Sentric Music - Music Rights Management

 

This is a great company to affiliate with if you are performing your own songs at your gigs. Please visit their website to learn more about the services they provide.  I've been receiving a quarterly payment through them for the past two years. 

Crafting A Hit: How Many Songwriters Does It Take? ... Guest Post By Mesfin Fekadu

From the Associated Press — How many people does it take to write a hit song? If you're Pharrell, one. If you're Pitbull or Jason Derulo, probably eight — or more.

Billboard's recent Hot 100 chart reflects a group of hits mainly showcasing songs written solely by an act and an additional songwriter or those with seven or eight songwriters, such as Pitbull's "Timber" or Jason Derulo's "Wiggle."

What does it take to craft a hit? Who gets the credit? Is a song written by nearly a dozen people less special than a song with only two or three co-writers?

Pharrell, who has the longest-running No. 1 song so far this year with "Happy," wrote the tune alone.

"You got six, you got 18 people in the room, you don't need me," said Pharrell, who has written hits for Britney Spears and Usher. "Who am I to judge? Just because I do it my way doesn't mean it's going to be the stat(us) quo. (It's) more than likely not going to be the stat(us) quo, as we see."

The songwriters on Katy Perry's No.1 hits range from four ("E.T.") to six ("Dark Horse"). Beyonce and Jay Z's latest smash, "Drunk in Love," lists eight collaborators, and Eminem and Rihanna's "The Monster" was crafted by seven people.

That's in contrast to Lorde's "Royals" and OneRepublic's "Counting Stars" — solely written by Ryan Tedder — to any of the successes from Imagine Dragons' debut album, which credits the four members and occasionally producer Alex da Kid.

"I don't think that there'll probably ever be a time, to be honest with you, that we would sit down with like six songwriters and be like, 'Write an Imagine Dragons song.' It just wouldn't feel right for us," said bandleader Dan Reynolds, who will be honored Thursday night at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony in New York. "I've heard about artists who have a song written for them and they embrace it ... but for us, it's not real to what Imagine Dragons is."

Some of today's hits with a list of songwriters that scroll on and on include others who don't physically write lyrics: Writing credit can also be earned by producers who design the beats, artists who sing the song and add their own flavor, engineers who mix the track and others who work specifically on the melody. The publishing percentage for each person listed on the song varies, though.

"You have a programmer that's in (the studio) and they're like, 'OK, give me a beat Simon.' Simon gives a beat, well now he is a part of the co-write,'" said Linda Perry, who wrote Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and hits for Pink.

"It's a crazy jungle in that area. In that room, I don't want to be a part of," she added. "And then you got the guy that's smoking the blunt that's paying no attention and then he's like, 'Hey, say, "Chow down mother, chow down mother." Now that "Chow down mother stoner mother" is now part of the songwriting process, even if he only brought in one word."

Other times, sampling older songs adds to the lengthy list of credited songwriters. Pitbull and Kesha's "Timber" lists eight songwriters, but technically the total would be 11 because it borrows from Lee Oskar's "San Francisco Bay."

The largest group of writers to win the coveted Grammy for song of the year — a songwriter's award — is four, including Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." Other winners with four songwriters include songs by U2, Coldplay, the Dixie Chicks and fun., where band members count for all or most of the writers.

John Legend, who has dominated the airwaves this year with "All of Me," said winning the song-of-the-year Grammy is one of his top goals. He wrote the song with Toby Gad, and said within the music business, the long list of songwriters isn't too shocking.

"But if I were a lay person looking at the credits and I saw six people wrote it, it might turn me off a little bit because you would think it's writing by committee or it doesn't feel as personal," Legend said. "But then when you understand who's involved and how they are involved, you understand it a little bit more."

____

AP Entertainment Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu at twitter.com/MusicMesfin

How To Get Your Band Info Synched Everywhere At Once! Guest Post by Ari Herstand.

To be honest, I had kind of ignored BandPage for the past few years. I used it for one purpose: the Music tab on my Facebook Musician Page. I peripherally saw they had been rolling out other features, but didn't find a reason to use them or really investigate what they were. 

Until last month.

I read a few articles about how BandPage had been striking deals with music companies left and right (Clear Channel, Rdio, Xbox, LyricFind, Livenation, Soundcloud, Rhapsody, and others).

So I sat down with the CEO (via Skype) to get a better glimpse at what BandPage is doing and if it's something bands should pay attention to.

And I was stunned. And inspired. 

J Sider gets it. The 29 year old CEO of BandPage has seen the industry top to bottom. From booking bands in his hometown of Harrisonburg, Virgina to managing the 4,000 cap Saltair theater in Salt Lake City, he's seen the business of music first hand. He saw how it began to fold and is now helping to revive it.

Anyone who says the music industry is dying is defeatist and lacks creativity. We're in the most exciting time the music industry has ever known.

