Guerrilla Music Marketing Suggestions

Make fans a birthday card! Remember your fan's birthdays by creating a musical birthday card you create yourself. Email them the card that is imbedded with an mp3 file of a birthday song you wrote. Use old school psychology, (if you can afford it) send a real birthday card to each fan that has a simple chip attached to it with a sound file that begins to play when you open the card. (the technology is now available, such cards are now in many retail stores).You will obviously have to have your database setup to include a place for your fans to give you their birth dates, but after that, at the beginning of every month simply sort out who has a birthday coming up and mail them off. Be sure to do this at least a week before the beginning of each month. Think of how appreciative your fans will be for having been thought of, and as your career and goes on and gets more established, your past musical birthday cards will become valuable collector items.A Sticky Way To Be Remembered Print up promotional "sticky notes" using the Post-It note method for upcoming gigs and send or pass them out to music fans attending live shows. Have your latest shows printed up on them, so fans can use them as reminders to attend your shows and can put them up on their home bulletin boards or refrigerators. You can also use this idea for reminders to buy your latest CD or merchandise you have for sale at your website or live shows.Be The Musical Entertainment For Your Favorite Local Record StoreWork with a local record store that carries your genre of music and ask them about participating in a special "after hours" party and special sale where you get to be the band or artist to supply the music for the event. Have them put your CD on sale at a special price during the party only. Take time to sign autographs, and get the customers to sign up on your mailing/database list. The store can add whatever added incentives they want to make the event a special sale and you get to go along for the ride.Talking House ® Brings Your Music To Unique Places A company called Talking House ® has invented a unique 'broadcasting' tool It was first used by real estate people to transmit descriptions of a house that is for sale. It works like this; a small radio transmitter sits inside a location (such as a local business in your area). Prospects just tune in on their ordinary car radio, while parked out front, and hear a customized broadcast, in this case…your music…while they are nearby.Talking House ® can be used by restaurants, bars, taverns nightclubs, music and record stores, independent fast food restaurants...whatever. You name it, Talking House ® can broadcast it.For more infgormation, call 800-444-8255, fax 920-923-6222 or visit the Web site at http://www.talkinghouse.com/.Free Domain Name Registration SiteThere is an advertiser supported web site offering free registration of domain names. You can inquire about being an advertiser yourself and put up an ad for your CD this way. The web address is http://www.register.com/. Pass the word around to fellow bands/artists and fans that need to register their domain names and they will see an ad for your music when they visit the site.Use Your Business Card To Promote Your Favorite Lyrics On the front cover of a folded card, place a catchy lyric from one of your songs. Inside, or some place other than where your traditional contact information is printed, briefly list information about your CD and other merchandise you have for sale, and where people can buy your releases. (internet, live shows, mail order) On the back get creative and list other interesting facts about yourself or your music than fans and industry people might appreciate knowing about.IMEDIAFAX is right on target Here is a unique way to fax your promotional messages and press releases to the media. Users create a proprietary media list from a selection of magazines, newspapers, syndicates, and broadcast stations. The service, called IMEDIAFAX -- Internet to Media Fax on-line custom news distribution service, can be found at http://www.imediafax.com/.Here's how it works: You make your selection by clicking your mouse on the industry and classification, key editors, states, market area, or circulation. Then enter your news release and click to send. IMEDIAFAX news releases can contain graphics, letterheads, logos or pictures. The cost is 25 cents per faxed page….A bonus is that there are no international phone or fax charges. Become a Music Marketing Matchmaker Maintain a supply of local music related businesses business cards and distribute them to musicians and music lovers you know. Using return address labels, create a sticker that says " referred by (your name or band name here)"Placed on the back of other people's business cards, the stickers reminds the person who you are, and you get great word of mouth name recognition over time, and you've helped a local music related business get some customers, as well as helped your music fans learn about where to get the best local help for the their music needs. The customer is reminded of a cool business, and your name is the first one the prospect hears. ("So and so recommended that I talk to you") Turn Your Fans Onto Other Cool MusicOn your website, (you DO have your own website don't you?) create a section where you and your fellow musicians regularly recommend other local bands and great music that you think your fans would enjoy.The benefit of this is that you are not seen as strictly a selfish musician obsessed with promoting your own music. Your fans will benefit and thank you over time for all the cool music you have turned them onto. On a professional level, as you recommend other bands and acts, they will get the word from others that you have recommended their music. Can't hurt when it comes to finding other artists to perform live with at various gigs.Fax Reminders For Your Live Shows and EventsWhen you create your sign-up sheets for mailing lists be sure to include a place for people to write in their fax machines numbers. Everyone is pretty hip to email these days but the good 'ol fax machine is now in 70% of homes across the country. A few days before each gig, after you have emailed your fans about an upcoming show, send some faxes out to your fans, it is a much more direct way to remind someone of a gig coming up.Flower and Candy Power When you get an important