{"id":1519,"date":"2021-04-02T01:59:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T00:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1519"},"modified":"2021-04-02T01:59:10","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T00:59:10","slug":"working-on-a-dream-tell-them-its-bruce-springsteen-on-the-phone-my-experience-of-promotion-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/working-on-a-dream-tell-them-its-bruce-springsteen-on-the-phone-my-experience-of-promotion-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Working On A Dream, (Tell Them It\u2019s Bruce Springsteen On The Phone) ~ My Experience Of Promotion 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 1st 2011<\/p>\n

I\u2019d been trying to get through to this journalist for weeks, he never took my calls. So one day I phoned, put on an American accent and told them it was Bruce Springsteen. The guy took the call immediately. I burst out laughing and said it wasn\u2019t really Bruce Springsteen, and whilst he was a bit pissed off or relieved he laughed too and we had a chat.<\/p>\n

If you take a journey the way everyone else goes you\u2019ll sit in masses of traffic, take an alternative side road route and even if it takes longer you get to see things no one else normally sees. The journey becomes an adventure. With this in mind I\u2019m going to spend the next few months promoting our music. We have no record company behind us and hardly any money, so I thought some of you might find it interesting to see how it goes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried to keep my objectives slightly limited, try and get some articles written and a bit of radio play then ask a few record companies as to whether they\u2019re interested in dealing with us.<\/p>\n

Please join me for the ride.<\/p>\n

Simon Smith
\nhttp:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Simonmarksmith?sk=app_2405167945<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/player.soundcloud.com\/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F14874587<\/a>\u00a0Facebook192kb-Simon Mark Smith<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0simonmarksmith<\/a><\/p>\n

Day 1<\/p>\n

Before going ahead with anything I decided to try to create a strategy with limited objectives, this would allow me to have end points in view and measurable outcomes\u2026 not because I\u2019m particularly organised but just so I\u2019d know when to pause.<\/p>\n

So here are my main objectives:<\/p>\n

Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get coverage in the media: Get interest from local and national media, maybe get some interviews and hopefully get noticed by bloggers.. so I\u2019d better research a list ASAP.<\/p>\n

Try to get tracks on the radio: Send out CDs to all the appropriate DJs \/ So get a list, contact people, send out packages and follow up.<\/p>\n

Create a bit of a buzz and contact Record Labels<\/p>\n

Work towards 2 release dates:\u00a0Album release date:\u00a0 10th<\/sup>\u00a0October 2011 and\u00a0Single Release Date 10th<\/sup>\u00a0December<\/p>\n

So with all this in mind I started by getting a 4 week free trial to Music Weekly and buying a cheap copy of the music directory from Amazon for \u00a316 compared to \u00a340<\/p>\n

I also looked up a load of CD printing services and came across one which seemed quite reasonable. However when I got a quote it was for more than their own special offer, a quick phone call remedied that though\u2026 I felt like saying \u201cDon\u2019t try that old Jedi shit on me\u201d.<\/p>\n

So the next job is the design, however as this is for radio stations and the press it\u2019s a whole different approach, it\u2019s not about looking good but about looking like what the industry normally submits. More about that later though.<\/p>\n

Tonight I\u2019ll design the CD print, re-master the album so the tracks I want radio stations to consider are first, and work out the blurb for the labels on the CD envelope and any accompanying paperwork.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll hopefully have something to show you tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Day 3<\/strong>\u00a0~ If you want to make God laugh show God your plans ~<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in to \u201cnext week\u201d and still designing the CD cover. I already had one set up, but it needed a bit of colour correction. I\u2019ve printed out quite a few trials and I\u2019m not getting the strength of colour I need so sometime this week I\u2019ll have to visit a print house and get some help\u2026 Ker-ching!<\/p>\n

