Today - the music industry has gone completely insane. There is so much music being made in this country that nowadays, there are companies that make money off of artists that want to make a living. Everyone's trying to make it big, and companies like A&R Select, GoDIY Records, Sonicbids, uPlaya Radio, and Jango are now making their relatively good income off of artists themselves who are looking to make it big. Look out! These are huge money vultures that just want to suck you dry and only in the end help the occasional artist succeed momentarily, mostly so that they can put that artist on their list of "success stories."
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting Jason Mraz and he gave me some advice which I think every independent musician in the world, especially songwriters like myself, needs to hear. He said, "One day about ten years ago I packed everything in my car and decided that I would do nothing else but music. Since then, I have felt like a success."
It is really a desicion that we make as individuals. It is what really selects the artists from the overwhelming industry music crap out there! If you are truly an artist of music, if you truly love your music with all your heart, if you truly believe that you can mak a living off of your music, then you are ready to make that commitment.
I decided about a year ago that I would make that commitment. Now only a year later, I have already had the opportunity to play at some large festivals, sharing the stage with awesome bands, and even played at a Jason Mraz concert in Austin, Texas. The more I put my music out there, the more I receive abundance of energy, love, creativity, and money. If you or someone you know is willing to make that commitment, I intend to write a series here that can help them with online marketing tools.
Let's begin with the basics:
WEBSITE - Get your own domain name right away that is the closest thing to your musician or band name. If the name alone is taken, consider adding music t the end of the name. I strongly recommend getting a .com site as many times people forget if your site is .net or .org or .info or something like that.
DESIGNING THE WEBSITE - This can be easier than most people think. I designed my webpage with wordpress. There are thousands of themes to choose from and plugins that will help you play and sell your music on your site. With a little perserverance and determination, anyone can learn how to build a site on the wordpress page just checking out how it is done in all the help menus and readme files. If you feel totally not computer savy, there is also the option of using the CDBaby.net sites which are geared specifically for musicians. These sites are very easy to design and are hosted by CDBaby and even include an email list service and other helpful tools. The downside is that this service can cost almost $30 a month. I only really recommend working with CDBaby if you already have an album or two to sell that is fully printed and packaged with a barcode.
MYSPACE - EVERY MUSICIAN NEEDS A MYSPACE PAGE - This is really no longer an option these days. Everyone from venue to fan to major record label is looking at you myspace page if they are interested in you. Look into pimpmyprofile.com or some similar site to give your myspace page unique flair. This is pretty crucial as you really want to make this page look awesome. Also, get into the habit of writing blogs as often as possible, posting all your calendar dates, new songs, new pictures, and news updates there.Keep this page active and alive. Also you can use a program like SPYDER to help you maintain your contacts and import new potential friends, etc. This is a great tool which costs a little extra - a onetime $30 - but it is worth it.
FACEBOOK - Facebook is exploding - get in now - get a good name. Use iLike.com or ReverbNation.com or both to integrate your music into facebook. There is information on both of those sites to help you figure out how to do it. iLike is an especially cool online software system because it allows you to link up a song to any message that you send on facebook. I try to get into the habit of attaching a song to most every message I send. Its really a great tool.
That is only the beginning - there are hundreds of websites, online magazines, and platforms to sell your music to choose from. In upcoming issues I will tell you which ones to work with and which ones to avoid.
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