Creating Press Kit

Language of Music - Part One

2008-05-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

Marty Buttwinick is a successful musician, teacher, composer and author. Throughout his colorful career he has played a multitude of venues from clubs to major concert halls, and has recorded for film, records, and television. Not only has Marty had a spectacular career himself, his students have gone on to great success, too.

You can find out more about Marty's experience here.

Marty is one of the stable contributors of articles at Help 2 Succeed.

His recent two part article series may be of great benefit to you in your music career. The first article is titled Language of Music - Part One and speaks of music as a language. You can click HERE to read the article.

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Create Polls to Find Out About Sellability

2007-11-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

How do you find out if people want your music? And once you find out that information, how do you create a demand for your music?

Creating a survey - also called a poll - can get you the much needed answers that you are seeking. You can sell your music, if you do your homework first.

First start by creating a poll. You can do that easily at Help 2 Succeed in the community area.

You can put a link to your musical piece(s), ask people to listen and in the poll, ask questions about the piece. Help 2 Succeed is a "No Criticism Allowed" website, so you can be certain of not being invalidated about your creative works.

Ask questions about the emotions that people feel when listening to your music.

When you get answers, use the information to present your music in order to make sales.

To Your Success!
ILIA
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Musician Band Singer and CD Replication

2007-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Technology is available, in this day and age, for any inspiring musician, band and singer to record, create, and even duplicate CDs which is a boon to your music career.

The cost of the duplication of CDs have dropped a lot over the last several years, making itaffordable for anyone who wants to create CD's.

If your band is ready to start selling CDs, your best option may be to have your CDs replicated. Replicated CDs are the same CDs that you'll find in music stores by major label artists. The presentation includes excellent artwork printed on the CD inserts, nice tray card inserts, screened art on the CD, and they are even shrink wrapped.

You can utilize the artists at Help 2 Succeed to create the presentational aspect of your CD. IN that manner you not only help yourself but help an aspiring artist, too.

The retail CDs that you buy aren't duplicated, they are replicated. This means that an exact replica of your master CD has been stamped out on all of the other CDs. If you are serious about selling your music for profit, replication is the way to go.

The fact is, most stores simply won't sell duplicated CDs. Duplicated CDs can be against the law, which is the main reason retail stores simply won't carry them. Replicated CDs let the stores know that the CD is legit, and they will almost always carry replicated CDs.

For musicians and inspiring bands, CD duplicationcan tend to be a bit more expensive than that of replication. To duplicate CDs, you need a computer with a CD burner, your CD-R media, cases, and man hours.

An investment of time in yourself and/or band is well worth the effort.

Replication is obviously just right for musicians looking to make profit off of their CDs. You can get a bar code that can be printed on the back of the case insert and sell your CD's most anywhere - including just setting up on a crowded sidewalk with the CD on display while you entice your audience with music.

In today's world, you can succeed with a little bit of ingenuity.

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Creating A Press Kit

2007-09-16T11:09:00.001-07:00

The definition of Press Kit from the Random House Dictionary is "a packet of promotional materials, as background information, photographs, or samples, for distribution to the press, as at a press conference".

One of the most important steps in marketing your band or act is developing a strong press kit. Press kits can introduce your band to media contacts, talent buyers, booking agents and record labels.

Your press kit should be creative, succinct and should accurately represent the image of your band.

You can not only create the press kit in a printed version but also as an electronic press kit online. This has been found to be a very successful action.

A Press Kit typically consists of the following elements:

- Band Biography
The bio should include a brief history of the band and its accomplishments. If you're a new band don't make things up, just list your influences and a brief musical history of key members. Avoid over-selling your band. Never use statements like "the greatest band since..." You can always list influences but keep the list short. Include anything unique that sets your band or act apart from others. Hopefully music journalists will use this as a foundation for any articles or reviews on your band, so help them make it interesting.

