HOME DEMO RECORDING

Here's a few time saving tricks and techniques to get your home demo recording sounding good. This article is written by Frank Fuchs, a former staff songwriter for Sony music and EMI music.

Home Demo Recording

[Resource http://www.hoodhype.com/blog/?p=55]

BUILD YOUR OWN HOME RECORDING STUDIO

There are many options for setting up a home recording studio and even more choice of equipment and software.

If you're a little confused as to where to start the best things would be to ask yourself these 2 questions. What purpose are wanting a studio for? Is it to record demos, gigs, rehearsals or Cd releases. Next, you need to decide what your budget is. Shop around and don't be afraid to ask questions or for a demonstration. Your overall budget and recording requirements will dictate where the money should be spent and on what type of equipment.

At a basic level you'll need, a device to record the sound to, monitors to hear what you've recorded and possibly a microphone. For some more ideas on setting up a recording studio have a look at "Building A Home Recording Studio".

[Resource http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/128125/building_a_home_recording_studio.html]

GIVE AWAY YOUR MUSIC AND SELL YOUR SHOW

Digital music is changing the music industry landscape. And this 'new' landscape is one perfectly suited to independent musicians.

You can become without too much effort or expense, a one person record label. You write songs, you own the copyright and publishing, you finance and own the recordings and you also distribute, market, sell and finally collect the profits from sales. Because you as an independent artist own and therefore have control over your music you can also choose to give it away for free. This isn't such an attractive option for record companies (who rely heavily on sales of product-physical and non physical) but for you-here's why you might consider it as an attractive marketing tool.

Thousands of artists already give away their music for free. Which makes the expectation of 'free' music part of the norm.

Your production and distribution costs are extremely low if you offer 'digital' downloads.

You can use your free 'gift' as a way to build your fan base list.

One thing that can't be downloaded (well technically it can-but without the same experience) is a live performance and that my friend is the area where you as an independent musician have every bit as much opportunity to give a unique performance that makes you or your band worth coming to see.

For the foreseeable future of the music industry, things will change and there will be new technologies but none of these can replace the experience of 'live' music. And, this is where the profits come from.

Click here to read a story I found that tells of similar predictions.

[Resource http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/01/give_away_the_m.html]

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BAND IN TEN WORDS OR LESS?

What do you say when people ask you what your band sounds like?

In order to market and sell your music you need to be able to describe it. You also need to describe it accurately and in only a few words.

Ideally your description should describe what a potential listener might expect to hear as well as why they might benefit from listening to your music. Doing this and tagging your website with these keywords will help you generate far more traffic to your website and interest from anyone reading your band/artist description, bio and music magazine articles.

If you're not sure how to go about writing a description for your music, write down some 'keywords' that describe your music and/or the group of people that may listen to it. A description of your music that has some type of 'hook' for a potential fan will give your music a much better chance of being heard than a description like "indie rock" or "pop/rock".

Start brainstorming, what artists is your music similar to? Check out their descriptions if you need some inspiration but find something that sounds intriguing but also tells the reader what they are likely to expect.

Here's some examples that give you an idea of what you might expect to hear if you took a listen to the music:

"Ear bleeding rock", "Melodic hooks that you wont be able to get out of your head", "Drum and bass for dancing to", "Rock 'n roll stripped bare", "Lush layered soundscapes" and "Ambient jazz for lovers.

For more examples take a look here.



[Resource http://www.cursebustersound.com/blog/?p=166]

DO YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE?

Well, a "Second Life" that is.

This is something that has been really intriguing me of late, a website called SecondLife. If you aren't familiar with it, it's an online digital virtual world owned and created by its residents. And residents are in fact the 'users'.

In this 'virtual' world you can create your own 'new' identity and you can also buy, sell and own land along with other items such as entertainment. Second Life boast a 'population' of over 3 million residents since opening in 2003.

