Hello gang! In today's blog we'll be discussing why it is absolutely necessary to have your own website. Let's dive right into the good stuff.

Ok, so I'm an old school playa, so I remember cool social media platforms that you young bucks don't know anything about. I used to have all the fly honey's on blackplanet.com (back when I had AOL messenger and dial-up internet at my mama's house). I also remember MYSPACE. Man!!! The golden days. I remember being in people's top 8's and feeling like I was on top of the world. I built a music page on there and was doing great with networking. And then poof! One day... and I mean suddenly. Myspace was engulfed by a new, more popular platform... Twitter. 

Many influencers built massive followings on vine and then... (read this in a very sad voice) she was just... she was just gone! Dang, remember how poppin Snapchat was a few years ago? There's still a ton of people that use it, but there are without a doubt fewer active users on the platform today. 

Now everyone's on TikTok and Instagram. But dawg, what if these platforms die down? Hold up, let's change directions. I know a girl that built a pretty solid following on Instagram (maybe about 8,000 followers or so). One day out of the blue, some guy hacks her account and she never recovered it. She had to start all over. This sadly enough could happen to anyone. 

So how can you protect yourself and stay in touch with your supporters? How can you post what you want to post, and not have to worry about Instagram deleting your projects? HAVE YOUR OWN WEBSITE. 

By having your own website, you can communicate with your supporters more intimately, provide giveaways for them, provide them with exclusive content, and most importantly... YOU CAN CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MAN. Want to sell your album for $20 directly off of your website? Sure thing, go right ahead. So what if only 50 people buy it!? That's $1,000 fam. 

Want to develop an online class to give back to the community? Yep. Do it from your website. Want to blog or network, or charge people for ad space on your page? Yep. Do it from your website. And the best part? It won't suddenly fade away just because a new social media platform has come along. Heck, this website that I'm writing this from is only $12.00 a month!!!! Shoutout to Weebly. You guys are the bomb diggity (do people still say that?) 

Anyways, I'll be releasing some more content over on my Youtube channel. If you haven't subscribed yet... 

So... suck a little less and sub here:

Until the next time... 
​Kayo out. ​

Ever tried to get in touch with curators but couldn’t figure out how? It’s pretty frustrating huh. I know. That’s why I developed this simple process. When I show you how easy it is, you’re going to be mad that you never knew this. 

​So to find spotify curators contacts, type in the (inserts random drum roll) SEARCH BAR! Shocking, I know. Here’s how you do it. 

​Step one: Type in a mood/genre or playlist style and then type “gmail”. Press enter. 

​Next we will click on playlists. Once you select a playlist, you will notice that these curators email/contact information is in the playlist description. Jot down the curators info and send them an email. Let them know that you like their playlist and you’ve attached a song link (of one of your songs) that you feel would match the mood of their playlist. 

​

​Bada boom, bada bing! Now just rinse and repeat! Contact any curators who have playlists that match your song’s vibe.
 
I hope that this is helpful for you guys!

This will be a simple, do's and don'ts blog. If you are doing any of the don'ts... Stop. IMMEDIATELY. Let's Begin. 

1. Don't try to have a conversation with them while they are actively spinning. (Duh)

2. Don't make your FIRST communication with them be about them playing your music. 
Why? Well imagine this. You're a popular DJ that gets literally 100 artist messaging you a day about how they are "The hottest in the city" (95% of them are not). Your inbox is constantly being flooded with music, and most of those artists don't follow you on social media or do anything for your brand. So why would you check for them? 

3. Stop getting mad when they ignore you. Don't take it personal. Read point #2 again. They are most likely just really busy. 

4. Stop harassing them just because they are not playing your music. 
​
5. Stop trying to "Buy" a DJ's support. If you're paying them to play your song on their station or in the club... the moment you stop, their support will usually stop.
(Please note that this is different from having a radio budget and having a campaign. For a song to blow up on radio, a budget is a necessity. However, we are speaking of paying ONE DJ to play your song.)

1. If you meet them in a club.... Hand them a business card and tell them that you'll talk to them soon. Then send them a follow up email or DM a few days later, and remind them who you are. 

2. Provide value to them, or in better words, actually do something for them first. If you have a merch line, get them a T-Shirt. (I did this and it worked... BIG TIME.) If you know what radio station they work at, make all of the DJ's personalized snack bags. Put your business card in the snack bag (I did this too... and it worked... BIG TIME.) 

3. Comment on their posts on social media. Like their pics. But still don't ask them to play your music in the comment section. Just show genuine support. 

4. Try to get to know them, naturally. But don't be weird. For some of you... you're just too weird to do this step, so you may have to skip it. 

5. If you are having a big release... (example: album release party, listening party, etc) invite them to it. This works great after successfully doing tip #2. Roll out the red carpet for them. Do it big. Treat them like royalty! Why? Because if the right DJ in the right situation begins to support you, it can help your buzz grow IMMEDIATELY. And remember, if one DJ at the station starts playing your song, the other DJ's will hear it too!