GOOD GAME PT. 4 MONITIZE YOUR MUSIC

WRITTEN AND POSTED TO RAPREHAB.COM BY Brianna DeMayo, Artist Development/Marketing

Monetize Your Movement

Remember, the ultimate goal is to be able to make a living by doing what you love. In order for that to happen you need to make sales. You have to earn an income. You have to be able to get people to buy into your product - whether it be through selling your music, booking shows, selling merchandise etc. And here’s the best part – you don’t need a label in order to do this! As a matter of fact, if you are already making money off of your music, shows, and merchandise, it will be much easier for you to get that record deal that you are longing for (and you will have much more of a say as to how that deal pans out).

There are a few basic concepts that drive a sale regardless of what you’re selling.

Below are some main things to remember when making music and coming up with your marketing plan and technique.

In order for someone to buy into a product/brand there are a few things that have to take place:

They must know the product exists. The product must spark their interest. Both the product and the presentation of the product must be quality. The product must be easily accessible. They must have a clear understanding as to WHY they should buy the product. Now how can you relate all of the above to your music?

Of course, in order for someone to purchase something they must be aware of it. The main way to accomplish this is by marketing and promotion. Your product, which in this case is your music, must be marketed properly in order to get it the exposure that it needs. How can anyone hear and buy your music if they don’t even know it exists?

A good way to spark interest is by putting out a quality product – and by this I mean that both the actual product AND the presentation of your product must be professional. If your music is presented in the right way you shouldn’t have a problem getting a good response from your marketing efforts. This is also the reason why it is so important to figure out your target market – it is much easier to spark someone’s interest if you can relate to them. If you already know a bit about the people that you’re offering your product to, it will be easier to make a sale. For instance, you’re not going to promote a rap record on a country music site (that wouldn’t spark the viewers interest), instead you would promote it on a site likewww.hiphopsince1987.com that targets the hip hop market.

You’re product (music) also needs to be easily accessible. You should have one website (www.yourartistname.com) that ties in all of your other websites (youtube, facebook, twitter, reverbnation etc) that your fans can go to to download your music, see where your next performance will be etc. You can also make it even easier by uploading your music to iTunes, Amazon, etc (I explained a little on how to do this in another recent blog here). You need to make it easy for someone to search for you. People shouldn’t have to take 10 minutes to find you. If you want a flat screen TV from best buy, when you search ‘best buy flat screen’ it will come up immediately. Your music/brand needs to be the same way.

Last but not least, the person needs to have a valid and clear understanding of why they should buy into your product. You need to learn how to seal the deal by taking away any doubts. Before you release anything, you should have already thought to yourself ‘why should someone buy this?’ Understand that this question doesn’t always have to be answered verbally. Part of the answers should be confirmed by both your actions and the product itself – Your great marketing skills, the dope sound of your music, the overall quality of your presentation will all speak for themselves.

In conclusion, it all starts with a quality product, then you seal the deal by presenting yourself properly (making a great first impression) and by building a strong brand. If your fans can see the product, if it is marketed to those that can relate to it, if your presentation is professional and can stand out among the others, you are on your way to making some great sales (if you aren’t already)!

GOOD GAME PT.3 LISTENERS vs FANS

Posted by Justin Boland on AUDIBLEHYPE.COM

It’s deeply stupid of me to admit this in public, but I give a lot of feedback to artists I don’t know. I run several blogs and work at a non-label “record label,” so I’ve got several inboxes worth of new music waiting for me. Always. It’s happening right now.

I try to listen and give detailed feedback to at least five of them, every day I’ve got time online. I’ve developed an acute allergy to computers lately, but they’re an unfortunate necessity. So in 2012, I’ve probably given well over 50 strangers blunt feedback they were not expecting.

What have I noticed? First off, cats are getting better at not throwing tantrums. Only a few of them have called me a hater. Nearly all of them, on the other hand, have added me to their email lists and asked me to get involved as a fan. This is an important point, because I see the same mistake when people reach out to World Around Records and try to wow us with their stats, usually plays and views: that’s transitory bullshit, rather then metrics that reflect real fan engagement.

