Happy New Year

 Happy New Year from Tu Phat Bros. Entertainment, WTUP -Tu Phat Radio, and DJ Russ Dogg… We look forward to working with Independent and Unsigned Artists in 2017!!!

Tune in tonight to The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show

Want to Get Your Music Played?

  

DJ Russ Dogg and WTUP Tu Phat Radio are giving opportunities to independent and unsigned artists to get their music heard. Also they are giving independent and unsigned artists a chance to be featured on DJ Russ Dogg Blog (www.DJRussDoggTPBE.wordpress.com) On Air interview on The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show. Great Deal!! All you have to do is contact DJ Russ Dogg at DJRussDoggTPBE@gmail.com and will give you the details.

Add To Your Electronic Press Kit

Get your information out to your fans and potential fans. Send in your information to DJ Russ Dogg. ( DJRussDoggTPBE@gmail.com) Here is some things we suggest you have available 

1. Professional Photograph
2. Autobiography of your music career
3. Your best two singles MP3 Format 
4. Your best music video

If you are interested email me; I’m giving independent and unsigned artists opportunities to be seen and heard.

Independent and Unsigned Artists

  Independent and Unsigned Artists The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show is a platform for you to get your music heard… Ther is no fee to submit your music… There is no fee to get your music played. The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show comes on every Tuesday and Friday 8pm – 10pm eastern standard time. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TuPhatRadio This is an online radio station. So it’s worldwide. Just let your fans know where they can hear and call in to request your music. (929) 477-1787 you can call in to request and listen to the show also… I do use this site to spotlight independent and unsigned artists. You can email me at DJRussDoggTPBE@gmail.com to submit your music and schedule an on air interview.  -DJ Russ Dogg

Unsigned and Independent Artists Tu Phat Radio (WTUP)

We at Tu Phat Radio (WTUP) are looking for independent and unsigned artist to showcase on The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show and The Ambitious Tamie Show. We play Underground Hip Hop and R&B. 

We are looking for artists from around the world. We look forward to hearing from you.

The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show

DJ Russ Dogg has moved his Morning Show from Mornings to Evenings. DJ Russ Dogg has also changed the name of his Show to The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show. The name change more closely describes the Show. DJ Russ Dogg has also added another day to the Program as well. The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show will be on every Tuesday and Friday Evening 8pm-10pm Eastern Standard Time.

Independent and Unsigned Artist looking to get your music on The DJ Russ Dogg Underground Hip Hop Show just Email DJ Russ Dogg directly: DJRussDoggTPBE@gmail.com MP3 format only.

The more your fans call in to request your music; the more I will spin your music. The number to call in to the Show is (929) 477-1787. (Only during Show Hours)

If you send your music via email please include: Song name and all artists who are on the song. (Optional: Send a bio of your music career and music)

Exclusive Interview opportunities are available. Email me DJRussDoggTPBE@gmail.com I would like to promote your upcoming interview 2 weeks prior to your exclusive interview.

 

 

 

 

Make Consistent Money From Your Music: 3 Ideas for Indie Artist Subscription Models

When you think of subscriptions, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? No doubt it’s something like Netflix, Spotify, or one of the many monthly subscription boxes that send you anything from razors to organic food and snacks. But musicians can actually develop subscription models for their music as well!

There’s a couple of really cool benefits here:

You’ll be delivering something new and valuable to your fans on a regular and ongoing basis. That means more opportunities to connect, and more connections help develop your artist-fan relationship.
You’re giving your superfans an interesting way to support you beyond just the typical album, shirt, or tour ticket. These superfans crave more exclusive, direct, and frequent interaction, and they will pay for it – if you give them the option.
You create recurring revenue for yourself. As an independent musician, your income stream isn’t set in stone; it will increase when you’re releasing new music or doing a lot of touring, and decrease when you’re just in the studio or working on new material. So reliable, recurring income can really help you maintain balance from a financial standpoint.
The basic premise behind the subscription model is to create recurring income by trading something of value for a monthly fee – be it music, TV shows, or snacks. And it’s a model that can be extremely successful and profitable – even in music.

