Low Budget Music Promotion and Publicity

LOW BUDGET
A Do-It-Yourself handbook on how to

promote your music while working with a
limited budget.
MUSIC PROMOTION
AND
PUBLICITY
www.dearartiste.com
THE NAIJA ARTISTE HANDBOOK SERIES
Fola Folayan
www.dearartiste.com
2
BOOK 1
Copyright 2014 by Fola Folayan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
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Whats inside this e-book?
Acknowledgement 4
A Word From The Author 5
JUST THINK! 5
Low Budget Music Promotion 6
Can I Really Promote My Music For Free? 6
Low Budget Internet Promotion 7
Low Budget Radio Promotion 12
How Things Supposedly Work In The Average Nigerian Radio Station 12
How Things Really Work! 12
So What Can You Do? 12
Social Media: Low Budget Promotion 16
Twitter 17
Facebook 19
Instagram 22
Thinking Outside The Box 24
Keys To Thinking Differently 24
Making Low-Budget YouTube Videos 27
So What Is A Viral Video And How Does It Work? 28
Learning To Be Your Own Publicist 31
Press Release Format Guide 32
What Is An Electronic Press Kit? 35
Other Matters To Consider 36
Plan Not To Go Broke! 37
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This handbook could not have been written without the help and support of certain amazing
personalities. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for his grace and his wisdom he has bestowed on me for
this project and for making my life count for something.
I appreciate my Editor, Mr. Jude Chukwuemeka for his patience and his valuable advice and
dedication. (I like to call him Bros Judeehhh!)
I cant help but thank my friend and my brother, Tunde Ogubajo (a.k.a Dx Snipe). So many
#DearArtiste Projects would not have seen the light of day if not for his motivation, his push and his
unconditional support. I also thank him for the beautiful cover design of this book.
The #DearArtiste team would not be complete without Charles Oyarekua (Angel Charlie!) Thank you
for your quiet support, encouragement and coming through when Im almost out of my wits.
And fnally, I appreciate all the talented emerging artistes whose passion and hunger for success
motivated me to do this! Love you all!
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A word from the author
In the course of working as a radio presenter
over the years, I have met so many emerging
music artistes and having spoken to, listened
to, hung out, and dealt with several, I have
realized the majority are plagued with the same
problems, chief of which is lack of information.
So many set out to build a career in music
without a clue about what to do and how to
do what they want to do. I have done seminars
and the results have shown me that theres an
information gap that needs to be flled.
This book is a frst of many that will attempt to
bridge that gap. Because the average emerging
music artiste in Nigeria has a very limited budget,
in fact, some operate without a budget and they
practically have to scrape non-existent resources
together to kick-start their career, this book will
focus on giving practical ideas that can work for
such artistes.
This is the frst of the series, and I have decided
to start with PROMOTION and PUBLICITY
because its one of the key areas that easily
frustrate the emerging artiste who is fnancially
handicapped. So in this book, you will learn what
good music promotion is, how to promote your
music yourself while working with a low budget,
the difference between music promotion and
artiste publicity, what good publicity is and
Fola Folayan
With a degree in Mass Communication, Fola is a versatile
and talented broadcaster who has done several stints in
broadcasting, hosting several shows, both on Television and
Radio, and also lending her voice to several Radio Commer-
cials. Fola is a broadcaster with a passion for making good
music and nurturing young talents
what its not, how to build relationships and
work with the media and so on. Some parts of
this handbook have been adapted from articles
on the #DearArtiste website, because I have
found the knowledge in them to be timeless and
immensely useful. So, sit back and have a great
time learning!
JUST THINK!
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Low Budget Music Promotion
It is the entire set of activities that communicate your music to your audience, with the deliberate
intention of making people aware, attracted to and inclined towards accepting and buying your
music.
Chapter 1
Can I Really Promote My Music For Free?
I
f the above question is on your mind, let me answer you quickly. NO! There is nothing like
Free music promotion. It can be cheap, it can be easy, but its never free. Music promotion
will always cost you something; time, energy, creative efforts, and of course money. But
for an artiste on a limited budget, there are creative ways to promote your music and still
get great results. Now that we have addressed that, let me back up a bit and open up what
promotion is all about.
In this context, lets examine the word Promotion. It is the entire set of activities, which
communicate a product, brand or service to the consumer. The idea is to make people aware,
attracted to and inclined towards buying that product, in preference over others. Relating
that to music, we can conclude that it is the entire set of activities that communicate your
music to your audience, with the deliberate intention of making people aware, attracted to
and inclined towards accepting and buying your music.
Music promotion is a big deal to artistes, and record companies all over the world because
without promotion, there are no sales and no proft and as for the artiste, there is no career.
For the emerging indie artiste however, the ability to self-promote on a low budget is one you
have to master. First, you have to realize on your part that its going to take genuine love for
the profession to be successful in this business without a steady income or a fnancier. So
before you take the plunge, do you really love this or is it just a hobby to pass time while you
fgure out what you want to do with your life?
You cant promote your music effectively by doing it every once in a while, when you happen
to fnd time to squeeze it in. Dont think about self-promotion in terms of the big media buzz.
A lot of artistes use terms like push and hype and believe that one big wave of promotion
will launch a music buzz that will somehow continue without any further effort from them.
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That isnt how it works. Stop thinking about the Big Push and start getting in tune with the
idea of small self-promotion activities that you can engage in on a daily basis.
Consistency is also very important. Your self-promotion efforts are in competition not
only with other artistes out there, but with all forms of media radio, TV, Internet, print
magazines, and bla bla bla! So People will need to hear your message repeatedly before itll
even begin to sink in. Without consistency in your promo efforts, your identity will become
vague, causing fans to turn their attention to matters they can more easily get a handle on.
For the purpose of this handbook, I intend to address three areas where successful low
budget promotion can be achieved. These areas are: INTERNET, RADIO & SOCIAL MEDIA
So where do we start?
LOW-BUDGET INTERNET PROMOTION
At this point in history, it goes without saying, that the internet has basically changed the
music industry for good. The Internet is one of the best ways to Promote Your Music on
a Low Budget! With FaceBook, MySpace, Reverbnation, Spotify and all the other social
networking sites and music sharing websites out there, distributing your song online is not
so hard. Take advantage of social networking and connect with music bloggers. Even if some
will charge you a minimal fee, your music online is an opportunity for you to reach a wider
audience. If you dont know anything about new media or how people communicate these
days, none of this will work. So make sure you educate yourself.
The internet has made the world a global village. With over 2 billion people all over the world
connected to the internet (According to internetlivestats.com) thats a huge global market
space that could be exposed to your music at the click of an icon. Internet music promotion
has come to stay and even major record companies are investing heavily in online marketing
and promotion for their artistes. Look around you for a moment, CD sales are dwindling in
Nigeria. The average music consumer, streams and most times buys music via the internet.
When a new song is played on the radio, the internet is usually the frst point of call for the
music fan to search for it. Why wont you take advantage of this global market? So what are
the practical steps that you can take to maximize your internet music promotion efforts?
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1. Know Your Target Audience
Everyone cannot possibly be your fan. When you know and understand the kind of music you
do, you will be able to channel your online promotion efforts in the right direction. For every
genre, there is always a niche audience. There is always a community of people online that
will appreciate your sound. It is your responsibility to locate that community. Trying to appe-
al and push your music to every and anybody online is a sure way to fail because the message
that youve been given (the gift and talents that you have) is for certain people, and if you do
not fnd those people, or put yourself in a place where you will be found, your message will be
lost in the cacophony of messages that is the internet.
You need to identify your sound (your genre) and search for online music communities
that are built around that genre. For example, if you are a Hip-hop/Rap head, places
like www.rapbasement.com, www.hiphopdx.com and www.hiphopfghtsback.com, are
online communities where you are likely to fnd people who appreciate your music With
consistency and participation on your part, you will get heard and gradually build a fan base.