Now what really intrigues me about this concept, is the interaction between the real and the virtual world. Swapping your real life dollars for virtual dollars (in the special SecondLife currency "Linden Dollars" and back again into real dollars for use in the real world. This 'new' world has not escaped the attention of 'marketers' and many big organisations such as IBM, Sony, Nissan and Toyota own property and retails stores and even advertise in this Second Life world.

Only time will tell if Second Life is here to stay or a passing fad - but could you be an independent musician and market and sell your music through this virtual world? A folk singer Suzanne Vega performed live in Second Life to a virtual audience with a virtual avatar. An "Avatar" is your persona in the virtual world.

If you're intrigued about this new marketing concept, you may like to have a read of some articles I found here which discuss exactly how big real world companies are marketing in this virtual world and how it sometimes even overlaps with real world.

Strange but true!

[Resource http://rssdiary.marketingstudies.net/content/second_life_1_does_second_life_hold_real_marketing_value.php]

DO SOMETHING TODAY!

Something just occurred to me.

This blog is full of some great posts where you can pick up some fantastic ideas for marketing and promoting your music and while it's great to 'know' all that stuff, 'knowing' and 'doing' are very different. Knowledge is power, right? Wrong. "Applied" knowledge is power.

The point I'm trying to make is this: Don't get all caught up with the 'knowing'. Start 'doing' the things you know or there's not much point in 'knowing' them. Start right now, what area of your music career needs the most work on? Take action today, even doing just one small thing will start the momentum and get you on your way.

What is it you need to do right now to move your music career forward? Want some help? Sign up at this blog page to start receiving your free "Tools For Success" e-zine. We'll not only share some amazing marketing ideas with you, we'll take you through a process that makes sure you take action. Taking action is absolutely paramount, you can't get anywhere without it no matter how much you 'know'.

So whatever it is you are going to do today, take at least one small step towards your goal.

PS Taking "action" is one of the secrets of success.

SUCCESS SECRETS

What do most music artists want? I'm pretty confident in saying that they want to create music (their product) and have people listen to it (like it hopefully) and buy it. So what artists want is simple and the level of fame achieved is simply a representation of numbers. Numbers of fans at your gigs and numbers of Cd's (or mp3's) you sell. Higher numbers=more fame or success or whatever you want to call it.

As we all know, there are musicians who are extremely successful (they have high numbers-see above) but they do not appear to the level of talent that seems applicable to success. So how come they get so popular? Marketing is one factor - but it's not that one thing alone that gets you there.

What you need to study is 'success' itself, however you choose to define it. There are people everywhere (in all kinds of businesses or pursuits) who are achieving it and you need to study these successful people and learn what they know.

Below, I've included a link to an article, written by an independent musician who has discovered one of the 'keys' to success and has written about it.

If you want to know what that 'key' is I suggest you read the article in full, which you'll find here.

If you want to learn more 'keys' to success, as well as some amazing marketing strategies, just sign up to the free "The Indie Musician's-Tools For Success" e-zine. You can sign up at this page or at The Indie Musician.



[Resource http://www.kyndmusic.com/2007/01/17/musician-to-do-list-for-2007/]

MAJOR RECORD COMPANY TAKES NEW MARKETING ROAD

US singer/songwriter John Mellencamp enjoyed major commercial success and had several charting hits and albums throughout 1980's. But that kind of popularity doesn't last forever, so how does a record label go about promoting a new Cd by a 'mature' artist who no longer frequents the top 40 but still writes great songs and Cd's?

Learning from the marketing 'mistakes' made with John's last Cd release, the record label UMe/Universal Republic is taking up the challenge in an enthusiastic way and now has a strong idea of what will work this time around.

Find out what these major label marketing strategies are, in this story Mellencamp's Marketing Turnabout


[Resource http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwNjA3NTgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3]

THE INDIE MUSICIAN

Over the last week myself and my partner have been getting the official "The Indie Musician" website ready and online. (That's the website home for the business that operates this blog.)

Although the website is still a 'work in progress', we have some excellent resources available already including, "The Indie Musician's DIY Toolkit".