Let’s take a look at a quick comparison. If you’re selling something like music that takes a lot of time to create, you’re instantly limiting your revenue potential by how often you can release. For example, if you put out a new album once a year or maybe once every two years, you’re pretty much getting a one-time payment from your fans when they buy your CD. With a subscription model, you’re breaking that album up and releasing one song per month.

Now, I know subscriptions aren’t typically what you come up with when thinking about how to sell your music, so I’m going to give you a few ideas to get you started. Keep in mind that you could create a subscription service with any combination of the ideas below – get creative with it!

1. Music subscription
This type of subscription is the most straightforward, and perhaps one of the easiest to implement as an indie musician. Basically, you just trade a song or two for a regular, monthly payment.

Some musicians have used this music subscription strategy to release their original music. Every month, fans get one song sent directly to their inbox, and at the end of the year, you could compile those songs into an album and make it available to the rest of your fans.

Another option is to create a cover song subscription by releasing a new cover song to your paying subscribers every month. Often, cover songs are much less time intensive than writing and recording a whole new song every month, so it’s much more attainable.

However you choose to approach it, this model will definitely keep your fans engaged and interested. Plus, it’s a great way to push yourself as a songwriter. Putting yourself in a writing situation where there’s a hard deadline every month is a great way to beat writer’s block.
2. Merch subscription boxes
These days, there are monthly boxes for just about everything. Loot Crate offers nerd-culture-themed boxes filled with shirts, posters, figures, and other memorabilia, while BarkBox will send your dog all kinds of toy and treat goodies.

If you’re a band that spends a lot of time and effort on your merch and develops new merch on a regular basis, a monthly or even biannual merch box could be a really cool and creative subscription to offer your fans.

The only thing you need from your fans for this subscription is their preferred size, then you can send them a new piece of merch every month or however often you can justify. Keep in mind that the frequency of this box and how much you include really depends on how much merch you have available. If you’re just starting out in music and only have one shirt design, this may not be the best option for you.

I think the key to a successful subscription box is to keep it a surprise! You also want to throw in a few exclusives to justify the price. Maybe create subscriber-only alternate colors of your popular merch designs, throw in some guitar picks, stickers, or a poster, or create something unique that fans can only get through your merch boxes.

3. Video subscription
There are a few cool tools and services that you can use to give your paying subscribers access to your videos early. Vessel is one option you should take a look at. Fans can sign up for $2.99 per month to receive the videos you upload to YouTube early and ad free. While $2.99 per fan per month may not seem like a lot, when you compare it to the amount of money you’d get from monetizing your videos on YouTube, it starts looking like a pretty viable number.

Another option is to do it yourself and just use YouTube’s private video functionality. A private video won’t show up in your YouTube subscribers’ feeds or in search, but you can link people to it directly. So, as you upload a new video to YouTube, choose to keep it private instead of making it public for everyone to see. Then, grab the link and send it out to your paying subscribers via email. Give them a day or so early access, and then change your video privacy settings to public and let everyone else in!

Remember, the music industry is ripe for innovation, and thinking outside the traditional album-release model could land you on a really creative and profitable path to prosper in this new music environment. So get creative, experiment, try out models used in other industries, and make your own success in music.

 

How to Amp up your Local Music Scene in 6 steps

One thing that every scene has in common? Musicians all complain about how crappy the scene is. Whether you live in a tiny town with just one hillbilly bar or a huge city where the best venues seem impenetrable, you’ll hear your music-playing friends griping about all the ways your local scene fails to deliver what they need.

Why gripe, though? You can become part of the solution, even if you’re not interested in buying your own nightclub.

1. Find out where people in your town are hanging out
So there’s no great, rockin’ club in your area with a built-in audience. That’s fine. Your future fans are hanging around somewhere after hours, and it might not be a traditional nightclub. It could be a coffee shop, a bakery, a funky bookstore, or some kind of anarchist co-op. Hit the streets, watch the hipsters, and find out where all those people are going!

