| Copyright © 2009 Pace Entertainment Group. All rights reserved |
| Top Mistakes Artists Make 1. Spend all your money on producing a CD, book or portfolio and have zero dollars to market it when it is finished. Worse yet, wait until it is done to market it – good marketing starts 3-6 months BEFORE it even hits the shelf. 2. Have no clear vision and operate on the principle “I just want to make it big”. No vision, no business plan will result in failure, you need business guidance and a solid marketing plan to make it big. 3. Think that playing live shows will make you money. When you perform live your merchandise is your "money maker" t-shirts, caps, CD’s, books, clothing line etc. will make you money. Until you get noticed, do not expect to get rich off your live performances. 4. Fail to hire a publicist or marketing company. A good business has to market its product and marketing costs money. You get a good return on investment by hiring a great PR and marketing firm. Most artists will hire a manager, producer, and booking agent and yet the one person that can get them out there and create a big buzz about them—they fail to hire. 5. Expect the public just to show up and know whom you are—you need a fan base and fans will not show up to hear and see you perform, buy your book or CD until you create a fan base. You can not create a fan base by only performing live...it is the other way around. 6. Set up a tour with no marketing “just to get noticed because someone will be in the crowd”. This is the quickest way to spend time and waste money just to play. A marketing plan must be in place to have a successful tour, including merchandise and press releases in advance of your tour. 7. Send in a 5 song demo CD with black marker of the name of your band on it with no lyrics, no graphics, no Artist “one sheet” and expect to get airplay or a record deal. Each radio station and record label has a set of requirements that must be met BEFORE your CD will even be considered to hit the player…without doing your homework, your CD will get tossed in the trash. 8. Refuse to get a professionally done and monitored electronic press kit (EPK) and expect that people will want to see your MySpace page or website only. EPK is the most common requested item in the ‘big leagues’. 9. Expect to make money with your music, art, acting, writing etc. without spending any money—the “Just Believe In Me Syndrome” . No merchandise to sell No EPK No Logo No swag No buzz No press No branding No hype No CD No image No real live photos No videos 10. Focus solely on the music. Most artists have no viable business plan in place and no business sense in general. |
