Category Archives: promotion

Your Band as Your Business: Promotion Tools

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Independent musicians often tend to think they can do it all, but the reality is that everyone needs help. Running a band like a business requires tools and outsourcing. Not only is it necessary to be a great musician who plays great music, but you’ll also need to promote yourself. This can be done in a number of ways, but an important one is building and nurturing relationships with fans. 

                   
Turning strangers into fans is your main goal. You can also achieve this through your social media profiles by interacting with followers. Those fans are the ones that are going to spread your music like wildfire and attend your shows with their friends. Commenting on their content is going to keep them interested in your work. You can also use these platforms to build excitement and momentum before releasing your singles and videos.

But, in order to be successful, you have to be in it for the long haul. Daily work of promoting, booking, designing posters and mercy, selling, and touring is all part of the game. To keep progressing, you need to leave time to write your music, of course. Setting up a promotions and marketing plan is going to allow you to focus on what you do: music. Pro Music Records can set you up with a Project Manager to keep your social media up and running by posting new content and attracting more fans. A website, blog and merchandise shop can also be set up so people have even more ways to find your music. Allotting some of your budget now to maintaining these crucial aspects of running your business will guarantee you success for years to come.

How a Music Video Can Make Your Career

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If you haven’t seen this music video for “Big Booty” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Iggy Azalea, you need to press play asap. This video is at 33 million plus hits and counting, and it only came out 5 days ago. Now not all the feedback is positive, but people are watching regardless. There’s a lot artists can learn from a video release like this one.

First of all, the ad at the beginning of the video is making J. Lo and her record label tons of money, but ads only come once you’re bringing in enough traffic. In other words, popularity can go a long way even if not all the responses to your content are positive (let the haters hate). That being said, however, you should absolutely strive to create relevant, engaging and high-quality videos. 
Though music videos aren’t necessarily played on network television like MTV anymore, that doesn’t mean you can’t leverage them to help boost your career. They can definitely make money on sites like YouTube and anywhere else they’re promoted, but more importantly they keep your fans interested in your work. Releasing content, from a full performance or narrative video to behind the scenes recording your new album, is just another way for you to reach out to fans. These videos can then be promoted on your social media sites, which gives them the possibility of going viral and you the possibility of becoming the next #1 artist. 

Brand Representation: Professional Photos & Headshots

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Whether you’re a musician, actor, dancer or model, image plays a key role in how people decide what to listen to and what to pass on to their friends. Your headshot is often the first impression fans and the press can get of you. That being said, your headshots, album covers, and social media photos are another way to help you communicate with the world. They need to support your music, website, tweets, emails, and songs to complete who you are as an artist and brand. A true, engaging snapshot can help portray your message and go a long way in attracting new fans and entertaining current ones. 
The first step? Hiring a professional. While more money doesn’t always translate into higher quality, investing something in your photos is crucial to generating revenue. You’ll make all your money back if you have the right image to captivate an audience!
Getting the right light to eliminate shadows and under-eye circles can be a lifesaver. Cloudy days make for more forgiving conditions and facing the light will place you in the spotlight. Artistic, vast landscapes as backdrops can also be great, but the focus ultimately needs to be on you as the star. 
Make sure the background of your photo matches your brand. For example, if your music is more folksy, look for something outdoors and vintage. If you’re a rocker, edgy streets and darker lighting can set the mood. Variety in both background and wardrobe can also be beneficial for having photos for different purposes while maintaining consistency in your brand.
Being comfortable (and happy) during a shoot is essential, so play around and don’t be afraid to try new things! Changing your focus or how you’re positioned (sitting, standing, etc.) can lead to awesome shots. And, once you pick your favorites, if something is off like the lighting or a stray hair, editing can fix all kinds of small details.
Pro Music Records & Entertainment Media has highly skilled photographers and all price levels to get you the photos you need. We work with your image and budget to find the right photographer, location and wardrobe for the perfect shot. Call 818.971.9301 for a custom quote or e-mail info@promusicrecords.com to set up a photoshoot today!

