Very exciting day here. My new book, through Celebrity Press Publishing is now available everywhere. It is called the New Masters Of Online Marketing and features 17 of the best Internet Marketers from around the world, including Nick Nanton, Lindsay Dicks, Brian Horn, Brian Evans and others.

I know this site is primarily focused around the music business, but let’s face it, 99% of what I teach here is Online Marketing that is geared towards you guys (and it works!).

In the book, I wrote a chapter a lot of you will be familiar with, Leveraging OPA. I teach in in the New Music Economy course and extensively go through the process in the NME Blueprint.

What I want you guys to do is help out, support the book and learn some really cool strategies today. When you pick up a copy today I want to hook you up with some super bonuses from myself and my friends in the book.

Check out all of the bonuses here!

This BONUS PACKAGE is ONLY available Thursday, September 8th!

After you buy the book on Amazon.com, forward your receipt to bonus@celebritypresspublishing.com and you will have instant access to all the bonuses.

I hope you guys enjoy the book and if you need anything from me, or want to help promote it, let me know and I can hook you up with some cool stuff.

Talk soon,

Greg

Today I have a guest post from Eric Hebert from Evolvor.com. Eric is one of my closest compadres in the indie music business and we even created Label 2.0 together a few years back. Below Eric shares his thoughts about the state of social media and indie music and it’s one hell of an opinion! Eric has also just released his Viral Press Release Service that allows your news, your music and your voice to be heard by more people and get more exposure than it would using traditional outlets. Check it out here.

Enjoy the guest post and leave your feedback and comments below.

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, isn’t Eric one of those music marketing guys who is always talking about social media HELPING musicians and what not?!”

Yes, that’s me. I’ve been yapping about Facebook and Twitter and blogs all and that other crap since they first launched. And they are invaluable tools for anyone trying to market any kind of product or service. That is, they provide value if you’re using them properly, as in sharing relevant messages and providing excellent content, in addition to interacting with your users in a way that makes them fall in love with you.

Otherwise, social media is, well, crap.

Over the past week everyone has has gone nuts-o over Google+, calling it a “Facebook-killer” or possibly a “Twitter replacement”. As a heavy user of Google’s products, I was excited to see what exactly I could do with it, but after all this stupid hype I stepped back and asked myself what the point was. We already have a killer social network in Facebook that is so engrained in the web, why would I want to start over? Then I started seeing articles pop up about “music marketing with Google+” and I started banging my fucking ahead against the wall.

Why so angry, you say? Well because it’s dumb shit like this that has musicians running around in circles. Everyone is a “guru” and wants to write all these articles about how “Google+ is the next big thing you better jump on it” without really teaching anyone what the point of it is. Guess what – it’s just a social network. If you just sign up for it and not use the dam thing, and use it properly, it’s not going to do a damn thing for you.

Why are we using social media in the first place?

Using Google+ as a marketing tool is EXACTLY THE SAME as using Facebook or Twitter; while they’re might be small differences with the interface or how to specifically do something, the actual value in using them only comes from exactly how you use it. Do you post interesting an engaging content? Do you thank fans and respond to them? Do you make being a fan or follower a rewarding experience? Awesome, your doing the right things.

The problem is, most musicians are not doing this. Nope, they sign up for each and every new thing thinking that JUST BECAUSE it’s the new thing, thinking it’s going to help them. So they post songs, spam friends with events, do the whole “wave my hands in the air look at me” typical bullshit, and then sit on the porch and pout because they don’t have any new “fans”.

The rise of Tumblr

Let’s talk about another service that is getting a ton of buzz these days: Tumblr. I had a client recently tell me that Tumblr is “going to be the next Twitter” and had me actually turn off the pretty dope website I had built for him so we could focus on his Tumblog.

I made an effort to speak my mind, but finally gave in (I’m not on the payroll anymore so whatever). His people we’re telling him one thing, and it’s the same thing I see a lot of people talking about. “Tumblr is so cool it let’s you post updates like Twitter but with photos blah blah blah.” And they’re all idiots.

Led Astray by Music Industry Bloggers

This is a perfect example of musicians being led astray by all the stupid social media hype they are getting from their so-called guru news sources and it’s not helping. Now you have bands with a Facebook page, a Twitter account, AND a Tumblog and all are devoid of anything interesting. They just read the hype and think they “need” to have it.

The big reason I don’t like Tumblr is because it’s just redundant. You see, your strategy should work like this: you create a cool blog post on your website (one you control); you then share the link to that on Twitter and Facebook. Fans come and interact with your content and fall in love. Then you maybe convert them into a customer or some other conversion.

