5 Things To Do If You're Feeling Stuck In Your Music Career

That old adage that "it’s all about who you know" isn't nearly as powerful as how someone knows you. got to know you, though; it’s what happens before the relationship starts and how you carry it on after.
It’s deeper than just how they 

When you’re feeling stuck, turning your attention to building relationships is the single best antidote. Here are five things that you can do today to get unstuck while making your relationships stick.

9 Secrets From Indie Artists for Selling a Ton of Merch After Their Shows

You packed the house. You had a fantastic performance. The entire crowd loved every minute of your set. Now you have to turn that enthusiasm into album and T-shirt sales. How do you go about doing that? That's a question I asked a few indie hip-hop artists who are masterful at the merch table in hopes of finding out some of their secrets to success. What I ended up learning from Jake Palumbo, Tah Phrum Duh Bush, Toussaint Morrison, Joey Batts, and N.M.E. The Illest is a little something I like to call The Nine Merch Commandments.

Like Biggie said, "There's rules to the shit," so grab your CDs, your T-shirts, and your smartphone credit card reader (if you don't already have one of those, consider it your 10th commandment), because here's your manual.

How to Set Up a Killer Merch Table at Your Next Show

As a live music fan, I spend a lot of my time between sets scouring the band's merch tables.

Sometimes I rush in knowing exactly what I want, and other times it's a kind of listless wandering, where I'm just waiting for something to jump out at me. But what about the fans who don't ever stop by, or who come by only to leave seconds later because they can't make sense of what you have to offer? How can bands attract the attention of not only new fans, but also future fans?

3 Promotional Tactics for Selling More Band Merch Online

Social media can help you boost sales of online merch, but there's more to marketing your shop than you might guess. Treating your online store more like any other online retailer by using promotional tactics could boost your profits – and the popularity of your shop in general. We've outlined three basic, tried-and-true strategies for online merch sales below. Once implemented, share them on social media. And, of course, as with any sort of discount, be sure to factor in the cost of production to make sure you're not losing money. Consider shipping, too!

5 Band Merch Items That Were So Crazy, They Actually Worked

It's New Year's Eve and you've been standing in line for hours waiting to get into the [insert corporate name here] arena. It's been eight long months since you've bought the $500 ticket to see your favorite rock outfit, Justin Bieber and the Looney Tunes. Finally, the doors open. You, your best friend, and that one person who always tags along rush through the doors to get into yet another line, but this one is important. This line is for the merchandise.

When seeing a big-name act such as this, merchandise is overpriced, but an essential part of the experience. It's a rite of passage. It's proof that you were at this monumental event. You'll likely wear the T-shirt from this concert for years until it becomes a tattered shred of its former self. Then, it will be tossed away with minimal thought.

To the average person, merchandise may just be a souvenir of sorts. Even for big-name acts, merchandise is nothing more than a convenient way to promote their brand. For the local musician, however, merchandise means much more.

As you may or may not know, the music industry has taken a nose dive. It's no longer easy to make money selling records. There's far more competition. Plus, technology has made it easier to obtain recordings for free. If a band just starting out wants a chance at profiting, they need to hit the road. That in itself is no easy task, and the payoff isn't anything grand. To supplement income, most bands go the way of merchandise. Even then, that's usually not enough to support the operation.

According to a recent survey, merchandise only accounts for the smallest percentage of income compared to performances, sound recordings, and donations. Don't let the statistics deter you, though. As they say, you have to spend money to make money. Merchandise is a tremendous way to advertise your brand in a creative way. To stir up some wacky ideas, here are five band merchandise products that are so crazy, they actually worked.

3 Things Your Fans Will Gladly Give You Money For

Let’s talk about superfans. Most artists have that small segment of fans who are crazy about them and their music, but they don’t give their superfans the opportunity to support them on the level they want.

Let me explain. Think of your all-time favorite artist – the one that you always catch when they’re touring through town and always buy their albums. Chances are you’re probably willing to spend a lot of money on that artist. But – and here’s the real problem – for most artists, fans are only given the chance to spend $10 on an album or maybe $40 on some merch. This is fine for the casual fans, but true superfans would totally spend more on their favorite artists – if they’re given the chance.

In a sense, you’re essentially capping off your own earning potential by only allowing your fans to spend $10–$40. You can’t blame your fans for not spending enough money on your music if you’re not giving them the opportunity.

Now, I know it’s easy to feel like higher end products are more difficult and costly to make, so today I’m going to go through a few easy and relatively inexpensive things that will be really valuable to your superfans.

How To Book Gigs

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