The other development has been a decision to create another CD, this one will have the same tracks on but in a different order (basically the more immediately impacting songs first) and an 8 page booklet, this CD will be available for those who want a more luxurious product and for use as a promotional disk. The other CD\u2019s tracks are ordered as I\u2019d originally wanted but as it\u2019s an on demand service (as in the company manufactures and sends out the CDs when an order is placed) there was a limit on the book size, which is 4 pages. Getting 19 songs to fit over 3 pages has been quite a challenge for both me as a designer and no doubt anyone trying to read the bloody thing. Anyway the upshot is, 2 CDs, one is cheaper because it has a smaller booklet and the other is slightly more expensive but is more luxurious. Plus I can also send out signed copies of the 8 page one. Phew, did you get all of that\u2026 the mess I get myself into sometimes. So this week is about getting the new Master CD and graphics out to the UK manufacturers and getting a corrected set of graphics out to the US ones.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile I\u2019ve just done 2 email interviews, I\u2019ll post the links on here once they\u2019re published, and I am trying to produce a new song too.<\/p>\n

As the saying goes: \u201cIf it was easy, everybody would be doing it\u201d Hold on! Everybody is doing it!!!<\/p>\n

Be back soon~ish.<\/p>\n

Two Weeks Later<\/strong><\/p>\n

The designs all got sent off, but both the US and UK companies made mistakes, fortunately it hasn\u2019t affected my schedule. However the main problem has been in terms of printing. The UK company printed the tray card even though I\u2019d informed them the proof showed the file was corrupted, I mean it had big pink and green stripes running across it. Plus the print out of the cover is too dark. The US version has come out pretty close to my mock ups, but the UK one is way off. If there\u2019s any more runs I\u2019ll be making sure they get it right\u00a0 next time.<\/p>\n

Whilst I was waiting for the CDs to be manufactured I created a database to collate information about radio, magazines and other media that might help run articles or add my music to their playlists. Just going through Radio and magazines created a shortlist of over 600 entries. I still have to add newspapers and music blogs to the list, but one thing at a time. I\u2019ve spent this week contacting college radio stations and specialised medium readership magazines. This has helped me get into a workflow and become more focused when it comes to phone calls. Next week I\u2019ll move on to higher profile organisations. So far the response has been minor, a couple of companies have got back to me, but given how many of my messages were written directly and relevantly to those concerned I\u2019m surprised by how little feedback I\u2019ve had. Next week I\u2019ll try to establish more contact via the phone than just by email and send promo disks out to the majority of contacts, hopefully that\u2019ll establish more engagement.<\/p>\n

So far one highlight has been chatting to DJs using their studio chat module whilst I listened to them talking back to me on the show. Also two articles have been published so far. I shall leave them with you for now, and will report back soon.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.bn1magazine.co.uk\/frontpage-featured-articles\/37-articles\/382-simon-smith-interview<\/a><\/p>\n

And<\/p>\n

http:\/\/audiorokit.wordpress.com\/2011\/09\/10\/simon-mark-smith-interview\/<\/a><\/p>\n

October 17 2011<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been a few weeks since I last reported back on what\u2019s been happening promotion-wise. I\u2019d say sorry about the delay but I think it\u2019s probably been for the best.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really hard not to come over as sounding a bit bitter, but that\u2019s how I feel. I have emailed around 200 radio stations, I mean these are college, community, hospital and local commercial stations and I\u2019ve only had 6 replies. I\u2019ve also sent out disks to about 20 stations and once again only had one reply. I\u2019m annoyed, not because they\u2019re probably inundated with disks and can\u2019t cope, but because it\u2019d be good if they just had written on their webpages, \u201cPlease don\u2019t bother sending emails or disks\u201d. Of course it may be that our music isn\u2019t up to scratch, but we now have over 85,000 followers on the Internet so I don\u2019t think it\u2019s that, but of course I can\u2019t be sure. Now tell me if I\u2019m wrong please but is this not the situation when it comes to getting music on playlists and radio stations?<\/p>\n