- Press clippings
Include any favorable reviews of recordings or live performances. Make sure press clippings are presented in a visually appealing format. If necessary, re-type them with correct attribution in the same font.

- Band Photo
The photo should be black and white so it can be easily duplicated in weekly entertainment newspapers. Make sure to include booking information at the bottom of the photo as well as a logo if you have one. Venues can use this to create ads for upcoming shows featuring your band, so it is important that the picture represents the band. Creativity is important even in your promo photo. There are several promo photo cliches to avoid: band against - brick wall, chain link fence, train track, in an alley etc.

- Quote Sheet from music professionals (including club talent buyers, radio, press, music professionals). The quotes you include should hopefully highlight the quality of your music, skill at marketing concerts and your level of professionalism.

- A CD with your two best songs.Remember that most people are busy and get plenty of CDs in the mail so you've got one song, two at the most of your very best songs to really make an impression.

For resources at your fingertips for designing the graphics, How-to articles, presentation tips and supplies, the latest live job listings, free marketplace and more, stop by the free Musician Band Resource page at Help 2 Succeed.

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Starving Musician?

2007-05-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

How about changing your Starving Musician status to Flourishing Musician? Writing a plan of action will enable you to achieve your goals and change your label from starving musician to flourishing musician.

Decisions that you make to change your starving musician status on a daily basis are great but for the long term plans of action that you want to achieve, it’s a very good practice to sit down and work it out first – then charge through the steps to attain your goals.

The first thing to include in your ‘change from being a starving musician’ plan is to decide what you should call yourself and/or your band. Staying with a plain old ‘John Doe’ type of name may keep you in the starving musician status, finding a name that will be remembered is better.

To stay a starving musician, just pick one name that you like and go with it. To get into the big time, make yourself a list of possibilities. Why? A bright idea may or may not communicate to the audience that you are attempting to reach. Making a list of possibilities, then going out to ask the type of person that you want as an audience which name is liked the most is what will get the results and change the starving musician status.

Don’t just ask family and friends. You know the type of music you play and the audience that listens to your type of music. Ask that crowd as it is the one that is going to become fans and purchase your releases thus taking you from starving to thriving musician.

The above should be included in your "change the starving musician status to thriving musician" plan for success. Stay tuned for more tips on writing your plan of action.

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Decisions, Decisions...

2007-05-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Before you set out to create the press kit for you and your band, the very first thing to do after you decide that you are going to make your music your work, is to create a plan of action.

It helps to dream big and with that huge dream, state your overall purpose that you have for creating music.

A statement such as "Creating Music in Order to Make money" is not going to get you very far.

A statement such as "Creating Music That Makes People Feel Happy" or "Creating Music That Inspires Others to Create" or "Creating Music That Invokes the Idea That a Person Can Acheive His/Her Dreams" will get you a long way in your endeavor.

Putting the dreams down on paper is the very first step to making the dream come true - and this is done long before you create your Press Kit.

A stated purpose and a general layout of the steps to do are vital to the success of any venture, whether it's a project around the house, a business idea that you want to bring to fruition or any type of dream that you want to achieve - getting the basics written is the first step.

A bright idea, no matter how out of this world, can be accomplished if a person sits down and works it out. Keep it simple. It is not necessary to get complicated or verbose about your ideas or purposes.

What is needed is to create a simple statement of purpose, then a concise layout of the steps that you can do to accomplish it.

For example, to name the purpose of being a successful working musician, consider the following questions in order to write your purpose:

1. Are you creating music to help people in any way? or inspire others? or to help yourself to express emotions that are important to let others know about?
2. Why music? Why not working in a factory? Why would you want to get famous as a singer/musician?
3. What is it that you are looking to acheive with your music?

Write out your purpose, work on it until you have it just right. The next article will be about how to write your plan.

To Your Success!
ILIA

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Creating Press Kit Information
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Got Fans?

2007-04-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

You can get your fans to help you to get the getting the word out but you can include the custom made products with your press kit, sell along with your cd's at booths at art shows and use the custom made (real) stamps to mail every press kit, letter, bill or card with.

