The 10 Commandments of Music & Social Media by Luca Massaro

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Get Your MTV Crib Chapter 2: Make Your Network Equal To Your Network Chapter 3: Remember That Content Is King, Marketing Is Queen... And The Woman Runs The Household Chapter 4: Be Lazy Chapter 5: Don’t Be Lazy Chapter 6: Influence The Influencers Chapter 7: Start 2 Steps Ahead Of Everyone Else Chapter 8: Get Off The Bench And Into The Game Chapter 9: Let Patience Be Your Friend Chapter 10: Don’t Take It Personal

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

“I’ve been in this game for years, it made me an animal/There’s rules to the s**t, I wrote me a manual.” - Notorious B.I.G.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Introduction

It was during summer 2006 when I got the phone call: “Congratulations! We want you as part of the team to help set up MySpace in the UK. With your experience in the music

industry, we feel you can help with the expansion of this exciting new website”. When I

agreed, I never could have imagined who I would meet and where it would take me or, most importantly, what I would learn from this new phenomenon called ‘social media’. Don’t forget, this was when a huge majority of YouTube’s traffic was still on

MySpace, Facebook was only available to students and a ‘Tweet’ was something only birds did!

Besides ‘Have you met Tom’ – and yes, I have - the question I was asked the most

over the next 18 months at MySpace was, ‘Is social media a fad?’ Years later, I think

we all know the answer is a huge “No”. It’s here to stay and has proved a useful tool

for people with talents and skills, particularly singers, musicians and producers. I’ve witnessed the benefits first hand… During the last few years, I’ve rubbed shoulders with artists, DJs, record label execs, worked with digital agencies, managers and

artists; run competitions that have generated hundreds of thousands of pounds; and delivered worldwide promotion for numerous brands. I’ve watched artists go

from their bedroom to celebrity status in a short space of time and helped many Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

musicians to achieve their dreams.

I would often think about the thought process artists went through and why some

campaigns worked brilliantly, like Lily Allen’s, while others would flop worse than Vanilla’s career (Google them). It was crazy how similar campaigns performed so

differently; they used exactly the same tactics and strategies but would get completely different results. Why? I intended to find out…

This ebook will reveal for the first time the principle secrets behind some of the

most successful social media music campaigns. Some people will be annoyed that

I’m letting the cat out of the bag but I want to highlight just how simple it is for people, whether they are in the music industry or individual artists, to use social media in a rewarding way.

So, what is this worst kept secret? The answer is… learning and mastering the

fundamentals (I can feel the disappointment in you right now)... but wait, hear me out. Have you ever worked on a campaign or project that proved very successful only

for you to try to do the exact same thing again but it still turned out a failure? I know

this has happened to me and if it hasn’t already happened to you, it will at some point. It has also happened to many music artists and the wider music industry staff

that work with them. This is why this book starts with the fundamentals. By the end of this ebook, the aim is to:

· Motivate you to take action and see an improvement within weeks

· Give you a clearer understanding of social media

· Challenge the way you think

Warning: If you were hoping I’d create your social media marketing strategy, so you could just follow an easy step-by-step guide, then stop reading now because this book won’t give you that. Without finding out where you are in your music lifecycle, it would be irresponsible of me to offer a social media strategy with the promise that it will work for everyone - it won’t!

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

At the end of most chapter there will be questions and/or action items for you to

answer and follow. What I will do is pose questions that will challenge the way you think, and eventually will help you come up with the right answer for where you want to go. It’s not about working harder when the solution is to work smarter. If you’re up for the challenge, then please continue reading.

If you like what you read, then please tell others about this free ebook, send the link to the website www.theworstkeptsecret.com tweet about it, put on social networks and spread the word.

Before we get into the first commandment I just wanted to thank the people and companies that took time out of their busy schedule to make this ebook happen. Thanks to Sony BMG, Warner Music, PRS for music, MTV, BBC, iTunes, MySpace,

Bebo, We7, Kiss FM, Association of Independent Music (AIM), Jumpoff.tv and many more - all were amazing to work with and have been extremely helpful.

Also, you may be wondering who the hell Andrew Davis is? You can find out more

about me at www.theworstkeptsecret.com

Like I said before, I really want to challenge the way you think and show you that

operating with an old mentality in a new world is going to make things very difficult for you. This book is targeted at musicians but anyone can use these fundamentals

if they want to understand and get ahead of the social media game. Thanks for

downloading and I hope you enjoy the “10 Commandments of Music and Social Media”.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 1:

Get Your MTV Crib

“Who’s Hooooouse?” - Run DMC

“It’s going to be the first place people will see when they go online so make it look hot,” So said Diddy to one of the world’s most expensive footballers Rio Ferdinand.

It was March 2007 and I was launching the UK’s version of MySpace’s Artist on Artist interviews, a format in which two icons would interview each other rather than the bog standard artist and TV presenter set up. There they were, Diddy and Rio. Diddy

was very interested to be involved in something new and Rio was interested in starting up his own website. By then Diddy had realized the value of the internet and especially social media. His advice to Rio came from experience and success. Your

website becomes your personal brand, and I realised that day that no one is better at creating a successful “personal” brand than Diddy. -------Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

I love watching MTV Cribs. For some reason itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entertaining to see celebrities in their staggeringly expensive houses. Their houses make a statement about who they are and what they are really like. Some have good taste whilst others are comically

tasteless. Whoever it is, there is always a sense of competition and boasting. Forget their achievements - who can pimp their house out best!

MTV Cribs reminds me of how the internet was five years ago; people spending a

substantial amount of money to be creative in a space which others would view and

judge you by. Those used to be the rules for a successful website. Unless you were

prepared to spend a lot of money and hire a great designer or developer, it was a hard

game to get into. Then came social media and web 2.0 (oh how I love that phrase). Suddenly, anyone could do it.

Social networking sites like Bebo and MySpace made it easier for artists to not only

have their own personal space for free, but to design it as well. They could alter it

to their own needs and pimp the hell out of it! It was like a new, emerging breed

of hubs/cribs. These social networking sites were free and allowed users to be as creative as their technical limitations would allow. At around the same time, blog

publishing applications like Wordpress popped up, making it possible to have your own website or blog for a very low cost. Just like those celebs on MTV Cribs, you, the

ordinary person, could create an online crib and pimp it out to the max. You could make it look a million dollars. It would represent you. But unlike the celebs, you had done it for a price of next to nothing. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MTV Cribs all over, but in a virtual reality.

Perception is everything and having your own home online is crucial for any singer, band, musician, producer or DJ. Your crib is usually divided into two categories - a social media page or your own website.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Social media cribs have many benefits; • They’re free.

