Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

music business

Everyone Told Me To Start My New Year With A “Bang,” Here’s Why They’re Idiots.

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Start the new year off with a bang!

That’s what everyone tells you to do.

But realizing It’s almost the end of January I have to ask:

Does your new year feel like a “bang”?

Better yet, do you know what a “bang” even feels like?

I ask because we often need to experience something directly in order to understand what it really is.

Does success even feel like a bang at all? Like an explosion that happens all at once?

Do you think that you’ll go to sleep one night and magically wake up the next morning feeling like the volume is turned up and your world is buzzing?

To me, any new endeavor feels ominous; something bigger than myself surrounded by doubt and unanswered questions. It literally feels like a fight just to get myself to start doing something…ANYTHING.

And then it gets a little bit better. Maybe I make a new contact or I learn something and do it just a little better. Then it’s right back to struggling.

But it never feels like a “bang”.

The bang of success comes when the reward for the hard work is already here.

It DOES NOT come during the struggle. It certainly doesn’t show it’s face when the whole world, including your own brain, seem to be trying to slow you down or distract you.

So don’t start the new year expecting a huge “bang.” Expect doubt. Expect distraction. Expect not to be perfect. Expect to hit a wall and feel overwhelmed. Expect a struggle.

Expect to keep moving forward no matter what.

Don’t start this year with a bang.

Start with passion, start with some true grit, start with a crazy idea.

But for Pete’s sake, just START and whatever you do, don’t stop.

Then when you feel the “bang,” you’ll know it’s time to pause, reflect, enjoy how far you’ve come…and start all over again.

Why You Should Be Thankful For Your Lack Of Music Licenses

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It’s a really special time in United States culture this weekend, Thanksgiving. While most of the folks reading this will be preparing for a turkey dinner with family and friends, a lot of my readers across the globe will be carrying on with their lives as normal.

Either way I hope you’ll find today’s thought interesting and useful.

Many times when talking to artists I hear “I really want to get my music on TV.”

It’s awesome and I love it. It means they’ve done some homework and have discovered music licensing. They’re starting the arduous but rewarding path it presents.

It’s a long journey, equally frustrating and inspiring – this is true whether its your own music, someone else’s catalog, or your new role working in the music industry.

Today it’s important to remember how incredible it is to be able to focus on something like music licensing, no matter how challenging it gets, instead of having to worry about basic needs like food and shelter.

It’s very easy to tell ourselves a story about how difficult things are, but this really just boils down to an excuse we use to pardon ourselves from doing the work.

Today, give thanks – among all the other great things in our lives – for challenges, inspiration, success, and learning experiences (sometimes called failures).

The more we treat obstacles as opportunities, the more likely we are to accomplish real goals.

Here’s The Fastest Way To Get Music Licensed + 10 Ways Brands Use Music

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If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I’m very engaged with connecting music to advertising. Today, I want to get your wheels turning and get you thinking outside the box.

What is the fastest way to get your music in a commercial?

This answer may make you laugh: start a company.

Originally I thought the answer was “start an advertising agency” but that isn’t really correct though could still be effective.

Ad agencies still answer to clients (most of the time – sometimes they’re given artistic freedom by the brand). So even ad agencies can’t guarantee their final creative decision will be the approved one (even though plenty of times it is).

Music is tremendous at creating engagement and targeting specific demographics that brands can’t help but put it into everything they do.

Let’s look at 10 specific ways brands can use music:

  1. Original content – some brands like Patagonia create amazing content which features the stories or glimpses of active individuals.

  2. Digital shorts – the internet obviously provides a great medium for brands – they’ve got a captive audience (don’t you hate when you can’t skip the commercial before a YouTube video?) and extra time to work with.

  3. Events – Brands often sponsor events where they give out free product, or sponsor performances or activities in exchange to expose their image to a large audience.

  4. Product Demos – Lots of brands make items that are music-centric. Sonos, Jabra, Beats, all of these companies make speakers and headsets and many of them utilize music to demonstrate how great their product sounds.