No longer is the industry about who can sell the most music. Or ticket sales.

Yes, download sales are down. Music purchasing is at an all time low. Ticket prices are at an all time high. The old guard is freaking out, while the new players figure out a better way.

+How To Make Money From Your Music On An Ongoing Basis

Forget having to rely on a broken system.

J Sider saw how people were jumping ship from Myspace to Facebook. Naturally, musicians needed to find them. He created the best music app on Facebook. BandPage was wildly adapted and became the industry standard for music on Facebook back in 2010.

When Facebook completely changed the layout of the Musician Page and moved to the Timeline format in 2012, BandPage's entire business model was rocked. No longer was the BandPage app featured on the main screen of Musician Pages. Sider had to pivot.

And luckily he did.

Sider, along with his team of 40 at BandPage, are creating the best monetization and connectivity platform the industry has ever known.

Connectivity

"Every place where your fans are we want to help you reach them" – J Sider, CEO, BandPage

Click here to read the rest of this fantastic article.

Vocal Singing Tips

A couple weeks ago I judged 'TeenStar' a singing competition ran by Open Mic UK and they handed out a little booklet that was full of great tips for aspiring and professional artists.

I'd like to share a few with you!  Here goes ... 

Protecting Your Vocals
Keeping your vocals protected is primarily about lifestyle choices. Two good vocal singing tips are avoid speaking loudly or shouting (no more yelling at your siblings or shouting in nightclubs!), and avoid whispering as this causes the vocal cords to squeeze together tightly, which can create trauma. 

Hydration is one of the most key vocal singing tips, and drinking two litres of fluids a day, especially two hours before a performance, will do your vocals wonders. Avoid smoking, coffee and alcohol, as these will all dehydrate your vocal chords. 

Finally, keeping your general physical health in check, working to reduce any muscular tension in your body, getting enough sleep, and maintaining a happy persona will each allow your vocals to shine.

I hope you have found this weeks tips helpful.

SINGING COMPETITION AUDITION DATES ANNOUNCED

FOR - Open Mic UK 2014!

How to Make Money from Your Music on an Ongoing Basis! Guest post by Ari Herstand!

Last month I profiled Jeff Price’s Audiam on Digital Music News and how he looks to fix YouTube’s royalty system. That’s all well and good, but even if things worked perfectly in the YouTube royalty world, creators still rely on viewers to click ads. Then for those ads to generate revenue for YouTube and, eventually, sure, the creators. Maybe.

Enter Patreon.
Patreon skips the middlemen altogether and goes directly to the fans. Patreon is a Kickstarter-like service for constant creators. Instead of raising a bulk amount for one big project (like an album), Patreon is for those who create on a regular basis – like YouTubers, musicians, podcasters, bloggers and the like.
“Patrons” pledge a set amount PER CREATION. The average pledge on Patreon is $7. So if you create 3 videos a month, and a fan pledges $7 per video, you would earn $21 from that fan per month.
Jack Conte, a successful YouTuber in his own right (and one half of Pomplamoose), created Patreon because he saw the discrepancy between impact and monetary value.

“I think everyone is embarrassed about their low [YouTube] ad revenue dollars because they read stories about people getting rich off YouTube and they think ‘ugh I’m just not getting enough views. I’m just not smart enough’ And no one wants to speak out and say ‘Yo this model sucks! It doesn’t work for anybody!’ ” – Jack Conte, Co-Founder and CEO of Patreon

Conte (and his co-founder Samuel Yam) launched Patreon in 2013 and it already has built up a user base of 30,000 active patrons and 10,000 creators. Patreon.com gets 2 million page views per month.
The website lists that Patreon is for Musicians, YouTubers, Web Comics, Writers and Bloggers, Indie Gamers, Video Producers, Authors, Podcasters, Animators, Artists, Photographers and “Any creator who wants to share their work.”
Fellow YouTuber, Peter Hollens, is a singer who creates A Cappella videos and has over 558,000 YouTube subscribers. He puts out about 3 videos a month and so far makes $2,745.68 PER VIDEO.
Zach Weinersmith creates comics and books. He has 2,821 patrons and makes $7,777.61 per month.
Cara Ellison reviews video games. She makes $1,938 per article. Contrast that with the starting weekly salary of a New York Times reporter of $1,360.
There’s a woman who makes ASMR videos (which Time Magazine calls “a strange, tingly sensation, known in some corners of the Internet as a brain orgasm.”). She’s at 409 patrons and $2,859 per month.