Commercial radio stations need to play music people want to hear in order to bring in audiences to listen to the adverts that keep the station going. Most people want to hear music that\u2019s in the charts because that\u2019s what\u2019s deemed as good. What gets into the charts is music that is played a lot on radio and TV, and what gets played a lot on radio and TV is music that\u2019s been placed on playlists. Music that gets on playlists gets onto those lists through a few main ways. Firstly panels or programme managers on some stations choose the list, sometimes DJs get to choose what gets played, but in the background are pluggers, record companies and companies interlinked in some ways to the radio stations. In the UK Global Radio owns most of the major radio stations, what they play becomes the chart music and consequently that gets played on the BBC.<\/p>\n

I recently went to an AIM (Association of Independent Musicians) meeting with the top brass of Radio One and their take on it was that their playlists were formed by a multitude of influences. Submissions, pluggers, chance hearings and so on but at the end of the day how different is what we hear on Radio One to any of the other major commercial stations? Not much, so the proof is in the pudding.<\/p>\n

Now BBC Radio has made a gesture to opening up opportunities to new artists via their BBC Introductions scheme which is also expanding to its other stations e.g Radio 2, as well as making a proportion of air time available for the scheme in every program. However it has already received 55000 applications so it\u2019ll be interesting to see how well it filters through such a massive submission.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile I\u2019m sitting here re-assessing the situation. I\u2019m aiming to contact the major radio stations and record companies over the next few weeks whilst at the same time approaching more prominent publications, but I\u2019m already beginning to get an idea as to what I\u2019ll be saying to you at the end of this process and that\u2019s this. The Internet is going to be the place for me, the mainstream is tied up. MTM (An Internet radio station that promotes new artists) has already featured me and my music and wants to do a second interview about the album, GMH Caf\u00e9 Radio and Stray FM have also featured us, so some things are happening but there\u2019s definitely a feeling of impasse in the mainstream if you don\u2019t get picked up by a record company. In fact the BBC guys said the same thing when they told us that they would avoid non-label artists, mainly because of the worry that they would not be organised enough.<\/p>\n

So as you can see it\u2019s a funny time, I don\u2019t really know if I\u2019m coming or going. The CD is ready to sell and is available on line at\u00a0www.simonmarksmith.com\/store<\/a>\u00a0even though its \u201cImpact Day\u201d is scheduled for November 28th\u00a0<\/sup>2011. I\u2019ll announce its availability to my followers sometime over the next fortnight.<\/p>\n

One thing that has sunk in is that promotion isn\u2019t something that one stops and starts around albums but is continual so if anything this project has given me that realisation. I\u2019ll let you know how this next stage goes and I\u2019ll post links to the radio appearances as and when they become available. I\u2019ll post them here:\u00a0http:\/\/simonmarksmith.com\/epk\/articles1.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an interview I\u2019ve just done for a magazine:<\/p>\n

I imagine many of our readers won\u2019t have heard of you, yet. Can you sum up what you\u2019re all about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a multi-media artist, which means I work in a number of disciplines namely as: A recording artist \/ singer song writer, painter, photographer, writer, and video maker. I tend to use the processes I\u2019ve learned in each discipline in the other disciplines and I approach my work from an artistic point of view. What I mean is I\u2019m looking to try to find my own voice and have a dialogue with the process of creativity which may lead to unexpected destinations rather than aiming towards a specific outcome. By the way I don\u2019t see that as an excuse for the creation of a load of artistic drivel that will bore everyone\u2019s socks off, but it\u2019s a kind of balancing act between what the process creates and what it will mean to my audience. I think that touching one\u2019s audience is an important part of the creative process.
\nIn terms of what my music sounds like it\u2019s somewhere between Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, and Leonard Cohen.<\/p>\n

When did you first start using social media? How did your using of it evolve?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been using the Internet to promote my work since 1998, I\u2019ve made my writing, pictures and music available for free and even before social networking took off had a small following. When Myspace took off I didn\u2019t really know how to use it and because Myspace became about the number of fans rather than relationships it kind of inhibited any real social networking compared to what\u2019s going on now with Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.
\nAbout a Year ago I noticed a friend had set up a music Like page on Facebook so I thought I\u2019d set one up too, since then I\u2019ve picked up well over 100,000 likers. But remember it\u2019s not about numbers, not ultimately.<\/p>\n

