Your Weekly Guide to Artist and Business Development

One Marketing Resource...

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is focusing only on release day. A strong release actually starts weeks before your song comes out, giving you time to pitch it effectively, create content, and have people connect with it. We found a video that breaks it down into a 25 day plan.

One Performance Idea...

Call-and-response is one of the simplest ways to get your audience engaged with your music. You don’t need to do anything complex. Hand claps, repeat-after-me segments or basic melodic echoes (think Freddie Mercury) can turn listeners into active participants and make your performance come alive.

Try It Out: Go over your setlist and pick out two of your highest energy or well known songs. Find a moment in each where the audience could join in. Plan out how you’re going to initiate the interaction and practice it first with friends or family as your audience to see if it’s easy for others to understand. Guide the crowd using gestures, eye contact or verbal instructions.

Pro tip: Look on YouTube for songs known for live crowd participation or fan chants, cover one of them in your style and try using the same engagement technique at your next gig. It’s an easy way to start figuring out what works for your audience.

One Music Production Tip...

You don’t need a professional studio to get cleaner sound. A few intentional changes to your space can dramatically improve your recordings. Echoes and muddiness are usually caused by bare walls, hard floors, or empty corners that reflect sound. Soft, uneven surfaces can help absorb and break up those reflections, instantly making recordings sound warmer and more focused. You can buy things like vocal shields or sound absorbing panels to help, but these DIY solutions are often just as effective, if not more!

Try it out:

• Record in front of an open closet to naturally absorb reflections.
• Hang thick blankets or curtains behind and slightly to the sides of where you record.
• Place a rug or yoga mat under you and your mic stand if you’re on hardwood or tile.
• Use pillows in corners to reduce low-end buildup.
• Test your setup by recording a short clip before and after.

See you next week!