THE INDIE MUSICIAN

TEMPOSTAND

2009-03-15T16:15:00.000+10:00

There are soooo many places online for musicians to find resources, look up information and promote their music. So, I thought in the coming days to save you some time, I'd give you a bit of an overview of some websites you may find helpful for your career and some of these you may not have come across before.

Today's profile website is TempoStand

This is a new all genre independent original music promotion platform.

There is no cost

technorati tags: internet+music+marketing, music+career, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+distribution,recording+music, indie, independent, musician

GOT A FLASH FETISH?

2007-08-22T13:13:00.000+10:00

MySpace music uploads are not the only way to add your music to a profile page.

Why not do it using a custom designed mp3 player.

Here's a website I came across for adding your music to your MySpace page or to your own website or other profile page.

There is a selection of mp3 players to choose from and many can be customized to suit your web page designs.

Oh, did I mention that they're free and take only moments to install!

Check out MyFlashFetish

For resources on songwriting and marketing your songs visit
The Indie Musician's DIY Toolkit

[Resource http://www.myflashfetish.com/myspace-mp3-players/]

technorati tags: internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, independent, musician

SOCIAL NETWORKING

2007-08-19T13:25:00.001+10:00

Two recent articles I've come accross lately talk about "Social Networking" and how they should be used for marketing.

Musician's seem to 'get it' and are setting an example for other business to follow. Two fundamental points are made.

Traditional static marketing approaches are less effective than social networking. People want peer to peer interactions and value.

Read more about Social Networking is these 2 articles.

"Traditional Marketing Failing on Social Networks"

"Marketing on Social Networking Sites"

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO RSS SUBSCRIBERS

2007-08-13T19:10:00.000+10:00

Due to some technical issues, I've had to change my RSS account.

This means that if you are reading this blog via an RSS feed you will need to subscribe again by going to The Indie Musician Blog and clicking the appropriate RSS feed button.

http://theindiemusician.blogspot.com/

Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience.

If you aren't subscribed to The Indie Musician Blog and you'd like the convenience of having this blog delivered direct to your favorite blog reader, just go ahead now and click on one of the feed buttons on this page.

Jo,

TheIndieMusician.com

technorati tags:rss+theindiemusician,the+indie+musician+blog

IT'S NEVER TO LATE TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

2007-08-04T17:22:00.000+10:00

Whether you're a famous band earning millions of dollars or an independent musician with a day job, this advice is not only applicable, but wise.

Mind Your Own Business. If you treat the financial side of your life as a business and learn how to manage your finances, you can turn small returns into healthy nest eggs.

Guns' rocker tries hand as businessman

[Resource http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/04/1969575.htm?section=entertainment]

technorati tags:music+money, music+industry, indie, independent, musician

STAGE FRIGHT

2007-07-28T19:06:00.000+10:00

Live performance is part of the deal for most musicians but what if fear overcomes you every time you have to play a gig?

Stage fright or 'performance anxiety' are fairly common for even some well known entertainers.

Here are some practical strategies you can use to make your performing life a little easier.

Check out Overcome Your Stagefright

[Resource http://www.tips.com.my/Article/Musicians---Overcome-Your-Stagefright/65025]

technorati tags: perfrming+live+music, performance+anxiety, stagefright, indie, independent, musician

WHO REALLY WRITES THE SONGS?

2007-07-26T19:23:00.000+10:00

As a songwriter who aspires to write songs for other artists , here's something I came across that I find slightly concerning. A CNN Entertainment article called "Ok, who REALLY wrote that song"

According to this article it's common practise for professional songwriters to give a co-write credit to the artist/singer who will be releasing the song. A co-write credit without the singer having actually made any contribution to writing it. It apparently gives the singer more credibility as an 'artist' if they "write their own material". Maybe this is common only to the top 40 style pop market.

This of course leaves aspiring professional songwriters with a possible ethical dilemma.

Would I personally give away an un-earned song writing credit for the privilege of having my song performed by a 'famous' singer. The short answer is probably (and possibly sadly) yes. At least initially if it was a way in and it was a way to get my song across to a ready audience, I would probably be prepared to share a songwriting credit with a singer who hasn't contributed a word or note.

Being a professional songwriter is a business. Getting to write for an established artist who along with their record company has the power to make you a lot of money and establish you name is the trade off. It's using leverage. Songs are where money is in the long term and once you are established you have more bargaining power in your hands and can negotiate better deals.

I welcome other songwriters and what they think of giving away a writing credit.

[Resource http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/25/music.whosreallywriting.ap/index.html?iref=werecommend]

technorati tags:
music+industry,song+writing

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR MYSPACE PAGE

2007-07-19T12:18:00.000+10:00

An attractive and well designed MySpace page is essential if you want your page to stand out.

Ideally you should aim to have a page that makes people stop and listen to your music and read about you or your band.

As you may have noticed, there are no instructions for how to customize your MySpace page and many people opt for some of the free MySpace layouts available.

But if you want something a bit different...here's a worthwhile tutorial for indie musicians who already have a MySpace page or would like to set one up.

You'll learn how to set up a basic site, change colours and a background, manipulate text and add some graphics.

Click here for a step by step guide to customizing your MySpace profile

[Resource http://www.webreference.com/authoring/design/MySpace_Band/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, live+music+promotion, myspace+music, myspace+profile, myspace+customised+profile, indie, independent, musician

HOW TO HELP YOUR FANS HELP YOU SELL YOUR MUSIC

2007-07-05T16:01:00.000+10:00

Do your fans love your music? Why not let them help you sell it - with a twist.

Invite your fans to sign up for a FREE account with GoodStorm then upload your music onto a nifty little widget gadget called 'MixTape'.

MixTape can then be uploaded on your fans website and/or MySpace page. Visitors can then listen to and purchase downloads generating revenue for you and your fans :-)

[Resource http://music.goodstorm.com/

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

WANT YOUR MUSIC INDUSTRY QUESTIONS ANSWERED?

2007-06-29T20:53:00.003+10:00

Attention Independent Musicians - I need your help!

Imagine being able to sit down with a record label manager, a promoter, venue booker, successful artist, music journalist, publicist or anyone else involved in the music industry and ask them any question you want.

Well, I'd like to make it happen. I want you to have access to as much information and resources as possible to help you and your career. I've just opened a new forum at my website http://www.theindiemusician.com/ and I'd like to invite music industry 'guests' along so you can speak to them directly.

But there's a small hitch...

No questions = No guests. That's why I'm calling for your help. Together we can create a such a forum, a place where you get a chance to uncover the secret workings of the music industry.
Most independent musicians face similar challenges, so if you've got a question, chances are many others are wondering the same thing. Don't be shy, tell me who you'd like me to invite to the forum and I'll invite them. Maybe you'd like to ask a question to other independent musician's or offer some advice of your own.

I've included some other Discussion Board topics so you can also:

Look for a band member
Post a musician available message
Advertise a music item you have for sale
Post a (music related) item wanted request
List your music business or service

I look forward to seeing you soon in The Indie Musician's online Forum.

[Resource http://www.theindiemusician.com/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

SUBMIT YOUR CD FOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION

2007-06-27T11:24:00.000+10:00

LA based indie label is calling for submissions for all genres of retail ready CD's for their distribution system.

Boosweet distributes worldwide through partnerships with international distributors.

If you're interested email info@boosweet.com with "Distribution Opportunity" in the subject heading.

[Resource http://www.boosweet.com/]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

NEW WAYS TO DELIVER YOUR MUSIC

2007-06-15T16:38:00.000+10:00

Here are some interesting custom USB drives from the White Stripes.

[Resource http://whitestripes.kungfunation.com/]

GIGGING IN THE UK

2007-06-09T15:17:00.000+10:00

A nice idea and a handy way to find a venue in the UK.

At this MySpace website http://www.myspace.com/livemusicvenuesuk you will find "A place to find live music in the UK".

technorati tags: music+industry, uk+live+music, indie, independent, musician

A UK BEACH BREAK

2007-06-08T13:07:00.000+10:00

Plenty of touring bands are now touring in an environmentally friendly way and now it seems like music festivals may be going green. At least one UK music festival called "Beach Break Live" is aiming to have a positive impact on the local environment.

A new British student festival is aiming to do more than become carbon neutral. Beach Break Live, a three day event in Cornwall taking place from June 11-14, has taken a number of steps to have an environmentally and socially positive impact. The micro festival (just 3,000 visitors) has organized cheap bus travel for students from their universities, keeping road transit and parking to a minimum. Beach Break Live takes place during a mid-week outside the peak holiday season, which means it's providing the local economy with a boost during downtime. Furthermore, most food and drink will be sourced locally: beef and lamb from neighbourhood farms, beer from Skinner's, a Cornwall brewery, bottled water from a Cornish spring, seafood from Cornish waters, and even toilet paper from a nearby paper recycling plant.

Read more aboutBeach Break Live here.

[Resource http://www.springwise.com/weekly/2007-06-07.htm]

technorati tags: live+music+festival, beach+break+live, uk+music+festival, eco+friendly+music+festival

MICROSOFT IGNITION

2007-06-07T09:43:00.000+10:00

Microsoft is introducing an initiative on Monday to promote emerging music acts.

Called Ignition, the program is designed to expose new artists and their music to consumers for an entire month by featuring exclusive content through Microsoft's multiple services—including MSN, Xbox Live and Zune.

The first participating act is U.K. band Maximo Park (Warp Records/Caroline Distribution). Microsoft is providing the group's first single as a free exclusive download via the Zune Marketplace, making the music video available as a free download from the Xbox Live Marketplace and streaming the video on MSN.

Read more here.

[Resource http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2140851,00.asp]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution,

LAST FM BOUGHT BY CBS

2007-06-06T10:07:00.000+10:00

Is Last.fm worth$280 million? US television network CBS seem to think so. They've also put their money where their mouth is and bought it.

Here's a brief description of what they've purchased:

"Over 15 million users frequent the Last.fm site, which was founded five years ago and allows users to connect with listeners who share similar music tastes. Users can also create their own radio stations and watch music video clips."

Click here to read the article.

[Resource http://www.spannerworks.com/seotoolkit/search-marketing-news/article/view/social-music-site-lastfm-bought-by-cbs/551/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

SHARE YOUR MUSIC VIDEO

2007-06-05T12:08:00.000+10:00

Here's a list of the top 10 sites to share your music videos.

Google Video - This easy-to-use video sharing site, because it's owned by Google, is recommended to help get traffic via search traffic on Google.com. It is simple, well organized, and has a huge database of various videos from different categories like comedy, animation, music videos, TV shows, and sports. Look to these different niches and upload your video with related keywords to attract traffic.

