One of the reasons why I appreciate working with iLL-Literacy is because they are CREATIVE! They don’t stick to the norms, always pushing through what’s been done, and using their resources to create art and to create the marketing/press materials to be a successful independent artist.

A few years ago I worked through the process of writing a press release to announce that Kiwi and Bambu of Native Guns would be pursuing solo careers.  Most recently I found myself in the same situation with iLL-Literacy.  Although this time the iLL crew took it upon themselves to break the news.

Now granted, each situation is different, and sending out a formal press release is still relevant today. What’s important to remember here is that you should always consider the audience you’re reaching out to, and what avenue of communication to take that makes sense to that audience.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Rhymesayers Label has impressed me once again!  This time with smart marketing and promotions for the repackaged & remastered “God Loves Ugly” album from Atmosphere.

I’m not sure who the brains is behind this one, but Rhymesayers created a micro site – www.youresougly.com dedicated to the “God Loves Ugly” album where fans can upload a photo for the album cover, making it their own. GENIUS! It’s simple, gets fans involved, creates new excitement around an old project, and it’s not lame like so many marketing tactics can be, (especially when it comes to Hip Hop projects).

ps. For more reasons why I heart Slug Rhymesayers is a top independent hustler check my previous post HERE

Pandora is a service that provides music via Internet, in a (kind of) commercial free radio format.  It’s like having your own personal DJ, except you can tell this DJ to skip songs you don’t like, and customize the selection to what YOU want in rotation.

There’s a lot more about Pandora that makes it a really effective, user friendly, and valuable service, but you can research all that HERE.  What I want to highlight is that Pandora is an “equal opportunity employer” for independent artists.  Meaning, anyone can submit music to be evaluated and included in the Music Genome Project rotation.  Pandora can also be a platform to promote your music, and provides an additional revenue stream through “buy links”.   I highly suggest sending in your next project, the more places your music can be heard, the more likely you will develop a fan base, (if the music is good).

See their guidelines to submit your music to Pandora’s Music Genome Project.

*tip – always read FAQ’s, (they’re not called “frequently asked question’s” for nothing). www.pandora.com/faq

So yes, I heart Pandora! Not only is the company based in the Bay Area, but they are a great service that supports independent artists, (although I’m not sure if the music selection is biased?)  Hopefully, if you follow the instructions mentioned earlier, and spend time making QUALITY music, you too will have a Pandora “radio station” in your name.

I just got a tweet from the homie Bendrix about an article on “Making YouTube A Brand Builder”. It’s a good read, and really useful.  I know I need to update my channel and re-brand it for PapaLoDown PR after reading this!

Here are the main points to take note of:

Use YouTube Channels
On YouTube, channels are also known as “user profiles” and basically comprise the place where you will upload all of your videos to. The first time out, YouTube will automatically create a channel for you, and will then add all subsequent videos to the same place. On it, you can control the way videos are featured and presented to viewers. “Channels are a great tool because anyone who likes your videos can subscribe to your channel and receive notifications when new videos are posted,” says Miller. “Think of it as your home page, and treat it as such by creating a unifying message that your loyal customers will return to again and again.”

Personalize Your Channel
A YouTube channel page is actually a profile page, which means you’ll want to customize the page to reflect your business’ image and brand. It can be personalized from your My Account page, where you can edit channel info (such as a new title and description for your channel page); channel design (the overall look and feel of your channel page); personal profile (business name, description, link to your company Web site, and so forth) and location information (city, state and zip code). “Don’t forget to put up a logo,” says Miller, “and to always use text that reinforces your marketing message.”

Use a Video Log:
YouTube offers companies the unique opportunity to post video blogs online in a way that doesn’t scream “Hey, we want your business!” Depending on what type of business you’re in, a video log that features a CEO, manager or other person discussing a topic of interest to viewers (an event marketing firm, for example, might produce a 5-minute video previewing an upcoming marathon) can be an effective way to spread your message. “It allows you to put a human face on your products and services,” says Miller, “in a cheap, quick way that doesn’t require a studio, lights or makeup artist.”

Get Viewers Involved
Miller says some of the biggest corporate YouTube success stories involve firms that used contests to attract attention to their YouTube channels. Product marketers, for example, might run a contest that entices viewers to submit their own video commercials for one of their newest products. Or, a firm could provide the necessary video components and allow viewers to “mash up” those elements into their own video. “It’s about moving viewers from simply being observers,” says Miller, “to truly getting them involved with your products and services.”

Manage Viewers and Comments
By default, all YouTube videos allow comments unless the feature is disabled, which in turn reduces viewer interactivity. “Many companies don’t even think about how to manage this aspect of the campaign until they hear something nasty,” says Miller. “The best strategy is to accept that there will be negative comments, and devise a plan for dealing with them.”  – Timothy R. Hawthorne via www.adage.com

www.twitter.com/bendrix

Here in the Bay Area, we are truly spoiled with independent media and artists serving the Hip Hop community.  Education, entertainment and uplifting the community is the goal for most of us, and True Skool does all of the above with integrity.

Ren Salgado aka DJ Ren The Vinyl Archaeologist founded True Skool back in ’99 and it has grown to become a credible scource for Bay Area Hip Hop (and beyond) -  history, culture, and education, keepin it True Skool all day every day!

