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Hello
to you all!
I hope you're enjoying the blessings of
spring! I sure am! My life is always hectic
but fortunately I LOVE what I do. When things
begin to get insane and I'm at my wit's end, I
remind myself that it's MY choice. We all have
choices. When we consciously choose to do
something we love, it's easier to deal with
life's road bumps. I made a vow years ago to
only do things that interested me. Because I
show the Universe I'm serious, I continuously
get projects that I love.
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Thanks for all your great letters! It helps me
know people are reading this. : ) Some of you
are surprised that I often write about
motivational topics. While I write books for
Billboard Books, I also have a flourishing
career writing and speaking about personal
growth topics. I do counseling andworkshops
too. So I carry what I teach on that tip to
into my music industry education and that
includes this newsletter. I have some great
stuff in this issue! My interview with Bobby
Borg, who's been drummer for the rock band
Warrant, and now is author of The Musician's
Handbook, is sizzling. I also found out how
artists can report CD sales at gigs to
SoundScan, and much more!
Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
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1. Good communication
2. Interview with Bobby Borg of Warrant
3. My next seminars
4. Using SoundScan at your gigs
5. Minding your music biz
6. Music Connection - Michael Mollura
7. Getting more attention
8. Music industry events
1. Good communication: Good communication is a
tool that can greatly enhance your chances of
achieving success and it doesn't cost a dime.
Having this skill makes networking more
productive. What's the point of meeting people
who can help you if you can't connect to them
verbally? There's an art to good
communication. Here's some tips. They may seem
obvious but a surprising number of musicians
don't follow them:
*Listen to the other person. Ask them
questions. Often when you meet someone in the
industry, you bulldoze them with a pitch about
your music. Yak. Yak. Yak. Don't assault
people with words about what you're doing and
what you need. Ask them what they do. Listen
carefully. Communication is a 2 way
interaction. You connect with people by
listening to what they say.
*Speak slowly. Motor mouths get taken less
seriously. When you explain yourself in a
calm, confident, professional tone, instead of
rushing to get everything you can out fast,
people will pay more attention.
*Make eye contact when you speak. It shows
confidence. People don't trust those who can't
look them in the eye.
*Display manners. Use please and thank you.
Many industry people forget to do that. Thank
people for their time. It can make you stand
out.
*If you're talking to someone who you want
help from, show respect for their time by
asking if it's a good time to talk. Don't just
dive into your pitch.
*Think before you speak. I hear it all the
time. "What made me say that?"
"I wish I could erase what I blurted
out." Take a deep breath before
responding to something important.
*Monitor the pitch of your voice. If you're
nervous or excited, start an octave lower.
Voices tend to get shrill if emotions kick in.
This allows leeway.
*Smile. People will like you more.
*Have a sense of humor. Don't go overboard or
put yourself down in a joke. But know when to
laugh. It puts others at ease.
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2. Interview with Bobby Borg: What a life I
have! It isn't every day you get a call from a
rock star! Bobby Borg has been the drummer for
multi-platinum rock band Warrant. He called me
to chat about his new book, The Musician's
Handbook, and we clicked. Now we're friends.
Since I was a fan of Warrant, I get a kick out
of this. I asked him about life as a rock star
on the road, just out of curiosity, and got an
earful. So of course I had to ask him
questions for my newsletter. Bobby has had
some wild times but I think he's done VERY
well for himself in real life as an educator.
So here's a little *behind the music* for you.
How does being a star separate you from *real
life*/spoil you?
"The word *star* is a big word. There are
different levels. An artist like Michael
Jackson can't even leave his house without
being immediately recognized. He's a huge
star. Other (less famous) artists, like
myself, experience stardom at its fullest in
more isolated situations - such as performing
live on a concert tour. When you're out on the
road, hundreds (usually thousands) of people
converge into one venue to basically worship
the ground you walk on. All eyes are on you;
and when you're playing before 20,000 or
30,000 people, that's an amazing high. Now
imagine what it does to certain audience
members - it makes them mad over you! The
audience sees you as almost a God-like
creature and they want a piece of you -
whether that's simply be a high-five, an
autograph, or - in the case of the female sex
- your ass. [Laughing] Hey, I'm not
complaining; who could ask for more? In fact,
You come to expect it. You become spoiled
rotten. It's just way too easy. During the
apex of my career, I don't think I even went
on one date in the traditional sense. It was
pretty much like a "cave-man
/cave-girl" thing. I saw, I conquered.
