Democratic Debates Detroit - Night One

This afternoon I dressed up as Uncle Sam, filled my little cart with my ukelele, a jar of nuts and some business cards. I forgot the bottles of water I had put in my freezer. It was too noisy to play the ukelele. It was too hot to eat anything. And I had enough business cards in my small purse to meet my needs. But after an hour, I felt faint and needed the water I forgot! I asked several police officers where I could get some water who told me they had no idea. The third officer I spoke with told me to wait and came back with a large bottle of water, which he gave to me. Many thanks!

The police had erected many barricades. If you did not have a ticket for the debate (tickets were going for $100), you had to be behind the barricades which were four blocks away from the Fox Theater where the debates were to take place!  I found a place next to a small park where I stood with my little cart and sign. Less than an hour passed and I was approached by a police officer who told me I had to stand across the street because I did not support Trump. They had decided that Trump supporters would have that corner. Those who supported any of the 24 Democratic candidates would be across the street. All this was done to avoid fights etc., but it all seemed rather extreme to me.

I went downtown to get noticed. Wearing the Uncle Sam suit and carrying a large sign that read "Dump the Trump in 2020" ensured attention. Many people took photos of me or asked others to take pictures of them with me. Most told me they planned to post the photos on facebook. I joked with those who did not and suggested they post -- which is what they planned to do without saying so.

I also had success with the media. Lots of photos were taken by media photographers. It's all a blur now, but I was interviewed by reporters from the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and Washington Post -- among others. The Washington Post reporter asked me to share some clever lyrics with her.  

I was disappointed not to be able to get a little closer to the action -- but hanging out at a corner with other people supporting or protesting was worthwhile. I spent just over four hours and am planning an encore tomorrow. I'll have to wear a different pair of shoes though. I have blisters on top of some of my toes!

Banned by Facebook AGAIN

In today's world it has become more difficult to market because there are SO MANY potential avenues to use. It can be overwhelming. Having run a boutique marketing firm in the past, I am aware of how things work. However, social media has made the process more challenging.

Yesterday I decided to create a static card and embed a short musical excerpt from "Dump the Trump in 2020." The excerpt is the second verse of the song. Once this was done, I posted it to nine left leaning groups of which I am a member on Facebook.

Why only nine groups? Because Facebook has banned me so many times I have become more conservative with posting. In this situation, I decided I would make no more than nine to ten posts of the card a day (I have a list of about 75 groups where I would like to post). 

BANNED. Yes, I was banned again. The ban, however, is only for a day. So tomorrow I will post again. :)

To play excerpt: 

  

What was really exciting about this post to nine groups was the response. It's easy to post on Facebook, but how many people actually see or read your post? In this case I posted to nine groups and in several hours got over 150 responses! Over 150 people saw, listened to and responded to the musical post. A few made comments. Some shared. And others gave the post a heart or a "thumbs up." This is something that works!

 

Go Creative

Being an artist or writer or composer is not just about creating.  You have to take care of the business side of things as well.  For a songwriter, that means copyrighting your work, registering with BMI or Ascap, and making sales arrangements with CDBaby or another organization that provides sales and some merchandising.

I submitted 2020: The Musical songs to the Copyright office on June 15, 2019. Yesterday I registered the songs with BMI. And right now, as I write, I am uploading songs to CDBaby.

In the last week, I have completed song samplers and loaded them to my youtube channel. There are three samplers, each just under six minutes, which I will refer to in marketing packages I send out to interested parties. I have made periodic announcements about the show on Facebook and Linkedin groups as well as Facebook and Linkedin pages. This is a preliminary way to get information out to people who may have an interest in order to create buzz.

With these tasks behind me, I will move ahead and continue to put together the marketing strategy for the show.  There is a lot of contact information to gather and organize. I expect I will begin making calls to prospects next week. This will included political organizations and theaters.

Song Samplers Now Online

All the songs from 2020: The Musical are now mixed.  Three Song Samplers have been posted on youtube.  Copyrights were applied for several weeks ago. Registration with BMI and CD Baby will be done this week. 

SAMPLER ONE can be accessed at: 

Songs on Sampler One include: Dump the Trump in 2020, I Want to Play with You (lobbyist reform), Eh Boy (criminal justice reform), Sunday Bloody Sunday (racism), All for One (tax reform), The Public Wants (term limits), and Citizens United Gone (campaign finance reform).

SAMPLER TWO can be accessed at: 

Songs on Sampler Two include: Democrats Forever, Hands Down Better (homophobia), Simple Times Gone By (global warming), On Our Way (female president), This Life Shared in Poverty (minimum wage), Let’s Take Out the NRA (gun control).

SAMPLER THREE can be accessed at: 

Songs on Sampler Three include: Republican Do Si Do, The Border Wall Tango, Stack the Deck (gerrymandering, voter purging), My Body, My Choice (reproductive rights), Flying Blind (universal healthcare), Isaac and Ishmael (Middle East conflict), and Happy Birthday Baby (the one novelty song in the show).