And now, there's a dude with funny hair who writes blog posts that help independent musicians succeed with their careers.
Patreon can be used by any type of creator putting out regular content.
Unlike YouTube, Conte mentioned that the comments on these creations are 100% positive.
Creators can choose if they’d like to setup their profiles to collect per piece of content or per month. Fans can put a cap on how much they are willing to pledge per month.
Creators can offer perks and rewards (ala Kickstarter) to reward fans who pledge more, but aren’t required to. Unlike Kickstarter, all perks are digital. No breaking the bank on postage or cramping the hand signing lyric sheets.
Patreon just launched the Creation Page where creators can share a direct link to each new creation (video, song, blog, podcast, etc) to their social media so fans are directed to the page with the embedded creation and a link to become a patron. The Creation Pages look very similar to Kickstarter – highlighting the perks on the right side bar.
Like Kickstarter, Patreon takes 5% (after the transaction fee of around 3%).
Following in the footsteps of other tech giants like Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt, Jack Conte is currently not taking a salary (well the others took $1). Conte says he wants to live off of Patreon as a creator. VP of Operations, Tyler Palmer mentioned that Conte comes to the team and says “Guys, we gotta change the product in this way because I rely on this and I need this as a creator.”
Musicians are putting out more music now than ever. Sure major label artists may only put out an album every 3 years, but Patreon is not for them. Patreon is for musicians and creators who put out regular content to connect with fans on an ongoing basis.
Fans will pay you for music. Ask them. Don’t make them.
I just launched my Patreon page for Ari's Take. Check out my page, become a patron and see how it works. Browse the site and launch one of your own!

If You're Not Selling Tickets & T-Shirts, You Don't Even Matter ... Guest Post by Ari Herstand!

This past Saturday I caught the Building Your Team panel at the ASCAP EXPO at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. The panel included entertainment attorney, Josh Binder Esq., artist manager, Marcus Grant from The Collective, business manager, Sean Welch, and A&R rep Walter Jones from Sony/ATV Publishing.

They discussed what they look for in a client, when artists are ready for representation and how to build the team.

The sentiment that sums up the entire talk came from the artist manager, Marcus Grant, when asked how artists can get his attention. He said:

“If You’re Not Selling Tickets and T-Shirts, You Don’t Even Matter.”

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is “how do I get a manager.” But the simple answer is: you don’t find a manager, a manager finds you.

Grant also revealed the hard truth to the room full of musicians:

“You’re not going to get a record deal by asking for a record deal.”

Believe me, I understand how frustrating it can be to think you’re ready for representation only to be greeted by cold shoulders and silence.

But that should not be discouraging, it should be inspiring. Inspiring to get better.

Can you sellout a club in your hometown? Or a club in any town? Are you getting hundreds of thousands of plays on YouTube, SoundCloud or Spotify? If not, then why do you think big players in this industry are going to care about you?

They want to know that you are proven. You don’t have to have the full package set in stone, but you have to be making some waves somewhere.

Engagement

Having a million twitter followers doesn’t mean anything if only 100 of them are actively engaged. If that’s the case, “you just have a lot of spies,” Grant joked. But it’s true. You don’t need Lady Gaga #littlemonsters engagement, but you need some influencing power that will get people to actively go out of their way to proselytize for you.

“When You Create A Business, People Will Come To You”
- Marcus Grant, Artist Manager, The Collective

You have to be killing it in at least one area of your music career before people will pay attention. If you want to work the YouTube angle, then model successful YouTubers, get high quality video up every week and start to build a solid subscriber base. If you want to work the Twitter angle, then study up on building a Twitter fan base and ENGAGE. If you’re a DJ, take over SoundCloud. If you’re working the grassroots, live scene then sellout your local venues and become the biggest band in your scene. Start touring and building a real ticket buying following.

Once you’re at a level where things are starting to happen, then people will take notice. If the right people aren’t taking notice (while things are actually happening), then it may be time for you to hire an entertainment attorney to get you in the door with a manger FIRST.

But don’t take the first manager who says yes. If the manager takes the meeting then she’s obviously interested. Ask her what she can do for you. What are her 3 year and 5 year goals for you. What tours does she see you supporting? What producers, labels, publishers or booking agents does she see you working with?

Remember, the gut check is the most important check before hiring anyone on your team.

Depending on the manager’s vision, she can start bringing others onto your team, like an agent, label, publicist, publisher and business manager. These people can manage the macro side of your career.

But you need to also have either a personal manager, a “best friend manager,” or yourself, to micromanage all of the day-to-day duties to build and sustain a career in the modern age of music.

“It’s up to me to build the story. I’m not promising you anything. My job is to build the best bridge to get you wherever you need to go.” – Marcus Grant, Artist Manager, The Collective

Ari Herstand is a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter and the creator of Ari’s Take. Listen to his new album, Brave Enough, on Spotify or download it on BandCamp. Follow him on Twitter: @aristake

6 Ways To Save Money Recording Your Album ... Guest Post by Ari Herstand!

Albums seem to be a dying breed these days. Now more than ever we are in a singles driven society. Passive fans download and stream their favorite songs. But music lovers enjoy full albums.