Being the being I be, I listen to new hip hop all the time. I’m a fan of probably 5% of it. This is not about me, though — because 1) it doesn’t annoy me at all when artists put me on their promo lists, and 2) what the fuck would it actually matter if it did?

This is about you, about independent artists trying to get their numbers up. The message is simple: stop trying to get your numbers up. That was already a dead scene in 2007. You need to work on your product. You can just buy numbers once you’ve got a project great enough to really catch on, go viral, get noticed…you know, whatever version of the fairy tale you’re clinging to these days.

If I’m just a listener, you don’t want me on your email list.

You’re going to have a lot more listeners than fans. Fans buy your shit, fans talk about you to their friends, fans send you emails about how dope you are. It’s easy to get frustrated but remember, this is a slow process unless you’ve got money to burn. “Friends” are not fans. Other artists are definitely not fans.

Be patient, be realistic, and stop dicking around online.

MIRAGE512 FEATURED ON HIPHOPTITAN.COM

BIG UP TO MY GUY MONTGOMERY BURNZ AND THE GOOD FOLK OVER AT HIPHOPTITAN.COM THEY HAVE DONE 2 FEATURES ON YA BOY. THEY FEATURED MY "DOIT DOIT" VIDEO AND THEY ALSO FEATURED MY BLACK HISTORY MONTH EXCLUSIVE "4 THA PEOPLE". THEY ARE HELPING TO SPREAD THIS MELODICSCIENCE GROOVEMENT TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND TO THE WORLD SO Y'ALL CHECK THE SITE OUT AND GET IN WHERE YOU FIT IN. SALUTE 2 HIPHOPTITAN AND SALUTE 2 THA SIP!!!!!


GO TO (http://hiphoptitan.com/2012/02/21/new-ish-mirage-4-tha-people/) AND LOOK AROUND

Whitney Houston Was The Greatest…Why Did She Have To Die To Be Recognized? R.I.P WHITNEY 1963 - 2012

We come from nothing. Nobody is perfect. But once you become a star, they never truly recognize you until you are dead. Whitney Houston had an amazing funeral. What a supporting cast of stars, politicians, community leaders, and business execs that attended and shared their love. But where were they when she was alive?

I’m asking the world some questions, and I just want you to think about what I’m saying. Maybe some of you asked the same questions.

If Whitney was alive and had a birthday on February 18, 2012 instead of a funeral, how many celebrities would have showed up? Do you think Kevin Costner would have made time and said half of the nice things he said while Whitney was alive? With all of the money Whitney made for Arista Records, if she asked for some financial assistance to help put Bobby Kristina through college, do you think they would have helped her? With everything Whitney had been through and overcome, if she wanted to do a program to help girls, what TV stations would have aired it as quickly as they aired her funeral? Now they call Whitney a Legend, the Greatest, the Voice. How many told her that while she was alive? If Whitney were alive, how many of us would be waiting to see and support the upcoming movie, Sparkle? If Whitney were alive, would the Grammy’s have paid the same attention to her? Radio stations are playing Whitney’s music, her videos are in rotation, people are buying her albums, but who are the ones truly benefiting from it now? Some say Clive Davis was her best friend. Just for the record, I’ve been in the music business for over 20 years. You are never friends with the people who are cutting your checks, because they’re always trying to figure out how to not pay you or pay you at the last minute.

TAKEN FROM WWW.ALLHIPHOP.COM

LONG STORY (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) BY MIRAGE feat. DAVID SHA

LONG STORY


THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR A GROOVY JOINT I BEEN PUSHING FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND FINALLY A VIDEO FOR A SONG THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN ME SUCH GOOD FEEDBACK ON. IT FEATURES MY MAN DAVID SHA OUT OF HOUSTON, HE IS A GREAT SINGER AND A NICE RAPPER AS WELL. HIS MOVEMENT IS COMING UP.

