If you are tired of sending out myspace friend requests and sending show announcements to the same old mailing list, then I put together a list of automated promotion services that let you sit back and let others do the work. There are a few excellent online companies that can get direct media exposure for your new music.
If you are wondering how to promote your music, successful online music promoters outsource and do not try to do the management of everything on their own. After doing this for a long while that is one of my best tips - use tools that do not require you to do grunt work.
MusicSubmit.com - Set up a page and upload your best tunes. Then they send out your package directly to various web-based music media. This works great if your music is top notch and fits with an internet-friendly niche like rock, pop, hip hop or techno. Seems expensive, but not so much when you compare it to postage!
Taltopia.com - Just upload your material and let the fans do the work of up grading or downgrading you. If your good and you get enough votes you can get featured without lifting a finger. Its kind of like GarageBand.com but with a wider audience than the indie music crowd. Its one of the Websites that are free to join and participate.
OurStage.com - Fans get free music to download and can also judge which songs they like from each artist. Then the bands win prizes based on how many votes they get. This is a great way to get exposure for your independent act without having to do much other than uploading your tracks and creating a profile.
SonicBids.com - Connects bands with concert promoters and venues. They have many legitimate gigging opportunities from colleges to festivals. Like other services I list here there is a cost ($5.95 per month + submission fee), but I strongly encourage you to consider the costs of postage and your time. I have no doubt that the costs you will incur trying to track down a great gig can be much more than SonicBid’s fee. They key here is to focus on what you do best - creating and recording music - not making endless calls and trips to the post office.
Yahoo Search Ads - Trying to sell a cd or get mailing list signups? Try placing ads in search engines. Google Adwords is a crowded expensive program but Yahoo search adverstising is still cheap. You would not believe how many people search “New rock music” just to see what comes up in a search engine. Just put the right keywords in your ad and you are all set.
GoDaddy.com - Your own domain and Website should be the cornerstone of your music Web promotion - not myspace. Go Daddy customer service is excellent and a domain and hosting is just too cheap to make any excuses. Then use their hosting connection to install a Wordpress blog and use feedburner to deliver it via email. Then you have a free service to build a mailing list to sell your CD and hopefully many other products through.
The key here is to use reliable, automated marketing systems that add far more value to you than what you pay for them. Doing that can take you out of the realm of being a local musician to becoming a globally known artist all over the Web.
The key here is to direct people to your Website and build your band’s mailing list with fresh new fans who are desperate for new music. Stop promoting myspace and facebook and giving these sites free content to build their empires. Start building your own web-based indie music business. If you do give away music for free then at least get people to come to your own Website to get it!
Let me know if you have any questions about music promotion, I’d be glad to help. All the best with your music.
Peace,
Dan-O
