Music Business Blog by Jason Feinberg

I’ve begun posting pictures from our trip to NAMM (as well as Journey’s induction into the Walk Of Fame).

Check Them Out Here!

Well, we are back from NAMM and boy are our arms tired – no wait, that’s not how it goes. But I personally am exhausted! A couple days of 12 hours straight on your feet, selling the message nonstop… It takes it out of you. But so well worth it.

I have plenty of pictures to post and info to share, I’ll get to it over the next few days.

The next few updates will probably be road reports – we are down in Anaheim at the NAMM convention. I am looking forward to it, I unfortunately had to miss last year. It is always a good chance to connect with artists, managers, colleagues, and just about anyone else in the biz. Not to mention excellent performances, parties, and tons of good swag.

I’ll personally be heading down to the convention in a few hours – first I am going to the Journey induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Should be fun! The Neal Schon record is being received very well so far.

Then, after the convention tonight, we rush back to L.A. so we can go to the Journey show at the House of Blues. Ahhh, good times!

More from NAMM to come.

If you are in the business of providing a service, such as – oh I don’t know – marketing, you are both fortunate and inconvenienced by the fact that you offer no tangible goods.

Where this is unfortunate is that often clients don’t fully understand what they are paying for. If they cannot see it, they value it less. Bummer.

Where this is a positive, however, is in the fact that your structure can be as flexible as you want it to be. For instance, you are able to fine tune your efforts (and therefore prices) to the client’s needs. Instead of catering to one demographic based on a price-lockout, you can offer services that provide results to both high and low budget projects.

Be flexible with your pricing. Never lower it in the global sense – offering the same as you have in the past, but for less. Lower it in an individual sense – for example, you wholeheartedly believe in the band and you know they have just sold their last amp for ramen and bus fare, so you cut them a break knowing they will use you when they are working with a larger budget. This flexibility can open up business avenues you never imagined you had.

Near daily I seem to come across musicians and bands that suffer the gross misconception that record labels (and managers) get interested in a band solely on their music. That getting your CD in front of the right A&R person will get you a deal.

WRONG!

I can only speak for myself and the significant network of music industry professionals I work with on a daily basis (sarcasm be noted please), but what interests us far more than your music is your story. There are a million bands out there that churn out music that is pleasant to listen to (and can be produced into something financially tangible) but there are, relatively speaking, very few that understand being a career artist is not just about how wonderful you sound on tape.

What about the two-week-straight mini tour in an old van? You think your bass player’s feet stink in your (now seemingly huge) rehearsal space, wait til you get a whiff the morning after a sweaty show!

And what about the work ethic to pass out stickers and flyers at a show where you believe you share a similar fan base with the artists? Do you have it in you?

Oh, and let’s not forget the simple common decency required to know that 2pm means 2pm? Not 3pm, not 2:37pm, and especially not a phone call the next day saying “oops!”

Understand that getting a record deal, an agent, a manager – all these things take far more than just good songs. You have to show a track record of some sort. Oh, and a strong dose of common sense.

One of my many roles is as a teacher – For over a year now I have been teaching in the Music Business Program at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. I often am approached by students asking for advice on a number of topics ranging from job-hunting advice to general suggestions on how they should present themselves in the industry.

A recent question made me think in very general terms about how each and every one of us is marketing ourselves; I’d go so far as to say at all times. In the music industry, the most valuable commodity one can possess is their network. A network is built on two factors – how you sell yourself and whom you sell yourself to. We are constantly building, restructuring, and occasionally mending our reputations. It really is a universal currency in the industry.

A few years ago I was told by someone in a very high position that to be perceived as a professional in the music industry, one must present a professional image at all times. Not just at events, or at work, but at all times. This is an industry where we are expected to live and breathe the biz 24/7. If you are not continuously aware of how you are marketing yourself, you may be missing out on extremely valuable reputation-building experiences.

It’s only Tuesday and we’re already insanely busy here at OTMG! We launched the new Favored Nations website yesterday at http://www.favorednations.com. It is live, but will continue to see updates and minor revisions throughout the week. Tomorrow we will be launching the Neal Schon and James Robinson marketing campaigns, which promise to keep us very active!

Don’t forget to sign up for the On Target Media Group email list – we won’t send you much, but when we do it will be good – info about contests, promotions, and other interesting music industry-related info. You can sign up here.

Here’s to a great new year filled with health, happiness, prosperity, and music!