YouTube - Also owned by Google, YouTube is the most popular video sharing website in the world. Its colossal database attracts millions of visitors everyday and sharing videos, either via email or web site, is easy. If you upload your content to only one web site, it should be YouTube. Videos may be rated and comments on videos are encouraged. While you're there, visit Music Business Video for helpful videos for upcoming musicians, bands, and songwriters.

MySpace - As a musician, you're probably already using MySpace to promote yourself. Videos uploaded to MySpace may be shared and posted to MySpace profiles other than your own, so take advantage of this by uploading your content and letting your circle of friends know. The majority of bands and musicians on MySpace are not using video, so take advantage of this by claiming your place on personal pages now.

Blip - A great site for video bloggers, users can set up your own "blog" quickly and drive traffic to it by posting videos from several different categories. Because of this, your video needs to be here.

AOL Video - The video section from aol.com contains a large variety of videos from both commercial and non-commercial providers. Very easy to use, due to the simplicity of its design and strong search options, AOL Video easily allows users to find the latest news about their your favorite musicians and bands.

Revver - A video-sharing platform built and committed to the artist, Revver has the best sound and video quality of any video sharing site on this list.

Vimeo - Another free and easy service for sharing videos with friends and family. Recently launched, this website unfortunately does not bring anything new to the table. Still, as part of a complete promotion, it's a good idea that you post your video here.

MetaCafe - Metacafe is another popular media and video sharing community. Unlike other major video-sharing platforms, Metacafe offers a desktop application, mainly targeted at users who are downloading several videos per week.

Daily Motion - Nothing special here, but worth noting. The videos are sorted in groups, which make it easy to browse and find what you are looking for. Simple by design, Daily Motion contains a numerous variety of videos, from music videos, to non-entertainment topics such as science & technology.

EyeSpot - Not your average video sharing website. Besides a variety of videos EyeSpot offers its users the chance to play with copyrighted media, without having to download elaborate software or learn new skills. This platform will allows you to edit, mix, and remix your favorite videos, photos or music.

These come from an article called Top 20 Video Sharing Sites for Musicians

[Resource http://www.indiemusician.com/2007/06/top_20_video_sh.html]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

THE FUTURE OF MUSIC JOURNALISM

2007-06-04T09:03:00.000+10:00

"...The best music blogs offer the best of what people used to love about the music press, that tradition of irreverence and iconoclasm..."

"...Online fanzines and blogs dedicated to music are the future of rock and roll journalism..."

"...Music blogs and album reviews are the way of the future as they offer fans "the kind of irreverence and gonzo sensibility" which mainstream music journalism used to be about..."

These comments come from a recent article written by Australian music journalist Andrew Mueller who has previously written for London based music publication, Melody Maker.

Read the article: The future of music journalism is online

[Resource http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=270724]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

8 TIPS FOR INDIE ARTISTS

2007-06-03T17:17:00.000+10:00

1. You don’t need a record deal to “make it” in the music industry. The industry has changed and that is no longer the absolute measure of your success. You can define your own success.

2. As an Indie artist, you won’t have anyone telling you what to play, how to dress, how to promote your CD, which songs to sing or who to socialize with. It is all about you and your creativity!

3. Financial freedom is one of the most wonderful things about being an independent artist. You can come up with all types of music promotional ideas about how you market your music and what you do with your profits.

4. Spend the most amount of time on your first album. Take full advantage of every musician resource out there. First impressions are everything so you want this first one to be great.

Click here to read tips 5 to 8

[Resource http://music.blogonarticles.com/2007/05/31/top-eight-tips-for-indie-artists/]

FRETFEST

2007-06-02T10:20:00.000+10:00

Attention Brisbane (Australia) singer/songwriters:

fRETfEST is an acoustic music festival promoting Brisbane singer/songwriters.

Now in its 10th year, fRETfEST has previosly given exposure to such artists as Pete Murray.

Find of the Year '07 is now on and you can enter and find out all you need to know here.

[Resource http://www.fretfest.com/]

technorati tags:music+promotion, music+industry, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

GOOGLE, YOUTUBE AND EMI UNITE

2007-06-01T15:12:00.000+10:00

All four of the world's major music companies are now official partners of YouTube.

The signing between YouTube and EMI Group allows YouTube users to watch EMI's music videos and create user generated content around the videos.

Read EMI's press release here.

[Resource http://searchengineland.com/070531-132500.php]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, google+music, youtube+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, recording+music,

THE RISE OF THE INDIE BANDS

2007-05-30T11:24:00.000+10:00

"Spider-Man 3" will be one of the biggest movies of 2007. But the producers of the megasequel, which grossed nearly $250 million domestically in the first 10 days of its release, didn't rely on mainstream rock acts Nickelback or Evanescence to give their story its musical underpinnings.

Snow Patrol's "Signal Fire" is the soundtrack's lead single, but after that mainstream entry is a heady slate of indie rock's finest: the Walkmen, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Oohlas, Black Mountain, Wolfmother, Rogue Wave, Coconut Records, Sounds Under Radio and the Flaming Lips. This soundtrack's mainstream nod to rock that is independent in nature furthers a trend music fans have noticed more and more the past five years.

The revolution known as indie rock - a subgenre emphasizing individual creative interests over commercial viability - has landed squarely in the mainstream. Bands that used to rock warehouse tours, playing to crowds of 20 or 30 people throughout the Midwest, are now in major films, primetime broadcast and cable television shows, and commercials for McDonald's, Dell and Nissan.

Keep reading article here.

[Resource http://origin.denverpost.com/healthcare/ci_5920752]

WHO PAYS FOR THE RECORDING COSTS?

2007-05-26T12:55:00.000+10:00

There are no real rules about who should pay for recording costs. If you’re an unsigned band who goes into the studio to record an album with your own money and you get signed to a record label who releases that album, then those costs stay with the band. The label does not have to pay you back the money you spent on recording the album, although that expense you have taken on can be considered when you’re negotiating an advance with the record label. If you get signed to a label on the strength of demo and the label wants you to record an album for them to release, often the label will pay for at least a portion of this recording. However, a smaller indie label that simply doesn’t have money to spend on recording costs might say, “well, you record an album, and we’ll release it,” leaving those costs up to the band.

If the label pays for the recording of an album, they have a right to withhold earnings from the band until they recoup all of the costs they have put into the album. Also, if the label pays for the recording, they generally have more of a say in how the album sounds. The extent to which the label exercises this right varies from label to label.

If you sign a multi album deal with a record label, make sure the contract clearly states who is responsible for the recording cost of each album (and if you sign a multi album deal, ideally the label will take on the bulk of the recording costs).

Suggested Reading

Send a Demo to a Label

How to Record a Demo

Create a Promo Package

[Resource http://musicians.about.com/od/beingamusician/f/recordingcosts.htm]

U2 3D

2007-05-24T10:03:00.000+10:00

Interesting concept of a music video. Will it catch on or will it be a fad?

U2 AT THE FOREFRONT OF TECHNOLOGY

[Resource http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/10014.html]

FINDITT MUSIC NEWS

2007-05-23T21:18:00.000+10:00

Music News Now Part of Finditt News Menu

Monroe, Ga. 5/21/2007 8:05 PM GMT (FINDITT - Top Story)

Musicians, record labels, recording studios, music industry executives, concert venue owners, music agents and music reps. can now place their news and press releases under the Music heading in Finditt News and TransWorldNews.com.

The new heading will be designated for those news and press releases that deal directly with the music business and the artists and musicians that make up the industry.
Independent artists can take advantage of press releases to create exposure and awareness surrounding their music. Announcing tour dates or an album release through a press release can brings attention from not only current fans but new listeners as well.

Record labels looking for global marketing of music can feature new music news from breakout artists, up and coming musicians and established musicians. Press releases announcing new albums, singles, chart positions and more can serve to educate fans and aid in promoting each artist.

Music agents and music reps. can feature news surrounding new artists that they are representing or announce musicians that they are currently looking to represent in the Finditt News music section.

To distribute your Music News through Finditt and TransWorldNews simply create your account at: http://www.transworldnews.com/

[Resource http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?storyid=16520&ret=Default.aspx]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

WHY INDIE ARTISTS SHOULD PODCAST

2007-05-23T11:45:00.000+10:00

Independent artists have long struggled to gain recognition and attract an audience. Without the backing of a major label it can be very difficult for independent artists to obtain radio play time, that is, until now. Podcasting a revolutionary new medium, has opened new distribution channels for independent artists. Podcasting is the process of distributing audio files using the RSS format and has become very popular with the younger generations.

With the use of technology, independent artists have a unique opportunity available, using technology they can significantly expand the exposure of their music.

Why should a musician podcast?

[Resource http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=052107_podcasting-for-musicians-and-artists.htm]

INDIE DOWNLOAD CARDS

2007-05-22T10:29:00.000+10:00

Many independent artists make most of their revenue at merchandise tables after they play a live show. Audiences connect with a band or song, and are most likely to pay for music during the post-gig buzz. As bands are moving from CDs to digital downloads, they need something to hook potential customers when they can, instead of asking them to download later. Which is a challenge DiscRevolt aims to solve. The start-up describes its download cards as a cross between a gift card, a backstage pass and a baseball trading card. They're designed to be collectible items, attachable to lanyards or backpacks or rear-view mirrors. The fact that artists design their own artwork, and often make cards in limited runs, adds to the appeal.

Visit DiscRevolt for more information.

[Resource http://www.springwise.com/weekly/2007-05-16.htm]

technorati tags: market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, live+music+promotion, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

VIRTUAL CONCERTS

2007-05-21T12:21:00.000+10:00

Mobile phone downloads, music store kiosks, "Second Life" avatars.

"Such scenarios are right around the corner. In this rapidly evolving technological world, the music industry is seemingly willing to try anything to find new ways to stop the fiscal hemorrhage caused by downloading.

And we mean anything. We talked with label executives, managers, booking agents, artists and future forecasters about what the next big revolutions in music might be (not all of them are quoted in this story). And the one thing almost everyone agreed upon is that you will be able to consume music just about anywhere and any way you want."

Read the full story here.

[Resource http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1559685/20070515/id_0.jhtml]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

FINDITT MUSIC

2007-05-19T13:16:00.000+10:00

Finditt Music has recently launched its campaign to attract independent musicians, solo artists, bands from across the world, record labels and music distributors to the site so that they may upload their music for digital download sales.

For musicians and bands, Finditt Music is an added resource to distribute your music to your fans. By uploading tracks on Finditt Music you have the opportunity to distribute your music without having to mail cds or pay start up fees.

Read more here.

[Resource http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?storyid=16169&ret=Default.aspx]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

APPLE GETS A COMPETITOR

2007-05-18T11:35:00.000+10:00

Sooner or later this was bound to happen. Apple is getting a competitor in the digital download world.