gig, or get somesubstantial radio airplay, think about saying thank you the old fashioned way….with flowers. I can only remember a handful of times over the decades of being in the music business when I was thanked with flowers or candy for having done a favor to help a musician. Believe me, sometimes the corniest ideas are the best ideas. People like getting thanked in this business, and no one would be upset getting a bouquet of flowers or a box of delicious candies….you will be remembered for your kindness and your consideration!Credibility for Small Record LabelsAlmost every new and small record label struggles to gain credibility and recognition. So, use a 'Suite' address, and not a P.O. Box, or an apartment number when you create your business cards, and letterhead stationary, as well as your envelopes. Also, list your title as Promotion Manager, Sales Director, Publicist or something of a similar level, rather than more imposing titles like President, Chairman or CEO titles. Put Your Fans To Work: Street TeamsStreet Teams are the way to go when you don't have a lot of money or time to promote your music. They can be recruited to write articles and reviews about your releases and live shows, and they can be used effectively to get the word out on the street. With your supervision, let them write up press releases, design posters, and get them put up around your city of town. Thank them with free CDs, merchandise, and tickets to your upcoming shows. They will be happy to help you, and feel a real sense of pride in having helped spread the word about your muscic.Be sure to make all submissions your property if used and gain all appropriate publishing rights. Fishing for Leads In addition to providing a simple sign-up sheet for your mailing list that you can have available at all your live shows, consider buying a fishbowl. You know, those road bowls you have seen on the counter of restaurants, where people can drop in their business cards. Do the same at your live shows….Write up a nice sign that mentions you will do a drawing each night for a winner to get your latest CD, if they would drop their business card into the bowl for you.Hotel and Motel PromotionsRemembering your image, and who your fan is, research hotels and motels in the areas that you are going to be touring and arrange with the appropriate lodgings to have free copies of your CD put on the pillow of the guests who are staying there. This is especially important to do when you are going to any of the many music industry conferences and seminars that are held around the country. This is a great idea because it costs the hotels and motels nothing, and depending on your budget, you have just exposed your music to potentially hundreds of music lovers.Create a Links Page On Your Website Create a part of your website that has links on it for other interesting music related websites. Plug it in your fan newsletter and in your promotional materials. Ask your fans to recommend their favorite music websites, and create an exchange of ideas with your fans. Perhaps give a free CD to the best link suggestion of the month.Give Your CDs Away At Your Live Shows…..But…I am a big fan of selling CDs at live shows, but for those of you just starting out, and doing your first gigs, perhaps the way to go is to announce from the stage that you are giving away free CDs to the first 25 people that sign-up on your mailing list. That way you get the fan's name and contact information, and they get some free music of yours to listen to, and hopefully tell their friends about. Partner With Your Local Record StoreContact a favorite local independent record store, and ask them to donate a few gift certificates. Tell them that in exchange, at concerts you will promote their store as a supporter of local music and even pass out circulars for the store at your live shows. On the back of the gift certificate include your own offer for a buck or two off your CD. This works, I know…I use to own a independent record store and I loved doing this type of local promotion with favorite acts because it got new customers into my store, and it got the band another fan. We were both winners. School PromotionsContact local high schools and colleges and donate copies of your CD to the school libraries. If your schools have music programs, donate copies to them as well to be given away to the students. (Musicians worry too much about making money from every promotional opportunity they think of. My idea is that just like those supermarkets that give-a-way free samples of crackers and cheese and sandwiches, you have to give away your music at first so people can hear what you sound like. After you create a fanbase, then you've got 'em hooked and they will be more willing to buy future releases, merchandise, and tickets to your shows.)Promote Your Music Around Special Holidays and EventsGet a copy of Chase's Calendar of Events (buy the book by email: Bookserve@aol.com) to discover all sorts of holidays and "awareness weeks" that apply to almost any business. The idea is to scan the list and see how many of these events you might be able to use for a charitable gig, a networking opportunity, or sources for paid performances and promotional parties.A New Spin On College and Non Commercial Radio PromotionsOn the left hand side of the dial from 88.1 FM to 91.9 FM you will find a lot of college radio stations, and other non-commercial broadcasters. Check them out. Most of them have dozens of specialty music shows and certainly a few of those will be playing your style and genre of music. Instead of just begging them for airplay, approach a specialty show host and tell him or her that you want to promote their show on your website and other promotional materials. Tell them how much you enjoy their show, and give them a copy of your music, but without any pressure to play it…let that happen organically. As they get more listeners and feedback on how people heard about their show, you get some of the credit, and have begun a real relationship with the show and the station.Also, don't be afraid to ask if they are a listener supported station. When I was the station manager of a college radio station in Seattle, during our pledge drives we had many artists and bands donating a percentage of their live show performance fees to the station. Why? Because smart musicians realize the value of supporting their local non-commercial stations.