I recently released my 3rd full-length album. It’s not a collection of songs, but rather a complete piece of art. The album makes sense to me and hopefully to my fans as well.

Artists love creating albums because it’s a process. A pause from life. A time to give credence to the vitality of our souls. To fully immerse ourselves in our first true love.

The reason artists continue to create albums is not because record labels tell them they need 12 songs to justify an $11.99 price. It’s because artists truly love to create albums.

I know I do.

But, unfortunately, the album making process is expensive. Record labels are signing fewer acts. And advances are lower than ever.

Most artists of the world are creating records on their own dime. And I don’t need to tell you that most artists aren’t rich.

Here are ways to save money creating your album.

1. Spend Time On Pre-Production

This is an incredibly important aspect of your recording process. Maybe even the most important step. Working out as much as you possibly can before you step into the studio (on the clock) will save you a tremendous amount of money.

You want to rehearse the studio version of your songs to the point where you could play them in your sleep. Get the arrangements locked in. There should be no debate about how to get out of the bridge when you’re tracking. Have your guitar/keyboard player and singer record scratch tracks to the click (of the exact BPM you will use for the song). Write the tempo BPMs down for every song, so when the engineer opens the first song on day one all you have to do is tell him “this song is called ‘Maybe’ and the BPM is 132.” Don’t waste time figuring out tempos in the studio.

You should figure out what program the studio is using (Pro tools, Logic) and if you can, record the scratch tracks in that program so all the engineer has to do is dump in those tracks. You’ll most likely do much of the pre-production with your producer before hitting the studio.

2. Don’t Waste Time In A Fancy Studio

It doesn’t matter how successful the previous projects that were recorded in this studio are. It matters if you like the sound of the albums. Sure, it’s a fun tidbit to include in the album’s press release, but at the end of the day it matters what your album sounds like. I can’t stress this enough.

You don’t need a state of the art studio to track vocals. You need a good vocal mic and an isolation booth. That’s it. But you do need a good sounding live room to get good sounding drums.

Shop around for great sounding drum rooms and spend a couple days tracking drums.

You can then track the majority of the other instruments at smaller home/mixing studios. It’s not super rockstar, but neither is having to remortgage your home.

3. Hire The Right Producer

This is the most important person for your project. When you’re seeking out producers, the first check you need to make is the gut check. Don’t hire a producer before having an informal meeting, lunch, jam, whatever. This person will be with you every step of the way. You guys need to get along. You need trust.

You need to know that she GETS your project, your songs, your band. Figure out what her favorite albums are. Listen to some past records she’s produced. Some producers will even offer to track one test song with you from start to finish for free. If you’re on the fence about this producer, take her up on it – even if it’s just in her home studio. It’s worth it to get a feel for how she works and to see how well you vibe. You don’t want to step into a $700 a day studio and start fighting with this producer. Not only will it mess up the overall vibe, you’ll waste a ton of money!

Similar to the studio, the producer’s resume is not as important as her skill.

There are so many “producers” out there who scam young bands into working with them because they promise stardom. Don’t take the bait.

You can get virtually anyone to work on your record if you can pay them. Remember that. Find the best person for YOUR project. Not the person with the longest resume.

4. Run An Effective PledgeMusic Campaign

I profiled PledgeMusic a couple months ago and discussed how they are looking to completely change the album creation process.

It’s a great way to raise money for your album and with a 90% success rate, PledgeMusic is the most effective crowd funding service out there – way above Kickstarter or Indiegogo.

PledgeMusic also brings your fans along for the entire process AND the moment your funding campaign finishes, the pre-order begins. You can continue to MAKE money while you’re in studio – well after the funding period is over.

Full disclosure: I’m not associated with PledgeMusic or being paid by them. I’ve never run a PledgeMusic campaign. I’m just impressed by their service.

5. Don’t Order Vinyl

I learned this the hard way. I promised my Kickstarter backers (before I knew about PledgeMusic) vinyl records for the $125 and above package. I didn’t do complete research on vinyl before I promised this to my backers. I didn’t realize that vinyl records can only hold about 22 minutes of music before the quality and volume is drastically reduced. The runtime of my latest album is 55 minutes. So, I needed to create a double LP. Nearly twice the cost.

Don’t make the same mistake I did. Yes, vinyl is cool and trendy. I’m happy I have it. But it cost me WAY more than I had budgeted. If you’re going to order vinyl, make sure you do your research and make sure there’s demand amongst your fans.

6. Shop Around For Mastering

My biggest regret of my first album was not hiring a professional mastering engineer (I was 19 and stupid). Mastering is an incredibly important step of the process – even if most people don’t really know what it is.

Mastering is the final sparkle. It can dictate the overall vibe. It’s the difference between a professional sounding album and an amateur sounding one.

