Helping Independent Musicians Build Sustainable Careers

Through Professional Insights, Tips and Resources, we at Indie Rock Inc are determined to help independent musicians create more sustainable careers for themselves.

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Easy Steps to Create a Website for Your Band

Benefits to Having Your Own Website

You’ve got a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Soundcloud. That’s great! You’re already headed in the right direction.

As cliche as this sounds, your band is your brand. Having at bare minimum a landing page for your band is going to be a huge help moving forward in connecting your fan base and creating a central location for everything that has to do with your band. Think of your band as a small business.

Use your band’s website to unify all your social media content, provide a homepage for your fans to discover more of your music, find out where you’re going to be playing, and where to buy your tunes.

Purchasing Your Domain

Locking down your domain name is the most important step in creating a foundation for your band on a website.

There are several domain name providers you can use.

Two examples (and the best options) are:

Go Daddy

Unfortunately, your domain name might already have been purchased. My name is currently a website for an Australian dancer with the same name. Sometimes fate doesn’t roll in your favor. Don’t fret! this gives you the opportunity to be creative. With the correct SEO and content, your page can even beat out whoever has your full band name in search engines. Take Aer for example. www.Aer.com belongs to the Atmospheric and Environmental Research organization. So what did Aer do? They made their website http://www.freshaermovement.com/.

Your first step should be purchasing a domain. Your next step would be to set up a hosting service, such as bluehost.

Setting up Hosting

When it comes to website hosting there are several options for you to use. It’s best to shop for the best deals because many of these hosting providers will offer great incentives for you to choose them over their competition. Bluehost is a hosting service that has been around since 2003 and has been consistently ranked highly in user reviews and articles. They are also one of the few companies recommended by WordPress, the service we will be setting up to manage your content.

Things to look for in a hosting service:

24/7 customer service

One click Wordpress installation

Top Rated service provider

BlueHost

BlueHost is one of the highest rated services because of the high user satisfaction ratings and their multiple options available to its users. They have a customer service chat box in the site which makes it easier to communicate, rather than deal with back and forth emails. It’s recommended for small businesses and blogs, and the plans can be scaled up with the amount of visitors on your site. They have promotions running that can get you a free domain and hosting for $2.95/month for the first year.

The steps are relatively straightforward to set it up.

Go to bluehost.com and pick your plan. I recommend going with the most basic version, but the plus version will get you more emails and unmetered website space.

After you pick your domain, you have the option to either enter your already purchased domain, or to create a new one through their service.

The final step is to enter your payment information and review your purchase before submitting.

Setting up an Email

There’s no better way to come off as professional than to have an email address associated with your band name or band website. This gives you leverage to book gigs like a pro, respond to fan conversations, and have multiple people in the band have their own @bandnamehere.com email.

Each hosting service will have some sort of internal navigation. If you ever get lost, contact their customer service. They are more than willing to help you set these things up!

Wordpress

If you are not familiar with WordPress, it is one of the most versatile CMS' out there. CMS stands for Content Management System, which means it essentially lets you run a website and all the content on the website without having to write a single line of code. Huge publications like TechCrunch, MTV News, Fortune, Time Inc, and the New York Times use it, as well as thousands of small businesses, startups, and brands.

Most hosting services have one click WordPress installation somewhere on their internal navigation. It’s as simple as clicking on a button and your site will be running WordPress. After you install it, you will have your very own admin panel to help you oversee your themes, posts, and site content. You can have multiple people with different levels of access, making it perfect for an entire team.

Finding the Right Wordpress Theme

Finding the right theme can give your site the perfect feel to it that you want. Wordpress has thousands of themes online, and it comes standard with a small handful of simple, clean themes. You can also search Google for Wordpress themes. There are thousands of free themes, but there are also a large variety of beautiful premium themes. One of my favorites that I personally use is Avada. It comes with a bunch of different themes inside it and has good customer support. https://theme-fusion.com/themes/avada-wordpress-theme/

Setting up a theme is relatively straightforward using the “Customize” feature.