Sell Your Music Online, Part 1

CD Baby is a little online record store that sells CDs by independent musicians.
[Independent: (adj.) Not having sold one's life, career, and creative works over to a corporation.]
We're just a few people in a cool Portland, Oregon, CD warehouse that looks like a playground. We listen to every CD we sell before we sell it, so we can help you find other albums you'll like.
We only sell CDs that come directly from the musicians. No distributors. Musicians send us CDs. We warehouse them, sell them to you, and pay the musicians directly.
Cool thing: in a regular record deal or distribution deal, musicians only make $1-$2 per CD, if they ever get paid by their label. When selling through CD Baby, musicians make $6-$12 per CD, and get paid weekly.
In business since March 1998. We're the 2nd-largest seller of independent CDs on the web, 2nd only to Amazon.
Current Numbers:
25,116 artists sell their CD at CD Baby.
292,495 CDs sold online to customers.
$1,949,539.35 paid to artists.
CD Baby Privacy Policy
We NEVER give or sell your personal info to any other company - EVER! (No not even your email address!)
Only the musician whose CD you buy will know who you are.
If you don't even want the musician to know about you, just say so at the bottom of your order form.
Your credit card info is never stored, and never seen by anyone. We don't store it in your permanent customer info. The card number is erased immediately after the sale, for extra protection. There is nothing of yours here to steal.
Yes this means you'll have to type your card number again when you return, but we hope you appreciate the extra safety and privacy it gives you.
Tech things
Our servers are running 100% OpenBSD - the world's most secure operating system. Powered by Apache, PHP, and MySQL.
No Microsoft products were used in the creation of this website.
Full 128-bit secure SSL connection protects all of your private information from snooping eyes. Our secure certificate issued by Thawte - a division of Verisign.
We try to stay HTML 4.0 compliant. No special web browser needed. (I recommend the Opera and Mozilla web browsers for their speed and standards.)
CD Baby website (front end and back end) made by me - Derek Sivers. It's my favorite hobby.
Most important of all...
You can reach us during Pacific west-coast business hours at (503)595-3000 or email cdbaby@cdbaby.com anytime.
