOTH!), in restaurants, schools, motel rooms…everywhere.

Many songs start out on the iPad. I make basic tracks and even do vocals on it. Then I transfer everything to the Mac, but not always. Some songs went right from the iPad to the CD. Really, like “Flying Bounce House” from MOVING DAY and “Counting Sheep” from ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT.

Location, Location, Location

At some point I thought it would be cool to record songs and whole CDs on location. Like doing an animal CD at the zoo, etc.

I did manage to do one CD like this called ALL ABOARD THE ROCK AND ROLL TRAIN. I spent two weeks at the National Railroad Museum and got a ton of exposure and press. This is when I started using other musicians to add to the sound and vibe.

The project went well, but there was no way I was going to do that again with my limited time allotment. Each CD should have been recorded in two weeks or less, artwork in a week and released by week four. If I had stuck to that schedule everything would have been fine.

The Gear

Besides the iPad, USB mic, and MacBook I used whatever guitars and basses I had on hand. Most of the keyboards were played on the iPad keyboard…really! My son and daughter played Roland V Drums and my son added a few tracks he recorded on his iPod, really great stuff.

For all the album artwork, I used iDraw on my iPad. I carry it around with me all the time and doddle. I did a lot of the artwork at a roller skating rink while my daughter skated!

I use a fulfillment company to press and drop ship my CDs. I have no stock on hand except what I bring to live shows. Sadly, I have to use my old desktop PC to upload everything to their servers with their WINDOWS-only program.

Staying on Track…NOT!

So I recorded and released the first 5-6 CDs right on schedule, but them summer hit, and I do MOST of my live shows in the summer. Suddenly I had ZERO time to record and finally I just gave up. When I did get back to it I had like three months and six CDs to make!

Many well-meaning friends started to tell me is was OK to fail, be happy for what you did…and stuff like that, but I wanted no part of it. I wanted to finish the project.

I though maybe I should do a simple "guitar and vocal" CD…a quickie to get back on track…BAD IDEA. The CD took just as long to do and it SUCKED. I am no singer-songwriter folkie unplugged kind of guy. I’m a rocker.

I made the CD, released it, and quickly pulled it from distribution. I totally rerecorded it with the band sounds and even different songs. In all actuality, I ended up recording 13 not 12 CDs last year.

No Secrets

One of the most successful parts of the project was the blog and social media. I blogged and made videos every step of the way, I let my fans and followers in on the action and constantly asked for ideas and input. I had an open policy for anyone that sand or played to submit tracks and share everything I did. I posted almost everything I did on Soundclud.com, complete songs, and CDs to create buzz and get people “into it.”

A Little Help from My Friends

I knew I had to get serious so I added a countdown clock to my website, misterbilly.com, and my blog, 12cdsin12months.com. One of my co-writers, Dave Kinnoin, and his son Oliver offered to write up to three songs a week to help out. Other writers, singers and musicians started sending me ideas and even tracks that I could add to my songs.

I was building a global recording co-op and didn’t realize it! Though my constant blogging, FaceBook, and Twitter postings, I made friends with musicians who wanted to be a part of the project from Africa to California, New York to the Netherlands, and beyond.

All through the project I had collaboration, but the last CD I wanted to really make a group effort, a global family affair. So the last CD “A Little Help from My Friends” is all duets and collaborations.

The last song recorded was live video streamed on uStream.com and the audience helped out and chatted with me until it was done, December 29 @ 10 PM.

What I Learned

I wish I had planned better to take advantage of the marketing side of the project. I also wish I have stayed on track. I ended up doing four of the CDs in the last 30 days! I didn’t book any jobs and money was tight, but I did it.

Interestingly, my songwriting, production and especially my vocal skills improved with each CD…crazy huh? The more I did, the more I could do.

Are the CDs perfect? No. But are they good enough for my crowd? I think so. IF I had more time would I have done a better job…mmmm…maybe, maybe not.

The funny thing is that many of these CDs are selling way faster and with more consistency than my other CDs. Three of these have hit the CD Baby Top Sellers list…not the genre list, the MAIN ONE! None of my CDs had ever done that before.

All in all is was a great project, I am very proud of it, but I don’t think I’ll be recording another full CD for a little while!

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Mr. Billy (William Charles Grisack III) is a kids and family singer song ROCKER, producer, podcaster, husband, dad, dog owner, music marketing advocate, Star Trek fan and lunatic at large from Wisconsin. Learn more about the 12 CD project at 12cdsin12months.com or visit him at misterbilly.com

Should I Take This Gig?

