May 2013
2 posts
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Next installment of the Presskit.to Webinar Series...
Building your audience is no easy feat. As a manager, independent artist, or straight-up go-getter, you may seem so overwhelmed trying to figure out your next move that it’s hard to find time to focus on your art. While many artists may be searching for a starting place, there are many resources out there for artists to make their decisions based on hard, fact-based data.
In the next...
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5 Tips for Using Data to Grow Your Social Media...
This is a guest post by Marcus Taylor, Director of Venture Harbour, a company that specializes in consulting digital marketing to companies in the music industry.
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It’s not often in music marketing articles that I quote statisticians, but when talking about data and it’s role in the music industry, who better to seek advice from?
William Edwards-Demming, the renowned American...
April 2013
8 posts
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"The Art of Tasteful Boasting" Webinar Recap
A big thanks to those of you who helped make our first Presskit.to Webinar a huge success. The Art of Tasteful Boasting tackled the ins and outs of writing an artist/band bio and tagline. We were joined by three amazing panelists Chris Robley, Marketing Coordinator & Blog Editor, CD Baby; Julia Rogers, Editor in Chief at Musiciancoaching.com; and Jem Bahaijoub, Founder of imaginePR. The...
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Stand Above the Noise: The Challenges of an Indie...
In the newest installment of the Stand Above the Noise video series, Andrew sits down with Reimut Van Bonn of VUT (German Association Of Independent Music Companies) to talk about the current state of Music Discovery, Maintaing a Professional Music Career, and how the Music Industry is changing.
Check it out below, and don’t forget to Subscribe to the series here for regularly scheduled...
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All-new Webinar Series Premiers April 25th!
This Thursday, April 25th we’re hosting a FREE, one-hour webinar that we’ve dubbed “The Art of Tasteful Boasting: How to write a press-worthy biography & tagline. We are very excited to play host to an AWESOME cast of Panelists, including:
Julia Rogers - MusicianCoaching.com
Chris Robley - CD Baby
Jem Bahaijoub - imaginePR
We’ll be discussing the challenges that...
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Social Network Overload? Top Sites Musicians...
WRITTEN BY LAURA MAXWELL
Key information and recommendations to put social network overload into perspective.
We live in a time where there is so much content fighting for our attention on the internet. We want to keep up with our friends, know the latest news and discover new things before anyone else. Bands face an incredible challenge of getting their message out through all the tweets,...
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Throwback Thursday: Artist Management Contract...
WRITTEN BY AIDAN RUSH.
There have been enough publicized horror stories of bands signing terrible contracts it’s a surprise bands sign any type of contract at all these days. However, while there is an argument to be had as to whether or not record labels are still necessary, it’s this writer’s opinion that artist managers will always be necessary. That’s not because you, the artist, can’t...
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PIMP YOUR EPK: A Webinar hosted by Dotted Music
On Wednesday, April 10th at 11AM PDT (2PM EDT), Andrew Apanov of Dotted Music and the Stand Above the Noise video series will be hosting a 30-minute webinar called “Pimp Your EPK” and has chosen to use Presskit.to as the sample EPK platform. We’ll have a Presskit.to team member on hand to answer questions and chime in with tips throughout.
Sign up for the FREE WEBINAR...
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Featured Presskit: Mally Bieber
Like, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you obv know how much hate the Bieb’s has been getting from the media over the past few weeks. From attacking the paparazzi outside a London hospital (totally the camera man’s fault), to ripping his shirt off at a TSA checkpoint (what’s wrong with showing a little skin?), things have only gotten worse for America’s...
March 2013
11 posts
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Throwback Thursday: Making a Stage Plot
Written by Mike Harmon.
Stage Plots and Input Lists make EVERYBODY happy.
If you’re an artist that has a gig coming up, you should provide the sound engineer with a stage plot and input list at least a day before you get to the venue. This will give the engineer important information about your band’s stage setup, instrumentation, and how they’ll organize inputs into the PA. If you don’t provide...
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Throwback Thursday: There's More to a Free Music...
Written by Jem Bahaijoub
You’ve done it again. You’ve given away a free track from your latest album. It’s on your website. You’ve talked about it on Facebook. Job done, you think. Well think again.
There’s no doubt about it. Free music is a powerful marketing tool. However, the music industry has become so over-saturated with free music that we’ve become desensitized to the process of...
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A Musicianʼs Mini-Guide to Crowdfunding - What...
Written by Jem Bahaijoub
2012 was the year crowdfunding went mainstream. The success of Amanda Palmerʼs Kickstarter campaign threw the alternative fanfunding model into the limelight, and now most musicians are turning to their fans and friends for financial support pre-release. But what is the best crowdfunding platform for you? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each platform? Hereʼs a...
