Get Back in Front with a Re-Release

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

Usually when I’m asked to cite one of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten or lessons learned in business, I’ll point to someone I used to work for who lived out combating “out of sight, out of mind.”  He would travel halfway around the world, sit in a meeting for three hours, and then fly all the way back.  “If you’re not there, they forget about you,” he would tell us in staff meetings, reporting on his latest trip.

So, what happens when you’re someone whose business is making music?  How do you make sure that people don’t forget about you, especially now at a time when many performers don’t have any live shows that they can do in-person?  And what if there is no new music on the horizon for you?

Meet your new best friend, the re-release.

There are three examples I can point you towards for ideas and inspiration.

One that’s really clever is singer, songwriter, guitar player Frankie Raye – who you heard as the guest back on “Now Hear This Entertainment” Episode 279 – and the official music video that she just released ten days ago.  What’s noteworthy here is the fact that she did a video for a song that had been on her album that came out in March of last year!  Brilliant.  Thanks to the video’s release, the song has found new life, as evidenced by the already more than 600 views it has gotten on her official YouTube channel.  Mind you, the angle here was that the song is relevant to current times because it’s about social issues, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, humanity, and standing together in tough times.  So, there is an element of timing involved that you should consider in evaluating your back catalog.

Next is recording artist Ana Cristina Cash (pictured above), who you will hear on Episode 354 of “Now Hear This Entertainment,” being released on Wednesday (November 18^th).  Interestingly, while she is currently promoting the rendition of the holiday song “Mele Kalikimaka” that she recently released, I’m not qualifying that as a re-release in the “Oh, covering someone else’s song?” sense.  It’s another song of hers that we talk about that raises a curious eyebrow.  Back in April her new album came out, with one of the songs on it being, “Brand New Pair of Shoes.”  You’ll hear during the interview that she explains the unique story behind the song as it relates to involvement by the late Johnny Cash, her husband’s father.  But it was Sony Music coming in and releasing a (Johnny Cash) collection that “Brand New Pair of Shoes” was featured on that suddenly brought Ana Cristina’s song back to the forefront.

This is especially significant as it relates to a past guest on NHTE who had told me about putting out an entire album and fans possibly overlooking a song or two or three, as opposed to when you just release singles and all their attention gets focused on that one song.  In this case, listeners will give all their attention to “Brand New Pair of Shoes,” yet, as you’ll hear me say on NHTE 354, that, in turn, might send people looking for more music by Ana Cristina Cash!  It all comes full circle and can only result in a big win.

The last example is at the A-list level, but there’s still a teaching moment in it.  Rush has been doing re-releases of albums on the 40^th anniversary (year) of when those first came out.  For example, arguably their best-known album of all-time, “Moving Pictures,” came out in 1981.  So, next year there will obviously be a 40^th anniversary edition, likely with extras to incentivize the buyer and make it a true collectible.  As an indie artist, why not look back on when your releases came out and find an album that you feel has stood the test of time and do a commemorative re-release of your own with some type of add-on to make it more special?

Hopefully, the wheels are turning in your head on this.  I’m excited for you.

Tweet at me with a successful re-release story – or maybe plans you’ll make after reading the above – via @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, share with me over Facebook or LinkedIn, or even just good old-fashioned email.

• • •

I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.

You Can Have Success During the Pandemic

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

It’s Monday.  Strike one.  And it’s raining, because Hurricane Eta is starting to arrive for an uninvited visit here to the Sunshine State.  Strike two.  And my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a lopsided defeat last night on national television.  Strike three.

It all adds up to a perfect equation to stay in bed and just say, “Forget it.”

Unfortunately, for some people, only one of those three would be enough to decide to just roll over and keep sleeping, and not even set an alarm.

But then there are those who don’t, and those who snooze later end up wondering why they see the other folks having success after success.  They get frustrated looking at social media because they see all the wins that those around them are posting about.

Attitude, my friends, can make or break how far you go.

We are eight months into what I call the Coronavirus era.  That’s an excuse on a silver platter for those who want to gobble it up.  Or it’s an opportunity for the motivated folks that are looking to seize on anything they can conquer.  They view it as a challenge, meaning, a new chance to show success.

I have been so happy to hear artists telling me on “Now HearThis Entertainment” about how they’ve actually flourished during the pandemic, writing, and releasing new music.  You’ll hear that when Episode 353 comes out 48 hours from now.  Heck, last week on Episode 352 RT Valine was talking about the TWENTY-song album he put out on September 2^nd.  One week earlier on Episode 351 Bailey James was promoting her latest single, which was her fifth such release this year.  On Episode 349 Casey Kearney was talking about her album that came out on October 2^nd, which means that one week ago today she could post that, “It was one month ago today that my new album came out,” as opposed to the glass half empty people who say, “Well, I’ve got nothing to post about.  There’s not much that can be done until this darn Coronavirus goes away.”

