chapter7

The Music Gladitator Manual

A must read for any artist or label wanting to succeed in the music industry

7 PLAN TO SUCCEED
“He that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a good waster.”

•        Develop a statement identifying your mission. A vision which all involved will focus on.
•        Chose the name for your company.
•        Identify where you will be recording your songs.
•        Define how you will manufacture and distribute your product.
•        Define how you will market your songs.
•        Identify how you will promote the songs and the artist.
•        Identify your marketing and promotional objectives.
•        What type of print advertising will you use?
•        How will you use the Internet?
•        How will you pick your team? If you already have a team, how will you measure everyone accountability?
•        Identify your budget for such an undertaking?
•        Identify your competition and how you will work around them.
•        Will you use an independent promoter?

Once you have documented your information, you will have something to refer to from time to time to ensure you
and your team stays on track.

Also, this type of information could assist you with writing your business plan. Of course you will need additional
input, but at least you will have most of it ready.

To star developing your plan, you should start establishing your table of contents. Make sure the content of your
strategy has detailed, measurable, attainable, and time based information.

List all the things you must do in order of its priority and as you write your strategy. Use the following guidelines:

•        Detailed
Define exactly what it is you want to achieve.
•        Measurable
Define how you will know if you are accomplishing the goals you have set.
•        Attainable
Make sure your set goals are achievable.
•        Time-based
Identify your goals with completion dates.

While designing your plan, use the following information to help you design your strategy. This will help you define
how you will succeed in riding the industry beast with your eyes wide-open.

Figure It Out. If you want to sell a million CDs, figure out how to sell a thousand first. After you sell your thousand,
put out another release and sell 2,000 or more.
It's not hard to sell records, but a plan is necessary. Realize it takes months to set up a record and to build a buzz
for it. Retail space in stores is limited and there's a lot of competition in the market place, but if worked properly,
your record can sell.

Nonetheless, to sell units, your release must stand out from the crowd, stores need to be able to stock it and
consumers must want to buy it.
Retail stores don't want to stock records which don't sell. This is a problem you must be aware of. Through the
eyes of a retailer, there just isn’t enough space. What makes it even harder is knowing the independent record
stores are disappearing. So you’re best to make sure you promote your releases at the street level first. This is
because an artist needs fans to go to the stores and ask for the record.
Let's look at this logically. If you owned a record store and every unit you gave me eventually had to be shipped
back to the label, would you continue to take a risk on the person who you are spending additional money
shipping the CD back to, without obtaining any sale from the product? Consider how small the average retail store
is (or any specific genre section of a chain store), and realize every record placed on a rack is taking space away
from another established artist who will most likely sell.

In order to be successful at the retail level, start promoting your hot, hot, hot song on the streets. Your release
needs to have a buzz of some type. People need to talk about your music. Word of mouth is the number one
occurrence which sells music.

Your selected single should get attention in the clubs and heard on the streets first. Kevin Black of Interscope has
always stated “a person should build their music from the ground up—starting with the streets first; clubs second,
mix show, college radio, urban radio rotation, and then pop radio, if it has potential.” You should also realize if
your record/CD stalls in the street and in the clubs, rethink the single which you have selected to represent you.

You should start locally with your promotion and eventually spread yourself and product regionally before
attempting to go national. No one can afford to conquer the entire country at once as a small independent label or
artist.

Consumers will go and ask for your CD when there's a reason for them to want it. Maybe they heard the single or
one of their friends told them about the record. Either way, if they want it, they will get it. I find it a good idea to
establish a focus group and have them select your best two songs and establish which song would be the single
to push.

It is also important to create a plan and stick to it. Focus and determination is what it will take to get you through
the chaos of putting out your own record. Many offers will come, most of which are from people who can't do much
more for you than you can do for yourself.

It's important to weigh everyone's reputation, check on their accomplishments and successes to be certain they
are legitimate and be patient to wait for the opportunities which will bring you exactly what you want. You will not
get what you deserve; you will get what you negotiate.