Finding the right theme is pretty simple when you know exactly what you want. What’s the most important stuff your fans want to see? Your music (or links to your music), where they can buy your music, where  you’re going to be playing, recent news, and pictures of the band. Make sure to hit on these points for the best website experience for your fans.

Googling “Best Free Wordpress Themes for Musicians” will give you a good variety of the top themes out there for your band page.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Singl:

I love this theme for bands. It’s simple and has exactly what you need. You can customize your homepage with a high quality image, as well as add some of your content straight from Soundcloud. All of the social media links are at the top left - don’t worry if you are not using all of them, you can delete some upon customization. Scrolling down on the theme shows upcoming dates for future shows. This is one of the cleanest themes I’ve seen, but as far as customization goes you are locked into its simplicity. This is great if you are just getting started and want a landing page, but if you are expecting a more elaborate set up this theme doesn’t give much way for added customization. It also doesn’t have an internal blog page, but that can be added in the customization page within WordPress.

Harmonic:

I’m a fan of this theme because I’m a firm believer that a nice, high resolution image can do wonders to set the vibe for a website. You can pick an image that best flows well with your music, or add in an image of your band for that personal touch. This theme also has links to social media readily available, which is critical in integrating all of your social media audience. The only drawback seems to be that it doesn’t have a place to upload your music, but that can be solved through a plugin that allows you to embed your songs from youtube or Soundcloud.

https://harmonicdemo.wordpress.com/

Muzhit:

Muzhit is a pretty cool theme to help you showcase your music in a colorful way. It stands out from the typical trending themes. This gives you a couple rotating slides on the home page, allowing you to show different sides of your band rather than hoping one good image can tie everything together. As much as I like the theme, it is a bit clunky in design for my taste. I’m more a fan of the simplistic, clean themes - but everybody is different! Pick a theme that best suits your band’s personality and ultimately meets your goals.

These 3 themes are free, a few other options are on https://www.wpkb.com/top-10-free-wordpress-band-themes/. There are countless beautiful free and premium themes that aren’t hard to find.

Proper Setup of SEO

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This pretty much means that whatever page or content you create, if done with proper SEO, will pop up ahead of other related content in Google, or whatever other search engine is used. If you have a band name that is relatively unique like Aer, it will have less competition in the search engine and will pop up closer to first. But if your band name is something like Air, you’ll be competing with pictures of clouds, movies, AirBnb, and Macbook Airs.

The key to remember is that search engines do not look at how pretty your website is, they merely read the content to see what is applicable for the user searching. The words, content, and material on your website need to be of a high quality and quantity for search engines to pick it up. This can be tricky for a simple site design. The solution here would be to have an internal blog that is focused on not only making interesting content that speaks to your audience, but content that hits the key SEO phrases to bring in visitors. Think about what you would type into Google if you were searching for music, and try to include those exact phrases in your articles. Words found within your content that accurately match the words found within your titles are given more credit. The amount of links to your website matters as well. Search engines scan the entire internet and give value to the amount of links on different pages that ultimately bring the reader to your page.

SEO can get tricky, especially because results may take a weeks or even months to see. The good news is that social media is overtaking SEO in terms of discovery very, very quickly. When was the last time you actually googled something like “Death metal band”? My advice is to not spend too much time intensely studying the dying art of SEO and just have the basics covered. Having an internal blog does wonders for not only your SEO, but your brand image and email collection as well. Figuring out how to build an effective social media presence will actually take your SEO to a new level - just be sure to link your band’s website on all your content to give it more weight in search engines.

So with these simple, painless steps, you can create your very own Wordpress Website. This will just be another way to to promote your band, but it will also serve as a hub for all things related to your band. It will be a destination for fans, where they will find your social media, photos, bios, and most of all, your music.

If this article help you in creating a website your band, please give it a like, share, and comment!!

http://www.indierockinc.com/wordpress-for-musicians/

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How to Network the Music Business and Create Opportunity

Whether you’re launching a band or solo career regardless of location, you’ve probably heard that networking is the key to success. Although there is no magic key to unlock every opportunity, having a strong network of people that support and assist you on your musical journey will certainly help kick a few new doors open.

