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Wow, I never realized what superstars some of us on this forum are until now, but now I know. We are blessed! Read some interesting stats on a songwriter’s blog today. Really makes you think. 48,000 songwriters in Nashville trying to make it 1,305 songs recorded a year on major labels 85% of songs going to insider writers (i.e producers) 75 songwriters getting 1 or more cuts per year Less than 1% of all albums sell more than 1,000 copies/mechanical royalties = 9.10 cents per song Average take home of the 75 successful “placed writers with cuts” = $91.00 People who don't get cuts that year after working on it all year = 47,925 Investment = 7 years of living in a storage unit, cleaning tables, and taking songwriting classes Given that I made a lot more than that streaming songs on Spotify last year (and even some Complete Album sales, woo-hoo!) I can say: I am among the HIGHEST PAID SONGWRITERS IN THE WORLD!!!!! ALL RIGHT!! Two pizzas tonight baby!!!My investment: Band-in-a-Box and a free version of Cakewalk. Thank you PG Music!!! Who says home recording doesn’t bring home the bacon!!!!!!!!! 
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Interesting stats. Every recording made is someone's idea of a number one hit. Millions of records made each year, thousands played on the radio or streamed and hundreds make big bucks. Can anybody say poor marketing strategy?
Graham Cochran of The Recording Revolution and Joe Gilder of Home Studio Corner both have expanded their tutorial channels to cover business techniques and offer paid courses. But the most interesting and useful one I've come across (and theoretically adopted if I ever record and release another song) was from a young, stay at home mother of 5 that her hobby is writing and recording music. Her free video details her realistic musical ideology.
she named it Micro Niche.
Here's how it works. She has been making music for years but life has tagged along and she realizes she will never be a one percenter Music superstar.
Her goal was to research musical genres and find a small niche (Micro Niche) of hard core and passionate fans. She researched and learned the details of a small genre of music and began to write and record songs in the style of that niche. Her goal was to reach one thousand people that will purchase her album of the Micro Niche genre along with some other accessory such as a T-Shirt or Coffee Cup. The Album and souvenir will sell for $25.
Her goal is to sell 1000 of these units over the next year. Through placing albums and souvenirs on consignment and the few that will go out to family and friends and acquaintances along with a Web Site open 24/7 365 days - That should not be a hard goal to reach. Especially marketing her merchandise specifically toward people passionate about their micro niche musical genre.
$1,000 X $25 = $25,000 yearly income.
You don't have to be famous to make a livable wage in music. My brother always encouraged me as a songwriter by saying I only had to ever get it right one time.
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 . https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases
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Charlie,
This is brilliant and actually what I am thinking about. I would love to see the video by that lady. Do you have the link?
My Mom several years ago asked me to make a Christmas album of "soothing classical guitar and strings" because she was tense.
So I did it in 2 days, right before Christmas. It BY FAR has gotten me the most streams of anything I have done.
So I see this. I am looking for that niche right now and trying to figure out what else to add to it. There are some new age marketing gurus and social media experts in the family.
This has me thinking. HARD.
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Beat,
We are all on the same page. This is blowing my mind, really.
Think, think, think, New Age Healing Album + +, +, with built in marketing e-commerce company at $99 per x $5,000 =
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It is in line with stats I read recently:
70 % of all published songs/albums sells 1 (hello mom) or none.
90 % sells less than 100
1 % sell enough for the artist to have a decent income from her/his music.
Of the 10% selling more than 100 albums: 8 out of 10 are backed by extensive marketing from a label.
There is however other ways to get income from your music. I have several friends who submit tracks that they don't want to publish in their own name to places like Pond5, etc. - and they actually get a decent return of money from those "abandoned" tracks.
Also... you will probably get some confidence by listening to new songs in your preferred genre... there are so many really bad written/produced songs that would NEVER have been published 10-20 years ago (before you could do everything yourself).
Will
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Your right David. Makes you feel a little bit lucky reading those stats. I wanted to go to Nashville at one time but not anymore. I'm good where I'm at an making a decent living playing music and collecting my royalties.
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<<< ... there are so many really bad written/produced songs that would NEVER have been published 10-20 years ago (before you could do everything yourself). >>>
Will, I was just thinking about this yesterday and have been giving it some thought and study for some time and I have to disagree. There have always been more poorly written, arranged and produced songs than good ones. Top artists release duds as well as hits and there is a wealth of songs that linger for years sometimes before someone comes along with a new arrangement of a song that turns a dud into a #1. That's the very premise of the Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do".
