Choruses That Grab Attention by Kapa Freeman Do you want to start your choruses with a bang? Grab their attention at the start? Just like Lauren Daigle.   Lauren Daigle made Billboard history with her song "You Say." It was at the top of the Hot Christian Charts for a record 100 weeks. Part of what makes the song work so well is how the chorus starts. She starts by repeating the same note and rhythm. That's it. No, seriously...that's the whole technique. "You say I am loved..." "You," "Say" and "I" are all the exact same note and the exact same length. This technique is used in lots of other #1 Songs, in different styles of music, and different time periods. Sometimes it's a repetition of the note, but the rhythm changes. Sometimes it's a repetition of the rhythm, but the melody changes. But one thing is certain... Back to back repetition at the beginning of a chorus is a great way to make a song people love. Songs like ...

John Mayer's Secret to Writing Catchy Song Lyrics by Kapa Freeman  Why are John Mayer's song lyrics so easy to remember? It comes down to human psychology. I am notoriously bad at remembering song lyrics, except for John Mayer's Songs. Other artists may write a song I remember here or there, but John Mayer does it consistently. Why? I discovered the reason when I was working full-time as a teacher. Teachers can always tell when they're losing students. When those eyes start to glaze over, when that one eyebrow raises in confusion and someone yells out... "I don't get it!"  I got those a lot when I first started teaching. Talking to other teachers, I soon discovered why. I was giving too much information at once. I would vomit these elaborate explanations, thinking that more information would help clear things up... But they just got confused. Talking to my teachers reminded me of lessons I'd learned while getting my teaching degree:  "People remem...

During some of the informal conversations we have with Indie artists, we often hear questions regarding what it is that they could do differently to get their music noticed.  In todays article, Kapa Freeman addresses one of the biggest challenges that many Indie artists are facing and is actually stagnating the growth of their music careers.  Happy reading! Why is it so hard to get your songs noticed? by Kapa Freeman  One word holds back more songwriters than anything else... It delays some music careers by years.... It destroys others. I'm speaking from experience. It took me 15 years to figure out that my first publishing deal could've happened 15 years earlier. Unfortunately, there was one word that was keeping my songs from the quality I needed, if I wanted anyone to take me seriously. So what magic word kept my music career in limbo? The word is "multi-tasking." I made the classic mistake that most indie songwriters make.... Trying to do it all! It took me forEVE...

Are you a Christian music artist? Do you want to build a larger audience for your music? In this 5 part series, we will explain our music marketing strategy for exponentially expanding your fanbase. In part 5 we are sharing our final tips and wrapping up this series of posts. Use a Mailing List Having a newsletter that people can join is one of the best ways to not only communicate with fans, but to also build up relationships with them and turn those relationships into profitable ones. Once people visit your website, the last thing you want them to do is to leave and never return again. This is where mailing lists come in! If you can get people to sign up to your list before they leave, you’ll have their email address. From here you can communicate with them on a weekly basis, and remind them about you and your music. It may sound old school, but email is arguably still the most important tool at your disposal for marketing your music. The top reasons to have an email list are: You ow...

Are you a Christian music artist? Do you want to build a larger audience for your music? In this 5 part series, we will explain our music marketing strategy for exponentially expanding your fanbase. Today, in part 4, we share tips on pitching to music blogs and playlists, and we go in-depth on the value and proper use of genre tags. This post contains a serious amount of information that you may want to print and save somewhere.  Next week, in part 5, we will be sharing our final tips and wrapping up this series of posts. Pitch to music blogs and playlists Getting publicity for your music can easily become more than a full-time job in itself (just ask any publicist), but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start gaining traction on a smaller scale. The most important thing to understand when pitching to music blogs and publications is that it’s not just about having great music — it’s about having a compelling, unique story that their audience will care about. Assets like professional...

Are you a Christian music artist? Do you want to build a larger audience for your music? In this 5 part series, we will explain our music marketing strategy for exponentially expanding your fanbase. Today, in part 3, we focus on the use of social media, especially on how social media works to reinforce your online presence and value to your audience/fanbase. This post contains a serious amount of information that you may want to print and save somewhere.  Next week, in part 4, we will be sharing tips on pitching to music blogs and playlists, and we go in-depth on the value and proper use of genre tags (another post that you will want to print and save). Maintain a cohesive social media presence Don’t just think of social media as a way to sell your music. Social media should be a conversation. Selling music is actually a result that happens when people appreciate what they are hearing, and feel a link with you. See social media as one of the channels to interact with fans and share...

Are you a Christian music artist? Do you want to build a larger audience for your music? In this 5 part series, we will explain our music marketing strategy for exponentially expanding your fanbase. Today, in part 2, we are focussing on your online hub, ways to attract more visitors to your online hub, and being more than a musician. Next week, in part 3, we will focus on the use of social media, especially on how social media works to reinforce your online presence and value to your audience/fanbase. Build a Website Your website is your online hub. An artist without a website is dependent on the content that others publish, good or bad. As an artist, you want a place that you control where people land when they want to know more about you and your music. That landing place should ultimately be your website. See the website as your online hub. Everything ranging from social media, artist accounts on streaming platforms, etc. should be seen as a spoke extending from your online hub (web...