We like to invite you to sign up to our FREE e-zine "The Indie Musician - Tools For Success" at the home page of "The Indie Musician" or on this blog page. Not only will you get sent our regular feature articles which are packed with excellent ideas, resources and tips, we'll also give you a copy of our exclusive eBook called "The Easy Way To Book Your Gigs" which you won't find anywhere except "The Indie Musician".

J:o

www.TheIndieMusician.com

FROM SONGWRITING TO PUBLISHING, HOW IT WORKS

I found this post on the Zunester website. It gives a nice and simple overview of the 'industry' links in the chain of music from its conception to its earning potential

You can read it here.


[Resource http://www.zunester.com/2007/01/music-store-value-chain.html]

INDIE LABELS JOIN FORCES

In an effort to keep up with the marketing and sales might of major record companies, several indie labels including those behind The White Stripes and Arctic Monkeys have announced a new global deal.

The deal which is conducted by Merlin, a non profit licensing agent who will cut deals on behalf of the independent labels. Merlin will be liaising with download sites and mobile service providers to negotiate better deals with online retailers.

Although 80% of new music comes from independent labels their market share of revenue is only 30%.

To read the story in full, click here.



[Resource http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/21/business/20070121090500&sec=business]

PERFECT 'STAGE' PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT 'STAGE' PRACTICE

There are two types of 'rehearsals' to consider: 'live rehearsal' for the stage and your 'technical ability rehearsal'. Both types of rehearsals are necessary but rehearsing only your technical skills will not set you up well for performing on stage 'live' to an audience.

When you rehearse with your band or practise on your own you are only honing your technical ability and playing skills. This is necessary of course for you to be able to learn to play the parts you need to play but the the problem is that the stage environment is different to the rehearsal room environment.

When you get up in front of an audience there's leads and equipment to avoid, space limitations, sometimes there's no fold back speakers and you can't hear yourself properly, there's often people talking throughout your performance and lighting or special effects can make things more difficult to see etc. Performing live is a different environment from playing your songs at home or at the rehearsal room. Even small things like what clothes you wear on stage can inhibit comfort or maneuverability and it can get very hot under stage lighting.

If you're under rehearsed in 'live' performance you may find yourself stressed or even too relaxed in an environment that is going to be very different to your 'rehearsals' where you're practising your technical skills. This anxiety can throw off even the best of players who 'know' they can play the songs then stumble or don't perform to the best of their ability when they get on stage.

Anxiety is just adrenaline, it's normal and it's very common among performing musicians and public speakers. With experience you can learn to work with it and even use its energy to the advantage of your performance. Here are some things you can do to minimize the effects of anxiety so you don't end up ruining your well rehearsed live performance.

Try rehearsing your 'stage performance' as well as your general band practise and at home practise. Both of these practices serve different purposes but many bands forget to practise their 'stage performance' and just practise their 'material' or technical ability to play.

One thing you can do is to rehearse under 'stage' like conditions. Maybe invite some friends (or strangers) or family members along to a rehearsal for an 'audience'. If you can't do this and you use practise rooms where there are also other bands rehearsing, maybe you can invite them to be your 'audience' and in return, you can sit in as their audience.

Wear what you would wear on stage, clothes that look good but are to practical for performance or are uncomfortable will not help you give your best performance.

Set up some lighting to give you a 'stage' like atmosphere. Direct a light on each band member.

Next, you must treat this 'rehearsal' as if you were playing a gig in front of an audience. That means: walk on to the stage from the side of the room then pick up your instrument, do not stop midway through a song even if you have made a mistake, talk to the audience - introduce yourself and your band and perform your entire set as you would if you were doing a 'real' gig.

Try performing with a 'not so good' sound mix. Try performing with no fold back speakers.

Change the stage set up around the next time you practise and make the performing area smaller or larger or in a corner. Even find a different location to perform your live performance rehearsals.

