You wanna know how you best send music to radio?

I just did a radio show around how you send music to radio. And yes I can tell that even more experienced PR people should take listen to this to have a better chance to get on the radio.

Spotify:


Youtube:


And yes I really do much of the blog on Cashbox Radio now. It's a better media since I can play music. If you want to send music to me I'm on peter@cashboxmusic.ca.

Don't panic stay calm

I can't really complain we are doing pretty fine in the Covid 19 crisis. So many are suffering so much more. But I can easily see how artists are going bananas over things that are really not in help for them.

Think that you can pick up the money that you lost on live concerts by asking your fans to stream your music more. I see a lot of these posts about "support your local artist" and a link to Spotify. First of all Spotify ahs a limit on how many times you can get paid for a song streamed from one account. How many it is is a bit uncertain. before it was ten times but with the new cheating discovery, they lowered the number quite drastically. Rumour says it's three.
So it can be very contra-productive to ask fans to start playing your lastest song on Spotify.
Also what is streamed now will be paid out much later. So to calculate that you can get this money to cover your lost live show in April is wishful thinking. Besides that the streaming hasn't gone up if you look at the numbers that have been presented from the countries hottest the hardest like Italy, they remain around the same. This is more of an annoying behavior.

Stop doing streamed concerts. Sorry, it's already overdone. Even Facebook seems to have reprogrammed their algorithms to not get more spread on live streaming it looks like. I have seen quite many of these shows and they are utterly boring. To be able to do it right it will cost you a lot of money and technical stuff to do it. Try not to be a dead fish following the stream.

I also see a lot of artis5t doing crazy stuff. like playing live on an empty square.  Things that are cool to do, if they did it in normal times now they just do it because something needs to happen. Most people are in their bubble now and really don't respond that well to crazy things. This you can do in normal times. Being a smartass right now? You should do this all the times not just right now.

Update things! We got bombarded of artist that has to much time on there hands and suddenly want to fix things that have been laying around for ages. I just saw that Spotify had out that they can't verify accounts as fast as usual. Sorry, if you are lazy enough to haven't done this before. your career is not important enough. Don't then overwhelm companies that already are in a struggle with shit stuff just because you have the time.

So what can you do? Start to be creative. Time to stay at home write songs. Do new stuff. Plan what to do when things are over. Make those lyric videos that you should use later. Start to plan the new homepage. Right now is not a time to be seen or heard. that will be a perfect opportunity later but if you are going to withstand the whole wave of opportunity you need to have things prepared. Not you lost bio or stuff, new material.

Keep calm, move forward.

Got another mail about a live streaming concert. Sure a good idea it's just that EVERYBODY is doing the same thing. Another problem is that most live streams I have seen are not really thought through. It's mainly from the rehearsal room and looks like you are peaking into the artist rehearsal session.

I don't think it's time to draw up new projects. Like the artist I spoke to yesterday, they were doing a new Youtube channel and was aiming also to get some placements. Projects like this will take time. A channel takes a year at least to get some recognition. same with a placement. Even if you got lucky to be placed this week, the money doesn't come around until in the autumn.

Stick to your old projects. Yes, your live shows are off. Time to write new material. Get some new photos, update all your existing social media channels. Don't go around and think someone will do things for you. Right now everybody knows as little as you do. Back to your things, where you are in control.

Stay way though from writing tunes about Corona. Already it's overdone. Yes, I know the isolation could be an inspiration and many people are going through the same as you. At the same time, this is what 90% of the artist will write about and you are already a bit tired of the Corona newsfeed. My tip-off here is to write about something completely different or be smart enough to write about it but not straight forward.

Interview with Ömer Akay

An interview with one of the driving forces of the bigger indie labels in Sweden. We are going through how they find artists, what makes them tick and how the climate in the music industry has changed. Listen to Ömer Akay from Despotz. Both on Spotify and Youtube.

If you ain´t first, you´re last.

Why do everything just half? What’s the point of going to a just one day on a four-day conference? Why just write a perfect song and then record it on 8 track recorder with the wort possible sound? Or having not an ok song and then enter Abby Road and think they will fix the problem.

If you can’t afford the whole thing. Either don’t do it or put everything on the same level. I don’t know how many times I have gotten an artist approaching me with a recording for 10 000 dollars and I ask how much you will spend on PR? And they have spent all their budget on their recording.

Or artist that take all their money going on a showcase festival and can only stay there the night they play with no one else to pick up the contacts. And they spent all their money so they can’t even follow up any opportunity the festival actually gives them.

Too many don’t really get things done in full. They cut corners and think it will work. And, it’s actually doing the full job is the things that actually get you somewhere, the half-done job is just a waste of money.

Most are just waste money and time mainly because they don’t really want a career; they are in for the hobby fun. The problem for professionals is to try to separate these hobby people. And they are doing their best to disguise themselves, so it won’t be easy.  All the time I meet artists claiming they put in as fulltime and will go any lengths to get somewhere. I guess this is the first lie in so many cases.

To win a formula one race, you need to go full throttle. You can be a bit slow and just take it easy and then try to win the whole thing. Of course, you can’t go full throttle through the chicane then you crash. And you can’t go full speed and then stop and wait for a couple of moments to eat a burger. Most important you are NOT winning the race by yourself. Without the pitstop team and sponsors you really NOTHING.

