RapperGeek

STOP Doing Promo For Your Music!!

If you’ve been looking for more “promo” for your music, STOP LOOKING!   Not only have I dealt with this from experience (10 years trying to make a name for myself in the music industry) but I’ve met and talked with a ton of artists that STILL think they need “promo” to get themselves to the next level.   I lost interest in doing music after doing it wrong for so long so by the time I figured out…

Should Artists Travel To Make It? | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

One big debate that goes around many local music scenes is whether or not an artist should move away to gain success from their music. Of course with the internet being a huge factor in today’s music, some may feel like they don’t need to move away since they can reach a larger audience from home. Of course there’s the noise issue of a lot of rap artists that flood people’s timelines and inboxes…

Not Everyone Will Make It | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

You have to understand that not everyone will make it in the music industry as an artist. If you read this book and now have doubts about yourself being an artist on any level, don’t get discouraged. There are numerous ways to be in the music industry. It may not be as glorious as being on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans, but you can create a good living by taking a different route…

Your Attitude At Your Shows | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

Perhaps the most notorious time for an artist to act like a dick seems to be at their shows. Artists already have an “I’m the shit” type of mentality and when it comes time for the shows, this mentality gets multiplied by at least a thousand. Your confidence should show on stage where it matters most, not in your little section of the club or the parking lot. In a previous section, I discussed…

Not Everyone Knows Who You Are | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

One thing I absolutely hate is when artists have a “you should know me” attitude. I did interviews at an award show once and a few artists (and others in the music industry) had a little attitude when I didn’t know who they were. To my own criticism, I wasn’t prepared to do those interviews and probably should’ve done research and had my questions ready. But the fact is, not everyone is going to…

Don’t Over Exaggerate | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

One thing I’ve learned not to do is discuss my plans with people. Although your intentions may be to do what you said you would, sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. Life gets in the way and you can’t do certain things you said you would, but there’s another problem with that. If you’ve told a thousand people about this big move, and it doesn’t happen, people remember that and that…

Don’t Be a Dick | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

This article probably should’ve been the first article on this blog. It’s probably the most important subject to me when dealing with local rappers. I understand that in order to be an artist, you have to have some level of confidence in order to be taken seriously, but most artists take things way too far.

We’ve all heard rappers especially say things like “support local artists,” but how many…

The Way You Market Yourself & Your Music | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

Like I said in a previous section, times have changed. In order to drive business, you need to be able to connect and have good relationships with people. The days of push marketing are over. It’s all about pulling instead of pushing. To expand on that metaphor a little, imagine being a salesman and constantly being in people’s face saying “BUY MY PRODUCT, BUY MY PRODUCT!” Just reading that…

Passing Out CDs | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

Here’s a tough one. In order to promote yourself as an artist, you need to have your music handy in order to give someone that may be interested. Here’s the truth, people don’t really listen to CDs any more. That platform is fading out just like the radio, just not as fast. I listen to music or audiobooks on my phone either through my headphones or through my car radio with an auxiliary cord. If…

Passing Out Flyers | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

In case you don’t know, which you should, times always have and always will change. What worked in the past will not work today, in some cases.

In a day and age where everybody is focused on their cell phone, how do you expect to reach as many people via TV ads, billboards, and especially magazine ads? With that being said, take a guess as to where your time should be spent with your marketing.

H…

Be Professional | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

One of the most professional things you can do before the show even begins is make sure you’re properly prepared for the show. Not only should you confidently know your music, you need to make sure your music has a good mix. I mentioned this in chapter one and this is especially crucial for your shows. The way your music sounds while you’re onstage will have a huge impact on your overall show. A…

People On Stage With You | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

In the early days of hip-hop, rappers would have a stage full of people behind him, but those people would be hype as hell and actually add to the performance. I can’t help but mention the movie Notorious when Biggie performed at Howard University and the stage was full of people hyping up the performance. Another example that comes to mind is Kanye West’s performance at the 2015 BRIT Awards when…

Hold The Microphone Right | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

Most artists want to record their performances in order to post it on social media, YouTube, etc. One thing artists don’t do is use the footage to critique their performances onstage after a show. This would make artists so much better. Onstage you have to be aware of what’s going on around you while you’re doing your song. If you step too close to a speaker, you’re going to get microphone…

Performing With Your Vocals Still In Your Music | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

Ask yourself this question, if you went to a Beyoncé concert and paid money to hear her singing or barely singing over the vocals of the song she recorded long ago, what would you call that? Most would call that lip-syncing. What about if a rapper, on any level, did a performance with their vocals still in the song? Unfortunately, most would call that a live show. If you paid close attention to…

What Happened To Live Performances? | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

If you attend a concert headlined by some of the greatest artists in the world of any genre, you’ll be treated to an amazing, well-planned show that plenty of time, effort and money were put into. Love him or hate him, Kanye West puts on a hell of a show. This dude went as far as to have a mountain onstage behind him for his Yeezus tour. Of course, being on a local level, who has the money for…

Focus On Your Brand | Music Marketing School | Make Money From Your Music

Do you know why Coca-Cola, Apple and many others are the top companies in the world? They’ve built their brands up to be some of the most recognizable in history. Many people make the mistake of thinking a brand is simply a logo. Today, more than ever, this has been proven to be false. Chick-Fil-A has been openly unsupportive of gay marriage, and thanks to the way people have reacted to that,…