Audible Hype: World Around Records Launches, Advice from Legends, DIY Music Promotions

• World Around Records Goes Beta, Seeks Feedback from YOU

• Sample Law and Music Business Advice from Hip Hop Legends

• How to Save Time & Get Better Results Promoting Your Music

• How to plan a hip hop album release and promotion campaign
  

MakingTheMogul.com: From a Fraud Alert to Personal Business Insights

• MUSIC BIZ FRAUD ALERT: Antoine Keane a.k.a Dominic Edmonds

• You Can Try, But You Can’t Steal A Network

• Mind Your Email Manners

• Video Games Becoming More Lucrative For Musicians

• Why I Decided To Close My Business

Future of Music Coalition on Music 2.0 Business Models

Music 2.0 Business Models (part 1)

Kristin Thomson, Education Director for the Future of Music Coalition, narrates a lengthy slide presentation that I have not yet had the time to check out thoroughly but which seems to cover a lot of useful ground.

Music 2.0 Business Models (part 2)

There are also related charts in .pdf files that include "Examples of New Business Models in Music" and "How to get your music into digital music services."

Music 2.0 Business Models (part 3)

This may sound pretty basic, and it is to some degree, but I've generally found that a solid, thorough overview of the basics can be useful even to those folks already immersed in emergent settings as a way to step back and remind ourselves of the big picture as well as of our own biases regarding where best to focus time and energy.

I've also found that the world is full of blowhards, usually male, who will sit in meetings or comment online as if they know it all but if you ask them about really basic things, you discover they have no real foundation.  And that's a powerful thing to understand.

Music 2.0 Business Models (part 4)

Bonus:
If you're really into the topic of business models, you might find Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers of interest

You can check out this lengthy preview in .pdf or see lead author Alexander Osterwalder present on the topic of Business Models as a Tool for Success.

Music Career Insights: David Nevue, Bruce Houghton, Celldweller, Deirdre Breakenridge

• David Nevue - Building a Music Career Online | CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast

• Bruce Houghton - Blogging the future of music | CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast

• Celldweller - Building your own brand | CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast

• Roundtable - Where have all the A&R guys gone? | CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast

• Public Relations Has Changed Forever - Part 1 | The Urban Plug - Cyber PR Urban

• Web 2.0 Strategy - Part 2 of Ariel Hyatt’s interview with Dierdre Breakenridge | The Urban Plug - Cyber PR Urban

Connecting w/Fans, Direct to Fan Techniques, iTunes 9.0 Music Marketing

• Connecting with Fans and Giving them a Reason to Buy | Music Business and Trend-Mongering

• Direct to Fan: Creating an Effective Offer Page and Fan Acquisition Techniques | Music Business and Trend-Mongering

• Music Marketing in iTunes 9.0 | Music Marketing - Gen-Y Rock Stars

  
  

Strange Music Street Team Shares Display & Placement Tips

Street Team: How-to 3D Displays & Placing in Stores

Scenario and Cross-Eyed Joe share some cool ideas and techniques.

If you're interested in joining the Strange Music Street Team, email:
streetteams@strangemusicinc.com

Audible Hype: Future of Music as Business, Slaughterhouse Album Sales, Hip Hop Producers

• Big Open Questions about the Future of Music as a Business

• The Raw Numbers on the Real Music Business in 2009

• What Slaughterhouse Album Sales Really Mean for Hip Hop

• dumate Producer and MPC Player Man Mantis Talks Tech & Beats

• Advice from Some of the Best Hip Hop Producers Ever

  
  

Asher Roth on Jabari's #ArtistAdvice

#ArtistAdvice – Asher Roth

Asher Roth addresses a few basic questions for up and coming artists.