The music business is not fair, but the person who holds out for what he or she really wants, usually gets it!
Understand your goals and know what you are going to do to accomplish those goals. Be familiar with your plan of
attack?

ONE:
I suggest you make a list and ask yourself the following questions:
•        Who are you?
•        What are you planning to do?
•        How will you succeed in your undertaking?
•        How will you finance your endeavor?
•        How much time will it take to make a profit?
•        Decide on the business structure you will use?
•        How will you sell your product?
•        Define your music.
•        Who are the people identified which will buy your product?
•        How will you bring your product to the marketplace? “What sales technique will you use to convince people
    to buy your music?”
•        Who is your general market?
•        Who are your specific markets?
•        What part of this larger market will you or your product fit into? In other words, who are your customers?
•        What is their general age?
•        What is their sex?
•        What is their lifestyle and interests?
•        Have you compared your product with similar product price and customer satisfaction?
•        What Methods will you use to promote your product? Will you use news releases, sponsorships, publicity
    flyers, contests and giveaways, classified ads, trade shows, radio spots or charitable donations, etcetera?

TWO:
Posters, Postcards, Stickers and Flyers. It has been stated that approximately one percent (1%) of the people
contacted will respond to them. Though you will see the larger companies doing such, remember their budget has
been established to do this.
Always ask yourself this question. “Could it be the major companies know new upstart record labels will see their
posters and believe they must do the same in order to become successful in this business?

Is it possible their budget behind the scenes is to keep you out the game? After all, it takes dollars to make things
happen and you could end up spending your entire budget on posters.
I’m not saying the use of these tools could not help you, but relying on such is not a good idea. Of course,
distributing 10,000 flyers for 100 responses is a good start.

None-the-less, you must now take the time to ask yourself if it would be more profitable to your overall quest to
also place an ad in a newspaper to reach more people for a bigger return, while using the flyers and cards, to add
a personal touch to your campaign while adding numbers to your consumer base for success. Not to forget if you
use the flyers, posters, postcards and sticker on a one on one hand-to-hand campaign effort it may, in fact it
would be a better tactic for a successful campaign.

Always keep in mind how you should spend your promotional dollars wisely and remember something I stated
before about major labels having approximately 20% of their annual gross income as a budget. Independent label
budgets are approximately 10% of projected sale.
In other words, if you can only sell 200 CDs and it cost you $2 to record and manufacture them, don’t spend $500
to promote those CD’s if you’re selling them for $4 each. You have lost money.

If you are the artist and this is accepted as the cost of building your fan base for your shows where you are
collecting monies from CDs, Door charges, Tee-shirts, etc. then it’s acceptable. But one thing is for sure, YOU
MUST CALCULATE and make certain you’re going to make a profit. Think as a business person. Know your goals
and understand the music business as a business.

What is your promotional cost?

Promotional cost include designing and printing art work for your CD and press kits, in addition to web sites,
advertising, radio promotion, videos, public relations, mailing cost. Know your plan and plan to succeed with your
promotional budget.

The measure of a successful marketing campaign is the extent to which it reaches at the lowest possible cost the
greatest number of people who can and will buy your product or service. Generally speaking, the more time a
marketing activity requires, the less money it costs you and vice versa. For example, networking costs nothing but
time. On the other hand, advertising in a city newspaper costs a bundle while requiring little time.

If you want to increase your customers' perceived value of your product, you can do so by either increasing the
benefits or decreasing the price.

Think small at first. Target your hometown. If people begin to tell you how your hometown will not show you love,
find out why and do what will have your hometown showing you love.

You do not need major radio first. Start with your local college or community radio stations.

Personally, you need to create the buzz in the streets, then the clubs, then your smaller radio stations. If you
cannot achieve these things, why are you going to a major radio station looking for airplay?