The Seattle based Amazon.com is will be selling millions of tracks copyright free. Songs will be able to be played on iPods or any other music player and burn them onto CD's an unlimited amount of times.

[Resource http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon17may17,1,5699316.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true]

technorati tags: internet+music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

THE FUTURE OF SUBSCRIPTION BASED MUSIC

2007-05-17T11:37:00.000+10:00

We are yet to see if a subscription based model will be the future of music sales.

This article "Why Subscription Based Music is the Future" presents some compelling reasons for subscription based music.

[Resource http://www.listikal.com/why-subscription-based-music-is-the-future]

technorati tags:music+industry, music+distribution, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

DEFINING AN AUSTRALIAN SOUND

2007-05-16T17:28:00.000+10:00

Ever wondered what defines music as an "Australian Sound"?

Here's an article you may find interesting.

[Resource http://www.culture.gov.au/articles/music/]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

SEX DRUGS AND BLOGS

2007-05-16T10:11:00.000+10:00

A goal to be a full time musician without the help of a record label and write and record one song a week.

Click here to read about Jonathan Coulton and how he transformed his dream into 500,000 song downloads and a comfortable living.

[Resource http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/magazine/13audience-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin]

HOW TO GET SOLD ON iTUNES

2007-05-15T07:51:00.000+10:00

As an independent artist, you'll probably be very familiar with the fact that digital downloading is huge -- and you're probably wondering how to get your cut of the action! And it's not just illegal downloading taking a huge bite out of traditional sales -- legal downloading services such as iTunes, eMusic, Napster, and Rhapsody have created a huge opportunity for major and independent labels alike: the ability to sell your music to a large, diverse market, with little to no overhead costs.

At around $1 per song, $10 per album, these services represent a great way to get your music distributed to the masses. However, as an independent artist, getting your music digitally distributed on the big services may seem like an impossible task -- until now!

Digital, Traditional, or Both?While it may be tempting to go the all-digital route and avoid the printing costs of a CD, it's also important to understand that the market is still there for CD sales, especially independent musicians.

Despite the numbers looking great, there's only an estimated 10% of the music-buying public taking advantage of paid digital downloads.

You'll still want to consider retaining the option to sell CDs -- especially at your shows! Most artists see CD sales at their merch tables, even if they're not doing so great in local CD stores. Before making a decision on which way to go exclusively, consider the benefits of doing both, especially if you have a budget to do so.

Getting Your Release Ready - Mastering & ArtworkAs an independent artist, you'll need to make sure your release is up to commercial standards before releasing it digitally. By now, I'm sure you're familiar with the process of mastering -- evening out the dynamics and maximizing the volume of your recording. Make sure that, whether you're doing the mastering yourself or hiring an engineer to do it for you, that your final product sounds it's best. Remember, you'll be on an even playing field (well, almost) to the big, major-label acts when you're being digitally distributed, so make your release stand out as best you can. You'll also need to make sure you have complete artwork to submit, along with the complete track credits. The major players won't post your music without artwork -- it doesn't have to be the best, but something catchy certainly helps!

Obtain a UPC Code In order to sell your music in any online store, not just iTunes, you'll need a UPC code assigned to your release. There's a few options, and they're all about the same price if you know where to look (and contrary to popular belief, you don't have to pay the $750 fee that's standard if you're getting your own UPC, unless you want to register a UPC as your own company). One option is going through your CD duplication company. For a small fee (between $20 and $50), you'll be assigned a unique UPC code for your product, which you can use on both your regular CD and your digitally distributed version. Just ask them, if they haven't offered it already. Another option is the great service CD Baby. They're an online store that's a major player in the digital distribution market, as well (more about that later). They'll assign you a unique UPC for $20. You can also do a Google search for "UPC Code", and you'll get some great results -- don't pay more than $50, though!

Find a Distributor Unless your independent label (or you) are a major player, then you won't be able to deal directly with Apple. Unfortunately, but understandably due to the volume of interest, iTunes requires that you as an artist partner with an established distributor. This works to your benefit when you compare the selling and bargaining power you as one of the many independent artists would have! This offers them the ability to work only with high-volume sellers, who'll be committed to the level of content quality they strive for. Of course, the downside here is that is that it'll cost you a little more in sales revenue, due to the fact you'll have to help pay a minimal overhead for the other companies involved.

The number one thing to look out for in a digital distributing partner is a non-exclusive licensing agreement. Make sure that you will continue to own all rights to your own music. Don't sign anything -- and if in doubt, take it up with an experienced entertainment lawyer -- if you feel you may sign your rights away to your material, which goes without saying. You'll also want to make sure that the pay cut is fair -- the average payout is around 60 cents per song download, and most digital distribution services will take a 9-10% cut of that. Still, when compared to the overhead of printing and distributing an actual CD copy, you're coming out ahead!

One of the best distributors, as mentioned above, is CD Baby. They've partnered with not only iTunes, but many of the other major players in the digital market. They'll set up to sell your CD -- digital only, or, if you have real copies, on their online store, as well -- for $35 per album. There's some setup work, but it's all easily done. They handle the digital encoding of your material for you, to make sure that your music stays in the proper format at the highest quality.

Another great option is a company called TuneCore. TuneCore offers similar features to CD Baby, although they only deal in digital distribution, not traditional sales as well. Their pricing model is quite different, and allows you to choose which services you'd like to distribute to. For every release, they charge a 99 cent fee per store you choose to release to, including iTunes Japan, eMusic, and many others, aside from traditional United States iTunes distribution. They also charge a yearly maintenance fee of $9.98, and 99 cents per song. For a 12-song album, that means roughly $25 in fees to distribute to the major players. They also don't make any claim to your material, just distribute it. They offer free UPC code generation, and can hook you up with a good artwork person if you don't have cover art already made.And remember, promote your digital downloads! Add links to your webpage, press kit, and add iTunes logos to your promo material. Make sure your fans know where to download your music!

For more related articles click here.

[Resource http://homerecording.about.com/od/duplicatingdistributing/a/Get_On_iTunes.htm]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

HIT SONGWRITING TIPS

2007-05-14T11:14:00.000+10:00

Here's a podcast all about songwriting. Click on this link.

Topics covered: Advice to developing songwriters, the art and craft of songwriting, strategies for writing hooks and melodies, a 7-step process to writing hit songs, and much more.

[Resource http://www.grahamenglish.net/blog/graham-english/hit-songwriting-tips-podcast-05-20-07/]

technorati tags: songwriting, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

5 PILLARS OF YOUTH CULTURE

2007-05-13T23:04:00.000+10:00

If you are trying to market your music to a "youth" culture, here's an article I came across from the Canadian Marketing Association that could help you market your music better to GenY and GenM (Millenials).

This article covers the 5 Pillars of youth culture:

Entertainment
Fashion
Technology
Sports
Music

[Resource http://www.canadianmarketingblog.com/archives/2007/05/understanding_youth.html

STEADY GROWTH FOR MUSIC INDUSTRY

2007-05-11T09:34:00.000+10:00

While CD sales will continue to decline sharply, the music industry as a whole is healthy, and growth in many other areas will more than make up for the shortfall. That's great news for marketers.

The growth will come from online and mobile music, the live concert industry and the licensing of music for public performance, commercials, TV shows, films and video games, according to eMarketer's report Global Music: Tuning in to New Opportunities.

Live tours were once used as marketing vehicles to promote recordings, but today that model is being flipped on its head as increasing numbers of top-tier and mid-level acts earn more income from concerts than from CD sales.

Read more here.

[Resource http://www.sys-con.com/read/372641.htm]

CROWDSOURCING

2007-05-10T10:46:00.000+10:00

To succeed as a recording artist or band these days it is essential to promote your music online. But breaking your way into the recording industry is far from easy. Luckily there is a service that helps you to do just that by tapping into the phenomenon of crowdsourcing.

Sellaband taps into the crowdsourcing model by turning the fans and listeners of bands into their product evangelists, asking them to invest in a band or artist they take a shine to, and take the word to the streets.

Browsing the Sellaband website listeners are asked to invest $10 or more towards the $50,000 needed for the band to record and distribute their music. They are also encouraged to spread the word to their friends and online contacts, to propel their chosen artists towards their recording opportunity.

But what's in it for them?

Well, besides the warm fuzzy feeling of helping talented musicians achieve their dream and the limited edition CD of the final recording there is a perhaps even more interesting opportunity to make some money on the side. Every single investor, or 'believer' that backs a successful band will take home a small cut of the profits made by them.

For the recording artists themselves, not only do they get to record and distribute their music with professional recording industry support and guidance, they also get to take a 50% cut of all ad-revenues made from the free downloads of their music.

Read all about it here

[Resource http://www.masternewmedia.org/audio_&_music_publishing/music-promotion/record-promote-finance-your-music-with-sellaband-20070507.htm]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

GOOD NEWS FOR BRISBANE ARTISTS

2007-05-09T08:39:00.000+10:00

THE Queensland Government is advertising in leading US music magazine Billboard singing Brisbane's praises as a music capital.

The May 5 issue of Billboard features the ad inviting readers to the Big Sound Music Industry Summit to be held in Brisbane in October. The magazine already has named Brisbane as a musical hot spot to watch this year, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said.

Click here to read the article in full.

[Resource http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21681283-5001028,00.html?from=public_rss]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

WANTED: NEW LIVE ORIGINAL MUSIC

2007-05-08T09:31:00.000+10:00

Brisbane, QUEENSLAND

New Showcase Opportunity for emerging singer-songwriters and bands

NEW LIVE ORIGINAL MUSIC @ GREENBANK RSL

THE LAUNCH OF BASS ONE 11th June 2007

An exciting new weekly event, BASS ONE, is being launched on Monday June 11 th by Greenbank RSL in partnership with Ellaways Music, Underwood, starting at 7.00pm
The weekly event will showcase new singer songwriters, music artists and bands from ages 13
– 30 year olds (but not exclusively), performing their own original new songs.

Often, young people don’t get the opportunity to perform their music publicly. Now, through a
new initiative at the Greenbank RSL, and Ellaways Music, Underwood, local youth have that
chance to be heard in front of an enthusiastic audience. Each artist, or band, will be given 15
minutes to perform on stage at Greenbank RSL. Then bi-monthly, starting in August, five acts
will perform on stage at the Ellaways Underwood Auditorium in concert on a Friday night.

“We really believe it is a youth initiative that is long overdue in this area. People can come
from anywhere to participate – and audiences are encouraged to come out and hear the new
music from young (and not so young) artists and bands. This really is an initiative designed to
nurture emerging talent from our local area.” states Melanie Cowell, Greenbank RSL
Advertising and Entertainment Manager.

“We will also be offering mentoring and development workshops to participants to help them
better understand the changes and developments in the current music industry,” adds Greg
Dodge, Event Producer, Ellaways Music.

