Indie Contact Newsletter - April 2001
BEST MUSIC BOOKS
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The Indie Contact Newsletter - April 2001
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Table of Contents
1. PRE-RAMBLE
2. INTRODUCTION
3. SITES WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED
4. RADIO SHOWS THAT WILL PLAY YOUR MUSIC
5. ONLINE SERVICES THAT WILL HELP SELL YOUR MUSIC
6. SITES WHERE YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR BAND'S MP3 FILES
7. SITES WHERE YOU CAN PROMOTE YOUR BAND FOR FREE
8. A FRESH LOOK AT MP3.COM by Fiona Klonarides
9. CREATING REAL AUDIO FILES - PART II by Lynn Carey Saylor
10. MP3.COM: A CASE STUDY FOR MUSICIANS ON THE FENCE by David Nevue
11. WMMW CD OF THE MONTH reviewed by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
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1. PRE-RAMBLE
I have sent you this newsletter because
a. you have bought a copy of The Indie Contact Bible
b. your site is listed in The Indie Contact Bible
c. you signed up to receive the newsletter
d. you are a member of The Indie Link Exchange
e. you are selling The Indie Contact Bible from your site
If you would like to read previous issues of the newsletter,
you can view them at http://www.indiecontactbible.com/newsletter
To unsubscribe, simply reply to this e-mail and write "remove"
in the SUBJECT field.
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2. INTRODUCTION
This month's newsletter has some great articles, and all are somehow
related to MP3s.
Lynn Carey Saylor continues her monthly column with Part Two of an
informative tutorial on how to create streaming Real Audio files.
Lynn has listed the steps in such a way that even those that are
highly intimated by the whole idea of creating music files, can
follow along without fear of being left behind in a cloud of
confused frustration.
What better way to find out about the mysterious MP3.com than by
an insider. Fiona Klonarides of musiceditor.com has been moonlighting
at MP3.com for the last while. In Part 1 of a two part article,
Fiona shares several valuable insights that may help to eliminate
some of the negative myths about this Internet giant.
Staying with the MP3 theme, well known author David Neuve of The
Music Biz Academy shows you how to make a few extra dollars a
month by setting up a page at MP3.com.
This month the Indie Contact Newsletter features its first "Artist
of the Month". The MusikMan himself, Keith Hannaleck, reviews
Patti Spadaro's CD, Short Stay.
As always, there are a sizable group of new contacts listed that can
help you to gain exposure for your music. So dig in, and enjoy the
April edition of The Indie Contact Newsletter!
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RAINMAKER MUSIC PUBLICITY in 2001!
Rainmaker Publicity, founded in 1996 by ex-ABC Radio exec,
Rhonda Kelley , is looking to add a few new bands to their roster
this year. Rainmaker works with unsigned artists and indie labels ONLY!!
For more info and rates, go to: www.rainmakerpublicity.com
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LYNN CAREY SAYLOR would like to announce the new official site for the
GuitarGirls.com Songwriting contest at http://mp3.com/guitargirls. Lynn
also continues to accept girls for the recently created GuitarGirls.com
Affiliated Artist Page. See http://guitargirls.com/community.htm for further
details."
GUITARGIRLS.COM NEEDS YOUR HELP! The large list of submitted song
entries has been painstakingly narrowed down to 15 for the final 7
spots to be added to the "Contestant's Page" AND to the new
MP3.com/GuitarGirls Page and given a shot at winning the free day in
the studio courtesy of Skip Saylor Recording as well as a great electric
guitar donated by MusicalCloseouts.com. Please listen to each song
and vote for your favorite. http://www.guitargirls.com/vote.htm
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Below are the contacts that were submitted to me in March.
As is the case in The Indie Contact Bible, the contacts listed
are sorted into five sections.
