Borg - Music Marketing for the Diy Musician: Creating and Executing a Plan of Attack on a Low Budget

Praise for Music Marketing for the DIY Musician

Bobby Borg leads the charge of todays modern rockpreneurs. He has lived and breathed the business from multiple perspectives. There is no more credible source for marketing your music than Bobby!

BLASKO, Ozzy Osbourne/Mercenary Management, Inc.

The music industry today is a wild wilderness of ideas and directions. Bobbys book helps you find your footing and make your way through an ever-changing and beautiful landscape.

JOHN PANTLE, talent agent at Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)

Bobby has been on both sides of the desk so he knows the real-life ins and outs from each perspective. His matter-of-fact approach is refreshing in that he is providing actual strategies based on practical day-to-day information that can help form the basis of successful creative careers. Required reading in my view.

NEIL GILLIS, president, Round Hill Music

As a veteran of both the creative and business sides of the industry, Bobby has the background necessary to assist artists in becoming successful. The book explains the changes in the business in a way that is easily understood and offers advice on how musicians can capture a share of the DIY marketplace.

STEVE WINOGRADSKY, attorney and author of Music Publishing: The Complete Guide

Bobby Borg makes music marketing easy to understand and execute for people who dont know where to start or how to do it, and fear that marketing is beyond their reach. Buy this book!

MICHAEL LASKOW, founder, TAXI Independent A&R

Bobby Borgs book is the arrow that every musician needs in their quiver. His experience as a professional musician and his study of the industry gives him a complete understanding of all sides of the music business and marketing. While its difficult to get a break in this business, Bobbys book almost guarantees that youll make your own.

JONAH DAVID, drummer for Matisyahu and the Live Debate

Copyright 2014 by Bobby Borg

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Published in 2014 by Hal Leonard Books
An Imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation
7777 West Bluemound Road
Milwaukee, WI 53213

Trade Book Division Editorial Offices
33 Plymouth St., Montclair, NJ 07042

Permissions to reproduce images in this book are noted in the section.

Printed in the United States of America

Book design by Kristina Rolander

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Borg, Bobby.
Music marketing for the DIY musician : creating and executing a plan of attack on a low budget / Bobby Borg. -- 1st paperback edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4803-6952-8
1. Music trade--Vocational guidance. 2. Musicians. I. Title.
ML3790.B679 2014
780.68'8--dc23
2014020267

www.halleonardbooks.com

Contents

So, why should you spend your time and money reading this book? More and more artists are taking advantage of new technologies to independently build awareness, make sales, and leverage favorable industry deals. But in this expanding competitive marketplace overflowing largely with hopeful artists and fly-by-night services, serious do-it-yourself musicians need structured advice more than ever from an artist whos lived through the business and succeeded.

Written for musicians by a veteran musician, Music Marketing for the DIY Musician is a strategic, step-by-step guide to producing a fully customized, low-budget plan of attack for marketing ones music. Presented in a conversational tone, it reveals the complete marketing process using the same fundamental concepts used by top innovative companies, while always encouraging musicians to find their creative niche and uphold their artistic vision. Its the perfect blend of left-brain and right-brain marketing.

Rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, that this book is not about using hope as a strategy, or just trendy tools and services that can help you do things right. Its about taking more control of your own destiny and doing the right things by professionally planning, strategizing, and executing a fully integrated, customized Marketing Plan of Attack. It will help you save time and money, rise above all of the clutter, and eventually attract the attention of top industry pros. Ultimately, this book is about making quality music that matters, and music thats heard!

What inspired me to write this book? As a musician, consultant, and educator, my mission has always been simple: to help music professionals turn their art into a more successful business . But over the years Ive identified an important void in the marketplace: nothing has been written for musicians by a musician with extensive professional experience that includes fundamental marketing concepts used by the most successful companies and contains easy-to-follow templates to help DIY artists budget their precious time and money. At a time when new technologies enable talented artists to act as their own independent record labels, there is clearly a need for a practical, DIY, step-by-step guide that presents tried-and-tested marketing advice in a modern way. Music Marketing for the DIY Musician is the culmination of 25 years in the trenches as a professional musician and entrepreneur, and over a decade in academic and practical research that has involved thousands of independent artists and marketing experts from around the world.

How is this book different? And why is it relevant to you? While there are other resources available, this book is unique and has several competitive advantages, including:

It is written specifically for DIY musicians by a musician with DIY, indie, and major-label success, making it a more credible, focused, practical, and relatable resource for artists.

It covers the complete marketing processfrom vision through execution with handy templates and samples in each chapter to help artists create fully customized marketing plans one step at a time.

It provides an integrated mix of online and offline strategies extending far beyond just the traditional four Ps of marketing and the latest Internet and social media promotion tips.

It introduces sophisticated business and research tools (SWOT, SMART, AIDA, and PFB charts) not found in most music marketing books, enabling artists to choose more confidently and even scientifically the right strategies for their own career paths.

It includes both real-world anecdotes and short tips in text boxes and afterthoughts to break up the text, and exclusive interviews with noted professionals to provide broad perspectives. Interviews include Jeff Hinkle, Business Manager at GSO Business Management; Nance Rosen, Business Consultant at Sandler Training; and Ira Kalb, President of Kalb & Associates.

It contains a detailed glossary of key marketing terms, a resource guide of over 300 DIY and low-budget services, a complete sample Marketing Plan of Attack, and 20 time-saving exercises for strengthening your marketing muscles, from finding industry mentors to aligning with major marketing associations.

It provides a website link where helpful templates and sample forms can be found.

So, who am I? As a former major-label, independent, and DIY recording/touring artist, I have over twenty-five years experience working with the most respected management firms, A&R representatives, music producers, music publishers, equipment manufacturers, songwriters, and journalists. Im a graduate of Berklee College of Music with a BA in professional music, and a graduate of UCLA Extension with a certificate in instructor development, project management, and marketing. For over a decade I have been teaching a class called DIY Music Marketing at Musicians Institute and UCLA Extension, where I received the Distinguished Instructor of the Year Award. I am also the author of The Musicians Handbook (first published by Billboard/Random House in 2003, and now in its third edition), which is used in some of the finest schools around the country. The VP of special events for the American Marketing Association Los Angeles Chapter and the founder of a thriving music consulting company in Hollywood, I speak with literally thousands of artists and music professionals year-round. I can be contacted at www.bobbyborg.com.