Guest Blog: How to Stand Out

How To Stand Out: A Guide to Getting Discovered as a Musician

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When you’re a musician, there’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing your hard work come to life on stage, in a recording, or on screen. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle of a saturated industry, but there are tips and tricks that can get you discovered. Here are some of the many music fields to consider, designing a brand identity, getting email subscribers, and more. Let’s get you on track to making a name for yourself!

Choose A Field

The first step to getting discovered is to understand the different fields in which you can build a music career. Some of the most common include:

• Performing live

• Recording and releasing music

• Composing for film and television

• Working in music education

• Collaborative songwriting

Once you’ve identified the right field for you, take time to research and understand the industry trends and adjust your goals accordingly.

Write A Business Plan

It’s essential to approach your music career as a business if you want to build a name for yourself. Writing a business plan will help you define your goals, target audience, and budget. It will also help you identify potential challenges and come up with strategies to overcome them. You can find numerous templates and resources online to go to through the process of creating your business plan. Or, you can reach out to a music business coach or consultant for guidance.

Create A Brand Identity

With a firm business plan in place, you need to create a brand identity that reflects your style and goals. This includes developing a logo, choosing a color palette, building a website, and maintaining a consistent social media presence. Your brand identity should be professional, visually appealing, and consistent across all platforms. Be sure to focus on the quality and relevance of your content rather than the number of followers or likes you have. Designing a logo for your music business is crucial to building your brand and establishing a visual identity for your company. Consider the colors you choose, as they can have a significant impact on how your brand is perceived. Color tones like blue and green are often associated with calmness, security, and reliability, making them an excellent choice for conveying stability or professionalism. Warm colors, such as red and orange, are connected with energy, excitement, and passion. Factor in your musical style(s) when considering colors. Selecting the appropriate colors and creating a well-designed logo will help your music business stand out from the competition and establish a strong visual identity that customers will remember!

Use Social Media Strategically

Social media is a powerful tool for getting discovered in the music industry. But it’s essential to use it strategically to reach your target audience and engage with them authentically. Choose the right platforms based on your goals and target audience, and create and share high-quality content regularly. You’ll also need to interact with your followers while using hashtags and analytics to measure your performance. The key is to be consistent, authentic, and creative at every step.

Build An Email List

Email marketing is another effective way to build a name for yourself. The ultimate goal is to build an email list of fans and followers who have given you permission to contact them. You can use your list to promote your music, tour dates, merchandise sales, and more. Remember to provide value to your subscribers by offering exclusive content, giveaways, and discounts. You can also use email marketing tools like Constant Contact or Mailchimp to automate and personalize your campaigns.

Wrapping Up

It’s challenging to get discovered as a musician, but putting in enough hard work, dedication, and strategy can drastically improve your chances of success. Implementing tips like writing a business plan and creating a brand identity will help you set the stage for a blossoming career that flourishes long-term. Just don’t forget to stay true to your authentic self, and focus on creating quality content that resonates with your target audience.

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Big thanks to Charles Carpenter of Healing Sounds for this great guest blog!

Guest Blog: Musical Tips To Help Your Child

Utilize These Musical Tips To Help Your Child Practice Self-Care

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Self-care can be hard to come by these days, especially for young people. The pressures of social media, school, and their peers can be overwhelming at times and can keep kids from being able to relax, recharge, and let go of stress or anxiety, yet being able to do so is an important part of maintaining their mental health. One easy thing you can do to help your child practice self-care is to help them get involved in a musical hobby. Playing an instrument, singing, and even writing music are all great ways to help a young person boost their self-esteem while resetting for the coming week. Today, we offers some ways music can be a source of self-care for the child in your life.

Make Some Changes

In many families, when one person is stressed, everyone in the household feels the effects. If your job is creating negative feelings that you bring home at the end of the day, this can trickle down to your child and take a toll on their mental health or their ability to practice self-care. The good news is, you can make some changes at work that will help you feel better throughout the day, such as staying on top of your health by drinking lots of water and eating protein-packed snacks to keep your energy up.

 You can also make sure your attitude toward your own abilities isn’t holding you back; perfectionism can leave you feeling overwhelmed or stressed, and your child may apply that same attitude toward their music skills. A healthy blend of optimism, affirmation, and realism help maintain motivation and ensure a positive experience for everyone involved.

Get Involved

Another great way to be a positive role model in your child’s life is to get involved with their musical interests. You might sign up for a class alongside them and learn to play the same instrument, or help them practice each day. When a parent shows interest in their child’s hobby, it can help boost their enthusiasm and keep them motivated. Not only that, it will allow you and your child to spend more quality time together, which will have a healthy effect on their confidence.

Encourage Reflection

Aside from raising self-esteem, playing music has many advantages for young people, from helping to boost their math and social skills to allowing them to express themselves emotionally. Encourage your child to utilize their music time wisely by using it to create “quiet” time for themselves, or time to reflect, focus on their breathing, or even meditate. Kids of all ages can benefit from having this time, and by connecting it to their music, they’ll associate positive feelings with their hobby. Have your child practice meditating at night before going to sleep; once they get the hang of it, they’ll be able to use it anytime, anywhere, in order to calm down and reset after a long day.

 Therapy is another option worth considering – especially once you debunk the notion that seeking professional help is a bad thing. Also, these days, professional help can be sought online from the safety and privacy of the home. In terms of how much you should expect to pay, you can get a weekly session for $149 or a single session for $169.

Allow Them to Get Creative

Once your child is familiar with their instrument and is comfortable expressing themselves, encourage them to get creative and write their own music or lyrics. Provide a journal or music sheets so they’ll have the tools they need. People of all ages can benefit from writing, and this is a form of self-care that most kids will see as fun. You can also provide other types of creative toys and tools, such as building blocks or art supplies. Sometimes, branching out into other areas can awaken inspiration.

 Helping your child get involved in music is a wonderful way to teach them how to handle stress and manage their emotions. Make sure you get their input when it comes to choosing an instrument; after all, it should be a hobby they enjoy rather than a chore.

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Big thanks to Charles Carpenter of Healing Sounds for this great guest blog!