We're not kidding here.

We've helped artists to raise funds for new EPs, albums, and creative projects. In fact, the average artist from our first Academy in 2020 made £1431 in just two weeks...some going over to generate £11,000 within a couple of months.

So if you're wanting to set up your Rocket Fuel Campaign at lightning speed, we can help you do this in just 24 hours! 

Take a look at the 24-Hour Challenge...it's starting on Friday 22nd of January at 7pm (GMT).


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His latest vision is to bring fresh new worship songs into the inboxes of Christians all over the globe every week and aims to accelerate this to daily in 2019. Homegrown Worship is an ambitious project which will see the Gloucestershire-based writer/ producer modelling the process of writing, recording and sharing new music in a bid to attract other writers to share their music with the Homegrown Worship community.

The concept for the community challenges the traditional record label model; promising fair deals for creatives contributors, and is being launched through Rocket Fuel; the crowdfunding platform launched by Andy in 2014. The site has helped artists raise £100,000’s including several successful projects with Philippa Hanna who has worked with Resound Media over the past decade.

New recordings will be shared through streaming and download platforms from June 1st along with lyric videos and a blog detailing information on each songwriter and the inspiration behind the song. Songs and interviews will be shared each week on UCB radio from June as part of their weekly Live...

Here are 3 Reasons why you should sharpen your skills as a songwriter.

1. If your songs don’t draw listeners in, engage people emotionally and capture the imagationation of your audience, no amount of promotion will pay off.

2. If elite athletes have coaches to help them work on their game, you could significantly increase your chances of competing as a songwriter with some support from an experienced mentor.

3. If you have honed your craft as a writer, you can translate strong ideas into exceptional recordings. With the huge volume of material released each week, the public don’t tend to get excited by mediocre music.

If you’re eager to progress and sharpen your skills as a writer, our Virtual Management service is worth taking a look at… it offers mentoring, coaching and access to a world of new connections.

One artist who has modelled this very successfully is Sheffield-based singer, songwriter, author and blogger Philippa Hanna. She started her career in the Christian music scene, who is fast-becoming one of the UK’s leading ladies in country music and has travelled to 25 countries around the world sharing her songs and stories. Having gained a whopping £75,000 support through crowdfunding from over 2000 supporters, it’s reassuring that there are ways to build your career other than queuing up for TV talent shows.

 But how do you go from playing coffee shops to opening arena tours and having national radio support behind your music?

 One key ingredient is inviting people on an adventure...

So let’s take a look at a few things you might want to consider:

1. Start a crowdfunding campaign… whether you have 5 or 5000 fans, when the average support spends £50 on sites like Rocket Fuel it makes a lot of sense.

2. Establish a street team… invite your core supporters to help you promote new music and events. Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd and it’s amazing how eager many people are to help...

Are people talking about you and your music or are you getting lost in the sea of artist uploading their music to the internet in the vain hope it might get discovered?

As an innovating group of people, we like to encourage artists to step out of their comfort zones and have a go and interesting activities which can put a spotlight on their music.

If you’re up for carving out your own path rather than joining very long queues, here are 10 ways to get people talking:
 

1. Write a song about a truly unique event...forget how your feel for a moment and focus on entertaining your audience with something very different

2. Break a world-record. It doesn’t matter what in...it’s interesting and the press will cover it

3. Surprise your fans with gifts...people love to share their experiences of when they got something good they weren’t expecting

4. Release your music in a way that hasn’t been done before...remember how much press Radiohead got for their ‘pay what you like’ album launch

5. Ask fans interesting, intriguing and controversial questions on social media...some topics will open a can of worms but might increase engagement for positive reasons

These are 3 common mistakes I’ve seen artists making.

Developing any relationship involves saying the right things.

If I forget to tell my wife that I love her, she might feel a little disappointed.
If I fail to ask her about her day, she may feel a little ignored.
If I never take the time to thank her for the things she does, she will feel unappreciated

You get the picture right?

So what should you be saying to your fans to build a relationship with them?

Try boasting about how much fun you’re having with your supporters and how awesome they are... this will show both appreciation for them and entice onlookers to want to be part of your family of fans.

Post questions that allow your fans to speak and share their thoughts. Take time to respond and get to know them. Conducting a fan-survey can be incredibly insightful and allows them to share their thoughts on focussed topics.

Show genuine appreciation to the people who turn up at your shows... give them a high five, a hug and thank them personally. Take time to do social media shout-outs for...

Every Mother’s Day you can guarantee Mama by the Spice Girls will be all over the radio and Katy Perry will be counting up the royalties that Firework brings in from New Years Eve and Independence Day.