Sooner or later every musician is going to be asked to do a gig for free.  For nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.  Each artist will have to decide for themselves if they want to do this, how often, for whom and so forth.  If you asked 100 artists you probably would get maybe as many different opinions as responders.

My take is this: there are good reasons to do freebies -- charity benefits and fundraisers, etc.  Or if I want to make inroads with a new venue that I REALLY want to get in with (maybe a prestigious museum?), I might do it for free or lowered fee.  If it really will give me great (not just good) "exposure" (but remember, folks can die from exposure!) in front of a constituency that might get me work later, then also "yes," like in front of other bookers, producers, industry people, etc., kind of like an extended showcase.  For example, I just performed one song in front of 200-300 child care providers and teachers before the keynote speaker at a big conference for free (plus they played my "Power of One" video after she spoke), but I was able to negotiate a free exhibit table, lunch and the opportunity to sell products.  WELL!  It was a huge success; I may get bookings from it and I sold more product that probably I ever did at one place and time.

So if you choose to donate your services try to get a promise for something in return.  I don't think musicians should ever simply give away our art, as it devalues it (except for charity or a good cause).  How much do you value your relationship with someone who asks you to perform for free, and/or the venue you'd be performing in?  Could you sell CDs? Could they try to block book you with another paying venue?  I am giving a free mini-concert to an organization but I asked them to find me two more full-fee bookings on the same day, in the same town.

Remember to firmly state that they are to keep your donation confidential!  And remember to still draw up a contract with your regular fee with "discounted to ____" in the appropriate spot so they know how much you normally charge, and the tremendous bargain they are getting.  It's an odd fact that if they pay you nothing, they often treat you terribly.  When they pay you a lot, you are therefore worth "more" and are treated with more respect.  So let them know what a favor you are doing and what you normally are worth.  You'll be treated so much better!

Lastly, to put a final point on this topic, once we played at a local festival for free in the worst possible conditions, in front of maybe 12 people outdoors in a field. One of those 12 people ended up being the anchor for the local TV news program who recommended me to audition for a new kids' show under production, and I ended up getting the host position which put me on TV four times daily for a year!  So, you just never know where opportunity will come from, or what other benefit you might get.  Not everything is measured in dollars. 

Not that I'm trying to talk you into playing for free, but sometimes there are good reasons and situations for it and that can come from it.

Then again, sometimes it's just a wasted day.

____________________________________________

Ms. Shih plays 6 and 12 string guitars, piano, Marxophone, Chinese flower drum, and soprano recorder. She has six albums to her credit and is the author of two books about music: Gigging: A Practical Guide for Musicians (Allworth Press, NYC) and Truly Rotten Gigs from Hell: The Funny, The Sad, The Unbelievably Bad True Tales from the Music Trenches (Uncommon Publishing, Xlibris). For more information visit http://www.patriciashih.com/

Old School Marketing

Old School Marketing

Scott Bierko

Not to long ago, my marketing efforts changed. Radically. Instead of relying on mailings, web sites, showcases and repeat customers to get work, I started doing something very 20^th century: calling people. Mind you, I did not want to do this. In fact, it’s fair to say that I approached my first set of calls with the same enthusiasm I had for brussel sprouts. Yuck!

Why, you may ask? Well, for most of our career, I perceived sales as “convincing people to buy what you have at the highest possible profit”. If possible, I wanted them to buy our most expensive assembly or concert programs at full retail price, so I much preferred to stay behind the curtain and interact with my clients via the U.S. Mail and my web site.

To me, asking for sales felt like begging for bread. Looking back, I don’t think that I saw much worth in what we had to offer, so I approached sales like I did girls in seventh grade. “Please like me,” I seemed to be saying. In middle school, girls did not respond to that kind of neediness and neither do clients.  As we all know, girls (and clients) tend to be attracted to strong, confident people who understand their needs and deliver on their promises.

I won’t bore you with all of the reasons that caused a shift in me. Let’s agree to call it maturing. Eventually, though, it did occur to me that our programs were getting better, that we had something special to offer and that kids and teachers were benefiting from our music. We wrote and produced many shows, chucking out ones that didn’t sell, constantly pruning the ones we kept and created new ones based upon a mixture of what turned us on and what we thought the schools might buy. And it worked. I was convinced that we had become very good at what we do.

Working with a business coach, we quickly zeroed in on our marketing problem: no one in our company was willing to put down the guitar, turn off the computer or tv, stop cleaning the house or playing with the dog in order to reach out to our customers. Why should we bother people at home? So that we can get rejected? My kids are already rejecting me, so I don’t really want more of that.

