How to Become a Successful Independent Artist or Songwriter

By far the most important skill to have if you wish to become successful with anything, is ATTITUDE.  An old Chinese proverb once said, "90% of the journey towards success is over once you have stepped outside your front door."  The reason many people fail, is because they'd rather stay in and watch the TV.

Of course, that first step outside is a philosophical one.  As a musician or songwriter, you spend the vast majority of your time being creative. If you think that writing a great song, or playing an instrument well, is the hardest part of being a successful artist, you are wrong.

Despite all the skills you need to know and perfect in order to make your music shine, these pale into insignificance compared with the hard work and other skills you will need to learn in order to record, market and sell your art successfully.

Fortunately, most creative people also seem to excel at other things.  The term "Jack of all trades" could quite easily apply to most musicians or artists.  After all, the first thing most artists have to learn, is how to find time for their art whilst running a home AND holding down a Day Job in order to pay the bills!  It is therefore not unusual to find musicians who are also Physicists, Engineers, IT Professionals or Teachers, to name but a few.

Most of these people are quite content to keep music as a hobby, at least whilst bringing up a family. However, we all get to a stage in our lives (usually once the kids have grown up and left home), where we want to cease working for a "Living", and instead, work for our own "Satisfaction".

There are few things in life more satisfying than being admired for something we created.  If our creations also manage to influence others, then it is even more rewarding.

This "first step outside your front door" is taken when you decide to pause from the creative aspect (the ideas), and take a positive step towards learning new skills, or employing others who can do those things for you.

There has never been a better time in the history of mankind, to take those steps, either by yourself, or with others who would help you.

--Where you used to have to pay for tutoring, or buy books, in order to learn the techniques of songwriting, or playing an instrument, you can now find scores of articles on the Internet (like this one!) that will help you for free.

--Where you used to have to save up a considerable amount of money to pay studio costs and hire session musicians to make a decent demo recording, you can now find all the necessary tools, and even the musicians, on the Internet who would help you for little or no cost at all.

--Where you needed to sign a record deal in order to be able to afford a producer and a master quality studio, you can now buy your own PC and some music software, and collaborate with a producer online, who will give you the capability to make radio-ready recordings.

--Where you needed a record company with a huge advertising budget to market and sell your recordings, you can now (with some hard work), market and sell your CDs to the Whole World for next to nothing.

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The Music Industry doesn't like the changes that the Internet has brought to the business.  Digital media can be freely copied by anyone with a PC, anywhere in the World. No longer do the record companies just have to worry about the CD pirates who manufacture illegal copies to sell on the black market; they also have to now worry about every PC-literate man, woman and child, making their own copies too! This has led the music industry into a perpetual fight against filesharers (making enemies of many consumers in the process), instead of embracing the business advantages that the Internet brings to us.

The Music Industry still believes that 8-16 year-olds buy most of the records, so they are still catering primarily for that market. Recent industry figures are telling a different story, and the secret is the "Baby Boomers".

Yes ... The same people who created the above market perception in the 70's by buying the largest proportion of records ever, whilst they were teenagers, have now grown up!  The largest age group to buy CDs TODAY, at 26% of the population, are over 45.  Not only that, but they still like the same kinds of music as they did then.  So there is no need to change your art to fit today's teenybopper market if you aren't that way inclined.

Now that we know the secret, we also know that the next big thing in music, isn't going to be another form of Hip-hop, Techno, or R'n'B; but a return to real music, such as was made during the 60's and 70's.  However, we'll be creating it with modern tools on a Home computer DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) system, instead of in a multimillion pound studio complex!

So, whilst the Music Industry is still hesitating by trying to shun the new digital era in favour of antiquated business models, hardware in the form of CDs, and markets that still only cover limited territories; we can now jump ahead of them onto a more level playing field, find our own markets, and sell to the Whole World with only a simple website!

<b>Sounds easy, doesn't it? ...</b> Well, that is the first hurdle you will face.  So many musicians think it is easy, that there are millions already doing it!  So to be successful you will need, like any other business, a proper business plan.

<b>CONCLUSION</b>

<B>The road to being a successful independent musician, begins with ATTITUDE.</b>

You need to find enough time in your schedule to drop the guitar & scoresheet and use your creative energies towards developing a proper BUSINESS PLAN.  This means taking a step back and listening to your music through Joe Public's ears.  You need to think up a business name, logo, and short slogan that encompasses what you are, and what your music is trying to say to people.