Audible Hype: Indie Hip Hop Industry Cheat Sheets

• Learn the Music Business from Living Legends & Veteran Pros

• Phillipdrummond Speaks on Juggling 10,000 Details at Once

• Must-Read Articles on the Business of Music in 2009

• Invincible: DIY Hip Hop, Community Activism, and DOPE RHYMES
  

• The Future of Underground Hip Hop is Overcrowded Like Whoa
  

• Running an Independent Hip Hop Record Label Post-Internets
  

Marketing Resource: Twitter 101 for Businesses

"Twitter 101 for Businesses", from the folks at Twitter, is getting a lot of attention right now as an introduction to Twitter.  If you're interested in using Twitter for marketing or just need a basic rundown on how Twitter works, it's definitely worth a look.

Staci J. Shelton: Using Social Media To Market Your Brand

Staci J. Shelton presents her in-depthtake on "Using Social Media Networking To Market Your Brand".

Official Site: Staci J. Shelton

The Best Time to Send Press Releases

Business Wire debuts a new podcast series, All Things Press Release, on their BusinessWired blog with a consideration of the question "When’s the Best Time to Send A Press Release?".

As we continue the move to a 24/7 web-fueled media game, this is definitely a worthwhile question. I'd give you the short answer but technical difficulties are currently undermining my consumption of streaming media! However, I heard enough to recommend checking it out.

Beastie Boys: Ill Communication Reissue Inspires Trent Reznor's Thoughts for New/Unknown Artists

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

The Beastie Boys' remastered reissue of Ill Communication with bonus disc is due July 14th.

In a widely noted post to his NIN forum regarding his "thoughts on what to do as a new / unknown artist",Trent Reznor praised the premium offerings developed with Topspin as an example of one piece of a larger approach:

"Part[n]er with a TopSpin or similar or build your own website, but what you NEED to do is this - give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people's email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell."

"Make the packages special - make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan. Make a premium download available that includes high-resolution versions (for sale at a reasonable price) and include the download as something immediately available with any physical purchase. Sell T-shirts. Sell buttons, posters... whatever."

Just don't sell your soul!

Available on iTunes: Beastie Boys: Ill Communication

Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique 20th Anniversary Edition
Topspin: On Making the Limited Deluxe Edition of Eminem's Relapse

Rolling Stone: Lil Wayne's Advice for Drake

Rolling Stone's Jayson Rodriguez [or an editor goosing the headline's subtitle] calls Drake the "hottest MC in the game". Whether or not that's true, he's certainly the most hyped at the moment and sometimes that's close enough to be the same thing!

A lot goes into getting that much hype and a superstar cosign isn't enough on its own but Lil Wayne's support has definitely helped. Here's what Drake had to say about Lil Wayne's advice:

"Wayne told me to just remember it's about your thoughts, you got to think about what you want to say beforehand...And then from there, you make it rhyme or you make it connect. But the more important thing is, What's your message, What's your point. And that should be the bare essentials of a line or a verse — what do you really want to say and what do you want to say about yourself?"

"I think he gave me that advice truly for me to set myself apart as a rapper...because I know Wayne sometimes raps for the sake of being a phenomenal rapper. And other times you'll get a song where he tells a story and gets personal. But when he gave me that advice it was almost like him giving me like a cheat code. Here, I'm gonna give you something; I'm gonna give you a piece and see what you do with it. And So Far Gone is what I did with it."

Simple? Obvious? Sometimes it takes the right person to say the simply obvious to get you going in the right direction.

Recently, I've been getting that most often from Seth Godin. Who do you get that from?

Getting Booking Agents to Take Your Act Seriously

Daniel Kohn considers the question, How Do I Get Booking Agents To Take My Band Seriously?:

"The best way to get booking agents to take you seriously is to ignore them, not worry about them at all and wait for them to eventually approach you...you’ll slowly start to realize booking your own shows until you can prove your value and pulling power might be the best way to go and ultimately you’ll be able to get agents to take you seriously."

Whether or not you take this advice literally, it falls in line with the general need to learn how to handle your business and build your public image yourself in order to bring something real to the table when you start dealing with outside business entities.