1. Sites that will review Independent Music
2. Radio stations/shows that will play Independent music
3. Online services that will help to sell your
4. Sites where you can upload your band's MP3 files
5. Sites where you can promote your band online for FREE!
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3. SITES WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED
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NOiSE MUsic Magazine
matrixm...@aol.com
We are a college based music magazine insert that reaches more than
27,000 readers each month and would love some indie bands to get there stuff
to us. We do not have a website, not until July 2001, but the magazine is a
full color affair that needs new acts. Send music to: NOiSE MUsic Magazine,
Matrix Media, 1138 East 9th Street, Suite 2, Erie, Pennsylvania 16503
GRITZ: "Good Southern Music Other Food for The Soul"
Michael B. Smith mbs...@mindspring.com
http://www.gritz.net
We review Southern music of all types, as well as blues, classic rock,
pop. No metal or rap. Folks can send cds and packages anytime. GRITZ
PUBLISHING, 1813 N Main St., Greenville SC 29609
Punk Updates
Hein Terweduwe he...@punkupdates.com
http://www.punkupdates.com
The site tries to be the world's n°1 resource for upcoming punk releases.
Also a lot of reviews and a listing of local (Belgian) pûnk concerts. mp3's
are available of new albums.
musiceditor.com
Fiona musiced...@yahoo.com
http://www.musiceditor.com
The complete, online A&R resource, new music reviews, and more...
Extreme Online Music Magazine
Roxanne Blanford roxa...@usa.net
http://www.extreme-online.com
A free, independently operated new music magazine featuring reviews,
interviews, photos and news on all genres of popular/indie music.
HipHopHotSpot.Com
http://www.hiphophotspot.com
We support the growth of hip hop artists world wide through exhausting a
network of free resources designed to give artists more promotion,
exposure, and positive press on a global scale.
Larger Ego
Greg Olear Gr...@LargerEgo.com
http://www.LargerEgo.com
We are a fairly new up and coming e-zine. We will be reviewing music soon
and want to be able to feature an artist of the week, as well as the actual
music that is submitted to us. We are an independent writer's magazine that
wants to support independent music as well.
DIW Magazine
Marc Hawthorne ma...@sirius.com
http://www.diwmagazine.com
A quarterly print publication dedicated to covering the best in independent
music, film, literature and culture.
Dig This Real (magazine)
edie (Publisher) ed...@digthisreal.com
http://www.digthisreal.com DTR is a magazine that concentrates on
performers,
bands and musicians. We accept unsolicited material for reviews or upcoming
features.
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IMAGINESTATION: A global meeting place for the creative community.
**Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Literary Arts**
*Promote your creative talents on the web using our
Free Artist Directories!
http://www.imaginestation.net/arthome.html
Visit us F2F: Music and Entertainment Expo, April 28 & 29, 2001
NJ Convention Center, Edison ,New Jersey
Visit us on the web: http://www.imaginestation.net
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4. RADIO SHOWS THAT WILL PLAY YOUR MUSIC
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Stanford Interview: Issues and Women's Ideas
Laura Lee stanford...@hotmail.com
http://kzsu.stanford.edu
We play music by solely women musicians on every program. Every
week I am scrambling to find music by women musicians, so get in touch!
We play riot girrl, garage bands, hip hop, women dj's mixed music....
everything. Contact me by e-mail, or send your music for preview to:
Stanford Interview: Issues and Women's Ideas, c/o KZSU 90.1FM, PO Box
20190, Stanford, CA 94309 (please include bio info with CD). I will
e-mail artists when I play their music so that they can hear it on air.
KKUP-FM
Dr. Brad Stone, Music Director bst...@jupiter.sjsu.edu
http://www.kkup.com
We program World, jazz, blues, reggae/ska, Latin, classical, electronic/
ambient, folk, country, bluegrass, a cappella, Women's, Native American,
Celtic, etc.
SoundwaveChildren *TEKNO-RADIO*
leny len soundwav...@hotmail.com
http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/117/soundwave_children.html
Acid Tekno / Dance Trance music 24-7 online *TEKNO-RADIO* all good
acid-tekno/dance music welcome for review & listing.
