B R A N D I N G
SELF DISCOVERY
Expanding your brand starts with defining its purpose. Does it reflect an individual (like a Nike shoe line)? Does it identify with a specific mission or cause? Is it focused on a niche?
Learn how to discover your calling.
VALUES
Most people would agree that you shouldn’t start a business if you don’t know what you are going to sell. Well, the same goes for you. What benefit are you offering? Who are you offering it to? How are you solving their problem? How are YOU a better alternative?
Define what you’re made of.
FOCUS
Do you have have clear goals? Have you written down your goals? Are you reliable and predictable, but fresh and relevant?
Find your direction.
M A R K E T I N G
ACCOUNTING
Do you have your affairs in order? Do you have a Professional Accountant to help you with taxes? If not, you should, but for now, we will give you a few stunner tips to get you on track for next year.
FUNDING
You need to figure out how to maximize capital, whether it be self-funding, a recording label, or bank funding. Label Down can help you plan how to leverage the money you do have to go further and be more effective and learn how to not get screwed over in the process.
SALES STRATEGIES
Should you develop a strategy to get sales and make money? Yes. We’ll help you learn how to put things in place and carry forward the strategy. You’ll need to make sales, document sales, put cash in your bank account, as well as invest money into getting more sales. Want to learn How to Pitch and Sell venues, record/pub deals, writer’s rounds/shows, and produce videos online to widen your reach?
STRUCTURE
Ever thought of getting an LLC or Sole Prop set up to run your music business through? We’ll help you with structuring your business to run efficiently and successfully and help with planning for hiccups and pivoting when needed. Having clear goals, plan, and foundation for going forward is essential to your success.
PAID ADVERTISING
The reality is… it’s a pay-to-play world out there and while digital marketing may seem expensive. It’s one of the CHEAPEST ways to build your brand. You just need to do it right.
PROMOTIOn
When you are promoting yourself, you are actively trying to put yourself front of mind for the people in the room. If you play a show, meet a few people in the room. Make connections and relationships. Put up flyers. Put your cds in coffee shops.
PUBLICATIONS
Are you trying to get into local publishing’s? Ever thought to ask publications to write about you? If not, ask them for recommendations of other writers who may be interested. “Published Musician” - We like the sound of that!
SOCIAL MEDIA
How can you expand your exposure and your reach? How can you curate the best content in an efficient, productive, consistent way?
Every person that comes to your social media needs to have a clear picture of who you are, but see the behind the scenes, know you care, know your personality. People are going to fall in love with the person, not just the music.
NETWORKS & COLLABORATIONS
What can I do to get content for free? Trade. Learn how to take a quick photo. Learn how to network with other musicians. Be willing to write with people you may not usually hang with. Start by creating deep and meaningful relationships with others in the industry. Leverage your network to gain traction in your career.
Build a community.
C O N T E N T C R E A T I O N
PHOTOGRAPHY
We live in a visual world. You have half a second to get their attention with a photo, but you have a lot more of those seconds when you post new, refreshing content on the regular.
VIDEOGRAPHY
In 2019, the YouTube Music app was downloaded a staggering 13.3 million times from Google Play alone. It’s essential that you create music videos, live video recordings, short promos, and TikToks for social media and YouTube.
COPY
Exactly how you want the world to see you. Do you want to talk to your audience like friends? proper? with slang? moody? 1st person? 3rd person? The idea is to be YOU and not make things harder for yourself. Let your personality out and be real.
D I S T R I B U T I O N
Get heard.
MUSIC PRODUCTION
Don’t be afraid to put out your 80-90% best at first. Get something out there. Live, writing sessions, covers, anything you can to start building a book of songs and videos, even if you can’t afford top notch quality yet.
PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION
Physical sales of records still account for around 30% of revenue from recorded music. Vinyl records have come back in style the last few years, indicating that physical records won’t be taken out by streaming any time soon.
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
Streaming is a top revenue-grosser for the music industry. It accounts for 47% of the total sale. . Did you see that? That means that your tour to Kansas is not where 47% the opportunity to make money is.
B O O K I N G S
WRITER’S ROUNDS
Talk to Everyone (if you are a musician, you need to learn to put yourself out there or find someone to do it for you). Share and Promote the shows/rounds on social media.
LIVE SHOWS
Ever thought of showing up to another person’s show and talking to the staff? Ever sent an email pitch to a venue? We can help you put together a great lineup and present a FULL night with estimated ticket sales. If you are smaller, you can even team up with more popular or similar artists.
HOUSE CONCERTS
What’s a house concert? Intimate events at a fans personal space. Designed to be an “experience” NOT just playing music in the corner while everyone does their own thing. These events give you an opportunity to make super fans at the core of it everything in a one-to-one environment with merch options for sale.
TOURING
Find a bigger act to team up with (open for them). Make a manager account to use for communications and booking. You’ll still need to do cold emails and calls! Do your research and get a live press kit to showcase what the venue would be experiencing.
