BTTV BLOG

Want custom sculpted ear buds to kick your jams through? Well, you can for about $300. Yes, pricey but if you listen to a ton of music this might be a really great idea. I always say, “buy once, buy right”. Just don’t go to the bar for a couple weeks…oops, did we just say that?

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Custom-fitted to the unique shape of your ear in just four minutes, the Sculpted Eers earbuds from Montreal-based Sonomax deliver dynamic sound in an ultra-comfortable way. The DIY kit comes with easy instructions for achieving a perfect fit for either of their two models—a single speaker PCS-100 or superior dual driver PCS-200.

via Cool Hunting.

There are plenty of music apps out there, but none (that I know of) that connect an artist to a fan quite like Songpier. It’s an effective way for artists to promote and share music, photos, news, tour dates, merchandise and other content with fans on their mobile devices. It’s goal is to help musicians interact with fans in order to convert casual music fans into loyal fans, and loyal fans into paying customers.

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Music should be heard and not seen, a friend once said.

But what happens when music players have large color screens, sophisticated controls, processors, and connections to the internet? Music becomes an app — or at least it can, where such an approach makes sense.

Songpier targets musicians, labels, music promoters, and even music reviewers — anyone who would have cause to wrap a song in an app and distribute it to any smartphone that supports HTML5.

via Epicenter

Really interesting stuff. It’s not all hundred dollar billz and expense accounts. You favorite band may just be scraping by, even if they are playing amazing shows. This is just a little bit of the post, click through for more.

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The idea that musicians—even well-known musicians who sell out large club shows—have money is a misconception for the most part. Financial concerns and viability obviously vary from artist to artist; no two musicians are exactly the same when it comes to money and how it’s made and spent. But what most fans fail to realize is how much it costs to be a musician and how much more it costs to be a musician on the road.

THURSDAY vocalist GEOFF RICKLY is fully willing to admit that his personal income last year was less than $10,000. Rickly spent months of 2010 working a retail job in Brooklyn to make ends meet; and thanks partly to living in New York City, he hasn’t owned a car in seven years. If that surprises you, you’re not alone. “I saw something online once that said, ‘Oh those Thursday guys don’t care, they’re driving their fancy cars and living in their big houses,’” Rickly says. “I thought that was so funny. In our biggest year, when we were all over the radio and on TV, I made less than anyone with a desk job makes. It’s a weird misconception. But I remember when I was a kid, I saw Snapcase; and they were the biggest hardcore band I’d ever seen at the time.

Read More @ Alt Press

Good times if your band has a Sonicbids profile. Now you can port all your info to a handy tab on your Facebook Page. Pretty neato.

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Members are getting notified later today. “We realized that we were helping people get gigs but not cultivating their audiences,” Sonicbids founder Panos Panay told Digital Music News at Midem this week. “We needed to do more.”

That was the impetus behind the recent acquisition of ArtistData, and now, the push into Facebook. And, at first blush, this looks pretty slick. At the onset, bands can quickly get started by linking their Sonicbids and Facebook accounts, and subsequently porting Sonicbids EPK information. So, within seconds, Sonicbids profile details are loaded onto a Facebook tab.

Read more @ Digital Music News.

Are you an up and coming band desperately trying to get picked up by a label? It’s not going to be easy. In fact, it’s going to seem impossible, and it definitely won’t happen over night. Follow these steps and be persistent. If you play your cards right, you might get a shot. A long, long shot.

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1. There’s Nothing Unique About Your Group
Bands need to show they’ve penetrated a niche in the market which labels don’t have access to. Show you’ve got a niche, and labels will recognize you’re the vehicle to take them there.

2. Attitude
Never under estimate the power of a good attitude. Labels are essentially entering into a business relationship with artists and the last thing they want to do is enter into a relationship with a group who feels entitled to being signed or someone who’s arrogant.

3. Funds Aren’t Flowing
Musicians should only sign with labels who (a) are legitimate, (b) have money for development, and (c) have distribution in place. Today this is the equivalent to finding a unicorn wearing a diamond saddle who’s sitting in a pot of gold while smoking fountain of youth cigarettes with a leprechaun.

4. Timing Is Everything
Cycles in the music business make and break sales. If you aren’t falling in the right cycle in terms of market demand and genre success, hold tight, the cycle will more than likely rotate back in your favor.

5. The Delivery’s Wrong
Rejections are common when bands pitch their products inappropriately. You get one shot. Pitch incorrectly, the door closes. Entertainment attorneys know how to structure label proposals and better yet, work with label executives on a personal and daily basis. Use them and maximize your chances of getting signed.

via Music Globalization

How much is a song worth? To Disrupt.fm, about as much as a Facebook post.

Disrupt.fm offers an easy-to-use service for uploading songs directly to your Facebook page. This cuts out having to post external links to other sites that host your music. It displays a nifty looking player, along with a link to download the track. A free download? Sort of.

Fans can stream the song for free, but when they decide to download the song, Disrupt.fm shares it with their entire friends list via the news feed. You can also add your two cents about the track, as seen above.

This is a quick and easy way for thousands of ears to hear your music. For every download, it’s shared with an average of 130 people. If a chain reaction occurs, your song could be the next big thing.

Sign up here!

So you’re a musician with some spare time or maybe looking for something to keep you occupied on tour. Why not start a blog? You don’t have to write about yourself or your band. There’s plenty of ways to network, connect, communicate, and share without being self-promotional. Use these 10 blogging tips and you may unintentionally gain more fans.

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1. Review Albums of Other Musicians. Not only does reviewing the music of others put you in the position to be networking at a heightened level, but it gives people a sense of your own musical preferences.

2. Interview Other Musicians. It can deliver an incredible wealth of insight for others to use to their own benefit. Even though the insight is coming from someone else, it is your blog that is hosting the info! Win-Win!

3. Write About a Local Music Scene. Given that you live somewhere and not 100% on the road, you must have a local scene. There is no better way to target your audience and learn about who THEY are then getting out there and attending local performances.

4. Analyze the Music Industry. People are always on the lookout for a good analysis of the inter-workings of the music industry, including both the business and marketing sides.

5. Give Music Lessons. Share the wealth! A clean, concise and easy to understand blog that offers up music lessons is incredibly valuable. By offering this information out to the community, you are opening the doors to great networking opportunities and shows your value without the need for shameless self-promotion.

Read the next 5 over @ MicControl

Valid question from How To Run A Band. With all the social media and such floating around it does beg the question, “Why even put up fliers for a show?” HTRB takes a looks and gives their 2 cents. BTTV would say that, yes anything helps get the word out as long as there is some kind of strategy behind it.  Click through to get more details on the ideas they throw down.

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Here’s what bugs me about fliers. You can do it, and no one will notice. You can not do it, and you risk ruining a show. And after spending hours dealing with fliers, you never know if it did any good either way.

I have the following ideas. But take them with a grain of salt. I’ll more than likely refine or completely scrap these ideas. Please call me out if you think I’m full of it. I’d be more than happy to change my mind.

Un-Social Media: Not Everyone Is On Your Facebook Page

Your Band As A Brand: Get ‘Em Recognizing

Note The Genre Of Music For The Night

Make It An Event

Read More @ How To Run A Band