How important is social media to you? If you\u2019re an independent artist, what is the best way to get your music promoted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s always myths and hype, so I don\u2019t want to encourage that, I\u2019d like to try to keep this as real as we can. So let\u2019s start with the normal ideas around promotion, essentially most acts would benefit from being on major radio station playlists and TV, but realistically the chances for most of us to get that exposure are really, really low. You\u2019d have to become part of the industry to get in on all of that and whether it\u2019s unfair or not there\u2019s a simple but obvious fact to keep in mind, there are only so many songs that can be played, only so many acts that can be promoted in the mainstream and there are many tens of thousands of artists vying for those places. So the experience for most of us is one of frustration, rejection and humiliation. BUT the industry which we know and love (hehe) is relatively new compared to music\u2019s place in our culture. Go back to before radio and TV and you\u2019ll find that music was part of our daily lives. People sang together communally in pubs and churches, in the streets and in social gatherings. Musicians were part of the community, and most people could sing, it wasn\u2019t seen as exceptional.<\/p>\n

What social networking is doing is bringing back a sense of community that has been lacking in society for many decades. What this means for musicians and singers etc\u2026 is that a platform through which they can develop an audience has become available. Sometimes it might be just a small number of people, but if they, the audience and artist, are really engaged and interested in each other then something magical for both parties comes about. If you use sales of albums or numbers of Likers to measure your success then you\u2019re missing the point. Ask yourself this: if you are only willing to make your music available to sell and you only sell a few dozen, then is it not better to give away some of your best music and build up a following. That way your music gets heard, you get to have a dialogue with your followers and who knows maybe they\u2019ll evangelize your work to others.<\/p>\n

Do you have a particular social media ethos? A guide to social media success if you like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What this means is that you put yourself out there, genuinely, (but politely), you show real interest in your audience and develop meaningful relationships with them. The kind of thing I mean in practical terms is to ask your audience about their experiences, possibly related to the subject matter of one of your songs, or tell a story behind a song, show them you are human and allow them to show you their humanity too.
\nThere\u2019s a book called Unmarketing which I\u2019d strongly recommend and no I\u2019m not on commission.<\/p>\n

Why are more and more people using social media to promote their music?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t alternatives in the mainstream. The process for those who do it well is extremely rewarding.<\/p>\n

Is there a failing in the music industry? What are the problems with it at the moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite simple really. The music industry fails because like many businesses it\u2019s been run by money makers, of course they don\u2019t see they\u2019re failing but they are and in time the Internet is going to make their profits slump massively and this is why: They have become like a supermarket that only sells its own brand, not only does it not offer other brands but it only offers a limited range of products. As far as it\u2019s concerned it\u2019s doing ok, however there\u2019s now another market, it\u2019s on the web and not only does it offer more variety but it\u2019s at a fraction of the cost. \u201cAh but we\u2019ve got the market cornered because we have the strongest marketing tools\u201d they\u2019ll say. And I\u2019d say \u201cTake a look at how Facebook allows people to see what others are listening to, have a listen to the choice of Internet radio stations with no annoying adverts, have a listen to the quality of music made in people\u2019s home studios. Have a look at the breadth of variety on offer. So punk you\u2019re probably wondering whether I shot 5 bullets or six, well make my day\u201d<\/p>\n

You give away your music for free? How do you plan to make money from your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firstly is making money from one\u2019s work the main objective? I go to work plus I make money from my music, I would make music whether I made money or not. But if money is important to you then surely building up a following means you\u2019re more likely to make money from your following through merchandise, membership schemes, advertising, sponsorship, product recommendation \/ endorsement, being seen as an expert in your niche and paid for your expertise, working for other artists, gigging, teaching, CDs, premium downloads, premium products and loads of other areas if you use your imagination.
\nSome people believe that having 1000 true fans who are willing to buy everything you sell could bring you in an income of around \u00a320,000 per year, and that\u2019s a low estimate.<\/p>\n