When all is said and done, networking can be a great deal of fun or a huge inconvenience. It really boils down to your personality and how you go about building your network of support. For some, it’s just a matter of sharing your art with family and friends. In doing so, this network will act as any other, helping to spread the word about your music. For others, it may require you to step out of your comfort zone to schmooze a room looking for that one connection that can make it all happen.

The good news is that we live in a day and age where it is easier than EVER to network on a local, regional, national, and even global level! There are so many ways to build both a personal network of friends, family, and followers, or a professional network of key players to help you in the achievement of your success.

What is Networking?

Well, its a two part answer. I am going to explain what Networking is, but also how to build a network. They may seem like one in the same, but you will see how both processes differ.

First, let me tell you the definition of networking.

NETWORKING - A method or process of building your name/brand in the public eye, by way of promotional opportunities, word of mouth, and face to face interactions with fans and/or other industry professionals.

The aim of networking is to get yourself and your music into places and situations where you can drum up some interest, make a connection with someone, and leave a lasting impression. This can be as simple as talking with someone at a coffee shop that you overheard talking about a band you like, or as complex as going to events and shows everyday to make friends with club owners and promoters. The key is to be creative and find your own niche to get your name and face in front of the people that should fall in love with your music.

A great way to start is by looking around for a minute and asking yourself where opportunities might be. For example, ask yourself "what gear do I use," "can I reach out and do some free promo for these companies in hopes that they see potential in me and maybe endorse me as a new artist," or "hey, my buddy plays at that club all the time, could he help get me a gig there." If you consistently look around you in your daily life and ask “where is there an opportunity waiting for me in this,” 90% of the time an opportunity will present itself.

To give a personal example of this concept, I was working at an online music retail company that sold an innovative new midi guitar product. One day, the boss sent me to their local warehouse to pick up a shipment of them and I got to speak to the owner of the company. After a few minutes of talking about the great concept of their product, I randomly posed the question “Hey, do you have a local artist or clinician doing any promo stuff for you on these,” to which he answered no.

BAM! just like that I handed him my business card and told him that I have posted countless hours of product demo videos online for several music brands and I would LOVE to share my excitement for his product with others. Soon thereafter, I became “the face of the company” and hosted many webinars, tutorials, in-store events (Guitar Center, Sam Ash), and trade show demos (NAMM, etc.). They even put my picture on the product box! Needless to say, this opened up a number of doors for me and propelled me into the public eye as an expert on my craft. The best part about it is all I had to do was ask!

It’s important to be on your game all the time and constantly be looking for opportunities that may be right under your nose. Your confidence will build every time you ask and even if you hear the answer no over and over, you can bet you have still made an impression just by reaching out to inquire. You will find many unique ways to get the word out about who you are and what you do and, if you love making music and sharing it with others, then you’ve got the hardest part out of the way already. So be creative and leave no stone unturned when it comes to looking for opportunities to network.

BUILDING A NETWORK - Compiling an ongoing list or database of people, places, and things that will grow and expand with you alongside your musical journey (ie: musicians, managers, promoters, booking agents, clubs, etc).

Building a long term “network” of industry peers, fans, friends, and other connections that you can reach out to along the way is a major key to your bands success. Yes, going around and speaking to anyone who will listen is important. But what about after you have spoken with them?

Creating a list or database is a way to build and keep track of your network as it grows. At first it will probably consist of a shoebox full of business cards, some industry source books, and a stack of CD’s from some bands you really loved sharing a stage with. But your network is much more than those things alone. It’s a culmination of every working piece of information that can get you to that next step. When something happens in your career take note of where and when it happened, and who helped you make it happen and then use those little nuggets of wisdom to make your next move. So while you're out there networking, keep track of it and build your network.

When I was 17 (cue that groovy Frank Sinatra jam...here) I did a demo that landed me a gig in my first original metal band. They were the real deal and had a full crew, management, and connections to all the local venues, sound guys, and PA companies. I watched all these guys do what they do and eventually learned a little from each of them, from what goes into putting on a show, to booking a tour, etc. To this very day, we are all a very tightly knit group and, even though we all branched off to new projects, we fostered those old connections to help us seek out new ones, thus growing and building our networks.