• They’re simple to set up.

• They’re easy to attract, reach and befriend people due to their built-in communities.

• They have handy design tools to let you pimp your page.

• They attract contemporary media stories, keeping them in touch with the zeitgeist.

They also come with limitations:

• Data capture, which is a very important factor for all artists, is difficult. • Your creativity is limited to the site’s capabilities. • It’s tough to monetise your content.

• There’s not much you can do if and when they crash from over use.

What I would strongly recommend is having a crib that is your own website and

use social media sites to direct traffic there. Basically, use them to act, in part, as aggregators to drum-up interest. Social media sites are tools to get what you want as

an artist. Whether its generating new fans, making new friends or getting people to buy your music, social media can be an amazing tool…if used correctly. Used badly, it can be a headache. If you were to give Michelangelo a hammer, he would create

art. If you were to give me a hammer I would create a mess. The same rule applies for social media, you have to understand the craft before you can achieve anything

from it. I am sure you can think of examples of amazing along with amazingly awful campaigns!

Having your own website has many benefits:

• Freedom to experiment in different ways to market your content. • It allows you to be more creative in your site’s design. • It forces you to learn from your own mistakes.

• Most importantly, it makes it easier to monetise your music.

It’s the equivalent of renting or buying a house. Both keep you off the streets but at Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

least you own one. Also, having your own website encourages others to take you

more seriously. Like I have said before, perception is key. Work all the social media sites - this is a must. At the same time, make sure you have your own crib.

Before you work on design, content and pimping out your website, you need to get a URL (web address) and a hosting company (these allow you to serve your content to the internet). These are both very small investments, a few pounds / euros / dollars

(please use your currency) but probably the most important investments you will

spend in your internet life cycle. 99% of websites have to buy both and it is a very

easy and simple process. If you’re not sure which companies to trust, I recommend you purchase a cheap URL name from Go Daddy and get your hosting from Hostgator as these are the cheapest around. Questions

• What type of online crib is best for you? Social media or your own website? • Who has a crib online which you like the look of?

• What content could you put on your site to make it look a million dollars? Action Items

• Get a URL and hosting sorted asap by visiting Go Daddy and Hostgator. So now you know the importance of a crib, you need to invite some people to see it… but who?

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 2:

Make Your Network Equal To Your Networth

“When we went number 1 we were on the news about how MySpace helped us... We actually had no idea what it was.” - The Artic Monkeys

“Ok. We have fifteen days to put this party together. Andrew, you look after the invites. We’ve got three floors to fill so you need to get as many people as you and the rest of the staff can to come. We need bands, managers, record labels, press – the works. I’m thinking Lily Allen and The Arctic Monkeys – can you make it happen?”. He was gone before I could answer.

It was my second week at MySpace. I was asked to put together a launch party. I was under a lot of pressure and clearly out of my depth. This was my chance to prove

myself. “Think Andrew, think!” I told myself, but I had no idea where to start. Then it

hit me: I already had the biggest network of music artists, journalists and label ex-

ecutives at my fingertips, It was too obvious: MySpace.com --------

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

The phenomenal success of The Arctic Monkeys a few years ago was, in part, due to

their vast online network of friends and followers on MySpace. The band became a huge success in the alternative rock scene. If you weren’t part of the band’s network,

you were almost deemed as un-cool. It was arguably the extensive already-existing fan-base that brought the band to the attention of their soon to be record label.

The band, it seems, were at first sadly unaware of the full power and force of their network and the role it played in increasing their overall ‘networth’ (value). However, the rest of the music world certainly took note. Since then thousands upon thou-

sands of hopeful unsigned acts and undiscovered musicians have been dreaming to replicate The Arctic Monkey’s phenomenon. Some more successful than others…

Without a solid network you will struggle. If you have the right network of ‘friends’, you can turn yourself into a much more attractive and valuable asset. By engaging your network of friends appropriately, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Good or bad, the nature of the industry is such that “who you know” seems to

be more important than “what you know” – so make some useful friends fast! If there’s any area you should try mastering, it’s this one. A productive network can lead to money, power and respect.

What I’m going to say now will sound harsh. As an up and coming artists, no one cares about you online (I heard something similar to this from a Marketing genius

I highly recommend, Seth Gecko. Google him, Google him, Google him). Please re-

member this: there’s no point in sugar-coating things. I’ll say it again: No one cares about you. Have that in mind when you are randomly approaching people, expecting them to be your friend on a social network. The trick is to work out how you can

reverse that and make people care. Your goal should be to befriend anyone whose online experience is something that you will add value. Quick tip: be selective, don’t

just add anyone. Someone who has similar music taste to you is more likely to want to know you than someone who doesn’t.

Be honest, who here has used a ‘friend adder’ on MySpace or an application on Twitter to boost their friend count? I am sure some of you are nodding in agreement, othAndrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

ers among you are thinking ‘I’d never do that’. Some of you are typing ‘friend adder’ into Google right now. Before you continue, answer this question: is having more friends or followers going to increase the overall value of your network?

My view is that it won’t. I’ve debated on this issue with so many people and have come to the conclusion that it’s not a numbers game anymore. Would you rather

have 100,000 followers that you have consciously, painstakingly added or 10,000

who have approached you? Having lots of followers may be great in the short term (to make you look popular in the eyes of record labels or radio stations) but if no

one is really engaging with you and you spend more time adding and trying to widen your fan base than actually talking, eventually your ‘networth’ will decrease.

Record label executives have told me that although they look for the number of

friends and followers when signing a new talent, if those numbers do not translate into sales or marketing value then there’s no point. It is hard to get a record deal but even harder to stay signed. If you are going to inflate your numbers to bag a record

deal or management contract you have got to make sure that your network is fully

behind you, that they are willing to buy your music and spread the word. In a nutshell, your network of friends and followers need to deliver and support you.

The key is to add value to them so they want to tell their friends. People do not want to be left out of the next hot act, and you have to make them believe it is going to be you. As the old saying goes: ‘It’s seven times easier to keep a customer than

to get a new one”. This is no different with social media where you can rely on your existing friends to bring in new ones rather then trying to bring in as many people as you can. A strong network will make things happen. If the network is active and engaged, you will find people who will have an active role in promoting you.

With most networks, the 80/20 principle applies, in that 20% of your network will

do 80% of what you need (i.e. interacting and marketing). In other words, 80% of

the effect comes from 20% of the cause. The law is called Pareto’s Principle and it’s

worth researching more on this subject if you have time (I will be including this in a lot of my blog posts and courses I teach in the next few months) as I have frequently Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

used this principle to increase my productivity drastically.