If you're keen to have an even more 'realistic' stage practise, try doing some physical activity to get your heart rate up. This will produce similar side effects to that of anxiety so you'll become more 'comfortable' with the feeling.

Rehearsing under all these conditions will get you as used to as possible to the feelings and environmental factors that you will face on stage in front of an audience.

The more you practice rehearsing your 'performance' using different stage set ups the more comfortable you will be when you do it for real with an audience of strangers and a stage you've never stepped on.

Of course the more you practise both types of 'rehearsals' the better you'll get and getting better means better shows which means more enjoyment for you and your audience.

IDOL VOCAL COACH

Ever wondered what a vocal coach could help you learn. Sometimes what you need to 'unlearn' can be just as important according to Canadian Idol vocal coach, Debra Byrd who gives a 'Byrd's Eye View' interview here.

PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT PRACTICE

If you're a performing musician, you probably spend quite a lot of time practising your instrument and your performance parts. You probably also spend many hours rehearsing with your band getting ready for your performance in front of an audience.

Then, to your embarrassment and dismay you mess up, in front of your audience, parts that you had practised over and over and you know you got perfect every time in rehearsal. Surely, I can't be the only person who has done this!

Now, I know I'm alone in suffering from stage anxiety and I also know that it can contribute to you giving a performance far less than you're capable of giving, which is always a real disapointment, not least of all to yourself. So does this mean that all that hard work at practise is just going out the window as you step on a stage in front of an audience?

No, and better still there are things you can do to prepare you for stage performance and deal with your anxiety.

Tomorrow, I'll be covering the steps you can take to help you achieve a great live performance every time.

SHOW THE WORLD YOUR MUSIC

Got a music video that you'd like people to see (& hear)?

Music Nation is an artist development agency that promotes unsigned rock, pop & urban artists. Here's what they say about themselves.

"...it’s essentially a niche YouTube for emerging artists, allowing visitors to explore the newest and most viewed clips, track down artists in their local area..."

[Resource http://mashable.com/2007/01/15/music-nation-youtube-music/]

MUSIC NATION COMPETITION

Music Nation is currently running an online contest. The 15 week long competition will accept votes from January 29th onwards, and the winners in the pop, rock and urban categories will all get contracts with Epic Records. One of the winners will also appear on ClearChannel’s TV show, Stripped. It’s worth pointing out, however, that YouTube is also capable of discovering talent: the YouTube Underground contest was a virtually identical idea. Likewise, Bix.com is doing similar things and MySpace Music has long been a powerful tool for emerging artists to build an audience. Music Nation is nicely implemented, but surely new bands are looking to go where the audience is: on MySpace and YouTube. That means challenges ahead for all the music social networks and startups.

[Resource http://mashable.com/2007/01/15/music-nation-youtube-music/]

ARTISTS ARE THE ULTIMATE ENTREPENEURS

Artists create products (yes, your music is a product) and then look for a market to sell to. Some artists look for a market and then create a product to sell to that market. That makes you an entrepreneur and all entrepreneurs start from the same place, but there are many artists of all kinds everywhere that make little or no money from their creations.

We all know of gifted people with remarkable talent that are generally unknown to the wider population and we all know of many people who we consider not so gifted (I'm being polite!) who have fame, and financial success.

These 'unknowns' are missing one of the important 'marketing' steps that are used by successful businesses everywhere. Branding. You need to create a brand because that's what your band or music is. A brand.

Fear of 'selling out' particularly among musicians, seems to be common place. Fear of 'lessening their art' by making money from it is another popular misconception that artists have. Ever noticed how these 'beliefs' become self-fulfilling?

Your fear will hold you and your music career back. Don't let it.

Here's a great article that describes what branding is, why you need it and why you have been fooled into thinking that branding means slogans, TV ads and other such things the independent musician usually thinks of as 'negative'.