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SAtN interview with Stewart Walker (Musician,...
Our friends at Stand Above the Noise sat down with Stewart Walker, an electronic music producer and Founder of Persona Records. In this week’s discussion, Stewart & Andrew contemplate the state of the Music Industry, and how musician’s art is taking a back seat to things like Social Networking. Check it out, and let us know if you’ve also got a record collection hiding out...
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Update: Our Live Stream From Big Bang
Hi everyone
Unfortunately due to circumstances with the venue out of our control we are unable to stream the remainder of the show at Big Bang. We’re extremely bummed that we weren’t able to finish the show and bring you the awesome tunes of Young Pharaohs, Catch Lungs, Spencer Foreman, Congo Sanchez, vs, and Charity Strike.
Please check them out regardless. In the meantime we...
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Throwback Thursday: I the Mighty SXSW '12 Bus...
Last year at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX, we had the pleasure of hosting several phenomenal acts from across the country to perform on our Tour Bus. We coined the intimate, stripped down videos our SXSW ‘12 Bus Sessions.
For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we’d like to feature one of our favorite sessions from San Francisco based band I the Mighty. Check out their...
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Get Hired: Think like a Hiring Manager
Written by Sophia Moon.
Standing between you and your dream job is a gatekeeper, namely the hiring manager who sorts through hundreds, sometimes thousands of submissions to match candidates to open positions. They are experts at spotting careless errors, have no tolerance for missing information, and will unemotionally eliminate unfit candidates to get to a manageable few that show the most...
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SXSW 2013: Do it Like a Local
Heading down to Austin for SXSW ‘13?
If you haven’t already micro-managed your calendar to the point where your schedule is mapped out by the minute, check out this video from Flow Nonfiction on how to “Do it Like a Local” for SXSW ‘13.
From the best places to drink & grub to the most unique showcase spots (yes, even the local Dentist has a SXSW music showcase...
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Get Your Song on the ALL NEW Presskit.to Radio!
In celebration of South By Southwest 2013, Presskit.to and Backbone Networks have teamed up to create a pop up radio station that will stream curated tunes 24/7 throughout the month of March. We’ll be broadcasting the live stream of three awesome SXSW showcases as well as insightful interviews with music and tech entrepreneurs while we’re down in Austin.
And we want our...
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Make A Great First Impression With A Video...
Written by Sophia Moon.
It’s a dog eat dog world out there and that dream job you’re applying for has applicants lined up from here to Timbuktu. Having a neat Presskit that showcases your professional resume, wins, and media will definitely put you in the lead, but a video introduction might be just the personal touch that could set you apart from a sea of candidates.
To that...
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SAtN Interview with Jonas Forth, Creative Director...
ThingLink, an Image Interaction tool is widely used across creative industries. Many examples of ThingLink can be found in our very own Music Industry, in fact. Alongside major labels, artists, and publishers, your good ol’ buddies at Presskit.to have used ThingLink to create an interactive experience for last year’s Presskit.to Takeover at SXSW.
Our friends at Stand Above the Noise...
February 2013
11 posts
6 tags
Throwback Thursday: The Music Placement Process...
Written by Anishka George
Music placement in film, television, and advertisements has quickly become a significant revenue source for musicians and the music industry. Most importantly, it has become a new platform for A&R and allows the opportunity for relatively unknown artists to break. Any genre of music has a place on film and TV, but the most “licensable” music tends to be of the...
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Landing Musician-For-Hire Gigs with your Presskit
Written by Mike Harmon
A musician-for-hire is someone who provides a service to an event coordinator, talent buyer, or group of people that caters to the event’s specific needs and generates a notable yearly income.
You know, the guy that’s singing “Don’t Stop Believing” in the background of a picture-perfect wedding reception, or the guy kicking off “Hava Nagila” at the most...
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Presskit.to Recommends: Unsigned Only
Tired of entering music competitions whose prizes leave something to be desired? Or that leave the judging up to average music fans that are there just to vote for the band that invited them?
These are common pitfalls of online music competitions, which is why we were excited to come across Unsigned Only.
Now in its second year, Unsigned Only is a music competition that goes above and...
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[Webinar] Advanced Tips: Landing A Job Using...
A lot has happened since Presskit.to teamed up with the Berklee Center in LA to create a solution for connecting alumni (like you!) with amazing opportunities in the music industry. Most recently, we launched the Berklee LA Opps Board, which means Justine is ready to take your Presskit submissions for some amazing jobs & internships in the LA area.
We can’t stress enough how important...
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Throwback Thursday: Navigating Radio Placement as...
Since the beginning of its era, radio has been the driving force of music discovery for most people. Whether a major label is pumping millions of dollars into a nationwide radio campaign for the next big hit or a college student is playing their friends’ band during their 1-hour radio show once a week, radio has become ingrained in the music industry’s business model. And even though radio...