What I see people doing now is just using their Tumblog as their website, and sharing crappy content (like random pictures or quotes) and then sharing on Facebook/Twitter. It’s all this micro-blog type content that has no real substance and isn’t doing a damn thing to help anybody. Plus, since none of it is on a website that the artist actually owns, it’s just not being used properly in building residual traffic (via search engine traffic) and none of it is being properly converted (email capture or actual sale of product).

The other really big problem with everyone blabbering about social media is NO ONE, I mean, no one, is talking about the types of things that ACTUALLY drive traffic and create a buzz for you – real social media marketing involves using the social news sites Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.

Explaining how exactly you can utilize these social news and voting sites is a whole other article in itself, and let’s just say the average Joe isn’t going to sign up today and become successful using them. However, the main thing, if everyone should shut up for a second and think about, is creating the best kinds of content. If you can learn to create the right kind of content, not only will your Facebook and Twitter start to see some traction, but you’d have a shot and going viral on a site like Digg.

So stop listening to all the hype everyone is dishing out everyday, and sit down and think about what the web is about: sharing information. None of these tools will do you any good unless you’re sharing the RIGHT kind of information. Learn how to create this kind of content and the tools around you will start to make a little more sense.

Today I have a guest post from Andrew Hand. Andrew and I have had many conversations on the music business, Internet Marketing and personal development over the years and he is always growing, but more importantly he is always helping people. Below is a great article that talks about transition, life and the music business. If you want to learn more about Andrew, you can check out his new Bozeman, MT Guitar School.

If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d be living in Montana and teaching guitar lessons, I wouldn’t believe it

Teaching guitar lessons on the other side of the US…Indeed I wouldn’t believe it. See, I was living in New York City and trying to make connections there and get my music spread to a larger audience. I didn’t have any plans to leave the Big Apple, but life had some other things in store.

Let me just say that I’m where I am because I made choices, it’s not like life happened to me, I was creating a scenario of events that led me to make other choices…and so here I am in Montana…Long way from NYC.

Though I miss the city, I am enjoying the process of embracing where I am

I think the important point, and the reason that I’m writing this, is to share with my fellow musicians, and perhaps all readers; that there are always more opportunities around us than we recognize.

About six months after landing here in Bozeman, I started thinking that I should see about connecting to the music scene here and perhaps try to teach some of what I’d learned about music, songwriting, recording and such. After a few months of trying a few things, I started teaching guitar at the local music store. The first lesson I gave felt so good.

There was just a positive wave of excitement I felt at passing on what I’d learned to someone else and seeing them learning

I’ve been teaching guitar for about four months now and have really enjoyed every student I’ve had. They have all been different and each has had their unique pace and style of learning, which has made me adapt some of my teaching and past notions about what people needed to learn first about guitar and music.

The reason I tell this brief tale is to share my realization that I am learning more from teaching than I am from when I’d just make teaching videos for my guitar teaching website. Seeing how people actually process this information in person has been enlightening. For some the eyes glaze over when we enter music theory land, and for others, an ah-ha moment happens.

I think the takeaway for me is that although I might be doing something other than 100% focussing on my music, I am able to keep involved with music and actually feel less burdened and stressed out about all I have to do to get myself out there. When a student wants to learn “Ring of Fire” or “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift, it gives me a reason to go and really look at these songs and see what’s making them tick.

Since beginning to teach (and for some time before) I’ve been working on a guitar teaching DVD. Because of my student interaction and getting to test things out, I find the product is becoming better and giving me new ideas. I thought I was done with it last week, but on reflecting, I felt that I had put too much information in and not enough ‘practical’ teaching. So I’m re-shooting the whole thing, and so far it’s getting better and better. Yet another bonus!

Doing things you never expected, or maybe didn’t even want to do, might just help expand you in a direction you hadn’t thought of before

For me, what I’ve gotten done since starting to teach, was cover “All Apologies” by Nirvana, do cover video lessons for “Come Together” by the Beatles, and “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. I’ve created chord charts/scale charts, PDF’s, set up websites and even performed with my students in our recital. It was fun to sing with these kids…

When looking for an answer, they often never come

I have been trying to find an answer for the last year, and have met lots of internal resistance, stress, and a whole host of up and down swings. I’m not one to look at things as obstacles. I haven’t found an answer, other than what I feel to be right. And that is to continue going with the flow and trying to contribute value to others and pass on whatever I can. It’s the same approach that’s guided me in my songwriting and personal/business connections.

There are opportunities, so many in fact, that I have to try and best choose those to pursue, while still reminding myself that music is a part of my purpose here.