"Branding is the power to be who you are and communicating it to everyone proudly"

Branding Is Not Selling Out: It's Selling In



[Resource http://www.ireview.name/]

SONGWRITING COMPETITION TO PRODUCE 'INSTANT HITS'

US reality talent show 'American Idol' are planning to introduce a songwriting as part of future series.

Ratings show that people love to watch both ends of the spectrum, highlights of the really bad performers and of course the winners. Only problem is that the winners of the contest are forced to perform renditions of bland and forgettable songs. So, to overcome this American Idol are introducing a songwriting competition to winning formula so that by the end of the competition the country has not only their chosen singer, they also have the song they want.

So if you think you can write better songs than the ones currently being performed on American Idol (I'm sure you can) why not enter the competition yourself.

Details of the competition are still being sorted out but you can read all about it here.

Keep an eye out at the official website for American Idol for details of when and how to enter.

In the mean time, if you've got a urge to enter your songs in a competition why not try

The USA Songwriting Competition


[Resource http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_013175017.html]

SELL MORE CD'S AT YOUR GIGS

Here's a few suggestions to help you sell more Cd's at your gigs.

Introduce yourself or your band to the audience. Tell them who you are, if they like you it'll help them look you up in gig guides and etc.

Give out fliers or postcards with a brief bio and some contact info. If there's someone on the door, have them hand one out to each person as they come in. If you don't want to be so upfront just leave some on the tables and/or at the bar for people to take if they wish.

You can use other merchandise as free give-aways to promote your band. Fridge magnets, stickers, key rings etc.

Get someone (a friend or fan) to walk around the audience with some Cd's and ask people if they'd like to buy one. You should also be doing this with a mail-list.

Offer a free bonus with the first sale or first 5 sales, or however many you choose.

Mingle with the audience after your gig. Go and meet them face to face, talk to them and get some feedback. Make physical contact (appropriate contact obviously :-) shake their hand, ask their name and use it.

If you have only 1 Cd available, tell the audience about it and tell them of other artists (that they know) that are similar to your band. If you have more than 1 Cd available, tell the audience which is your favourite and why and describe as similar to another artist the audience may have heard of.

Does your music align itself with a political or social message? If so, why not give a % of your Cd sales profits to a charity or organisation that is relevent to this. You may even be able to afilliate your band with the organisation and have them advertise your Cd to their existing members.

Smile and talk to your audience :-) 'Involve' them in your show by using humour or chat, whatever is appropriate to your style.

Present yourself and band professionally. Create a 'look' for both the band and the stage. It doesn't have to be costumes or big stage props, just make your act look visually appealing and professional and match your style of music.

Finally,

Thank your audience for listening and remind them of where they can see you perform again or how they can find out more about you.

THE FUTURE IS PAST

"History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes"

I think it may have been 'Mark Twain' (AKA Samuel L Clemens) who quoted that? But who ever it was, there's a lot of wisdom in it.

I've blogged a bit about the changes to the music industry that have come about because of mp3's and so many 'experts' seem to have an opinion on whether music buyers will be buying Cd's or just digital downloads in the future, so who do we believe?

From vinyl records (remember those) to ipods here's a graph illustrating the sales trends of records, cassette tapes, Cd's and mp3's over a thirty year period. What do the results tells us? See above for a little clue or check out the statistics for yourself here.


[Resource http://e-huned.com/2007/01/17/technology-obsolescence-curves-are-cool/]

SOLO ARTISTS - HOW TO STAND OUT FROM THE PACK

There's only so much most solo artists can produce on stage with just themselves and their instrument. Even if you would like to perform with a band sometimes it's just not practical.

Whatever your reason, if you're looking for a way to stand out from the pack and produce a 'bigger' sound or one that's closer to your studio recordings think digital.

You can have a Dream team of musicians performing with you every night like US singer/songwriter Keller Williams who found an inspiring way to promote his music. Inspired by writing an ambitious wish list of artists he'd like to collaborate with in the studio he then decided to Dream big and the Dream which has now come true has turned this solo performer into a one man band who sells out shows across the USA with his innovative looping technique and digital band.

