Bob Baker's The Buzz Factor

It finally happened. The coveted "Most Viewed YouTube Video of All Time" was recently shaken from its throne when Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" video knocked "Evolution of Dance" from it's long-held #1 spot.
As of this writing, both videos have around 95 million views each. That's a lot of eyeballs watching skirts and crazy dance moves.

In fact, of the top 10 most viewed YouTube videos of all time, seven of them are music related. Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" is #4 with 64 million views, Timbaland's "Apologize" is #5 with 62 million, Alicia Keys' "No One" is #6 with 61 million.

Even "Fred" Gets 24 Million YouTube Views

Have you heard about the latest YouTube video sensation? His name is Fred, a "6-year-old with anger management issues" played by 14-year-old Lucas Cruikshank from Nebraska.

In just the last few months, Fred burst onto the video scene and now boasts 359,000 subscribers. Check out www.youtube.com/Fred to see what the buzz is about.

His most popular video, Fred Loses His Meds, has been viewed 7.4 million times in two months. Amazing. It's just the latest example of how a clever idea -- musical or otherwise -- can spread online.

Your mileage may vary, of course. You probably won't get mega millions of people watching your stuff. But what if you could get just 10,000 people to watch one of your videos? Would you be happy with that?

I think so. The question is: What can you do that's clever, amazing, funny, sexy, cute or remarkable enough to inspire people to send emails to their friends saying, "You have got to check out this video!"?

That's the million dollar question.

-Bob

P.S. For more ideas on this topic, check out my special report, How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online.

Here's just some of what you'll find in this resource:

• 9 ways to produce music videos on a shoestring budget
• 4 places to find indie film directors who will produce your music videos for free
• How to get fans to create your music videos for you
• 14 Music Video Themes you can use to create clips your fans will love (many of these will surprise you)
• 28 places to host and stream your videos online at no cost

Read more about it here.

Why do so many musicians pour so much time, energy and money into their gear and recordings ... then just show up to do a live gig?

Watch this video clip of performance coach Tom Jackson to get some insight into what's wrong with the way most artists approach live shows.


To learn more about Tom Jackson, visit www.tomjacksonproductions.com.

This clip was recorded at Indie Buzz Bootcamp 2008. For more info on the next event, visit www.IndieBuzzBootcamp.com.

-Bob

P.S. For more inspiration in audio format, subscribe to my Artist Empowerment Radio podcast.

Check out Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook, the classic guide to indie music promotion. Now revised and updated, with four new chapters on Internet and Web 2.0 music marketing.

Want to book more live shows? Want to get results fast? It's quite possible. In fact, if you wanted one, you might be able to land a new gig tonight. Seriously.

Traditional advice tells you to plan months ahead and follow all the right protocols. You should allow enough time to win over the talent buyer and secure a date.

Good advice, but ...

I had an online chat session with my Berklee Music Marketing 101 class students last night. And one of them referred to mistakes made when she started booking her own shows. "What mistakes?" I asked.

"Not having a band ready to play at the last minute," she replied. "We missed out on a few gigs that way."

That immediately reminded me of a time several years ago when I wanted to book some solo shows. I took the first step one Friday afternoon.

My goal was simply to call local venues and get the name of the person who booked the music. Once I had a list, I planned to follow up later with post cards, promo kits and phone calls.

To my shock, the second call I made had me on the phone with a bar owner. He wanted to know if I wanted to come in and play THAT NIGHT -- sight unseen.

I had to scramble and gather the gear I needed. But I played the show and got four more paid bookings as a result.

Rae Solomon -- an indie country singer near Seattle, WA -- told me there's a band in her area called the Last Minute Men. All they do is fill-in gigs for 10 different clubs when they get cancellations. I bet they stay pretty busy.

The lesson here ...

Go looking for gigs when you're ready to play one right away. Sure, many places will blow you off or try to book you months down the road. But, to your great surprise, you just might end up on stage somewhere ... TONIGHT!

But you'll never know until you try.

-Bob

Did you enjoy this blog post? Get more tips like these when you subscribe to my Buzz Factor ezine -- the longest running music career tips email newsletter on the Internet. Since 1995. Go grab your free subscription now.

That's right, MySpace has a new trick up its sleeve. One that could very well impact you.

In recent weeks, MySpace has started hyping a new way for independent acts to advertise on the mega site. The new service, called "Find Your Fans," works a lot like Google AdWords.
As MySpace describes it:

"Your ad will run on MySpace and be targeted to the users that you have chosen. Your ad will continue to run until your campaign has reached the maximum spending limit or the scheduled end date you have set for the campaign.

"You do not pay for your ad to simply appear on MySpace. You are only charged when someone clicks on your ad."

How much does it cost?

"The minimum spend for a campaign is only $25. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad and visits your profile (.25 cents for each click). You tell us how much you're willing to spend upfront, so you'll never spend more than planned."

Where will my ads be shown?

"Your ad will be shown across the entire MySpace site. You choose who you want to see your ad, and we make sure only the individuals matching that profile see your campaign."