If you walk in the door and see an amazing live act performing, then maybe you can skip steps two through five and just hand a demo over to the lady at the counter.

2. Make nice with management and suggest doing live music
If the hot hangout in your town – whether it be a restaurant, diner, or beer-can museum – rarely or never books live bands, there may be reasons. Introduce yourself to the people in charge and find out what they are.

There’s an end-around maneuver for every obstacle. Are there apartments upstairs? Suggest doing acoustic shows only. Do municipal regulations make things difficult? Those can be waived or overcome with a little help from your local elected officials – they’re supposed to encourage commerce, not suppress it, and are usually friendlier than you think. The most common hesitation usually involves a shady former associate who tried to book music before and made a mess of things. In that case, it’s time to put your salesperson hat on and reassure your potential partners that you’re trustworthy, you’ve booked shows before, and you’ll abide by whatever parameters they wish.

Offer to book one show on a trial basis and see how it goes. Venue owners and managers want more traffic; if they think gigs are workable, they are inclined to say yes. Make a “yes” more likely by volunteering to bring everything needed: a PA system and someone to run it, as well as a trusted human to work the door. That way, the venue provides nothing but the room.

 

3. Promote like a boss
Once you have a date, make sure you can bump the place out. It’s all hands on deck to ensure a packed room. Use flyers, both in the venue and around town. Promote on social media. Make sure your musicians get the word out to music fans.

Get your local media to work for you, too. Newspapers have an arts or events section, and journalists are always looking for something new to report. A popular local venue starting a concert series? That’s news. Remember the dreaded 10 Percent Rule: 10 percent or less of people who know about the event will actually show up. If you want a hundred, you’d best invite a thousand or more.
4. Charge a tiny cover
Artists shouldn’t have to work for free. Most non-musical venues don’t charge a cover, but a cover charge of one or two dollars won’t turn many folks away from the place they were going anyhow, especially if they discover the added bonus of unexpected live music. You can negotiate the split, but most or all of the cover charge should go to you and your bands; the venue is making money from whatever they were already selling.

5. Thank everyone profusely and invite them back
You should embrace your role as MC or find someone who will. Introduce all the bands, thank them when they’re done, thank the venue for giving you the space, and thank the crowd just for showing up. And of course, if there’s another show coming up, make sure nobody leaves the room without hearing about it. Flyer the room for your next show before tonight’s show begins. Start a mailing list. Pass out handbills.

6. Add some special sauce
Find a way to make your event special. Can you partner with an artist to decorate the room with amazing paintings or photographs? Will your event have a theme or celebrate some holiday? Anything is better than nothing. Hand out cookies or freezer pops. Make your show stand out. Your brainchild could be start the new scene that your whole town is looking for.

Blog.Sonicbids.com

7 Reasons Why Artists Need to Branch Out Beyond Their Hometown ASAP

There comes a time for all Artists when they either branch out or they stagnate. I mean, every small-town bar band has an origin, and for most of them, their path began when they decided to take the easy route and live large in their hometowns. Before they know it, their beer bellies have grown over their belts, their fans have all grown up to have kids of their own, and any chance they ever had of making a living off their talent has evaporated into the reality of a nine-to-five job. That’s why it’s important for new bands to branchout beyond their hometowns as soon as possible. Get your set together, get some merch made up, and see what the outside world is like. Buy, rent, or borrow a van. Beg other bands for their contacts. Whatever it takes, get on the road.

This isn’t to suggest that every young band needs to embark on a three-month cross-country odyssey, but here are some reasons that stepping outside of your comfort zone is a productive and worthwhile endeavor.

1. Diversify, diversify, diversify
If you play too much in your own town, you risk oversaturating the market. Playing every weekend is great for building up your chops as a live act, but you also run the risk of tiring out your fanbase. If your draw starts to dwindle, it’s a good idea to think about playing shows in the next town over.