Utilizing the services at Zazzle can help you not only

Just Point & Click...Right???

2007-03-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so what about all the cool stuff you can do with digital images? And, what has that got to do with your Press Kit?

Digital cameras are great inventions - real easy to understand, point, click and you have a digital photo that can be uploaded on the internet or printed out.

With the vast array of graphic programs available, you can crop and adjust the contrast with a few clicks creating a beautiful photograph. Most software can manage red eye removal, special effects, frames and you can adjust the color to be true to color or you can get creative - even making your once gorgeous color photo into black & white or a negative image. There is n o limit on the amount of special effects and tools that can give your photos that professional edge that you need for getting gigs and contracts.

It's a very good idea to study the manual for your camera and for your graphic art program. Look up definitions of words that you do not understand. You will find lots of tips and tricks to create the most wonderful pictures by doing so.

The main thing to remember is that digital images are free so take lots of photos. You can ditch the duds and still have many more left that are good for printing or for uploading to the internet.

Make your photos as special as you are and give yourself a unique, professional image that is unriveled.

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Building a Network to Get Noticed

2007-02-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Who knows who seems to be a game that still is played in this day and age. It used to be that if you knew "so-and-so" he could get you into the night club run by his uncles cousin!

Well, connections still do occur but it's done slightly different. Take a look at www.craigslist.org and you will find that there is a "community" section. Watch the ads there and the events to find network meetings. Also, on the right hand lower side of the index page you will find a section "Gigs" - be sure to keep a watch there for jobs.

Over at www.backpage.com you will find a great section for musicians - watch the ads there to get connected to your local community.

Now, here's a very helpful article on How to Get Noticed By Those Who Can REALLY Help Your Music Career!

To Your Success!
ILIA

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Creating Press Kit Information
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Wilson Jones Presentation Binder

2007-02-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

The Wilson Jones Presentation Binder is the most professional binder that you can get to display your Press Kit.

You can start the presentation off right with a photo of yourself and/or your band in the convenient front cover presentation "Smart-View" area. The inside pockets for business card and loose documents plus the ability to create your own custom labels makes the Wilson Jones binder the most professional one that you can create for your Press Kit.

I've been using the Wilson Jones Binders now for four years and have gotten the same response time and again > that the presentation was professional.

I have received back up, support and sponsors because of the presentation alone.

Nowadays, because I have received such good response, I don't consider any other presentation binder. I just get the Wilson Jones binders and why not? I've been able to get the response that I needed with the binders!

Sincerely,
Leigh-Ann

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Creating Press Kit Information
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Income Ideas for a Starving Musician

2006-12-12T19:09:00.002-08:00

A starving musician can do the usual by plopping his hat up-side-down while playing on a street corner, in a park or in the free speech area of any library – hoping to catch the stray coins from passers-by. That will certainly stave off hunger but it’s sure not going to create the kind of income that you are going to need to go from starving musician to thriving musician.

Starving musicians have frequented beach’s, malls and sometimes bars that will allow the up-turned hat. So, don’t discount the ‘hat trick’ while looking for other avenues to make money. In this day and age it is very possible to find gig and job opportunities that in prior ages just were not available to you. Wouldn’t it be nice to take the "starving" off of the front of "musician"?

A musician that is starving, without computer, can go to a public library to find resources and gigs on the computers there or go to a friends house. This is the digital age, music can be recorded and sold digitally, paid for online and downloaded instantly. With just a bit of time invested, you can have you own "money machine". Help 2 Succeed has a free download page where you can rapidly download and use programs to create your digital products. Starve as a musician no more!

A starving musician can create his own shop at the Smart Gallery – at the Help 2 Succeed Free Marketplace, where it is easy to instantly create a listing to display and sell your digital works. The opportunities are as endless as your musical creations. To get more ideas on what a musician can do to flourish, you can stop by and read the first article in this series "A starving musician".

