FIVE FREE eBOOKS
article by: Stefan Aronsen
No more waiting… you can now download all 5 of my Survival eBooks for free… ENJOY!!!
I started writing SF Intercom 3 years ago for two reasons. One, to help musicians survive, and two, as a way to get involved in the indie scene I so dearly loved. SF Intercom started as a design thesis aimed at getting musicians more access to design/marketing/promoting advice. Such advice can be extremely expensive. My goal was to leverage existing advice from other successful bands. I assumed if bands taught other bands/fans and industry professionals shared advice… the indie scene would thrive. I’ve always wanted to be in a band myself… but with many failed attempts at learning instruments I finally realized my calling as a “Groupie with a Purpose.”
BUZZ: PERSONIFY – a survival guide for bands
Buzz helps the community flourish by actively curating a collection of advice from existing bands, spotlighting venues that cater to indie music, and building a network of resources designed with the indie musician in mind.
Hopefully you’ve read BUZZ: PLAN a survival guide designed to help bands get started. Today, I am releasing the second book in my survival guide series, BUZZ: PERSONIFY, which is available for perusing or download. This book covers all the info a band needs to create their brand and should be implemented as soon as your band sounds good. I believe having a solid brand is almost as important as an epic sound. However, bands are afraid of the word brand … So with that in mind I say “You don’t need to brand yourself as long as your create a strong persona.”
Please browse the pages of BUZZ: PERSONIFY above or download your copy below.
BUZZ: PERSONIFY is only available for a limited time.
STEPS 9 & 10 OF PERSONIFY
The 5 P’s of survival are Plan, Personify, Promote, Plug-in and Play. If you’re reading in order you have survival tips 1-6 of Personify. Today I give you #7 and #8.
9 _ GET SPONSORED: Athletes get sponsored so why can’t you? Find sponsorship from company’s you like. Use this as a way to have food when you’re on tour, custom gear when you’re on stage and clothes to look steezy always. Then hook me up!
10 _ CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE ADVERTISING: Where are your fans? Are you advertising there? Are they reading it? Talk to your fans, find out what they respond well to, advertise in ways that work … stop wasting money on advertising that isn’t helping you.
STEP 7 & 8 OF PERSONIFY
The 5 P’s of survival are Plan, Personify, Promote, Plug-in and Play. If you’re reading in order you have survival tips 1-6 of Personify. Today I give you #7 and #8.
7 _ PUT CONTACT INFO ON EVERYTHING: Put your contact info on your cd, on your cd case, on your photos, on your shirts, everywhere. Fans, bands and industry professionals will get in contact with you if you make it easy.
8 _ MAKE MERCHANDISE: Most bands don’t make a lot of money on cd sales. They do however make money selling t-shirts, stickers and other band merch. Make some … then put your contact info on it.
STEPS 5 & 6 OF PERSONIFY
The 5 P’s of survival are Plan, Personify, Promote, Plug-in and Play. If you’re reading in order you have survival tips 1-6 of Personify. Today I give you #7 and #8.
7 _ PUT CONTACT INFO ON EVERYTHING: Put your contact info on your cd, on your cd case, on your photos, on your shirts, everywhere. Fans, bands and industry professionals will get in contact with you if you make it easy.
8 _ MAKE MERCHANDISE: Most bands don’t make a lot of money on cd sales. They do however make money selling t-shirts, stickers and other band merch. Make some … then put your contact info on it.
STEPS 3 & 4 OF PERSONIFY
The 5 P’s of survival are Plan, Personify, Promote, Plug-in and Play. I gave you the first two survival tips of Personify. Today I give you #3 and #4
3 _ BUY YOUR DOMAIN NAME: You aren’t truly you until you own your name. As soon as somebody buys your domain name … they are more you than you. Even if you don’t know how to design a web site you need to own your domain name.
4 _ CREATE A SOLID WEB PRESENCE: This has multiple meanings. First, be searchable on the web, people need to be able to find you. Second, tie all of your web concepts together visually. This will let people recognize you without seeing your name.
STEPS 1 & 2 OF PERSONIFY
The 5 P’s of survival are Plan, Personify, Promote, Plug-in and Play. You have my 10 survival tips for Planning. Today I give you tips #1 and #2 of Personify.
1 _IT IS OK TO BE COMMERCIAL: It is ok to fear the man. However you should not fear some of the words “the man” uses. ultimately you have two options with your music: make it a hobby, or make it commercially viable.
2 _ MAKE SMART DESIGN CHOICES: Poor design choices will reflect poorly on you. You may be a wonderfully talented band, but if your graphics suck, people are going to assume your sound sound sucks. If you’re not good at design, hire a designer.
BUZZ: PLAN – a survival guide for bands
Buzz – A survival guide for emerging indie musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Building and maintaining an audience is as important to a successful music career as it is to a venue, restaurant, theater, and even a retail store.
Buzz helps the community flourish by actively curating a collection of advice from existing bands, spotlighting venues that cater to indie music, and building a network of resources designed with the indie musician in mind. Buzz provides unique guidance and best practices across every style of music, based on years of research. The backbone of Buzz’s message of Persona, Planning, Promoting, Plugging-in, and Playing, relates to any person or group attempting to build an audience.
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