In addition, communities like these provide an opportunity for you to acquire the latest
information about whats going on in the world of rap, reggae, soul or whatever it is you do.
You can read blog posts from other contributors, listen to materials from other artistes like
you, and get inspired by them. (Please note, I said get inspired not steal!)
2. Signup On A Music Sharing Website
Music sharing websites give you more opportunities to expose your music to larger audien-
ces and increase your fan base. For an emerging artiste working with a limited budget, these
websites are key to your online promotion efforts because most of them come free. To help
you make good choices, I will tell you about a few of them that you can easily work with and
will most likely get your music out. Here they are:
Last fm Reverb Nation Sound Cloud
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LAST FM: Last.fm has over 21 million active users in
more than 200 countries, and like most music sharing
and listening sites, Last.fm allows you to sign up, create
a profle, and upload your music. It also allows you tag
other users to draw their attention to your music and
ensure that they listen. Offering your music for free
download on Last.fm can give you a real promotional
boost. Doing this means that your profle will become
more visible and more accessible on Last.fm because
they promote free content more vigorously than
everything else. Your YouTube content can also be
embedded to boost your profle. Besides uploading your
music and completing your profle, they also offer paid
promotions. And it has features that allow you to sell
your music and get paid directly as an unsigned artiste.
Cool, right?
REVERBNATION: In addition to digital distribution
and aggregation services, ReverbNation offers robust
social networking integration, profle pages, widgets,
mailing list management and much more. ReverbNation
also allows you connect your social network profle
pages like twitter and Facebook to make your online
promotion and sharing easier. You can track your
infuence online through their ranking, and see exactly
how many fans you have been able to generate in that
particular community.
SOUNDCLOUD: SoundCloud players reach 200 million
listeners worldwide. The fact is that SoundCloud is way
too big for any emerging artiste to ignore. The beautiful
thing about this platform is that it lets you stream your
music and share it very easily on almost any interface.
Bloggers can embed the player in their posts, you can
share on Facebook and so on
These are just three out of so many sharing platforms. I cant possibly list them all here, but I believe these
three will open your eyes to the endless possibilities out there.
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3. Create Your Own Website
Since the digital takeover, emerging artistes have more resources and tools at their disposal
than ever before to promote themselves and to create a digital presence that can evolve into
a brand. I will have you know that simply creating a profle on music sharing sites, and getting
music blogging coverage is not enough. To establish a noteworthy presence online, you have
to create your own space, where you can share your content and where you maintain total
control. A simple fact is that a personal website makes you look professional and serious
about your career, and registering your domain name prevents others from claiming it. Most
Nigerian artistes, wait until they have made it before thinking of having a personal website.
(Some dont even bother) however, having a personal website puts you in aposition of control
over your own content. (Imagine if Reverbnation crashes?)
A personal website also helps you
increase your online following
and recognition by promoting and
driving traffc through your social
media profles and pages. Hosting
is affordable and there are many
inexpensive options for designing
your own site, so you dont have to
worry about the cost. And there are several DIY videos on YouTube that can tutor you and
walk you through it. (After all, this is your learning stage isnt it?) You have to understand
that to self-promote successfully online, CONSISTENCY cannot be overemphasized. Your
profles on all platforms must be consistently updated with new information (whenever you
have one) and platforms that provide fan engagement must be utilized to their full capacity.
Its an effort that requires time, energy and sacrifce, but I can assure you, it always pays off
in the end.
4. Blogging
When I talk to most emerging artistes in Nigeria about blogging, the response I get is usually
an incredulous look, and a what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about attitude. As someone
who has beneftted immensely, fnancially and otherwise through blogging, I must say that
the power and reach that blogging can afford anyone living in the middle of nowhere with
internet access cannot be overemphasized. Let me break it down for you.
To establish a noteworthy
presence online, you have to create
your own space, where you can
share your content and where you
maintain total control.
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Here are some major reasons why you should blog to promote your music.
Blogging Keeps Your Fans Connected To You.
A blog allows you to show your fans a behind- the- music view of you so that they can get to
know you and form a bond that breeds fan loyalty. But of course, you know the decision on
what and what not to reveal lies with you right?
According to DAVE COOL, Blogging also shows that you are active in your career. If a
potential fan visits your site, enjoys your music, and then sees that you have months of
regular blogging under your belt, they might click on a few posts to get a better sense of
your personality. If they really like what they read, you might have a fan for life. I couldnt
have said it better. Another good reason, why you should blog is that blogging improves your
Search Engine Optimization (also known as SEO). What this means is that the more you blog,
the more Google can fnd you and the higher your name will appear in the search results
based on the keywords, titles and content of your blog posts.
Now I can just hear you say, what on earth do I have to say or blog about? Trust me, if you
look around you and open up your mind just a little bit, theres always something to blog
about. How about your passions outside
music? Are you a sports fan? Im sure
you have friends who will like to read
what you have to say and pass it around.
You can also write about the shows you
attend, your everyday challenges as an
upcoming artiste, the interesting things
that happen in the studio where you
record, the people you meet, other artistes music that currently inspires you, etc. All it takes
is a little creativity, effort and commitment on your part and you can make blogging work for
you. If youre not such a great writer, theres nothing to worry about. Who says blog posts
have to be essays? You can have a photo blog or a video blog and still be cool.
Theres a lot to say about low budget internet music promotion, and even though I cannot
exhaust everything in this handbook, I believe the information I have shared so far will spur
you into action and encourage you to go ahead and start something without necessarily
waiting for the megabucks to roll in frst. Remember some of the things you will have to do
will require some funding, but in the grand scheme of things, you wont have to break your
backbone trying to raise money for any of it.
All it takes is a little creativity,
effort and commitment on your
part and you can make blogging
work for you.
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LOW BUDGET RADIO PROMOTION
Like I have previously written in one of my articles on the subject of radio, the Nigerian radio
industry couldnt be less friendly to most independent new artistes. However, that doesnt
mean there isnt some signifcant radio airplay available to you if you know what youre doing.
That being said, one major mistake emerging artistes make is trying to cover all grounds at
once on a limited budget. Except you have major label money behind you, getting your music
on all Nigerian Stations and getting airplay everyday is next to impossible. So what do you
do? You plan!
Maybe Im getting ahead of myself here. Before I tell you how you can get on radio on a
limited budget, I should clearly reveal the state of the Nigerian radio music scene (for those
of you who havent met that brick wall yet). Radio campaigns are very expensive and the
price depends on the size of the region you intend to cover (South-West Nigeria, Lagos only,
or National) and of course, who youve hired to handle your promotion.
If youre an emerging artiste doing your own promotion, be prepared to be ignored and get
your CDs tossed in the garbage. A station manager or librarian gets upwards of 20 to 100
CDs per day. They receive drops and press packs from major labels and minor labels too. And
coupled with the number of crappy music submissions they have to deal with on a daily basis,
theres really no time and motivation to check out your nameless submission; unless you
come with the backing of one of the big label names.
How Things Supposedly Work In The Average Nigerian Radio Station
I have been privileged to work as a broadcaster in several radio stations in Nigeria (in fact,
I still work in one) and the usual and offcial way songs make it into the library is this: When
a single gets released, the label rep, artiste manager, or artiste himself submits his press
kit which includes a copy of the promo CD, and a well written bio addressed to the music
department/library depending on the organization.
On receiving the package, the CD is auditioned by the librarian and if it is up to the stations
standard and passes broadcast guidelines, it is accepted into the library and included on the
stations music schedule. Another way it works is if a song is released online and it goes viral
or released via club DJs and it becomes a club favorite, the radio stations music depart-
ment can get the song and schedule it for airplay on their own. However, all these are ideal
situations. In the real world of Nigerian music promotion, things work very differently!
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How Things Really Work!
OK! Lets get into the real world now. Getting a song added to a stations playlist to get a
certain number of plays per week involves a rather byzantine process that brings in various
parties, called independent promoters. These promoters are frst paid by the label. Its
important to note that the money the promoters receive isnt necessarily compensation paid
directly to them for getting presenters to get a song played. Rather, they work more like an
intermediary to pass the labels money to the presenters and librarians.