Live365.com
Deirdre Morrissey dmorr...@live365.com
http://www.live365.com
FREE Internet Radio. Take control of the airwaves! Create your own
radio station or listen to others from around the world.
The LoneStar JukeBox
Rick Heysquierdo ri...@lonestarjukebox.com
http://www.lonestarjukebox.com
An independently produced radio program on Pacifica Radio, that promotes
Americana and Alt-Country genres as well as AAA format and world beat
music.
Radio Muse - Independent Songwriter Radio
jo...@musesmuse.com
http://www.musesmuse.com/radiomuse.html
The idea behind the show is to bring together the very best independent
music from songwriters at all levels and stages of their musical journey.
Every month Radio Muse invites you to join us for a wonderful excursion that
leads to a place where time stops and the music begins. We hope to help
spread the word about some of the truly fantastic, undiscovered talent that
we know is out there.
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Maggieb.com invites you to submit your independent recording project to
showcase your work and identity on a dedicated platform. Indie artists of
ALL musical styles and genres are encouraged to submit projects for
consideration. We feature enormously talented independent musicians and
songwriters who are underexposed or on private record labels that are
difficult to locate. Maggieb.com provides a unique opportunity for indie
artists to be recognized and to be heard.
For submission information visit: http://www.maggieb.com
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5. ONLINE SERVICES THAT WILL HELP SELL YOUR MUSIC
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***note: The online vendors and labels listed below are
those that offer artists a Nonexclusive contract, meaning,
you can join up with as many of these services as you like.
Gemma Records
Adam Sugar In...@GemmaRecords.com
http://www.gemmarecords.com
Toronto hub of deep/funky house, intelligent breaks and innovative
electronic music. AKA "The Artists' Label". The contracts span not
over time but in 500-unit blocks, and the artists keep ownership of
their masters--we merely license the material.
Indierex.com
Tony Vinski vin...@indierex.com
http://www.indierex.com
An online independent record store. Everything is on consignment and
we ship for the bands.
Mekko Chivon Entertainment Group
J. Michaels Mekkochivon...@msn.com
http://www.mekkochivonent.com
New record label looking for talent to push to the next level. Submit all
materials. Visit our website for details
MPX 2000
Jack Irona m...@search2nite.com
http://www.mpx2000.com
Music Promotion X-tra, The Record Industry's #1 NYC Public Relations Firm.
Muze
mu...@muze.com
http://www.muze.com
We are content providers to over 250 online retailers for music, books &
video as well as in-store look up systems. If you send us your CD, along
with label, distributor, release date info, catalog number, barcode and
genre of music, we will list it in our database, which will then be listed
in the kiosk and possibly at the online retailers (if they have
distribution and are listed in one of the one-stops). Essentially we are
a B2B between labels, distributors, artists and the buying public.
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GUERRILLA MUSIC MARKETING HANDBOOK by Bob Baker
This is your guide to independent music success secrets, featuring
over 175 ways to thrive and prosper with your own band or record label.
Goal setting, networking, lists of distribution channels, offbeat
promotional ideas. It's all here!
Purchase it today at BEST MUSIC BOOKS
http://www.bestmusicbooks.com
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6. SITES WHERE YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR BAND'S MP3 FILES
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MP3 Songs - Help for Unsigned Artists
Chris Burke mp3....@btinternet.com
http://www.mp3songs.org.uk
Help and info site for unsigned artists and bands. Get your band
on the top 20 unsigned artist chart.
CuteMX
sup...@globalscape.com
http://www.cutemx.com
Take your music to the world! Visit our site and find out about
getting the music you create online.
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THE INDIE LINK EXCHANGE
http://www.indielinkexchange.com/ile
The ILE is a list of music sites that wish to exchange links with other
music
related sites. With over 400 current listings, it's a great way to get some
immediate and free exposure for your site. Everyone involved with the music
business is welcome to place a listing. It's a simple one-to-one exchange
of text links or banners. Visit today....it's FREE!