[Laughing!] It was a beautiful thing."
What did you have to do to adjust to *real
life* now?
"As one can imagine, the advantages of
being on the road I've discussed above don't
always apply to your life when you're off the
road and out of your element. You're not as
easily recognized anymore and obviously not
the center of everyone's attention. And as the
years pass since the last really big thing
you've done, the excitement of your success
somewhat diminishes. You find that women are
not necessarily throwing their bras and
panties at you anymore. [Laughing.] Their
tolerance level of your forwardness has also
lowered. To adjust, you simply learn to grow
up a little and behave. You learn to discover
the meaning of the word "date;"
rather then getting laid first ask questions
later, you learn to ask a whole lotta of
questions first (and hopefully get laid
later). You can't just grab anymore - now you
have to ask. Welcome to the real world!"
What did you learn from being a rock star?
"Hey, it's all good, but let me hip you
to some deeper stuff. Ready for this? I
learned that stardom can be a bunch of BS!
Really! How's that for a curve ball? I mean,
come on, let's get over ourselves here for a
minute. After all, what is it that we're doing
up on stage any way? We're playing a piece of
wood with strings on it. Or a skin stretched
across a dead tree! Sure it's fun, and I mean
no disrespect to my craft, but the point is
that we're not researching the cure for
cancer. You can't let all the
"attention" of being a star get into
your head as if the world revolves around you
- stardom can turn you into a selfish ass. You
have to take a look around at all times and
appreciate each and every person that is
involved in your careers, and in your lives.
The seemingly anonymous people. From the bus
driver, to the stage tech, to the sound man,
to the opening act, to the runners, to your
waitress, to your fans, to the entire world;
we are all human beings that deserve to be
treated with dignity, respect, and honor. And
once you become a more a caring person, you
can actually use your "stardom" to
the betterment of the community in general.
You've already got people's attention, now
it's time to make a very significant mark on
them - one that's career or perhaps even life
changing. I think that's why writing my book,
The Musician's Handbook, was so important to
me. I can help make the pursuit of another
artist's dreams far more easy than it ever was
for me. It's my way of going back. It's a very
significant and fulfilling experience."
Now that you're career is coming together as a
writer/ speaker, is the attention you're
getting different from being a Rock drummer?
"Keeping with our theme in the previous
questions: on one hand, you're this crazy rock
drummer who attracts the attention of
physically-beautiful over-zealous
scantily-clad women - you know, chicks who
basically throw themselves at you. And as a
writer, you attract the attention of beautiful
but less obvious women - you know, women who
behave in a far more adult, controlled and
intellectual manner. Though you're approached
just the same in either case, there's much
more guessing to do as an author in terms of
figuring out just how much attention your fans
really intend to give you. [Laughing.] You
wonder; are these women interested in me
purely for my mind, or the combination package
mind and body? [Laughing even louder.] You
ask, am I supposed to act like the Messiah on
the mountain with all the wisdom and respect,
or can be more be a dog and hit on this chick
like anyone else would? You see, the line just
seems to be far less obvious as a published
author than it is for a rock musician. Your
number-one goal then becomes to maintain the
utmost professionalism at all times. Whether
it be teaching a course as an adjunct
professor, speaking on a panel at a music
business convention, or consulting a client -
I have to focus on the primary goal at hand -
EDUCATION - and Not PROCREATION.
[Laughing]. Well, at least in theory I
do."
Bobby Borg is all about education these days.
He teaches, writes for magazines and has a
FANTASTIC new book, The Musician's Handbook
(Billboard Books). I believe this book is a
great complement to mine. It's huge - a
terrific value for its $19.95 price. Bobby
goes into great detail about the business end
of your music career. You know I believe
musicians must mind their business. Bobby
gives you his perspective as a musician who
has also been an educator for years. Read it
through. Keep it around as a reference. This
book is one everyone who wants to make money
from their music should read.
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3. My next seminars: It's still early to
confirm my speakers. I will have great ones!