I am sure that a lot of musicians are aware of the importance of the network but

want to know how they can get more friends. My honest answer is that there are a

thousand and one ways, but what works for someone might not work for someone else. This is why I teach the fundamentals – these never change. For example, one of the most simple and successful ways in which to get a huge network fast is to enter a

television show like X-Factor or American Idol (lol). If you have a great audition you

will be able to create a popular page and will have an instant network. But how many

people want to go down this route, and how successful will it be in the long term? As I have said, what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. You should aim to find your own way but have these fundamentals as your foundation. So how should you do it? I want to challenge the way you think. Questions

• What five things do you ultimately want from your network? (I.e. more friends; more views; sales; to share information; to raise awareness).

• Like attracts like, therefore what type of people do you think you can attract with your music?

• Are more friends / followers going to increase the overall value of your network or just more housekeeping?

Action Item

• Who are the 20% of your network that does 80% of your work? (i.e. who do you

talk with most? Who always responds? Who re-tweets your messages or links? Who tells other people about you? Who watches your videos? etc etc…). These are the people you need to look after the most, so nurture them.

Now you can see the importance of a network, what are you going to provide them with and how the hell are they going to know about you? Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 3:

Remember That Content Is King, Marketing Is Queen... And The Woman Runs The Household

“You know you are scared when a woman tells you to get our your own house and you leave.” - Eddie Murphy

It was in early 2007 when I bumped into an old friend at a networking event in a bar in Soho, London.

“So where do you work?” “MySpace” “Cool! Have you met Tom?” She laughs hysterically.

“No, but he does exist”. I’m getting used to saying this by now.

She eventually stops laughing. “I don’t get it. I thought people control everything themselves on MySpace - what could you possibly do?”

“I work between the Content and the Marketing divisions because we realise that Content and Marketing go hand in hand online”.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

“Really? Sounds interesting. How does that work?” “Well, its funny you should ask that… ” --------

When it comes to online, the unwritten rule has always been ‘Content Is King’. Without content you have nothing. With social media being like a reality TV show

people expect more than just music tracks, so your content could be in the form of

videos, photos, blogs or status updates too. A lot of artists are now using their content, including albums, as a promotion tool to sell concert tickets because internet piracy has affected their sales.

If you can get your content right who needs a record label? You’ve got a good video… YouTube is a great place to distribute it. You have brilliant tracks… MySpace can host

them. You have lots of events coming up… you can tell everyone through Twitter or Facebook. You’ve got lots of cool pictures… posting them onto Flickr will create more

views. You want to generate revenue… iTunes is ready and waiting to sell your digital downloads. And don’t forget your allimportant MTV online crib. You suddenly have a complete internet music lifestyle. Sounds easy right?

There seems to be this myth that great content will sell itself. Well, not exactly.

Content is king but marketing is queen… and the woman runs the household (I got

that quote from Gary Vaynerchuk. Please Google him for more fantastic advice; he is a great character and someone I would highly recommend you follow).

Note: If your goal is to listen to your music on your iPod and share it with just a few

friends, the rest of this chapter isn’t for you and I would advise you skip forward to the 4th Commandment.

Without marketing, you could end up as that talented artist who never got that

“lucky break” and I am sure we all know someone like that. Every artist thinks they’re gifted, the audition stages of shows like X-Factor and American Idol are proof of that.

Note: if you do not think your content is great then stop reading this book and start

working on your music until you think your content is great… then come back to this Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

book because it gets better and better, I promise. For a musician who wants to master marketing through social media, it is simply the act of communicating yourself and

/ or content to as many potential fans as possible. If you do not learn how to market yourself, then you have a long uphill struggle I’m afraid. The best selling artists in

the world over the last 10 years are not necessarily the best singers or the most

talented – they or their record label understand how to effectively communicate to their target audience.

One basic element every successful artist or musician can market is their story. Their story is how they became known to the world or what motivated them to

become an artist. What is 50 Cent’s or Amy Winehouse’s story? Most people can answer without checking numerous blogs, wikis, news sites or Google because they’ve been told so many times. Every successful artist has a story before they

‘made it’ and journalists and bloggers use this angle frequently. What’s your story? If you don’t have one then create one. Make it exciting but don’t lie; just

find an angle about yourself that you think will engage others and lead with this point. You don’t need to make up a story (like Vanilla Ice), because you will eventually be exposed as a liar. Don’t forget, the internet is the world’s biggest archive!

Marketing is not all about a story but if you are going to shout about your story people will eventually listen and check you out. If your content is not as good as you’ve been making out, things could start looking grim for you. When I was

working for BBC Radio, my boss used to say to me, “Andrew, back your talk. If

you are going to say something make sure you can back it up or else.” That’s sound advice. This is why ‘content is king’ because all the marketing in the world cannot

hide the truth so make sure your content is “on point” before you tell everyone how great it is. Questions

· Content is king: What content can you consistently provide to your Network? (what will give your network the “Oh Sh*t, I have to send this to my friend” factor so people Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

will want to tell their friends about it?)

· Marketing is queen: What is your story? What makes you stand out?

· Back your talk: Can you justify your story with 5 compelling reasons why someone should check you out? Action Item:

· Find 3 artists that you have discovered on a social media site and find out what content they produce and also what their story is?

In this day and age, talent can only get you so far - marketing seems to do the

rest. The beauty of social media is that everyone is dealt the same cards, which are the sites we use. One way to have an advantage is marketing. Money also

helps but it can also be a hindrance. Lack of money can be your friend as it assists creativity and that is what social media helps to bring out in a lot of people. Most record labels are lazy (see chapter 4 for what I mean by lazy) and with sales

decreasing they are looking for artists who have built a buzz. A lot of musicians don’t want to do this as they want to concentrate on the music but this is an imperative part of your career.

I will stress this again: you must market yourself. Even if you don’t do it yourself

and your friend or manager does it on your behalf, you need to be aware of its importance. Everyone hoping to break into the music industry should have basic

knowledge, especially in this day and age where using social media has become a normal part of everyday life. If you don’t want to execute any marketing activity,

then the next best thing would be to advertise, but advertising on social media is expensive and success rates are very, very, very low.

Take risks with your marketing. Don’t just think outside the box (that was so last year), act outside the box. Social media is essentially personal branding so it’s important to understand this why it is a fundamental principle of being successful in social media. That and also by being lazy!

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 4: Be Lazy

“Follow me and do exactly what you see/Don’t you wanna grow up to be just like me?” - Eminem

“Are you free next week? We need you to help produce an interview.” “Who?” “Jay Z.”