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Understanding Music Publishing with Corinna...
The world of Music Publishing is often a gray area for independent artists - whether it’s too confusing to navigate, or simply isn’t explained well enough, many independent musicians remain uneducated on the topic. Publishing can take your career from 0 to 60 in a short period of time, and aside from being one of the most lucrative channels of the music industry, its ability to launch an artist...
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The Power of Personal - When Traditional Marketing...
Written by Jem Bahaijoub As a new artist it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the constantly evolving new media world. With new marketing platforms bombarding us every day, it’s difficult to see the forest from the trees. So what should you do to market your debut EP? How can you build up a fan base from scratch? Next time you feel a panic-attack coming on and start screaming “where do I start?!”,...
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Webinar: Mastering The Berklee LA Opps Board
Join Ben Maitland-Lewis ‘05, CEO of Presskit.to as he unveils the newly launched, Berklee LA Opps Board and walks you through all the features.
A complete career Presskit can beautifully showcases your best accomplishments, media, and files but it can not help you get a job if you don’t share it with the right people, namely employers at top music companies and venues.
The...
Throwback Thurs: You Have 5,000 Fans on Facebook…...
Written by Laura Maxwell
So you’ve got 5,000 fans. Congratulations! Your friends, family, and first hardcore fans came out to represent on Facebook. To get to this point, you’ve very likely asked everyone you know to “like” your Fan Page, posted awesome videos from shows, and even given away some free CDs. So how do you up the ante?
Industry folks are using social...
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Webinar: How to Create A Kick Ass Career Presskit...
Join Ben Maitland-Lewis ‘05, CEO of Presskit.to, as he walks you through the best practices for creating a truly effective Career Presskit!
A professional multimedia career Presskit is the best way for musicians, producers, educators, and music & ent. executives to showcase their work because, let’s face it, no paper resume could ever fully capture the essence of your unique...
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Throwback Thurs: Capitalizing on a Branded Session
Written by Mike Harmon
Whether you’re an artist that has done a branded video session before, or are planning a session for the coming weeks, it’s important to know how to make the best out of your session. Several labels, studios, and other music brands are making use of live-in-studio videos with high quality audio to benefit both the brand and the artist, maximizing exposure for both. Some...
January 2013
3 posts
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CONTEST: Win a Pair of Lift Passes to Wachusett...
Friends in the Northeast!
Saturday, Feb 2nd - Polar Beverages annual #OrsonOlympics is back and Presskit.to is giving away two pairs of lift passes to Wachusett Mountain and access to their VIP cocktail reception w/ a performance by Boston’s Air Traffic Controller.
The Orson Olympics, hosted by Polar’s big ‘ole bear Orson will have challenges, fun games and raffles sponsored...
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Breaking Up and Getting Back Together in Style
Written by Laura Maxwell
By now you’ve decided you’re “on a mission from God” and you’re putting the band back together. Whether you’ve been out of the game for two months or two years, your “second-first impression” is key. So maybe a full tank of gas, a half pack of cigarettes, and wearing your sunglasses at night will get you to Chicago, but it won’t necessarily make people pay attention to...
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26 Angels Video Tribute
Today marks the one month anniversary of a tragic and horrific incident in Newtown, CT. in which a troubled gunman wreaked havoc at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children and 6 adults. The incident shook not only the quiet Connecticut community, but the entire nation, bringing issues like gun control and mental health to the forefront.
This tragic incident has, however,...
December 2012
1 post
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Presskit.to Receives $10k Northeastern University...
My team and I have for the last several months been a part of IDEA at Northeastern University, a venture accelerator program designed to support entrepreneurial endeavors in the Northeastern community. Along the way, we’ve met so many incredible people, from those obligated to be our guiding lights like our coach Ben Preston and mentor Greg Dalle-Molle to those who lent advice and knowledge out of...
November 2012
3 posts
9 tags
EVENT: Techies Got Talent (Nov. 29th @ Foundry24)
We’re excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with some really great tech startups in Boston like Kinvey, EverTrue, Boston Startup School and Saverr, to bring you TECHIES GOT TALENT! An epic talent show of some of the craziest antics around, held at Foundry24 - our office, studio, and collaborative working space with Strewnshank Studio, November 29th.
The lineup of performers is a...
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Featured Presskit: Streight Angular (Boston, MA)
We’re psyched to announce that our featured Presskits are now supported by Audio Cotton. Need tees? Audio Cotton will make it happen and has some really affordable options, including one off prints.
Check them out at http://audiocotton.com, and be on the lookout for their new website launching soon.
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The characters of Streight Angular are no secret to the Boston Music scene. Whether...