In the case of the independent artiste who is fnancing his own career, he is usually left at
the mercy of the radio presenters and librarians, who are at liberty to set whatever price they
see ft. Other times, some of these independent promoters or publicists are contracted
by the artistes, who believe they have all the necessary contacts on radio. Unfortunately,
more often than not, these contacts are non-existent or casual acquaintances with no real
connections or even someone who knows someone, who knows someone.
So what can you do?
If you do not have the fnances to hire a consultant or embark on a major radio promotion
campaign, you can take advantage of the following tips. While it will not make you an
overnight national radio sensation, it will set you on the right path and will likely open doors
to bigger things.
Become An Avid Radio Listener:
Yep! If you plan to have your music on radio, you have to know what station plays what, what
programs play what kind of music, who the DJs and presenters are, and what kind of music
they like. Lagos alone has over 27 radio stations and they dont all play the same genre of
music. So you have to do your homework. Listen and fnd out which ones play your genre.
Some stations have specifc shows that play specifc genres; fnd that out too. This helps you
to fne tune your efforts (for example, if you do hard-core rap, it will be quite stupid to try and
submit your music at Inspiration FM, a known family-value oriented station).
Be Proactive
Use your social networking for something more than retweeting nudes and engaging in
tweet-fghts. Follow radio presenters, DJs and if the radio shows you listen to have social
media accounts or groups online, follow and join those groups. Contribute meaningfully
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and become a regular participant on the show. That way, you will eventually get noticed by
the presenter(s) and you can then present your case. You have to be careful here though;
I am not asking you to begin to badger and harass radio people on Twitter and Facebook,
demanding that they listen to your music and download your link. Thats the quickest way to
get blocked. Use your initiative here.
Internet Promotion
The reason why I wrote about promoting on the internet is because its the smart thing to
do before you think of getting radio airplay. A successful internet promotion will make you
easily noticeable by radio librarians, DJs and presenters. Believe it or not, 98% of radio
people spend a lot of time on the internet and music is one of the key reasons why they are
there. If your internet presence is properly handled, there is a good chance of your name or
your music being recognized by the presenter/producer of the radio show you are interested
in. Once you have that covered, it is time to recruit your friends.
Recruit Your Friends And Online Fans
Ask them to call the stations hotline, emails, or tweet at them to suggest your song. You
should also take note of radio stations that have special music shows dedicated to playing
new artistes. Most of those shows keep music on, based on how often the songs are
requested. Take advantage of that.
Make Relevant Music:
There are songs that make their way to radio with very minimal radio promotion effort
because the content is relevant at a particular period. Write for the times. Major football
tournaments, Christmas, and Weddings are themes that easily make it to radio, especially
when they are done well. Radio presenters will always need specifc songs that address
specifc situations at certain times. A song with a political theme can also work (but you have
to be careful not to overdo it. Otherwise, that same song might get you on the NTBB list).
Go the way of the Old rugged cross. Lol!
In other words, the old regular way of putting together a press kit (I will explain in other
chapters what that is) and submitting it to the station. If you have really great material, you
just might be the one guy out of a hundred whose music actually makes it through to the
stations library.
Finally, on the matter of limited budget radio promos (for now), make sure that your CD is
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professionally recorded and mastered. Your CD will have plenty of competition as it is. Why
put yourself at a disadvantage by settling for below-standard sound quality? Make sure your
CD is professionally packaged. If your music is professionally recorded and presented, it
shows that youre serious about your craft.
Dont be too eager with emails or phone calls. Remember that radio personalities are
receiving submissions continually, and your CD may sit for a while before its reviewed
for potential airplay. Dont continue to pester the music presenter. It wont increase your
chances of anything except perhaps having future submissions duly ignored. Every time you
get played on the radio, add it to the news page of your website/blog to let everyone know.
Also, take the time to add a link to the station in question. Showing this kind of respect and
gratitude can only help you in the future.
And before rushing to waste your time, you need to ensure that the song you want to put on
air deserves to be on air! Have several industry professionals listen to it and critique it. Your
hommies most likely wont tell you the truth, so sample the opinions of trusted professionals
frst
Internet Radio Is An Option Too!
Internet radio involves streaming media and presenting listeners with a continuous stream
of audio that typically cannot be paused or replayed, much like traditional radio. The good
thing about internet radio stations is that they are accessible from anywhere in the world
by anyone with good internet connection. So your music actually has the potential to reach
a global audience. You can also fnd online radios that play your specifc genre. And yes, we
do have some internet radio stations that play Nigerian music (GidiLounge, Dudu Radio,
PraiseWorld radio, for example).
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Social Media For Low Budget Music
Promotion
Social media has transformed the world, the way we interact, access information and share
experiences. This has altered preconceived notions on how to reach fans, sell and promote music
and how the industry operates in the New World.
Chapter 2
B
y now, its an understatement to say
that this is the social media generation.
Previously unknown persons become
famous overnight with just 140 characters
and a photo. Breaking into the music
industry has never been so easy, skipping
previously held in awe hurdles. I do know
that quite a number of you emerging artistes
reading this book have accounts on a
minimum of three social media networking
sites. But using social media for music
promotion goes beyond maintaining an
account. Theres an art and a discipline to it.
And thats what I hope you learn by the time
youre done with this.
Social media has changed the way we do
business, the way we talk to each other and
they way we entertain ourselves. Social
media has revolutionized the entertainment
industry and It has also changed how music
fans relate with artistes and the music they
make. So if you are an artist promoting
your music on the Internet and youre not
already plugged into a social media outlet
or two, you run a very high risk of becoming
disconnected with whats going on around
you. I dont need to defne what social media
is to you, but I do have to tell you that before
embarking on a promotion spree on social
media, you have to draw a plan and consider
what platforms work best for you.
In this handbook, I will share some of the
commonly used ones that you can creatively
use to draw attention to your music, and tell
you how you can make them work, however,
you still have to think creatively and come up
with your own ideas too.
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TWITTER
Twitter seems to be the new cool. Everybody
and their grandmother is on twitter. Its
the big buzz word just about everywhere you
look. Politicians, corporate organizations,
churches, and everybody with something to
say to the public has jumped on the Twitter
bandwagon. Unfortunately, most emerging
artistes have no idea how to use it or they
dont understand how it can be a great tool
to track their music buzz, and help promote
their career. Using twitter goes beyond tweeting links to your music, asking questions and
hash tagging to create a trend. Now while having twitter followers can boost your music
promotion efforts, obsessing over building the number of followers you have will have you
wasting the time you should have been using to
do more productive stuff.
So how do I make people follow me on
twitter?
First, you do not make people follow you.
People follow you because they either know
you, know about you, have met you, heard you,
read about you, was referred to follow you, or
have seen the engaging and interesting content
that you share. The key to gaining Twitter followers is to provide visitors to your profle with
something interesting enough to convert them to fans. Sharing offensive material and using
bad language is not going to help you either. (I will talk about Twitter ethics later).
Customize Your Twitter Profle
When a new artiste tweets at me, the frst place I check him out is his Twitter profle. A
blank, regular profle makes you look like youre not there yet. Your profle page should be
recognizable to you. Your background image, header image & avatar should be designed to
represent who you are. If you cant design them yourself, get someone to design for you. And
...obsessing over building
the number of followers you
have will have you wasting
the time you should have
been using to do more
productive stuff.
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18
please, no one wants to see that shirtless
bathroom selfe, thank you. Note that its not
productive to spend all your time on Twitter,
so apps like hoot-suite and tweet-deck will
come in handy here. You can schedule your
tweets and monitor your
feeds.
Whats Your Twitter Username?