This is a great resource for independent artists (especially those in the Bay), to get additional promo help.  True Skool offers services to promoters, venues and artists, such as street team (poster & flyer), e-blasts, college radio, print media and web promo.   You can contact Ren for more info here: trueskool@gmail.com

Also, if you’re planning a trip to the Bay Area and you want to know what to get into, True Skool is where to go first for all the events, clubs, shows – www.trueskool.com

When Ruby was deciding on the design of her book cover, she used her network to get in touch with a talented artist from Atlanta (via Brooklyn), Fahamu Pecou. He graced the cover of Ruby’s poetry and short writing book Miss Universe, with his skills on canvas, and here we are just a few weeks away from the Miss Universe launch date!

The timing has been perfect to start building up the buzz and press opportunities for Miss Universe with Fahamu’s San Francisco gallery opening, which is actually tonight! 

TIP – timing is everything when you’re promoting your project!  Which means communication is even more important! You want to make sure that all the different people, companies, promotional plans, etc. you have in place work together, and build up to the highlight of your release date.

Fashion and Music – These two industries are pretty much a perfect marriage… a balance of creativity that compliment each other, work together in harmony, and often inspire one another.

Artists and DJ’s – I encourage you to do research on your local retailers, know the local designers in your area, make a wish list of your favorite brands.  This information is valuable because it’s become common place for brands and retailers to build their companies with music.

Company inspired mixtapes are quickly becoming part of the music industry, which means another avenue for independent artists and Dj’s, to showcase their work.  These are promotional and licensing opportunities that you should be taking advantage of.

Tip – You want to keep in mind your “target market” when deciding what company to partner with.  Would your fans shop at this store?  Do you want to be affiliated with a certain brands image?  Lots of things to consider… so knowing the company’s history, and audience is important to make this opportunity work for everyone involved.  Don’t just agree to something because it sounds like a good idea…

With that said, the Ladies of MADE Jewelry are presenting their first mixtape tonight at Otis in SF!! Joining them is Acrimony and Brooklyn Circus, and DJ Yusai who is the man behind the mixtape “sundayMADElove”.

Come out tonight and celebrate if you’re in SF or just download the mixtape here for FREE!

www.madejewelry.com

If you’re an artist, you’re going to need press photos.  Some things to keep in mind for your photo shoot:

- don’t wear labels unless you’re sponsored by them
- get a decent photographer

Everything else is going to be opinion based, so I won’t get into too much detail.  I will say that the photos should reflect who you are at that point in time and be cohesive with the album or project that’s being promoted.  Consistency is key to branding.  Whether or not you drop some bills to get these photos depends on your budget, but working with a photographer who is on the same level as you in your career, is a great way to benefit from good ol fashion bartering.

With that said, I wanted to shed light on the homie Mike Schreiber who is a fresh photographer out of New York.  He’s shot M.I.A., Common, Fat Joe, Paul Wall, and John Legend, to name a few, and he’s going to be in SF, Sunday 8/17 featuring his work.

Temple
540 Howard St. SF
5pm-11pm
$20

A lil late on posting this, but Mike recently shot the cover for Maino’s upcoming album If Tomorrow Comes, keep your eye out for more of Mike’s work at www.mikeschreiber.com

I’m putting a timeline and checklist together for album/project releases, makes my life easier to be organized.

Here’s The list I came up with so far in regards to what promo materials you should have ready BEFORE (like two months before), the album is released: 

            – promo mix (top 5-7 songs from album mixed by a DJ for media promo)
            - social networking profiles current and consistent (myspace, facebook, imeem)
            - blog up and running, consistent with profiles
            - press photos
            - bio
            - one sheet
            - Industry Quotes for one-sheet
            - album promo copies (set aside minimum 100 to give away to press, industry folks, DJ’s etc)
            - music video(s) - 
            - radio edits of singles
            - promo flyers (for blog and album)
            - business cards

 Am I forgetting anything??  Holler.

ps. Ruby’s “Miss Universe” coming soon…

Perhaps it’s just the community (aka network) of artists that i’m around, but I’ve come to find that many artists are talented in a variety of art forms.  Whether they are emcees, Dj’s, producers, graphic designers, actors, etc., these talents intersect allowing them to move fluidly through different forms of expression.

In today’s economy, and the current unstable music business, I think it’s neccessary for artists to utilize their assets in as many ways as they can. One reason being – more ways to get paid! Another reason being – this allows opportunities for you to be creative and capture new audiences.  The third reason – More platforms and networks to educate and build with.

For example – DJ Phatrick is a fresh DJ, but he also works with Zion I as their road manager and label assistant.  Adriel Luis is an amazing spoken word poet, but he is also the creative genius to many Bay Area artists graphic design and branding (too many to mention, but check the iLL-homies section on www.ill-literacy.com, and guess who Adriel has worked with).  Dahlak Brathwaite is also a spoken word poet, but he is an iLL emcee, and actor as well.  I can keep going, you get the picture… (they’re also business savvy, and are self-managed – which is a “talent” that should also get honorable mention).

My point being – Don’t limit yourself to one art form.  “Express yourself…”, it can only benefit our communities.

Bambu has his successfull acting debut in director (and my cousin!), Patricio Ginelsa’s (Kid Heroes Productions) LA Film Festival “Canon 72 Hour Bring IT Film Competition” !!

Check the flick below… ( I think we should expect more from Bambu on the silver screen in the future… i’m just sayin.)

Being Reel – Patricio Ginelsa from fatfreefilm on Vimeo.

Congratulations to everyone who was part of the film!! and for WINNING THE COMPETITION!!

(this is why I do what I do… love you guys!)