  5. Promotions – Ever wonder how bands show up on a brand website or facebook page as part of a ticket giveaway? Sometimes it’s because the brand is already using their music in a spot, sometimes they’re sponsoring the event, but this is another great way for brands to use music.

  6. Products – When was the last time you went to Starbucks during the holidays and they weren’t selling a CD or two at the register? It’s all a part of a branded effort!

  7. In-Store – Sometimes to promote the very CD at the register they’ll play it over the speakers in the store. That way when a customer says “I love this song!” the person at the register can reply “It’s on our new compilation album!”

  8. In-Kiosk – Ever use one of those computers at a store to find a product? Sometimes there are videos playing on them – often with music.

  9. In-house – Did you know that music even gets licensed for videos shown at company meetings? Last year, a home-security client ended up licensing “Viva Las Vegas” to use at their annual conference.

  10. Commercial – Duh!

Now, what would be the fastest way to get your music in a film? On a TV show? Let me know in the comments!

The Story You Tell Yourself

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“I would love to be able to do that, but I’m just not that kind of person.”

How many times have you heard someone say this phrase? Or have said it yourself?

Often times in conversations with family members, colleagues, friends, and co-workers, this and similar phrases, are used as reasons why you can’t.

These statements are a complete affirmation of fear. They are nothing more than an excuse to NOT do something.

And a bad excuse at that.

And we allow ourselves these cop-outs too often.

The next time you say something “just isn’t your personality” or that you “don’t have the kind of [blank]” you need, try telling yourself a different story.

Just because you haven’t typically done something doesn’t mean you can’t.

What if the way you are is something that can be changed?

What would it take for you to be “that person”?

What would it look like?

How would you act?

What could you accomplish?

Think about it. Picture it. Pretend for one day.

…and watch what happens.

What kind of story are you telling yourself? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

The Certified Best Way To Fail To Impress A Music Supervisor

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Illiterate.

That’s exactly how most people come across when they communicate.

Not because they can’t read and write.

This is much worse.

Most people can read and write. They even know a lot of words. But despite all this fluency, they do the worst thing possible.

They write first, and read second.

Failing to read

The internet contains a host of information. Tons. Yet you wouldn’t believe the outreach I get where people still don’t know what they’re doing when they send an email.

Questions like “How can you help me?” or outreach like “Please listen to my music.”

Be mindful of the person you’re contacting and respect their time enough to READ FIRST.

Then draft a thoughtful, succinct, and relevant message.

This Simple Method Helps Song Pitchers Land Placements

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Putting things…off.

No matter how productive you are everyone is guilty of dragging their feet now and then.

The crazy part is if you look around for advice on avoiding procrastination, you get a bunch of productivity tips. Stuff like ‘make a list’ or ‘give yourself a time limit.’ Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying those things don’t work.

But how many of them can you consistently rely on or remember?

For me, being more productive and improving has a lot to do with personal work-flow. Lists work for me sometimes, but not always. Time limits don’t apply for me as I tend to work focused and fast once I start on a task.

So is there a method that is common to everyone across the board to help us not only choose to do what’s next, but do it in a timely way?

There is, and it’s called your gut.

For the past few years I’ve been really trying to improve my productivity by simply listening to myself. I do this as often as I get a feeling that starts with

I should really…

Whether the end of that statement is ‘take out the trash,’ ‘tell that person I like their shoes’ or ‘reach out to John about any new projects he may need music for,’ it’s been extremely useful.

Case in point, yesterday I was plugging away working on a license when suddenly I thought “Gee, I haven’t heard from Arnold for a while, I should check in” immediately followed by “and you know what, there’s another creative director in North Carolina who hasn’t touched base lately.”

I wrote them down, finished what I was doing, and then sent two really brief emails.

The next thing I know I had a music search from Arnold and a really nice note from the creative director saying he’d check out one of our indie bands.

Not too shabby!

This happens to me all the time now, and every time I listen to my ‘shoulds,’ I end up not only getting more done, but feeling REALLY good about it.

What about you? Do you ever use your instincts as a good indicator of what to do next? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.