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7. SITES WHERE YOU CAN PROMOTE YOUR BAND FOR FREE
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Indie News
Fred E. Gostein indi...@live.com.au
http://www.indienews.live.com.au
An online column that provides valuable information for indie acts.
ProSponsor - Delivering Sponsorship To The Masses
Warren Teller in...@prosponsor.com
http://www.prosponsor.com
We are a full service sponsorship agency based in Atlanta, GA. Our
website features our unique "Online Solutions" section - a searchable
database of unique sponsorship opportunities including bands, festivals,
tours, artists, entertainers, etc.
Punk and Ska in New Jersey
Laura Deviant...@hotmail.com
http://bounce.to/Punk_Ska_NJ
A great resource for anyone in the New Jersey underground/indie scene.
Shows, band links, etc.
Pump Audio
Ari artistr...@pumpaudio.com
http://www.pumpaudio.com
Pump Audio licenses your music to paying customers in TV, Film and
Advertising. There is no fee. You maintain ownership. Clients include
MTV, Paramount, Sony and more...
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"HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC SUCCESSFULLY ON THE INTERNET" by
David Neuve, shows you powerful Internet marketing techniques
to help sell your music merchandise online!
Buy it today at BEST MUSIC BOOKS
http://www.bestmusicbooks.com
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8. A FRESH LOOK AT MP3.COM by Fiona Klonarides
© 2001
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MP3.com's music newsletter - which last week featured "Fart Greetings" -
caused quite a predictable stink on its own message boards, and in the
press. Yet the irony is that the "download a brownload" email generated
so many click thrus that it propelled The Rodents' "Fart Song" to #1
on MP3's overall charts. Meanwhile - to add to the irony - serious,
neo-Flamenco platinum-selling guitarist Ottmar Liebert, who was the
main feature in the aforementioned newsletter, shot to #3. A week
later, it's "Who Farted??" by Killer Spam's Comedy Stuff now sitting
at #1, the Rodents have dropped to #2, and thankfully cool heavy rock
band Saliva's "Your Disease" is at #3. The good news is the fart songs
should waft away eventually, and the weird news is the "Fart Song"
was the fastest-ever #1 charting song on MP3.com.
But before serious music lovers get too depressed, check this out: thanks
to some positive relationship-building between MP3 and major labels, the
site's content is pretty compelling these days. High profile artists on
the site right now include Eric Clapton - whose tracks from his new CD
"Reptile" topped the chart at #1,2 and 3 respectively; Madonna and Faith
Hill have had artist pages up for some time, and breakout bands Saliva
and American Hi-Fi have cool tracks on the site. Even the nubile Brooke
Allison who's been on MP3.com for a while, just got signed to EMI/Virgin,
while industry veteran Clive Davis's new label J Records, will soon have
priority acts O-Town and Olivia artist pages on MP3.
Great, but how does this help unsigned artists sharing the same website??
And, didn't MP3.com just stop paying out Payback For Playback (it doles
out $1 million each month in cash to the artists on the site with the most
song plays/downloads/CD sales) to artists, unless they sign up for its new
Premium Artist Services, whereby for $20 a month you can auction your way
to the top of the charts, with your artist name in bold while you're on
the charts; get search results priority positioning, and song approval
priority (your new songs get approved and go live on the site faster),
and so on (we'll go into how to promote your music on MP3.com more
effectively next month).
Well, "lest we forget"…..here's what MP3.com continues to offer artists -
and it's all completely free!
1) Want a free website? Well, MP3.com basically gives you a "free website"!
They have an easy song and photo uploading system, you can quickly
upload your music, info and images to the site.
2) Your music is hosted on a hi-tech, well managed, super-infrastructure
site.
3) You're immediately part of a huge music and music fan community, and its
message boards.
4) MP3.com gets millions of visitors each week from all over the world,
including Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
5) If you learn how to "work the system" and are serious about getting your
music heard, MP3.com provides a platform where you can do this - and get
paid for song plays.
