I just found out about a new FREE resource for musicians called Gig Donkey. Here are some of the features:

• gig calendars for your website
• band rehearsal scheduler with reminders
• track your pay (or lack of)
• create set lists and print them for gigs
• manage contacts
• manage inventory
• fan e-list signups for your website or mySpace
• upload song lyrics
• shall we go on??

I’ve got a video at the bottom of the post. If you try it out come back and let us know what you think of it?

Dave’s Birthday Kindle
Dave turns 45 this month and the old man’s eye sight isn’t what it used to be. Chip in at www.musicianscooler.com/birthday and help him get a kindle (so he can read music business books and share the information right here). Rumor has it there are surprises for those who donate..

This show originates from www.musicianscooler.com

My Gmail Account Got Hijacked

I went to login to my account. That’s funny, it won’t let me in. Then when I used the password reminder, it sent my password to an email that wasn’t mine. A week later and I still can’t get google to give it back to me on a permanent basis. They did, and the hijacker got to the email before I did. Now when I try to get my gmail account back I get “Thank you for your report. For account security, we limit the number of requests that can be processed about the same account. Please wait a few days and try filling out the form again.” Can they be a bit more vague? A few days? What is that, 2, 8 10, 15? NICE.

So now I’ve listed all my contact information at www.musicianscooler.com/contact

Free Music Business Ebooks

I found an article at hypebot.com about the Top 5 Free Music Business Ebooks.  Here is the list they provided.

• The Word Of Mouth Manual Vol. 2 by David Balter. Not just about music, but an essential guide to word of mouth marketing. (pdf)

• 20 Things You Need To Know About Music Online by Andrew Dubber.  Can something 16 months old already be a classic?  (here)
• Music 2.0 by Gerd Leonhard, co-author of The Future Of Music. This free version of the ebook is 228 pages long. If you only have time to read part of this, don’t miss his Open Letter To The Independent Music industry which starts on page 154. (pdf)
• The Pirate’s Dilemma – How The Youth Culture Reinvented Capitalism by Matt Mason.  The title says it all and the books suggests that it just might be a good thing.  Available via the Radiohead “pay what you want” model.
• Unleashing The Ideavirus by Seth Godin. Written way back in 2001.Practical yet inspiring.(pdf)

I would add to the my book Promoting You Band With Podcastng (www.promotingwithpodcasting.com )  and Derek Sivers Free Ebook (www.sivers.org )

The band O.A.R. sells their CD on a USB bracelet. If you buy the bracelet at a show, you can come back after the show and have that night’s show saved to the USB drive. They are also selling these recordings (on a USB drive) on their website for $30.

So they charge a little more to get people to buy the bracelet, but in the end you get a one of a kind product, and now you have a memory that can live on forever.

Queen Makes You Buy Without Hearing It

Queen and Paul Rogers are using a similar tactic on their new Cosmos Rocks CD. You can pre order their new CD, and in addition to the CD you receive FREE ACCESS to the Queen & Paul Rodgers “Album Club”

This means you get first crack at listening to the new album. You get previously unreleased live tracks. Automatic entry into 12 prize draws to win exclusive prize.  An opportunity to purchase an exclusive “Album Club” T-shirt.

The “album club” t-shirt is uber marketing. You’ve made people pay to get into the club, and then you make them pay to prove they are in the club. For more information go to www.queenonline.com

AC/DC Says No to ITunes

To the best of my knowledge you can’t buy AC/DC in a downloadable version. This too me just begs to get your music stolen. If you don’t provide this format in a way for people to buy, those that want it in this format will steal it from you.

Building A Tribe

Uber Marketer Seth Godin has a new book called “Tribes.” You can hear Seth Introduce it at the “Marketing Over Coffee” website (a cool marketing podcast). While I haven’t read the book his prelude ot the book really got me thinking. In it he states something so obvious and (for me) so thought provoking.

He said a tribe needs two things:

1. A common interest

2. A Way to communicate.

We have a common interest (the music business, selling more music, getting more fans, gigs, technology), and we have a way to communicate (voicemail, email, forums).

