We've got some great artciles in store for you below.  Click the "Read More" link at the bottom of any article intro to be taken to it in it's entirety.  Each article is posted as a blog, so you can leave your own feedback, tips, ideas and experiences regarding that subject.

The whole idea here is for us to teach each other, so PLEASE DO LEAVE FEEDBACK and please do converse with each other by clicking on the "Add a comment" link at the bottom of the article.

Remember, the more active you are within SMA, the higher we will move your profile to the top of the Meet Members page.  If you are interested in writing articles or tips for musicians, please Contact Us.



"Get Gigs E-Course" - Week 1
by McCall Erickson

Hello, musicians! I'm McCall Erickson, a starry-eyed musician, just like you. Because I've had some success (or luck) at getting gigs during the past two years as a working musician, and because I believe whole-heartedly in giving back to the music and art community, I've developed this e-course designed to give you ideas on how to book gigs for yourself. Most importantly. . . to get yourself out there and get your music heard! You will be receiving one article per week for 6 weeks. Each week will focus on one aspect of booking gigs. I highly suggest you take the week and work on what I've addressed in the article. If you have any questions or want more suggestions, feel free to email me at mccall@mccallerickson.com.

Define Yourself and Develop a Presence

First things first. In order to sell yourself as a musician and have venue owners and booking contacts take you seriously, it's important to develop your product—your presence as a musician. . . . (Read More)



"Get Gigs E-Course" - Week 2
by McCall Erickson

The Power of Relationships: Making and Keeping Contacts
Welcome to week two! Now that you have begun to define yourself and establish a presence as a musician, I'm gonna suggest you take a look at your greatest assets as a musician: people. Sometimes it really does come down to who you know and who knows you. I'm not at all suggesting that you use people in the negative sense of the word. I'm talking about building and maintaining lasting, genuine relationships with key people in order to further your career and start finding some places to play. Here are my suggestions for doing this.

Create a Contact Database
As you start looking for gigs, and meeting people in the music community, it is imperative to have some way to keep track of all their information. . . . (Read More)



"Get Gigs E-Course" - Week 3
by McCall Erickson

Searching for Venues
Now that you've defined yourself as a musician and are ready to start making contacts, how do you find places to play? This week is all about doing your research. First of all, where do you want to play?

Where do you fit?
Bars, clubs, coffeehouses, living rooms, backyards, festivals, street corners? . . . (Read More)



"Get Gigs E-Course" - Week 4
by McCall Erickson

Make the call, follow up, give back
Hey everybody. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my articles on getting gigs. Originally, I planned on this being a 6 week course, but I sat down tonight to write week 4, and I realize I have said pretty much all that I needed to say. What? McCall running out of things to say? I know. . . that seems odd. But really, I only have a few things to say to wrap up this whole gig getting tutorial. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at mccall@mccallerickson.com

Make the call
In week two I talked about building relationships with contacts . . . (Read More)



Twitter Dramatically Builds Musician Fan Bases

[Here's a great article I found online at www.MusicThinkTank.com, Loribella]  It really opened my eyes to the possibilities of dramatcially growing your fan base and social network using Tweeter.  It's kind of a long article, but be patient and read it all so you to can see the possibilites.  I know I'm going to try it . . . (Read More)



Top 10 Indie Music Marketing Tools

Every week brings the launch of another online service to connect musicians and fans. Beyond spending endless hours on MySpace and Facebook, what are the best affordable online tools to communicate with fans and monetize the relationship? Here are our picks in no particular order: . . . (Read More)