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Top 5 Tips On Music Blogging You Didn't Know: #Music Industry Insider

PHOTO CREDIT: independentmusicadvice.com
As a music composer, I am constantly writing notes, music notes, on everything from sheet music to post-it notes to a greasy napkin. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a writer and a musician when I grew up, although, admittedly, I had hoped that I would be the drummer in a band or perhaps the timpanist in the Boston Pops. Now I am a successful composer and music prof, and I have found that my writing skills have served me well as a means to promote my music. Why should you write?

1) For every successful musician, there are probably thousands, if not millions, of struggling musicians that would like to know how you have (or have not) achieved success.

Whether young kids beginning bands or a grandma that has begun writing ballades, there are millions of amateur musicians out there that want to hear and learn from your experiences. They eat up your advice like pizza and value your input. With the internet connecting everyone from America to Africa to Australia, there is an international community out there that wants to know how to succeed in music.

2) Writing reviews helps you know other's music and help others know your music.

Occasionally I might write a review for a journal or a blog. Nine times out of ten, the musician I write about is someone that I have had the opportunity to meet in person. Sometimes they know I am writing a review, sometimes they do not. In any case, once I write a review, I let them know, and forward them the links. In turn, they often will post the links on their website. I especially enjoy writing articles on emerging musicians and artists, who have been ignored by the official "critics", but who are creating some amazing work.

You can write reviews about recent concerts, battle of the bands, albums, or even merchandise by others in the same music niche as you. And an added note: do not write an in-depth review about how awesome your band is, otherwise your articles will be dismissed as publicity slosh. You can write about your band's creative process, band member profiles, about your music, etc. instead.

3) Regularly writing will expand those who know about your and your work.

I've written for Yahoo!, write the New Music Resource, an online blog dedicated to new music and new media, have been published in music journals, arts websites, been quoted in books, and more. I even recently wrote my first sci-fi novel Libertaria: Genesis, a crazy dystopic thriller based on my animated opera Libertaria. 



When I publish an article, I make sure to forward the article to people I think would be interested in its contents. I am personally against spamming readers, and I make sure that the forwarded articles will benefit the recipient. Others find out about me and my work, and they may contact me or present me with other writing or music performance opportunities.

4) Writing keeps you up on the latest trends.

When I write about music promotion, I do research about the latest music promotion. Sometimes I will uncover a resource that I was not familiar with before, but that I can use to promote my own music. For example, a few years ago, using web rings was the best way to reach out to others online. However, now efforts to promote through web rings provide embarrassingly little fruits as people have turned to social networking sites, blogging/vlogging, vines, snapchat, and twitter. The smartphone continues to revolutionize communication, changing the function of the internet in the years to come. Through my research, I have found out about sites like CD baby and Reverb Nation.

5) You can promote your music on your blog.

In a few minutes, you can set up an online blog, upload a few videos and music widget to the blog, add links to upcoming band gigs, and begin writing articles about how the last concert went and about your fans. I even know one musician who uploaded pictures of fans to his website and got hundreds of fans to check out his site just to see their photo.
Be creative in words and in music and see where success will bring you.

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Young is the foremost expert on virtual opera production and online collaboration with the debut of her machinima opera Libertaria: The Virtual Opera. Libertaria includes a live international cast and film crew, virtual choirs, sound synthesis, machinima animation, and contemporary choral writing, produced entirely online using crowdsourcing, social networking, and the Internet. Libertaria premiered October 5th, 2013 in Lake Worth, Florida, with additional screenings at the Buffalo Women and Arts Festival, the UK-site Moviestorm, the Holland Animation Film Festival, and other venues. Young is a sought-after lecturer and writer on music technology, social media, online collaboration, marketing, and contemporary music.

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