Start & Run Your Own Record Label:
October 4, 2003 and February 28, 2004
I'm changing the name of my other seminar to
Artist Development 101: How to Get a Record
Deal - or Do It Yourself:
November 22, 2003.
I'll let you know more details as they get
closer. For now, save the dates! : )
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4. Using SoundScan at your gigs: SoundScan is
the primary tracking system for record sales
for vendors that use UPC scanning technology.
It enables the scanner at record stores to
read barcodes and record each sale. Trudy
Lartz, Vice President, Sales & Client
Service, Nielsen SoundScan told me "SoundScan
is a tracking system that is used at point of
sale cash registers in a little over 16,000
retail stores across the country. A CD is
scanned at the cash register and once a week
it reports those sales to us. We calculate all
those figures, produce a report on each piece
of product in our system that's associated
with that scan, and then do marketing reports
based on industry numbers that come out of
that conglomeration of numbers."
Billboard's retail music sales charts are
based on data recorded by SoundScan. Many
other industry people check SoundScan sales
when they're looking for indie artists to sign
or work with. Check their website (www.soundscan.com)
for more details. People often ask me how to
get sales credit for CDs that are sold
directly at venues. So I found out for my next
book and will share it here too.
SoundScan now offers an option for touring
bands to get credit for CD sales at venues if
they're on a registered label. Lartz says,
"We track venue sales, so if they open a
venue sales account, they can sell their
records at venues and make sure the reporting
process takes place." You can show these
sales even without distribution. You need a
UPC code and must register with SoundScan to
get an account number. Then you'd fill out a
form at your gig and get it signed by someone
from the venue who guarantees that this is the
amount of sales. Someone at the label creates
a document and sends it to SoundScan. Lartz
says, "Verification is important. We do
have an investigative teams that verifies
those things every week." Unfortunately,
labels with one artist don't qualify. I asked
Lartz if there were options and she said that
single-artist labels can ask a distributor for
help in registering, or possibly co-op with
other small indies and approach SoundScan
together. Check out their site (http://www.soundscan.com)
for more info and to see the other services
they offer.
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5. Minding your music biz: Some of you want to
incorporate your business. This protects you
from lawsuits that can wipe out your personal
assets otherwise. Nowadays, businesses are
finding that creating an LLC (Limited
Liability Corporation) is a better way to go.
This gives you the financial protection of
incorporating but it's simpler. It also works
better for people who are running a biz as
partners. If you're thinking of doing this,
there's a website that allows you to do it
yourself. Of course, they charge a fee for
using them. But even if you don't use them,
the site has a lot of free info on
incorporating and LLCs, including the cost of
filing for all 50 states. http://www.bizfilings.com/
6. Music Connection: I recently began
subscribing to Music Connection magazine,
which is based in LA, and was very impressed.
It is truly a musician's magazine and caters
to indie music. It's a great place to get
reviews for your CD or a gig. There's also a
ton of practical info for musicians of all
levels. I spoke to Michael Mollura, Associate
Editor, for my book.
What do you look for from an artist? "I
look for artists that are comfortable with who
they are, that know who they are and what
they're going for. Often when there's a
contradiction between how a band appears and
how they sound, I find that distracting -
something that doesn't work for their cause.
Headshots don't really work. I look for a
package that's focused and consistent.
Everything should be very easy for an editor
to sift through. If I have to go through pages
and pages of material just to get contact
information, it's a problem for me. [An artist
with a scattered package might have less of a
shot at getting some attention]"
How should someone approach you? "Always
try a phone call and always send an email.
Email is the way right now. I do 98% of my
communicating through email. Indie labels send
me emails to let me know what they're
developing and what they've got going. They
can send packages. They work at an indie
magazine like ours. I do look at every package
that comes in."
What about follow-up? "Email is the best
way to follow up. Find out the style of each
editor or reviewer and how they like to get
information and how they like to be
approached. Different editors have different
styles. It's much more comfortable for someone
to find out first via email. If somebody sends
me an email asking if I got their package,
I'll go see if I got the package. An email
gets into the line of fire."
Visit the websitefor Music Connection.
http://www.musicconnection.com
They have most of the mag online so you can
see it. It come out twice a month. Since they
support indie music, I'm happy to support
Music Connection!