6) Their new licensing program will help get your music into soundtracks,
and on to compilation CDs, for a sign up fee of just $25.00.
7) They will press high quality "DAM" CDs that you can sell to music fans
and give you some flexibility on pricing your own CD.
8) With infinitely more major and indie label artists coming on to the
site, MP3.com will keep drawing more visitors to the site.
9) We've said sad good-byes to other music sites like the Riffage, which ran
out of funding some months ago, despite having supported new artists
passionately till the end of its days. MP3 is sticking around. It's
probably the safest, online haven for unsigned artists right now.
(IUMA just got rescued by Vitaminic, but was in danger of extinction
until recently.)
So, before we hurl criticism at MP3.com for deciding to make its Premium
Artists (the $20 a month crowd) the only artists eligible for its "P4P",
let's think about the enormous time and financial expenses the site must
utilize in administrative costs - writing checks to its artists who make
money on the site, tracking their song plays, etc. is not an easy task.
If you work the system - and your music is GOOD! - you'll get your $20 back
each month, and more. Worst case scenario, you're getting free web hosting.
And, like quite a few artists on the site, you might even get discovered
- and signed!
Last but not least, here are four MP3.com artists selected by
Musiceditor.com, for your listening pleasure!
SunLikeStar - alternative rock from Vancouver, BC
ChandaLeigh Bailey - beautiful, sophisticated soul sister
Film - British fronted band based in Atlanta, winning all kinds of contests
and sounding great
Katey Morley - Sarah McLachlan meets Portishead, plus really distinctive
vocals
Part 2 - next month.
=============================================
Fiona Klonarides is the founder and editor of Musiceditor.com, an
online A&R site named by Music Connection in December 2000 as one of
the top music resource sites online for unsigned artists.
http:www.musiceditor.com
============================================
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A Music and Entertainment Expo will be held at the New Jersey
Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, NJ, on April 28-29,
2001. Midway Productions, Inc., promoters of the event, are
currently looking to get the word out to potential exhibitors as
well as attendees.
"There are many opportunities available for everyone," says John Torre,
president of Midway. "For exhibitors, it's a chance to show their goods and
services to the practicing musicians and industry professionals in the New
York - New Jersey metropolitan area. For musicians and industry
professionals, it's a chance to get some great deals on gear, studio time or
online services, to name a few."
There will also be a full-schedule of events taking place on the main
stage at the Music and Entertainment Expo. Highlighting the day on
Saturday,
April 28, will be a special appearance by legendary guitarist Les Paul.
Being billed as "A Conversation With Les Paul," Les will conduct a seminar,
Q& A session, and maybe even sign some autographs.
Various other seminars, improvisational clinics and live performances
will round out the activities on the main stage.
Don't miss out on being a part of this very special event. For more
information on exhibiting or attending, please log onto Midway's website at:
www.midwayproductions.com, or call toll-free at 800-811-4412. While online,
don't forget to sign up for the mailing list for up-to-the-minute news!
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9. CREATING REAL AUDIO FILES by Lynn Carey Saylor - PART 2
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This month's article is a continuation of last month's "Creating Real Audio
Files."
For all of you who followed my instructions and were successful in making
your files, congratulations, you're almost there! Posting them correctly so
that they stream flawlessly is your final step and the subject this of
discussion.
The first thing you'll want to do is to upload one of your newly created .rm
files to your Web server. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will call
this file "hitsong.rm." You'll want to put all of your .rm files in one
place
to keep them organized. I always send mine to the audio folder of my
server.
Using our file "hitsong.rm" and the Web site "anysite.com" as examples, the
URL of the uploaded file into the audio folder would be the following:
http://www.anysite.com/audio/hitsong.rm. Knowing the URL where you have
sent your .rm file is very important to the next step in the process, so
you'll need to make a mental note of it.
