Marketing Your Music : Categories
- Think of everything from their point of view
- Have the confidence to target.
- Grab people's attention, senses and emotions.
- All the world's a stage. What character are you?
- Think test marketing - proof of success
- The Power of People
- The Power of Words
- Tools and Weapons
- Big Strategies
Tips, Thoughts, Articles
- Think of everything from their point of view
- Have the confidence to target.
- Grab people's attention, senses and emotions.
- All the world's a stage. What character are you?
- Think test marketing - proof of success
- The Power of People
- The Power of Words
- Tools and Weapons
- Big Strategies
- How to get into the college market - in 4 easy steps
- My advice about the college market - the long version
- The Philosophies of fame
Advice
Submit Your Music Now for Guaranteed Online Airplay at American Idol Underground
Get yourself heard!
So you have a great band, a great website but no fans? where's the exposure?
It's simples, get yourself set up with a free music account on the web.
There's loads of sites out there offering free band accounts plus you can also
upgrade your account to be your main website. Here's a list of the best websites
i have joined on the web and they are all free.
American idol underground
Free to join ,a great way to get exposure, plus some fantastic prizes worth up to $200,00!
Soundclick.com
My favourite site! and they have a huge fan base and you can sell mp3's and make friends!
Tunetribe.com Great free website to sell & List your CD's with top selling world bands!
cdbaby.net The worlds largest independent music store,Set up fee is $35 per album,they
also distribute online $20 (60 Stores world wide) and 2,400 retails shops!
MusicForte Fantastic free new website with exposure to Japanese market!
www.betarecords.com- Join for free & Upload 8 tracks!
Channel4.com-slash music-Join for free and upload tracks,great exposure!
PopWorld Promotes -Based on the Channel4 show,you get exposure and win real gigs on TV!
CDFuse.com- free music website where you can upload tracks and a bio and sell cd's!
Mixposure-Great website with some fantastic and friendly people on!
Purevolume- The place for rising artists to host their mp3s & get exposure.
MVINE-Is a genre-free independent record label ... We're on your side. ...
Letstalkmusic-The online musicians community working to promote independent artists.
LTM works with artists to provide a one stop shop for success.
Other way's to "get the word out about your band"
Street teams
I have noticed that some bands like "Soil" have asked their fan's to sign up to their "street team".
What this means is that they give their fan's loads of flyers and stickers etc and send them out
armed into the street to promote their gig's and albums etc...
Concerts
How many times have you been to a concert and thought "how long is this queue!"
Dont think of it as a queue, but as an opportunity to hand out "demo's!" to all those
bored people lining up. Not everyone will take one, but people love free CD's and they
will have similar tastes in music...
Just dont pitch up at a Whitney Houston gig with Heavy metal demos !
Local music shops
I popped into my local music shop in Croydon on my day off ("Martin Phelps music")
and asked the guy if i could leave some free sample demo cd's on the counter and he said "sure"
Needless to say they all went and it was good exposure as you will find that local shops like to
encourage local performers.
Fifteen top music promotion tips
Sean McManus outlines top tips for promoting your music online.
Give it away: You'll have to give your music away at the start. Put MP3s on your website
or at least have the facility to hear whole songs. People won't buy CDs or downloads unless
they have a clear idea of what to expect from them. The thing about posting samples is that
people will play them once, think 'that's nice' and move on. People will download MP3s and
listen to them frequently if they're a good match for their taste. These are the listeners most
likely to become customers. There is no way - in this world, or the next - that a new act will
sell CDs on the basis of lyrics and photographs.
Get your MP3 tags right: If people rediscover your MP3 in their iPod or hard drive months
Get your MP3 tags right: If people rediscover your MP3 in their iPod or hard drive months
later, make sure they can still track you down. Make sure your artist name and song name
appear in the appropriate tags of the MP3, and put your website address in for the album name.
Try to put your website address in the filename too.
