FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WHAT IS SXSW MUSIC FESTIVAL

Few events in the business world manage to combine tech, start-up launches, a world-class film festival, and one of the world's largest concert series -- but that's exactly what South by Southwest (written simply SXSW) promises. An event that originally started in the late 1980's to host a local music festival in Austin, Texas, has today become a cornerstone of the music, film, and digital media industries. Running just over a week every March, SXSW has long been known as a launching point for the careers of independent musicians and filmmakers, but increasingly it has become the hotbed to launch hot digital products as well. Especially since the mobile app revolution.

The SXSW website has described the 5-day Interactive Festival as "an incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity", consisting of presentations and panels from leaders in emerging technology, as well as hosted networking events, and a lineup of special programs that will showcase new sites, video games, startup ideas, and more.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WHAT IS "A3C" MUSIC FESTIVAL

Over the past 10 years, A3C Festival has grown from a local Atlanta showcase to a large-scale cultural experience. It’s quickly becoming the most distinguished hip-hop festival in the world, celebrating not only rap music, but also arts, education, film, fashion and other aspects of hip-hop’s multifaceted landscape. Standing for “All 3 Coasts”—East, West and Gulf—A3C joins together the many different faces of hip-hop and aims to connect like-minded individuals for a five-day, one-of-a-kind gathering. Usually the 1st week of October.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: HOW TO BOOK YOUR OWN TOUR

One of the biggest challenges musicians face is booking tours. Many bands don’t have a booking agent, so booking a tour can seem like a daunting task the first time out.

Here are some key things to keep in mind to help you book a tour without a booking agent.

Don't Be Overwhelmed

The first thing to remember is that you are only one person. If you're trying to book a one month tour, break it off into pieces and do little sections at a time. Booking a long tour takes months of emailing and waiting, and emailing and waiting. You couldn't do it in one sitting even if you tried.

Write a Good Pitch

The average venue doesn't need to hear from an actual booking agent, manager, or someone representing you. They just want to open their inbox and not be overwhelmed with your 2-page life story. Learn how to write a to-the-point, concise email that pitches your talent and worth to that venue.

Use Who You Know

Have friends in a specific city? Ask them where they go to listen to live music. Ask them where their friends go. Half the battle of booking shows is knowing the venues that are right for you. Why spend hours online if you've got a shortcut.

Use the Back Door

Sometimes you get into a venue because you know the owner or the booker. But there are other ways. Back doors. Connect with friends who are in bands and can have you co-bill with them. Know a promoter? Ask them to put you on a show. Reach out to the manager of an artist touring through town and ask if you can open the show for them. Use the back door. Back doors count. They also open future front doors.

...this is not a one-off. You are trying to develop a relationship with a venue so that you can keep coming back.

BE a Booking Agent

This doesn't mean you begrudgingly take on the job. It means you actually need to embody the role of a booking agent. Be professional. Be clear. List dates. List links of your music. Be Specific: know that a song or video that might appeal to a club is not necessarily the same video that will appeal to an arts center. Also remember: this is not a one-off. You are trying to develop a relationship with a venue so that you can keep coming back. That is what a booking agent does.

Be Consistent, Not Creepy

Good booking agents are consistent but not creepy. Don't email the venue every 3 days to check on the status of your potential show. Give your pitch the space it needs. Follow up after a few weeks. When you follow up, include a line that fishes for a response, such as, ''If those original dates (13/14) don't work, another good date would be the 28th as I make my way back up north.''

Check the Calendar First!

DO NOT email a venue about a date that is already booked on their calendar. Do your research. Visit their calendar, see which dates are still open, determine if any of those work. Then reach out to the venue about one of those.

Sell Yourself

As a ''booking agent'' your job is to sell the product - YOU. When you read your pitch, do people wanna ''buy'' you? Are you appealing? You don't need to embellish or lie. Just package yourself well.

Sell an Idea

Sometimes you're not just selling you. You are selling an idea. Maybe you're actually selling a Women's themed event b/c it's Women's History Month. Maybe you're selling a Veterans Day event with performers who are all veterans. Maybe you're putting together a piano-themed showcase or a tribute show. Sometimes the idea is much bigger than you. Venues like that stuff.

Sell your data

Is your website getting a lot of traffic from the city you’re trying to book a show in? Mention that when pitching the venue. Also, be sure to take a look at your mailing list to see how many subscribers are from that city. That is tangible / actionable data that can be used to promote your show, and venue bookers will look kindly on it.

Be Thorough

Sounds like a no brainer. But if it takes you 1 week to get back to the venue, they're going to give that Hold to someone else. If it takes you forever to communicate your ideas to the show contact and get your act together, your show quickly becomes less important. Just be on top of it. The average music venue has 15-25 shows a month. If you don't care, they won’t.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 10 SAFE WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR FANBASE

Here are 10 fail-safe ways to increase / engage with your fanbase. Many of these tips help you take full advantage of the crowds of people who already know and like you!

1. Get serious about your newsletter.

Use Fanbridge.com, ReverbNation.com, or Mail Chimp to send your newsletter at least once per month. Track the effectiveness of your emails by monitoring open and click rates.

2. Mine your inbox and outbox for names and addresses to add.

Ask all of your friends if it’s OK to add them to your list, otherwise your account may be labeled as spam.

3. Bring a clipboard to each and every live appearance.

Invite people onto your mailing list with a raffle or giveaway from stage, and collect e-mail addresses. During your performance, hold the CD up on stage and then give it away: you’ve just inserted a full commercial into your set without feeling “salesy” and you’ve excited one of your fans by giving them a gift.

4. Include a special offer on your website’s home page with a free exclusive MP3 or video.

Use one of Noisetrade’s free download widgets, or the Reverbnation Fan Collector.

TIP: Make sure this download is not available anywhere. Not streaming on your Facebook page. Only on your website.

And of course it can also be available for purchase on your CD, but make sure that no one can get it anywhere else online. This will motivate people to sign up to your mailing list!

5. Follow 25 new people a week on Twitter. Engage with them!

6. Send out e-mails to your most engaged fans on Facebook and ask if you can have their e-mail addresses for your newsletter. This is a bit arduous but the results will pay off.

7. Do the same with Twitter.

8. Start a blog and start sharing photos and stories and thoughts. Take full advantage of Instagram!

9. Start a podcast or a vodcast and interview other artists with big followings. Ask them to share your podcast with their fans and followers. It doesn’t have to be a big production. It can be a small, informal video at YouTube.

10. Ask your fans to review your music at CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon.

The number of things you can do to promote your music online is practically infinite. But these 10 tips will get you well on your way to a successful internet marketing strategy.