It was Summer 09 when I was asked to work on this project. I still get the buzz of working on interviews with artists who care passionately about their craft. However, I was especially excited to meet Jay as he was somebody I admired and who has had a huge influence on certain decisions I have made. During the interview, Jay talked about why he made his classic “Blueprint” album and

wanting to return to the fundamental roots of Hip Hop. Then it hit me!!! Find

someone who has achieved roughly what I wanted, found out how they done it

and then apply these methods. I always wanted to write my own theories towards social media and music but didn’t know what direction to take it. Finding out the roots/fundamentals that are involved in every successful campaign I have seen and using Jay’s methods to do this, saved me a lot of time.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

What I am about to say right now is going to be a shock to the system and against everything your parents, teachers and bosses will say about work. So sit down, make sure you are not eating or drinking anything and listen up… The key to a successful career is to ‘Be Lazy’!

What do I mean by ‘Be Lazy’? Would you like to be in a position where you could focus on your content, while knowing that when you upload to your sites that your network will help promote and market it for you (increasing net worth) and

directly decreasing the amount of time spent trying to promote it, while sitting back watching it happen and engaging when you want? Well, the bad news is, people are doing it right now and you’re probably not one of them. The good news is, you can be! The even better news is that it can happen if you learn to “be

lazy”. Hey, why reinvent the wheel when its already been done? It takes way too long and time is arguably the main reason why people fall short in social media.

The most successful people using social media are not the ones who spend the

most time on them. These are the people you need to learn from and I call these people ‘virtual consultants’. These are people that have already achieved the results you’re looking for so learn from them. I believe that success leaves clues.

Anyone who has achieved success has left breadcrumbs leading to how they did it. Remember, one strategy doesn’t work for all, but parts of a strategy can be copied to deliver similar, if not exactly the same, results.

I must state that I am not talking about worshipping these people I mean using them for guideline on how you can use social media by thinking and acting in a similar way. There is nothing wrong with copying and then putting your spin on it. Your heroes and idols did the exact same thing to get to where they are now. So how do you go about finding these virtual consultants?

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

First of all you need to know the result you are after. Tip: It is important to get

advice from someone who has achieved the results you want. Anyone can read blogs, RSS feeds etc and call themselves an expert, therefore I must stress that it

is people who have succeeded that you should be looking at. Plus remember that

experience counts. I always compare it to financial advisers in a building society or bank. I am not going to take financial advice from someone I am richer than; I would rather find a millionaire investor.

The people you are looking for, who can become your virtual consultants, do not have to be obvious either. You don’t have to limit yourself to just musicians or

singers. If you want to increase your video views then you may want to look at ‘vloggers’ who consistently do well. If you want to increase your followers /

friends, then you may want to look at bloggers who do well in the video game market. The decision is yours but be open to other markets. Here are some of mine:

• Marketing - Seth Godin • Inspiration - Jay-Z

• Social Media - Gary Vaynerchuk and Chris Brogan

• Negotiation – character Ari Gold from the TV show “Entourage”

Einstein once said: “You cannot solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it”. Sometimes you need to go outside of yourself to find the answer

and 9 times out of 10, you already know what it is… you just don’t want to do it.

I’m sure we’ve all given relationship advice to friends and to us the solution is simple… until the shoe is on the other foot and it’s you that needs the advice. All

of a sudden every excuse under the sun is there and your vision is clouded, even if you are in the exact same situation as your friend was. You know the answer,

you just need to hear it from someone else, or look at things from a different perspective. We don’t always want to do this!

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Questions:

路 Think of a problem you have encountered while trying to market yourself using social media. Who has already achieved the results you want? (you now have found your virtual consultant)

路 If you could ask them for advice what would you ask? (you now have

solved the problem of why your social media strategy is not where you want it to go)

路 Now ask yourself, what would your virtual consultant do if they were

you? (really think about this answer as this exercise takes you out of yourself and you look at it from a different perspective). For example, if

you want to find out how to get hold of an influential person and your

Virtual Consultant is Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters, then ask what would Dave Grohl do right now if he was me? Action Item:

路 Once you have answered the questions, do this twice more.

Now I must stress, this is just how I operate. Some people may want to take advice from others. It is entirely up to you but I am a huge believer in taking

advice from people who have actually lived the dream. Now it is time to contradict myself.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 5: Don’t Be Lazy

“It’s not who you are, it’s what you do with your time/It’s not about me, it’s what i do with Grime.” - Dizzee Rascal

I’m sitting in a hotel room with MTV and MySpace UK presenters Rickie and Melvin. Opposite us is Alicia Keys. She is talking about something but none of us

are listening. We were all thinking the same thing, “Damn she is fine. I wonder if

she is single?” Reality kicks in and we ask her if she uses MySpace. “Yes of course,” she says. “I used to use it all the time but I ended up spending too much time on it, like 8 hours I spent one night. It’s too addictive so I had to stop for a bit.” I desperately want to butt in and say how I can help her save time and still be active. I want to tell her how I’ve helped others who have had the same problem

over the years. I wanted to tell her the secrets of not being lazy in social media but all I can think is, “Damn, she is fine”. --------

‘Don’t Be Lazy’. I know what you’re thinking: “You just told me to be lazy and now

you are saying don’t be lazy? Are you on something Andrew?” Nope. What I mean by this, is to be active online.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Your community or network is a great place to start. Everyone is fighting for everyone else’s time so if you’re not active within your community, then

someone else will be engaging your community instead. You almost have to look at it as if it’s your spouse or partner. If you do not show them enough attention, someone else sure will and you could end up sitting at home cursing your luck.

Being active is important because, if you’re not, why would someone want to be

friends with you? Just like in real life, if you don’t interact with your friends, they’ll soon get bored, become distant acquaintances and eventually not speak to you at all. I’m sure we’ve all had that awkward feeling where you haven’t spoken

to somebody for a while, you start thinking it’s too late to make contact again so, you just kiss the friendship goodbye (or is that just me?). As artists or musicians,

you are in an amazing position to lead an interesting life and as social media is like a reality TV show, your fans / friends / followers need regular updates. Converse, engage and listen to them.

Being active shouldn’t be a chore; it should be fun and a great way to create a

two-way dialogue with your community. It’s about relationship building. Now, if you want to spend 8 hours a day on it then fine, you’ll probably do better than most but you do need a life outside of social networking otherwise it’s safe to say

your blogs and your photos will be pretty boring! Nobody wants to see pictures of you sitting by your computer or read updates from you which talk about your day online.

Now there are 3 things not to do:

· Don’t keep trying to sell your music to your community and not talk about anything else. They will soon lose interest.

