the AMP - Issue 02

Author

PAUL SAUNDERS
August 02, 2023

“One thing I’ve learned is that I’m not the owner of my talent; I’m the manager of it.”
— Madonna"

In This Issue... You'll Get...

• RECOMMENDS — A couple of great ones: Don's Tunes and A History of Rock Music (in 500 songs)... And a reminder: The New Music Lives Group on Facebook.

• TALKABOUT — Q&A: "Am I too old to have a successful Singer Songwriter Career?"

• BACKSTAGE PASS — An explanation of how we do what we do for you and with who (or is that whom?).

• FEATURE Tip4 — It's a MONEYtizing Power Tool Beyond the Baksheesh

• PS from PS — The boss gets to rant about: Spotify Or Not.

Let's have at it...

• RECOMMENDS — A couple of great ones: Don's Tunes and A History of Rock Music (in 500 songs)...

— Don's Tunes
Don’s Tunes is about the music. It’s about the sound. It’s about the real thing, The 'Don' of Don's Tunes, Don Draper, wrote, "I’ve been collaborating with blues & jazz artists & labels for more than 10 years, helping them reach new audiences through my YouTube Channel, my curated Spotify playlists and the amazing community on my social media pages. My passion is to discover lesser-known, but extremely talented musicians and to promote songs with an audiophile sound and authentic emotion.”

Don (and his Tunes) is ’the real thing.’ Please check him and his out. This is an unsolicited endorsement. We haven’t met the guy. Yet. And we know what good is. In Don’s case, it’s Great!

Don's links:

— A HISTORY OF ROCK & ROLL IN 500 SONGS

No shortage of podcasts dedicated to music these days. Some focus on the contributions of individual bands, while others explore distinct music genres like rock, R&B, or pop.

Among the current GEMS (Really!) in the podcast universe focusing is Andrew Hickey's A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. Now in its fourth season— Episode 165: “Dark Star” by the Grateful Dead is the latest— this engaging series delves into the historical trajectory of rock music by fully recounting the story of one iconic song per episode.

One installment may dissect the genesis of "Heroes & Villains" by The Beach Boys, while another could delve into the deeper history of rock and roll, uncovering the story behind Jesse Belvin's 1959 hit, "Goodnight My Love."

Each episode of the podcast— lasting between roughly 30 to 90 minutes— is packed with an in-depth back-story, intriguing trivia, and obscure details about the featured song and the artists spotlighted in that episode. Hickey's meticulous and insightful analysis includes an exploration of the artist's background, the influences on the performer from other artists, and even a snapshot of the sociopolitical climate at the time the song was first recorded.

As an illustration, in the episode about Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," Hickey provides a comprehensive history of the band, which included members Stephen Stills and Neil Young. He delves into the circumstances that led to the birth of the song and scrutinizes how it eventually became a symbol of anti-war sentiment.

Culture Sonar’s John Visconti wrote: "The engrossing and thought-provoking episodes of A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs will have you reaching for your music collection, and giving many of your favorites another spin, albeit with a fresh perspective. Andrew Hickey’s comprehensive look at the songs that have defined the rock and roll genre is essential listening."

The podcast is at Apple and https://500songs.com/ where you’ll also find Hickey’s insightful liner notes and additional information about each episode.

AND... if you are as impressed with Mr. Hickey’s one-of-a-kind Rock treasure chest, you can support him and his work here: https://www.patreon.com/AndrewHickey

— The New Music Lives Private Group on Facebook.

Just a reminder to visit: https://facebook.com/groups/newmusiclives It's like The AMP on steroids. There are a ton of fun and useful ideas, resources, links, and more. Updated almost every day. And we're relocating it to our own platform ASAP.

• TALKABOUT— Q&A: "Am I too old to have a successful Singer Songwriter Career?

Q&A: "Am I too old to have a successful Singer Songwriter Career? This is John. I have an opinion about the answer to this question. But how about I stuff that and look to the research data for the answer?

The results of a number of extensive studies in the USA found that...

• The most productive age in human life is between 60-70 years of age.
• The 2nd. most productive stage of the human being 70 to 80 years of age.
• The 3rd. most productive stage is from 50 to 60 years of age.
• The average age of NOBEL PRIZE winners is 62 years old.
• The average age of the presidents of prominent companies in the world is 63 years. (BTW: Investor Warren Buffett is 92 years old. Charlie Munger, his 'right-hand 'man,' is 99.)

• The average age of the pastors of the 100 largest churches in the USA is 71.
• The average age of the Popes is 76 years.

Do you need more evidence (i.e.; solid data) that the best years of your life are between 60 and 80 years?

A “New England Journal of Medicine” study confirmed that at age 60, you reach the TOP of your potential and this continues into your 80s.

So... are you too old to be a successful Singer Songwriter?

No. Never.

NOTE: We liked this piece so much that we made a post of it in the NML Group.

• BACKSTAGE PASS — An explanation of how we do what we do for you and with who (or is that whom?).

Reversing the classic line from The Wizard of Oz, please... “PAY ATTENTION to the man behind the curtain." We're wanting you to understand what you're getting with a New Music Lives Membership (and more on that soon). And a bit of how we do that. We are passionately committed to Unlocking Your Creative Potential and Putting Success in Your Singer Songwriter Career. To achieve that goal, we've sought out the right high-tech and high-touch partners to work with that can provide the most advanced array of REAL practical and useful services, tech, tools, training, techniques, and resources to build your independent artist's business.