This 'Dream' which became the title of his latest and ninth studio album is literally a Dream come true for Keller who now performs live backed by his 'wish list' of artists.




[Resource http://www.cybergrass.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2762]

GIGGING FOR A LIVING

Not a lot of independent musician's can make a living by gigging.

Jazz guitarist Peter Sprague is one of them and in this interview he shares some tips and some of the 'secrets' to how he does it. This interview comes from his book 'Gigging For A Living'.


[Resource http://howtoband.artbox-ent.com/blog/index.php/a/2007/01/14/gigging_for_a_living]

FREE MUSIC CAREER RESOURCES

The Indie Musician Blog (which is what you're reading now ;-) has a new website. Strangely enough it's also called The Indie Musician and you can find it at www.TheIndieMusician.com

Here's what it's all about:

The aim of The Indie Musician is to offer a range of career enhancing and music development resources that will assist independent musicians to perform their music live, produce quality recordings, market and sell their music, improve musical performance techniques and grow a fan base.

GUARANTEED EXPOSURE TO RECORD LABEL A&R OF YOUR CHOICE

Seems good things can come out of all those talent discovery shows such as 'American Idol', 'Australian Idol' and 'UK Idol'. I know there are people who criticize these shows and it's contestants and winners for being manufactured etc. but it seems that these shows are fuelling a thirst for new talent which means that they are having a positive effect on the music industry and this is good news for independent music and musicians.

Why? How?

Because, the popularity and demand for talent discovery thanks to these kind of shows is at an all time high and record companies are looking for more 'unknown' talent with the same potential for a professional music industry career. To help bring new talent to the major record labels, new website MusicBlast offers users a chance at a record deal by facilitating the submission of music demos directly to major record label A&R (artist and repertoire) representatives.

For free, members can post audio, video, want ads, photos and events and for a small fee you can buy a 30+ word review of your demo which guarantees exposure to any major record company A&R of your choice.



[Resource http://www.sbwire.com/news/view/10109]

UK SINGLES CHARTS GO DIGITAL

You can now have a UK number one hit on the singles chart thanks to the latest revolution in the digital music world.

The UK music industry now includes in the singles charts, songs that are available as a digital download even if they are not released in a CD format or stocked in a retail store.

Taking away the need for retail outlets and physical stock theoretically means that an independent artist could have a 'hit'. Not too likely according to the director of new media for Universal Music in the UK. There are several reasons for this. Any song that is available online is factored in, this could mean old 'classic' tracks and re-released tracks. Most of the charting songs will probably be current acts that have their marketing driven by large budgets afforded to them through the major record companies. Along with a massive marketing campaign it's easy to see why these acts become so popular.

Before you start to worry that there's no place for the independent musician there's plenty to be positive about.

The ability to produce your own recordings with mush less cost than a few years ago in the days when you had to hire a studio, press CD's, get artwork done etc.

The ability to launch your own effective and low cost marketing campaigns.

Digital downloads and instant payment facility

Information, advice and resources galore

Artistic control

Do you really need (or even want) to have the same mass exposure as the current 'top' artists?

Major record companies spend huge sums of money on marketing because they need to recoup large spendings (or investments). It's a fickle game, the charts but there's still plenty of opportunities to make a living being a recording and performing musician. You just never know when an independent artist is going to come from out of the blue and arrive into the mainstream charts.

It could be you.

J:o



[Resource http://www.ftd.de/karriere_management/business_english/149431.html]

BLOG YOUR BAND

Blogging is a great addition to your band website. It's a great way to document your band's progess, what you're up to and interact with your fans.

Here's a blog I just came accross from a US indie rock band based in Seattle called H Is For Hellgate. If your not sure what you could put in a blog, take a look at their blog for some inspiration.

Another blog I really like is by the more established singer / songwriter Ben Lee which you can read here.

There's plenty of blogs out there but the point is, you've got to make your band blog reflect the personality of the group and/or its members.

