Organize Your Music Team
FOR THE INDIE IN ALL OF US – As you build your team of band members, friends, family and fans to support your music, sharing responsibilities efficiently will increasingly become a problem. But fortunately, the net offers several free and easy to use solutions.
Set up band members, street team leaders and other key teammates on Google Apps. Gmail (which can be forwarded to another email account) provides a permanent address and can be linked to a group Google Calendar (gigs, rehearsals, deadlines), Google Docs (promo, riders, lyrics for collaboration) and other services. All are free and can be accessed by any authorized user from anywhere. Some bands and labels prefer BaseCamp, which comes in free and paid editions, as their online home for project management.
TIP: Because a band's team members change, consider using generic addresses like (bandname)tech@gmail.com. Generic addresses are also a great way to share responsibilties. For example, have fan mail sent to (band name)fanmail@gmail.com and have bandmembers share the repsonsibility of answering it.
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People should also check out Music Arsenal. (http://www.musicarsenal.com) Its a management application built specifically for the music industry and managing the business side. There are free and paid versions available.
I’ve used Google docs and basecamp and as far as true task and time management, nothing beats basecamp. Google works as a good central storage spot, but for managing messages, tasks, and time for projects Basecamp is the safer bet. I just did a bigger review of Basecamp so that bands can weigh the pros and cons.