Carla Lynne Hall is a singer, guitarist, and music marketing consultant based in New York City. Her mission is to make music, and share her knowledge with other musicians. As a singer/songwriter, her musical style has been described as "Norah Jones meets Sade for tea on their way to visit The Beatles". For almost twenty years, she has toured the globe as a singer/songwriter, and professional vocalist.
Carla
has has spent a number of years behind the scenes in the music
industry, in music publishing, management, publicity, and radio
promotion. She is the author of The DIY Guide to the Music Biz and
Twitter for Musicians. Carla also writes a monthly newsletter, The Soulflower .
To be an indie musician requires an entrepreneurial mindset, and the latest edition of Ariel Hyatt’s Music Success in Nine Weeks
promises to “supercharge your PR, build your fanbase and earn more
money”. As that may sound like a fabulous claim, many indie musicians
may wonder if the book can live up to its promise.
In
my own career as an indie musician, I have learned to be mindful of my
business goals. To stay on the top of my game, I read A LOT of books on
the music business. While some music biz books are filled with contract
mumbo jumbo that require translation, others are total fluff, offering
pie-in-the-sky promises that don’t show the reader how to get results.
Thankfully, Hyatt’s Music Success in Nine Weeks teaches actual strategies that can be put into use immediately.
As
the founder of Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR, Ms. Hyatt could easily
have written a thinly-veiled promotion piece for her music publicity
services. Instead, her book is an easy-to follow nine-week program that
teaches musicians how to promote themselves, without any self-promotion
hype.
Week 1: Getting Mentally Prepared
Before jumping into the program, the first chapter of Music Success in Nine Weeks
program is all about setting goals, and getting into the right mindset.
Ariel acknowledges that the music business is not for the lazy or
weak-hearted, and that creating realistic goals will create the correct
mindset for success.
Week 2: Your Perfect Pitch
Week
2 teaches how to create an elevator pitch: a description of your music
that you can easily repeat in the time it takes to travel one floor of
an elevator to another. The best music pitch is easily memorable, and
can be used again and again.
Week 3: Optimizing Your Website
In
order to attract new fans, a bands’ website must do more than simply
play music clips and advertise the next gig. The best music websites
compel fans to join your fanbase. Week 3 offers practical suggestions
for how your website can become a marketing machine.
Week 4: Social Media For Musicians
As
Ariel herself coined the phrase “Cyber PR”, her expertise of using
social networking sites to connect with music fans is obvious. The
power that sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter hold to build a
global audience has grown exponentially. Week 4 of Music Success in Nine Weeks defines "Web 2.0", and shows you which social media sites a musician needs to create an online presence.
Week 5: Blogging
When
the internet first gained popularity, having a static website
containing your music, photo, and bio was enough. These days, having a
blog on your website enables you to show your personality, connect with
other bloggers, and also be found by search engines. Week 5 explains
the importance of having a website that updates frequently so that your
fans can return to your site, and connect with you.
Week 6: Connecting with Fans Via Your Newsletter List and Conducting Surveys
In
my opinion, most band newsletters are selfish, self-promotion emails
that aren’t worth opening. Because of this, Week 6 stresses that a band
newsletter should be used for more than blasting out the dates for your
next gig. Instead, your newsletter can be used to nurture your
relationship with your fans. Once your have their trust, you can also
reach out to them to ask them what they want from you. It's a lot
better than guessing.
Week 7: How to Build Your Mailing List
Once
you have an email list, it's also important to add more names each
month. Week 7 shows you tips and tricks to grow a healthy fan email
list.
Week 8: Real Live Networking Tips
In
addition to having an online presence, it is still important for
musicians to meet people offline, and make connections with them. Week
8 teaches you how to make an authentic connection in person.
Week 9: Creating a Continuum Program
As enlightening as the rest of this book is, in my opinion, Week 9 of Music Success in Nine Weeks
is the high point of the book. Once you build your fanbase, and have
permission to contact them regularly, it's time to get your fans to
purchase merch from you on a regular basis. Whether it's CDs, t-shirts,
or any other kind of band swag, creating a product line will make the
difference in your band's bottom line.
Another bonus of purchasing Ariel Hyatt's Music Success in Nine Weeks
is that you get free lifetime membership to Ariel's closed online
Mastermind Forum. In the forum you meet other musicians like yourself
who are working the program, and you have the added support of Ariel
and her staff.
There
is no lack of book titles in the indie music business help section, as
well as the musicians who buy them. However, in the case of Ariel
Hyatt's Music Success in Nine Weeks, this book’s true power is teaching you that you can increase the level of your success.
But it’s up to you to follow through.
