I want to start by wishing all of you a happy new year filled with music promotion efforts! These past few weeks have found me INUNDATED with projects. I hope the same goes for you. While the holidays are fairly distant to the mind by this point, I do want to suggest that, if all you got from Santa was a brand-new muffler, then I hope you were CELEBRATING instead of (possibly) frowning. Here’s why. I had, in the past (upon movin’ to California), humorously come across a book about how to make it in Hollywood. It was written by a college professor and counselor. It tried to sell me some neurosis. I decided not to buy. I’d already owned some. I read less than half the content, found it pretentious and likely untrue, so I ditched it and decided to focus on music promotion.
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While I miss New York, I also love to drive. People like me took the subway. We stayed down with the people. Do you? New York was my home when I really started playing live. In Hollywood, we drive to our shows and get to avoid lugging equipment on the subway. Thanks to digital marketing, music promotion doesn’t make you have to physically carry a thing. Despite this convenience, Artists in Hollywood often have to put up with the problematic social disease known as: “It’s All About The Car.” Artists don’t want to pull up to the loading dock in a “piece of s&{904ac83d0f2af29eebb57dc7d57f270720e019a717053aa972713f6a9a731a9b}t,” but it can be unavoidable. Most Artists don’t really care, but if it is Hollywood, and it is valet, the strictest of the VIP and managerial staff (in addition to on-lookers), might be judging something as superficial as what type of car you drive as part of your perceived “packaging” and, above all, “the first impression of you.”
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**Below are 2 quick links as examples of two truly inexpensive but entirely complete pieces of music recording gear.
TASCAM DP-008EX Digital Portastudio 8-Track Portable Multi-Track Recorder
Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone – Silver Edition
Unlike the suited job interview for work in a boring office where you can’t focus on your own music promotion, and where the “Powers That Be” (thankfully) don’t get to see what you pull up in (since you likely get to park in an underground structure 50 floors down from the interviewers, or at the very least, park on the street), when you’re an Artist or Band pulling up to the loading dock with equipment, you are seen and having to greet Staff the very moment you pull up. Make sure your car is CLEAN. Disagree with me if you must, but I am (mostly) only including Hollywood here in the quarantine. Make sure your car is PRESENTABLE, no matter what you drive. Or, grab a limo and go in style, no matter what city you live in. You’ll have more fun, especially if it’s not your best performance. The problem is that a limo is so often a complete waste of money that you should be SAVING. Your actual physical appearance should be polished. In Hollywood, you must be a “Star.”
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If you drive an older Ford Focus, that’s FINE. Focus on having that “sledge hammer of a dent” running from the left front grill across your entire left door “repaired or pushed back in somehow,” even if it’s done by a Mickey Mouse Mechanic made in Anaheim. That trusty little yellow bubble on wheels now needs to be WASHED, because the last time you washed it, George Bush Jr. was in office. Yellow bananas turn brown when they are ripe. Your automobile is not a banana and, while it might very well be a lemon, wash it squeaky-clean anyway and dump out all the empty fast food bags that have piled up on the front and back seats. The “interview,” or more specifically, “your first day at work,” in many ways starts the moment you pull up to the club. A car that is visually sloppy might suggest that you don’t take pride in your packaging and appearance. You might look unprofessional (even if YOU look GOOD). Don’t get caught off-guard. Use your down-time for music promotion efforts.
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Obviously, it doesn’t matter what you drive. But you do want to try and start living impeccably, no matter where you are at with your music career and your finances. It’s about self-respect. It will do wonders for your self-esteem when you start to fine-tune and MORE OFTEN UTILIZE the daily objects and artifacts you have in your life that, when used, make you more productive in creating, promoting, performing, and distributing your music. Things can flow more freely this way. If you’re in Los Angeles or anywhere else where you drive to your shows, then your car is PART of your productivity and appearance. Your show should be filled with constant messages of music promotion tactics to sell your product, build an email list, and get new fans.
Get your car fixed, no matter what you drive. It’s cheaper than buying a new one. Save the money for your survival and your music, especially during these times. Keep doing what you love during the process, and the money (should) follow.
More to come.
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(C)(P) Paul Spencer Alexander for: http://www.SoundVisionEntertainment.com – All Rights Reserved. Paul Alexander Music: http://www.PaulAlexanderMusic.com – The Official Home of Paul Alexander Music.