Looking back, you'll see that artists use to self-finance recording time, trade their talent as studio session players for personal studio time and there were many small recording studios spread across the country. Today, these independent unsigned artists finance and otherwise develop currency to buy semi-pro hardware and top grade DAW software and other gear. The path is the same. Just the location has changed from a studio to a bedroom and the artist now days owns the gear and location rather than rent commercial space, gear and technicians.
This is precisely the point I was thinking about for some time and the thought behind it is from the Website Trunkworthy. Trunkworthy has a short comparison between the 'In the Style of..' songs written for the movie "That Thing You Do" and the actual songs used for their inspiration. Listen to "That Thing You Do" and then its inspiration, "LIes (are breaking my heart) by the Knickerbockers; "Hold My Hand Hold My Heart" from the movie to "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals and so on.
Locally for me and available to you via streaming, is an obscure little FM radio station that is absolutely addictive for song analysis, obscurity and a library of songs inspired and written toward the 'In the Style of..' genre of music. In a span of 10 minutes you will hear three of the most obscure songs followed by one of your all time favorites. A lot of famous artists find their way to this station via side trails they took during their career steering away from the Pop genre where they are massive stars to Jazz, Blues and other genres that were major influences on them when they were young and just starting their career in music.
More interesting to me is that many of these songs played on this station were not made by artists under contract to major labels and fall into that category of independent artists believing in themselves, financing a song meticulously following a hit record ' in the style' template so all the elements of a "hit" song are there and many times, the artist is very talented. But the end result is a cliched, poorly written, average produced and predictable dud...... But there is a great mixture of masterpieces never released as singles, just album cuts, from major artists and you'll hear many, many of your Oldies favorites. A great blend of music.
There is a lot to learn from this music. Nearly all of it is comparable in quality to a BIAB generated soundtrack. Nearly all of it can be identically replicated from BIAB. Some can be improved using a BIAB soundtrack because the original backing track is 99% a keyboard workstation Style generated soundtrack. To me, it's a place to hear the opposite of Rick Beato's YouTube series - "What Makes This Song Great?" and becomes "Why Didn't This Song Make It?"
It's important to study the great songs but also important to study the duds because we learn from repetition and by studying duds, you'll definitely see patterns developing and hear songs with all the 'right' elements, a great singer but at the same time, an instantly recognizable DUD....
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Thanks Charlie, Hey, do you have that link to the stay at home Mom's business plan??
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Charlie,
This is brilliant and actually what I am thinking about. 1.I would love to see the video by that lady. Do you have the link?
My Mom several years ago asked me to make a Christmas album of "soothing classical guitar and strings" because she was tense.
So I did it in 2 days, right before Christmas. 2. It BY FAR has gotten me the most streams of anything I have done.
So I see this. I am looking for that niche right now and trying to figure out what else to add to it. There are some new age marketing gurus and social media experts in the family.
This has me thinking. HARD. 1. I will try to find it and forward it to you. 2. Something similar to your Mom's request happened to me and I'm hoping it will become my Micro Niche so I'll share a bit of the story. I have a friend that over the years has been a successful amateur Elvis impersonator. He has been a repeat winner of several Elvis contests. He's been the Grand Marshall in local parades. Did a lot of festivals, corporate events as far away as Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, Wilmington and Atlanta. Years ago, he was a featured guest on a popular local radio program. I have been his recording engineer/mixer for most of his Elvis covers he's made on Cassette and CD's. These have almost exclusively used Karaoke backing tracks. He has invested thousands of dollars in Karaoke tracks and has nearly every conceivable arrangement ever issued of Elvis's hits. Although he has supplied lead vocals for some of my originals in the past, he has always resisted using any backing other than Karaoke tracks. Early last year, driving in his car, a bluegrass song titled "Erase The Miles" by III Tyme Out played on the radio. In his head, he instantly heard Elvis singing the song. Besides being bluegrass, there obviously was no Karaoke version of the song that exists. He approached me about the capability of BIAB to produce an 'in the style of...' version if Elvis had lived to record this song. After years of encouragement from me to step out of using Karaoke and create his own idea of covers, something had finally clicked. He came by and we quickly downloaded the bluegrass version, ran it through the ACW and created a tempo map and chord sheet and located a Style he was comfortable with and did a single generation render, a little Bar Setting to bring instruments in and out and created a solo, he did a one take sing through vocal and I burned him an MP3. It was supposed to be a demo to archive the idea. At any rate, we never updated the recording and since then, he's used the MP3 backing track to perform to as well as put the recording on CD's. It has been far away, his best received and most requested song when he performs or someone gets a copy of it. I explained the Micro Niche concept to him and his team and hoping that will evolve into me producing a BIAB soundtrack for an album.