This unique collaboration will enable new music to be developed in an area that has already
had strong international success.

“Any style of music is being accepted, our biggest aim is to just help local talent break into the
industry. Don’t be shy, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact any of the
BASS ONE team members, as we are here to help promote YOU,” adds Jess Baartz, BASS
ONE Event Organiser.

To get involved in BASS ONE, send one or two original songs (MAXIMUM 5 MINUTES) on
DVD or via Myspace Video/Google Video or similar. We prefer a visual – no CD’s of music
only. If unable to supply, please fill out an enrolment form and we will arrange for a live
audition.

For enrolment forms – contact Jess or Mel on 3380 0200, or email
bassone@greenbankrsl.com.au

For further information visit: www.myspace.com/bassonejm

For publicity enquiries – greg@ellaways.com.au

BASS ONE OVERVIEW

Where is it? Greenbank RSL, 54 Anzac Ave, Browns Plains Ph: 3800 7746
When is it? Weekly – starts 11th June 2007 (Launch night with special guests) at 7pm
BASS ONE will run from 6.30pm – 10pm every Monday night at Greenbank RSL.
Ages? We are looking for young singer-songwriters and bands aged between 13 – 30 (but not exclusive)

Starting in August (dates TBC), Ellaways Music, Underwood, will feature five new original artists and bands on stage.

Regular workshops, industry mentoring and networking will be offered at a small cost to participants.

Annually, a festival of new music will be hosted at Greenbank RSL with headlining artists.(Dates TBC)

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

HOW TO WIN A RECORDING CONTRACT

2007-05-07T09:56:00.000+10:00

Imagine yourself standing in front of over 20,000 fans in a sold-out venue where all you can hear is cheering. Now that’s the life.

That is, the life of a very select group of musicians who happen to have overwhelmingly successful careers. All of that may seem almost impossible, and there are plenty of people who go on for years without any segue into the major music industry.

There are still dozens of major record labels, however, that have signed with countless artists. By following some guidelines, you could be that much closer to winning over a label and landing a record deal because, as you know, life’s short, and it’s better to win.

Some might say there’s a routine process to go through in order to get a recording contract. According to Steve Richer, a lifestyle correspondent for AskMen.com, recording a demo is the smartest move you can make.

In addition, getting a manager and befriending virtually anyone in the industry, from deejays to promoters, will only benefit you. As a musician, your job is to entertain; the marketing side will be up to the others.

After finding representation, contacting labels and sending out press kits that contain the demo, photos and an artists’ resume is the next vital step.

“This is your most important marketing tool … [so] it must be clear, concise and provide an idea of your band at a glance,” Richer said. “Your manager or entertainment lawyer should send the package. A&R [Artist and Repertoire] executives will be much more receptive than if it’s sent by the artist himself. Otherwise, chances are your press kit will end up in the recycling bin.”

On the other hand, some artists feel that there is no specific process that can guarantee a record deal. Jon McLaughlin, an artist who has a contract with Island Records and recently performed at the Crocodile Cafe in downtown Seattle, is just one of many who believe that theory.

“As cliché as it is, good music is good music,” McLaughlin said. “There are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part when someone really has something special to offer, it comes through,”

The whole idea of getting a recording contract can be both scary and exciting, but the key here is to be patient. McLaughlin has been making music for over 20 years, has had a recording contract for two of those years, and is just now releasing his debut album Indiana, due out tomorrow.

His advice for those aspiring to break into the music industry is this: “Practice as much as you can and worry less about which shirt to wear.”

Reach columnist Sheena Nguyen at features@thedaily.washington.edu

[Resource http://thedaily.washington.edu/article/2007/4/30/howToWinARecordingContract]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

THE NEW INDIE REVOLUTION

2007-05-06T17:36:00.000+10:00

If you haven't heard of London band The Crimea, you soon might. Why? After being dropped from Warner Music, they are trying out a marketing experiment that could soon see other indie bands follow suit.

The Crimea's second full length CD "Secrets of the Witching Hour" is available in full as a free download from their website http://www.thecrimea.net/. The idea is to reach as many people as possible, increase their fan base and maximise their ability to tour, sell merchandise and gain licensing deals.

At the time of this post, The Crimea had had nearly 13,500 downloads of their 2nd full length CD. That's a lot of potential new fans!

[Resource http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=2018]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

GARAGE BAND

2007-05-01T18:11:00.000+10:00

For home recording enthusiasts. Here's a link to an online introduction tutorial for GarageBand.

[Resource http://homerecording.about.com/od/garagebandtutorials/ss/getting_started_3.htm]

technorati tags: recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

LAST FM PARTNERS

2007-04-30T15:08:00.000+10:00

Last.fm, the online social music networking site and intelligent music recommendation engine, and IODA, the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, the global leader in digital distribution, marketing and technology, has announced a licensing and promotional partnership.

"By partnering with one of the most respected and eclectic digital music distributors, Last.fm is giving music lovers around the globe access to the world's most comprehensive library for online streaming radio and the latest free downloads," said Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel. "Music discovery is quickly becoming an essential commercial area for the new music industry. This latest partnership with IODA gives the Last.fm community full access to more than three million music tracks on the streaming radio player."

Read the article here.

[Resource http://digital50.com/news/items/BW/2001/07/14/20070416005389/last-fm-and-ioda-partner-to-bring-iodas-extensive-independent-music-catalogue-to-las.html]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

BLOGGING FOR EFFECTIVE MARKETING

2007-04-29T19:09:00.000+10:00

Blogs are emerging as powerful marketing tools, particularly for small businesses. They are relatively inexpensive to start and maintain, and yet can be very effective at bringing potential customers to your Web site and keeping current customers in contact with your company

Rather than making a sales pitch or a misdirected endorsement, try tailoring information and services to your target market's lifestyle.

This article is about the effectiveness of blogging for marketing is from Business Week.

[Resource http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2007/sb20070423_465239.htm]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

BANDS GET BREAK SINGING JINGLES

2007-04-24T11:39:00.000+10:00

It is believed to be the first ad campaign of its kind where a local company is tapping into the area's vibrant original music scene showcasing local bands to sing about their product.

And the winner of the jingle competition...

"in the two weeks their radio commercial has been running, he has, indeed, felt "almost famous," hearing more reaction from friends and fans than from playing a month of Starbucks gigs.
"It's great publicity for the local music scene," Taylor said. "I can't tell you how many people have e-mailed us back. There is some validation being in a commercial. I'm spending more time than I usually would cruising commercial radio trying to hear it just for my own fragile ego."

Read more here.

[Resource http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/LIFE/704190344/1005]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

KNOW THY CUSTOMER

2007-04-23T14:23:00.000+10:00

Although this piece comes from an article about traditional music retail stores, it also relates to selling music in the digital distribution age.

"If your favorite local record store is going to survive, says Billboard magazine’s Ed Christman, it’s going to have to get to know its customers inside and out, something he says Massachusetts chain Newbury Comics has perfected: “You have to find out who your audience is. If you’re somebody who’s selling to the masses, there’s no way you can compete with Circuit City and Best Buy, but if you have a niche store that specializes in whatever genre or whatever lifestyle, or in Tower’s case, the extensive collection, that’s the game you have to play.”

Read the entire article here.

[Resourcehttp://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/4088/minding_the_store ]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution,indie, independent, musician

CONTACT A CELEBRITY

2007-04-23T07:16:00.000+10:00

Need to contact a celebrity? Contact Hollywood

I thought I'd include this website out of curiosity, just to blog from a different and lighthearted angle. I don't know if it could be a handy tool for an independent musician but there's no harm in trying.

Through Contact Hollywood, you can find a fan club or contact a musician and so much more. So they say, I haven't tried it myself.

[Resource http://www.contacthollywood.com/]

technorati tags:music+industry, music+industry+contacts, independent+musician, indie+musician

PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC WITH A POSTCARD

2007-04-22T09:43:00.000+10:00

Here's how to create and send your own postcard without leaving your computer.

A nice way to contact your fans or people in the industry to tell them about a special event or even send them to yourself to use as little bio's for your band.

Vertical Response is a website where you can create your own personalised postcard in a few minutes using one of over 800,000 images or by uploading your own.

You choose the size, type in some text and you'll then get a PDF proof to see what it will look like when it's printed. Even printing and posting is taken care of.

For more details head to VerticalResponse.

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

CALLING QUEENSLAND BASED SONGWRITERS

2007-04-21T11:14:00.000+10:00

QMusic is holding a competition for songwriters. If you live in Queensland, Australia you're eligible to enter. It cost $30 for up to 3 entries.

Categories include rock, pop, jazz, blues, hip-hop, electronic, alternative, country, indigenous and world music.

Entries close May 21st. Go to Q Song for the entry details.

[Resource http://www.qsong.com.au/]

technorati tags:music+promotion, song+competition, songwriting+competition, q+music, q+song, abc+radio, indie, independent, musician

REAL LIFE SCHOOL OF ROCK

2007-04-20T09:00:00.000+10:00

In a career that started in a kind of 'School of Rock' way, US singer-songwriter Corey Smith now makes his full time living as a musician.

Read the full story from the Huntsville Times, Alabama.

[Resource http://www.al.com/entertainment/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1176369306289300.xml&coll=1]

technorati tags:music+industry, live+music+promotion, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

WORLD'S FIRST FOLDING GUITAR

2007-04-19T11:02:00.000+10:00

A folding guitar has been invented and designed by an airline pilot who's also a keen guitarist.

These guitars are available through DeVillain Guitar Company.

The guitars, which are handmade in Sweden, slip into a small backpack which will have no trouble fitting into an overhead luggage bin. The neck folds down with strings still attached, and if it's in tune when you fold it, it will be in tune when you unfold it. The neck and body are connected with an airplane aluminium bolt that ensures maximal connection. Lefty versions aren't currently available, and DeVillain will only produce 300 guitars this year, for a direct to consumer price of EUR 2,600 or USD 3,370. A folding electric bass is in the works.

Now if only someone could do the same with a drum kit!

[Resource http://www.springwise.com/weekly/2007-04-12.htm]

technorati tags:live+music+performance, world+first+folding+guitar, indie, independent, musician

ALTERNATIVE REVENUE SEARCHING

2007-04-18T18:30:00.000+10:00

Will this be the way of the future for record labels?

Music companies are now under pressure to look for alternative revenue streams. One area the record labels have been exploring is to share revenues from tours, performances on television and in films and merchandising.

"You'll see more of this happening. It will be primarily in the area of new artists and new acts," says Adam White at Universal Music Group International.

[Resource http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Technology/10117358.html]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

11TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL WEB AWARDS

2007-04-18T14:20:00.000+10:00

The 2007 11th annual international WebAward competition for Web site development is calling for entries. The deadline for music web sites is May 31st.

