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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
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
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
matrixmediaerie@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 mbsmith@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 hein@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) p?nk concerts.
mp3's are available of new albums.
musiceditor.com
Fiona musiceditor2000@yahoo.com
http://www.musiceditor.com
The complete, online A&R resource, new music reviews, and more...
Extreme Online Music Magazine
Roxanne Blanford roxanneb@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 Greg@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 marc5@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) edie@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 stanfordinterview@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 bstone@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 soundwavechildren@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 dmorrissey@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 rick@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
jodi@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 Info@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 vinski@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_musicgroup@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 mpx@search2nite.com
http://www.mpx2000.com
Music Promotion X-tra, The Record Industry's #1 NYC Public Relations
Firm.
Muze
music@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.songs@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
support@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 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 indienews@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 info@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 DeviantAmbition@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 artistrelations@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 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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: Guitargirlsmail@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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ARE YOU AN UNSIGNED ACT, SONGWRITER OR PRODUCER?? Looking for a Record,
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@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
11. WMMW CD OF THE MONTH reviewed by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Artist: Patti Spadaro
Title: Short Stay
Genre: Rock-Blues
Websites: www.seasonsofwhat.com
http://www.womenofmusicmusicofwomen.com
Patti Spadaro plays her heart out, and takes total control on "Short
Stay." She plays lead and rhythm guitar, and steps in to sing on two
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There are six tracks of abundant rock-blues that will get your blood
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Patti Spadaro is just getting started - watch out Susan Tedeschi, she's
knockin' on your door.
1. Give A Little Back
2. Let's Roll
3. Short Stay
4. Watch It Fly
5. Time Enough
6. Preconceptions
====================================================
Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck muzikman@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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