BUY THE SAVANT ALBUM @ HTTP://WWW.REVERBNATION.COM/MIRAGE512

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER@MIRAGE512 AND HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MIRAGE512

ROCK N ROLL (512 REMIX) BY YOUNG NICK & MIRAGE OF THE GUUD + LONG STORY BY MIRAGE FEATURING DAVID SHA

Rock & Roll 512 Remix By Young Nick And Mirage Of The Guud by mirage512

Long Story Feat David Sha by mirage512

KILLER MIKE LIVE @ FADER FORT AUSTIN TEXAS SXSW 2011

IF YOU KNOW ME YOU KNOW I GOT MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT FOR THIS BIG RAPPER OUT OF ATLANTA. KILLER MIKE IS THE BLUEPRINT FOR THE MODERN HIP HOP HUSTLE. THIS MAN CAME OUT WITH OUTKAST AND WON A GRAMMY ON HIS FIRST TIME OUT. THEN WENT UNDERGROUND AND BUILT A LARGE MOVEMENT THAT IS GROWING EVERYDAY. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL ADD TO THAT MOVEMENT. GTRG BANG BANG BANG

A SHORT CONVERSATION WITH KAIZEN

EPISODE 5 OF THE SHORT COVERSATION SERIES FEATURES MY MAN KAIZEN OF THE WORDPOWER LIFE MOVEMENT. I FIRST MET ZEN WHEN HE GOT HERE IN 2003 AND HELPED HIM GET CONNECTED HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN TEXAS AND HE HAS BEEN ON THE GRIND EVER SINCE. HERE HE BREAKS DOWN SOME OF HIS PAST PROJECTS AND SOME OF THE NEW THINGS HE HAS COMING UP IN THE NEAR FUTURE, OBSERVE.

A SHORT CONVERSATION WITH MIRAGE

YOU EVER TALK TO YOURSELF?

R.I.P TO THE QUEEN OF IVORY SOUL TEENA MARIE

You know i always had a special place in my heart for Teena Marie, I keep a cd with "Square Biz" on it. I used to think she was kool when i was younger, id think to myself "this white lady is so soulful" I actually thought she was black till i saw the "Lovergirl" video (im a 70's baby raised in the 80's). I have to say that "Portuguese Love" is my favorite song by her with Square Biz as a close second maybe even 1.5 lol she will be very missed. Here is her spitting some truth


R.I.P 12-26-2010

MIRAGE THE SAVANT ALBUM: WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE SAYING

In-case you dont know I (MIRAGE) have recently released my latest album called The Savant on November 22nd. The Savant is a very special project for me because out of the 5 solo albums and the group album I have with my group The Guud, I have had the most input on this one. I actually produced 70% of this album. Thats big for me because I just started making beats in 2008 and im still pretty guarded on letting the world hear them. This album is almost like my first album in my mind. Anyway here are some early reviews that I have recieved thus far. I will be adding more to this post as time goes on.



YOU CAN BUY IT ONLINE RIGHT NOW @ WWW.REVERBNATION.COM/MIRAGE512 (CHECK MY STORE)



C. SMITH

I have to say that listening to this album made me very angry, why are you not bigger? Your sound and post production is very professional and tight. You present a positive message through out the album. You have a sound that while original and experimental is still very radio friendly.

I have listened to this album at least 14 times since I got it a week ago. It is in my car on repeat, so I hear it every time I get in my car.

Generally I have an issue with intros to albums, they always seam pretentious, but even that worked for me.

I don't want you to think I am blowing smoke up your butt, if I had anything really bad to say you can believe I damn well would, but there isn't anything glaringly bad on this album. The only thing I have an issue with, and it is a small one, is the vocal in the background on SMELL GOOD, "Mister Miagi on some bar number 9." the "On" in the middle seams like it may be just a smidgen off beat. I noticed it as a drummer but I had to listen 3 times to figure it out so it is really really close.

I liked the way you included others on your album, it made it feel like the album is part of a community and not just a "ME, ME, Me" presentation to the world.

I know most of this sounds cheesy, but that is who I am.






D. PARNES
Like a great baseball hitter, Mirage uses the whole field. In The Savant Album, Mirage uses complex sounds to back up a smooth voice. I’m a metal fan, but ya gotta appreciate how he uses (in track 3, "If you Believe") keyboards, xylophone, and bongos in the same tune!


HERES THE VIRAL VIDEO AND THE COMMERCIAL

THE GUUD (LIVE FROM THE ACES LOUNGE 2010)