My hope is that this little posting has met those who needed to see it and been of service. My thought to you would be this: Listen to the little voice that nudges at you, saying ‘hey, maybe you should try this.’…and then do it. Especially if it’s something that you tell yourself you don’t want to do the next minute.

I’d love to hear from you, so please reach out and drop me a line.

My Very Best Wishes to You,

Andrew Hand

I had a conversation with Vibedeck CEO Lior Shamir last week about the new music startup and what they are doing for musicians. I am always skeptical of telling musicians to get into the $1 game, because it is very difficult to scale a business selling $1 singles.

Yet, in is the nature of the beast and part of our current music economy and with services like BandCamp and TopSpin taking a cut from the artists these days, which isn’t a bad thing, VibeDeck is coming in again as a company with an artists first approach.

I know Lior from his days at another music industry startup, Audiolife, as I was a writer for them at one point. Anyway, here is what VibeDeck is from Lior’s own words:

VibeDeck is a free direct-to-fan platform for creative artists and discerning fans.  With VibeDeck, you can sell or giveaway your tracks, or let your fans name their own price.  Best of all, VibeDeck does not take a cut of your sales and the money flows directly into your PayPal account.  So, you keep 100% of your sales (after PayPal fees) and have immediate access to your funds.  It’s also a great way to seamlessly collect, store and export your fans’ email addresses so you can send them a shout-out when you have a gig near their home turf.  It’s easy to use and truly free.

For musicians looking to take advantage of direct-to-fan sales and keep a bigger portion of that $.99 pie, I encourage you to check out Vibedeck. Lior has sent me a link for all the readers here at Gen-Y Rock Stars and this will also help Lior and his team know that you guys are coming in with the marketing and business smarts to use the platform (that means he experts more from you, lol)

Click here to check it out.

On another good note, VibeDeck just raised $2 million in funding, so don’t worry about them disappearing anytime soon.

Let me know what you think about VibeDeck in the comments below.

-Greg

P.S. If you have not watched our new presentation on the 5 Fatal Mistakes Every Indie Musician Makes, click here to register and watch it now!

Last summer over on Hypebot, I wrote out my summer reading list and as summer is kicking in full swing here in Florida I thought it was time to share what I have been digging into when I hit the beach.

Over the last 12 months my reading has really kicked up a notch. I am trying my best to knock out 2 books a month ranging on everything from the music industry to business, marketing, nutrition, travel and lifestyle. Some of my choices are obvious and run in the best seller category and some are diamonds in the rough.

I am going to do my best to share 5 titles that I think would be beneficial to musicians and those in the music industry, as that is what this site is all about. Also, just wanted to let everyone know that I have just signed a publishing deal with Celebrity Press to write in 2 of their upcoming compilation books, The New Masters Of Online Marketing and Win!. Both will be out before the year ends.

Top 5 Books To Help Indie Musicians This Summer While Spending Time Tanning

No BS Marketing To The Affluent by Dan Kennedy.

This book is changing my entire game. I have been getting heavy into marketing legend Dan Kennedy over the past few months and this book opened my eyes to a world we all know is out there but feel is too far away from us. The general idea is that by marketing to affluent customers, you can raise your prices, provide extreme value and be handsomely rewarded financially.

For musicians this may mean creating higher priced bundles, creating a market for exclusive private shows, creating music lessons for affluent students or looking for fans in more lavish neighborhoods. Check out the book on Amazon here.

The Pledge by Michael Masterson.

This book is really a look back at n incredible journey and an incredible life from one of the best direct response marketers on the planet. In the book Michael looks at the things in life that made him such a success and lays the blueprint for you to do the same.

I remember reading this book at night and jumping out of bed to find paper and a pen to do some of the exercises. That is powerful writing if it gets my lazy ass out from under the covers. Anyway, if you are looking for insights into an amazing career and more importantly a radically ambitious lifestyle, go pick this one up at Amazon.com here.

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max.

This one just came into my world and it’s a little shocking it took so long. I am usually onto these things. Anyway, the book is offensive as hell and I love it. I came from the college bar scene, spending 2+ years DJ’ing for the frat boys and sorority girls and witnessing first hand what Tucker tells in these stories of his.

The reason I think this book is important, more so than entertaining is to understand the mindset of young people. A lot of you are marking to this demographic and most of you get it wrong. By reading this book you start to see the lifestyles, the priorities and the budgets of the 18-25 year old crowd. Then you learn how to approach them. Picking up girls is very similar to networking, getting gigs and duh, the music industry. Go grab this best seller now at Amazon and laugh your ass of while getting a total education in the college kid psychology.