I have no idea what kind of results anyone has gotten yet, but it sounds interesting. Read more about it here.

And if you've used it and have some feedback to report, please leave a comment below.

Of course, for non-advertising strategies, check out my popular MySpace Music Marketing book.


-Bob


P.S. Get FREE access to my special report 4 Ways to Attract More Music Fans Faster and hundreds of other music career tips, tools and resources. Go grab your free music stuff now.

Last night I took my daughter Kelli to see the Jonas Brothers and Avril Levine. Kelli turns 12 next month, so it was an early birthday present.

I've been to many concerts in my life, but this was the first as an adult in the midst of so many teen, tween and pre-tween girls (along with many parents). Lots of Beatlemania-esque screaming took place, and my ears are feeling it this morning.
Not sure if you're hip to these Jonas boys, but they're a Disney/Hollywood Records act that has been stirring up a ton of attention from their young female followers, including my own kid.

It was a pretty impressive spectacle. During a summer of reported economic stagnation and slow ticket sales, these guys packed thousands of people into the outdoor Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis.

I'm sure Avril had many of her fans there too, but she was the opening act (or "co-headliner" who performed before them). This was clearly a crowd that had come to see the Jonas Brothers.

Confession: I was familiar with their music before the concert because Kelli plays it around the house. I already liked their brand of emo-pop rock. And seeing them live made me even more impressed.

They don't rely on the safe boy band sounds of the past. These guys can rock it up -- and play some catchy tunes.

But here was the big insight last night ...

As I looked over the crowd of cheering and screaming thousands, there was no denying the energy level that a large crowd of enthusiastic fans can generate.
And I remembered why so many young musicians want to shoot for the highest pinnacles of success.

In that moment, even I thought how great it would be to have the drawing power to attract a huge audience. Heck, I had the same rock star dreams in my teens and early twenties.

Big dreams are great. I never encourage anyone to play small. So by all means, picture yourself on a big stage with a huge crowd of adoring fans.

It's okay to want to be famous (as long as, in my opinion, it's tied into a bigger mission to serve others through your music).

But how do you define "famous"? For most people, it's based on the number of people who know who you are -- and like what you do.

If you're in the building stage of your music career, that number might be small. Maybe 100 people know who you are, and 12 of them are enthusiastic fans.

In that case, realize that you are famous ... to someone. Or a modest number of someones.

Congratulations! You've reached one phase of your goal!

You're famous to a small core group of fans. Now build on that. Pour your heart and passion into serving and pleasing those first 12 people.

Before you know it, you'll be famous to 23 people.

Then 47.

Then 92.

Then 183.

You'll be living your dream, and you'll be famous ... to someone!

-Bob

P.S. For more inspiration in audio format, subscribe to my Artist Empowerment Radio podcast.

Check out Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook, the classic guide to indie music promotion. Now revised and updated, with four new chapters on Internet and Web 2.0 music marketing.


Did you enjoy this blog post? Subscribe now and get all of my newest ideas delivered by email or RSS feed. Learn how here.

The other day my girlfriend Pooki and I were riding our bikes along the Katy Trail near our house. There were a few times along the route we slowed down to take in the view.

And I noticed something that suddenly struck me as profound. You've probably noticed this too but didn't think much about it.

Let me explain ...
You see, I'm a big believer in Laws. That certainly applies to most state and local laws (although there are exceptions :-). But what I'm referring to here are the bigger, more important laws: The Laws of Nature and the Laws of Physics.

What the heck am I talking about?

Here's the thing: These are the laws that power everything. Gravity, the sun, weather systems, ocean currents, the rotation of the earth, even nuclear reactions. Those are some powerful laws!

Therefore, I believe if we behave in accordance with these laws, it only stands to reason that we'll live more natural and harmonious lives.

Okay, back to the bike ride and the big revelation ...

Whenever you reduce your speed on a bike, the slower you go, the more wobbly your balance becomes. The faster you go, the more stable the bike is.

I'm sure it has to do with inertia and the gyroscope effect -- all laws based on physics.

So if this is an irrefutable Law of Nature, how can we apply it to our lives?

That's simple: Keep moving on your quest! Keep moving forward with your music, your passion, your purpose as an artist, your pursuit of happiness. It's only through constant motion and progress that you gain your balance and hit a steady, confident stride.

Of course, you'll hit a few potholes along the way. There will be speed bumps that force you to shift direction. But that doesn't mean you have to stop moving.

And if you do slow down, get distracted or neglect your true calling for a while, things will get wobbly. You'll feel off balance.

And it's only natural. Because it's the Law at work.

So if things have been off kilter lately, ask yourself:

• How have I been slowing down my forward motion?
  
  
• What's been holding me back?
  
  
• And, most important, what can I do to get steadily back in motion?

-Bob

Ready to turbo-charge your music marketing campaign? Check out all the new Crash Course packages on Music Marketing, Music Publicity, and Internet Promotion at TheBuzzFactor.com.


Did you enjoy this blog post? Subscribe now and get all of my newest ideas delivered by email or RSS feed. Learn how here.