Oh, and you can set a blog up quickly and easily and they're free!


[Resource http://hisforhellgate.blogspot.com] & [Resource http://www.ben-lee.com/blog.htm]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, ben+lee+blog, music+promotion, promote+your+music

CROSSING BORDERS

We all like to talk about a great book we've read or a great CD that we've heard and the ability to share this with thousands if not millions is what online communities or social networking is all about.

In a clever marketing move, Borders, the on and offline retailer of books, music and movies have introduced a new online social networking community. A networking community through Gather.com that is a leader in social media for adults.

Borders have teamed up with existing social networking site Gather, which caters to a similar demographic ie. the demographic identified with the Borders brand. (See full article for details). Borders have an exclusive arrangement will allow customers to become members to create their own exclusive online community through a Borders.Gather.com

The message for indie musicians can take from this is to know your market demographic and find as many creative ways of reaching them as you can. Social networking is becoming one of the most important marketing tools of businesses large and small.


[Resource http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-10-2007/0004503503&EDATE=]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, borders+music, social+media, music+promotion, promote+your+music

KEEN TO RELEASE CD'S

UK band Keane have achieved 2 world firsts in music marketing and both in October 2006.

Teaming up with www.concertlive.co.uk for the first UK deal of its kind, fans purchase a live CD of the gig which is recorded mixed and mastered in real time. Within 10 minutes of the show finishing, fans can buy and take home the limited edition of the CD of the gig they were just at.

And for their 2nd world first, Keane released a limited edition single on a re-usable 512mb USB memory stick. Available in the UK through HMV Music it is presented in a standard size CD packaging with the memory stick shrink wrapped to the packaging. The USB is the world's thinnest flash drive.


[Resource http://www.keanemusic.com/news.php?action=get&id=1194&y=06&m=10]

[Resource http://www.keanemusic.com/news.php?action=get&id=1200&y=06&m=10]

technorati tags:keane, world+first+music+marketing, digital+music+marketing, music+promotion

AUSSIE MUSIC WANTED IN THE USA

Thanks to Jet, the most recent Aussie band to break into the $20 billion US music industry in 2004, Aussie music acts are again in demand.

The annual Austrade organised event will this year feature a host of Australian music exports in its annual promotion of everything Australia.

The publicity from this event is expected to reach more than 100 million Americans.

Click here to read which Australian musical acts will headline this year's festival.

[Resource http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21007320-5006024,00.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, jet, austrade, musician, australian+music, usa+music+industry, music+promotion, promote+your+music

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT EM...

Good news for artists wanting to use copyrighted material for their videos.

According to this recent Reuters article, the music industry thinks generating new income from unused clips & video montages will be more profitable than suing the likes of YouTube.

By licensing deals to sites such as MySpace, people will be able to use or include copyrighted content in videos that they make themselves.

This way both the artist, MySpace and the copyright owner all get to benefit. Now that's much better than law suits! It seems that record labels are deciding 'If you can't beat 'em...join 'em' instead of the expensive and time consuming law suits against copyright infringement. The music industry really is changing and this is proof that the independent musicians have real power.

To read the full article including the 5 technologies shaping this space, click here.



[Resource http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-01-02T050015Z_01_N01266714_RTRUKOC_0_US-TECH.xml&WTmodLoc=InternetNewsHome_C1_%5BFeed%5D-4]

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Happy New Year

Welcome 2007. I had a great night last night, I hope you did too. The food was delicious :-) see yesterday's blog for details. Limited myself to a glass of red with my meal and a few beers at a pub afterwards where I saw the new year in.

This blog post will be short (compared to yesterday) I'm sure that's a relief for most of you!

As you can see if you take a look at the top right hand side of the blog from page, I have added some RSS feed links to the blog. Now you can subscribe to The Indie Musician and have all the posts go straight in to your newsreader or RSS enabled browser (like Flock).

J:o

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, music+promotion, new+rss+feed