Many bands name their fans:

KISS- Kiss Army
Grateful Dead – Dead Heads
Jimmy Buffet – Parrot Heads
(notice the last two make a killing on tours).
Terri Clark – “Hat Brats” where she is letting them write a verse in a song, ask her questions, and other items that only members can do.
Def Leoppard – “Fan Club” (how original) $30 a year.

By having merchandise, or special names, it helps build a tribe identity. So far I’ve got more from the launch audio from Marketing Over Coffee, than the book, but I’m only 28 minutes into it.

Do you have any examples of tribes? How do you build your tribe of fans?
You can buy the book in iTunes for around 6 bucks

Doug Ross has managed to make a living as a full time musician for over 20 years without getting famous or going broke. He has a business degree from the University of Maryland, but didn’t learn any money-saving secrets in college. Most of the best advice he’s gotten has come from reading up on basic personal finance columns and books (hint, hint).  You can find his blog about Music Finances at http://soundmusicsoundmoney.blogspot.com/ and you can find his music at CDBaby.com and check out his website at http://www.dougross.net

I’ll be interviewing him on Tuesday for this weeks Musicians Cooler Podcast. If you have any questions let me know.

Speaking of Saving Money, did you can take a domain like http://soundmusicsoundmoney.blogspot.com/ and get a “.com” domain name for it (like soundmusicsoundmoney.com ) for $6.95 a year by using the Godaddy Coupon code ” cooler10 ” at www.godaddy.com

This show originates at www.musicianscooler.com

Sponsors: Get your own .com domain name at www.godaddy.com by using the promotional code "cooler10"

This week we interview Shannon Curfman

SHANNON CURFMAN
She had a major label deal by the age of 14. The label try to take this bluesy, soulful rocker and turn her into Britney Spears. Well Shannon would have none of that.

The experience left her leaving the music business for a short period, but now she’s back and better than ever and on her own label (and loving it).

I found Shannon’s new album at emusic.com where you can get 35 free songs for signing up for a free trial. If you don’t like it, you can cancel and keep the songs. Best of all, the songs are DRM free so you can burn them to a CD or throw them on an ipod (or other mp3 player) with NO RESTRICTIONS. Go to

www.emusic.com/musicnews

For more information about Shannon go to

www.shannoncurfman.com
www.myspace.com/shannoncurfman
www.myspace.com/shannongcurfmanrocks
Shannon on YouTube

Shannon Curfman – Big Guitar Loud Suspicions 

Shannong Curfman – Fast Lane Addiction

Music - "Another" from the Album "Fast Lane Addiction" (get this album with your 35 free songs at www.emusic.com/musicnews )

SUPPORT THIS SHOW
Buy Dave’s Book "Get Your Band Out of the Basement (and keep them out of the asylum) at www.musicianlibrary.com
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This show originates from www.musicianscooler.com and is brought to you by Godaddy.com where you can use a promotional code " cooler10 " and get .com domain name for $6.95 a year. Also get 35 free songs at www.emusic.com/musicnews (even works with an iPod !)

Todays show is the shortest musicians cooler podcast ever. I had a very long and hard weekend. Instead of finding some "filler" I just produced a quick 10 minutes podcast featuring more tips from Paul Bordenkircher from www.mesasand.com who gives a review of Row Fax 

I also talk about how my first experience with a GPS unit was just awesome. If you are touring or branching out into cities that you are unfamiliar with, then you need one of these units. The costs have come down now as newer (more featured) versions come out. The one I was using my brother picked up for about $180 bucks. While not cheap, the time and hassle it saved was huge. These are getting cheaper and cheaper (around 150 bucks at amazon.com

SUPPORT THIS SHOW

Dave’s Book "Get Your band out of the Basement and keep them out of the asylum" available at www.musicianlibrary.com

Subscribe and write of a review of the Musicians Cooler podcast at www.musicianscooler.com/itunes

Need to go shopping, start at www.supportthisshow.com