· Don’t speak empty words; “I’m going to go to the studio” or “Might go clubbing tonight” is not very riveting. Have some substance. Don’t forget the

people who read it have either accepted your friend request or sent you a Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

request, so they are interested… you just have to keep their interest.

· Don’t spam. If you spam, people will stop being your friend. Only your

core fans may think it is ok as they know you and will like you no matter

what. Again, comparing to real life, it’s like someone who talks way too much. Your main friends know you are always like that but to everyone else you may get on their nerves.

Being active doesn’t just mean conversing with people or uploading content.

Listening to conversations and doing your research are other key factors. Listen to conversations about your competition, following market trends etc can help to determine what you should do next. Listening is a key aspect (which I will cover

in more detail on my blog site). Researching the latest trends can also be key to

your success. The press and the social media companies are always looking for that musician who will be “the next big thing”. A lot of artists became huge from MySpace during the period when the social network was deemed the coolest site. The same happened on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Find the next site or trend that you think will be big, as there has to be a success story, so why shouldn’t you be that success story.

Time is the most important factor here so how can you save time? Now the key to success is to be productive, not busy. There is a major difference between the two. Being productive gives you the feeling of getting important things done in a

reasonable amount of time. Busy is the feeling of working eight hours only to

find you’ve still got X, Y and Z to do before you finish. Using social media is no

different. We’ve all had those days where we’ve spent 5 or 6 or even 10 hours online in 1 session and achieved zilch.

I have Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) in my hands, which in a nut shell means I

literally cannot type. During my last year at MySpace when my condition was

gradually getting worse, I could only get about two (or three on a good day)

hours of work out of my hands before I physically couldn’t manage anymore. This forced me to change the way I worked, therefore altering my time Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

management (I could write a book about time management as I studied it so much). I literally could only use social networks for an hour a day but, to my surprise, I became a lot more productive. I became more productive by asking myself a series of questions, which I am now going to ask you: Questions

· If you could only spend 15 minutes engaging your fans in the morning, afternoon and evening, what would you do?

· If you had to accomplish one thing today that was productive, what would it be?

· What social media sites or applications do you think will be the next big thing?

Action Points

· Start researching what social media sites or applications you think will be the next big thing. Do this through research and finding where the influencers are going or the things they are talking about.

Things won’t just improve by themselves, that’s why being active is very important. Unless you are famous already (if that’s you then please let your network know about this AMAZING book!), you are going to have to work hard at

satisfying your community. You need to work hard at this. Actually, let me rephrase that, you need to work smart at this. There are some people you need to be very active with though. Who?

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 6:

Influence The Influencers

“They say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well, the way to a DJ’s turntable is through his ego.” - Andrew Davis

“There are so many independent artists here in San Francisco, how do you stand out from the rest?” The manager of one of the most important artists on the West Coast didn’t even hesitate as the words flew out of his mouth.

“We give away some of our tracks to school kids and build a buzz with them so they tell their older brother who is a DJ or has friends who are DJs. You gotta understand how these DJs think. If the DJs hear from his or her 15 year old brother or sister that this is the newest artist everyone is listening to and he is late by not playing them, watch how fast the DJ will play this guy”. It was spring 2006 and I was in San Francisco, which has one of the largest

independent music scenes in the world. Artists have no choice but to think

and more importantly act outside the box. It is Silicone Valley after all – the

home of entrepreneurs - and it made me realise that to get your music played, the ego is a very powerful tool to use.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

They say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but the way to a DJ’s

turntable is through his ego. I remixed this from Peter Kim (Google him; he offers great advice). He said this about bloggers but it is the same principal for DJs, producers, bloggers, artists etc. DJs, like record labels, want to find new

artists, therefore the best DJs are like A&R men (or women). As an artist, you need to find and approach DJs who will help break your music. How? By having

great music and catering to their ego. Remember, it’s not the best artists that get ahead, it’s the bold.

Now, I’m not talking about shameless butt-kissing; there’s a big difference between catering to someone’s ego and puckering your lips to kiss where the sun

doesn’t shine. Having worked with many DJs, from very famous to the up-andcoming, I can tell you every single one of them has an ego. That’s not a bad thing

so if you’re a DJ reading this and feel you don’t have an ego then you really need

to get one. With so many DJs around due to lower barriers of entry (you don’t

even need to go record shopping anymore), competition is fierce. Just like

artists, DJs aim to be the best and the most relevant so you should be able to understand each other as you’re going through the same struggles. Remember

this - a DJ is as good as the content you supply them with. Once they get the

content, they then decide how to present it. In other words, if the ingredients suck then even a great chef can’t save the meal.

A good DJ knows how to source new, fantastic content but the top DJs usually don’t source that much because everything gets sent to them. Back when vinyl was the be-all-and-end-all and I was working for BBC Radio, one of my jobs was to make sure the DJs got their records every week. I remember thinking that there were A LOT of tracks. Now, following the invention of mp3s, they must

receive hundreds more than ever before. So how are you going to stand out for a DJ to play your music?

A DJ needs to stay relevant to the market. A DJs worst nightmare is to be

considered outdated and un-cool so they need to know what the kids are listening to. You can pretty much guarantee that the younger generation are Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

looking for the next cool artist that the older generation hasn’t noticed yet. If a

DJ doesn’t move with the times then they’ll become obsolete very fast. Remember, a lot of DJs don’t necessarily like what they play but because the demand is so high they have to play it. This is another reason why building a

buzz is imperative. Note: This is basic economics; supply and demand. It’s your job to get to know every DJ. Now when I say DJ, I’m talking about anyone with a platform to play your music so bloggers and content producers

are included too. With a lot of DJs now writing their own blogs, they don’t even have to wait for their next radio show or club night to showcase new talent. The

track / profile / video can be uploaded to their social media pages or crib whenever they want.

You want your music played, so do it with dignity and strike up conversations with the DJs. Gone are the days of waiting outside radio stations for the chance to hand your demo to your favourite DJ; you have social media instead. If you

approach them correctly online, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results – which may be greater than just playing your music, as some will offer constructive advice and feedback.

Be assertive but humble. Talk to them, ask questions, answer questions, compliment them but back it up with reason. Don’t just say “I think you are the best” because there are only a couple of responses they can give to that, with the

most common being “thanks”. A better approach for a response would be, “You were great on the show, I enjoyed a lot of it. I didn’t catch the names of some tracks

you played. Do you have a playlist that you could send to me please?” Start small

and grow. It’s like most friendships. You need to try to make them remember

you first, before bombarding them with all your music. You want them to remember your name so when they finally listen to your music, they do it with a slight “psychological” bias. 99% of all DJs I have come across are friendly; you just need to work out what makes them friendly.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Questions

· What five DJs would you want to become friends with and have play your music?

