Archive for November, 2006
Reaching The Powers That Be
Reprinted from Bob Baker’s Indie Music Promotion Blog
The other day I received a message on MySpace from an enthusiastic but sadly misguided independent artist. He was genuinely excited about taking action to promote his band’s music. In his email he asked …
How do we get our music in the hands of “the powers that be” or in front of someone who will just help us get to where we want to be?
Here’s the brief response I sent him:
Why do you need to get your music to “the powers that be”? In my opinion, you are the power that IS. What you need to focus on is getting your music to FANS — and getting it to them yourself.
The most important person to get you where you want to be is YOU. Stop looking outside yourself for answers and miracles.
These days there are a seemingly infinite number of no-cost and low-cost tools available that you can use to find your ideal fans and make them aware of who you are and what you do. Start using them. Yourself. Now!
That was my best advice. Do you agree?
Reprinted from Bob Baker’s Indie Music Promotion Blog
Bob Baker is the author of “Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook,” “Unleash the Artist Within” and “Branding Yourself Online.” He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site, blog and e-zine that deliver free music marketing tips and self-promotion ideas to musicians of all kinds. Visit TheBuzzFactor.com for more details.
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I feel that Sunrise Promotions is one of those low-cost tools available to musicians to help them find their ideal fan base and make them aware of what you do. We take that a step further, though. We put the promotions in the hands of the fans, because who better to tell others about you? Word of mouth advertising has always been the most effective form of advertising and we use this to help you gain and maintain your fanbase.
Before the Music Dies Trailer
Is original music drowning in the wake of mass marketing? Will radio ever again be the influential force it once was? Does the “next big thing” in music even have a chance to be heard? Filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen traveled the country to uncover how American music arrived at this moment of truth. The answers they found are included in their movie, Before the Music Dies.
Revealing interviews with musicians, industry insiders, music writers, and fans shed intense light on the issues. Featured performances from artists spanning genres and generations prove that great music is always out there – as long as you know where to look. But are people looking?
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Why Your Band Needs Its Own Domain Name
From Spin Me:
When the Fox television network wanted to promote the TV series Bones online, it turned to its corporate sibling, MySpace, for help. Obligingly, they offered up the screen name ..Bones,.. which would be pretty easy to remember. Except, that screen name already belonged to a band in Louisiana that had put together a list of 2,100 friends.
Fortunately, some kind folks at MySpace reunited the band with its original screen name.
However, it..s another reminder that promoting someone else..s domain name on your printed material and press kit is an invitation to disaster. (Remember, $8 a year is all it costs to have your own domain name, even if you just redirect it to your MySpace page.) MySpace..s terms of service indicate that they can .. and will .. take back your screen name if they want to. It..s really nice to hear that they stuck up for a member this time, but you can..t guarantee that they..ll do it again.
And, for all the folks that think MySpace is never going anywhere, ask the senior members of your favorite music business bulletin boards what it was like when MP3.com vanished after it was purchased by an international media conglomerate. (Some folks are still stinging from that one.)