To Your Success!
ILIA

Here's More Tools for Presentations

2006-12-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

If you click here, you will find downloads especially for musicians. On this page, you will find audio software.

Information on how to profit from seminars, how to get good publicity photos, tips for press releases and a few more downloads for presentation can be found by clicking here.

Utilize the downloads to better market yourself and your band in order to create a lasting impression to your audience with your music.

To Your Success!
Ilia

Professional Presentations Made Easy

2006-11-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

Creating professional presentations does not have to become a huge expense. With a little time and effort you can create incredible presentations with free software.

The first program that you should download will help you to create business cards, brochures (sell sheets), letterhead, flyers, greeting cards, posters and newsletters - with templates so you don't have to spend time attempting to figure out the layout. You get state of the art professionalism with this program. Click Here to get your software. There are a few pages to get you acquainted with the software and to see how it can help you to create presentations. This link will explain about the desktop publisher versus using a word processor. This link will show you the desktop publisher in action.

Next, if you want to create a standard look and professional presentation - similar to the Microsoft Powerpoint software, but FREE - click here to get your software. (it may take a bit of time to download but it is worth it!) Once you download the software, use the Impress Tool, you can click here to find out what it does.

By using both programs you can create a one of a kind, extremely professional Press Kit. Creating a Press Kit has never been easier!

Basics for Creating a Press Kit

2006-11-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some basic steps to creating a Press kit. You can easily create a handy kit that contains everything a recording company, radio station, magazine editor or reporter needs to know about your music in order to sign you or write a bang-up story about you.

You can do this yourself so that you can save money, it really doesn't have to cost a fortune.

This is the very basic outline on creating your Press Kit. Each step will be expanded upon in order for you to be able to totally succeed in cerating a professional presentation. Stop back often to get tools, programs and tips in order to create a great presentation.

Instructions
Step #1: Choose a pocket folder to hold all your information. Go to your local Office Supply Store - Staples and Office Max are very good stores. Go to the "presentation" section of the store and you will see some very professional pocket folders. Get one that will go along with your music. In this day and age, you can make a pocket folder with a Press Kit communicate not only the information inside but also make the package aesthetic.

Step #2: Write short, one-page bios of each person in your band - or just one if you are a soloist, and print out the bios on a laser or inkjet printer on company letterhead. Include the title of each person that is in the band, history with the band, quotable statements, basic personal information, band purpose, artist's statement and pictures.

Step #3: Compile all recent press releases, positive press coverage and sell sheets [a sell sheet is a concise one page document that provides all the details about your CD on one sheet of paper - similar to a brochure. You need one sell sheet per CD]. Print the press releases on company letterhead, and color copy or professionally photocopy recent articles for inclusion. Presentation is everything; standard copy paper doesn't make the best first impression.

Step #4: Do you write a newsletter? If so, include it. If you don't have one, work on releasing your first issue, which can be done inexpensively on a laser printer. Just include some basic clip art and photos, articles of your type of music, and upcoming gigs or shows.

Step #5: Assemble all the information in a logical order. Typically, start with the bios on top, followed by your sell sheets, newsletter, and any press releases or recent clippings near the back of the packet. Add photographs, comments from your fans and, if you have a website or are featured on any other websites, include that information.

Step #6: Top it all off with an informative letter that briefly explains what's inside and offers to provide any additional information needed. If there are business card slits in your pocket folder, include your card there. If not, it's appropriate to paper clip it to your letter.

Extra Notes:

Include small promotional items, such as a magnet or your latest CD. This is a good way to
keep your band name right in front of them.

Include only the most interesting details in your bios. For example, any noteworthy musicians or artists in your family? or, have you or any band members worked with a known band? This is noteworthy information.

Keep your press kits on hand in your studio, at gigs and shows, at community events you may attend, or at events you may hold. Make your information readily available to every news outlet you encounter.

Remember, first impressions are important.