Get into a box: We all like to think we're special and unique, but that's a hard sell. Don't
Get into a box: We all like to think we're special and unique, but that's a hard sell. Don't
be afraid to put your music into an appropriate category (rock, pop, folk, electronica etc)
and to spread it far and wide all over the web through distribution websites. These are
good at pointing listeners in the right direction when they're looking for something new.
Have your own website: While community sites play their part, it's easy to get lost in
Have your own website: While community sites play their part, it's easy to get lost in
a vast catalogue. Build your own website, promote it and attract a following. Buy your
own domain name too - when MP3.com changed ownership, lots of bands saw their
online presence vanish overnight. They had no claim to the website hosted by MP3.com
they had spent years promoting. If you've got your own domain name, you can always
change where it points to later, and keep ownership of the incoming visitors.
Have a story: When people arrive at your website, you've still got to encourage them to
Have a story: When people arrive at your website, you've still got to encourage them to
stick around to listen to some music. Think about what your angle is. What do you write about?
What kind of mood do you create? Why are you different?
Solicit testimonials: Ask your customers to write reviews of your music. Get them to
Solicit testimonials: Ask your customers to write reviews of your music. Get them to
post reviews on the community sites that accept reviews and ratings, and put reviews on
your own site. If you get press coverage, use it! It adds credibility to your website.
Build a community: People will keep coming back to your site if they can meet like-minded
Build a community: People will keep coming back to your site if they can meet like-minded
people there and talk to them. You can get free plug-in forums from sites like Phorumz.
Be business-like: Whether you want listeners to pay you directly or a major label to
Be business-like: Whether you want listeners to pay you directly or a major label to
shovel money your way, you're being paid for a service. So attend to enquiries promptly
and maintain good relations with your customers. It's easier to sell a second album to
people who bought the first than it is to find a whole new audience for the new album.
Think of ways to delight your listeners: offer a 14 day guarantee on CDs to stimulate
sales (the EU distance selling directive grants this to online shoppers anyway) and
send fans a new MP3 on their birthdays.
Take control: Don't wait for success to happen to you. Build an audience.
Take control: Don't wait for success to happen to you. Build an audience.
Whether that's a substantial mailing list, email list or gig audience, it doesn't matter.
As long as it's people who have asked to hear from you and are likely to buy your album,
it's a valuable asset. The best way to grab a record company's attention is by
becoming successful independently.
Gig: If you're in the business of gigging, put information for people who might
Gig: If you're in the business of gigging, put information for people who might
want to book you on your website. Publish the kinds of events you're happy to
play and provide a phone number for more information. Again, be business-like.
Keep it simple: music marketing has a lot to do with image, but some websites
Keep it simple: music marketing has a lot to do with image, but some websites
put this before the music. Don't forget people are there to read about you,
listen to your work, see your photos and interact with you. They're not usually
there to watch a 5 minute animation before they can do any of that. The easier
your site is to use, the more likely it is to sell music. Simplicity pays.
Make it easy to pay you: Take cash at gigs and in local record shops, cheques
Make it easy to pay you: Take cash at gigs and in local record shops, cheques
by post, credit cards online. How easy can you make it for customers to buy your album?
Network: If you're trying to get the attention of music journalists and record labels,
Network: If you're trying to get the attention of music journalists and record labels,
the best way to do this is by getting a personal introduction. Meet people at concerts,
industry events and through fan events for similar bands.
Recognise taste: Not everyone will like your music, so concentrate your energy on
Recognise taste: Not everyone will like your music, so concentrate your energy on
finding those who will. This applies to listeners, journalists and record labels equally.
Educate yourself: You might find my book Small Business Websites That Work
Educate yourself: You might find my book Small Business Websites That Work
useful in planning, setting up and operating your online business. If you don't take
your band's website seriously as a business opportunity, it's always going to remain a hobby.
I will keep scouring the web for more and will update this post once i have found new sources.
I will keep scouring the web for more and will update this post once i have found new sources.
Create a free website at Webs.com