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Expert Music Career Advice For DIY Musicians
4 Times You Shouldn't Take the Gig
The Number One Mistake Bands Make Right After Booking a Gig
The Ultimate EQ Cheat Sheet for Every Common Instrument
15 Reality Checks Young Artists Need to Hear

Music Business 101, Marketing & Promotion, social media

Nov 14, 2018 06:00 AM

Angela Mastrogiacomo

What the Industry Wants You to Know About Marketing Music with Social Media

Photo by Criben / via Shutterstock

Let’s talk about marketing. If you’re a frequent reader of the Sonicbids blog, you already know that social media plays an important role in your music career. From building your brand to interacting with fans, so much of your growth and opportunities to connect come from these spaces.

But what about using them as marketing platforms? In a way, you may already be doing this. After all, every successful interaction you have with your fanbase is a chance to further any marketing goals.

If you’re feeling stuck, check out these tips for how to market your music in a way that’s sure to grab the attention of not only your fans but the music industry at large.

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Music Business 101, Recording

Nov 5, 2018 06:00 AM

Sonicbids Staff

Here's How Home Audio Has Evolved Over 162 Years

Image via Shutterstock

Each one of us can measure how home audio has evolved during our own lifetimes, whether it's from vinyl records to CDs or cassettes to Spotify. But even before hot wax became most consumers' favorite way to listen to popular music, home audio had already experienced nearly 100 years of changes.

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Music Business 101, Marketing & Promotion, press

Oct 17, 2018 06:00 AM

Angela Mastrogiacomo

4 Things Every Blogger Wants You to Know About Music Publicity

Image via Shutterstock

Doing your own PR is hard, there’s no way around that. But when your budget is tight or you just want the experience (which I highly recommend to all artists when they first start out), knowing how to put together a strong PR campaign is a must. While there’s a lot to learn through trial and error, we wanted to offer you a bit of a cheat sheet when it comes to contacting blogs and pitching your music to the masses.

Check out four tips for submitting to blogs — straight from the mouths of bloggers — below.

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Music Business 101, Strategies for Success, Digital & Tech, apps

Oct 10, 2018 06:00 AM

Evan Zwisler

10 Great Mobile Apps That Help Me (and You) Create Awesome Music from Scratch

Image via Shutterstock

This article originally appeared on Soundfly.

 

For such a long time, I resisted using apps to make music. I thought they must just be crappy, tiny versions of what they’re attempting to emulate (soft synthesizers, DAWs, digital instruments), or lame tools for musicians younger than I. Well, turns out I was wrong.

There are some absolutely amazing apps out there to help you make music on the bus, on the edge of a waterfall, or wherever you are when inspiration strikes. They sound so good, they can do so much, and best of all, they’re all pretty cheap or even free. Even the most expensive one on the below list, the iMPC Pro, is well worth its $25 price tag.

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Music Business 101, Digital & Tech, websites

Sep 26, 2018 06:00 AM

Jhoni Jackson

3 Easy, Flexible Options to Build Music Websites for Bands

Image via Shutterstock

Most bands and artists are scattered all over the internet: music on Bandcamp, photos on Instagram, band-approved memes on Facebook, funny commentary on Twitter, show listings on Bandsintown, and so forth. Of course, that’s just one example out of the endless possible combinations. It’s important to maintain a presence on all of those sites – so why are websites for bands even necessary?

The fact that there’s content in so many places is the very reason to offer a consolidated, simplified version of everything available. Build a website, and you’ll streamline the discovery process for booking agents and press who want to see it all. Fans, both existing and new, can also appreciate that, for once, they won’t be shuffling between multiple sites as they try to keep up with or learn about the music they love.

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