· By doing a bit of research on your DJ of choice, what do you think they would like to converse about?

· Who are the DJs responding to? (These people could help to open the

door for you. They can provide advice on how to gain support from the DJ or even help to bring you to the DJ’s attention. I have seen many DJs join

in conversations between two people in their network who happen to be

talking about them. By engaging the DJ’s network, you are in turn able to engage the DJ.) Action Items

· Contact 5 DJs you would like to play your music. You’ll find them on the likes of Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, Facebook or Linked In – to name a few! Try to get responses from them. Start small and build.

If a DJ doesn’t reply, don’t take it personally (See chapter 10). Remember, they do not know or care about you just yet so getting annoyed at them is pointless.

Keep at it. I know it can be frustrating but whatever you do, please do not be rude. There is no excuse for bad manners and “Oi! Play my track… it’s hot” can be seen as bad manners, not to mention annoying!

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 7:

Start 2 Steps Ahead Of Everyone Else

“I had it laid out before you knew what the plan was/$300m later , now you understand us.” - Jay-Z

I was parked outside my friend’s house in South London in April 2006. I was measuring up a situation that I could potentially turn into an opportunity. “I’m

going to go for it,” I thought. The aim was to see if I could be involved in any way

with MySpace when they set up in the UK because I knew online was the future and I needed to be a part of it. “How are you going to do that?” I asked myself. “Hmmm, good question. I really don’t know,” said the voice in my head. However, I had a goal and a reason why, I just needed to work out the how. --------

I hear the groaning now. Goals never work. People do not stick to them. What’s

the point? I used to think like that until I came across a cool little method of goal setting that is relevant for this day and age. I used to hate goal setting and only

did it because I felt it had to be done and it seemed like the right thing to do especially around New Year’s. However, after I wrote them, I would never stick to them.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

The thing is, everyone visualises and has an idea of where they want to go; for an

artist or musician it maybe touring, selling albums or even being a YouTube

sensation. Just like a music video director, he or she has a rough sketch of what they want to accomplish. You should have the same for your social media strategy. It could be as straightforward as mastering Twitter to developing a fully

fledged SEO site complete with all the latest tools and software relevant and available on Wordpress. Planning gives you the edge over the other guy because it makes you focus and means that you know what the end game is.

Developing a plan and then taking action (see chapter 8) could be the difference between a good idea and an unbelievably successful career. You don’t have to be

as structured as a record label but you do need some type of aim. The internet

changes too quickly and what is hot this morning could be old news by this evening, so before you even look at devising a plan, I would recommend you go into it with the mindset of being flexible. By not being flexible, you may miss other opportunities. Allow your goals to evolve and don’t let them restrict you. For example, if back in 2007 you had

decided to create a rigid, two year strategy for your MySpace account which required a lot of money to execute, you wouldn’t have been able to predict and adapt to the sudden surge in Facebook’s popularity. Therefore, you could have missed out on a huge market. Now, be flexible on the strategy to reach your overall vision but try not to lose sight of that vision.

There is an old marketing saying I live by; when you goal set, you should be

S.M.A.R.T (my business studies teacher would be so proud of me right now for remembering her advice… and she thought I was sleeping that day). S.M.A.R.T stands for:

S – Specific: Make your aims and objectives well defined so anyone will understand.

M – Measurable: Know when it has been reached. Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

A – Achievable: Your goal needs to be something that you can achieve. Be confident and challenge yourself but also be realistic.

R – Relevant: Each tactic or short term goal needs to relate to your overall vision or aim.

T - Time-based: The goals need to have a set completion date. When do you wish or need to fulfil this goal? How long will it realistically take for you to be successful?

So how do you go about setting a plan for social media?

This can be a huge task or as simple as you like. I’m a huge fan of simplicity so I will keep this simple for now. Questions:

· What is your vision or overall aim? (now remember this is just for your social media strategy, not your career, so be specific).

· Why are you doing this? Easily forgotten, but the ‘why’ will get you

through the days when you want to give up. This could possibly be the most important of all questions.

· What are your resources? What can you use that is in your favour right

now? These could be anything from putting a team together to help and support you (including identifying and using your virtual consultants as

suggested in Chapter 4) to having time on your side to complete the action points required to achieve your goals.

· Where do you want to be in 90 days (your long term goal)? As I’ve

mentioned before, I don’t advised goals that require too long a period of time because things change quickly.

· Where do you want to be in 30 days (your mid-term goal)? A month can be a long time in social media. I have seen people put up a video and became successful overnight! Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

· Where do you want to be in 7 days (your short term goal)? This requires you to take action immediately. Once you get the momentum going, it’s harder to stop.

You should look at your goals frequently. I often check my long term goals monthly, my mid term ones weekly and my short term targets daily. It takes less than a minute to do this so no excuses 

Setting a goal and then achieving it is a great feeling. I strongly advise you to have

a plan like the one above, which is very basic and easy to implement. If this is too much, at least have a vision and a purpose. Sometimes the ‘how’ to do it comes from a place that is not quite visible to you right now.

The most important part of goal setting is taking action… or it is pointless.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 8:

Get Off The Bench And Into The Game

“Time for some action.” - Cypress Hill “So when are you going to write this book Andrew?” “Soon as I finish doing blah blah blah…” I rambled on with the usual excuses. “There you go again… You and your compulsive addiction; always starting something, getting everyone excited and never delivering! You have knowledge about an industry that loads of people want… no, NEED to know… but because you can’t be bothered you take the selfish approach and keep it to yourself. That’s your problem, you never act. You just talk a great game.” I stared at my friend in silence. Unfortunately, my initial thought wasn’t “I’m going to show her”… my first thought was that my biggest downfall is that I do

not take enough action. My second thought was that “She’s right. Damn her.” Only then did I think, “I’m going to show her.” --------

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

The reason why I didn’t write this book a year ago instead of now mystifies me. It’s like I was waiting for everything to be perfect before I started but we all

know that life is not that easy. It was like I was waiting for ‘some day’. It was not

until I heard someone ask “When is now a good time?” did I get off my butt to make this book happen.

What you find with anything is that the hardest part is to take the first step and it’s the same with social media. If you don’t have a website then the hardest part

is making that commitment to buy the URL and hosting space because then it becomes real. Get some momentum going for yourself. Do not wait for

everything to be perfect. Waiting for everything to be perfect is like not leaving your home to drive somewhere until all the lights are green and the road is clear.

You are going to have problems regardless, but deal with most of them once you

are moving, not before you start. Do not talk yourself out of the game before you start because your competition isn’t. And try not to say statements like “If only I

had…” etc. That’s a great way to procrastinate and a procrastinator’s job is never done.

