Marketing to the Masses

Sorry for lack of updates.

This may not be the cheapest route, but it is one of the most successful ways to market yourself. Yes, the internet is a good way to get to people who have the internet and are familiar with the websites you use. However, there's one undeniable way to achieve getting people to listen your music: providing free demo CD's.

The first step is to record the album. Check out my article on Finding the Right Studio. You want to get a decent sound, it doesn't have to be great but at least understandable. The CD and its packaging should look relatively nice too, so hire a decent artist. You don't need anything fancy so something like a CD Jacket or a 2-sided insert should be good enough. Remember, if it doesn't look good, it has a higher chance of ending up in the trash.

At this point, you know you lost money and you will have to accept the fact that you're going to lose more money. That's the cost of marketing though, and every business knows this. Go to shows in your area with music in the same genre. Try to find shows with music that you think is similar to a point where people would like your band. Here's where you have to make another sacrifice: Before the show ends, run outside and wait for the masses to come out. Hand out as many CD's as you can. Why not during the show? Well with a lot music, people dance, mosh, or whatever and have the opportunity of ruining the CD or losing it. When you're handing out your CD's, you won't have a chance to say hi or anything, so don't worry about mannerisms but be pleasant if someone talks to you. If you have a friend or ten, have them help out too.

People will almost always listen to a CD if they're given one just out of curiosity. If you have a good enough band, people will like you and potentially tell their friends about you. Furthermore, if their friends like it, they have the opportunity of burning it to a CD-R, or uploading it to a website of theirs. This could lead to more people listening to you. Who knows? Maybe one of them could run a record a company. Just remember, at this point you're considered indie (Indepedent). The more people that show up to your show, the more money you can make, which could actually return your investment in to producing the CD in the first place.