I read plenty of music biz news sites and blogs, and it helps keep me aware of what’s on most of my colleague’s minds. But if it’s in those blogs, people are already talking about it and you can’t do it first.

What I care about is figuring out what’s next. Finding more efficiency. Creating something that hasn’t been done before. Taking an old concept and applying it a new way.

The best wisdom often comes from sources far from obvious. Find the tools you need, combine them with the wisdom you can find, and create something bigger than you thought.

Read Seth’s Blog to get perspective.

Use Evernote to boost productivity.

Fire up Chat Roulette for creative purposes instead of just showing people your junk.

RSVP for every single SXSW party, but don’t get there before me and take my spot.

Get a music marketing plan started in one session. Boost the effectiveness of the plan you already have. A great marketing plan doesn’t have to be complicated. A good one can be just one page long. Spreadsheets, graphs and numbers are not necessary.

Three music marketing experts give you the facts you need to take your artist to the top in this special NARIP session.

More Info: http://narip.com/index.php?page_id=5&task=form&id=95

How To Create A Grand Slam Music Marketing Plan
http://narip.com/index.php?page_id=5&task=form&id=94

Get a music marketing plan started in one session. Boost the effectiveness of the plan you already have. A great marketing plan doesn’t have to be complicated. A good one can be just one page long. Spreadsheets, graphs and numbers are not necessary.

But you NEED a plan. Lack of a good plan destroys more careers than lack of talent. Good marketing is simply getting your work to the largest number of people at the lowest possible cost.

Three music marketing experts give you the facts you need to take your artist to the top in this special NARIP session.

BONUS #1
Pre-register for NARIP’s event and submit your artist’s marketing plan. Our experts will select one plan and provide an in-depth review of it at our program.

BONUS #2
One NARIP member will be selected from our session to win one (1) free hour consultation with one of our guest speakers.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Jason Feinberg, President & Founder, On Target Media Group (from Los Angeles)
Steffen Franz, Founder, Independent Distribution Collective
Bryn Boughton, Chief Marketing Officer, IRIS Distribution & BlinkerActive
Tamra Engle, Senior Director, NARIP San Francisco (moderator)

YOU WILL LEARN

* Most important parts of music marketing strategy
* An easy way to begin your marketing campaign
* Your complete digital toolbox: what you need… and what you don’t
* Branding made simple… and effective
* How to use social networks, blog, MySpace & YouTube
* 5 ways to boost your presence on the Internet
* How to get press features
* Sites seeking content – excellent marketing opportunities for you
* How to build a brand and get more fans

WHEN

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
6:00 p.m. – Registration and networking
7:00 p.m. – Program begins
8:15 p.m. – Break
9:30 p.m. – Program ends

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Artist Managers, Producers & Artist Reps
Record & Music Publishing Executives
Concert Promoters, Agents, Tour Managers
Anyone seeking to create or enhance a music marketing plan or campaign.

WHERE

SAE Institute of Technology
450 Bryant St.
San Francisco, CA 94107-1303

http://narip.com/index.php?page_id=5&task=form&id=94

I cannot stress enough how these conferences have been such a key part of growing my business. Between SFMT, Bandwidth, SXSW, CMJ, Digital Music Forum, and
any others, I get more done In a few days than in a month of sending emails and phone calls. For those of you pondering the value of conferences, I can assure you the networking opps are almost always worth the price of admission.

So, if any of you will be at SF Music Tech let me know, be great to meet up and discuss all things digital music.

Mass-marketing your music can seem very lucrative, but casting such a wide net is often a futile effort. Micro markets and subcultures are being bountifully exploited by creative marketers, becoming the bread and butter of many successful working artists. This panel discusses strategies to focus your marketing plans on finite demographics… taking your music to people who already want what you have to offer.

Your Local Scene Sucks – How To Fix It
7/25 – 12:30
MusiCares Room

It seems like every artist is always complaining about how their local music scene is stagnant and unsupportive of independent artists. Well the fact of the matter is that no local scene is perfect, and artists need to adjust their attitude and their expectations in order to thrive musically and develop a following. This panel may not fix your local scene, but it will give you some inspiration to make a difference in your musical community.

Internet Killed the Radio Star – New Media & Social Marketing
7/25 – 2:00 PM
MusiCares Room

The internet is the new music discovery tool of our generation. As old media dinosaurs cling to out-dated marketing models, savvy music entrepreneurs take their music online to expand their fanbase. This panel will discuss new ways to use social networks to both market yourself and to sell music, crowd-sourcing your online promotion, and use both blogging and micro-blogging to connect with your fans on a more personal level than ever thought possible.

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/04/maximizing-the-sxsw-experience-with-social-media091.html

It’s all about using technology and social media tools to get a better SXSW experience. Hopefully something useful in it for everyone – if you’ve never been it’s a major jumpstart, and if you are a veteran you might learn some new tips to get even more out of it.