Judging is based on design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use. Winners will be announced in September.

[Resource http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=31890]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

ROOM FOR ONLINE MUSIC

2007-04-17T09:42:00.000+10:00

Interesting story here. Here's some highlights:

"There's no evidence that MySpace can be the cornerstone of music industry success," warns Glenn Peoples, the editor of the music business blog Coolfer.com. "Same with YouTube. It's one thing to sign up friends and get people to watch your videos at no charge. It's another to navigate the worlds of digital and physical retail, publicity, promotion and marketing successfully, and then motivate consumers to actually purchase your music."

In Britain, the regulations changed earlier this year to allow chart entries on download sales alone, making it possible to have a hit with just some basic recording equipment and an internet connection.

Soon after, unsigned Colchester-based punk trio Koopa were catapulted into the UK top 40 with their song Blag, Steal and Borrow. It cost the band £120 to register their track at indiestore.com, an online platform where bands can sell their music.

In contrast, it costs a label at least £30,000 to distribute a physical single, and that's before one even gets to the six-figure marketing sums.

"Almost every musician's aim is still to get signed and sites such as MySpace are just a springboard to that. Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen used such sites to build a fan base. All are now signed.''

Reports of the death of the major label have been exaggerated, it seems.

Read the full article here

[Resource http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/04/09/cnmusic09.xml]

WHY THE STARBUCKS DEAL WITH MCCARTNEY CHANGES EVERYTHING

2007-04-16T17:26:00.000+10:00

So say the ContraCostaTimes. In a shift that indicates a change in the way people buy and sell their music since the Internet, new non music retail outlets are becoming the new record store.

Read here why the Starbucks case is different.

[Resource http://www.contracostatimes.com/entertainment/ci_5622161]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

DO YOU WANT TO SELL MORE CD'S AT YOUR GIGS?

2007-04-13T10:50:00.000+10:00

I thought so.

Here's a neat little item that can help you do that. The CD Seller is a CD display stand with a cash box that allows your audience to purchase your CD even while you're performing.

technorati tags:music+promotion, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

3 STEPS TO A DIY MUSIC VIDEO

2007-04-12T09:04:00.000+10:00

DIY Music Video: Do It Yourself! By Jason Cole

With the falling price of digital video cameras and the rise of PC video editing software, producing your own music video is definitely something most every musician can afford to do these days. All you need is a DV (Digital Video) camera, DV tapes, a location to shoot at, a PC, editing software (ala Adobe Premiere), and well, a band! Here’s some info and tips regarding the important pieces of equipment you’ll need.

1. Camera: You’ll be better off buying a DV (Digital Video) camera, they’re best for digital editing, later on. Decent DV cameras go for anything between $400 and $1200, and the tapes are around $8 a piece. One camera that I have used personally is the Canon GL2 MiniDV Digital Camcorder. I had nothing but good experiences with this camera. There are preset settings for the novice user, and at the same time it was very fine tuneable, for the experts out there. Make sure that your camera will shoot in progressive scan mode. Progressive scan is a particular method for displaying images, in which the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. This will reduce the amount of flickering and increases resolution of the video you are recording. Most cameras come with microphones attached to them, but you probably don’t want to use the audio that will be recorded by the on-board mic as it will be pretty low quality. I suggest picking up a minidisc recorder, run all your instruments into a mixer that is plugged into said mindisc recorder.

2. Shooting: You can shoot your video anywhere, and hopefully you will take advantage of that fact! When editing your video, you will be telling a story. So varied locations would be excellent. If you can, storyboard your video out before you begin scouting locations or shooting. It makes thing 1,000,000 times easier, trust me. One other thing I would recommend would be to make sure that you have adequate lighting. Normal indoor lighting is not picked up by the camera the same way your eye picks it up. I would suggest picking up a book about the basics of video lighting, if you can. But if that is not a possibility, remember one thing, more is better.

3. Editing: You’re going to need to pull your video footage off of your camera onto your computer. Most DV cameras come with a USB cord which will allow you to do just that. You can use the proprietary software that comes with your computer to do that, or you can buy editing software which will do the same thing. Most PCs that have Window XP installed come with Windows Movie Maker. This is a great program for beginners, it allows you to pull footage off of your camera, and then edit said footage. But it doesn’t come with very many editing features. So the more advanced editors might want to plunk down some cash and buy Adobe Premiere, which is a super flexible video editing program with a very steep learning curve. The advanced Mac users out there might want to check out Final Cut Pro.

Now that you have your edited footage, you’ll want to output it onto tape or disc. The easiest thing to do is to burn it to DVD, which most editing programs will have a feature to do this. Once you have your video on DVD, the possibilities are limitless! I hope this article helped understand that music videos are now not just for the pros, anyone can do it yourself!

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory Jams offer free MP3 downloads and music lyrics. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting DFJams.com.

This helpful article was written by Jason Cole and was published at Ezine Articles

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, music+video+production, indie, independent, musician

BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES

2007-04-11T18:46:00.000+10:00

Here are some interesting thoughts about the the music industry from Kate Pierson of the quirky alternative band the B-52's.

Kate talks about the issues presented in the movie "Before the Music Dies"

“They talked a lot about branding in the movie and you’ve just never heard that term that much before. The band as a brand. It’s just a weird way that musicians have to be partly business-people now. You have to be aware of what’s going on, and I think that’s a good thing because before musicians were like, ‘Oh, we just wanna play music’ and let someone else take care of it. Musicians now, especially older musicians, realize we’ve gotta know what’s going on. A lot of it’s positive.”

[Resource http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070406/ENTERTAIN/70406018]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

EMI GOES DRM FREE

2007-04-11T10:35:00.000+10:00

EMI's entire music catalog will be available DRM free next month.

This means that from May 2007, you will be able to purchase any EMI song from Apple's iTunes store DRM free and in a higher quality format (256 kbps).

For a fee of 30 cents per song, you can upgrade any previously purchased DRM encoded EMI song you already have which you would have been purchased in a 128 kbps format.

[Resource http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042239.php]

technorati tags:music+industry, music+distribution, musician

THINGS THAT GO WRONG ARE THE BEST THINGS

2007-04-10T23:35:00.000+10:00

I thought this story of (US) country recording artist Kevin Sharp highlighted a good point that is often overlooked.

Sometimes we cling too tightly to what is our idea of an outcome. This doesn't mean we shouldn't have dreams or aspirations, it just means that we shouldn't get so attached to the outcome that we don't see opportunities. There are many ways to have a 'successful' music career and many opportunities to use music to enhance our lives and the lives of others.

[Resource http://www.austindailyherald.com/articles/2007/04/06/news/news2.txt]

technorati tags:music+industry, indie, independent, musician

GOOD BUSINESS ADVICE FOR ARTISTS

2007-04-10T12:51:00.000+10:00

I thought I'd first share some of my thoughts on these good business tips for artists.

You can't be everything to everyone and in fact being specific about your music, your style and the type of audience you want to attract will help you market your music far more effectively than just aiming to please everyone.

Start where you are with what you have, take the first step and that will lead you to the next one ~ You don't have to be great to start but you have to start to be great :-)

Be authentic to yourself and be the wonderful person you were born to be. You may as well be yourself because everyone else is taken.

Fake it 'til you make it. Act as if you already know what to do and how to do it and then start doing it.

Did you know that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between something it's vividly thought and something it's actually done? Well it's true, that's why visualisation is such a useful tool. The more vivid you can 'imagine' something, the more likely it is that it will show up in your real life.

Your life is always heading in the direction of your focus. So, what are you focusing on? Is it where you want your life to be heading?

1 - Learn how to say no.This is the first one because it’s the biggest one. If it’s not an absolute yes, it’s a no. So many people are fueled by the desire for money or the need to please everyone
that they say yes to everything. Read more here.

2 - People don’t need to know how you feel about everything.Lots of times, emotional types think that they have to let everyone around them know how they feel because otherwise they’re being inauthentic. Read more here.

3 - Most people assume you know what you’re doing. Let them.Many young performers will get on stage and start apologizing for their mistakes or for their next song or for the fact that they messed up in the last song. Here’s a secret: The audience wants you to succeed, and they want you to be confident because they don’t want to feel sorry for you. That’s just plain uncomfortable. Read more here.

4 - Find your values and live by them. A lot of people ask themselves what they want before they even get clear about what they value. This can compel people to do things they never really wanted to do. For instance, I value time, silence, and space. I absolutely must work that into my schedule. Read more here.

5 - Segment intend. This technique is from Ask and It is Given. I’ve been practicing “segment intending” for months now, and I’m amazed at the results. If you’re an artist and you’re about to do your art, then intend that the next 3 hours (or whatever) is dedicated solely to that. And that it’s fun and creative and productive and you love it. Read more here.

6 - Bathe in Seth Godin. Then rinse. And repeat.If you feel like “there’s no use” or “I’ll never be huge” or “Wal-Mart rules everything so why bother,” you need Seth Godin. If you ridicule yourself because your success is only tiny, and your sister-in-law has made millions as a consultant for BigExpensiveThings-R-Us, then you need Seth Godin. If you conjure up the same lame ideas over and over again, you need Seth Godin. I recommend that you listen to him because he’s a GREAT reader. Read more here.

7 - Create a business alter ego.Make up a name. Then make up an identity for that name. (Pamela R. Stinson. MBA from Wharton. Valedictorian at Columbia, 1993. Great business mind, sexual preference undetermined, doesn’t take no for an answer.) Read more here.

8 - Grok good customer service. Go to Nordstrom. Buy something. Watch how you’re treated. Then, go to Macy’s. Do the same thing. Witness the difference. Apply that lesson in whatever way you can to your own customer service. Read more here.

9 - Learn how to think. Emotional people believe that their feelings are the facts. This will always get you in trouble. Learn how to think about your career. Take two hours every Sunday to drive and think. Or just to sit in the office and think. At first, you might feel totally stupid, but you’ll start to get it soon enough. Experiment, analyze and don’t go into massive drama when something doesn’t work. Just think again. Read more here.

10 - Never send an email when you are emotional.Email is a volatile communication form. I have received (and probably sent) some of the most damaging messages from people who had gotten my intentions all wrong, and then fired off a response filled with venom and vitriol. The danger (and the advantage) of email is that it’s immediate. If someone emails you something that triggers you, wait AT LEAST 24 HOURS before responding. Read more here.

11 - Never do ANYTHING when you are emotional. See above. And say to yourself often, “I respond. I don’t react.”

12 - Be clear up front with anyone you hire Is this you?“Oh my GOD! I met the COOLEST graphic designer and we’re going to do a trade! And we just totally clicked, and we laughed a lot, and we’re both Leo with Aries rising! I can just tell it’s a great match!” Expectations, desired outcome, hourly wage, estimates — these are things that emotional people forget to be clear about right up front. They want to have that “cool connection!” And then it all falls apart because neither person expressed her true expectations. This isn’t to say that cool connections can’t happen. They can. But boundaries are essential up front. Read more here.

