Marketing tips and self-promotion ideas for songwriters, musicians, bands and small record labels … since 1995
February 6, 2007 - Vol. 13, Issue 3
Welcome! Read this page online, or print it to read offline,
or email the page link to a friend who could really use it!
The Talent Myth Exposed
No one could have predicted that a simple list I published called 14 Things I’ve Learned About Indie Music Success would cause such a firestorm of comment traffic on my blog.
It once again stirred up those age-old debates about money vs. talent vs. popularity, etc. In case you missed them, I followed that with these two in-depth posts:
I’d like to get your feedback on them as well.
TheBuzzFactor.com’s New Look
If you visit the home page of my music marketing tips web site, you’ll notice it has a fresh coat of paint. I haven’t converted all the pages to the new design template yet, but you can see enough of them now to get a good idea. It’s cleaner and leaner … I love it!
If you like it, too, you can thank Scott Andrew, a Seattle-based indie musician who happens to have a great knack for all things web and tech-related. For years I’ve been using Scott’s site as a great example of all the elements a good artist web site should have. So when it was time to update TheBuzzFactor.com, I turned to Scott. He not only took on the challenge, he rose to it!
Scott is interested in taking on some other music web design projects, so if you’re interested in having him help you with your site, send him an email (Scott AT ScottAndrew.com) and tell him Bob Baker sent you.
Indie Music Takes on the Majors
Here’s the opening to a new article just published at Wired News:
Tommy Boy Records’ Tom Silverman has said that independent record labels are responsible for 30 percent of music sales and 80 percent of all releases worldwide. If indie music were a major label, it would be the biggest in the world — and in a way, that’s what’s about to happen.
The focus of the article is on new trade organizations that are attempting to consolidate the power of indie labels and artists into one almighty group. That is indeed interesting news, but here’s what I also found useful:
The biggest trend in music in the past 10 years has been decentralization. Technological advances have made it possible to form a label if you’re just one person with a computer — all it takes is finding a few new bands, which seem to be everywhere, then convincing them to let you handle their business needs (which increasingly means acting in a managerial role while outsourcing promotion and distribution).
As the music business becomes more fragmented, though, a funny thing seems to be happening. Along with the decentralization trend, a strong need for new types of centralization has appeared, such as MySpace and the original MP3.com. It has been possible for more than a decade to produce music pretty inexpensively without being part of a label or any other network, but there was no central repository for the results.
In retrospect, MySpace’s ascension looks inevitable; once it reached critical mass, no band could ignore it. It’s as if the more decentralized things get in music, the greater the need is for certain kinds of centralization.
An Alternate Viewpoint
There’s another way to look at this — and it’s something I’ve talked about a lot in my New Rules of Internet Music Marketing workshops. It’s the need for “filters” to help consumers sort through the mass of new music available online.
As the article says, for a while now, musicians have had access to the tools of production (low-cost, high-quality home recording equipment and software). And using the Internet instead of traditional retail outlets, indie artists have had an effective distribution channel to reach fans.
But you still have the noise factor. Since anyone can produce music, it seems everyone is. Consumers could easily get confused and overwhelmed by the choices.
That’s where filters (or new “repositories” like MySpace) come in. They allow fans to find out what artists their friends are talking about and who’s creating a buzz. Blogs, podcasts and social tagging sites let fans sift by searching. Reviews and comments help fans grasp the consensus view of a new act.
Knowing that, here are some questions for you:
- How can you tap into the most effective filters and repositories?
- What can you do to increase the odds that your ideal fans will find you?
There’s no absolute right or wrong answer here. But asking the questions in the first place will inspire you to dig for answers and uncover the best marketing strategies for your music.
MySpace.com Footnote
As you probably know, I published a book last year called MySpace Music Marketing: How to Promote & Sell Your Music on the World’s Biggest Networking Web Site. It’s been one of my best-selling titles over the past six months.
Here’s part of a new customer review of it on Amazon:
“Even though I’ve been doing web site work for almost a decade and am quite proficient in the ins and outs of MySpace, this book is a *really* useful tool for my band. In the first hour of reading it I made approximately a dozen changes to our MySpace profile and band web site, which will make a significant impact on our Internet presence as a whole.”
Amazon is currently selling the paperback for $17.22 - a 31% discount. Want an autographed copy? You can get that on my web site here.
New at the Insiders Club
Here’s a quick update on my new Indie Music Marketing Insiders Club. The charter members who have joined so far are getting access to some cool resources I’ve posted to the new members-only site. They include:
- An opportunity to be feaured in Wired magazine
- An often-overlooked press coverage source in New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver/Boulder, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Madison, WI.
- An hour-long audio of a talk show on which I discuss how bands and musicians can double (and even triple) their music income, how to improve press kits so they don’t get trashed, and a lot more.
- Two no-cost ebooks filled with dozens of publicity tricks and ideas
- A radical marketing idea I stole from the real estate industry
- A new music video show that wants your best ideas to read on the air — and plug your music
In addition, I’m lining up teleclass interviews with a well-known music publicist, an expert who will share his best advice on promoting yourself through SecondLife.com (the next big online trend), and two indie artists who have done extremely well in niche markets.
You can get your eyes and ears on all of this … but you have to be a member. It’s easy to do. Just go here:
www.bob-baker.com/marketing/join-the-club.html
That’s it for now. Until next time … get out there and promote yourself!
-Bob
P.S. You will get up to 6 free bonuses when you join the Indie Music Marketing Insiders Club today at:
www.bob-baker.com/marketing/join-the-club.html
Kick Your Promotion Into High Gear
With these best-sellers from TheBuzzFactor.com:
What They’re Saying About …
“Bob, let me tell you something. I am using the HECK outta your two e-reports: 50 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Music Online and Online Music PR Hot List. I look at it like this: I’m building MY online PR machine, and these resources are where I can find the custom parts. Thanks!“
-Jeannette Louise
To Start getting The Buzz Factor by email, just fill out the form at the top of this page or send an email to addme AT thebuzzfactor.com with “Send Me the Buzz” in the Subject line.
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