You might not realize this, but what you
call yourself and the description in your bio
determines how seriously would-be fans will
take you. Chose your username wisely;
I recommend using your real name or
stage name because you need to maintain
a consistent identity online so you can be
easily found. Your bio should also be clear,
fully descriptive of who you are and what
you do. It should also be short and to the
point no one wants to be bombarded with
a clash of things to read when trying to fgure
out if youre interesting enough to follow,
and if you have a website or a blog, include
the link it in the space provided for it (if you
dont have one, a link to your SoundCloud or
ReverbNation page will do). A contact detail
is also a good idea.
Remember that real Twitter promotion
is all about building connections and
relationships. The great thing about Twitter
is the way it connects you to other people
who are trying to accomplish the same thing
as you. Reach out to them. See how you can
help each other. Tweet each others shows,
link to each others sites, let your followers
know when one of your colleagues does
something cool - it all helps. Some of my best
business contacts and very good friendships
developed from Twitter. All it takes is a very
good open attitude and a willingness to
connect. The idea is to seek out people who
are relevant to your career and build conver-
sations.
For example, if you make music similar to
Bez, what you need to do is to search for
conversations relating to Bez and see the
results. This will bring up all the people
recently talking about him. Then start talking
to those people. Let them know youre into
Bez too and for those that respond and seem
interested, mention that you make similar
music, which they may want to check out.
You most likely will get some attention
drawn to you and your music. I must warn
you to go about this intelligently though.
Be friendly and contribute intelligently to
the discussion. Dont be argumentative
and do not be rude. Do not mention your
music immediately you start talking, and
do not tweet your link if they do not ask for
it, because people usually put up barriers
against you once they feel youre trying to
promote to them on initial contact.
After a conversation of two or three tweets,
theyll be much more inclined to listen to you
if they think youre a cool person. You should
also follow them after their frst reply too.
This will increase the chances theyll follow
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you back and see your music related updates. You only have 140 characters to get your
point across on Twitter. Learn how to be brief. But at the same time, BE YOU. Tweet like you
speak (or maybe not). Talk about things that matter to YOU. Your best asset is authenticity.
Please DO NOT SPAM. A million notices of your new single/video or upcoming event is quite
unnecessary. When you DM random people unsolicited information, you get un-followed or
blocked. Please learn moderation.
FACEBOOK STATISTICS DATA
Total number of monthly active Facebook users 1,310,000,000
Total number of mobile Facebook users 680,000,000
Increase in Facebook users from 2012 to 2013 22 %
Total number of minutes spent on Facebook each month 640,000,000
Percent of all Facebook users who log on in any given day 48 %
Average time spent on Facebook per visit 18 minutes
FACEBOOK PLATFORM STATISTICS
Average number of apps installed on Facebook each day 20 million
Total number of apps and websites integrated with Facebook 7 million
EVERY 20 MINUTES ON FACEBOOK
Links shared 1 million
Friends requested 2 million
Messages sent 3 million
Source: www.statisticbrain.com
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Eighty percent of the people you know have a Facebook account. More than half of those
people are very active users of that account. You should take advantage of that.
Have an Offcial Fan Page.
You should separate your personal Facebook profle page from your music fan page. If you
really want to promote your music successfully on Facebook, your personal profle page
alone will not give you the results that you need. An offcial music fan page gives you a
professional outlook and branding. Of course, you can still use your personal profle to post
about your music, but your offcial music fan page should be the main destination for people
looking for your music on Facebook.
Make sure your page is updated with current information. There are several sections on
the page for information; About, Basic Info and Contact Info. I cannot overemphasize
how important it is, to have the right details out there. Several times, I have had to look
up some new artistes on Facebook because I needed information, and I have had to leave
disappointed. You need to realize that all your efforts to get your music heard will amount to
nothing if those who hear it cannot locate you or connect with you because you dont have
concrete details out.
The About and Basic Info sections are there for you to write a clear and concise
description of yourself, your music, your infuences and any other description that
communicates who you are. Make sure you have names, emails and phone numbers in the
sections for your press, booking and management contacts. Even if you are self-managed,
you need to include this contact info. Do not assume that everyone who is interested in
working with you will contact you using Facebook only. Make other options available.
Photos Play A Big Role On Facebook.
Having pictures or imagery on your music page brings your fan page to life. It shows you are
real. And images are stronger and easier to remember, (Remember that saying that a picture
is worth a thousand words?) Research shows that Facebook posts with pictures generate
more engagement than the ones that come with attached links or plain text. Having a specifc
picture or image will make you recognizable online. If someone is looking for you, that person
will be sure he/shes found the right page if your photos are there. Use the cover photo
feature to the best advantage. This banner image is the frst thing a visitor to your page
notices, and it has to be attractive as well as fully represent the brand you are trying to build.
I suggest that for this cover photo, a professional photo should be used or a good graphic
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design that has your name and/or logo on it. Trust me; you need to make it as professional
looking and as impressive as it can be. Photos of you in the studio, playing gigs, recording,
rehearsing, hanging out with entertainment industry people, etc also adds credibility to your
page. Remember, you have an image to maintain here, so no crazy memes that has nothing
to do with your music and offensive photos. Ok? Show your personality but be professional
about it and if you limit the subject matter generally to music-related activities, youll be fne.
Use Music Apps and manage them well. Because this is not a full social media and music
textbook, I will not be able to list and explain all the available Facebook music apps. However,
you should know that Facebook supports a lot of apps that you can use to promote your
music. Some of the online music sharing platforms integrate beautifully with Facebook
(ReverbNation for example, has a Band Profle feature that allows you to pull fans across
both platforms). There are also apps that allow you to create mailing lists, sell your music and
so on. To get a better hang of how you can use apps, check out the fan pages of successful
artistes and see how apps are used to boost music promotion on their pages and take note of
what particular apps are used and get right on it.
Manage Your Content. Good Content management on Facebook is what most artistes have
not been able to fully grasp. Actually, that is why a lot of people like me got into professional
Social Media content management (for those who just cant do it!). In putting out content
on your music page, you can easily go from not enough to too much and too direct without
even realizing it. Like in all areas of life, balance is the key here. This is how you do it; you
should post new status updates a couple times per day or every other day.
There should always be a purpose to the update. Each one should include a link to one
of your videos, songs, web-store pages, an e-mail list sign-up, your blog/website, your event
calendar, websites of venues you will be playing at, etc. Put in some personal thoughts, an
interesting/deep quote, something unrelated to promoting music, just to break it up a bit,
but be careful not to turn your music page into another personal page. People want to see
interesting content and if your post is not interesting or relating strongly to your music, you
will eventually be ignored.
Do not repeat the same content multiple times. In other words, dont post about the same
song three of four times in the same week. This is called message saturation and you will
lose the interest of your visitors. Keep your content fresh by rotating it every few weeks.
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If you are at a loss for something new, dont sweat it. Its good to be quiet once in a while.
Nobody likes the people who talk needlessly without anything new to say anyway.
Finally on Facebook matters, just like all other social media platforms, remember that
engagement is the most important thing and not obsessing over fans and likes. And the more
you engage, the more your network of fans increase. Remember to link your Facebook music
page to your Twitter and have widgets on your blog/website as well.
INSTA what? Im sure you thought Instagram was all for sharing photos of your latest kicks
and showing all the girls that you got to chill with when you saw Don Jazzy at the club (lol).
Can I really promote my music on Instagram? you ask. Yes you can.
For those of you who dont know what Instagram is, it is a picture-based social network. It is
an app for your iPhone or Android device that allows you to add effects to pictures you have
taken to make it look nicer. Its kinda like Twitter but instead of sending out tweets, you uplo-
ad your pictures and have people like them and follow you. Oh! For windows phone users like
me, there are several apps available that link to your Instagram account. So, no worries there.
Why should you bother to promote your music through Instagram? You should have fgu-
red it out by now. Your fans love pictures. The quote a picture is worth a thousand words
applies here. Fans love seeing pictures of you and what youre up to, where youre going, who
youre seeing, what youre wearing, and everything related to you. Instagram gives you the
platform to give them exactly what they want. By now, we have already established that for
effective social media music promotion, putting out constant quality content is essential.