Connecting and Reconnecting

It’s important to remember names and faces, even the associations you have with those people you work with along your musical pathway, because that is how they come to remember you. Each time you sincerely thanked a club owner for allowing you to use their stage is a time you earned the respect of another person in your industry. Every time you reach out to that old bandmate and ask them to fill in for a couple of gigs, you re-open a connection. You never know what they have been up to for the last 5 years or what they might offer you in return. When you take note of the people, places, and faces that make up your local music scene, you empower yourself with a connectivity that keeps you plugged into it.

The other side of building your network is to find new opportunities to connect with fans, followers, and other “non-industry” connections that will be just as important to you as your pals in the biz. These are the real people that you love to hang out and share your passion for music with. It could be your favorite tattoo artist (love ya Jason), your buddy at the music shop, or the guy that tends bar at your work. These people you have connected with that have come about through a common interest of music, are the ones that will back you up and get behind you, whether you play to 10,000 people a night or 10. Harvesting these kinds of “musical friendships” will produce a feast of personal and professional support for you and your career that can last a lifetime.

Family

The music industry really is a relatively small, tight knit family, once you actively participate in it. The more you get out there and get involved in your local scene, the sooner you become a fixture in that scene and accepted as part of the family. That’s also most likely when new and bigger opportunities will present themselves. Networking is all about building connections between people and the music and growing those connections beyond ourselves. With each new connection we expand our circle of influence to encompass a larger area.

Before you know it, what you see as the big scary music industry will prove to be just a small, tight knit family after all!

If you think this post gave you quality info on how to network and build your network, please like, share, and comment below!!!

http://www.indierockinc.com/how-to-network-the-music-business/

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Get More Out of Your Studio Session With These 4 Tips

So you’ve found the right bandmates, written some great songs, and are ready to get in the studio. Once you go through the process of finding the right studio to record in, there are some important details you’ll want to keep in mind before your session starts. I am going to discuss exactly how to make sure that your band is prepared in order to maximize the time that you have booked.

Instrument Preparation

Aside from rehearsing and getting your tracks ready to record, it is essential to make sure that your instruments are in good working order. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many times we have had bands show up with an array of great guitars, only to find out when hearing them back through the speakers that there are nasty buzzes on certain notes or chords that sound awful due to poor intonation. What’s worse is if there is a problem that isn’t bad enough to notice while recording and it reveals itself later down the road. You may think that your guitars and basses sound fine, simply because you’ve been using them during your live performances without a problem. However, it is always a good idea to have the instruments you’re planning on using in the studio checked out by techs before heading in to record. Issues that may not be very noticeable in the context of a live show can make the instrument unusable in the studio.

Stringed instruments aren’t the only culprits: make sure that you have fresh heads that are properly seated on your drums and that your cymbals aren’t cracked; a crack might sound ok in a rehearsal space or venue, but when put under the microscope of the controlled studio environment, they can sound very bad.

If you have any electronic instruments, such as synthesizers or keyboards, check the outputs to see if they’re noisey. It is also a good idea to go through and check this on any pedals that you’re going to use. Sometimes a failing or faulty power supply can cause excess noise. This is usually a simple and inexpensive fix.

Besides your instruments, think about other things that you might need, such as strings, picks, batteries for pedals, and drum sticks and heads. Not having one of these little things when you need it in the middle of your session can become a showstopper and quickly end up costing you time and interrupt the flow of your recording process.

Vocal Preparation

Your voice is an instrument all on its own, and, being so fragile, it requires a very special degree of care to sound its best. Everything from what you eat to the way that you talk can impact your voice. It is absolutely critical that you know what to do and not to do in the days leading up to your recording session.

According to expert vocal coach Cari Cole, these are the things you should start doing three days prior to your session: drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, get 8-10 hours of sleep every night, eat extra fruits and veggies, gargle with warm salt water, drink organic Throat Coat tea daily, dont have any dairy, caffeine, foods that cause acid reflux (such as sodas), spicy foods, or antihistamines, and don’t eat late, consume alcohol, or smoke.

