5 Music Marketing Tips EVERY Musician Can't Live Without! 1. Say Something Seriously, there is a massively huge world out there. In case you didn't get the memo, the economy sucks, people around the world are starving to death, corporations are raking in billions, and the media keeps shoving expensive crap down our throats.  So say something. Don't waste your talent, whether its in music, or art, or writing, or math, or whatever. Don't waste it. Use it. And make a freaking difference.  Musicians, there are thousands of songs out there about dum tweeny bop crushes and partying. Are we really that lame? There are tens of thousands of string quartets, thousands of symphonies, and tens of thousands of piano solos. Is that what we are about? Tiny little notes on scraps of tree bark?  Make a difference with your music, your art. Change the world one note at a time.  2. Get with the program. Which program? Garageband, Audacity, Acid, Fruity Loops, Cu...

Music Technology - The Great Democratizer Technology is the great Democratizer. If I don't want someone to judge me based on my appearance, gender, or age, I can create a new avatar, an identity, all linked to a valid e-mail account and website which tout my achievements without giving away a single personal detail. I can contact someone across the ocean (or even just two blocks away) via text or FB or Twitter, collaborate on a project, distribute it, and never have to meet a living, breathing soul.  What is beautiful about this? If you, or you, or you want to create a great piece of art, whether it is music, or visual art, or an ebook, all you have to do it create it and hit SEND. It doesn't matter if you are ten, or twenty, or one hundred and ten. It doesn't matter if you speak Spanish, or Mandarin, or Arabic. If the music is good, if you know what you are doing, you can share your creations with the world.  Even if your music is bad, someone is bound...

Consumers are increasingly craving relatable content to guide their purchases, and they look to social media and digital creators for their inspiration. A retailer's relationship with those content creators, who have the power to reach consumers and make real connections, is a crucial part of getting their message heard by the right audience. rewardStyle President and Co-Founder, Amber Venz Box, will highlight how the landscape of digital influence has evolved over the years becoming a pillar in key marketing strategies that shape consumer engagement and brand loyalty. Subscribe:  http://www.youtube.com/user/sxsw?sub_... About SXSW: Started in 1987, South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of film, interactive, and music festivals and conferences that take place early each year in mid-March in Austin, Texas. SXSW’s original goal was to create an event that would act as a tool for creative people and the companies they work with to develop their careers, to bring together p...

Music Marketing 101 explains easy ways for musicians to use social media like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and more to create a strong web presence and market their music. Created by award-winning composer Sabrina Pena Young. If you enjoyed this video, please rate and SUBSCRIBE! Sabrina Pena Young http://sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com/ Award-winning composer Sabrina Pena Young's works have been performed throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas in venues like the Beijing Conservatory, the Holland Animation Film Festival, the NY Independent Film Festival, Miramax's Project Greenlight, Art Basil Miami, and countless festivals worldwide. Last year Young gave an inspiring TED Talk on Online Collaboration and the Arts at TEDxBuffalo about her "groundbreaking" and "EPIC" sci-fi film Libertaria: The Virtual Opera, created entirely online using machinima. Libertaria the Virtual Opera: https://virtualopera.wordpress.com/ Young recentl...

Are You Brave Enough for the #BoycottTRUMP #FACEBOOK Challenge? In a desperate attempt to  ‪#‎ BoycottTrump‬  and any other political stupidity, I am experimenting with "hiding" articles that are ridiculous, false, and divisive and seeing what happens.  This does not mean I am ignorant, since I am actively seeking news stories from reputable stories (I AM a media prof after all), but it does mean that I am less likely to be manipulated or get pulled into "discussions" (really arguments and hatemongering) that have their basis in anger and hate, not truth and bettering our society.  I encourage everyone else to do the same.  SO HERE IS WHAT YOU DO: UNFOLLOW any Facebook or social media feeds obsessed with angry political posts  HIDE 5 Trump related Articles  EACH DAY from Facebook and social media feeds AVOID engaging in controversial discussions BLOG your well-informed political thoughts instead of shouting on social media SHARE with...