Because mastering is so nuanced and elusive, it’s incredibly expensive. I’ve worked with some of the greatest mastering engineers on the planet. I sat alongside Bernie Grundman while he mastered my last record. He was worth every penny.

But that’s not to say that you need the best of the best. Do your research and shop around. See who mastered your favorite (newer) records. Get recommendations from engineers, producers and other musician friends and then LISTEN to those records and make sure you like the mastering.

Ask your musician friends for their final mixes pre-mastering and the final masters. Can you tell the difference? Did it bring the songs to life? Did it add the sparkle?

Don’t cut corners with mastering, but you don’t need to hire the first great mastering engineer who returns your email.

Photo is by Ann Larie Valentine from Flickr used with the Creative Commons License

Ari Herstand is a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter and the creator of Ari’s Take. Listen to his new album on Spotify or download on BandCamp. Follow him on Twitter: @aristake

How to be a Classy Self-Promoter ... Guest Post by Ari Herstand!

Why do we love it when politicians talk about themselves? Why do we love hearing them stump on the campaign trail talking about how great they are?

Well maybe we don't love it, but we accept it. And vote for them.

But we hate musicians who talk about themselves.

In the hip hop community it's more accepted. But outside hip hop, it's shunned.

I've been labeled a "shameless self promoter." And many other less flattering names.

But so was James Brown. Until he was the "hardest working man in show business."

And so has nearly every band who's ever made it. Especially in the last 10 years.

You don't make it by hiding out in your basement recording amazing songs. Well, even if you do, in the Owl City case, he did so by promoting the fuck out of his music on Myspace. He didn't do it on the streets with posters and flyers. He did it behind a computer.

It's a different era we live in.

Self promotion is, unfortunately, a necessary component to any musician's career. But it's a fine line between being confident and arrogant. Endearing and distasteful. Persistent and annoying.

So how do you know when you're crossing that line? I know I have many times in my career. I don't like being a self promoter. Despite what thousands of show posters might claim otherwise.

I do it because I believe my music can affect people. That my music can be therapy for others - like how it was therapy for me.

I do it because I am hopelessly addicted to the feeling I get when I play a packed show.

I do it because I'm madly in love with creating and sharing music and want people to reciprocate that love.

I do it because I don't want to play empty shows.

I do it because I don't want my album to fizzle out.

I do it because it's what it takes to succeed in the modern age as an independent musician.

Before you have a team around you to do it for you, you are going to have to share your music. If you don't, who will?

But there are classy ways to go about it that don't involve spamming.

Before you do any sort of self promoting, do the gut check. How would you feel if a friend of yours hit you with the same message? Remember, 10 personal conversations are more effective than 1000 Facebook invites. Or 1000 flyers left around coffee shops.

When you're self promoting stay humble, but confident.

Set your pride aside and remember the feeling you get when you succeed. When your music touches people. When you connect.

There are brilliant musicians who refuse to network and self promote. They never make it out of their local club. There are mediocre musicians who become superstars.

Be a leader.

You wonder why politicians can amass millions of followers behind just words? It's their confidence, humility and message.

If you can connect and inspire. You can affect millions.

Visit Ari Herstand's website for more fantastic music business info!

12 Ways to Earn Money From Your Recorded Music and Original Compositions - Guest Post by Chris Robley

In the modern music economy, many revenue streams must converge to form a river

If you want to build a sustainable music career, you need to earn money from your music in multiple ways, including:

1.Download sales on iTunes, AmazonMP3, Google Play, and more.

2. Streaming revenue from popular platforms such as Spotify, Beats Music, Rdio, and more.

3. CD and vinyl sales in record stores around the world.

4. Music sales on Facebook.

5. Music sales on your own website.

6. Download, CD, and vinyl sales on cdbaby.com.

7. Performance royalties when your songs are played on radio, TV, and in concert venues.

8. Mechanical royalties when your songs are downloaded internationally or streamed worldwide.

9. YouTube monetization (ad revenue generated by the usage of your music in any video across the YouTube universe).

10. Sync licensing fees from the usage of your music in TV, film, commercials, corporate presentations, video games, and more.

11. Download cards.

12. SoundExchange revenue, which is paid to artists, performers, and labels for the usage of a master recording on internet radio stations.

Get paid for your music

That’s an awful lot of ways to earn money from your music, to say nothing of performance fees paid when you play live, T-shirt and other merch sales at gigs, sponsorships, and more.

Editor's Note:  My Soul Band Mayfield released our debut album, 'Tempo of Your Soul' through CD Baby. This post was shared from the CD Baby Blog.