Garageband.com and CD Baby (Note: You can obviously deal directly with Cdbaby.com if you prefer…CK)Garageband Records has partnered with CDBaby.com so you can sell your CDs to hundreds of thousands of music lovers around the world. First you need to register or log in then we can begin. It costs just $35 per CD to register. You can sell your CDs for any price, and you'll keep 100% of the earnings minus a $4 processing charge per CD (all prices $US). So you'll be making clean profit after you've sold just five CDs at $10 each. You can do that easily, right?1. Get some CDs together. Looking for a good CD mastering service? garageband.com artists get 20% discount at Airshow Mastering on a Master Media package. Need some CDs duplicated? garageband.com artists get a $50 discount at OasisDuplication when they purchase a single speed glass cutting.2. First you need to register or log in then we can begin. We'll create a custom "Album Profile" page for you at garageband.com and CDBaby.com. You can enter your sleeve notes, and select the tracks on your album that are also on garageband.com. You can link to this page from your own website, so all your visitors can buy your CDs.3. Set a price for your CD. We recommend a maximum price of $10 (because that's the price of most big label debut CDs) but you can set whatever price you want ($4 minimum). You get 100% of the selling price less a $4 processing charge for every sale. For example: CD Selling Price What you get $10 $6 $9 $5 $8 $4 $7 $3 $6 $2 $5 $1 4. You mail at least 5 CDs to CDBaby.com's warehouse, and make a payment of $35.5. CDBaby scans your album's cover art for display on your album profile page.6. We promote and sell your CD at garageband.com.7. People buy your CD.8. CDBaby handles all credit card transactions, fulfills all orders within 24 hours, and notifies you via email once every transaction is complete.9. CDBaby mails checks to you. (You can decide how often they send you checks, of $20 or more).10. You earn millions, run away with Jennifer Lopez, develop a Godzilla-sized drug habit, lose track of the plot, dump Lopez for an aardvark and spend the next forty years living under an abandoned trampoline.*First you need to register or log in then we can begin.(*Important note: Step 10 optional).Hostbaby.com(spinoff of Cdbaby.com)For $20/month you get...Basic Features:1. You can register and own your own domain name (www.yourname.com) for only $20 instead of the usual $70. As long as you're out there promoting your music and your website, you should own it! It's not just for vanity. It's for permanence. So you'll have the same web address even 10 years from now. So - pick a domain name, and we'll register it for you for only $20! We worked out a quantity deal. Instead of the $70 it would cost to do it yourself, it's just $20 per year. And yes YOU own it, not us. To find one that's available, go to Network Solutions and try 'em out! But don't register it there. Just do your research there. When you find which one you want, let us know, and we'll take care of the rest. If you already have a working website somewhere, we'll be glad to transfer it over for you to your new home.2. We can transfer your exisiting website easily, with no interruption. Whether you registered your domain name yourself, or someone registered it for you, we'll be glad to do the technical stuff to move it over to hostbaby. We can even do an instant clone of your old site on to your new one, so that there will be no interruption at all, and you won't have to re-upload everything. Since everyone's situation is different, just email us with your domain name, and any other info, and let us know what you'd like to do3. You get 200 megs of web space to do whatever you want. You're in total control of it. That's enough for TONS of MP3 files, photos, RealAudio, even video clips. You'll have total control over it. You can FTP upload (and download) anything you want there.4. Endless permanent email addresses like you@yourname.com - so you'll never have to change your email address again. You know what a drag it is to change your email address, especially as you're out promoting your music. Liner notes on your CD, reviews in magazines.... These things are going to be around for years, so what you really need is a permanent email address. When you own your own domain name, you keep your email address no matter where you go. You can drop AOL, switch to cable modem, switch to sattellite, switch to gamma-ray access in the year 2053, and your email address will STILL be you@yourname.com. (even if you leave hostbaby.com - your name is yours!) You can give an endless amount of private email accounts for friends, or different aspects of your business. (Example: you@yourname.com, junklist@yourname.com, bookings@yourname.com, guitarist@yourname.com) And you don't need our help or permission to do this. You'll be in control of your own account to do whatever you want. These are *real* personal private POP3 Email accounts. Not web-email like Hotmail. Real email that you can check in powerful email programs like Eudora and Outlook Express.5. Streaming RealAudio and MP3. CGI scripts. The works. Your website can now do any fancy stuff you ever dreamed of. If you've worked with some other web-hosting companies, you know that whenever you want to do something cool, they either tell you, you can't do it, or they try to charge you extra. At hostbaby you can do CGI scripts, streaming RealAudio, FrontPage extensions, telnet, FTP server, server-side includes, forms, counters - ANYTHING. (Ok - anything except Microsoft-only things like Access and ASP. We only use Linux servers, no Microsoft. But