The big misconception about Real Audio is that people often think that all
they have to do is upload the song file, link to it and it will stream. That
would be the procedure for other music files such as MIDI files or MP3's,
but
Real Audio works in a different, slightly more complicated way, because
there
is a second file in addition to the .rm that you need to make and upload to
your sever. This is a pointing file (often called a metafile) which will
have the extension .ram. What is a "pointing file," you may ask? It is just
a simple text file that contains the actual URL of where your Real Audio
file
is located on your server. This file is the means by which your Real Audio
file is directed to "stream." Your Web page will therefore contain a link
to
the .ram file, instead of to the actual .rm song file.
To make the pointing file, follow these steps:
1. Open your text editor. I use what is probably the most widely known text
editor, "Notepad."
2. Type in the URL where the file is located. For our example, that would
be the URL: http://anysite.com/audio/hitsong.rm
3. Next, save it to your desktop (or wherever you can easily locate it for
uploading) as the name of your song with the extension .ram
(hitsong.ram).
4. Upload the newly created hitsong.ram pointing file to the audio folder
of
your server (or wherever you uploaded your .rm file to). Remember that
it is an ASCII text file and not binary, so be sure to send it up as
such.
Now you should have two files uploaded to your server - "hitsong.rm" and
"hitsong.ram". You must have both of these files correctly made and uploaded
before completing the final step of how to set up the link on your Web page.
Recall that I mentioned above that you must link to the .ram file and not to
.rm file? This is critical. Your song will only stream if you link to the
pointing file. That file (hitsong.ram) will direct your real audio file
(hitsong.rm) to begin to stream when you click on the link. So type out
what
ever you want on your Web page ("Listen to Real Audio of hitsong here" for
example) and then link the text to the following URL:
http://www.yoursite.com/audio/hitsong.ram
Viola! You've done it! You now have streaming Real Audio on your Web site.
If you missed part one of this tutorial, "Creating Real Audio Files," I will
have it posted at the following link on my Web site:
http://www.guitargirls.com/realaudiotutorial.htm
====================================================
Lynn Carey Saylor is a singer/songwriter/guitarist and co-owner of the
Los Angeles area recording studio, Skip Saylor Recording. Grammy Award
winning records such as k.d. lang's "Ingenue," Guns n' Roses' "Use Your
Illusion I and II" and the track, "Wishing It Was," from the 8x Grammy
Award winning and Album of the Year Santana release, "Supernatural," are
a few in a long list of gold and platinum records that have been mixed
and/or recorded at the facility.
In early 2000, Lynn founded the Web site, GuitarGirls.com, which seeks
to promote up and coming female singer/songwriter/guitarists with her
GuitarGirls Contest as well as to pay homage to such successful female
artists as Sheryl Crow.
If you have a question that you would like Lynn to answer in an
upcoming issue, please e-mail her at: Guitarg...@aol.com
===================================================
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"If you’re looking for a book that gives specifics on craft, reality
checks on the music business and profuse, real-life-examples of what
a song is and how to write one that flows from your mind and speaks from
your heart, BECOMING REMARKABLE is your ticket to ride. " American
Songwriter Magazine
Harriet Schock is a multi-platinum songwriter/recording artist whose songs
have been recorded my numerous artists, nominated for a Grammy and used in
films. Her fourth and fifth cds, American Romance and Rosebud, have recently
been nationally released, as well as her book, BECOMING REMARKABLE.
As well as performing worldwide, she speaks, teaches and consults in person
and via the internet. For further information about her book, cds, concerts
or consultation, go to http://harrietschock.com or call (323) 934-5691.
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10. MP3.COM: A CASE STUDY FOR MUSICIANS ON THE FENCE by David Nevue
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MP3.COM: HYPE OR HOPE?
I'm no stranger to the internet. I've been promoting my music
successfully online for well over six years now. Up to this point
however, I've more or less avoided MP3.com. Why? Well, I've been
somewhat skeptical about my ability to compete with so many other
musicians all in one place. Could I - a simple pianist and composer -
really hope to make a dent on the MP3 charts? It seemed a rather
daunting task. However, a recent article about the financial MP3
success of fellow pianist Ernesto Cortezar spurned me to action! I
needed to get off my butt and get with the program. So, on January 1st
of 2001, I began the new year as an MP3.com artist. This is they story
of my first month.