How many recordings do you have and how much of that has had the support of any major labels \/ deals? With that in mind, what do record deals mean to you? If you were offered a deal from a major company would you take it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve recorded over 300 songs but only about 40 to what I\u2019d call album standard. I\u2019ve never had any major label interest, but I haven\u2019t courted it either, not for any anti record industry reasons, I just never felt I\u2019d be of interest to them. Even with 100000 followers I\u2019ve had no interest at all. As things seem to have changed for me in the last year or so I\u2019ve come to feel that I\u2019d have to be offered a pretty good deal to make it worthwhile, I mean I\u2019ve recorded the songs, done the videos, promoted the work, sorted out the PPL and PRS stuff, so unless they\u2019re going to get my songs on major radio station playlists what would be the point. I\u2019m sticking with the Internet for now, and I\u2019d seriously advise most of you to focus on it too.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve nearly got over 100,000 fans on Facebook, a lot more than some bands in the charts. What does this mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s deeply touching and makes my work feel more meaningful to me, however this is just the beginning and developing deeper relationships with those fans over the coming years is paramount. Clicking Like on an artist\u2019s page takes no effort and doesn\u2019t mean much more than \u201cI quite like your stuff\u201d so let\u2019s not get too carried away, however it does mean something, it means there\u2019s a chance of more contact between us and I really do love that engagement.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the key to your internet success? How have you managed to achieve all you have without the backing of major record companies and PR agencies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

By continually offering new songs for free, chatting with my followers, not just pushing information about me down their throats but instead having a two way relationship. I don\u2019t have to ask people to share my work, if they like what I do they will, if they don\u2019t then there\u2019s no point asking them to. We also spend a lot of time on our work and don\u2019t give out rubbish, or album fillers. We\u2019re currently working on 5 new songs, I have a small group of followers who get to hear these songs and their honest opinion is taken in to consideration, if it\u2019s not up to scratch I\u2019d rather not put it out there, but then knowing if something is any good is hard when you\u2019re so close to it.<\/p>\n

Using social media may seem quite daunting to some, what advice would you offer someone who\u2019s just starting out?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well check out http:\/\/www.unmarketing.com\/
\nAlso make sure all your things on the internet have links to your major social media places, your you tube channel, you Twitter one, your Facebook Like page (not your personal one as it has a limit of 5000 friends), maybe a blog too. Choose one platform to focus on and try to draw your audience to that one so you can be more focused.<\/p>\n

Is there ever a point when using social media so much becomes a block to being a great artist? Too much concentration of wondering whether or not this is a great tweet, as opposed to whether or not this is good music that you\u2019re writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spend the same amount of time promoting yourself as you do being creative, that\u2019s what most artists in the mainstream have to do. If you want a following you\u2019ll have to work for it, if you don\u2019t want to work for it then don\u2019t complain about not having a following. If you decide not to promote yourself or even to look at how to do it then you\u2019ve made that choice. I\u2019m a bit hard on this one because I feel it\u2019s illogical not to promote your work if you want an audience, if you don\u2019t then it doesn\u2019t matter.
\nIn my own experience I work to pay my mortgage, I don\u2019t go out a lot, I am involved with being creative for most of the time that I\u2019m not earning a crust but I interject my work with social networking and traditional promotion. If you think social networking may take up time that could be used for being creative then maybe just go down the pub less or don\u2019t watch TV, there\u2019s often somewhere that time can be borrowed from. The situation is unfair but social networking does offer some people opportunities that weren\u2019t there beforehand, it\u2019s good for some and for others it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

Talk soon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 1st 2011 I\u2019d been trying to get through to this journalist for weeks, he never took my calls. So one day I phoned, put on an American accent and told them it was Bruce Springsteen. The guy took the call immediately. I burst out laughing and said it wasn\u2019t really Bruce Springsteen, and whilst…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1520,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519\/revisions\/1520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}