This is SO cool, I’m a little bit star struck!
Bob actually wrote the first book on music marketing I ever read called Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook. It’s packed with page after page of killer advice, and helped me realize how cool it is to synthesize high-end music marketing principles for your music career plan.
Now my total focus is finding the best marketers in the world and modelling what they do, then share it to help musicians. I have Bob to thank for this paradigm shift.
He has been a constant inspiration to me over the years, and it’s an honor and a privilege to have him contribute to my blog. (I can’t thank you enough Bob)
His book was even mentioned in “School of Rock” with Jack Black!
The answers below are truly insightful and my own notebook is full after reading them!
I hope you get a lot out of it too.
Never thought I would be saying these words but…
Take it away BOB BAKER!
- Chris
Quick Fire Questions
Best Music Marketing Tool?
Your brain and your creative ideas. Those are your most powerful tools. And most people take them for granted and look elsewhere for solutions. Everyone uses a lack of money or connections as an excuse for not moving forward with their music. But really, some great songs and a few good ideas on how to spread them can take you pretty far.
Biggest Inspiration?
So many authors, speakers and teachers – such as Jay Conrad Levinson, Seth Godin, Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, Joe Vitale, Earl Nightingale, Jack Canfield, etc. But the people who really inspire me to do what I do are the musicians who let me know how something I’ve written has inspired them in some way. Nothing beats that.
Favourite Music Career Book or Course?
They aren’t music-specific, but two really good books I’ve read lately are “Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, and Seth Godin’s new book, “Poke the Box.” Both of them force you to really think about the way you create stuff and get it out into the world. I resonated with these titles because they reinforce a message I’ve been spreading for many years.
Favourite Website?
There are several.
For music-related stuff: Hypebot.com, MusicThinkTank.com and
The DIY Musician Blog at diymusician.cdbaby.com
To stay up on tech news and social media: Mashable.com and SocialMediaExaminer.com
I also love to read ZenHabits.net and TheOnion.com.
Main Interview
How I Started and What I’m Doing At The Moment…
I’ve been an active musician since high school (a guitarist, singer, songwriter) and have played in many bands over the years. I’ve also had a great interesting in the written word since grade school. In my mid 20s I combined both of those passions and started publishing a local music magazine in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. I published it for 10 years, from 1987 to 1997.
Around 1990 I started writing a monthly music career tips column in my own magazine and began organizing music biz panels that I would moderate. That was my humble start as a music educator. Before long my first book was published, and in the mid 1990s I got online and started spreading my tips to any music website or ezine that wanted to run them. And I haven’t stopped since.
Fast forward to 2011. I just published my eighth book, called Guerrilla Music Marketing Online. In addition to paper books, I’ve also created an entire line of downloadable special reports, audio programs, and more. This year I also started something called the Music Marketing Mentorship Program, which I’m very excited about.
I turned 50 in 2010, and I made a vow to make the next 10 years the most prolific decade of my life. So stay tuned for more books, video and audio programs, and live events in the months and years ahead.
My Biggest Achievement in Music and How It Happened …
Wow. A lot of things come to mind. Running a local newspaper for 10 years was quite a feat. I also organized a music conference in St. Louis for five years back in the ‘90s, which was very satisfying – and exhausting.
It was very exciting when my “Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook” appeared in the movie “The School of Rock,” starring Jack Black. And I’ve been blessed with some nice media coverage – like NPR’s “Morning Edition,” The Guardian newspaper in the U.K., Electronic Musician magazine, and many more.
But my biggest achievement would be positively impacting the lives of thousands of musicians around the world over the past two decades. There’s nothing better than getting an email or meeting someone at a conference who tells you how much you shifted their thinking or gave them an idea that helped them move forward with their music.
The Most Effective Way I Have Found to Increase Your Fan Base …
Is to become an evangelist for the positive impact that your music has on your ideal fans. Yes, you should get self-satisfaction from creating your own music, but your career and longevity will be determined by your enthusiasm for sharing these cool sounds with the exact people who will enjoy them the most.
And that’s where marketing comes in. It’s not a dirty word or a manipulative activity, and it shouldn’t feel like a “necessary evil.” Authentic promotion should be a natural extension of your creativity and desire to touch as many people as possible with your art.
People will sense your genuine desire to make them feel good (even if only for a few minutes during a song or a couple of hours at a show), and that will go a long way to attract people to you and grow your audience.
I know this isn’t a specific tactic per se, but it is a crucial mind-set you must have to truly increase your fan base.
You Will Become Successful Sooner …
… if you define success based on where you are and what you are becoming, instead of some distant idea of what success should be.
In other words, achieving “success” doesn’t have to mean reaching rock star, history-making proportions. Success can be whatever YOU define it as. And it will always be an ongoing evolution.
So if you now play at two coffee houses a month to 20 people and you are progressing toward playing at four coffee houses to 50 people … you are a success right now. Congratulations! You just became successful!
But you’ll never reach a final destination. You’re always in the process of becoming more. (And “more” is whatever you decide it should be at that time.) So enjoy the journey every step of the way!
You Should Not Be Focusing On …
What’s wrong with the industry, what the music media say the state of the business is, what’s missing from your local music scene, etc. If you want to find things to worry about and be frustrated by, I guarantee there’s no shortage of things to feed your fear. But how does focusing on them benefit you or anyone else?
Instead, pick up your guitar or turn on your keyboard and get busy making music and looking for opportunities to share it. Yes, it’s a confusing era with no clear paths to success. And how you made money with your music a few years ago may not be paying the bills today. But there are also more tools and resources at your disposal than ever before. So stay on the lookout for things you CAN DO instead of what you can’t.
Final Thoughts …
I’m so glad you’re doing this interview series, Chris. We’re all learning a lot about some very cool people in the music world because of it.
You Can Find Me At …
http://www.TheBuzzFactor.com/
http://www.MusicPromotionBlog.com/
http://www.Bob-Baker.com/podcast/
http://www.MusicMarketingBooks.com/
And for any aspiring authors out there, I have a separate website at http://www.FullTimeAuthor.com/
Tags: Bob Baker, Music Career Interviews
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