You need to experience stuff then take action. You can study theory until the

cows come home but nothing beats experience. You do not learn to date through

reading books… you have to actually go on a date to truly learn. It is the same here. Get educated, of course, and yes, ask around, but you eventually have to do something. There are thousands of experts online who are full of book, RSS and

blog knowledge but have no real sense of what is going on because they have no

real experience. Do not become one of them. Also - and you might not want to

hear this - there are talented musicians out there who are better than you BUT they never took action in getting their name out there. Do not be like those guys either.

What people usually fear is not that bad once they have taken action. Social

media gets a bad reputation occasionally and the media goes guns blazing with scare tactics. Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

The majority of these cases usually:

· have nothing to do with social media, they just need an angle or · uneducated journalists. Question

“What are you waiting for?” Action Item

“Go (But finish the book first)!!!” If you are worried about making mistakes – good, because guess what, you will, but learn from them. There is a big gap between theory and practice and unfortunately you do not

have the luxury of waiting around, especially when there are a lot of other

hungry artists - some talented, some not - that want to build their careers. You just need to put the knowledge you have learnt from this eBook into practice. You have nothing to lose so go for it 

Once you start taking action, it is important to live by the next two commandments.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 9:

Let Patience Be Your Friend

“I can’t take this anymore.” - Simon Cowell

“That’s all well and good Doc but how long will I not be able to use my hands to not type,” I asked.

“Recovering from the Carpel Tunnel Release operation will take between 3-6 months but repetitive strain injury will take years”, he replied. --------

Six months after a wrist operation (I found out I didn’t need) and months on end of not being able to use my hands to do very basic things, I finally understood

what being patient really meant. My martial arts teacher/sifu always taught us the importance of patience and after being forced to try it, I’ve realised that being patient is not that bad.

The next two commandments are more about your inner self and are arguably the hardest to master. It is difficult to teach patience especially in a short ebook.

All the other commandments are pretty straight forward and additional information

can be found at www.theworstkeptsecret.com or other websites to help you to Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

master them, but how do you teach someone patience?

You need to be aware that this journey is a marathon not a sprint. So please think long term. Overnight success is very unlikely but it can and does happen. This is not necessarily a good thing though. If it does end up being a sprint and things takes

off immediately then you need to be prepared and get these fundamentals sorted quickly because without a good network, great content, a marketing strategy, shortcuts, being active etc you may be on a TV show in a few years called “Internet Stars: Where are they now?”. You don’t want to be that artist that

peaked on their first track, had no leverage (due to not having a good online

presence) and then spent the rest of their career trying to regain the success they once had.

For the rest of us (99.9%) then remember that this will take a while. By the time you’ve finished this book, I hope that you are inspired, motivated and driven by

your newfound knowledge. But you will notice that the rest of the world will not be moving at your new pace. Be patient, do not give up and remember that you need to be committed. If commitment isn’t your thing then you are not built for this I’m afraid.

So how long do I have to be patient before my first taste of online success? That

really depends on how you define success. If success is defined as setting up a basic online presence just to get the ball rolling, then you can achieve success in a

few hours. If success means to get a record deal due to your online activities, then it will take longer. However you define it, make sure you stay focused and work towards what you believe in.

More importantly, set yourself up to win. What do I mean by that? A lot of my

time was spent managing people’s expectations because everyone sees the huge numbers social media sites attract and thus expect huge returns: “So Andrew, if MySpace gets 10 million visitors a day on the homepage and we have our content

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

on the homepage, if we get 5% in a day… that’s fair, right? We should get 500,000 hits in a day, yeah?” Sound great? Yep, it sure does… but it is not going to happen.

When I start talking about the long tail and the fact it will take a while to get consistent figures, people lose interest.

Also, the good thing about being patient is that other things happen in that timeline. If you have set a goal to become the most popular video blogger, you never know what may happen along your journey. Most people have usually set up to take one path and ended up somewhere completely different but as rewarding, if not more so. When I started working in radio, I never would have thought I would have been able to transfer a lot of my skills to work online, especially as I wanted to master the art of radio.

Make sure you continue mastering the other commandments in this book. Keep

at it daily, even when things are not looking good. You will want to give up. You will think “is it worth it”? You will think why is this person getting that break

even though my stuff is better? Working on these fundamental principles is

building up your leverage and confidence. Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes you won’t realise it but it is. If done correctly, then in six months you will have: • A pimped out crib

• A stronger network

• More content and ways to market it

• Some people (virtual consultants) that can help create shortcuts for you

• Knowing how to engage with your network and being efficient with time • Contacts with influential people

• A plan that you have been implementing

If all these are covered, then it is impossible to not be in a stronger position and have leverage behind you. Just remember, all this happens in time and if you

make it exciting, fun and simple, then you are setting yourself up to win. Sometimes the journey is better than the goal.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Patience is one of the most important attributes to master if you intend to become great at digital marketing, alongside control, fear and rejection.

Everyone who has achieved any success has had to be patient at one time or another in this game, whether it has been waiting for a friend request, server issues, a reply, information or for the market to change if you’re favoured music genre isn’t deemed to be ‘cool’ right now. Remember, you are not alone. If you

believe in your content, you need to be in this for the long haul and have the patience to handle and overcome the hard knocks.

If you’re ever tempted to give up, I want you to remember this: If your self belief is true, you will not give up but may make some bad decisions through

impatience. This may delay your big break but you will learn from your experience and eventually this will teach you patience. Experience and patience will lead to good decisions.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Chapter 10:

Don’t Take It Personal

“There’s ten rules to the game, but I’ll share with you two Know, people gon’ hate you for whatever you do.” - Tupac Shakur

“I was talking about your course with a few people and to be honest, we were split. Two thought it was an excellent idea, while the other two thought the idea of teaching kids social media was a waste of time, especially for their GCSEs”. “Why?”, I quickly replied with utter confusion on my soon to be annoyed face. “He thinks things change too quickly for it to be taught as a subject therefore it is pointless”. I was going to start arguing my point and say that teaching social media to young teenagers is imperative, not just to show another option for a career choice but

also to help add value to other core subjects. Something stopped me. It wasn’t the fact that the person I wanted to direct my anger towards wasn’t there or the fact he didn’t even know me and the objectives. What stopped me was a very

important piece of advice a friend said about criticism: Don’t waste your time

getting angry as it’s not going to stop you doing what you want to do and don’t take it personally.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

This is easier said then done, and if you really want to master this area then you

should look at further research. I included this commandment because if

mastered, then you have one of the most powerful life skills you can ever dream of and goes way beyond social media. If you can conquer fear and rejection then you are set for life as this commandment deals with both.