Couldn't you do this yourself? Honestly... No. It's taken years for us to assemble the tech to accomplish what we're offering.

NML is your creative business partner. And we've done the exact same thing for you we've been doing for ourselves— which is how we KNOW— not just think— what it takes to do it right for you). We've partnered with LightWork Digital, uber-developers of an all-in-one marketing-communications-management platform that's perfect for Singer Songwriters, because it streamlines all your career-building efforts into one easy-to-use digital solution. Here are some specific examples of how it will benefit you:

Time-saving: Instead of juggling multiple technologies, apps, and platforms to manage your social media, email campaigns, web chat and all the rest, the NML platform keeps everything in one place. So, you can spend more time doing what you love— creating and performing music.

Convenience: NML gives you a one-stop shop for all your business and marketing needs. You can easily manage your events, and online presence, keep track of your promo campaigns, offer your music in a variety of ways, have a merch store, and monitor your fan base all from one place.

Automation: With NML's unique workflows and automated systems, you can set up your app, build campaigns that run on autopilot, and connect with and grow your fan base... all leaving you more time to focus on creating new music.

Insights: NML provides both training and analytics and insights that give you a better understanding of your fans and true fans. You can see which campaigns are working, where your fans are located, and what type of content they engage with.

Cost-effective: With NML you don't have to pay for multiple subscriptions to different tech and platforms. All your marketing and management tools are under one digital roof, making it the most cost-effective solution.

We'll tell you more. Soon. But a quick question: Do you think all the above would be worth $1 a day...?

Not ready yet. Coming soon. VERY soon.

• FEATURE Tip4 — It's a MONEYtizing Power Tool Beyond the Baksheesh

Wait! What? Baksheesh... What's that? In parts of Asia and the Mid-East, it's a word (with many spellings) derived from Persian and means a small sum of money given as alms, a gratuity, donation, reward, or gift.

We did a recent survey asking Singer Songwriters what of all we're offering with NML Membership they value most. #1 was Tip4— the QR code-based app that enables people in your audience— online, offline, in a club, concert, or a street corner— to scan with their phone and send you a money tip of appreciation.

Yeah, we think it's great, too. BUT... and it's a very BIG BUT... More and most important is that Tip4 is a way to grow your Fan base and turn those Fans into TrueFans.

When they tip you, you retain their eMail— and we're working on their phone number, too, navigating some legal concerns— and that allows you to connect with them and keep on connecting. Our proven Success Formula is: Connect > Engage > Enroll.

They get a Thank You from you right away. Then, in a day or... They get a message turning them on to your latest song... An invite to your YouTube channel, Instagram,

Facebook page... Where you're performing next... A cool pic of you on stage— or your cat... Imagine the possibilities! We'll help you with ways to please your fans with the goal of becoming your TrueFans. Again: Connect > Engage > Enroll.

And TrueFans love you and your music, so they'll happily put their money where their ears are. They'll be willing to support you as patrons with $5, $10, $25 a month, and sometimes more. Just do the math. And KNOW this works!

If you build it they will come. And... You've got to BUILD it. Tip4 is a power tool to help you do that in a way that works for you.

• PS from PS — The boss gets to rant about: Spotify Or Not

I'm asked this all the time. My answer starts off simple, but then...

When you focus on Spotify who's business are you building, your or theirs? Yes, your music should be on Spotify and other streaming services. Exposure is a good thing.

Spotify is one of the many ways your music can be found. But... for 99.979 percent of Singer Songwriters that's all it is. Ever. The Spot gets 120,000 new songs a day.

I spoke to an artist the other day who was thrilled to achieve 50,000 streams in a month. I asked, 'So how are you going to spend that $200?' Wait! What? $200... She was shocked. Let me lay it out for you. With the Spotify rate at $0.004 per stream... (it can vary from $0.003 to $0.005)

50,000 = $200
100,000 = $400
250,000 = $1,000

400,000 = $1,600. That's more than 13,000 streams a day. Over 500 streams an hour. Which is 10 streams every minute, every hour, every day, every month.

I'm guessing you got into music to make more than minimum wage— that's $1,600 in most states in the USA.

Let's say your income target was $50,000 a year— the US average full-time worker's salary. That's approx' 30 streams every minute, every hour, every day, every month.

So... Spotify... Yes. Do it for exposure to new listeners. But it's NOT the way to have listeners become fans, and then become TrueFans. And remember, 1000 TrueFans can and should deliver up to $100,000 a year for you. Beats minimum wage for sure!

Focus on the right things to focus on. Go where the money is. As marketing guru Seth Godin (who's a big fan of 1000 TrueFans) puts it, 'Turn a stranger into a friend and a friend into a customer.'

Listener (stranger) > Fan (friend) > TrueFan (customer/supporter). It's what works and NML will help you work it.

• FEEDBACK JACK (and Diane)— Tell Us What You Want Most

If you don't know the John Mellencamp song, tap here: https://youtu.be/h04CH9YZcpI

NML's the AMP is FOR YOU. Like it? Love it? Tell us why. Don't...? Tell us that, too We want to know what you want. What can we do to make it better? Again... FOR You!

Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback. And remember, all Issues of the AMP are posted in the Private Group: https://facebook.com/groups/newmusiclives

It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time.

Paul Saunders