Music fans love seeing new things (this doesnt mean a new post every hour though).
Instagram comes as a break from the norm and the online entertainment media has come
to rely on Instagram as a constant source of content/information. Do you know that
theres something called an Instagram celeb now? It means somebody whose photos and
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Instavideos are so popular, they have certain infuence and followership. Interesting! Right?
So how do you make this work?
Your frst assignment is to get your frst followers. One of the biggest factors on how to
promote your music with Instagram is the amount of followers you have. After all, you need
people to see what you share, right? Since you are already present on Facebook and Twitter,
simply tell your fans to follow you. Its the easiest thing to do.
Invites
Another way to get followers is to invite people. When you frst sign up for Instagram, it
gives you an option of inviting people from other social networks. You can also follow them if
they have Instagram accounts. Its most likely that they will follow back too. You should also
link your Instagram to other social networks. The great thing about Instagram is that if you
upload something through it, it automatically gets posted on other social media networks
you have linked it to. This means more people will be seeing your updates without you having
to manually post it separately.
Insta-video
Insta-video is Instagrams 15-second video recording feature that allows you to give the
world a behind-the-scenes peek at your creative life. With insta-video, you can talk to your
followers, create funny short videos to promote a new song (remember Mavins Dorobucci?).
You can share snippets of a new recording and so much more.
Theres a lot to say about social media but I have deliberately limited it to these three for the
purpose of this handbook because I believe with these three examples, you will have a fairly
good idea of how the others work and you will be able to navigate your way around them.
Finally, dont attempt too much. It can be tempting to create an account on every hot, new
social platform, but its not always the best thing for your brand. Take a deep breath and
really evaluate the social network to see if it can provide value for you as an artiste or it will
only be a time wasting effort. As much as fans need to see you, they dont need to see too
much of you either. Spreading yourself too thin across social networks will wear you and
your brand image ragged.
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Thinking Outside The Box
The Music Industry is a marketplace littered with success stories of people who did things
differently, who thought outside the box and asked the question what if? Be creative, explore
options and create something amazing THAT WILL SELL.
Chapter 3
T
This is surely not the frst time youve heard this. For those of us in the creative business,
mentors, teachers, and critics will continually demand that we should think outside the
box. The question is, what exactly does it mean to you? Generally, thinking outside the box is
a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. As
an emerging artiste, learning to apply this to your music promotion will determine if you will
move forward or keep struggling to play catch-up.
Keys To Thinking Differently
The inability to think differently and creatively in this business will result in stunted growth
or no growth at all. You have to realize that you are in a competitive environment and dealing
with an audience that is constantly seeking something new and different. So if you want a
different result, you will have to play by a different set of rules.
Recognize that you have been uniquely gifted; concentrate on enhancing that gift. If you can
play an instrument, you should leverage on that and fnd out how to use that to the best
advantage. For example, if you play an acoustic guitar, have you ever considered hooking up
an open show in the mall? You can set it up with your friends, get permission from the mall
administrators and get a spot at the mall on a Saturday evening to sing and play your guitar
while your friends hand out small fiers with links to your music online or your promo CDs.
People who think outside the box do not sit around and complain. They use whatever
situation they fnd themselves and work that situation into something that can beneft them
You have to get rid of all your excuses for failure. If you want something really bad, you will
fnd all means possible to get it. The Nigerian music industry will give you a million reasons
why an unknown artiste with little or no money cannot get heard. You have to decide if you
want to use that as an excuse or a reason to be more determined.
Let loose your creativity and get rid of distractions. When you get distracted by comparing
what you do to what others are doing, you will be stunting the growth of your creativity.
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You cannot run forward while looking sideways. Open your eyes for opportunities. So many
people wait in the wings, tapping their foot and waiting for an opportunity. Opportunities are
a matter of perception. They do not walk up to you and say hello. You have to keep your eyes
open for when opportunities will show up.
Check out some out-of-the-box ideas that can help you.
Host An Online Show
Everyone knows that the more gigs you get invited to play at, the more promotion
opportunities you will have. For most new artistes without management and PR money,
getting gigs might prove really diffcult. If you are in this position and have handled your
internet and social media presence properly, then an online show is the next best thing.
Its actually quite easy to set up. All you need is good internet and a computer with a video
camera hooked up (Im assuming here that youre confdent and skilled enough to play live
right?). Theres an article on how to set up an online show on the #DearArtiste website. You
should check it out to get a full grasp of how it works.
Do Great Covers
Cover songs give you an opportunity to see where you are musically and also allows avid
music listeners to enjoy the songs they love all over again with a different feel to it. A good
cover wins you new fans and sometimes, gets you noticed faster than if you had released
one of your own original compositions. Remember how the Nigerian music industry got
introduced to Banky W? He came in with the cover of Rihannas umbrella and not just
because he covered that particular song, it was because he did it creatively and added a
Nigerian twist to it. Nobody was doing that at that time, so he got a jackpot!
Dont forget that when you cover a hot song, the online space is the best place for it to get
noticed because as fans search for the real song, they will come across your cover and if your
art is attractive enough, they might be interested in listening. To make this work for you, you
have to learn how to tag your music properly online so it can come up easily in search results.
Radio DJs also respond well to really good covers. So it can actually open doors for
you if you can manage to get a radio DJ to listen to your cover (Networking! Remember?).
What this shows is that doing a cover song very well helps you build on an existing and
successful platform created by an already successful song.
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Become A Regular At Open Mic Events And Karaoke Nights.
Too many artistes pass up this amazing opportunity to show up, win fans, network and simply
perform! Several bars, restaurants and lounges in Lagos, for example, have incorporated
open mic music performances and karaoke at least one day of the week into their program
and all you need to do as a new artiste is show up, buy yourself a drink and indicate a desire
to perform. Do you know you can turn this into an informal regular gig by inviting your
friends to come with you, do a little social media hype and hit the bar together, while they
cheer you up as you perform, take photos and videos and put them on your blog/website?
All these add up to your appeal online and you never know who you could meet at these
events. Personally, I have scouted open mic shows for new artistes to feature on my radio
show several times and I know so many music and entertainment industry people hang out
at such places. So why stay home when you can get the opportunity of a lifetime for just the
price of a couple of drinks?
Print Business Cards
Business cards are not exclusive to corporate employers and employees or business owners
for that matter. The fact is; you ARE a business owner. Your music is your business. And like
every smart businessman, you know that everyone you meet is a potential client or customer.
So a business card helps you network easily and smoothly. Not everyone you meet will be
interested in taking your phone number and following you on Twitter. Exchanging business
cards show that you take yourself seriously and if you accidentally meet an exec at an
event, trust me; your card will say so many things you probably will not have the opportunity
or time to say.
This is a short chapter because I believe that nobody can teach you how to think outside
the box. We can guide and point you in a certain direction, but ultimately, you will have to
come up with your own creative thoughts that can help you. My last word on this subject is,
be ready to take risks. You will never get things done and stand out when you are controlled
by fear. The difference between the successful one and the unsuccessful one is that the
successful one thinks outside the box, and sees how he can use his current situation as a
leverage to get to where he wants to be.
Making Low-Budget YouTube Videos
A lot of music consumers are moving away from buying music to streaming online and illegal
uploading and downloading is every industry business mans new nightmare. As far as music
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videos are concerned, Music TV patronage is at an all time low. Take into cognizance the fact
that the average indie artiste in Nigeria can barely afford to shoot a professional industry
standard music video, AND the cost of promoting the video itself is almost overwhelming.
Nigerian Television (terrestrial TV) hardly creates space for music videos, and the cable
music channels are too few to accommodate the number of music videos Nigerian artistes
churn out regularly.
For an average upcoming independent artiste to get regular airplay for his video on those
channels, he will need a fat pocket, friends in the right places, and maybe his mothers left
eye. (ust kidding about the eye! Lol). Thats where YouTube is the new cool. YouTube puts
everyone on the same level. Not only is YouTube THE most popular online tool for music
discovery, it has also become THE preferred platform for listening to music and watching
music videos amongst the younger demographic (18-).