Work The System by Sam Carpenter

This book was recommended as a sort of prequel to Tim Ferriss’s 4 Hour Work Week. It goes along the same principles of working less and making more and I think musicians are really going to eat this up. The biggest thing holding most musicians back is time, or the fact that they think they don’t have enough time to dedicate to anything but making music.

Books like Sam’s and Tim’s open the mind up to explore what else is out there and what can be done when you create systems and apply them to your music career. It’s a quick read and looks good on the beach as your dream about your ideal musician lifestyle. Grab this one as well as Amazon.com.

Decoded and Empire State Of Mind

This indie musician summer reading list would not be complete without at least 1 music book reference. While I am not high on music industry books, most are outdated by the time they hit the bookshelves, these 2 deal with the bigger picture in an artists’ career, the other stuff beyond the music. That is what has made Jay-Z such a star, created staying power and created a half billion dollar legacy.

I loved Decoded as you get a first hand take on what made Shawn Carter. Empire State Of Mind takes a bigger look at the business man. Both are incredible reads and lay the real blueprint for making a career in the music industry, if you even want to call it that. Maybe it’s more of an entertainment empire. Either way, even if you are not an MC from Marcy, learn from this guy and how he has grown over the last 20 years. Find Decoded here and Empire State Of Mind here.

Just missed the list:

• The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss – loved and devoured it. I don’t think of it as exercise and diet, but the lifestyle I want and the way I love to feel.
• Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max – I just finished ‘Beer in Hell’ and this in next on the Kindle.
• No BS Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy – Another one of Dan’s books. This is next on the list for me in the marketing category.
• The Art of NonConformity by Chris Guillebeau
• Never Get A Real Job by Scott Gerber
• The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens
• Brewing Up A Business by Sam Calagione

I hope you liked this list, but really, I want to know about you. What books are you reading (fun or business). Leave your suggestions for others in the comments below.

-Greg

P.S. Just got this killer link from Jon @ MicControl with over 100 books recommended by musicians. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer. The link to all the books above are affiliate links for Amazon.com. If you buy something after clicking on one of those links I make a little commission.

I was browsing the Interwebs and came across an awesome article by indie piano rocker Matthew Ebel. So, doing as I do, I checked out his site.

After browsing and being highly impressed, I decided to show you some of what I consider to be great online music marketing strategies. So you get a nice, new 5 minute video that goes over everything from great content to joining mailing lists to how to add value to a fan membership.

Check out Matthew Ebel at the links below:

• http://matthewebel.com/ (music site)
• http://matthewebel.net/ (subscription site)

Music Marketing Tips From Matthrew’s Sites

• Add value to your fans without adding additional hard costs to you (at a minimum)
• Give away something of high value (Matthew gives away 5 free songs, no 1 or 2)
• Create calls to action when there are lulls in the action (thank you pages, etc)
• Don’t be scared to ask your fans for money

Let me know what you think of Matthew’s site in the comments below. Love to hear your thoughts on his subscriptions and his packages.

Talk soon,

Greg Rollett

P.S. If you want to learn more about adding value to your fans, signup for our new presentation on the 5 Indie Musician Mistakes. It will rock your world. Click here to register.

I wanted to try something and start sharing some of the important social media and online news that impact the indie music community. So here goes:

YouTube Launches Top 100 Music Chart

Nothing special here, and I still think We Are Hunted is light years more beneficial, but when the 3rd largest site on the ole Interwebs (according to Alexa) posts a music chart, it’s worth paying attention to.

The YouTube Music Video chart is a combo of official music videos along with viral videos and fan uploaded vids. You can check out the charts on the YouTube Music Page.

So here is the deal and what it means to you: these are the videos that people enjoy watching, that get spread through social media and go viral. You should look at how they are marketed, who the people commenting are, who the people pushing the videos are and then DO THE SAME. It’s about implementation baby! They also have it broken down by genre (Pop/Rock, R&B, International, Rap, Electronic, etc).

Damn The Radio Might Be The Coolest Thing Going For Fan Collection

If you have been reading this site for more than a few weeks, you know that I am an Aweber junkie. I recommend them, I get paid a good amount of money as an affiliate from them and I use them in my own business.

But…

FanBridge is just killing it right now. They really listened to the musician community and they know how and why we collect emails. And while they don’t have every direct response gadget in their arsenal, they get the music business and they get how to convert fans on social media. Their latest addition of Damn The Radio is sick.

On your Facebook “Welcome” pages you can collect email addresses without your fans even entering an email! It just integrates with Facebook’s API and BOOM you have a new fan on your list. It also comes with an insane FB Page builder where you can trade emails and ‘Likes’ in exchange for free music, videos or other cool stuff.