As far back as April when I was hosting the “Now Hear This Entertainment” Virtual Music Series on Instagram Live, Jessica Meuse was singing a song she had already written about the Coronavirus!  When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  You don’t go back to sleep because you don’t have the recipe for it.

Unlike the actual raindrops that I can see hitting the window as I sit here and write this, the metaphorical rainy day is here.  In fact, it’s been here, standing at your front door for more of this year than not.  Have you stayed inside and not opened the door, thinking, “Well, now I’m trapped”?  Or have you flung it wide open, with arms outstretched, a smile on your face, and a warm welcome?  I hope it’s the latter and that instead of the same old tired “’Rona” nickname everyone else has already beaten to death, you’ve affectionately greeted it as Opportunity, and are hard at work as though it was Wednesday afternoon, not Monday morning.

Oh, and speaking of Wednesday, the day after tomorrow is Veteran’s Day.  Don’t use it as another excuse to sleep in.  You just might wake up and find out someone you know wrote a hit song about the men and women that have served our country.

How have you thrived during the pandemic?  Puff your chest out and share your wins with me on Twitter via @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, post about it on Facebook or LinkedIn, or, instead of social media, write to me with the details.

• • •

I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.

How to NOT Have Success Via Email

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

Let’s do something different and dive into the mailbag for this week’s blog.

If you read what gets published here every Monday, you know that at the end your feedback is always invited through a variety of channels.  However, for this post I won’t be referencing something written to me about a blog that has been published on this site.  Instead, I know there is a teaching moment in pulling out other emails that I have received soliciting airplay or something similar.

By presenting you with these examples you can learn from others’ mistakes.

And of course, as was the case in last week’s “Anatomy of a(Missed) Interview Booking,” the names are being withheld to maintain anonymity.

In the first example, an artist wrote to me and said, “I am a fan of your show, Now Hear This Entertainment.”  That had my attention until they said, “I’d love for you to listen to, and potentially play our new track (title withheld for privacy) on your show.”  Hmmm.  If you were truly a fan of NHTE, you would know that it’s an interview style podcast and you would be talking about wanting to get interviewed rather than your new song getting played.  This sounds to me like someone who bought an email list and/or is contacting radio stations blindly, seeking airplay.  The implication is that they didn’t take the time out to actually check out what “Now Hear This Entertainment” is, but rather, figured that if they wrote that they’re a big fan, I would listen to the song.  However, as the saying goes, I was born at night, but not last night.

Moving on, email #2 came from an artist who wanted people to check out their new song, providing a Dropbox link to such.  Mind you, while it’s always widely suggested that you don’t send an attachment to someone you don’t know (since it’s always widely suggested you don’t open an attachment from someone you don’t know), it’s also not advisable to send someone a zip file, which is exactly what I was able to see that I was going to encounter if I followed the Dropbox link in the email from this artist.  Still being open-minded, however, I figured I would at least look at their website and social media to learn more about who they are.  Except that there were no links – at all – in their email to any social media, and when I replied to kindly suggest they include such and that by having written from a Gmail account rather than having a branded email address that would’ve tipped me off to their Web address, the response I got back said that they didn’t even have a website.

Not good, kids.  Not good.

It’s 2020.  It’s a given that as an artist (who’s contacting people asking to have their music listened to) you’re going to have a website and more than just a Twitter account (which is the extent of the social media I was pointed to in the response).

The third and final message I’ve chosen to pull out of my inbox was from someone whose email to me began with, “Bruce – Is there a reason you don’t have a podcast?”  I wrote back and said that I typically don’t respond to these types of solicitations, but had to let this person know that I was insulted to get an email that starts off that way, seeing as how I’ve released a new episode (of “Now Hear This Entertainment”) on-time, every week since February 2014, not to mention having done a bi-weekly podcast for podcasters and streamers from August 2017 to February 2019, and, being a national speaker with podcasting as one of my major topics.

Do your homework, people.  Please.  Know who you are writing to and do your research first before you hit ‘Send.’

In a year when countless people have had to stay indoors and work from home, it’s understandable that artists especially have had to rely on using email to try to connect with people electronically to get more exposure for themselves and what they’re creating.  However, those that are going about it through attempts like those described above are going to really hate 2020 for the lack of results that those efforts will produce.

Put in the time.  Do the work.  You’ll get out of it exactly what you put into it.

Tell me about your successful email outreach.  Tweet to me via @NHT_tweets, or, share it on Facebook or LinkedIn, or even write to me through email.  Need help with promoting yourself?  Take advantage of my years of experience and let's have a private, one-on-one videoconsultation to get you on the road to success.

• • •

I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.