The fact that it is user-friendly and has an easy social integration with Facebook, Twitter,
and other social media platforms, gives it that advantage. The fact that it is convenient
(Smart- phone apps) and any and everybody can view content on it is also a major plus. As an
independent artiste, YouTube can be the most powerful tool you have to promote your music
career. Remember Justin Bieber? His career probably would not have picked up without
YouTube. The easy sharing and embedding, views counter, comments section, etc. gives your
fans an opportunity to easily share and recommend your music to other listeners.
So what are the practical ways to promote music on YouTube?
Get A Channel And Brand Your Channel
Just like you did with your social media accounts, you created a profle and branded it yours.
The same logic applies here. Getting a YouTube channel is easy. Just open a Gmail account
and take it from there. Like I said earlier, you have to keep your identity consistent on all your
accounts so that you can be easily recognizable.
Upload Interesting Content
Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to wait until you have an offcial music video
before you have content for YouTube. Record your creative process. Share videos of you
rehearsing, recording or just free-styling with your friends and fellow artistes. Most of
you have really good smart phones. Its time to put those phones to work and record great
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moments in your journey to fame. You can have a weekly series, sharing something fun and
unique that your social media followers and friends will look forward to seeing. Encourage
visitors to subscribe to your channel. Feel free to let your creativity loose here.
Tag Your Videos Properly
This will increase the visibility of your video. The more visible the video, the more likely it will
be shared. You should also make the most of the YouTube categories, placing your content in
the most relevant places. This again, will help make sure the right people see your videos. So
tag your videos with any and everything that is relevant. Use slangs too where it is needed. It
will make your video easier to fnd.
Be Consistent In Your Updates
An obvious, active presence encourages viewers to keep coming back. If your fans can be
assured of always seeing something fresh and interesting on your channel, be rest assured
that youve won them over.
So what is a Viral Video and how does it work?
A day hardly passes on social media without me seeing one upcoming artiste or another,
pitching links to one viral video or another. Unfortunately, what the typical Nigerian
emerging artiste calls a Viral video is nothing more than a low-budget piece of crap shot by
an amateur and uploaded on YouTube without the ambition of making it to TV.
So What Exactly Is A Viral Video?
For a lot of people, it might be hard to defne, but we recognize it when we see it. It is when a
new video suddenly pops up and spreads like wildfre. All at once it seems to be everywhere,
on Facebook, Twitter, friends are sharing it on BBM, it makes trending topic on every social
networking platform, and its a hit on YouTube. This phenomenon is called virality, i.e. the
unusually fast circulation of content via the internet. A Viral Video has unique qualities that
generate hype and that hype is what forms the bedrock of its Virality.
So What Makes A Video Go Viral?
1. CREATIVITY: Creativity is an essential ingredient in a viral video. Its what attracts. Its the
creativity that keeps people talking and sharing. In an era where almost all ideas have been
recycled and very few people refuse to think outside the box, a really creative and inspired
video will always catch peoples attention. (remember Olori Oko video by the gospel group
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Infnity?)
2. COMEDY: Humor always appeals to people. Think about Oga at the Top. Thats a classic
example of how people are willing to laugh and share the joke. When your music video has
genuine humor and is creatively expressed, youre on your way to becoming viral. (remember
PSY and Gangnam Style?)
3. EMOTION: You can try appealing to different emotions, for example the feeling of being
united, a sense of home, or the strong emotions evoked during a thrilling football game.
Making an emotional video is actually quite challenging and risky because if you cant touch
people on a deep level, you will end up having a fat, pretentious looking video. An example of
an emotional viral video is the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine videos. Those videos appeal
to everyone and you couldnt watch anyone of them without smiling and relating to the
experiences.
4. DANCE: You can always create your own special dance step, give it a cool sounding name
and make a song/video with it (Think Azonto and Harlem Shake). If its well made and
properly hyped, it becomes a trend and when a trend like this emerges, there are always
a vast number of copycats who jump on the bandwagon in order to try and get attention.
(Remember what happened to Azonto).
5. SEX APPEAL: Yep! I said the word. Good ol sex. It always sells. But be careful. Im not
asking you to make a porn video and before you use sex appeal as an element to create a viral
video, you better make sure its creative, tasteful, and agrees with your brand.
Lastly you must recognize that YouTube is musics second largest search engine. So, have that
fact in mind as you upload content, tag and share.
How Long Will YouTube Be Available?
This is a necessary question in recent times, in view of the recent announcement by YouTube
to remove videos uploaded by independent artistes. As expected, this announcement
generated a lot of negative reactions and speculations across the music industry all over
the world. A YouTube executive, who granted an interview with the Financial Times said
the company will start blocking videos from record labels that refuse to sign licensing deals
for its forthcoming premium service, YouTube Music Pass. (Maybe this would have already
happened by the time youre reading this book) The reason for doing this, is because Google
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is making efforts to build a new music video streaming service called YouTube Music Pass.
The service is expected to operate like already established services such as Spotify, Apple-
owned Beats Music, and the recently announced Amazon Prime Music. These services
allow users to listen to an unlimited amount of music for a monthly subscription fee. Google
has already signed deals with the three major record label conglomerates (Sony, Warner,
Universal), as well as a number of independent labels. But the majority of independent labels
are refusing to sign the agreement over what they refer to as
unfair terms.
Other music industry experts are claiming what the new decision means is that monetization
will be shut down from videos that contain music that has not been submitted to YouTubes
music streaming service. In other words, independents that dont sign up on the new
streaming service will not be allowed to monetize their videos. This seems to refect in the
offcial statement from YouTube, which reads: Our goal is to continue making YouTube an
amazing music experience, both as a global platform for fans and artists to connect, and as a
revenue source for the music industry. Were adding subscription-based features for music
on YouTube with this in mind to bring our music partners new revenue streams in addition
to the hundreds of millions of dollars YouTube already generates for them each year. We are
excited that hundreds of major and independent labels are already partnering with us.
So How Will This Affect Me?
The fact is that, the new music streaming service by YouTube is going ahead, even though
these controversies might mean its probably going to take a while. It however doesnt hurt
to be armed and ready. Another option you can explore is to have a VEVO account. VEVO is
a video hosting service owned and operated jointly by Universal Music Group, Google, Sony
Music Entertainment and Abu Dhabi Media. VEVO operates differently though, and as an
independent artiste, you need to subscribe to a distribution service to get your music on it.
Think of it more along the lines of getting content on iTunes, rather than YouTube. There are
digital distribution services available online, and for a minimal yearly fee, they will set up the
VEVO account and add the videos. The advantage here is that VEVO and YouTube are linked,
so all of your video content will be searchable through YouTube.
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Learning To Be Your Own Publicist
Nothing beats a big budget campaign, except maybe a bigger budget but ideas rule the world
and tools make the wheel. While your bank balance may not be big enough to do some things,
understand that the effectiveness of a campaign is not built on money alone.
Chapter 4
B
efore you start learning how to be your
own publicist, you should know who
a publicist is, and what he/she does. First,
you must know that a music publicist is a
communications professional who handles
public and media relations on behalf of an
artiste. A music publicist usually works
with an artiste manager, even though in the
less than stellar Nigerian music industry
structure, an artiste manager sometimes
takes on the role of a publicist as well. Its
the publicists job to arrange and supervise
interviews, write and supervise the
publishing of press releases, and oversee all
communications material that is distributed
to the public on the artistes behalf.
I must add here that the traditional role of
publicists is changing really fast because the
emergence of social media has made it easy
for artistes to reach out to their audience
and even the media directly without having
anyone pen and send an offcial press
release. However, this does not stop an
emerging artiste from learning the basic
tools of the trade because social media or
not, there are some basic practices that
cannot be kicked to the curb.
So How Do You Go About Being
Your Own Publicist?
