“There are plenty of millionaires who would pay millions to hang a Van Gogh painting on the wall, but hardly one that would have ever had the crazy nut over for dinner. I feel like the big companies are like that with musicians. They’ll say, “We love music! It’s all about the music!” — but if a musician shows up at the door, they call security.

The disconnect between the music, as a final product, and the musician, as a person going through an ongoing creative process is the most broken aspect of the music business…”

- Derek Sivers, founder of CDbaby.com, largest independent retailer of CD’s

We talk about Twitter a lot in relation to artists and promoting music. That’s because Twitter is still the top resource for getting awareness for your music next to Facebook and Youtube.

We’ve had great results for our artists who are using Twitter effectively, increased sales, followers who share the artists music with their friends and their followers, artists getting hired to perform on other artists albums around the world, and more fans, web traffic and general awareness about the artists’ music.

But as we’ve been observing artists Tweeting habits, we’ve seen that like many Twitter users, many of you are just literally tweeting ‘what your doing’ at the moment, or doing blatant self advertising…

However this is not an effective way to really use Twitter. It’s not enough to make your tweets cut through the noise of the heavily updating marketers, and millions of other Twitter users out there…

Instead of “get my new music here” “I ate something I shouldn’t have”, or “sick of work, this job sucks”. or “when is it going to get hotter?”, Try things like, “I just came up with a new melody for a folk pop tune”, or “just tried out a new guitar I’m thinking of getting” or, “rehearsing for my next show where I’ll be playing some new songs about….” or even, “what do you think a fair consequence would be for this oil spill?”

Be interesting! You all lead interesting lives and do highly intriguing things every day! Tweet about them! People want to know these things, your a creative, talented musician for God’s sake! Why are you tweeting the same stuff as everyone else? Your better than that!!

AND, very importantly, if you don’t know what to tweet that is interesting, you should be RETWEETING interesting tweets (look for them amongst your followers), and REPLYING to people’s tweets that you have any kind of response for. This creates reciprocal communication and connection with other people that if replied to, can get you exposure to hundreds if not thousands of followers! Our artists have had thousands of visitors to their website in one day by using this technique.
This may be even more important that tweeting what you are up to! It is very important and easy to do.

Lastly, write the same way you would talk to a stranger in person.
Would you walk up to someone and say “hi stranger, go buy my CD here”? NO! So don’t do it online, be a human being when you write anything online.
Using these techniques you can make the most of the time spent on exposing yourself to new fans. And doing it with a free power Twitter tool like Hootsuite can really make life easier, and allows you to manage large follower lists more easily and effectively.

And if you are having trouble getting time to fit Twitter into your schedule, contact us about setting up tweeting via text messaging from your phone so that it updates all your social networking profiles and your website, and how this can be a very powerful tool for your music promotion!

What progress have you made with Twitter using these techniques or others?

Ali Youssefi has been surrounded by music his entire life. Growing up in Chile and traveling around South America and the Caribbean, he has been exposed to many different musical expressions, many of which find a place in his own music. Ali studied classical guitar in Chile before moving to Argentina to pursue a degree in music therapy. His musical curiosity and love for diversity combine to make him a versatile and original composer and performer, blending genres, instruments and cultures into a unique sound.

Gustaff Besungu is a multi-talented performer who hails from a lineage of drum players. Born and raised in Cameroon-West Africa, he brings to life a unique blend of traditional rhythms with music from around the world. He has performed with many groups in Africa, Israel and the United States. In his travels, he shares aspects of his culture through drum playing, story telling, music and dance.

Pam Hill has been a professional violinist since 1978, performing in twelve symphony orchestras, several commercials, a National Geographic Special and at Carnegie Hall as an orchestra member with a five hundred person chorus. She has taught strings and music in seven music schools and eleven public schools since 1984. Pam loves teaching violin, viola and cello students of all ages and playing levels.

Together they form a unique and diverse trio that has just released an album of Inspirational music that warms hearts, uplifts spirits, and inspire souls.
Pro Soul is assisting them set up a small tour in the summer, and launch a new website with integrated social networking tools that will allow them to connect with their new fans they will meet on that tour, as well as their existing ones.
Welcome to the Pro Soul family!

Hear their unique sound here

“My name’s Jamie one half of Biljanaires. The other half belongs to Eddie Biljan. People pass through, but the two of us are the core. A band, song writing collective, and friends, we are all of these. This started one day on my way to work, making music was the farthest thing from my mind. As I went to cross the street a car I recognized drove past and Eddie pulled over and got out. It was like dropping the needle back on the record. I say that because I hadn’t seen him in a long time and we have a history tied up in a band that was called Crush Groove. A fitting name for what it was and will remain. Good times.

So groove to the music. It was written for you, wherever you are.”

The Biljanaires (pronounced billionaires) is an extension of vocalist Jamie’s account of their inception. The songs are about where they live, in a city beside the Pacific Ocean. Some are about the people that have passed through their lives and how they get remembered. Stories told with words and rhythm. Good clean rock.

This is the band Biljanaires.
Welcome to the family guys.
You deserve to be heard!

Until the site is ready: www.myspace.com/biljanaires

“You can’t make it in the old system anymore.

This ain’t about theft, this ain’t about copyright infringement, this is about opportunity.
For a new golden era. Where the artist sits at the top of the pyramid.

Are you ready to climb up and take control?

Then make great music.
Respect your audience.
Give people the tools to spread the word, never rip them off.
Know that growth will be slow. But that the edifice you’re building is solid, that it will pay dividends like the old record company pension plan, but now the beneficiary will be YOU, not the fat cats.

Believe in yourself. But don’t be delusional.

Is your record… lightning in a bottle?

If not, keep your day job.

Forever. ”
- Bob Lefsetz, 2008

We recently celebrated our first year assisting Do It Yourself artists with their music careers, representing them as record label and manager!

The occasion went by without much fan fare, we were too busy formulating up big plans for our future, and working hard to assist our artists! That is always our first priority, and we’re a small company without any investors or such to answer to, so we can focus our efforts on what matters most:
Helping our artists connect with existing and future fans in the most effective way possible, and assisting them in giving fans what they want, how they want it for a long-lasting and profitable relationship!

Thank you to all our artists, who endured with our growing pains, and pioneered this transforming industry with a whole new way of doing business.
Thank you also to our staff, particularly Roshena and Clarice, without which we could never have accomplished this first year milestone.

We’ve got bigger and better things than ever for our artists and for the company this year, stay tuned for all the news right here.