<b>Register your business "name" by buying a domain name that suits you as soon as possible.</b>

Pages on free MP3 sites and Free domains do not give you a professional image. You MUST have your own site, or at least something that offers you a unique look and features of your own.  If you want people to find your music unique & special, then you also need an image that is unique and special.  That goes for your email address too.  Genuine business people don't use their Hotmail, AOL, or Yahoo addresses for formal communications.

<b>Make sure all your paperwork is in order.</b>

If you are planning on making an eventual living from your art, you will need to be registered as a business or as a self-employed sole trader.  You need to make sure your tax and income are all accounted for, so you may have to buy yourself an accounting package, or learn to use Excel Spreadsheets, or employ an accountant.  There is also a lot to learn about how copyright systems work and whether you feel you need to form your own publishing company, record company, or register your copyrights with an agency.  Much of this will depend on the laws of your home country.  Alternatively, you can sign a non-exclusive deal with a small independent label or publisher to handle all the music-related paperwork for you.

<b>You need to either take the time to develop some basic web design skills, buy ready-made templates, or employ someone to design a site for you.</b>

Make sure your logo and colour scheme is fluent throughout your site, your stationery, your CD artwork, and any other communications device, such as email.  Make sure your site includes some way of gathering a mailing list, such as a response form or a "double opt-in" form of registration.

<b>Plan a marketing strategy.</b>

Marketing is all about finding the right market for your product.  This may involve a certain amount of consumer research.  This can be expensive, so use the Internet as much as possible to find groups of people who like similar music to yours.  Try to find out other things about these people so that you can get a clearer picture of who would be interested in your music.

<b>Plan a promotional strategy.</b>

Gather contact lists of magazines, local newspapers, TV and radio stations.  Plan an 8-week promotional strategy leading up to the release of your CD.  Use any press, or airplay you get as a news item on your website.  If you have some money to invest, plan a set of concert dates in local venues for dates close to any publication dates.  Plan a poster or postcard campaign.  Contact local charities, hospitals, schools and shops, in fact anyone who might be prepared to play your CD in a public place.  If you want local record stores to stock your CD, you will also need barcodes and counter display boxes. Use the mailing list you have been gathering from your site to promote any news to your fans with a regular newsletter.  Offer free tickets to gigs, or run competitions for free CDs.  Use your fans as extra leverage to increase the momentum of your promotional campaigns.

<b>Don't under-sell yourself.</b>

Make sure that any music you decide to give away as a promotional MP3 is different in some way to the music you are selling.  E.G. It will either be an early un-mastered mix (demo), or a different mix, or a song you are never going to release for sale.  Otherwise, make sure all samples you make of your records, are either short clips, or low-fi mono samples.  The price you set for your releases should never be too far below that of major record company releases.  Your price tells your customer what "stage" you are at in the business.  Price yourself too cheap and you are more likely to lose customers because they will automatically assume you are an "amateur".

<b>Make yourself and your CD easily accessible to your fans.</b>

Always answer any emails promptly.  Check your emails at least once a day and reply to any new enquiries immediately.  The average time expected by most people for a response by email is 12-24 hours.  Do not SPAM.  Make sure you only send bulk emails to people who have opted into your mailing list, and if anyone wants to opt out, make sure you delete them straight away (not several weeks and 10 disgruntled emails later!).  To contact businesses, you will need to write individually and personally to each of them.  Always use a business "signature" with your artistic or business name, slogan, web site address, and possibly your telephone number, on every email you send.  If you have released a CD, make sure you add the link to that too!  If you have had your CDs duplicated professionally and are barcoded, you can also expand from selling them in internet stores such as iTunes, Amazon, and CDbaby, to high street stores.  You must also sell them from your own site or at least provide links to the stores where they are available.

<b>Never stop "Networking"</b>

Carry your business cards with you at all times.  At every conversational opportunity, if someone happens to mention music, or gigs, make sure you advertise yourself as an independent artist.  If you have a modern mobile phone or MP3 player, make sure your latest CD is on it!  You never know who you'll bump into in the supermarket.  The first thing someone will ask when you mention you are a recording artist is "What kind of music do you play?"  If you have your MP3 player with you, you won't even have to answer! (This is always a difficult question for an artist).  You can just play it to them!  Also make sure you frequent all the music-related newsgroups, forums, bulletin boards, MP3 sites, chat rooms etc. at every opportunity.

<b>Finally, my "Promotional Tip of the Week"</b>

Familiarise yourself with all the P2P filesharing systems that the music business hates so much.  You can use them to your advantage.  Make ads or lo-fi samples of your music or CD and label them like this...<br>
<i>John_Mckeon_Friends_SoundsLike_Simon_&_Garfunkel.mp3</i><br>
Make copies labelled with every well-known artist you think you sound like, and keep all the files in your shared folder.  Then, whenever you are logged onto the service and someone searches for music by these well-known artists, your music will be on their list of results!