Publicists are usually hired based on
their experience and the strength of their
contacts. Since you cannot afford one, you
will have to open your mind to learn on
the job and network aggressively to have
good and useful contacts. You also have to
realize that theres a difference between
the online publicist and traditional publicist.
Online publicists specialize in dealing with
online media (music websites, blogs, online
radio, TV and newspapers) while traditional
publicists deal with traditional media. Online
publicists sometimes also take on the role of
social media managers and help an artiste
manage his social media relationship with his
fans.
You will have to learn how to do all these
yourself. Dont be alarmed. its intensive,
but not impossible. One of the frst things to
do is to create a database of music industry
contacts. So everywhere you go, keep an eye
out and be ready to meet someone new. (You
can see why that business card is important
now, right?)
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Secondly, learn how to write your own press releases. I really cannot over emphasize this.
And thats why I will take some time to explain in short detail, how it is done.
Check out the following sample guide to writing a press release. This sample shows both
physical set up (notice the dateline, headline and other tips) and ideas for content and
content placement. In addition to following this outline and structure, consider checking out
some actual press releases for ideas, too.
PRESS RELEASE FORMAT GUIDE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (Insert Subject/Headline here)
News from: (Insert Your Organization)
Date line: (day the release goes out)
Contact: (full name of a follow-up person), (phone), (email)
Headline: (Centered) One Descriptive Line in Title Case
Subhead: (Centered) Title Case, More Descriptive but Still One Line
([City where the news takes place in brackets])- In one or two sentences, write the main news or
point of your press release. These can be longer sentences, but there should never be more
than three in this paragraph. Youll not be able to ft all your details in here, and thats ok.
The second paragraph is where you should feed to every press outlet and reporter: the who,
what, when, where and why of your event, announcement or roll out. This is what theyre
looking for when they read your release. Between this and the paragraph above, the reporter
should now know everything they would need for a small blip piece. Of course, you want
more exposure than that, so you provide more detail below.
This paragraph is your details paragraph. It is here that you give background, stories, history,
information, or stats. This is where you paint a picture and bring in all the other stuff you
want people to know about your announcement.
This last sentence or two focuses on the future. If youre planning or working on an album for
example, this is where to talk about it. Simply wrap up by looking ahead in some way. This is a
very short paragraph, sometimes only a sentence!
Finally, to sign off, if the letterhead youre using doesnt have footer, you can add your
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website and social media channels as your footer. I suggest you practice writing mock press
releases and have a music industry person look them over and make corrections until you get
it right.
Now that you have learnt how to write a press release, you also need to understand that
theres a technique to submitting them.
Know Who Youre Sending Your Music Press Releases To And Why
Too many artistes send out email blasts of their music to whoever they can, hoping
someone important will hear their music and make them famous. That strategy is a bad
idea. Sending out a bunch of CDs or mp3 attachments with a generic message because its
easier for you to do isnt going to help you much.
You need to speak to the person youre sending your music to specifcally in order to get their
attention and let them know what you want. It will make it much easier for them to help you
with what you need. Only having a link to your music just isnt good enough. Have a target
and fnd out what they want before blasting them with your music submissions. Most of
those emails get lost in the junk box anyway.
Present Your Music Professionally
If youre sending an email to someone in an attempt to get them to listen to your music,
treat it similar to how you would if you were sending someone your resume to get a job. Just
because youre an artiste doesnt mean its okay for you to be unprofessional. Unprofessional
or sloppy presentations wont make you a cool artiste in the eyes of those who will
potentially listen to your music. Itll simply make you appear unprofessional or sloppy, which
will give your music a lesser chance of getting heard.
With this in mind, dont leave email subjects or bodies blank. Dont overuse exclamation
points or other types of punctuation either. Use a proper salutation, body and closing. Simply
saying check out my music isnt good enough. And please for heavens sake, avoid clichs
and phrases like Hit Banger or Hot new jam.
Finally, if youre not sure about how to proceed with submitting your music releases to
someone, put yourself in the recipients shoes. If you were receiving dozens of music
submissions each day, what would you want to see in someones presentation to make it
stand out? What would make you want to develop a relationship with someone and listen
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to their music? When you start to think like the receiver of the music and not the submitter,
approaching these submissions process rightly will become much more obvious to you.
Hopefully the three ideas you were presented with here will get you to start thinking that
way.
Avoid the cookie-cutter approach. You need to customize your campaign objectives to your
particular need. Sit down and draw out a plan based on your immediate publicity goals. Are
you planning to release new music? A new video? Are you planning to promote your YouTube
channel? Or are you playing a gig somewhere and you want to promote it? There has to be a
clear-cut, laid out plan for every publicity campaign you embark on.
When you are engaged in online publicity, you should also realize that real success comes in
working with the best 10-20 sites and making those placements count. Do not be in a hurry.
You need to also realize that publicity, by itself, does not automatically make you a superstar.
It goes way beyond that. Effective publicity happens when your name and your face is
consistently visible to your audience, and it takes time to achieve this.
You should keep in mind the fact that entertainment journalists, bloggers and press people in
general are very ego-driven, can be inconsistent and even snobbish. So you have to learn to
get and keep their attention.
Make sure your press release is addressed specifcally to who youre sending it to. And for
heavens sake, DO NOT SEND BULK FORWARDED MESSAGES! Asides the danger of your
mail ending up in the spam box, it shows disrespect; if I notice that I am just one out of a
gazillion recipients.
Always research the music blogs, websites, magazines, newspapers, etc. Take time to read
some of the reviews, articles and feature stories and take note of who wrote them. When
you fnd a positive review for a song that is close to your genre, take note of who the writer
is and when you are mailing your release, address it to that person. You can even search for
that person on Facebook or Twitter and initiate contact. Who knows, you might be given
some personal consideration. If you have had trouble getting a response from a DJ, blogger
or media people, watch your attitude. Your manner of approach matters a lot and a pushy,
overbearing attitude will not get you anywhere.
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35
1. The Bio
The bio section of the EPK provides a brief
write-up that includes some background
information like hobbies, hometown, musical
infuences, etc. This information is used to
explain to industry professionals who you
really are. Make it truthful, make it fun and
make it count. Please do not make this long
and be careful not to bore your reader with
other irrelevant details. If you are not good
at writing, it wont do you any harm to get
someone to write for you. But make sure you
seek several opinions before deciding on the
write-up you want to use.
2. Contact Information
One of the major reasons why most EPKs
get rejected is because there is no way
to contact the artiste. Make sure your
kit includes these items: YOUR PHONE
NUMBER, MANAGERS NUMBER( IF
U HAVE ONE), IM CONTACT, EMAIL
ADDRESS, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and any
other relevant contact information.
3. Professional Picture
Try to get a professional photographer to
shoot you and include 2-3 pictures in your
EPK. An EPK without a photo is like a movie
without a main character. Media people
need to put a face to the music. And if youre
sending your EPK to the print media, the
pictures are more than important.
Tip: Including video and social media links
are also worthwhile. Doing so can help to
differentiate your EPK from others of similar
quality. But make sure you test the links and
be sure theyre working.
4. The Song
Let the music do the talking. Make sure you
upload your best material, preferably in mp3
format. Also know that, including the lyrics
to the track also creates an added beneft to
the listener. There you have it! With these
basics, you should be able to put together
a decent press kit and you should have a
pretty good idea of how to get them out.
What Is An Electronic Press Kit?
EPKs are like digital resumes or CVs that promoters, media people and other individuals in
the industry use to rate the seriousness and professional integrity of an artiste. A lot like
crafting a sound job resume, there are key features within an EPK that determines if your
press kit will be deleted or accepted. To avoid being deleted, the secret is to create an EPK
that is simple and to the point. Here are some tips that will help you to create a good EPK.
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36
Other Matters To Consider
Merely knowing how to promote your music doesnt mean you can afford to be ignorant or
careless about other things, below are a few things I believe every upcoming indie artiste should
pay attention to in order to have a sustainable measure of success in the industry.
