The
Musician's Action Plan
by Kathy Brackley
- Katcall
Creative Studio, Posted
July 15th 2003
Back to The
Academy
Why
am I here? Where am I going?
How am I going to get there?
These are some of the important
questions you should be asking
yourself. As with anything in
life it's a good idea to set
goals for yourself and have
a plan of action.
One
of the things I often see are
musicians who are looking for
a quick fix. "I've made
a CD and it's soooo good that
it's going to sell itself!"
...think again. You could be
the most talented musician..the
most "kick ass band"....but
your CDs are not going to sell
themselves. Nor are A &
R people going to show up on
your doorstep if they don't
know you exist.
Take
the time to create an action
plan, not only will it will
help keep you focused - you'll
know exactly where you are going
and how you are going to get
there. Let's use baseball as
an example; the players do not
just go out on the field and
play - they have a game plan.
If their game plan doesn't work,
they re-evaluate it and make
adaptations. If they didn't
have a game plan, what do you
think would be the result?
Before
you begin, it's a good idea
to know what your rights are
as a musician and how to protect
your music. These factors will
likely come into play while
you are promoting yourself and
your music. If you are not sure,
I highly recommend taking the
time to do some research.
The
attached Musician's
Action Plan Workbook
(PDF) includes:
- Action
Plan Worksheet
- Follow
Through Worksheet
- CD
Tracker Worksheet
- Action
Plan Review Worksheet
- Example
Action Plan
STEP
1: DEFINING YOURSELF
The
first thing you need to do is
sit down and do some serious
thinking. You should have a
binder or notebook where you
can keep all of the information
you are about to accumulate.
Before you start, print a copy
of the Workbook (PDF
Download). Ask yourself
the questions below and write
down your answers in the workbook.
When answering the questions
be as specific as possible.
I've included an Example Action
Plan at the end of the Workbook
for your reference, use this
as a tool to help you get started.
Below you will find the list
of questions which are included
in the workbook along with some
examples.
1.
What is my idea of success?
e.g. Is it just playing
music and simply being happy
with that, getting a record
deal, selling 100,000 copies
of your Cd, being world famous,
etc.
2.
What are my goals? What
do you hope to achieve? Keep
your goals realistic and specific.
e.g. This year I want to sell
500 CDs.
3.
What can I do to reach my goals?
Now that you've set your
goals, how can you help yourself
to reach them?
4.
What is my plan of action? Now
that you have clearly defined
your goals and things you can
do to reach them, how will you
set them into action?
5.
What am I willing to sacrifice?
This one will require some
thought. e.g. time, your values,
your music, etc.
6.
What am I *not* willing to sacrifice?
e.g. your values, your music,
etc.
7.
What am I willing to compromise
on? Look at your list of
things you would not sacrifice,
is there anything that you might
compromise on?
8.
What resources do I have at
my disposal? List all your
resources; you may not realize
how many you actually have.
Resources can be people, information
etc.
9.
Where can I find the information
I need? e.g. This can be
your resources, or places you
have yet to explore.
10.
What am I going to need help
with? What can't you do
yourself that you'll need some
assistance with. This could
be anything from mailing out
your CDs, to promoting them,
creating a press release etc.
11.
Who are the people that can
help me? List as many specific
people as you can.
12.
How much money am I prepared
to spend? How much money
are you willing to spend on
the goals you've chosen.
13.
How much time am I willing to
invest? This can be a specific
amount e.g., two hours, a day
or it can be general - whatever
amount it takes to achieve your
goals.
14.
How and where can I make contacts?
Again look at your resources
and the people that can help
you. Do some research, find
online discussion lists, message
boards, etc. then list them
here.
15.
When do I plan to reach these
goals by? (date)
STEP
2: FOLLOWING THROUGH
There
is no point in having an action
plan if your not going to follow
through. Now look at the part
of your action plan where you
answer "What is my plan
of action?" Now it's time
to start doing these things.
Keep a notebook with the following
information, add in any other
information you'd like to keep
track of. (There is a Follow
Through Worksheet included in
the Workbook.)
1.
Today's Date:
2.
The Date of Contact:
3.
Contact info:
4.
What was the end result of this
contact? Example: Company
X will take three copies of
my Cd to sell in their store.
5.
Notes: i.e. What did you
think of this company/contact?
Did they make a comment that
stood out in your mind? What
was your overall impression?
STEP
3: FOLLOWING UP
Keep
tabs on who is selling a lot
of your CDs and who isn't. It's
a really good idea to keep a
notebook and write down: the
name of the company, how many
CDs they requested, how many
they have sold, the date etc.
There is a CD Tracker
Worksheet included in your Workbook.
Also,
it never hurts to follow up
after some time has passed.
Approach the people who passed
on your CD. A great way to do
this is if you have something
new happening like a gig. i.e.
"I'll be playing at the
Five and Dime on April 5th".
Now that you've made a few contacts,
joined a few discussion lists
etc. you will probably have
new places and ideas that might
work well for you. Keep track
of them, contact them if it
interests you and then follow
through. (step 2)
STEP
4: MEASURING YOUR SUCCESS
When
you completed your action plan,
you wrote the date you'd like
to achieve your goals by. When
that date arrives, it's time
to look over your action plan
and see how you did.
Below,
are some questions to refer
to. Again, write down the answers
and keep this together with
your action plan. After you've
answered the questions you can
begin to build a new action
plan or expand on the old one.
Your goals may have changed
through the process.
1.
Did my plan of action work?
2.
Did I reach my goal(s)?
3.
What didn't I do that I should
have?
4.
What worked for me?
5.
What didn't work for me?
6.
What have I learned in the process?
7.
What have I accomplished/gained?
8.
Were my goals realistic?
9.
Additional Notes:
Todays
date:
CONTRACT
CHECKLIST
When
considering entering into a
contract, agreement, or potential
offer, you should always consider
all the pros, cons and find
out exactly what exactly they
are offering you. This includes
any website offering to sell
your CDs or artwork, record
labels etc.
1.
What are their fees and are
there any 'hidden fees'?
2.
How will they promote me and
my music?
3.
How much time are they willing
to invest in me?
4.
How will this help further my
career?
5.
Do they help protect my rights
as an artist?
6.
What are their credentials/background?
7.
What are their goals?
8.
Do they have a good track record
within the industry?
9.
Who are they affiliated with?
10.
What are their affiliates credentials?
11.
What are the other options available
to me as an artist?
12.
How do they compare?
13.
What are the pros and cons of
all my options?
14.
What are the legalities involved?
15.
Do I have to sign a contract/agreement?
16.
If yes, how long am I tied into
the agreement/contract?
17.
Is their offer non exclusive?
18.
Do I understand the terms of
the contract?
19.
Have I researched all possible
avenues?
20.
Do I have enough information
to make a sound decision?
21.
Am I getting good value for
my money?
The
attached Musician's
Action Plan Workbook
(PDF) includes:
- Action
Plan Worksheet
- Follow
Through Worksheet
- CD
Tracker Worksheet
- Action
Plan Review Worksheet
- Example
Action Plan
----
Kathy Brackley
has had a passionate interest in the arts since childhood;
particularly music and writing.
In addition to providing Music Publicity for Indie Musicians and
Labels (Katcall
Creative Studio), her
current adventures include being Editor-In-Chief of Artists Studio
Magazine,
freelance writing for various publications, and advancing her studies
in
Public Relations/Marketing. In her spare time she feeds her passion
for
music by playing flamenco guitar.
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