we can do Microsoft FrontPage extensions.) So, in short, if you're wondering if your new website can do ______[fill in the blank]_____ - the answer is YES.6. A very VERY fast connection on a powerful and reliable Linux webserver. Your website will be in this big corporate Qwest bandwidth building, right next to servers for sites like internet.com. We have an OC-48 connection from our servers out to the internet. That's 48 times faster than a T3. That's 2.4 gigs a second. That's about 800 MP3 files in one second. What that really means is your website will come up lightning-fast.Your fans will appreciate it. Your sound clips will play without stuttering. Your site itself will be much faster than anyone's modem, no matter how many people are connected. The webserver itself is a Linux Cobalt RaQ. It's strong, reliable, efficient, bug-free, and almost never goes down.7. No setup fee. First month is free so you can see if you like it. Not many details on this one. There's no fine print or exceptions. We think you'll be VERY happy with hostbaby, so we'll get it all set up for you, and give you the first month for free. If you like everything up to that point, you can start paying $20 / month the next month. You do have to pay $10 to register your own domain name, if you don't have one already. Other than that, everything else mentioned here is free! There will be no extra charge for all the extra musician features of hostbaby.MUSICIAN section features: THE BEST PART8. The REAL mission of hostbaby: To give you musicians' most-needed tools, right on your own website. As I got my own webserver for CD Baby, I started learning all the things you could do with it. I realized that all these things that other companies ask you to do on THEIR websites, YOU can do on your OWN website. And wouldn't you rather keep your fans on your own site, instead of sending them away to other sites filled with banner ads and things meant to distract them? So - I'll be constantly configuring our webservers to let you do anything you want on your own website, and not be dependent on other companies. (So far: tour calendars, mailing list managers, guestbooks, password-protected MP3 files. If you have ideas for more, let us know!) EXAMPLE: Want a concert calendar? No problem! Emailing list manager? Guestbook? Hit-counters? Password-protected MP3 files? All these things are ready-to-go on your own site. 9. Hostbaby Musician Modules. NOTE: We're opening the doors to hostbaby a few weeks before the last of the modules are ready. So if you're interested, let's get you set up with a basic site first, then add these special features in a few weeks. All you'll need to do is add a few cut-n-paste lines into your HTML code to do anything below. Or we can do it for you if you get stuck.CONCERT CALENDAR: You have a private area on your site where you enter your upcoming concert dates. Then just stick one line in your HTML code like "show_upcoming_dates" and voila! Your page shows your upcoming concert dates in a pretty little customizable table. And since the website knows what day it is, it automatically moves past your past dates into a "show_past_dates" page. (So you don't have to worry about updating all the time.) EMAIL LIST MANAGER: Instead of sticking everyone you know into the "CC:" field of your Outlook email program, an email list manager on your site will let you email some or all of your contacts, using their name right in the email itself. You can send announcements that say "Dear Bethany..." and "Dear Evan..." instead of "Dear Fans and Friends...". And you keep your contacts safely on your own website, so you can access them from anywhere on the road. MAILING-LIST SIGNUP: No need to sit and struggle with forms and CGI scripts to do things with forms. We've got it all done, and ready to put on your site in any way you'd like. Fans can fill out their info to be on your mailing list. It can get emailed to you and auto-added to your email list (described above.) CONCERT DIARIES: Coming soon: A true concert diary, updated on your site. Write up a few memoirs about each show you do. Perhaps upload a few photos from the show. Fans that were there can talk in a bulletin board about that show, or all your shows. Fans can even upload their own photos of the show. MEMBER-ONLY MP3 DOWNLOADS: Ever wonder who's listening to the sound clips on your site? You can require people to quickly fill out their email address and first name before downloading. They can't download your MP3 files (or any file you choose) until they're authorized with a working email address. HIT COUNTERS, GUESTBOOKS, MORE... More things like this to come soon. All on your own site, and totally customizable.10. And of course we'll always give you all the tools and knowledge we can, from one musician to another, to help you promote, design, and run your site for maximum results. Can you imagine if everyone that visited your website signed up to your mailing list, came to a show, and bought your CD? Since hostbaby is all about helping musicians have great websites, we'll always give you all the tools and knowledge we can. Books, articles, examples, advice, etc... CD StreetE-Commerce enable your site to SELL your music merchandise securely within 24 to 48 hours by joining cdstreet! Sell your music, plus all your music-related merchandise through cdstreet.com: CDs, T-Shirts, Caps Vinyl, Cassettes, VHS Tapes, DVDs -- All Your Swag! In addition, our basic service includes a storefront in our site with customizable web pages.Here's the BASIC Deal:
Your URL: www.cdstreet.com/artists/name
Sell as Many Different Products as you wish with no additional setup fee.
