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.

Internet radio

Each genre has literally hundreds if not thousands of radio stations on the internet that are all free. This also means free advertising if you play your cards right. Most internet sites have a contact form where you can fill in information about your band and submit a song. Check the "About Us" page or "Contact Us" page to find the form.

Some sites you may want to check:
http://www.shoutcast.com
http://www.live365.com
http://www.radiotower.com

You may also want to get involved in some major sites too that require a demo of some sort:
Get on Last.fm
Pandora Radio

Usually the best way to get on these larger radio stations is to find the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section (usually in the Company Information page or at the bottom of the site) and look for "submitting music". Good luck!

Myspace for musicians

Myspace has been falling behind in popularity lately compared to Facebook. However, it is still a huge way to get fans. Sure you can have fans on Facebook, but they can't hear your music. This is where Myspace has the advantage for musicians. There are many sites that allows musicians to upload their music like purevolume.com, but they're all pretty much worthless compared to Myspace. By the way, I would still recommend getting accounts on these sites.

Before doing any marketing make sure you have some songs on your myspace. The better the recording, the better chance you'll get noticed (or at the very least keep people listening to your music more than 5 seconds).

Now you will want to hire someone to make an awesome design for your website. I posted an add for some web design on craigslist and my band ended up with some awesome results.

• Try to get an idea of what you want first. The more details you provide them, the more accurate of a quote you will get!
• Do some research on the responses and ask for a portfolio from every response before choosing anyone.
• Narrow down your choices to who you think fits your style of music best
• Ask for a quote on how much it will cost and compare prices
• To avoid getting scammed try to use the 50/50 agreement: You pay half now and you pay the other half when it's done. I recommend this approach even if they want you to pay the full amount after they're done instead. Eventhough this would be in your advantage, it would make them feel safer and therefore more reliable. They'd take you more seriously and get it done faster too.
• Change your password when they're done!

Of course you can visit freelance websites like getafreelancer.com and find someone that way too. Another option is asking who designed another local band's myspace if they have a good looking one.

Finally, you can go on and market your band via Myspace. Where do you start? Try using the search feature and look for people interested in bands similar to yours (the bigger, the better). If you have cash, there's a program you can buy that will do this for you. You can hire people do this for you too. Try to leave a comment on all your new friends thanking them for adding you.

When you have a show or a CD release coming up, try to comment on all your friend's profiles telling them about it. The more you comment, the more chances you have of a turn out. Also, be sure to blog often. People will get an impression your band is no longer active if you haven't blogged in a month or so.