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Online Games: How to Play to Win

Learn how to improve your playing quality and even overall understanding of online gaming and how you perform while playing online. Gaming online is a huge business nowadays and that means that there are millions of people worldwide at online game sites all the time. Many are people just like you and me that like to play online and have fun doing it. Some of these people enjoy it so much, that they often do not even care about improving their skill and raising their chances of winning.

So Why Should You Work on Your Game?
Working on skills will not only help you improve your success while playing online games but will also give you higher self-esteem and a sense of achievement. And remember that the faster you master the easy games, you can turn to the more complicated ones and match your brain and skills against the real experts.

How to Improve Your Online Gaming Skills?
Online playing is different than just playing on your personal computer at home. While online, you have to pay attention to many different things that need to be taken into account, and I will detail these here:

1) Internet Connection: Pay attention to your online connection and make sure that the internet connection is strong and without any connection breaks. These can be done easily by trying to play a simple online game before moving on to the more serious ones. For example, play scrabbles or checkers online and then see how your connection works.

2) The Graphics: Check that your PC screen is strong enough to run the specific game you have in mind. Download the trial and play it on your computer. If you can't run or if it does not run smoothly, be aware that though the online version is less of a strain on the resources of your computer, the game might get stuck or stall from time to time. What can you do? Other than spending money on improving the hardware of your computer, the only thing you can do is to pick another game.

3) Limit your game time: One of the most important facts that young players tend to overlook is that they cannot play forever. The body needs sleep and even though it might appear or one might not feel tired, your performance drops as the hours pass by. It is important also to (if the game permits it) try and drink water while playing and not Coca Cola or Pepsi or anything else sweet or alcoholic. These will only make you more sleepy than before even if for the first few minutes it will feel as if they are invigorating you.

4) Game Plans: Have a look at how others are playing before you join the fray. Study the manner how the game moves and how others hide or move. Even if you end up playing against other players, eventually the nooks and corners of the game are similar. Remember that people tend to move in similar fashion so the whole point is to get a whiff of game movement.

5) Strategy: Look up different strategic models and systems offered and posted on the internet. Your players might use some of these and if you are aware of them it will be easier for you to block their moves.

Conclusion:
By preparing yourself for the online gaming experience you do not lose anything. In fact, it works quite to the contrary. Think of it just like in terms of playing at online casinos and not at game sites. You would not play for money without researching it before, would you?

Are Soy Candles Better Than Your Average Candle?

Everyone loves candles and they are a great way to add warmth and comfort to your home. You even have a few choices of candles such as regular wax candles and soy candles. Candles are affordable and they can last for a very long time. The best part about candles is that they look good both lit and unlit. Oddly enough most people, me included, own candles that they never intend to light for fear of ruining their beauty.

Candles are both practical and gorgeous and of all the candles on the market soy candles are the most sought after these days. Everyone is wanting to get themselves some fantastic soy candles. Only soy candles are healthier.

Did you know that candles can be dangerous to your health, the health of your children and even your pets? Some candles have been known to kill pet birds! Paraffin is not good for people to be inhaling and some candles are even made with lead wicks in them. Can you image how much harm could be done with a lead wick?

If you were to purchase soy candles you would not have these types of worries. These soy candles were created to combat the growing problem of inferior cheap candles. Now you can have all the glory of good candles and candle light without the dangerous components. You can even get wonderfully scented soy candles.

There are so many reasons for you to choose soy candles over regular run of the mill candles. For instance, did you know that soy candles can last twice as long as other candles? They are so affordable when you look at them this way. You will be able to get twice as much use out of your candles when they are soy candles. And since they burn slower and longer the smell will be even better.

Have you ever noticed that some scented candles get overpowering in their smells? That is because the candles burn so hot and fast. When you are using soy candles this is not a problem. Since the candle is burning at a lower temperature the scent will be dispersed at a much better rate, one that will keep your home smelling fresh and clean all day long.

The biggest complaint that most people have about regular candles is the soot factor. How many times have you had to try and scrub off soot after lighting a candle? Well, the good news is that you will never have to do this again when you switch over to soy candles. Soy candles have no soot production and they will never stain anything at all.

Soy is also a renewable resource. It grows in the USA with ease and there is a plentiful amount to it. You will never have to worry about hurting the environment when you are using soy candles. You will be giving people new and better jobs and helping the world at the same time. Soy candles are really the best way to go and if you have not checked them out yet, what are you waiting for?