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Featured Presskit: Herra Terra (Boston, MA)
We’re psyched to announce that our featured Presskits are now supported by Audio Cotton. Need tees? Audio Cotton will make it happen and has some really affordable options, including one off prints.
Check them out at http://audiocotton.com, and be on the lookout for their new website launching soon.
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The boys in Herra Terra are no strangers to us over here at the Presskit.to HQ. In...
October 2012
9 posts
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Featured Presskit: Hello Bear (Norwich, UK)
We’re psyched to announce that our featured Presskits are now supported by Audio Cotton. Need tees? Audio Cotton will make it happen and has some really affordable options, including one off prints.
Check them out at http://audiocotton.com, and be on the lookout for their new website launching soon.
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Between their Melodic vocals and Punchy guitar and bass lines, Hello Bear caught my ear...
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Exclusive: Joey Cape of Lagwagon (INTERVIEW)
Lagwagon has been on the punk rock scene since 1990 and is the flagship band for FAT Wreck Chords (next to inbred label mates, NOFX of course). Lagwagon has had their share of triumphs & disasters over the years but have managed to stick together and maintain relevance in the hearts and minds of so many punk rock fans around the world.
I had a chance to sit down on the bus with lead...
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Featured Presskit: Left On Red (New York, NY)
We’re psyched to announce that our featured Presskits are now supported by Audio Cotton. Need tees? Audio Cotton will make it happen and has some really affordable options, including one off prints.
Check them out at http://audiocotton.com, and be on the lookout for their new website launching soon.
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When we first checked out Left On Red, it was no secret that this duo packs some...
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Ways to use Presskit.to: Professional/Personal...
Here’s Part 3 of our blog series outlining ways to use Presskit.to. For Part 1 on Creating a Presskit for an Upcoming Album Release, click here. For Part 2 on Creating a Presskit for an Upcoming Tour, click here.
Don’t call us. We’ll call you.
The job market in today’s economy is a dog-eat-dog world. With the competition greatly outweighing the number of available jobs, it’s...
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Ways to use Presskit.to: Upcoming Tour
Here’s Part 2 of our blog series outlining ways to use Presskit.to. For Part 1, click here.
Congratulations!! Your tour kicked off with a BANG!
Well, unfortunately, that “bang” we’re referring to was your transmission disconnecting itself from the undercarriage of your 15 passenger. Bummer, man. As you patiently await AAA’s arrival, you wonder how the hell you’ll make it to Saratoga in...
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The Outlaw Roadshow at CMJ 2012
We’ve teamed up with longtime friend and music blogger extraordinaire, Ryan Spaulding of Ryan’s Smashing Life and The Outlaw Roadshow, to help promote his CMJ showcases on October 19th and 20th at The Bowery Electric in NYC.
Ryan’s blog is the first-stop for people seeking new music, festivals, and well written articles or interviews covering local Boston bands and regional...
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Interview w/ Triple Platinum Songwriter Drew...
Interview by Chris Cave
The oft-forgotten recipe for a sustainable career in music is TALENT, versatility and determination. Notice the emphasis on talent. While this isn’t necessarily the formula for success, I’ve been lucky enough to witness several cases of organic career growth and success stories in the making based on these very traits.
Over the last three years the career growth of one...
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How To Create A Stage Plot
Written by Mike Harmon
A solid stage plot and input list can or break your gig.
If you’re an artist that has a gig coming up, you should provide the sound engineer with a stage plot and input list at least a day before you get to the venue. This will give the engineer important information about your band’s stage setup, instrumentation, and how they’ll organize inputs into the PA. If you don’t...
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Ways to use Presskit.to: Album Release
Here’s part 1 of our blog series outlining ways to use Presskit.to.
So, your band is just about to release your debut album. (Or your 3rd album. Maybe your 50th…) Regardless, any new release deserves it’s own publicity. What better way to showcase a new album than to create a Presskit specifically for it?
*Cue Billy Mays voice*
That’s right, folks!! Presskit.to is the PERFECT...
September 2012
6 posts
6 tags
Featured Presskit: Drew Ryan's Mixtape (Los...
We’re psyched to announce that our featured Presskits are now supported by Audio Cotton. Need tees? Audio Cotton will make it happen and has some really affordable options, including one off prints.
Check them out at http://audiocotton.com, and be on the lookout for their new website launching soon.
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Using a Presskit for an Album!
Here at Indie Ambassador we’re all about people...
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Featured Interview: Indie On The Move
Indie On The Move is an online service that connects artists with venues and press outlets, to make booking shows and tours across the US much easier. Artists and venues can sign up for a free account and browse venues, show availabilities, and gig classifieds. IOTM even provides valuable tips for approaching a particular venue’s talent buyer. On the flip side, venues can browse bands in a...