This Week's Tips - 28 March 2014

Last week I read a great newsletter by Madalyn Sklar of gogirlsmusic.com and wanted to share a bit of what she had to say:

"I want to talk about something I think is important: Accountability

Accountability is defined as:
An obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions

I know. It's a scary word to most people. It is for me too. That is why years ago I started the GoGirls Elite Mastermind Group. If you don't know what a mastermind is, click here for details. And below is the definition of mastermind group.

Mastermind Group: A small group that you meet with for the purpose of reinforcing growth and success while offering support to one another; a group that has been identified and set aside to concentrate specifically on growth and manifesting success.

I'm a big believer in two heads are better than one. That is the whole basis for mastermind. Working together in small groups to elevate each other to new heights. It's empowering. It's enlightening. It's amazing! I decided back in September that I would restart the GoGirls Mastermind. It has been nothing short of magical. The best part about it is accountability. Doing what you say you are going to do. It's one thing to say it. But to then do it and have others cheering you on. Well that is a completely different thing because it gets you to do it.

Think about what is important for you to accomplish right now. What is holding you back? What if you surrounded yourself with like-minded people? I think you would reach your goals faster. That is what mastermind does."


I hope you enjoyed Madalyn's thoughts on accountability as much as I did. Visit her blog for some great insights about the music business, social media and more!  http://www.madalynsklar.com/.

10 Things You Should Never Say On Stage ... Guest Post by Ari Herstand

1. We’re Having Technical Difficulties

Even if your guitar just caught fire. Well actually, that would be hilarious if you said it then. But when bands sheepishly admit it into the mic, it’s uncomfortable and kills the vibe. Technical difficulties are your fault. Even when they’re not. It’s your stage. It’s your show.

You should know your gear inside and out. If something is cutting out or screeching or feeding back, you should either know immediately what it is and be able to remedy it in 13 seconds or know how to quickly figure out what it is.

It’s your job, as the performer, to command the attention of everyone in the room from start to finish.

2. I Forgot The Lyrics

The worst is when singer/songwriters sing a line like “I forgot this next line la la la.” That is so annoying. Not funny. If you can’t memorize your lyrics then bring a lyrics sheet on stage as reference. Or make shit up on the spot.

The only thing worse than shitty lyrics is forgotten lyrics.

3. I Want To Thank My Girlfriend

It’s like having a one on one conversation with someone in the audience off the mic. Uncomfortable for everyone else in the house.

Leave her out of it. It makes you look whipped. If she did something truly awesome, then you can say something like “we’d like to thank our friend Sarah for getting this song into the hands of the music supervisor at Parenthood.”

If your girlfriend needs to be publicly thanked for her support then you have bigger issues you have to work out.

4. I’m Sorry

Don’t ever apologize on stage. It makes you look weak. I don’t care if you just dropped a baby. Don’t apologize.

Making excuses for your shittyness makes everyone in the house uncomfortable and feel bad for you. I hear it all the time: “I forgot the rest of the song. Sorry.” “I’m sorry if this song sucks, we just wrote it.” “I’m sorry there aren’t more people here.” “We haven’t rehearsed this much, it might suck.”

Own the stage. Own the room. Own your set. Or don’t show up.

5. Your City Sucks

Should be a no brainer, but I can’t tell you how many touring bands I’ve seen make fun of the city they are in – ON STAGE. It may be fun to joke about in the van, but your audience takes pride in their city. No matter if you think their city is cool or not.

Never say anything negative about the town you are in while on stage unless you want a beer bottle thrown at you.

6. This Song Is About My Grandma Who Died Of Cancer. Love You Nana.

Don’t depress your audience. You can play a song about your dead grandma, but you don’t need to tell the audience that’s what it’s about.

People don’t pay money to come to shows to be sad. They come to be happy. To have fun. To be enlightened. To be inspired.

If you can’t communicate the power of your song by just playing it, then maybe the song isn’t really that good.

7. I’m Broke

Don’t make your audience feel bad for you. It removes the mystique and coolness factor. You can say “help us get to the next city and pick up a T-shirt.” That offers an emotional appeal in a positive light.

But saying “we’re broke, so buy a t-shirt,” just turns your audience off.

Guilting your fans into buying your merch never works.

8. You Guys Suck

Even if 95 out of the 100 people are screaming above your acoustic set while smashing glasses and vomiting in the corner, 5 people are engulfed in your set. Never insult your audience. They always have one ear to you – even if you are just background music.

You may think no one is listening, but you’ll be surprised at how many compliments you get and how much merch you sell once you hop off stage.

9. Any Requests

You’re never going to get the songs that you actually have prepared and there will always be that one asshole who yells “Free Bird” as if he just came up with the joke.

Play your set as is. If someone drove 300 miles to hear one song, she’ll yell it out whether you ask for it or not.

10. How Does It Sound

This is a slap in the face to the sound guy. Never ask the crowd that. It should sound amazing. If it doesn’t, then it’s either your fault or the sound guy’s fault. Either way, you just pissed off the one person not in your band who can actually make you sound WORSE.