13 - Focus on what you want. This may seem obvious. But I’m amazed at how easy it is for the sensitive artist types in the world to fall prey to the hardship stories. And there are lots of them going around. In my line of work, there are people out there begging for gigs. They’ll do anything. They’ll play for free. They say, “It’s so hard to be a musician.” Here’s my advice “Step AWAY from the stories!” Focus on what you want. And stay with that. Read more here.

14 - Get very very very clear before you do your finances If finances are ever scary for you, here’s what to do before you log on to your on-line account, before you open your bills, before you open Quicken�ĶPray over your checkbook. Know that you are abundant. See your dreams coming true. Make up an amount that’s in your account. Say thank you for all that is perfect and wonderful in your life. Say thank you for the tiniest progress you have made.Then proceed with your finances. Read more here.

15 - Only YOU get to decide if “You’ll Never Work in this Town Again!” Everyone has an opinion about who’s through, who has had it, who’s washed up, etc. This kind of talk can run through your head and keep you in a constant state of anxiety about “the end of the line.” I had a dramatic experience when I broke up with someone who was also in the music business. The break up was not a good one. And in an apparent rage that lasted, oh, about eight months, this former partner of mine called clubs, bars, record labels, agents, and, from what I hear, did his best to encourage them never to book me or work with me. Whereas I’m sure some of them took his advice, and whereas I was really dumb and believed he could “ruin” me (this was even before I had gotten my office in order), I kept “minding my own business.” And guess what? I wasn’t ruined. My end did not come. You know why? Because I didn’t agree that it could or would. You have the power. Yes, the obstacles may seem insurmountable at times. But only you get to decide when to call it quits. Your emotions may scream at you that you’re ruined. But that’s just your emotions. And if it weren’t for all of those emotions, you wouldn’t have to be reading this post in the first place! Read more here.

[Resource http://jshahin.blogspot.com/2007/04/publication-tip-18-15-tips-for-artists.html]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

WEB STRATEGIES

2007-04-09T07:30:00.000+10:00

With free music freely available P2P networks, the value of a recording seems to have slipped away. More and more artists are using their recordings as promotional tools to sell live shows and merchandise.

Below are some ideas I came across on a Web Strategy blog.

Web and Media Strategies for the Music Industry Music is free, trying to control it will always be a challenge going forward, the internet has dropped many of the barriers, and any speedbump is just a slowdown for the savvy consumer. I would suggest for artists and labels to figure out to embed monetization and market value into the song, some ideas:

1) Product Placement within the song: this has been done by many rap artists since the 1990s. The most popular drink, clothing, and car is mentioned in these songs, spurring a culture shift in consumerism. This is a sponsorship model which could lead towards monetization.

2) Many music artists know that the money is not made from CD sales, but from the tour, merchandise, and other auxiliaries and accessories. Bear with me, here comes the Web Marketing angle:

3) Viral Web Marketing play: Artists could deploy a viral widget that web users can place on their social network or blog sites. For every play, artists could give money to the site owner or blogger, in return for advertising sales of the two points mentioned above.

4) Is DRM a completely viable solution? One bootlegged copy on a college campus, and it’s completely gone.

[Resource http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/04/06/internet-disruptive-to-music-sales-and-a-few-ideas-of-what-they-could-do-about-it/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

2 GREAT MARKETING QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

2007-04-08T20:21:00.000+10:00

Before you attempt to market your music, here's a couple of important questions to ask yourself.
Who did you write the song for. And. Who is your music targeted to?

Marketing is all about knowing your market. Chances are your music isn't suited to everyone so it makes no sense to be trying to market your music to everyone.

A great way to get free market ideas from is to find similar music styles to yours and pay attention to what radio stations those songs are being played on, what magazines or publications are being used for advertising and promoting. And importantly, who is the market these are aimed at and where else can you find a similar market?

Here's one Australian radio show that accepts Roots, Indie, Acoustic, Folk, Rock, Country Rock and Blues.

The Mystery Train - Thursday 9.30 to midnight, Announcer/Producer Rob Marcs

Featuring new music & music not necessarily heard on mainstream radio. I will introduce new artists & profile their progress. If you would like to submit music (current or not current release) to this show please forward it to the address above. You must include a bio and contact details. If you want the music to be returned, a stamped, self addressed envelope must be provided. YBHaVmanagement@bigpond.com

[Resource http://www.hotsource.com.au/news/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=534]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, indie, independent, musician

INDIE RING TONES

2007-04-08T09:28:00.000+10:00

Get your free ringtone software from BETA Records and make your own customised ringtones for your fans!

[Resource http://musicindustrynewswire.com/2007/03/02/min155_180826]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, recording+music, indie, independent, musician

IDOL ANNOUNCES SONGWRITING CONTEST

2007-04-07T11:48:00.000+10:00

After just posting that the American Idol songwriting contest is on the 'backburner', I now announce that American Idol are taking submissions up until April 17th.

You may only submit one song and it must be accompanied by a US$10 entry fee.

They are looking for songs between 2 and a half minutes to 4 minutes long that would different singers.

Submit your entry to Songwriter American Idol.

[Resource http://songwriter.americanidol.com/]

technorati tags:music+promotion, music+industry, live+music+promotion, songwriting+competition, indie, independent, musician

BAND AND MUSIC MERCHANDISE

2007-04-07T11:07:00.000+10:00

Here's an interesting read on band merchandise.

Find out what those in the 'know' have to say about band merchandise and why the future of band merchandise is assured. Band and Music Merchandise.

[Resource http://www.largemart.com/read-music/article/band-and-music-merchandise.htm]

technorati tags:market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

AMERICAN IDOL SONGWRITING UPDATE

2007-04-07T10:42:00.000+10:00

Back in January I made this post Songwriting Competition to Produce "Instant Hits"

Here's an update on the progress of the songwriting contest. American Idol producer says although its on the 'backburner" he believes it will still happen.

[Resource http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/american-idol-producer-believes-songwriting-contest-will-still-happen-4909.php]

technorati tags: music+industry, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

SUBMIT YOUR HOME RECORDINGS

2007-04-06T10:33:00.000+10:00

Have you made an exceptional sounding recording in your home studio?

Home Recording @ About.com are calling for submissions. Send an email to homerecording.guide@about.com with a link to your song (no attachments) and a little background on the recording and band. List what you think makes it unique and any special tricks you used. Your song may get featured at About.com

[Resource http://homerecording.about.com/]

technorati tags:recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

GARAGE BAND RECORDING

2007-04-05T11:06:00.000+10:00

This post comes along very timely after talking about "GarageBand" in the last post.

Here's an introduction to one of the most powerful music production tools available for home recording.

GarageBand - An introduction

More steps are included at the same page.

[Resource http://homerecording.about.com/od/garagebandtutorials/ss/getting_started.htm]

technorati tags:recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

NEW RECORDING IDEAS

2007-04-04T16:30:00.000+10:00

How Pete Townsend, Trent Reznor and Peter Gabriel can help you write and remix.

Pete Townsend has launched Lifehouse Method which is a real life realization from Lifehouse, a fiction he wrote in 1971. According to Townsend "It takes data you input and turns it into music."

Trent Reznor is making tracks off his forthcoming album available in files that anyone can edit and re-mix using software such as Apple's GarageBand and Sony's ACID.

and

Peter Gabriel is taking steps in to software with his involvement in The Filter, an intelligent playlist generator for the shuffle generation. This is a free download that works with Apple's iTunes and Nokia mobile phones. This software will allow you to hear more of the neglected music files.

[Resource http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2044599,00.html]

technorati tags:recording+music, pete+townsend, trent+reznor, peter+gabriel, indie, independent, musician

FESTIVAL NETWORK ONLINE

2007-04-04T11:03:00.000+10:00

Looking for a US or Canadian festival to perform at? Look no further than:

Festival Network Online - US and Canadian music festivals, craft shows, art festivals & fairs

technorati tags: market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

IS THE FUTURE OF THE ALBUM OVER?

2007-04-03T17:48:00.000+10:00

With ringtones and ipod singles taking over, it's hard to believe that vinyl albums were once king of music. So the question remains. Can the album survive in the digital world?

Below are some highlights of an article that talks about the evolution of the album.

As far back as 1997, the advent of digital downloading threw the music industry into a tailspin from which it has yet to emerge — all concerning the album and its future. As technology began allowing for the sharing of digital files across the Internet, the iPod has taken over the industry as consumers sidestep the retail aspect of music distribution.

Today, anyone with a computer can cherry-pick, download, burn a disc, or create personal playlists on an MP3 player. With the iPod taking over, conventional modes of music-making and distribution seem suddenly antiquated.

What effect does this have on the album?

Is it now just an artifact of a bygone era? Or is the personal playlist craze another in a long line of passing fads in popular music? And what effect has all of this had on the quality of the music itself?

The key to a successful music industry is to create a marketplace of engaged listeners, surely. For some, the iPod culture has offered an avenue of such engagement.

"The renaissance, if there is to be one, will take an awful lot of work," says Bordowitz. "It will take someone from the new generation to come up with their own generation's 'Dark Side of the Moon' or 'Nevermind.' Something that captures the zeitgeist, something that can't be ignored, that tickles the imaginations of those who hear it enough to inspire them to imitate it.
"I remain cautiously optimistic that this will happen."

This is a great article that's worth a look at. Click here to read all of the article.

[Resource http://www.buffalonews.com/197/story/39697.html]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

MORE LAWS

2007-04-03T09:32:00.000+10:00

In the last 50 years or so, the size of computers have been reduced significantly. But how far can we reduce the physical size of computers whilst add more memory.

Here's an article I read recently that talks about a 'law' of physics (Moore's Law) that says that physical storage components for memory is almost as small as is possible to go.

Whether this will have any major effect (positive or negative) on the music industry, remains to be seen.

As with all technological advances, right from the stone age, things that had never been thought of before could be just around the corner. Possible alternatives like molecular memory and carbon nanotubes could bring new technology that we don't yet know about.

[Resource http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=moores-law-hits-physics-i&chanId=sa003]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, indie, independent, musician

DESTINATION VIRAL

2007-04-02T10:26:00.000+10:00

This is an interesting marketing concept. Get creative and find interesting marketing concepts that you can use.

Here are two tourism destination websites, Stockholm (Sweden) and Virginia (USA) that have used music for online viral marketing campaigns.

Virginia Tourism's new site promotes the sights and sounds of Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, The Crooked Road with the use of "sing back" technology. In just a few clicks, visitors to CrookedRoadVirginia.com can chose from more than 500 names, occupations, hobbies and relationships to build personalized bluegrass lyrics. Users can then send their new bluegrass hit to anyone's email or phone number, including cell phones.