Today you have a choice. You can be bombarded by anger on Facebook and social media or you can choose to live your life without hate speech . How can you do this? We all have them on our Facebook, Twitter , and social media feeds. Friends, groups, and politicians posting angry memes and hate speech each day. But you don't have to listen to this anymore. All you have to do is UNFOLLOW. We don't want to lose our friends over differences. Then we'd just be lemmings, or clones. And who wants to be a lemming? Not me. But we can choose to UnfollowHate speech today. So next time a friend or politician or group posts up something that you know is hateful and untrue, go to their page and UNfollow them. This way you can save your friendship and stop the abuse. Because you have better things to do with your time than be a part of the hate. #UnFollowHate @dalatindiva http://sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com/ Related articles Reference: Two Interactive ...

Innovative Composer of today use social media, crowdsourcing, video chat, Second Life, and more to create new exciting works. Learn about the works of Pauline Oliveros, Eric Whitacre, Alex Shapiro, Matt Pittsinger, Lee Scott, and more. Sabrina Pena Young sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com WATCH THE FULL VERSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JJ9b3CYsqs Crowdsourced Opera? Machinima Musicals? Telematic Performances? The 21st Century composer explores new technology to create innovative works in this EXCITING short documentary by futurist filmmaker and award-winning composer Sabrina Pena Young. Works of Pauline Oliveros, Alex Shapiro, Robert Voisey and 60x60, Lee Scott's The Village Opera, Opera by You, Eric Whitacre, and More. OFFICIAL COMPOSER WEBSITE: http://sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com/ ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE: https://www.scribd.com/doc/262447249/Music-Documentary-The-Opera-Heard-Round-the-World-Internet-Collaboration-and-the-21st-Century-Compo...

Composer Lee Scott On May 1, 2015 UK Composer Lee Scott's innovative web opera The Village will break boundaries Be a Part of the The Village! http://www.thevillageopera.com/ An Interview with Lee Scott 1. Three words to describe your music: Collaborative, reflective, voice-driven  2. Who are your influences? I'm a guitarist first and foremost, so i'd name such figures as Chet Atkins , Frank Zappa , Brian May, Wes Montgomery , Django Reinhardt as influences. Jazz song convention and harmony certainly seems to find its way into my work one way or another, as can be heard in the many of the vocal lines in The Village. In terms of composers, I'm been drawn to music with an emotional underpinning, so works by Debussy, Puccini, but i'm also interested in dadaism and indeterminacy in a musical context so i'd include Satie, Stockhausen, Pousseur as loose inspirations. My everyday listening features Radiohead, Carpark North (Danish elect...

Looking for Artists, Bands, Writers for New Music Artist Spotlight Series If you are interested,  please answer the interview questions below  (feel free to adapt the questions to your personal style), links to a professional quality graphic, album links and short bio (100 words) and send to penayoungmusic[at]gmail[dot]com. Please realize that by doing the short interview, that I will be posting it to blogs and social media (ex. Linked In , wordpress, rebelmouse, Twitter , Facebook , etc.) over the next year. Because of the usual response for these, I cannot reply to each interview individually, but I will let you know when your interview is published. Not all interviews will be selected.  The focus of the blog is Contemporary Music , but this also can include research on traditional music or a new take on traditional music. If you are an author or musicologist with a new book, feel free to adapt the questions to your field. I would like a broader mix this...

So how important is social media for the musician today? Well, to be honest, many  musicians underestimate the power of social media while other musicians have a tendency to rely solely on the power of the Internet. However, the reality is that musicians need to balance their use of social media marketing and one on one interaction with their fans. For example, you might have the most amazing band on the face of the planet. But if your only audience member is your grandmother then there really is no point to your band other than making Nana happy (not a bad goal, but probably not what you are shooting for).  Now what could a musician do to enhance his or her band web presence?   One thing you could do is a simple GarageBand recording. Get a digital recorder or a laptop or a tablet, even your smartphone, and record the band playing. Then use one of many free web hosting sites to create a simple band page. Shoot a couple selfies of the band or put up a video of...