Eventually, the coach helped us understand and believe a few key points, one of which we had heard many times before and another one that was totally new. The first lesson was this old chestnut: sales is a numbers game. Every business has to determine how many calls they need to make in order to reach their sales goals and, yes, you have to make the calls whether you perceive of them as yucky vegetables or not. There is nothing fancy about that. It’s simple in its brilliance and there’s no way to take a shortcut until (and this is important) your business is so successful that people are calling you all the time.

The second point was: realize that not everyone is an ideal match for your talents and services, so it’s good and natural for them to say, “no, thank you.” I really do not want to work with clients who aren’t excited to work with me because it usually ends up being a drag. Most of us can tell within thirty seconds if the person we are speaking to wants to hang with us, so I suggest getting off the phone really fast and moving on. If only I had known that in seventh grade!

And I think I will leave you on that humorous note – don’t give up! This can really be fun, just like a game. In the past six months, I have learned to have fun with my clients. I am not afraid to show my personality, alternating between being earnest and really quite playful. One of my fellow children’s musicians regularly sings to people on the phone.

Everyone can make a brochure or a web site, but few people have what it takes to really communicate with their clients and create a relationship with them. As they said in the 20^th century, “try it; you’ll like it”.

Scott Bierko is a co-founder of Beth & Scott and Friends, a husband and wife team of Teaching Artists, from Yorktown Heights, NY.

(800) 364-5381

www.bethandscott.net

info@bethandscott.net

Using Social Networking for Online Music Marketing

Using Social Networking for Online Music Marketing 
By Joshua Martindale

Independent online music marketing strategies and information can help individuals find a way to be recognized. If you are reaching for the stars and trying to become famous, the internet offers you a surplus of tools and strategies that you can use to promote your music.

One of the most successful methods for online music marketing is video marketing. Videos sell fast online. At YouTube and other areas online, millions of visitors including producers and other musicians visit the site to watch videos. By adding videos to social network sites, you can increase your chance of being noticed.

Software to make videos is available on the Web. You can download software programs and start making your music videos in less time by using comprehensive tools. Other information online offers you music marketing tips, plans, strategies, and promotional tactics that other musicians used to promote their music.

You can learn how viral and social network marketing works. Social networks give you proven ways to broadcast your music online to millions of users. At one time, social media was a trend, but today the social networks have become one of the leading methods for marketing businesses, music, or services.

Marketers post information about how effective social networking is on the internet. According to statistical reports, around 64% of the United States internet users interact with user-generated content. Around twenty six million of the United States visitors used Twitter. Over 220 million users from around the world used mobile social networks.

Solid research information is available online. Using social media to market your music is effective if you use listening skills, establish trust, add value, and project authenticity. Importance is placed on strategies and actual tools you use to promote your music. The best strategies are found in social media networks.

Pepsi recently started advertising in social media after finding that the social networks offered the company a broader spectrum of internet marketing solutions. The company invested millions. Pepsi expects to triple the revenue of expenditures in less time. Pepsi will appear in commercials during the Super Bowl.

Of course if you are just starting out, you cannot afford to spend millions in media commercials. Save money by adding your videos to You Tube and the social networks. Ensure that you list your information and videos in the right categories. If you put your music in the wrong category, chances of getting exposure is reduced by about 90 percent.

Studies show that people who add their email address and contact information in videos increase their chance of building email campaign lists. Therefore, if you choose to use social networks for online music marketing, add your email and other contact information so producers can reach you.

Are you looking for online music marketing [http://www.musicomg.com] resources you can use to promote yourself? Be sure to visit our online music directory and add your site: [http://www.musicomg.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Martindale

http://EzineArticles.com/?Using-Social-Networking-for-Online-Music-Marketing&id=5194645

Mr. Billy Top 10+1 booking rules

1. Know what all direct and indirect competitors charge

2. Know what they can and cannot offer

3. Know where they work, and what their buyers budgets are

4. Know what you do that the cannot or will not do

5. Know the secretaries or other gate keepers by name, be their pal

6. Know when to book (timetables for different types of gigs on your working areas)

7. Know how the buyers want to be contacted and treated

8. Know what they need before they do and offer it to them with an offer they can’t refuse

9. Know how to under price and over deliver

10. Know when to ask for the next gig, testimonial or referral

+ 1. Know how to surf and link leads!

My 10 +1 cents

Mr. (yes I used the word competition!) Billy

www.twitter.com/kidmusicmarket - FREE daily kids music marketing tips…yes FREE