What Can You Do In 15 Minutes?
Have you ever been invited to "open" for someone or some specific event where you only have a very short time to present your ministry? Fifteen minutes or less isn't very much time, but if you know what you are doing it can be great.
Tom Jackson says there is a 2-step process for making your set list decision:
1. Ask yourself what kind of event it is. What’s the psychology of the audience?...
Let’s Grab Dinner
Finding ways to reach and make new fans is always a concern to any artist. Once you make a fan it's even more important to find ways to keep them.
Below you will find a great idea from Empower Your Ministry.
Here’s an idea: The next time you have a concert, tell everyone who comes by and maybe signs up for the mailing list that you are going to Cracker Barrel after you are finished loading...
Don’t Listen To The Press
The press is a good thing, but their are times when it is not a good idea to listen to them. When? When you start letting the press dictate what you think about yourself and what you do with your music.
You should never let anyone or anything have that much control over you and your dream. If you believe what the press says about you and your music you will begin to lose your own creativity.
don’t...
9 Ways To Ride The Digital Music Wave Free EBook
You really should check this out. It's impossible to ignore the importance of marketing your music online. This free e-book is definately a must read!
"9 Ways To Ride The Digital Music Wave" outlines the 9 ways to make the most of music online. The e-book covers a bundle of really important information including:
The nine questions to ask before you choose a digital distributor.
Three ways...
Marketing Priorities
David Rose of KnowTheMusicBiz.com has some great insight on Marketing Priorities for those in the Music Biz.
Get a Website – If you are serious about a career as a musician you should own a url that includes your name (or bands name) and have your own website.
Direct Commerce – Buying directly from a musician helps strengthen the direct to fan relationship. Direct commerce also provides...
Does Practice Really Make Perfect?
Practice! It's a word that either conjures up images of fun or frustration. If you are practicing something you really love it can be an exciting time. But, what about when you are practicing something difficult or something that is so challenging that you can't wrap your head around it? How do you motivate yourself to practice?
We all know that as artists, practice is essential to our craft. We...
What Makes Good Music Critique
There are many websites that offer critiques of your music. Some are helpful, some are simply entertaining opinions and even a few are more than critiques, but plain criticisms of everything wrong with Gospel Music.
We at The Zone believe that a good critique can be invaluable in helping the artist hone his craft. But what makes a good critique? We found the following list of things to listen...
New Music Business Models
Everyone involved in the music business knows that retail music sales are on the decline. Digital downloads, legally and illegally, have been one reason attributed to the problem.
Steve Allen of Square One Studio says there are five new methods of selling music that are currently being tested by artists and labels. These new methods include free music to a music tax.
He goes on to say:
Gospel...
Plan To Succeed
So you feel "called" to begin your music ministry, now what? Where do you go from here? How do you get started? If you believe that all you have to do is sit back quietly and God will send the right people to you then you might want to re-think your idea of being called.
Getting started will require some work on your part and the most basic of work begins with a plan.
1. Prayer. ...
Music Consumer
Chris Tomlin had this to say about the word consumer and how it relates in Christian Music.
"It's an interesting word in our times, consumer, in a sense of, that's one of the main issues in our day and time, and that's, Are we too much of consumers and ... not being the ones that are consumed? In worship, we're supposed to be consumed by God and not consumers."
Tomlin points out that, "It seems...