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Thanks Charlie, Hey, do you have that link to the stay at home Mom's business plan?? Eureka !!! I found it! Three Steps to find your Micro Niche
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Ms. Mchenry has found a niche, alright. And for only $997, she will teach you how to do it.  https://savvymusicianacademy.com/tribe/tom/Regards, Bob
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.........
Average take home of the 75 successful “placed writers with cuts” = $91.00
........ Big Deal! I was paid $100 to stop playing one night so I made more not playing then they did! 
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up.
Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Exactly! Her niche is conning gullible hopefuls out of their money. Classic shovel & treasure map sales.
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Well John, If you watch her Facebook free video, and digest her 3 simple (but good) points and if you have any social media marketing skills whatsoever, her points are kind of valuable and you can take it and run with it. I don't think you need the $997 variety. She already gave us the main stuff for free. Most of the shovel sellers I see say the same thing over and over and over. They only have one point. At least she has three. Maybe you could offer us all a BIAB forum special for a half hour to 45 minutes of social media coaching at $99.99 and tell us how to advertise ourselves better? That would save us almost $900 dude!!!! So, 30,000 x $99.99 is..........
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Looking at one of her testimonial poster's, Taylor Mesple's older videos were getting 20-50 views and his newer ones have thousands. 50-60 thousand plus. Something must work - Could it be her collaboration with The Starmaker Machine?
Last edited by Charlie Fogle; 12/30/18 09:33 AM.
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Charlie, As I stated above to J3 (who I think is a social media wizard, if memory serves correctly) her 3 main points are actually astute from a marketing perspective, and you could just take that and run with it. The former head of marketing for Chase who was the dad of one of my best friends once told me: "There is really only one marketing question. Why should the customer care?" In her case, the answer she is putting out there is "My customers should care because they love Metal Orchestral Celtic and I am the best at it." There are 25,000 girls in Nashville trying to sound just like Taylor Swift. Tell me why that will never work? On the other hand, I like this micro niche idea. I am already researching. I think I got it. I don't think I need the $997 variety now. But I may hire J3 if I get into a bind with my limited intelligence, which does happen more often than I would like to admit.
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Yep.... spot on. There's a few folks making the money but they aren't the musicians. For most artists, it's all about the merchandise sold from websites and concert tours.
The money is in the performance royalties. Not the mechanicals. Yeah, you might sell a couple thousand copies and make a few hundred, but let that song go to the top 3 and the writer and publisher are getting some serious money.
BUT..... there's a very small group of songs that ever get to that point in a year and the writer pool of those songs is a very small group as well.
I recall a band I was in back in the day. We didn't do any recording so we didn't have any music to sell. However, I did run a merchandise outlet at the gigs. It was pretty common for me to make more money from T-shirts and other things I was selling at the time than from the paycheck at the end of the night.
A smart musician who is gigging on a regular basis, and has some merchandise to sell, can really make a nice living from the music and merch.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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"Looking at one of her testimonial poster's, Taylor Mesple's older videos were getting 20-50 views and his newer ones have thousands. 50-60 thousand plus. Something must work - Could it be her collaboration with The Starmaker Machine?" Old Taylor Mesple is running his own racket. https://taylormesple.bandcamp.com/backstage "For $225/year, you get everything above, plus:Each year you subscribe at this level, you will also receive a PERSONALIZED ONLINE HOUSE CONCERT where I perform for you online for 45+ minutes. It will be clear in both the things we say during the concert and the decorations around the musician(s) that this is YOUR concert in your honor and that we are performing for YOU. "Bob Fest" could be the title, just saying... This will be open to the public to watch online, but you will be the reason for the event and the title of the show will have your name in it. The online platform we use allows attendees to chat in real with one another and tip the musician(s) performing (I might have special guests!) We might even sing a song for you or to you, or take a special song request. Show will be at a mutually agreed upon day and time. You will get to chat with me privately after the show via Facetime for a short while. You can invite your friends over to your place to watch the concert and be a part of the Facetime call if you'd like." As thrilling as that offer seems, I'll have to pass. I'm saving up for my annual NSAI dues. Regards, Bob
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Bob,
Wow! I am signing up!!!!!
All your stuff is very funny, and I have to say I am bombarded every day by members of the Star Maker Machine, with every flavor known to man.
It is really overwhelming, and all of the You Tube experts--thousand and thousands--and the people who have been on "The Row" and write in all caps and say "I am the only one who knows what he is talking about because I was almost a star so let me tell you..." blah blah blah.
All for 75 jobs that pay $97 dollars a year.
And every day, another 250,000 you tubes drop, telling you exactly how to get in.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
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Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
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Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
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Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed!
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