YouTube Fame: Still Very Real (And Very Relevant)

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We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Social Media is invaluable when launching your music career. The proof? A capella singer Peter Hollens has just been offered record deal after unleashing a series of other innovative covers via the internet. His YouTube channel has over 63 million views and features collaborations with other YouTube musicians. Now, Sony Music’s classical and crossover label called Sony Music Masterworks has signed Hollens, whose album will be released on October 28th. 
What we can learn from Hollens’s success is the importance of being visible, accessible and prominent on the internet. Your launching point? High quality videos. Using a good camera and editing can go a long way.
Additionally, the buzz that is created around your music can take you from unknown to #1 in just a matter of time (Vine star Shawn Mendes just hit #1 on iTunes in 37 minutes). Not only do you need to consistently be uploading new content to keep your fans engaged, but also communicating with them to build and maintain relationships. By being genuine and friendly, you can attract more and more people. That being said, you’ll want to watch and support other musicians or music blogs too. Spreading the love is an easy way to double your fan base.
Finally, tagging your videos with descriptive and specific key words will help you get found! Use words that are relevant to your content so viewers won’t be misled.
Having the tools to carry out these crucial steps can be the most challenging part of the process. Pro Music Records & Entertainment Media offers services for Video Production, Promotions and Marketing to produce and keep up with your social media presence. By taking advantage of Pro Music Records experts, you can rest assured that your fan base and video views will increase exponentially. We can even submit your music to record labels, radio stations, and other entertainment resources to further promote your music. Save time and money today by calling Pro Music Records at 818.971.9301 or e-mailing info@promusicrecords! 

4 Ways To Make Your Music Go Viral

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Dream Big, but Start Small. 
Instead of focusing on the endgame, which can be both daunting and discouraging, prioritize the steps you’ll need to get there. For example, you’ll probably have more success submitting to an independent publication than Rolling Stone, and more luck trying to get signed by a record label if you play outside your town/state. There are many steps you can take to launch your career and amongst them are building a solid website, advertising, optimizing your results on search engines and reaching out to music blogs. PMR has experts on each of these tasks to leave you more time to work on your music and make the process less overwhelming.

Know Your Competition. 
Make a list of competing bands or artists in your genre. Who motivates you? Who is getting sponsorships and airplay? Who is being interviewed? Then, understand why. If they have a stronger brand, it may be worthwhile to rethink yours by seeking consulting or brand development services. If they have better marketing, spend some time getting your name out. PMR can submit you to hundreds of the best internet resources for independent music and entertainment to drive traffic to your site.

Focus on Your Music as Your Business. 
Once your music is released, you are no longer just an artist, you are a business owner. Selling your music and personalized merchandise is your #1 goal. Entertainment professionals exist to help you succeed by marketing your talents, gaining publicity and spreading the word about your goods. 

Get Popular. 
Be everywhere for everyone and never underestimate the power of social media. Your music needs to be available on Rdio, Spotify, iTunes, CDBaby, YouTube, underground music sites and discovery platforms. Making money is great, but the more people can hear your music for free, the more likely they will be to purchase it, attend your concerts and talk about your talent. PMR can handle your physical and digital distribution as well as promotions on social media.
For more info, please contact Pro Music Records & Entertainment Media:
502 S. Verdugo Dr. Suite 204
Burbank, CA 
91502
Office: (818) 971-9301
info@promusicrecords.com




Using iTunes Pre-Order to Build Buzz: Digital Distribution

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When releasing a single or album, it is key to make sure fans know your music is out there so they can find it and purchase! By using an iTunes Pre-Order, you can build fan buzz and sales before your release even goes live. This buzz builds excitement quickly and can easily be spread by word-of-mouth, social media and other promotions.


At Pro Music Records, we handle all the distribution services for you, making it efficient and effortless for your music to be heard and generate revenue. To maximize sales potential, we suggest adding an iTunes pre-order 2-3 weeks prior to your release date. We can set up a pre-order with an iTunes “Buy” link, Instant Gratification tracks and special pre-order pricing. Any pre-order sales count towards iTunes chart positions, which can lead to greater exposure, profit and success. In addition to iTunes, we can set up your single or album on our website and our store, thegoodzonline.com.

Visit promusicrecords.com to learn more or call 818.971.9301 to get a quote on your distribution package today!

How a Professional Music Video can Make an Artist: Creation & Promotion

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We’ve all heard of it: the YouTube sensation who landed a huge record label because of a viral video. As ridiculous as it sounds, independent musicians putting up their music videos on YouTube and then becoming big time stars is more and more common in today’s world of digital media. And, with the release of MTV’s VMA nominations, it’s clear that interesting, unusual and well-made videos can do a lot for an artists career.

For example, Iggy Azalea, who is nominated for seven awards this year, released her video for “Fancy” featuring Charli XCX long after the song was released this past February. It took a month and half for the song to be recognized and debut on the Hot 100 chart, but this success can be greatly contributed to her music video, which went viral shortly after it was released on March 4th. The video now has 161.5 million views (and counting) and portrays the theme of the iconic movie “Clueless,”  which almost any listener in Iggy’s target audience can relate to. The Australian rapper is now one of the most talked about artists of the year.