THREE:
Street Team. For next to nothing or only a minimal amount of merchandise and a little V.I.P. treatment, people are
willing to assist you in promoting your CD.
A street team with an aggressive team leader is like having a promotional manager. This could ignite fireworks.
Street teams are another way to hype up the project. Provided the music is good, it is just a matter of letting
people know the album is available. Make sure your team is also aware of having to work hard. Select two people
who will work hard for you then four lazy individuals who love your music.
This is how street teams provide awareness, by handing out flyers, stickers, posters, T-shirts, CD Samplers, or
whatever you can afford to create an awareness of the project in the streets.

Once a person checks out your music, they will either tell people who associate with them regarding your song or
songs, if the song was "the bomb" or if it was “worthless." A positive word of mouth approval is crucial in urban
music! More people buy CDs because of what they've heard others say regarding a song than they do through
radio or video play. Smarter budgets will also allow for local use of cable advertising and billboards.

FOUR:
CD Samplers. A sampler of two to three songs is a good tool to use to get people to your performances as an
avenue to get people to purchase your CD. However, you must include on your sampler where the consumer may
purchase your CD in addition to where you will be performing.

Many people fail to do this when recording their samplers, but I must advise you to include a short verbal track
between your songs explaining the message of each listed song. In fact talk in detail regarding the song and what
you want people to think while listening to the song. Unlike flyers, a CD sampler increases consumer response up
to forty percent (40%). Hand-to-Hand combat using the CD sampler could increase sales and attendance to your
performances. The results will surprise you.

FIVE:
Vinyl for local DJs. Working the streets of your own city should be your next task. Visit the DJs at the clubs. Talk to
them. Do not consider visiting radio until you can create a buzz on the streets. Once people have heard of the
artist and others have mentioned the artist to radio jocks, your chances have just increased for additional
exposure of your song when you finally set up a meeting with the stations music director.

SIX:
Search for your true fans. Go everywhere possible to obtain newfound fans. Find out if a person likes the style of
music your CD relate to and get their e-mail address to promote your performances. The best way to gain
exposure and increase sales for an artist CD is to get the artist out there in front of the buying public.

The most important thing, I think, in building an artist's career (after good music) would be a local promotional
tour. Exposing the artists and music to their core target market is exceedingly important. A promo tour exposes
them to the buying public, retail, radio, and local press. Yes a local promotional tour. Performing at various local
coffee shops, etc will get the artist name to the buying public.

SEVEN:
Get your CD into retail stores. Many retailers will accept consignment. You might want to offer in store
performances while requesting for consignment of your CD, because performances can sell CDs. However, do not
limit yourself to your typical record stores. Lifestyle marketing is a great source of selling CDs.

EIGHT:
Motivation. If you are not motivated enough to move your career forward by working at least 5 to 6 days a week,
you will not succeed to the level of music success which has worldwide fame and wealth. Self motivation is what
you will need to succeed.
Someone stated “if you don’t care enough to do it yourself, you can bet nobody else cares either.”

NINE:
Stay in their face. When people continue to see your name, the more likely they will listen to your music. The more
people hear your music, the more likely they will buy your music.
A good promotional plan should average 12 weeks of consistent marketing of your artist and product using
various promotional tools to create an awareness of your artist and product.
Not to be too repetitive, but implement your 12 week plan locally.
I also believe in pre-promotion as well, (4-6 weeks) for approximately 16 weeks of total marketing to create your
buzz.

Thereafter, if nothing happens and there are no signs of success, it’s time to re-evaluate. In other words, change
your strategy or rethink the artist or artists you’re promoting. I’m not saying your artist sounds like crap, however,
they maybe too old sounding for today’s younger buying public. After all, the largest percentages of purchasers of
music CDs are young people.
You should already know this is because as the average person gets older, their financial responsibility becomes
larger. In summary, people spend less on buying music CDs, and have to start spending the income on things
such as rent, car notes, food and dependents, utilities etc. This does not mean older people stop listening to
music, it only states their purchase of music declines.

I must also state how an excellent promotional plan is to work hard at building your story and selling CDs from the
streets up for an average of eighteen to twenty-four months.

Complements of JaHMa.net Written by; Kenneth Bosket

M.B.A.

A goal shoukd
never be to
acheive success
to be famouse.

But to be the best
at what you do, to
acheive succees.