I just reviewed homeboy Adam Bernard's brand new E-Book -Muscle for Your Hustle. Check it.
B-Lister Adam Bernard’s A+, debut
E-book –Muscle for Your Hustle provides
independent artists with the recipe needed for success. Though not every recipe
will come out like a Giada DeLaurentiis dish, Mr. Bernard supplies you with all
the ingredients called for. Being a pop culture journalist and host of a radio
show he has watched artists mount successful careers while others fall flat. As
Bernard indicates, the successes and failures of independent artists don’t have
as much to do with talent, but instead revolves around the steps the musician
makes to get there. Though written specifically as an advice book for up and
coming artists, it can easily applied to anyone looking to further their brand
and personal reputation. As a musician and aspiring journalist myself, Muscle
for Your Hustle makes for a very
inspirational and helpful read.
The secrets of marketing oneself
are all inside the book. Some artists sell themselves short, while others try
to sell themselves for too much. There is a huge difference between making it
known that you exist and being obnoxious about your existence. Much of his book
can be attributed to common sense that doesn’t seem to very common anymore.
Muscle for Your Hustle is divided into three sections; promoting,
performing and people skills. It is shocking how many DIY artists don’t use
their common sense or reflect on their tactics objectively in order to better
exhibit themselves as something that you actually want to listen to. It covers everything, from the seemingly
forgotten about sampler album and the best social media techniques, to how to
turn a crowd into loyal followers, to the basic understanding of how to deal
with other human beings. The latter should not even have to be mentioned, but
it there are a plethora of musicians that take interaction with media and fans
for granted. As an independent artist, you do not want ignore press members
that want to expose you, let alone insult them. Bernardo tells a tale of an
artist who during a showcase went as far as trash talking him on account of not
being able to stick around for his set. This particular rapper began
name-dropping some of hip-hop’s brand names, then decided that it was
appropriate to, in front of all the other artists of the showcase, blurt out
that he was the most important rapper of the show. Muscle points how such obvious faux pas’ can be avoided and
even result in future listeners. Instead, this gentleman became an example of
what not to do.
The point is Bernard knows what
makes and breaks the future of an independent artist, making Muscle for Your
Hustle a great and inexpensive buy for
anyone looking make way in a world where DIY musicians are a dime a dozen. For
the 99 cents that it costs, you can potentially be one in a million instead of
part of the aforementioned dime a dozen crowd. Get it boy boy.
And check Adam's blog Adam's World for good measure.
Anthony Mastroianni
