This is an excerpt from our e-book Online Grind, Hip Hop Directory
Some artists will never know why they aren’t getting their music submissions accepted, or why they never receive a reply. A large percentage of them make some very avoidable mistakes. After running a blog for over 3 years, these seem to be the most common…
1. Bad Subject Headings:
Artists, when sending music via email, often put very bad titles into the subject heading of their messages. If you haven’t established a personal relationship with the recipient, a simple subject heading like “music submission” is usually enough to tell the receiver what the nature of the email is.
Subject headings like. “CHECK THIS OUT!!” or “NEW RELEASE” mean nothing to a recipient who doesn’t know who you are.
In an attempt to offer more reader feedback to artists and to help give more of them a better opportunity to be posted, we are adding another day of independent hip hop music. Fridays will become a listener feedback day where they can chose whether or not the music they’ve listened to, or video they’ve watched is “Hot” or “Not”. There will be rating buttons on each post, and list of the highest rated posts displayed on the blog.
I’ll continue to post my select picks every Wednesday, but all new music submitted will be first considered for Hot or Not Fridays.
As the widely respected and well connected CEO of Total Access Talent, Melissa Sessoms is a veteran with some of entertainment’s biggest artists at her fingertips. Formerly a publicist at Sessoms PR she has advanced into the booking realm.
Lola Sims: Tell us about Total Access Talent?
Melissa Sessoms: Formerly Sessoms PR, Total Access Talent, Inc, is an international celebrity procurement and communications firm with limitless capabilities we are multi-lingual and the bottom line is, we get the job done! At Total Access Talent, Inc, success is the standard by which we operate; as we help our clients reach and maintain key milestones. Our clients not only benefit from our expertise and execution, but they also enjoy success based on the results of our efforts—from the ground upwards, we are with our clients every step of the way!
Through our personalized approach, we are committed to client needs leaving no stone unturned. Our mission is to create relevant, “buzz-worthy,” meaningful opportunities for our clients in order for them to attain the visibility they seek; while propelling them to Read the rest of this entry »
For the past few months, my team and I have been researching to build a database of resources that support independent hip hop artists. Searching for blogs, Internet radio stations and DJs that truly support your music can be exhausting. So I wanted to create a vetted list of those resources into an e-book directory. That directory will be called, Online Grind.
I looked around and noticed that there was no directory that catered specifically to our genre, and none of them contained a listing of Read the rest of this entry »
After many conversations with experienced and talented producers and various hip hop artists, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are several parts to the act of pursuing music. However, performing is only one piece of the puzzle for aspiring, and already made, musicians. Yet it seems to be an overlooked task. What attributes to it not being taken seriously, or considered at all, is the hard task of booking shows.
But, before you take the time and work necessary to book a show, it’s crucial to understand the elements of performing. Thrown in with basic expectations such as knowing your lyrics, timing, and on-point breath-work are extra bits and pieces One part, possibly the basis, is feeling the music, being in the moment . The next part is Read the rest of this entry »
Artists today are looking for and experimenting with alternative ways to diversify their income. Most of these ideas fall under the umbrella of what is called “branding”. This word means different things to different people depending on who you ask in the industry. To me, it’s simply expanding your influence by becoming a symbol of an idea or movement, and nothing bonds fans together with this idea better than a logo.
Artists who have successfully accomplished this, benefit greatly when attaching their logo to their own merchandise. Sometimes a logo can become more symbolic and Read the rest of this entry »
Onesheets used to serve the primary function of informing distributers about your new release. Now, onesheets can be very useful tool when also contacting promoters, labels, Djs, booking agents, and the press. When done right, these condensed press kits can create a great first impression.
Here’s a example of a well organized artist onesheet.
VibeDeck is a service that provides a simple way to sell your digital music directly to fans. What’s so great about this is the fact that they take no cut of your sales. The service is completely free and they promise to never charge for it in the future nor add advertising to profile pages. VibeDeck handles the commerce transaction via Paypal, so the only thing you pay is PayPal’s service charge. Upon first glance, VibeDeck looks a helluva lot like Bandcamp, another service that I have high praise for. VibeDeck is easy to use and it’s pretty straight forward when it comes to jumping in and getting a page set up. They’re still developing new features to help enhance the Read the rest of this entry »
Building a fan base takes more than just having good music. People can connect to a great song and not give a shit about the artist who made it. Listeners like to connect to an idea, an experience…a personality. It’s not essential that you use social networks like Twitter and Facebook, but if you’re going to use them, use them to magnify Read the rest of this entry »
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