Vocal chords are very fragile and already take on quite a bit of stress especially when touring, so taking care of them before going into the studio is very important. While doing everything on this list may be inconvenient, and sometimes not-so-fun, if you’re reading this post then you’re probably committed to making music more than just a hobby. With that being the case, making a great recording is a huge step in your career so taking the proper precautions ensures nothing but success.

Advancing Your Session With The Studio

“Advancing your session” means getting any pertinent information to the studio before the day of your session. Most legitimate studios are going to have some sort of questionnaire or email that they’ll send you ahead of time in order to find out the details and specifics of your session so they are prepared. If the studio is not asking the right questions, here are some things you should take upon yourself to clear up:

Give them some examples of artists and/or records that inspire your sound. You don’t have to give them 30 different instances or break down each of your songs into specific influences, but having an idea of what you’re after will help the engineer make the appropriate choices to achieve a sonic landscape that matches your creative vision.

Let them know the basic instrumentation of your project (drums, guitars, etc.) so they can have some things set up and ready to go before you arrive, or at the very least formulate a plan ahead of time. You might also want to give them more specifics, such as the size and setup of your drum kit, or if you have multiple amps that a guitar player switches between. If you already have a stage plot of your live show it might be helpful to send that, noting that it’s just to give them more details about your general setup.

Building on this, you can let them know what instruments you’re going to be bringing so they have an idea of your sonic palette and can think about how they might want to both use and capture it.

If you’re bringing any previously recorded tracks that you want to build on, give them a heads up, and let them know the bit depth and sample rate of these files. Also, make sure that these files are prepared in a manner that is organized and easy to navigate so you don’t end up wasting valuable time trying to find or arrange things. Even if you don’t have any pre-recorded tracks, always remember to take a USB drive with you. It helps to know the studio’s policy ahead of time regarding how and when they will deliver your files once the session is complete.

Let the engineer know your expectations and discuss a plan of action. If you don’t have a lot of experience in the studio, it might be difficult to gauge how much time you need or have an idea of how long it will take to get things done. Good engineers will be very accommodating in explaining what to expect.

The Day of Your Session

When the day of your session arrives, BE ON TIME! In fact, tell everyone to be 30 minutes early. Setting up all the mics on instruments and getting sounds locked in takes time, anywhere from a couple of hours to potentially half a day. Any time that is lost due to late band members is time that you could have spent getting takes. Also remember to be patient. The engineer should always try to move as quickly as they can to get things rolling without wasting any time, but not at the cost of compromising the sound. Drum kits can easily have anywhere from eight to over sixteen microphones on them, plus multiple signals for bass, guitars, keys, etc, and beyond getting these signals into the DAW, there will need to be decisions made to dial in the sounds to fit the desired aesthetic of your recording. Taking the extra time now to address technical issues and creative direction will ultimately save you time in the long run; it is, for instance, much easier to make sure things are in phase now, rather than having to go make adjustments in each session later.

Just remember, once you have the basic setup and everything is sounding great, that’s that. There may be some small things that need to change here and there, but it generally should not be too time consuming.

So, congratulations! Once you’re this far, you’re well on your way to having a final recording you can be proud of. Believe me when I say if you follow the simple steps outlined in this post, it will make the entirety of the studio recording  process much smoother and more efficient.

http://www.indierockinc.com/getting-ready-for-the-studio/

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Musicians: Obscurity and How To Avoid It

Musicians: You Are Facing Obscurity

There is no middle ground for musicians. Your art will be discovered or your career will end in obscurity. No matter how much natural ability (talent) you may have, it will not save you from obscurity. The one and only way to fight obscurity is through consistent, efficient, and targeted effort.