Ari Herstand is a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter and the creator of Ari’s Take. He is hosting a music business meetup on March 29th in Hollywood before his record release show. Sign up here. Follow him on Twitter: @aristake

Ari's Take: Should You Pay to Play ... Guest Post by Ari Herstand!

I live in LA. I've only been here 3 years, but in that time I've met many excellent musicians in town all talented enough to explode at any moment. The sad reality is, in a town so saturated with incredible musicians, the cream isn't necessarily rising to the top as quickly as it would in other cities. Everyone who is great here is on the same level - getting little victories here and there. Some land a major tour and hit the road. Some get signed and go through the major label roller coaster. Some work the YouTube angle. Some make their livings on song placements. Some fly around the country playing colleges. Some get in their car and tour the coast/country on their own. But what all the non-superstar musicians in LA have in common is, when we play a show in town we accept shitty shitty deals. How do I know that these are shitty deals? Well, I've booked shows in nearly every major city in the country and know how other cities do it.

This isn't going to be a post about LA (as that could fill a book), but rather the issue of "pay to play" clubs.

Let's explore some of the many scenarios bands get offered by venues and promoters every day:

THE WORST

Require bands to purchase tickets upfront
WHAT IS IT: Typically this happens with "promoters" who scour Reverbnation (they used to use Myspace), find naive bands and promise them slots at well known venues. All you, the band, have to do is sell 35 tickets (which you must purchase in advance). But hey, you get to keep $3 for every ticket you sell! What a deal! Except you have to buy the tickets for $7 and sell them for $10. If you do the math, you are making 30% of the cover from the people JUST there to see you - which is the shittiest deal in the history of shitty deals. They usually put about 5-15 bands on a night, who each play about a 20 minute set. And the bands almost never fit together musically.

IS THIS FAIR: F NO! How these "promoters" get away with this is they prey on young bands who don't know any better and will do anything to just play the venue - including paying lots and lots of money for this. As tempted as I am to name the names of these fucktard promoters who do this (and boy would I like to) I will not and hope that enough of you read this article and tell these promoters to politely fuck off when they contact you (as I have many many many many times).
_{+++Fun story: My final year in Minneapolis, one of these promoters kept hounding me to play a club I had actually headlined many times. I told them that I typically get 500 people to my headlining shows and I'm not interested in their deal (as I had a very good relationship with the club already). They responded explaining how much money I could make with their shitty deal if I brought 500 people (duh). I responded telling them no thanks and to please not contact me again. I was then hit up by the same "person" with the same stupid form email multiple times in the coming weeks. Each time my responses got more and more annoyed, until finally I contacted the owner of the club and told him what was happening and how it was giving the club a bad name and that they should stop working with this promoter. The owner cancelled their upcoming show and hasn't worked with them since. BAM! More bands need to do this in more cities.}

LESSON LEARNED: Don't pay to play cool venues. You will be PAID (a fair amount) to play these cool venues when you are ready and can draw a substantial crowd.

+My Response To An LA Promoter
+50 Is The Magic Number (Book a Headlining Tour)
+How I Got 250 To My Debut CD Release

REALLY BAD

Venue takes a band's credit card at the beginning of the night to cover the difference in the required minimum draw

WHAT IS IT: This is almost as bad as the above scenario. A venue takes a band's credit card at the beginning of the night and unless a certain number of people pay to see that band (the door guy has a tally sheet) at an absurd cover price, the venue will charge the band's credit card to make up the difference. This actually happens at clubs on Sunset Strip.

IS THIS FAIR: No. You and the venue should be in this together. You took a chance playing their club, they should take a chance on you. I get it, they are trying to protect themselves financially, but there are much more ethical ways to do this.

LESSON LEARNED: If the venue doesn't have enough faith that you will bring a crowd, then don't take the show.

BAD

Venues charge a "rental fee."
WHAT IS IT: Music venues that also host private events like weddings got smart to the fact that they were making a buttload more money when they got wedding parties to rent out the venue than if they book a night of music. So, these venues figured, "why not ask bands to pay nearly the same amount to book a night in our beautiful venue?" They'll make you rent the place for, say $1,500. You can charge whatever cover you like and will make 100% of it (if you're lucky). You are essentially acting as the promoter. Oh you play music too? Eh.

IS IT FAIR: Well, it's not ideal. The venue is basically completely covering their ass and will make out on this deal regardless if you bring anyone. The venue is basically admitting they have 0 faith in your draw and they are doing YOU a huge favor in LETTING you play their club (for an exorbitant fee).