Anyway, I encourage you to check them out if you are looking for an email service.

Google (Finally!) Brings Music To Their Cloud

Amazon launched a nice cloud based music player and storage system a few weeks back and put pressure on Apple and Google. And…

Google strikes first. Check out this video from Chris at Google Music:

Learn more about Google Music here and request an invite from them here -> http://music.google.com/about/

Join us on Facebook!

Most of the time on this blog, I don’t pimp stuff going on in the music industry. Mostly because other people faster than me cover it and write better as a reporter. So over on Facebook I provide a ton of these links.

So go ‘Like’ us over there. Ask us questions. Share your tips and news. That would be awfully nice of you.

That’s all for today. In the comments below feel free to share your thoughts on these music industry news updates and share any other cool things, services and music companies that need to get pimped out.

Talk soon,

Greg Rollett

P.S. You should register for a wicked sweet 45 minutes presentation on 5 Fatal Indie Musician Mistakes. You are guaranteed to learn something. Click here and register now.

This past week I spent an amazing time speaking at an entrepreneurial mastermind meeting followed by a trip to the Kentucky Derby. I got suited and booted and so did my wife, with her oversized hat.

Jen and I with the winning ticket at the Derby

Anyway, during the mastermind meetings I gave a 2 hour presentation on running winning Facebook Advertising campaigns. During the presentation there were enough takeaways to fill more time than these successful business people have.

But here is the ironic thing. One of them, a very successful dentist (Inc 5000 company), came up to me and said,

“Hey Greg, that little tip you gave about looking on the pages of local associations was genius. While you were still talking I contacted one of the admins on a local Association page. Within 20 minutes they sent me an email asking if it was okay if they sent out an email to all their members about my practice. Thanks man.”

That is implementation. And that is why these people were so successful. They know how to process information and do something with it.

The problem I see so many musicians making is that they read blogs, they go to industry events and even get mentoring and coaching, but they never implement. They think they know everything. But here’s the problem…

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. When you see that something works, just buckle down and do it.

Case In Point

Last week I released a video on how guitarists can make some extra money. The video was packed with jewels (pat on the back, lol). The results. I had a number of emails saying,

“One day I’ll be ready to do the tabs thing”

or

“Affiliate marketing looks cool, maybe I’ll try it later”

Damn. I don’t make these videos, write blog posts and create best selling courses so you can do it later. I make them so you can get results in your music business. The difference between the band, or artist, that is playing sold out shows and making money and you is that they implement.

Someone tells them to do something and they do it. Simple as that.

Perfect example. A few months ago I sent an email to all the musicians on my list (if you aren’t signed up, go to the sidebar now and get down with the cause). In that email I told musicians that I had been testing new subject lines. I said to try curiosity and questions marks in your subject lines.

I had 3 musicians email me the next morning saying something like,

“Hey Greg, I tried sending a new email to my list with curiosity in the subject and I made some sales, thanks man.”

That’s it. Learn and implement. That is the secret sauce of the successful.

How are you implementing this week? Let me know in the comments below.

-Greg

P.S. I am going to have a killer webinar ready for everyone later this week on the “5 Things To Stop Doing In Your Music Business.” More details soon. Join the mailing list for the inside scoop.

Today I wanted to share a video I created for Guitar Alliance a few months back. It focuses on some of the different ways that you can make an income by playing guitar. It’s a little different than my usual videos, but it’s still packed with a ton of cool info.

Here is my question today. If you are a guitarist, or play a different instrument, how can you personally use these strategies to start making some side income? What are some other strategies to make money as a musician?

Let’s talk in the comments below.

-Greg

In today’s video we go over what is the cause of much stress in a musician’s career. After your album launches.

You see, the thing that always happens is that you focus all of your attention and efforts on generating buzz for the day your album comes out. Then you have a good few days or maybe even a good few weeks, but eventually (and usually suddenly) the sales and the buzz just stops and fans are “on to the next one.”

Check out the video below to learn more about the curve and how to systematize your music business to do whatever you can to avoid it.

Let us know what you think of the video below and how you plan on avoiding the “curve.”

-Greg

P.S. Are you a member of the New Music Economy? Check out what Quiet Entertainer said about the program,

“I gotten over 113 new emails after taking Greg’s advice by using a squeeze page. My emails are averaging a 65% open rate instead of about 25%. I actually have made sales while sleeping instead having to hustle the streets selling CDs, thanks to the system I set up which I learned from the New Music Economy.”

What can this system do for your music business? Learn more and sign up here today.