“When we turn pro, we give up a life that we may have become extremely comfortable with. We give up a self that we have come to identify with and to call our own.”  - Steven Pressfield

Below is a clip of author Malcolm Gladwell as he discusses the Beatles path to initial discovery and the power of consistent targeted effort.

http://bit.ly/1LhTSZg 

The Beatles are known today as geniuses, but it wasn’t always that way. The general consensus before their April 1964 release was not good. Every major label in the UK had passed on the band. Famed Beatles producer George Martin thought the Beatles were “rather unpromising.”

The crazy thing is that all of this occurred after the Beetles had put in their 10,000 hours. They played cover songs 8 hours a day, 7 days a week to scrape by in Hamburg, far away from the comforts of home.

From the outside it seemed they had nothing to show from all that hard work. The average band would have given up. But…. through the repetition of playing the hit songs of the day as a group, they were a sleeping giant. All the Beatles needed to do was find the right team... which they found in manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin.

We don’t live in the 1960’s though. DJ’s have replaced the musicians who once cut their teeth playing covers at local gatherings. The redirection of the music industry revenue streams has left record label development funds depleted. No longer do you have gentelman like George Martin sitting inside a studio on Abbey Road, waiting for the opportunity to take a chance on a new artist.

No. We live in 2016. In today’s world, getting minimal exposure is much easier than it was fifty years ago. The problem is that this exposure is exactly that...minimal.  Spotify, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud - you name it. For most people, that minimal amount of exposure is enough to satisfy their ego and give them a sense of accomplishment. This is why Next Big Sound reported that under 10% of musicians in the whole world will ever be considered “discovered.” Who knows, if these avenues would have existed in 1964, maybe the Beetle’s would have taken the easy way out. After all that rejection, no one would have faulted them. Although, I’m glad they didn’t.

So what is a musician to do if they want to get past the level of minimal exposure and beat obscurity?

Start with maximum effort. Move past the point of relying on your natural talents. The talents and abilities you were born with will not get you much further than “YouTube Sensation,” if that far. Making the leap from exceptional to professional requires correct practice, concentrated thought, and fundamental mastery. Someone once said to me, “To break the rules, you must first master them.” I realized the “rules” are not so much a strict, regimented way of practicing music as much as they are a fundamental mastery of your craft; a craft that can be different for every musician.

For example, if you are playing as the guitarist of a rock band, your craft is not only mastering the guitar in a way that allows you to experiment with different and new sounds, but also entails mastering the the art of being a performer, and the art of getting along in with your fellow band members. Are you one of the chief songwriters? Well add the mastery of songwriting to the list as well.

You can not get to a level of mastery without consistency. One of the hallmarks of being a professional is being able to do your job regardless of extenuating circumstances. There is no such thing as “writer’s block” to the professional songwriting musician.

Think about the life of a touring professional musician. Some of them spend over 300 days on the road a year and still manage to work on a new project to release the following year. Do they have bad days? Do they ever have moments of self-doubt? Do they ever feel like what they’re doing doesn’t matter? Of course. What puts them in the category of professional is that they push through their self doubt and bad days and get the work done that needs to be done.

The professional musician requires a unique skill set. A heart surgeon can attend specialized schooling to be taught their craft, but the musician... not so much. Sure there are music collages out there, but attending a specialized music school means absolutely nothing if your goal is to become a professional performing artist.

Let me clarify. A medical professional goes through specialized training and schooling, expecting to follow a fairly certain career path upon graduation. A musician goes to a specialized music college, receives specific training while attending said college, only to graduate into a world of uncertainty. However, at this point he’s four or more years behind every other musician who lives in a world of uncertainty and chose to navigate the industry properly.

This was the exact reason why a record label’s artist development programs were such an important and powerful thing. In an industry that eats its young, where any chinks in the artist’s professional armour have the power to destroy their career overnight, a guiding hand is the key to an artist’s success.

Indie Rock Inc. was created for the sole purpose to illuminate the path of musicians who want to develop themselves past the point of minimal success. We can and will do this by providing knowledge, creating tools, and building communities for you to leverage on your journey. The path, however, is not for the weak willed. It requires an endurance that only an unquenchable thirst for success can provide.

http://www.indierockinc.com/musicians-facing-obscurity/