LESSON LEARNED: I would say pass on this deal typically. Play a different club that gives you a fair and standard deal. Or, crunch the numbers and if you think you will bring enough people to make this deal worthwhile then go nuts. It helps to fill a promoter's shoes once in awhile.
+BookingYour Own Tour: A How-To Guide

SNEAKY

Venues only pay you after a certain number of people come to see YOU
WHAT IS IT: I've only really seen this kind of deal in LA and NYC (some other cities are catching on though). Basically, the door guy has a tally sheet with each band's name on it. The venue works out a separate (standard) deal with each band. Typically, you get paid ONLY if a certain number of people (I've seen 15-75) pay to see you (and not the others on the bill). You then get a cut of the door from dollar 1 after the minimum number of people come. Meaning if the minimum is 35 people at $10 a head and you bring 33, you walk with $0 (and the venue takes your $330 - and all the drinks your fans buy). However, if you bring 35 (and your deal is 60%) you walk with $210.
+Booking Your Own Tour: A How-To Guide

IS IT FAIR: Kind of, but not really. On the surface it looks like they are just covering expenses, BUT if they have 5 bands on the bill and each are required to bring 35 people at $10, the venue is getting WAY more than just the amount to cover expenses. If every band brings 30 people the venue makes $1500 (30 people x $10 x 5 bands) and each band makes $0. Yikes!

LESSON LEARNED: I don't like these deals because it encourages competition amongst the acts and not a "we're all in it together" approach - like I stand by. You have 0 incentive to work with the other bands on the bill to make it a great night - encouraging fans to stay from beginning to end. Because of this, bands in LA and NYC don't get to know each other that well and typically show up right before their set and leave shortly after. "Hit it and quit it." Which rubs off on the fans too. It's VERY unique to see fans in LA or NYC come for a full night of music (because of this practice). Venues don't realize that if they stopped working their deals this way and started encouraging complete bills and promoting the entire evening of music, they would get more people in their club for a longer period of time (i.e. more drink sales). But hey, I don't run the clubs.

STANDARD

Venue takes expenses off the top
WHAT IS IT: A venue will take an amount off the top to cover expenses before they split the door. I've seen anywhere from $50-1500 for 700 cap and below clubs ($1500 was the Roxy on Sunset Strip). Standard is $50-350 depending on the size of the club. Anything above $350 for a club under 500 capacity is screwing you.

IS IT FAIR: Sure. They wouldn't need to hire a sound guy or a door guy if you weren't playing there that night. This money (typically) does directly go to these people and then the venue splits the remaining money with you fairly.
+What is a fair venue deal?

GOOD

Door split from dollar one
WHAT IS IT: Many venues are happy to have you and will split the door with you from the first person who pays a cover. This is ideal. If 10 people come at $10 a head and you have a 70/30 split with the venue, you walk with $70.

IS IT FAIR: Absolutely. I see this deal occasionally, but most will at least take $50 off the top for the sound guy.
+The Sound Guy

GREAT

Guarantee + % of door
WHAT IS IT: If you are more established and have a great relationship with the club, you can negotiate this kind of deal. It takes some serious clout though and a proven history in their club. Venues will do this to get you to play their club (and not the many other options in their city). Because of your proven history, they feel confident that with the amount of promo that they will do, they will be able to get enough people out to your show to make it financially worthwhile for them.

IS IT FAIR: Absolutely. You earned this!

There's a fine line at what is acceptable, ethical, smart business and career advancing.

Look at it from the venue's standpoint: They are taking a risk every time they open their doors for a show. If no one shows up, then they do lose money (door guy, sound guy, bar tender, electricity, heat, AC, on and on). If they are strictly a music venue and don't open unless they have a show, then they really are losing money the moment they open the doors, until people (ideally drinkers) enter their club.

The biggest misconception bands have about venues is that the venue is supposed to promote their show and bring people to the club. Venues think bands should promote the show and bring people to the club. In the end, neither end up promoting the show and no one shows up.
+How I Got 250 to my Debut CD Release
+50 Is the Magic Number (Book a Headlining Tour)
The reason all the clubs in LA and NYC can create such horrible deals for the bands (and fantastic for the club) is because there are SO MANY bands willing to take these shitty deals. If one band refuses, then there are 10 more waiting in line (maybe not as good) that will take the deal. Venues in smaller cities tend to create better deals to lure in the good bands who will bring a crowd. They realize that if they offer shitty deals and enough bands pass on the deals, there will be no bands left to play their club and they'll go out of business.
+Don't Be Afraid of The Phone (what bookers look for)
The most important thing to understand is don't play a big venue if you can't fill it. Take shows at a smaller clubs and fill them. Open for bigger bands at bigger venues to build your crowd. Keep selling out the small clubs and eventually you'll be able to move up the big clubs with enough clout to get a fair deal.
+My Response to an LA Pay to Play Promoter
+Our Tour Page Is Totally Full (of empty shows)

If you want to Get Specific with me about your project and situation shoot me an email (via the Contact Ari form) and we can setup a consulting session.