Remember this: it doesn’t matter what you do, how successful you are, how great and moving your music is, how much your network engages with you, or how you have made the world a much better place… people will still criticize you. It’s human nature. Whether they’re just ‘hating’ or if they have a

justified reason, people are going to criticise you - especially online because it’s

so easy and immediate, hence the rise of the ‘Internet Gangsta’ (Ooooh Scary). So

if you want any type of success, start learning to deal with criticism from now. The best way to get used to it is… don’t take it personally.

First off, the internet is like the Wild West. Anything goes, including the freedom of speech (in most cases). Therefore, it is virtually impossible to control what others are saying, doing, promoting or selling. This is the reason why many

establishments are scared of it and keep trying desperately to ignore it rather than educating themselves on how to use it. You cannot control what people say so accept that you can be vulnerable to a few harsh words or two. Secondly, there could be a million and one reasons why someone chooses

to criticise you so I would strongly recommend you don’t waste your time guessing why. Thinking takes up too much time when you could be doing something more productive!

Thirdly, you can’t please everyone. If someone says they hate your track with no

real justification, are you going to change it? If another person says they don’t like your trainers, are you going to change your entire image? You can’t let

anyone have that much power over you. Bill Cosby once said “I do not know the secret of success but I do know the secret of failure. Try pleasing everyone.”

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Just like the quote at the beginning of this commandment, from the late poet and rap star Tupac Shakur, ‘People are going to hate you for whatever you do’. You shouldn’t let someone’s criticism sway your goals, especially if it is not

constructive. When you post something on any social network you are open to

feedback, both good and bad. It’s the gift and the curse of social media. There are many amazing things you can do with these tools but you have to be prepared to suffer some consequences. You can’t just have the nice bit of bread; you have to deal with the crust as well.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. How many times have you watched something online that you really enjoyed but never left a comment? You are not the only one. A lot of your friends / followers will like your stuff but never say it.

Again, this is where the 80/20 principle comes into play, where only 20 per cent of those who like your content will actually comment.

Don’t ignore feedback. If you do something that isn’t quite as good as you think it

is, your network will let you know and offer constructive criticism. These are the

people worth listening to as a great network is not just full of “Yes” men, who live off your every word. They will help to guide your career. If you look after them well, then watch what happens if you ever get criticised elsewhere. Your network will actually do the fighting for you. Now that’s power!

Right now, on my iPod I have Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, Dizzee Rascal, Too Many DJs, James Nevas and Kanye West and they have all received criticism online - especially Kanye (2009: Southpark and MTV). Do you think they take it personal?

They didn’t just give up and throw in their career. In my mind these guys are

great, but other people may hate them. People have often slated some of the

greatest achievers in history; Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Mohammed Ali, Princess Diana – to name a few. It doesn’t matter what you do, people are going to hate, so you really need to make sure you don’t take it personal.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

“But how can I not take it personal? It’s my time, blood, sweat and tears that have gone into it and this song represents me”. If you start to take things personally you are essentially agreeing with what they are saying and making the assumption

that everything in that person’s life is about you. Remember, no-one cares about you. All the hating is about themselves.

Also, it can make you easy prey, so people will happily play mind games with you

from the comfort of their own home. You need to detach yourself from it and the best way is to be true to yourself. Can you say that you have given this 100%? Is what you are putting up for the world to potentially see… your best work in that

given situation? If so, then you just have to roll with the punches when you’re getting criticised. It’s very hard, I know, but everyone who has had success has had to go through it. This is where self belief plays a huge role. Be Lazy (Chapter

4)… find someone who has gone through it and find out how they dealt with it. You need to have thick skin in this game.

Being open to criticism is one of the negatives to social media, but dealing with it and managing it is a great achievement, not just in social media but in life. If you

can put up a video that receives positive and negative feedback and turn it to

your advantage, then engaging or building a network is easy. Remember, most

negative and pointless criticism is not about you - it’s about the other person and their issues. David Beckham said: “I try not to think about any of the criticism.

Obviously it is hard at times, but I just do what I love doing, and what I know I do best, which is to play football”.

Before I finish this commandment I must add that you shouldn’t hold resentment towards someone who criticises you either. Will it get you to your end goal?

Probably not. I once heard the brilliant quote ‘hanging onto resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die’. Do not burn your bridges. The internet makes the world a lot smaller and the person criticising you may be friends (if only just on Facebook), with someone who you may one day need help from.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Realistically you are not going to be able to detach yourself from everything all

the time but your goal should be to cut it down so it doesn’t greatly affect your overall strategy. It’s going to happen to you… yes, YOU. When it does, you should rejoice. Get excited… you made it in the same league as your heroes. Well done!

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

Conclusion

So there you have it. I’ve carefully gone through the Ten Commandments for

music promotion using social media. I hope you have found this ebook useful and have a better understanding of how you can use social media to help reach your

goals. Most importantly, I hope you’ve started to build your strategy and are

ready to take action. Put all ten into practice and I guarantee you will see significant improvements.

If you have found this ebook helpful, then please start practicing what I’ve taught you by using it to engage your network and open up a dialogue with other musicians, DJs, producers and artists.

What I would love is for you to:

· Please check out my crib; www.theworstkeptsecret.com for more information and thoughts about similar topics

· Tell everyone about this free ebook; word of mouth or social media.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

· Forward the link to download the book www.theworstkeptsecret.com, to anyone who may need it (not just musicians).

· Join my mailing list for regular updates, offers and all that good stuff. · Add me (@andrew_davis) on Twitter.

· Discuss the contents, share thoughts, experiences, new ideas, opinions and, of course, criticisms (I won’t take it personal).

Although the book is directed at musicians, it’s really for anyone who wants to use social media for more than tagging photos and arranging what they do on a Friday night.

I’m questioned on a regular basis about social media strategies for artists hence why I wrote this introductory guide but I couldn’t put everything in one ebook. Please

check

out:

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

for

blogs

posts,

‘How

To…’ guides, case studies, ‘Top 10’ lists, interviews plus lots more about using

social media and other interesting topics. Also feel free to ask me any questions and I will try to get back to you. Details can be found on the site.

One of my favourite films is The Matrix and there is a scene where Morpheus says to Neo ‘I can show you the door but you have to walk through it’. I hope I have

shown you the door and made it welcoming enough for you to want to walk through it and start experiencing life on the other side. Good luck.

Andrew Davis

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

“the end...... unless you have started already.” - Andrew Davis

The

COMMANDMENTS of Music & Social Media

www.TheWorstKeptSecret.com

Andrew Davis