WHERE THE MONEY IS
Once signed up, my first act was to upload MP3 files of my best songs.
I then did a bit of research into the promotion opportunities
available at MP3.com. There are two primary means of generating
revenue. The first is via MP3's ‘DAM’ (Digital Automatic Music) CD
program. This very cool sales tool allows musicians to mix-and-match
uploaded songs into digital CD ‘collections’ - which can then be sold
to visitors to MP3.com. The artist receives 50% of the retail price
for every CD sold through the site. Even better, once the customer
orders MP3.com does all the work, burning the CD shipping it directly
to the customer.
It took me only a few days however to realize that DAM CDs sales are
actually the least productive means of making money via MP3.com. The
real money is in the famed payback-for-playback program. Every month
MP3.com sets aside a $1 million dollar pot exclusively for member
artists. The more playback activity an artists generates, the bigger
portion of that pot the artist receives. Some artists make literally
thousands of dollars per month using this program. See
http://www.mp3.com/payback for statistics on the highest paid artists.
It's Pretty unbelievable.
But, to make significant money, one needs to generate *serious*
playback numbers. This is done via MP3.com radio stations, of which
there are literally thousands. Sorting through them all is a task, but
the more stations you can get to play your music, the more money you
make, which also results in higher ranking on the MP3 song charts.
This in turn leads to more song exposure, placement on more radio
stations, more radio play, higher rankings, and on it goes in a
continuous circle of promotional bliss. Or at least, that’s the
theory.
MY FIRST MONTH @ MP3.COM
So, having discovered all this basic information, I dove right into
the world of MP3.com. After creating my own page
(http://www.mp3.com/davidnevue) and uploading my songs, I started my
own MP3 radio station and called it ‘Whisperings,’ a solo piano radio
station at http://www.mp3.com/stations/whisperings. On it I featured
my own solo piano compositions as well as songs from other artists in
the same genre. I then promoted this station via my already existing
web sites and mailing lists, while at the same time pitching my songs
individually to other MP3.com radio stations.
It didn't take much time at all to see results. It was actually quite
easy. By the end of the first month, my station ‘Whisperings’ had
reached (at it highest position) #3 on the classical station charts,
#10 on the Easy Listening station charts, and #5 on the Jazz station
charts. One of our songs made it to #2 in it’s specific genre, and I
ranked 4 different songs in the top 40. Wow, that wasn't hard at all.
Using simple promotion strategies and some persistence, I made nearly
$100 at MP3.com in my first month. Here is a day by day account of my
earnings.
Activity Summary for January 2001
Date Plays Earnings
01/01 0 $0.00
01/02 5 $0.00
01/03 3 $0.00
01/04 9 $0.00
01/05 8 $0.00
01/06 14 $0.00
01/07 6 $0.00
01/08 25 $0.00
01/09 42 $2.29
01/10 40 $1.04
01/11 78 $2.23
01/12 53 $1.26
01/13 48 $1.29
01/14 38 $1.08
01/15 45 $1.54
01/16 68 $2.79
01/17 87 $3.11
01/18 167 $3.60
01/19 118 $3.66
01/20 89 $3.33
01/21 112 $4.98
01/22 130 $3.98
01/23 162 $4.27
01/24 109 $2.85
01/25 181 $5.34
01/26 190 $4.60
01/27 197 $7.07
01/28 175 $7.10
01/29 276 $8.23
01/30 303 $9.98
01/31 365 $9.85
Totals 3073 $95.47
Not a bad start at all, and based on the current earnings trend, my
total for February should exceed $300. And, while that isn't exactly a
treasure trove, it is a good beginning to what I hope is long term
growth. But now comes the really hard part - staying on the charts.
