Marketing Your Music on MySpace
February 10, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
MySpace has made tons of budding musician’s dreams come true. From a nobody to hosting sell-out gigs and platinum albums, the list of people discovered by record labels via MySpace just keep getting bigger and bigger.
According to MSNBC:
Jonathan Buck, guitarist and lead singer for the Brooklyn indie rock group Coppermine, says his band’s profile on MySpace has drawn nearly 300,000 visitors. The band can instantly distribute messages and news to more than 115,000 MySpace users who have added Coppermine as a “friend” on their profile. Thanks to the broad reach of MySpace, Coppermine no longer has to flood radio stations with CDs or plaster concert posters around town.
A major part of this site will focus on marketing your band on MySpace, YouTube and other social networking sites, simply because “social” is the way of the future as far as indie marketing is concerned.
No one has ever doubted the power of word-of-mouth advertising. Sites like MySpace and YouTube just makes it more organized, tangible and readily-available.
See also: Bob Baker’s MySpace Marketing Handbook
Money Makers Part I
February 6, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is the world’s foremost manufacturer of guitars, amplifiers and related equipment since 1946, and its name has become synonymous with all things rock ‘n’ roll. Iconic Fender instruments such as the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass guitars are known worldwide as the instruments that started the rock revolution, and they continue to be highly prized by today’s guitarists and collectors.
Fender guitars have since been a standard in the rock music industry, and has been seen in the hands of hundreds upon hundreds of guitarists and bassists the world over. The legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborated with Fender to produce a signature Stratocaster guitar shortly before his tragic and untimely death in 1990, and modern guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen (who has twenty-four albums to his name) also has a signature Fender Stratocaster model in his name.
To this day, Fender boasts an impressive collection of 28 signature Stratocaster, Telecaster and Esquire guitars – bearing the names of established musicians such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer and Merle Haggard.
Gibson
The home of Gibson electric guitars today is “Gibson USA,” built in 1974 in Nashville specifically for the production of Gibson’s Les Paul guitars. Although the entire guitar industry went through a slump in the late ’70s, the spirit of innovation remained strong at Gibson.
Gibson world headquarters moved to Nashville in 1984 with the closing of the Kalamazoo plant. The financially troubled company was rescued in January 1986 by Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman, and the new owners quickly restored Gibson’s reputation for quality as well as its profitability.
Today’s Gibson electric guitars represent the history as well as the future of the electric guitar. The models whose designs have become classics - the Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, SGs and Les Pauls - are a testament to Gibson’s wide appeal, spanning more than four decades of music styles.
Gibson have been taken to heart by such musicians like Angus Young of AC/DC (who has the Angus Young Signature SG to his name), Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne, Slash of Guns ‘n Roses and Velvet Revolver, and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath.
Washburn
Steeped in the tradition of fine instrument making, Washburn Guitars’ dynamic 120-history began in Chicago in 1883. In the early 1920s, Maxwell Street itself would emerge as the epicenter of a musical movement. Often considered the first entry point for thousands of African-Americans arriving from the Mississippi Delta, Maxwell Street became a hotbed for Delta Blues in its most raw and dramatic form.
This direct relation to the growing blues music scene made Washburn Guitars a truly unique musical instrument manufacturer.
Washburn Guitars, however, has contributed more to the heavy metal scene than any other style of music in recent years. For instance, Anthrax’s guitar madman Scott Ian has four signature guitars under Washburn, named The Slime Burst, The Obey, The Vintage and The Murder Weapon. Nick Catanese of Black Label Society has two signature Washburn Idols – the Shot To Hell and a model based on the bullseye color scheme made famous on band member Zakk Wylde’s signature Gibson Les Pauls.
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich makes the most metal looking guitars in the world, and their model names - Beast, Warlock, Dagger, Assassin and Warbeast, among others – would strike fear in the hearts of the weak instantly.
B.C. Rich guitars have been a regular feature in almost every metal band known to exist in the world, and it would be impossible to list all the names involved with this established instrument maker – but their major endorsees in recent years have been Slayer’s Kerry King, Krisiun’s Alex and Moyses, Trivium’s Paolo Gregoletto and Nevermore’s Steve Smyth.