When your song becomes associated with an occasion, it will get played time and again and help cement your reputation in the public eye.

So...have you ever written a song for an occasion? We’d love to hear it...

Send it to info@resoundmedia.co.uk!

However the day looks for you, we hope it’s awesome!

In my experience working with artist over the past 15 years, I’ve found that artist who truly love their fans tend to see their fanbase grow. It sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?

To love them, you need to understand what they really want. Understanding usually involves time, asking lots of questions and a little trial and error

Here are 3 things that I believe are helpful to consider when trying to work out what your fans want:

1. Fans want to talk to you

Responding to messages and posts online is a must for emerging artists. Once you’re a household name, it will become impossible to keep up with this but until you are, it’s a good idea to talk to fans.

Speak to everyone at your shows and go crazy on having selfies with fans…

Relationships breakdown without good communication

2. Fans want new music and lots of it

There’s no shortage of music for people to listen to so if you’re not releasing music regularly, people are unlikely to get hooked. They’re most likely to pay to see you perform live once there are several songs they like the sound of so make sure you are booked into the studio to create recordings that people will...

As a child, I used to look forward to Christmas to see what I would get. Now, as a Dad I really couldn’t care less about what I get...it’s all about the presents under the tree for my little girl.

Childish artists see themselves as performers.

Grown up artists see themselves as entertainers.

Entertainers have an audience … performers don’t necessarily have an audience or even know what to do with them.

If you want to grow your audience, it's essential to understand their pains and gains.

What problems are you solving for your audience? Perhaps they’re bored, maybe they’re feeling down and they could even be cross at Coldplay because tickets to see them are £150.

What gains are you offering? Perhaps you’re exciting to follow online, maybe your songs are uplifting and people like the fact you’re always the last to leave the pub after a gig so they can hang out with you.

Your songs, performances and social media posts can be incredible gifts to your followers.

Talent doesn’t equal success and the music industry is not fair. If you’ve accepted these as fact, you might want to get a plan together for your music career with the help of our...

When you watch around 80 artists over the course of the day, there are few who you remember.

One young man stood out though.

He was just 16 and singing an original song whilst most in his age category performed covers.

His song was really good. It was an upbeat pop-rock kinda of track but it had a half-time chorus...the shift in gears was strong and unexpected

However...it was the use of a harmony pedal on his vocals which was the icing on the cake which made the chorus stand out. I remember the precise feeling of hearing the song and I can almost taste the cheap biscuits I was munching on at the time.

Tom Auton went to the win in his age category and also won the Future Music Songwriting Competition the next year

He joined the team at Sound Consultancy as a writer and producer to work with me and Aron last year and has written a number of stand-out tracks with emerging artists.

Take a listen to Possession that Tom wrote with Chloe...]]> Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:45:37 GMT https://testing.rocketfuelhq.com/blog/stand-out-from-the-crowd https://testing.rocketfuelhq.com/blog/stand-out-from-the-crowd A single spotlight illuminates a gaunt figure, indigo stark against his chalky skin. He stares down his audience with a crazed look in his dark eyes, raising both fists above his head, while the mammal twitches helplessly between his teeth. As the bat’s blood trickles down his chin, Ozzy Osbourne cements his reputation as one of rock’s most notorious - and enduring - icons.

At least, that’s how the story goes. What is certain is that audience went home talking about what they saw, and are still talking about it more than thirty years later.

Now, I am not in any way encouraging you to go out and decapitate small animals in the name of a memorable set. But think about your live performances from an audience’s point of view. When you watch a mixed bill of several artists, who stands out and what moments do you replay in your mind on the journey home?

There’s no set formula of course - what works for one act may be forced and unnatural in the hands of another, or entirely inappropriate to their audience. Start by taking an honest, frank look at your own performances - getting a friend with a video camera to record a show can be very revealing! Watch and listen back. Are you drawn in? If you saw yourselves for the first time, would...

If you love your songs, you’ll take them somewhere special and not subject them to the fast-food approach to production.

Like Michelin Star rated Chefs, myself and Aron have been cooking up records over the past decade and have enjoyed helping dozens of artist to create tasty work they are really proud of.

Here are some of the highlights in the past couple of years... you can listen to all these tracks by clicking here

1. Helping Out Of The Ashes get their own brand of blues/jazz/gospel on both Good Morning Sunday and The Blues show on BBC Radio 2

2. Crafting arrangement and co-writing with Ellie Jane and then seeing tracks from her debut EP featured as BBC Introducing tracks of the week nationally on Georgey Tonight.