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8. Music industry events:
The New York chapter of the Film Music Network
has its next monthly meeting on June 11, 6:30
p.m. at Carroll Music 351 West 41st Street b/w
8th and 9th Aves. The panel is about composing
for Music Libraries. I've been to the last few
panels and they've been brilliant. The $15
admission includes pizza and soda! I think
it's a great value and anyone with songs to
market should go to all of these. They have
them every month. I'm planning to catch this
one! RSVP to 212-592-3600 or rsvpny@filmmusic.net.
They need to know how much pizza to order. The
July meeting will be a panel of music
publishers.
*******
The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) (NYC)
has 3 exciting forums. All are free for SGA
members. Everyone is allowed to participate
once -free of charge- before deciding whether
to join SGA. Membership is only $70 per year.
All forums take place at the SGA headquarters;
1560 Broadway, ste 1306, New York (Entrance is
on 46th St.) 212-768-7902 or check out their
website
http://www.songwritersguild.com. There
are SGA events in other cities too. Here are
the new ones:
Home Recording Forum: I recently met Michael
Gilboe of the Copperheadz production team.
He's a fan of my books. : ) After speaking to
him, I was impressed and asked to interview
him for my next book. My instincts were right!
He's now running this forum on the 1st and 3rd
Thursday of every month from 6pm at the SGA.
Learn techniques and tricks that can help make
your demos shine. There's a new topic each
session and occasional guest speakers. What
you learn can empower you, no matter where you
record. I hate being dependent on someone for
everything.
info@copperheadz.com for more
info.
Hip Hop Beatz n' Meet: This is on the 2nd and
4th Thursday of every month from 6pm. Find out
what slams and what needs improvement with
meaningful feedback from your peers. Writers,
producers, rappers and singers are all invited
to participate and network. They will also
discuss helpful industry topics and there will
be occasional guest speakers. Sessions are
moderated by Michael McLeod, SGA award winning
songwriter and half of the Copperheadz
production team.
info@copperheadz.com
The SGA Song Critique: I've mentioned this
here before but it's a shame how many of you
don't take advantage. Every Tuesday from 6 p.m,
songwriters present material for comment,
suggestion, advice and general
trouble-shooting. Writers critique each other.
The SGA song critique is moderated by Jeannie
Reed. E-mail songnews@aol.com for more info.
Getting critiqued makes you a better
songwriter!
*****
The Big Schmooze!: This is where you can
network in the music biz in Toronto. It's a
forum for musicians, songwriters, businesses
and organizations to mingle under one roof.
This event meets on the last Tuesday of each
month and includes guest speakers from across
the music industry and live music showcases
for emerging talent. Check their website if
you're near Toronto and take advantage!
http://www.thebigschmooze.ca/
*******
Did you like camp as a kid? Adults who want to
learn the art of songwriting and have fun too
can attend NashCamp Songwriting Week, July
6-11, 2003. Classes for all levels of writers
are open to adults and teens (with parental
permission). It's taught by some of
Nashville's most celebrated songsters.
Students get a chance to have their
compositions in concert at the world famous
songwriter showcase club, The Bluebird Cafe.
Melody and lyrics are central to the
songwriting sessions -- beginners are welcome,
and advanced writers enjoy professional level
courses in a comfortable country setting.
Campers stay in cozy log cabins. Call
615-952-2267 or write
nashcamp@nashcamp.comfor more info.
http://www.nashcamp.com
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It's time to look at the world with new
vision! Without high expectations and wishful
thinking. Without "what ifs" and
"if onlys." It's time to accept that
your life won't change and your career won't
expand unless you do something about it. It's
time to stop waiting for someone to discover
you. Get off your butt and discover yourself!
It's time to stop complaining that no one
comes to your gigs. Find out why and accept it
might be because you need to improve your
songwriting and/or performance. It's time to
stop waiting for a manager to sign you before
you begin to make money. Managers want to rep
those who are making enough to make it worth
working for their small percentage. Your life
and career begins and ends with you! When you
accept the reality of your life, you can
nurture yourself to a greater level of success
by taking responsibility for it. There are
enough successful musicians to prove that.
I hope that you find the strength and
motivation to get yourself to the next level.
If you have anything to share, please send it.
Until the next issue.....
Keep your passion strong,
Daylle
Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
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