Stockholm in partnership with Visit Sweden created the Stockholm Musical site, where visitors can put in their name and will hear and see their own musical performed just for them - which they can share with a friend.

[Resource http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/exit.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdG9ja2hvbG10aGVtdXNpY2FsLmNvbS8=&entry_id=182]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

HOW TO SHOWCASE AND BE NOTICED

2007-04-01T13:17:00.000+10:00

Here is an excerpt from an article I found at CellHandsets.com

You know me. I know you. You know someone else. I know someone different. We all know each other. These are our networks and communities.

In a band or music sense, network and community is essentially what it's all about, when it comes time to share your music around.

You or your band writes, performs, and records music true, but unless you're a real purist, and enjoy your music for yourself, for the music, for your own CD rack at home alone then, at some point in time you may want to let others know about your band, your performances, and your music.

We know we are a band, and we know that we want to share our music. What you need next is Exposure.

You have to expose yourself to people that are receptive to what your exposing them to.

Get your own community. It's not as hard as it may sound, especially these days with the abundance of communication power at your finger tips in the Internet. You can use the internet to reach out and communicate with millions upon millions of people all over the planet with the click of a button.

There are plenty of web based community sites out there well worth exploring, and you should join more than one! This is because there is not just one single community web site out there that will reach everyone. Your best chances in exposure is to have your presence, music and community groups all happening in a few of them. Once you have done that then you can link them all up together to get the best coverage.

In all of these existing web based communities, the best potentials for maximum exposure take time. You have to build your name and community size.

To get maximum exposure you have to be involved in a few community sites, then link them all together. Here is a short list in my opinion of a few worth while web based contenders to start with, to network in, and to check out.

http://www.myspace.com/

http://www.mobzing.com/

http://www.friendster.com/

[Resource http://www.cellhandsets.com/2007/03/19/community-and-music-how-to-showcase-and-get-noticed/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

THE SMELL OF SUCCESS

2007-03-31T17:03:00.000+10:00

What Have the Senses Got To Do With Marketing? Emotional connection to something is translated by the senses. With marketing one of the goals for many companies is to create and deepen the emotional connection clients and prospects develop with a product, company or service. This is what creates unshakable loyalty, unsolicited referrals, and viral word or mouth.

For most humans these connections involve how they see, hear, smell, taste and touch the experience they participate in. Our impression and emotional connection with people and things is formed by our senses. Are there sights, sounds, smells and tastes that immediately take you to another place and time, somewhere deep in your memory.

Go beyond the obvious and look for ways to associate your brand with positive sensory elements that can become a unique signature for your business.

[Resource http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php?id=P979]

technorati tags: market+your+music, music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

AN ARGUMENT ON COPYRIGHT

2007-03-31T12:06:00.000+10:00

With lots of talk lately about DRM and music piracy it's kind of refreshing to come across an article with a different angle. Even if it is a bit controversial.

It's no secret that there are 1000's of artists all trying to get you to listen to and buy their music. Which is why it's important to know who your market is and how to reach them. There is always room for 'good' music which means, if you know who your market is and you make a quality product that your market likes, it doesn't matter how many other musicians are competing. In a sense, having lots of competition just improves the product quality, so that can't be a bad thing.

Below is an article I found which points out an important economical truth.

"One of the least convincing arguments I hear in favour of getting rid of the recording industry is that they're just useless parasites skimming off the artists. Get rid of the recording industry, the logic goes, and all that money will go to the people who actually make the music. But more generally, the problem that artists have is not the recording industry. The main problem musicians face is other musicians. There are too many of them. Pardon me while I make a simplistic, Economics 101 argument here, but it seems to me that the reason almost no musician ever makes much money is that there is a huge excess supply of people who want other people to listen to them sing or play an instrument. When all the primates are vying to get up on stage to impress the other primates, there's little reason to pay the primates much."

[Resource http://patrissimo.livejournal.com/499505.html]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR GIG PROMOTIONS

2007-03-30T20:22:00.000+10:00

I've just released a 40 page ebook with the best strategies you can use to make sure your next gig is your best gig!

You'll learn how to make sure you never miss any of the details for your gigs, what you should do to prepare for your live performances, strategies make your show 'look' like a success, how to get publicity from your gigs after you've played, how to get your fans and other musicians keen to help you...and much more.

The best thing is that it's FREE. Download your copy here.

[Resource http://www.theindiemusician.com/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

SCRUB RADIO

2007-03-29T19:22:00.000+10:00

Scrub Radio is an award winning Internet radio station live playing industrial to gothic metal and acoustic artists from around the globe.

The show goes out live each Wednesday night from 9pm - 12 am EST but is also available as a podcast.

Sign your band up at Scrub Records and in the Scrub Radio forums, this will let the DJ's know about you and get you some air play.

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

VIRTUALIVE

2007-03-29T11:02:00.000+10:00

Virtualive is a concert series where musicians and virtual worlds connect.

The purpose of Virtualive is to match real world and virtual world talent into a concert and present it both in a physical and virtual venue. This concert series is a place to tap into new and independent music from the real independent scene along with the talent of those in virtual spaces doing the same.

You can now purchase tickets on line through Ticketmaster:

8:00 PM: Doors Open
8:30 PM: Event hosted by Ray
Ellin Ray Ellin! From Latin Kings of Comedy, Comic Strip Live or the recently re-launched Daily Comedy
Shock Radar performs at 9 PM
Buddahead performs at 10 PM

When: May 10th 2007, 8:00 PM, 285 West Broadway, NYC, NY 10013

Where: The Canal Room, NYC/The Morpheum Sim, Second Life

Second Life Location Coordinates: secondlife://Morpheum/128/128

For more information visit: http://www.virtualive.tv/ or myspace.com/virtualive

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, indie, independent, musician

WILD GOOSE CHASE MARKETING

2007-03-29T10:32:00.000+10:00

Clever NIN. Not just creating an unusual and interactive marketing campaign but a 'story' that blog writers (like myself :-), journalists and fans can discuss.

Brilliant!

[Resource http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1000]

[Resource http://www.webwalker.ca/2007/03/21/wild-goose-chase-marketing/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, indie, independent, musician

GOOD MUSICIAN OR GOOD MARKETING

2007-03-28T06:49:00.000+10:00

You might not want to be a "Ravi Shankar" but this article from Times of India makes a good point in it's interview with Indian musician L Subramaniam.

The answer is in the question Is there nothing to worry about, then?

[Resource http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/OPINION/Editorial/QA_You_dont_get_a_Ravi_Shankar_by_marketing/articleshow/1795474.cms]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, indie, independent, musician

MAC STARBUCKS

2007-03-27T18:28:00.000+10:00

It's official. Sir Paul McCartney has become the first artist to sign with Starbucks' new record label, "Hear Music". Paul says the move reflects the changing nature of music marketing.

Read the article here

[Resource http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/03/22/paul-mccartney-becomes-first-artist-to-sign-with-new-starbucks-record-label/]

technorati tags:music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, indie, independent, musician

TO BE SHURE TO BE SURE

2007-03-27T18:05:00.000+10:00

Recording. It all starts with capturing the sound you want to record so clearly a microphone is an important part of your recording studio. Some things you might be able to skimp on, a microphone is not one of them.

Although these articles (pdf format) come from Shure, who of course make microphones, their reputation is worthy of taking some notice to what they say.

This page has some links to a number of recording and performance related equipment issues.

[Resource http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/TechLibrary/EducationalArticles/index.htm]

technorati tags:recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

3 SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

2007-03-27T10:27:00.000+10:00

"3 'A-Ha' Success Principles That Have Reshaped My Business"
by Alexandria K. Brown

Over the past three years I've immersed myself in learning. Because my business is marketing, I have mostly attended and spoken at marketing seminars. But I also make time to attend seminars and listen to audio programs on personal development as well.

Why?

You should actually work harder on yourself than you do on your business (or job). I first learned that from Jim Rohn, whom some call the father of personal development. Some call him America's foremost business philosopher. I just call him brilliant. (Jim was one of Tony Robbins' first mentors, too.)

There are three success principles I learned over the past year that I wanted to share with you. I call them my "a-has" because they put my attention on areas I'd never thought of. And following these guidelines has helped me skyrocket my business.

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1. You are the average of the five PEOPLE you hang around the most.

When I first heard this quote from Jim, it struck a big nerve in me. Robert Allen says something similar, that your bank account balance is typically the average of the five people you hang around the most. (Yikes!)

I realized I needed to surround myself with people whom I wanted to be like. I still love my old friends, but I make a specific effort to be around people who take risks, think big, and talk about great ideas instead of the latest celebrity gossip or how much they hate their jobs.

What first opened up my circle of influence was attending seminars. I continually go to seminars on marketing, business, and personal development. There are so many great seminars going on every month all around the country, at all price points. You have no excuse not to get out there and meet people who are playing big!

————————————————————————

2. Your HABITS create your future.

Brian Tracy talks a lot about this. Your daily habits create your long-term results. Your habits today will determine your outcomes tomorrow. If you want to be a millionaire, you've got to have millionaire habits. If you want to be a great leader, you must have the habits of a great leader. If you want to get in shape, you've got to have the habits of a fit person.

What new habit can YOU put into place right away?

I wanted to put into place a millionaire habit. Because I detest budgets (and enjoy spending), I needed an easy way to save money. So now I have 15% of my inflow automatically go into a savings account that I don't touch.

And because I enjoy looking and feeling great, I made the habit many years ago to hit the gym at least five days a week. (To kick this into gear, I hired a trainer, which forced me to make the habit to get my arse to the gym!) It was a struggle at first, but now I feel off-balance if I don't work out regularly.

————————————————————————

3. Make sure your ENVIRONMENT supports you in playing big.

Last year I had the chance to hear a dynamic woman named Artemis Limpert speak at an event in Dallas. In her talk, she pointed out that when you have a pet fish that's sick, you treat the water, not the fish. Your success depends more on your environment than you know, but it's extremely important that you give yourself an environment that supports you at the level you want to BE at. (Note that she did NOT say the level you are at now!)

My add-on to that is… pay attention to these three areas of your environment:

First, your physical environment. Do you love your office? Are you surrounded by attractive things? Do you have a nice view or at least a beautiful piece of art to look at? I pay a pretty penny for my beach pad, but I can't tell you how inspiring it is every day to look out at the peaceful ocean, sailboats, blue sky, and the sand. It fuels me. But you don't have to spend a lot of money on your environment. Little touches like candles, flowers, music you love, and photos of friends and family can go a long way. (Even if your office is the kitchen table!)