Chapter 5
W
elcome to the fnal chapter of this handbook. I titled it other matters to consider
because what I will talk about here does not really ft into one neat category, but they
are so important that they cannot be ignored. What you are about to read here are things I
believe every Nigerian music industry hopeful should take very seriously because how you
handle them determines not just your success but your longevity in the industry.
I had a conversation with a colleague at an industry event sometime ago and he said
something quite striking. He said, Theres a reason this enterprise is called show business.
Its a SHOW, but its also a BUSINESS. He then went ahead to say that a lot of artistes
concentrate on the show, rather than the business.
I couldnt agree more! Truth is I havent noticed many emerging artistes who actually take an
active interest in the business side of music. The creative ones are obsessed with the art; they
will rather write, perform and play their instruments non-stop if you allow them. Not that
this is a bad thing. Its just that leaving everything else for another person to handle can be
very dangerous and can cost you your career.
A lot of artistes really do not like getting bogged down with details and analysis and plenty of
words and fgures (thats understandable because its a common trait with creative types. I
am like that too!). This is why managers are hired to handle the paperwork. For those of you
who cant afford a manager, a publicist and a promotions consultant just yet (after all, these
days, these folks dont take charity cases), you will end up having to do it all yourself. So if
youre going to self-promote and self-manage, dont you think its wise to learn how things
are done?
The bottom line is, if you want to get your music out to the public, and you do not have a
working knowledge of the business, you will be at the mercy of other people who do. And
while there are some good people in this industry, there are also charlatans and users. These
are people whose primary interest is the money and who are not above exploiting you in
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37
order to get that money.
Educating yourself about the music business
wont happen in a day; its an ongoing
process. As I am
writing to you
about this, I am
still learning and
educating myself
everyday! There is
always something
new to learn. The
industry is moving
forward and things change every day.
Take advantage of all the available
resources. In this modern day of information
technology, theres really no excuse not
to educate yourself. I have said it over and
over again; your iPhones and tablets are
not fashion accessories. Theres a world of
information. Use it to your best advantage!
You can even take online courses. You have
free information at your fnger tips. Dont
let it go to waste. Devote time to studying.
Even if you spend an hour a day reading up
on the business, youll be heading in the right
direction. Talk to people in the industry.
Some of the best advice youll get will come
from people who have experience in the
business. Talk to other artistes who have
been there and done that. Find out what
they have gone through, what lessons they
have learnt, and you can also get contacts
from these people. (Remember not to stalk
them ok?) Dont be too trusting. Not to
sound paranoid or anything, this industry
is really full of wolves in sheeps clothing.
Be on the lookout; watch your back and
be wary of high
sounding words
and outrageous
promises.
My dear artiste,
there is no fun in
ignorance. Save
yourself future
heartburn and
learn what the industry is about.
PLAN NOT TO GO BROKE!
According to screaming blog headlines,
Nigerian artistes are balling! Living large,
acquiring mansions, state of the art luxury
cars, Rolex watches, popping bottles, dating
models and generally living large! Or are
they? The average Nigerian upcoming
artistes dream is to make that one hit, or
Devote time to studying. Even
if you spend an hour a day
reading up on the business,
youll be heading in the right
direction
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38
Blow (using the slang we all use right?) Become an overnight radio, club success, perform
at all the big concerts and sign major endorsement deals. In other words, their dream is to
become rich and famous.
Not to burst your bubble, you should begin to realize that not all famous celebs (especially
in the Nigerian Entertainment business) are actually rich. At least not the way they show
you on social media. A lot are actually living on borrowed money, in heavy debt and dont be
surprised you probably make more money than they do, while some are downright broke.
That being said, lets talk about how you can avoid getting into this sorry situation and stop
yourself from living a lie like most industry Big names do.
Plan Ahead, Budget and Live Within Your Means
Planning and budgeting are essential concepts when it comes to managing your personal
fnances. Its all based on the notion of living within your means. As they say, Its Not What
You Make, Its What You Keep! Making a ton of money does not mean that you will remain
fnancially successful. Just do a Google search for famous Hollywood bankruptcies or
bankrupt musicians. You will get a list of names that rivals any guest list at a red carpet event.
Same goes for their Nigerian counterparts. Im sure you can name quite a few. Stars we all
loved and admired while we were growing up are nowhere to be found right now. Their
money problems were not primarily caused by an inability to make money. These artistes all
made plenty of it, millions each year in their prime. Yet, they spent more than they earned
and therefore ended up broke.
Learning how to establish and keep reasonable budgets is the key to living within your means
and getting fnancially ahead. The issue of living within your means cannot be
overemphasized. If you cannot afford designer labels, then wear good, clean outfts that look
good on you. If you cant afford to pop bottles, dont
drink on credit. Who says you must party hard every
weekend anyway? If you cant afford to live on the
Island, live where you can afford with dignity and self
respect.
The truth is most artistes often have highly fuctuating
incomes. They can make a ton of money for a few
months only to experience a dry spell and earn
substantially less during the following months.
Learning how to
establish and keep
reasonable budgets is
the key to living within
your means and getting
fnancially ahead.
www.dearartiste.com
39
Remember in the Nigerian music industry, the royalty system is practically nonexistent,
album sales are at an all time low, and a few make anything from digital distribution (Ring
back tunes, Spinlet, iTunes downloads, etc). For example, an artiste might go on a GLO tour
and earn quite well. When the tour ends, the regular payments end as well. If you do not plan
well, save and invest wisely, the money earned will disappear faster than smoke.
You should also mind the company you keep. Friends and hangers on have a tendency of
making you spend more than you have budgeted for. Watch out for those friends who
always want to go with you to every event, always with you, happy to drink on your tab,
happy to throw your name around, as long as it will guarantee club entrance, women and
photo ops. People like that are usually the frst to disappear when the gravy train packs up.
And for all thats worth, STAY OFF DRUGS! Need I say more on that?
What I am saying is taking care of your personal fnances requires some work, lots of
discipline and a healthy dose of common sense.
Stay True To Yourself. Face The Fear
You need to push through the fear. Youll need to put fear aside and dive in to stay true to
yourself and spread your message. Artistes who stayed true to themselves always did better
than those that sold out. You can explore different artistic styles and try out new ideas, but
the essence of who you really are must always be felt in whatever material you put out!
Be Passionate
One thing I do know is that NOTHING beats
true passion! Some ideas I thought were really
lame have ended up being a success because of
a crazy amount of passion on my part and on the
part of everyone involved. Conversely, Ive seen
great ideas fop because the creator didnt have
enough passion behind the project. Check your
passion level; if youre not crazy about your art,
perhaps an adjustment is needed.
Keep It Real
Its one thing to be true to yourself but what about keeping it real to the outside world? Youll
need to look deep and face that fear again, then be willing to keep it real. In todays world, we
You can explore different
artistic styles and try out
new ideas, but the essence
of who you really are must
always be felt in whatever
material you put out!
www.dearartiste.com
40
long to connect with authenticity which usually means the non-perfect approach. No ones
life is all dandy and sugar perfect with roses on top! So whatever you do, make it REAL, RAW
& RELEVANT.
Prepare For A Marathon, Not A Sprint
Ivan Misner once said, Im a 20 year overnight success. While it may appear that success is
sped up in the information age of speed... guess what? Its not. If you want to stay true to
yourself and create good music, youll need to realize that its going to take time, dedication
and commitment. Youll have some bumps along the way and you can navigate them, you just
need to stick with it.
Enjoy The Journey!
Lastly, keeping your eye on the goal is great but what about today? What about the journey?
Remember that all you have is today and while its great to have a goal, be sure to celebrate
every time you take a step closer to your destination. Smile through the grind and bear in
mind that its all a process. The journey to greatness itself is a great lesson. And believe me, if
you dont make that journey, you cant learn those lessons anywhere else! Cheers!
www.dearartiste.com
41
Contact Details
Web: http://www.dearartiste.com
Email: private4lah@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dearartiste
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DearArtiste

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