Here a thing like this seems very obvious. In the music industry, it just seems lost. The most simple matter is hidden under that music is special and it’s about feelings and passion. No, it’s not. The formula one driver has a passion for driving and probably has done a hell of a lot of things to get to even race on that track. Stop pretending that we are special in any way. This is there act the same thing. If you are going to be at the top. You have want to be at the top. You really can’t do it halfway.

So, in the end I just quote Talladega Nights: If you ain´t first, you´re last.

Can we bring in the one that really wants something for a change? Not just the sing songwriter that feels that blue is not my color?

Tired of the non artists complaining!

What really makes me cringe is when people take advantage of the disaster itself. When filming the movie Fitzcarraldo the director Werner Herzog tells in interviews later that a crew member got seriously wounded during the shoot in the jungle. The whole crew was running around and try to aid the hurt guy. The main actor Klaus Kinski though calls on Werner and when he gets to him he shows that he is hurt to by a splinter in the finger. Werner explained it later that Klaus probably felt that the limelight was not on him.

I get the same feeling when artists scream out online about their canceled shows. The funny part is that the ones that really scream out almost don't have a career and really not have much to lose. The ones that really getting struck about this are kind of quiet and then they come with some solutions with smart things like online concerts and other stuff. Yes, that is why they are successful and not the others. They solve the problem.

Sure it's not easy to lose stuff and the situation is not good. Still, the ones that really will loose on it, like the staff at the restaurant, the people in the ticket office, technicians and so on I don't see them complaining like the amateur artists that playing like a Shakespeare drama online how bad it is for them. And yes for the others it's theri real job, it actually affects them and I see so many coming up with good ideas and solutions to fight back. It's very impressive.

What's not impressive is the DIY artists. Right now it goes around a letter telling us that Spotify founders should make a fund for the artists since they got the wealth of their music. Here again, signed with a majority of non-artist. Sorry Spotify made it through around ten percent of artists on the platform. And those are not in that crisis for the moment. They probably will care more about their poor employees that they have that will lose money on their canceled tours. I really don't feel that Madonna is in any financial danger closes some dates. I feel though for the festivals, venues and the workers who should have hosted it. Those are suffering.

And maybe with time, this will change. The first to scream is the one that was really not in and barely doing it. They fall off first. And that what we see now. The other ones might start to tell their story later. Those I will listen to

It's like many years ago there was a big fire killing many young people. The days after the fire suddenly some half unknown artists started to do a song where he donated some of the percentages of the sales to the victim's family. The feeling that you got was more that he wanted to resurrect his career and make a couple of bucks out of the disaster. This kind of thing really makes me cringe.

It's like in the disaster the silent ones are the most hurt, the screaming ones are hurt, but not as bad since they are able to scream. Right now there will be people that need more help than the average DIY artist. I feel this crisis will be a divider of the ones that are just wannabees and the real artists. The real artist will adapt the other ones you find later working in government programs.

And in the end, there are more important places that are suffering during this crisis. The hospital personal are really hard-working heroes. All people that keep functions in society going, they are amazing. I just cringe around these attention wannabees. And like someone said, yes price under herer is a bit high.

I'm seeking a artist that want to break big! Round three!

Here is the final round what I need to break and artist in the world. If you have read part one and part two and thinks I’m mean to artists, well you are not up for the task so stop reading and go back to your normal daily job, you are like Harry, Harry doesn't mind, if he doesn't, make the scene. He's got a daytime job, he's doing alright!

You need charisma. Not really, we can work on that as well. Yes, you will be someone else. But know what most artists are. Dolly Parton is not Dolly Parton. And the girl next door will never break big like Dolly. Still, I have all the knowledge where to find all the people to get these things right. Sometimes an artist is a persona, quite often really.
On the whole, it’s more important that you stick your guns then think that you need something special. To many bails out to early on either style of faith in the project. That is the biggest risk in building a career. People just doubt and try to take some stupid shortcut.

What I really not need is anybody that just should be mediocre and try to fit in. I need someone that doesn’t take themselves to seriously. I need someone that can burn all bridges to be on that stage. A person that wants that audience. A person that can take handle the tools I have to use. The trail won’t be the same that everybody else takes. No, this one will be a new one. The truth is that is all artist careers, a new thing. Ramones was not entering a cool club when they entered CBGB:S, they made the place cool.

Finally, you need humor. It will be hard, but a lot of fun. Many of my old clients come back years after and just tell about all the memories they got from the journey we did. That though comes afterward.

So when can we start? Tomorrow I can get things going. My problem is how you are going to show that you actually have everything I have been writing about in these three episodes.

Why I’m the right person? Ask yourself if any of the people that you know in the industry actually are invited to one conference a week just to speak about their knowledge? That is 52 conferences in a year! Do they have a network that is spread to all the continents around the world? Has been on boards in all different unions in the music industry? If the answer is yes, stick that person. In 99% of the cases, it’s a no. I have been around and just seen it all. Built a network that now is ready to do a big thing. I’m looking who wants to tag along. Listen to the advice and not try to invent the wheel again. A career is an input from so many sources it's never brainchild of an artist. Sorry to have made that illusion to crash. How successful is where these sources come from.

I’m not here to make a boy/girl band that comes around the break and then goes out on solo things.  No, I’m here to make one final stable career. I have all the tools I just need to find the right material. I never thought that an easy task was so hard.

So if you are up for it you know where to find me!