"The Self-Promoting Musician: Strategies for Independent Music Success"
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Peter Spellman’s book on self-promotion is a dicodmy of music business information. On one hand, it is filled with an abundance of biz resources and information. In contrast, a considerable amount of the information is extremely basic. More than an instructional book, it is a resource reference. The Intro chapter is just that, an overview of the industry and the many changes that occurred in the last 5 years. Spellman presents the growth of indie music litany that everyone keeps talking about and delves into how much business has changed in the twenty-first century. The next chapter starts out as a motivational pep talk of sorts. Chapter Two becomes, surprisingly, a primer on small business operations. This chapter presents the basics of defining goals, writing a business plan, and how to prepare an investment plan. This may seem a bit much more than the average musician may need to know, but, a new truck or van, new computer, new equipment take money and a small business loan is an excellent way to get it. Chapters Three and Four continue along the small business path giving info on the Small Business Administration and other resources and how they work, business letter writing, and business management techniques. One great thing about this book; a listing of further resources, books, organizations, periodicals, and on-line resources are all listed at the end of every chapter. Chapter Four instructs the reader on more ways to sharpen management and organizational skills. Much of these first chapters are a primer for basic entrepreneurship . The book has lots of charts, worksheets, and graphics throughout. The worksheets are useful, you can type them up and customize them to suit your own needs. Some of the graphics are rather basic and unnecessary. Part Two of the Self-Promoting Musician is a series of short, but informative chapters on the pursuit of promotion. Chapter Six begins with, what I think is, the "meat and potatoes" of the entire book. This is a short introduction and gives guidelines to networking and developing contacts. Chapter Seven is again short and discusses creating a promo kit and how to deal with artists and printers. Chapters Eight through Twelve give great inspiration on places to find gigs and creative booking techniques. There are several good worksheets in these chapters which artists at any level can utilize to further their vocations. There are some good worksheets in these chapters, however, in Chapter 9 there is a "Performance Critique Worksheet" that; if I were at a show and a band gave me, I would think was pretty silly (that is a polite term). In this section Spellman gives a compelling narration of why you should include some covers in your set list and on your demos (you can either agree or not). Part Four of this book makes it worth the price. This section lists tons of books, magazines & journals, organizations & associations, and on-line resources for everyone from musicians to basic educators and music therapists. Spellman's website lists many of these resources, but there seems to be more in the book. Peter Spellman’'s site is filled with a virtual plethora of resource links. It is a must see and the link is below. I would recommend this publication simply for the resource and reference material it provides. The book is not a glamorous or fun read but is a great resource reference. The worksheets are a great starting point for your own promo plan and the listings at the end of each chapter make it worth the read. If you're just starting out this book is invaluable and if your are a seasoned performer, it can help remind you of the things you need to be doing. |
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