Look at a map, and check out the areas around where you live. Start in a circular pattern and grow wider. Once you’ve identified some places to play, get on the horn and contact the clubs and bars in those towns. Your guarantees won’t be great at first (if anything at all), but if you keep hitting these places once every month or two, you stand a better chance of developing a local fanbase in those markets. Try and come up with seven cities or towns. That way, you can play each once every two months and not run the risk of wearing out your welcome.

2. Expand your reach
People might come out to see you every weekend, but even if they do, they’re only going to buy your record or T-shirt once. Maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll buy another copy as a gift for a friend, but that’s it. The more people who see that sweet new T-shirt design your super talented cousin drew for you, the more people are likely to buy it, and then hopefully you can buy your cousin that beer you promised him. For many bands, their merchandise is their chief moneymaker, so getting it out into the world increases your chances of covering your costs.

[9 Secrets From Indie Artists for Selling a Ton of Merch After Their Shows]

3. Build your rolodex
Making friends is awesome! Music, and the business of music, is an inherently social thing, which can be hard for all of the artsy introverts out there to come to terms with. But the good thing about playing other towns is you get to find all the other artsy introverts out there.

Making contacts in the music business has an exponential effect. If you meet a rad girl in Montreal who books shows, she knows dudes in Quebec City and Sherbrooke who can help you out down the road. If a guy puts you up at his house in Asheville, his roommate might run a small record label and could help you put out a seven-inch or cassette. Playing more towns increases your odds of meeting like-minded people who might also believe in your artistic vision and could help out out down the road. Just remember to always repay the favor when you can.

4. Cut your teeth
Touring is hard work. It’s also one of the cornerstones to any successful career in music. So learning the ropes on a smaller scale can help prepare you for the longer tours in the future. A lot of problems pop up when you tour, and learning how to identify the issues and solve them quickly and efficiently while still being relatively close to home is a good idea.

Hopefully the folks you’re sharing a van with are your friends, but the road is also known for causing breakdowns and breakups. When you start out small, you begin to see how the personal dynamics of your band work and how to deal with any issues. Every million-dollar musician started out somewhere, so look at your first forays into the outside world as a stepping stone to future success.

 

5. Hone your craft
The more you play, the better you get. Playing your songs as much as possible is key to success, but there’s a big difference between practicing in your garage and playing out in front of a live audience. If you’re practicing and the drummer misses a beat or the singer forgets the lyrics, you can stop and start again, but if you try that live, you’ll be labeled as amateurs and the audience will use your set as an opportunity to refresh their drinks. Learn how to push through the mistakes.

Playing out helps with more than just your musical chops: stage banter gets better the more you’re forced to talk on the mic, you know how much beer to take with you to the stage, and your setup and tear-down times get tighter, endearing you to whichever band is following you, as well as the promoter. The more professional you are, the better impression you make on everyone you’re working with, and the more likely you are to get asked back.

People want to work with people they like, so if you impress a talent buyer, there’s a better chance he or she will ask you to come back and open for the big touring band when they come through town. Getting in front of a live audience outside your hometown and away from your friends will make you better not just musically, but professionally as well.
6. Receive honest feedback
Your friends are great. It’s awesome that your mom and dad come out to every show. It’s super supportive of your girlfriend to man the merch table while you’re onstage. And they’ll all tell you that you played great, completely ignoring the flat harmonies, the ungrounded amp, and the botched guitar solo. The strangers in the next town over aren’t so nice. They’ve got no ulterior motives for telling you that you rocked or that you sucked. It can be hard to get honest feedback, but ultimately, it’ll help you grow as an artist.

7. Traveling is fun
Everyone loves a good road trip with their pals. The fact that when you reach your destination you get to set up your gear and play your hearts out for a bunch of potential new friends makes it that much sweeter. Hopefully you started a band because you’re passionate about music, so take that passion on the road and see what you find. Even if you don’t find riches and fame, there’s a good chance you’ll have some experiences that you’ll always cherish.