Money Makers Part II
February 6, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Rock stars make the bulk of their fortunes selling concert tickets and through album sales, but in this modern age many of them also make a decent income from endorsements and sponsorships – from musical instrument companies, and even from some clothing makers as well.
Let’s take a look at some of the better known musical instrument companies and their affiliations with musicians.
Dunlop
Dunlop Manufacturing from Benicia, California is recognized by many musicians by the Jim Dunlop tag. They are the industry leaders of the wah-wah pedal, and have the rights to manufacture their Crybaby Wah pedals bearing the hugely sellable names of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, Velvet Revolver axeman Slash, and modern guitar maestros Zakk Wylde and Dimebag Darrell.
Aside from their hugely successful range of wah-wah pedals, Jim Dunlop also manufactures other guitar-related products and accessories, such as slide barrels, capos, and guitar picks. Dunlop Manufacturing has bought over the rights of many other music product and accessory companies such as Dallas-Arbiter and MXR, and continues to make their products with the original company names intact.
Dunlop Manufacturing has produced artiste signature electronics and accessories for distinguished names in the music business, and has the legal rights to use the names of hundreds of established musicians and bands to promote their products.
Among their most popular artiste endorsed electronic products are The Hendrix Series Wah pedals, the Zakk Wylde Overdrive, the MXR Dime Distortion, the Kerry King 10 Band EQ, and the MXR EVH (Eddie Van Halen) Phase 90 pedal.
ESP
The ESP Guitar Company was based in Japan until they furthered their management to the United States as well – their best guitars and basses are famously made in the United States as well, while their lower range of LTD guitars are made in Korea.
Probably the most artiste-endorsed guitar company in business today, ESP – which, unimaginatively, stands for Electronic Sound Products – has a total of eighteen major guitar endorsees; whom are all major players in the music business today.
Some of the bigger names in their endorsement roster are the duo from Metallica, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammet (who have in between them a total of ten signature ESP and LTD guitars), Slayer spearhead Jeff Hanneman, rising Lamb Of God axeman Will Adler, the legendary Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood and Michael Wilton of prog rock outfit Queensryche.
Dean
Dean Guitars have a thirty year experience in the music business, and within that time they have acquired the names of some of the biggest names in the industry. Even though they have been an exclusive company for a long time, they have recently been actively endorsing many well-known guitarists – and their list of Dean players are increasing by the year.
This year they have accepted Dave Mustaine of Megadeth as a major endorsee, and also have the signature guitars of influential guitarists like Rudolf and Michael Schenker of Scorpions fame, the late Dimebag Darrell of legendary American heavy metal band Pantera, guitar virtuoso Michael Angelo Batio, and Leslie West.
Their flagship guitar model, however, is the Dean ML – product of the creativity of Dean Guitars owner Dean Zalinsky and the late Dimebag Darrell. The Dean ML boasts a radical body shape – and looks like the bastard child of the famous Gibson Explorer and Flying V designs.
The Dean ML, with Dimebag’s assistance, was later transformed into the Dean Razorback series – even sharper and deadlier looking versions of the legendary Dean ML and Dean V.
Dean Guitars also has a unique gift to their beloved customers, which is the DOA. The DOA is short for the Dean Owners of America Club, and provides a fun annual meeting every year that invites DOA members to a weekend of free food and music, and is the best chance to meet their favorite Dean artistes.
Kaiser Cheifs Live at Doncaster Dome
February 4, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Kaiser Chiefs get on Radio 1 at BBC. Tickets were available from their store on Wednesday 31st, but it’s all sold out now. The only way you can get a ticket now is by winning one on their online competition
9 Feb - Chris Moyles show, 7-10am
Ahead of the gig Chris and the team catch up with Kaiser Chiefs, live from Keepmoat Stadium home of Doncaster Rovers FC.12 Feb - Kaiser Chiefs Special with Zane Lowe, 7-10pm
Experience the Doncaster Dome gig, Zane chats with the band about the new album, and we trace the history of the band from toilet venues to the Brits.
