January 20, 2001

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Read the previous issue here:
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/zine/010802.html

=========== Recommended Resources ===========

197 PROMOTION TIPS FOR INDIE MUSICIANS
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/197.html
An incredible, new collection of ideas, tricks and resources you can start using right now to promote your music.

SELL MORE CDs & MERCHANDISE ONLINE!
www.bob-baker.com/cdstreet.html
Accept credit cards. No setup fee. It's fast, easy and reliable. The Buzz Factor has been using this very service for years. You should too.

GET 7 MUSIC BIZ SPECIAL REPORTS FREE ...
when you purchase the Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook, featuring hundreds of ways to thrive and prosper with your original music. Details at ...
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/music_marketing.htm

In This Issue:
- Zen and the Art of A&R
- Recording Contract Basics
- The Radio Payola Loophole

WELCOME!

Sorry I missed an issue last week. I've been battling a nasty cold/flu thing that had my head spinning like Mariah Carey at a Prozac convention. Fortunately, I didn't choke on any pretzels. Now that I'm back to the Land of the Semi-Living, it's time to crank up the Buzz machine and give you more of the music marketing tools you crave.

In addition to the topics listed above, be sure to soak up Joe Vitale's observation that life is like an episode of Star Trek. I agree with him. I hope you do too.

I'm going to go eat some pretzels now ... as soon as I can find someone who knows the Heimlich maneuver.

-Bob

P.S. If you downloaded a free copy of my special report How to Double Your CD Sales (in 90 Days or Less) some time ago, you might be interested in getting a newer version with clickable hyperlinks. To grab your copy, just point your browser to:
www.bob-baker.com/DoubleCdSales.pdf

============= Quote of the Week =============

"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance."
-George Bernard Shaw

========== Bob's Buzz Tips of the Week ==========

TAKE OFF THE SHRINK WRAP
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/4kittips.html
It may seem like a minor thing, but it does take some effort to pry off that impenetrable plastic that surrounds new CDs and cassettes. Imagine being pressed for time and having to wrestle with a dozen (or more) of these babies at one sitting. That's exactly what your media contacts and other industry people go through. Make it easier for people to get to your music ... and take off the shrink wrap when sending your promo kits!

RECORDING CONTRACT BASICS
"Find out how much you get paid for each record sold," writes Christopher Knab, regarding the Points/Percentage portion of a standard recording contract. "A new act usually gets somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the suggested list price of a recording. Remember too that out of your percentage, you must also pay your producer their percentage, for producing your record." Read more of Knab's contract pointers at www.knab.com/indieColumn.cfm

THE COMMERCIAL RADIO PAYOLA LOOPHOLE
www.latimes.com/business/la-000102387dec27.story
Money talks ... and sings a persuasive tune. If you thought payola was a thing of the past, read this article.

ZEN AND THE ART OF A&R
www.ascap.com/musicbiz/zen1.html
There's a widespread notion around the record biz that A&R people merely sign acts, pester department heads about those same acts and generally support the popular definition of A&R as "Airplanes & Restaurants." But there's much more to the A&R process than wining, dining, signing and whining. In order to clear up the misconceptions and provide an in-depth look at what these people actually do, ASCAP gathered four A&R pros together for an extensive and pithy roundtable discussion.

============= Promote Your Music =============

THE ONLINE MUSIC PR HOT LIST
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/music_pr.htm
101 places to submit press releases, get reviewed, uncover PR connections and promote your music on the Internet.

============ Ideas You Can Use ============

LIFE IS LIKE AN OLD EPISODE OF STAR TREK

Joe Vitale has been getting a lot of recognition lately for his new book, "Spiritual Marketing." For good reason. Here's an excerpt:

"I believe our planet is what was described in a 'Star Trek' television episode called 'Shore Leave.' When Kirk and his team land on a planet they begin to experience odd events. McCoy sees a huge white rabbit. Sulu sees an ancient samurai who chases him. Kirk sees an old lover and an old classmate. It finally dawns on the crew (thanks to Spock, of course) that they are on a planet that reads their thoughts and creates what they think about.

"I think Earth is like that planet. What you hold in your mind with energy and focus will tend to be created in your reality. It takes a little longer to experience results because we keep changing our minds. Imagine going to a restaurant and ordering chicken soup. But before it arrives, you change your order to won ton soup. And before that arrives you change your order back to chicken soup.

"You'll sit there and complain, saying 'I can never get what I want,' when in reality you are the reason your soup is late! Most of us do that every day. Our indecision makes manifesting what we want nearly impossible. No wonder you end up feeling that you can't get what you want."

Find out more about Joe's book and articles.

============= More Cool Resources =============

Turn Your Creativity Into Cash
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/28day.html

Branding Yourself Online
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/byo.html

Indie Music Contact Bible
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/icb.html

MusicMarketingBooks.com
www.musicmarketingbooks.com

How to Promote Your Music on the Internet
www.rainmusic.com/htpma/buzz.htm

FREE MP3 Audio Excerpts from Bob's Books
www.mp3.com/Bob-Baker

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