A Personal Message

How YOU Can Help!

It seems that music fans don't know how truly important they are to musicians!

Every musician starts out somewhere. Before they appear on MTV, before they achieve platinum record status, before they play to sold-out stadiums, they are the people sitting on stools on small stages in little bars, playing for crowds of twenty. Then those twenty people bring twenty of their friends, and they buy the CD or wear the t-shirt, or play the CD on their community radio show, and then a hundred more people buy the CD...and on and on. It is YOU, the listener, who is TRULY capable of "making or breaking" a musical act.

Have you ever heard of the term, "buzz"? It actually comes from the concept of musicians developing a strong local or regional following, and it is this "following" that creates a buzz by creating a DEMAND for the music they love. How can you become part of the buzz? Here are some ways you can help your local and regional musicians, or ANY musician you hear, like, and wish more people could hear:

1. CALL CALL CALL your favorite radio stations and REQUEST music by the artist(s) you love. So the DJ says they've never heard of her/him? It doesn't matter! Let them know they SHOULD become familiar with this artist, and direct them to the artist's website so they can request promo CDs for their station. Then keep calling!!! This type of request calling can be done with college, community and commercial radio. This is how Jewel became popular before a label discovered her. Her fans insisted that radio stations play her, even though she was virtually unknown, and it worked, didn't it? So, if you like what you hear, call your favorite radio station, no matter where you live, and request Hilary Scott. You will be putting a bug in their ear, and the more loudly that bug "buzzes," the more likely they are to listen to it.

For example, fans of Hilary Scott can go to KBXR's website (www.bxr.com) and request track 6, "Like You Knew Me" off of The Floating World CD, and it will be played. This is a commercial radio station located in Columbia, Missouri (with worldwide access) which has broken format in order to play the music people want to hear. And, as is true of most commercial radio stations, people who don't even live in Missouri can go to their website and make a request, since they broadcast online all over the world. Keep writing, keep calling, it works!

2. Every bit of support you can offer to your favorite musicians is helpful. When you purchase CDs and merchandise, when you pay a door charge to see them play live, when you give them positive feedback on their music, it helps keep the music headed in the right direction. If you like The Floating World, e-mail Hilary (hilary@hilaryscott.com) and let her know. If you wish to contribute to the word-of-mouth marketing that is so beneficial to grassroots musical movements, let Hilary know that your comments can be used on the "Fans Are Saying" page of this website, or on other promotional materials. YOU are the critics that matter! Get the buzz going!

3. Local clubs, newspapers, music stores, and magazines WANT to know about your favorite "unknown artists." It is their job to discover, promote and sell new music. And YOU are their clientele, so they WILL take an interest if you suggest they listen to someone they've never heard of. Are you friends with a bartender in a club that has live music? Suggest they listen to Hilary Scott's CD or check out her website. Perhaps they can nudge the person in charge of booking to bring the band to town. Are you a journalism major writing for your college paper? Write a review of the Hilary Scott CD and list the website in the article. Work at a music store or know someone who does? Ask them if they accept artists on consignment, direct them to the website, let them borrow your CD to listen to, see if they are interested. Soon, your favorite unknown may have a show in your city, an article in your paper and their CD may be available in your favorite music store. You can make it happen. And what's in it for you after this hard work? You will be a part of the REAL music business, the one that is dominated by love for good music! And, you will help make the music you love available to more people. You will be supporting the musicians who, without your help, might not be able to continue bringing you the music you love.

4. If you like the music, encourage your friends to buy it. The support is SO appreciated! Word-of-mouth is STILL the best way to advertise!

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Floating World Lyrics | Come In, Come In: Live! Lyrics | Hypothermia Lyrics

E-mail Hilary Scott at: hilary@hilaryscott.com