Whether or not I can maintain my current station and song positioning
remain to be seen.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR
So, can musicians make money promoting music at MP3.com? You bet. And
with a little effort on your part, it's easier than you might think.
There really no secret to it, but there are a few key elements
certainly help. Here are some tips based on my experience so far:
#1) Take advantage of past successes: I am very fortunate to already
have a very successful music-oriented web site targeted directly to
musicians and music lovers. This really helped get the ‘Whisperings’
station off the ground, generating airplay almost immediately.
#2) Get your fans involved: I have very loyal fan base. To succeed at
MP3.com, I strongly recommend you get your fans involved. You would be
surprised what difference a few dedicated fans can do.
#3) Song titles matter: The only thing you have to draw attention to
your song in the charts is your song title. If you can come up with a
catchy or interesting song title, you're more likely to get curious
listeners. Look over your own song titles - if you had to choose, what
would YOU click on?
#4) Focus your energy: Pick one song - any song with an interesting
title that's well crafted - and promote the snot out of it.
#5) Create multiple stations: Why only have one station? The most
successful artists on MP3.com are creating multiple stations and using
stylistic variations to populate the station charts. Once you get your
first station established, start working on another, and use your
successful station to promote your new station to your repeat
visitors.
#6) Make your stations GOOD stations: You MUST gain station fans and
repeat listeners. Without them your station, even if it gets a good
start, will begin dying a slow death. If the music is lousy, why would
anyone come back? MP3.com artists play a lot of 'put me on your
station and I'll put you on mine' games. Avoid this mentality and
don't include bad music on your station just because the artist
guarantees they'll play your station. If you like the song, fine,
include them, but if it's mediocre at best, then your station will be
mediocre. Your station is only as good as your worse song.
#7) Pitch your best songs to new stations every day. Start the morning
by checking your genre charts to see if any new up-and-coming stations
are on the rise. If so, check them out, see if your music will
fit in the format and if so email the station creator. If you do well,
1 in 5 stations will play your music. The more stations you're on, the
more song plays you'll get. Do realize that some of these stations are
'play for listing' stations - and will demand you listen to them a few
times a week to participate. If the station is a HOT station, that
might be fine to commit to. However, if the station is doing mediocre
in the charts, don't bother. If you do well promoting your music on
MP3.com, you won't have time to listen to every station that agrees to
play your music - so pick and choose wisely.
#8) Encourage your station participants to listen to your own station
- but don't be dogmatic about it. There's nothing wrong with *asking*
your station participants to help out by listening whenever they can.
And, if your station is successful, they'll WANT to help. Everyone
wants to be on a HOT station, so if you become fortunate enough to
make the top 10 or 20, enjoy it, and get your participants involved.
#9) Develop working relationships with your station participants: This
also goes toward #8 above. If your station does well, the artists on
your station will be grateful, and will have a definite incentive to
help you succeed.
So there you have it. After my first month on MP3.com, I'm a believer.
So, if you, like me have been riding the fence about MP3.com, take my
lead - and jump on in.
====================================================
David Nevue is the founder of RainMusic.com and the The Music
Biz Academy (http://www.musicbizacademy.htm). He is also a
professional pianist, recording artist, and author of the book, "How
to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet." You can find his
MP3.com station at http://www.mp3.com/davidnevue
===================================================
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@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Artist: Patti Spadaro
Title: Short Stay
Genre: Rock-Blues
Websites: www.seasonsofwhat.com
http://www.womenofmusicmusicofwomen.com
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1. Give A Little Back
2. Let's Roll
3. Short Stay
4. Watch It Fly
5. Time Enough
6. Preconceptions
====================================================
Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck muzi...@bcn.net is an independent
music reviewer. Keith writes reviews for "Women Of Music-Music
Of Women" as well as several other sites on the Internet.
Reviews, interviews, and articles can be viewed at these sites:
www.musicdish.com
www.theglobalmuse.com
www.2upbeatmag.com
www.lancerecords.com
www.thefritz.com
====================================================
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