3. Watching Daughters of Davis go from playing Open Mic nights to national radio features and performing at the O2 in London

4. Having Kalli Ashton’s country-tinged debut single which I wrote with her get national coverage on Mark Forrest’s BBC Radio show

5. Encouraging Georgia Crandon to write some songs and funding her debut single through Rocket Fuel...then introducing her to a radio plugger who got her first ever...]]> Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:30:44 GMT https://testing.rocketfuelhq.com/blog/treat-your-songs-to-the-recordings-they-deserve https://testing.rocketfuelhq.com/blog/treat-your-songs-to-the-recordings-they-deserve First impressions count.

When you go on a first date with that person you really like, you will probably give some thought to your choice of outfit. You may even obsess over this...

You want to make a great impression right?

As the majority of music lovers like their lives through a screen, it’s essential that you capture their attention and communicate who you are through the way that you appear.

You might have won the genetic lottery or you might be insecure about your shape, size or appearance but the good news is anyone can create a strong and engaging brand. Take this encouragement from someone who started going bald aged 15.

1. Don’t scrimp on photography. You tend to get what you pay for. We can happily recommend a good photographer that won’t break the bank

2. Make sure your name and logo are a good match.

3. Review your online reputation. Everything starts with a google search so it’s a good to try and get a handle on how you can get the right stuff popping up

4. Be bold and creative with your branding...playing it safe is a surefire way to be forgotten

5. Keep things consistent. Unnecessary variations and inconsistencies dilute the impact of your brand.

Andy

A few years ago I was preparing for a trip to Nashville with Philippa Hanna, I got in touch with several people I know in Music City to ask advice on what a singer-songwriter needs to do to in order to get attention on the other side of the Atlantic. Philippa has enjoyed a successful career over the past decade crafting her own unique blend of inspirational folk/pop, extensively touring in churches, bars, coffee shops, festivals and arenas. After several well-received visits to the US and being awarded a prestigious export development grant backed by the UK Government, we were keen to make connections for her in the biggest music market on the planet, where having a splash of faith in your songs can actually help you sell records!

From a handful of emails, I gained some great recommendations, a few fantastic personal introductions and a long list of things to carefully weigh up. There was one piece of advice that stood out for me, however,  seemed blatantly obvious, yet profoundly significant. It came from the...

Do you fancy making some additional cash?

Would you like to help introduce independent acts to a platform that can help them generate money?

If you answered YES three times there, we’d love to hear from you.

Resound Media is looking for a number of individuals already working within the music industry to join our growing team as we seek to help more artists through our crowdfunding site Rocket Fuel in 2018. Having already helped dozens independent artists raise £100,000s, we are looking to expand, helping hundreds more artists to engage, grow and monetise their fanbase.

Ideal candidates should

- Be available 12-20 hours per week
- Have experience working in the music industry
- Possess unusual confidence
- Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Not struggle to draw up a list of artists they could imagine gaining support via rocketfuelhq.com

The role will be salaried part-time with additional commission and bonus structure. Individuals would be required to work from home and must have access to a computer and hi-speed internet.

Friday 20th October 2017

By Tom Price, Galaxies Collide

I’ve seen Chris Tavener on a several occasions now, in a number of cities and venues around the UK, however this has to be his best set to date. Solid new additions to his set such as The Phone Song and Millennials make his 45 minutes on stage all killer, no filler. Sat in the comfortable but quirky surroundings of the basement venue in Faringdon’s Slaughtered Lamb pub, the set seems to fly by, leaving the full audience who listened intently, pleading for more.

Chris’ unique blend of dark comedy and catchy tunes, mixed with lots of subtle but vitally important physical gestures certainly makes his act stand out from the crowd. Too often, ‘solo singer-songwriters with a guitar’ acts are rudely spoken over in a noisy bar on a Friday night, but not with Chris. The room full of paying London punters are entranced during each song and hang on his every word during the gaps, captured by his self-indulgent yet awkward persona. It’s refreshing to see someone commanding the audience’s attention through the lyrical content rather than shouting at them between songs to “shut up and listen!”. Or maybe it was the...]]> Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:51:12 GMT https://testing.rocketfuelhq.com/blog/chris-tavener---live-in-london! https://testing.rocketfuelhq.com/blog/chris-tavener---live-in-london! The awesome Speak, Brother released their brand new EP, ‘Light Runs After Us’, on Good Friday after smashing their first Rocket Fuel goal! The 4-track collection was met with a whole host of glowing feedback and labelled as “genuinely thrilling” (My Random Jukebox) and “mesmerising” (Tony Cummings - Cross Rhythms) by reviewers, proof that there are great things in store for the indie-folk quartet.