Second, your emotional environment. Are you getting the support you need from your family and friends? It's up to YOU to ask for what you need. If they cannot provide it, find a coach, a mastermind, or a support group. I find it wonderful to have a mastermind group for support. I can bounce ideas off them, ask for help with problem solving, share my victories, and sometimes just vent!

Don't forget your intellectual environment as well. Jim Rohn says, "Are you feeding your brain protein every day, or are you just giving it candy?" Most Americans sustain their brains solely on candy - that is, useless television shows, news, and gossip. Are you stimulating yourself with big ideas and new learning? Again, check out a seminar, take a teleclass, or buy some books or audio programs. (I love listening to programs on CD/MP3, so I can learn while driving around in my car or on plane rides.)

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 21,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.EzineQueen.com

[Resource http://www.musicbusinessblog.com/?p=186]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

NEW INTERNET MARKETING TECHNIQUES

2007-03-26T19:00:00.000+10:00

Do you know what "Social Bookmarking" and "Tagging" are?

They're relatively new Internet marketing techniques, but not knowing them means you could be missing out on powerful traffic generating tools.

What is Bookmarking? Social bookmarking sites enable you to save your bookmarks online, rather than on your browser, and share them with other users interested in similar subjects. Besides viewing the content you post, other users can repost it on their own sites, with a link leading back to your site. This independent, user-generated content has become known on the Net as "citizen-" or "participatory-media".You can post original articles, blogs, music, product reviews, recipes, photos, podcasts, videos, and more. Setting up accounts with any bookmarking site is free, although certain sites work best for circulating certain content mediums:
• Technorati.com, Digg.com, IceRocket.com—general bookmarking
• GoogleVideo.com, YouTube.com—video submission
• Flickr.com, Buzznet.com—photo submission

What are Tags? Tags are essentially keywords that let you organize your posts. Similar to optimizing your web pages around specific keywords, you're tagging your posts to make them easy for users to find. Under a given tag, the most recent posts get top positioning, so staying ahead requires regular posting.As with SEO, you're not looking for high-traffic keywords that you can't consistently rank well for. You want words further down the proverbial market tail, with steady, moderate traffic. If you can dominate numerous long-tail' words, all that traffic will really add up. And narrower keywords tend to produce more targeted, higher-quality traffic.

Read why you need to be using these techniques and what benefits you'll get.

[Resource http://productsourcingexperts.blogspot.com/2007/03/citizen-media-future-of-internet.html]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, promote+music+online, market+your+music, promote+your+music, sell+your+independent+music, independent+musicians, music+promotion, music+promotions, indie, independent, musician

THE WEIRD AND THE WONDERFUL

2007-03-26T12:45:00.000+10:00

There's no question that to get lots of people interested in your video you'll have to come up with a visual that is compelling, funny, weird, interesting but importantly, something that stands out in the crowd.

Japan. Now there's a place that's renown for its 'weirdness'. Where you have an endless supply of material.

Here's an idea - network and hook up with a video producer (or just someone with a camera), someone who travels to Japan or who lives in Japan and have them make a video for you.

Here's something to watch to get your imagination working.

[Resource http://www.webomatica.com/wordpress/2007/03/23/why-geeks-should-live-in-japan/]

technorati tags:internet+music+marketing, internet+music+promotion, market+your+music, music+promotion, music+industry, music+distribution, live+music+promotion, indie, independent, musician

AUDIO RECORDING SOFTWARE

2007-03-25T16:14:00.000+10:00

This is a review of a multi track audio recorder called "MixCraft".

"...that enables you to record your band, create a podcast, create mash-ups or remix a song. Mixcraft functions as two programs in one! Use it as a multi-track recorder or as a music loop remix program. As a multi-track audio recording program, Mixcraft allows you to record and play multiple tracks at one time. Add effect processing such as reverb, delay, flanger or any 3rd party VST? or DirectX? effects. Mix down your recording to CD or MP3 directly in Mixcraft. No need to dust off your old four track recorder! As remix software, it supports Apple Loops?, Acid Loops? and our own custom loop format. Mixcraft's Song Kits allow you to create your own song in dozens of styles to sing along or rap to. Creating your own loop or extracting a loop from a well known song is a few clicks away. With Mixcraft, you can always be on the beat! Even with all this power, Acoustica engineers have kept the design easy-to-use and clean."

For full features, system requirements and price click here.

[Resource http://www.download3k.com/MP3-Audio-Video/Music-creation/Download-Mixcraft-Recording-Studio.html]

technorati tags:recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

MP3 - XYZ

2007-03-25T11:36:00.000+10:00

Just launched as at SxSW 2007 is a new website called XYZmp3 which is a FREE service for musicians and labels.

It gives you the tools to sell music from your own website or from any social networking site.

[Resource http://www.xyzmp3.com/]

ACHIEVING SONIC EXCELLENCE

2007-03-22T09:34:00.000+10:00

Here are some links to a 4 part series on audio mastering

Part 1 "Getting Started"

Part 2 "Recording and EQ"

Part 3 "Getting Technical"

Part 4 "Final Steps"

[Resource http://musicindustrynewswire.com/2007/03/04/min160_220600]

technorati tags:recording+music, recording+tips, indie, independent, musician

20 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ONLINE MUSIC

2007-03-21T10:24:00.000+10:00

20 Things to know about online music marketing

All of this really comes down to some basic Internet marketing rules.

1. Know your market - the www is a big place and casting your net out far and wide is expensive and ineffective.
2. Drive traffic - online or offline, you have to expose your music to as many people as possible
3. Have a product (music or merchandise) to sell - don't make people sit through slow page downloads and flash graphics and intro pages etc - your buy 'button' or link should be able to be easily found.

[Resource http://newmusicstrategies.com/2007/03/16/the-20-things-you-must-know-about-music-online/]

SxSW UNDERCOVER

2007-03-20T08:46:00.000+10:00

Talking Heads front man David Byrne gave his account of the future of the music industry at the recent SxSW festival.

He suggests that the major label business model will become obsolete and that major record labels will have to adapt and learn to co-exist with independent artists who can bypass the corporate system.

Read what David Byrne has to say on The Demise of the Music Industry

[Resource http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=1745]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, sell+your+independent+music, internet+music+marketing, indie, independent, musician

INNOVATIVE MARKETING

2007-03-19T14:12:00.000+10:00

Here's an idea for some innovative marketing.

It's all about giving your fans something of value.

[Resource http://www.plusone.com.au/diary/archives/261]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, indie, independent, musician

FINDING THE "X" FACTOR

2007-03-19T06:26:00.000+10:00

The stand out difference of someone who plays great guitar is the 'feel' they have. Get yourself the "x" Factor.

Feel is one of those things that can be a bit hard to describe let alone teach. This article I found does a pretty good job of both.

This works with any instrument (including voice).

Read it here.

[Resource http://www.pianomusician.com/news/index.php?id=488]

technorati tags:music+performance, indie, independent, musician

indie+music+promotion+course

TIPS FOR SOLO MUSICIANS

2007-03-18T12:52:00.000+10:00

Here's some ideas for musicians who can play solo. These money making ideas come from the first hand experience of the writer. The writer here plays mostly jazz, but you could use the same concept for other styles.

Read how you can make extra money and get more gigs

[Resource http://musicianhome.com/124/tips-for-the-solo-musician/]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, promote+your+music, indie, independent, musician

UK SONGWRITING COMP

2007-03-17T11:17:00.000+10:00

If you think your songs are good, why not enter one in this year's UK Songwriting Contest.

The 10 categories are Pop, Rock/Indie, Folk and Country, Jazz and Blues, Miscellaneous, Dance, R&B/Hip-Hop/Urban, Christian/Faith, Lyrics Only and Instrumental.

Many UK Songwriting Contest winners and finalists have gone on to receive publishing and recording offers and have been widely featured and play listed on radio stations in the UK and abroad. One previous winner was signed to be part of the band Angelis who sold over 500,000 albums.

You don't need a professional recording to enter a home recording or hand written lyric sheet will do the trick.

You can enter online at The UK Songwriting Contest. Here's what they say.

"A GENUINE CHANCE TO GET NOTICED
The UK Songwriting Contest is dedicated to promoting the art of songwriting and the discovery of new talent. All entries are very carefully examined by experienced industry professionals and everyone has the chance to get noticed. We aim to provide maximum exposure and genuine opportunities and we are actively looking for promising writers. Many important people in the music industry follow this event closely, and past winners and finalists have been noticed by - and even received recording or publishing deals from - prominent members of the music community including Sir Paul McCartney and Simon Cowell. Writers that show potential, whether they are contest winners or not, may be offered opportunities for publishing and career development."

[Resource http://www.openpr.com/news/16802/Simon-Cowell-signing-boosts-interest-in-The-UK-Songwriting-Contest-2007.html]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, song+writing, uk+song+writing+competition, indie, indie, independent, musician

MARKETING IDEAS FROM SxSW

2007-03-16T16:40:00.000+10:00

If you didn't get to go to this year's SxSW event, never fear, hear are some marketing ideas picked up by someone who was there.

5 Brilliant Marketing Ideas from SxSW

[Resource http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2007/03/5_brilliant_mar.html ]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, sxswi, sxsw, indie, independent, musician

A COFFEE AND A RECORD DEAL

2007-03-15T19:34:00.000+10:00

Fancy signing a record deal with a coffee shop? Apparently Paul McCartney (yes, the Sir Paul of Beatle fame) has.

In a marketing move non coffee related, Starbucks plan to sign and develop artists on their LA based label "Hear Music". Makes sense - they can distribute worldwide through their stores, they can do in-house marketing and they've got a ready made audience to cater.

We are in the midst of very changing and challenging times for major record labels. Distribution and marketing channels are becoming easily available to the average independent musician. Build a successful brand (that's your band or you as an artist) and you will be able to negotiate your own career. You can be sure when any industry undergoes such major changes that new players will come in with new ideas and open the way for many to follow or join.

Starbucks launches Hear Music record label

[Resource http://www.slashfood.com/2007/03/14/starbucks-launches-record-label-paul-mccartney-signs/]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, indie, independent, musician

BARENAKED SUCCESS

2007-03-14T12:17:00.000+10:00

Canadian Band the Barenaked Ladies once were signed to a major label. Having come full circle they're now independent and have a new lease of life.

In an interview Steve gave to Billboard he talks of the benefits of being independent in the new music industry of self-governing, Internet-savvy, fan-friendly business model. He also says the BNL are "happier than ever".

With benefits like:

Not being forgotten, dumped or being a low priority by a major record company

Having total career control

Lower sales but with much higher profit margins

Read here the Barenaked Ladies new way of doing business

[Resource http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN0230330520070302?pageNumber=2]

technorati tags:independent+music+promotion, market+your+music, promote+your+music, music+promoter, indie, internet+music+marketing, promote+music+online, indie, independent, musician