A remarkable music video has the power to get an musician’s name out and be seen by the masses in a short period of time. It shows audiences who the artist is, how they perform, and how they want their craft to be portrayed. In addition to making a top-quality video, it is key to have a team that can promote your video to major labels, television networks, music blogs and potential fans. Without the right targeting, even the most professionally made videos can go unnoticed. That’s where we come in! Pro Music Records can not only write, produce and direct your next customized video, but push it to MTV, BET and VH1 amongst hundreds of broadband video companies and shows worldwide. Leave it to our team of experts to help you create a top-quality video that gets you noticed and recognized as a legitimate artist.


Business Strategies: Translating Social Media Popularity into a Career

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In an era of social media obsession, it seems almost senseless not to utilize these platforms to grow a business or brand. Some social media users have even more followers than celebrities (ie. teen idol Nash Grier has double the followers of Oprah Winfrey)! These users have leveraged their fame to generate income, receiving free products (clothes, food, alcohol, cosmetics, etc.) or invitations to exclusive events as long as they promote whatever it is they receive. These social media superstars all have one thing in common: using their popularity to launch a potential career.
Being virtually free of cost, social media is an ideal way to market a brand, especially since it holds the potential to reach broader audiences at a much faster rate. Updating all of these social media platforms or even a website can take up a ton of time, so when you are ready to build your own personal brand, it may make sense to hire someone to keep up with your posts. This can generate visibility and take advantage of online advertising capabilities. Here at Pro Music Records we offer services that guarantee social media popularity, increasing your likes, fans and followers. The more followers a profile has, the more chances it has to target potential customers. Today’s day and age requires that a new artist or brand maintains social media profiles and we can do that for you! Using entertainment marketing business strategies, we guarantee a certain number of real fans depending on your plan and less than 1% unfollow rate or your money back. Save your time and money and allow PMR to build your brand and increase your fan base by using social media promotions.

Pro Music Records & Entertainment Media 5th Year Anniversary (2007-2012)

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We are proud to announce the month of March marks the 5th year anniversary of Pro Music Records, Inc. On March 8th, 2007, Pro Music Records. Inc was officially incorporated. When we launched www.promusicrecords.com on our initial launch date December 1st, 2007, we never imagined the difficulties we would face, or the amount of time it would require. Like many others, we simply thought that when we launched, it would be an instant success. We aimed our focus at social media websites and asked participants to visit us. However, many who noted that our site didn’t even appear in a Google search quickly dismissed us.

Since then, our development efforts during the past five years were aimed at learning to utilize and incorporate (SEM) search engine marketing techniques and applying Google Analytics to our websites. We advertised a bit and remained focused on building a comprehensive set of analytical tools, proprietary software systems, and a vast directory database to help service the general music and entertainment population.

Now, five years later, we can proudly claim of ranking in the Top 20 Music-Records Sites published on top20sites.com. Top20Sites.com is the leading directory of the web’s most popular sites. By visiting this website you can find the top websites, as ranked by our vast community, in over 85,000 pristine directories.

Pro Music Records and Entertainment Media Recent Google Rankings:

• Ranks #3 of about 445,000,000 results for entertainment media los angeles
• Ranks #2 of about 58,700,000 results for music promotion los angeles
• Ranks #2 of about 4,250,000 results for r&b indie artist los angeles
• Ranks #3 of about 4,410,000 results for music distribution los angeles
• Ranks #15 of about 13,000,000 results for dvd distribution los angeles
• Ranks #15 of about 15,300,000 results for independent record label los angeles

The US ISRC Agency appointed Pro Music Records & Entertainment Media as an “IRSC Manager” in January 2012. Pro Music Records Inc. is approved to assign ISRCs on behalf of the owner of a music or video recording. Pro Music Records and Entertainment Media Services now include submissions to radio stations that welcome independent music, music reviewers, music blogs, podcasts, Internet Radio, Distributors (physical and digital), Radio Promoters, Promotional Services, PR Services, Publicists, Project Management Services, Digital Download websites, Film/TV Music Supervisors and more!

Right now our affiliated partner database contains over 3,000 companies and 8,000 contacts, nearly every A&R rep, CEO, film and TV contact, publisher, music attorney, artist manager, and almost every other music industry position. We are proud to service independent artists, labels, and entertainment company’s music and entertainment products to over 850 record labels who are accepting demos, 500 music and video distributors, 1000 Music Reviewers, and 5500 radio stations that welcome independent music and entertainment media.

We wish to thank all of you who have written to us during the past 5 years and have: informed us of problems, and requested customer service.

And most importantly, we wish to thank all of you for being loyal followers of our site and referencing our information daily. We will continue to improve our content for our visitors and strive to bring our clients more success in their music and entertainment careers!