Take Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and JCB
Add/Remove Products and Change Prices at Will - No Cost
You keep 80% of the sale, we keep 20%.
Email notification of sale in realtime, same for buyers.
We report barcoded item sales to SOUNDSCAN Each Week
Simple online administration tools
Offer buyers our 1-800 number for orders
Get paid monthly for your net sales
Manage the Entire Look and Feel of your cdstreet Artist page with a full library of administrative tools and login options.
Non-exclusive service agreement
We Ship Your Orders or You Can:Its your choice. cdstreet ships every day of the week at no cost to you. Fast shipping makes buyers happyEnable Secure Ordering for Your Site (optional & free): We can provide code for you to place within your own website so that you can create your own custom cdstreet order form in your own site. Purchases initiated from your site with this code go directly to the shopping cart and checkout. No intermediate store page outside of your site like Amazon. Buy-Buttons for your pages on other websites to sell your music. These are easily added to your MP3.com pages or any other site where you wish to sell your wares. Upgrade to Enhanced Cart Package:For a one-time upgrade fee of $19.95, you can co-brand the entire cart ordering process, from "add cart" to "checkout." Your logo and identity is prominently displayed in all shopping cart and checkout pages.
Indie Labels:We now offer a multi-artist record label solution on cdstreet.com for a one-time setup fee of $24.95. With this option, your label has unique cdstreet pages, and each artist has their own pages.Label URL: www.cdstreet.com/labels/name Label's Artist's URL: www.cdstreet.com/artists/name Consolidated payments, accounting and management for labels Releases and merchandise can be sold at label pages, site and from individual artist pages. With only cdstreet Basic service, all is displayed on label page and site without individual identity for artists With the Multi-Artist Label Solution, you have artist pages for each artist you manage.MP3.comWhat Does MP3.com Offer Artists and Labels?A Non-Exclusive Agreement: Digital artists retain control of their master recordings and can terminate the agreement at any time. We have always been deeply dedicated to the artist community. We strive to create the best online experience for digital artists and provide incentives to post their music on our site. Today, digital artists from all over the world come to MP3.com to gain exposure and leverage our salesand marketing tools to generate revenue in a variety of exciting ways. Increased Exposure: For digital artists, exposure to a global and local audience is secured through the natural boundless reach of the Internet. We enhance their distribution and promotional power with artist web pages that provide the ability to post songs and control the online image. Tools and services have been created that facilitate direct interaction with an artist's growing fan base, allowing targeted messaging and opportunities to announce upcoming concerts or new song releases.With close to a million visitors accessing our site daily, MP3.com offers exceptional opportunities for digital artists and recording labels to generate exposure and ultimately build profits. Digital artists are promoted in Station pages, consumer newsletters, news articles, MP3.com promotional CDs and other MP3.com-related media. FREE Artist Web Page and Unlimited Disk Space: All artists receive their own web page at no cost! Digital artists can add songs, band logo, album graphics, band history, song lyrics, photo album, favorite music, links to their fan club and more. Our simple, easy-to-use interface helps digital artists add songs and make changes in just seconds! Artist sign-up Label sign-up. Feature Compilations in Each Genre: We select various artists to be part of our online genre compilations. In addition, each genre section on MP3.com has featured artists who change regularly. Check out our online store to see some of the genre compilations we currently offer. CD Program: A fast, FREE way to make and sell CDs that puts a lot more control in the hands of artists! Produce an MP3/CD formatted CD along with its online counterpart, the netCD, which loads instantly into your password-protected My.MP3 account. Payback for Playback: Payback for Playback is an exciting promotion that rewards members of the Premium Artist Service with cash, based on song plays. In the two years of its existence, the promotion has continued to encourage Artists to promote their music globally using a variety of tools at their disposal.Premium Artist Service: Digital artists already know MP3.com offers a broad range of free tools to help effectively market themselves. Now digital artists you have the opportunity to enjoy even more tools and services signing up for Premium Artist Service.Track Your Success Daily: To hone these marketing and revenue-generating opportunities, we provide daily, detailedstatistics about web page visits, number of song listens and downloads, CDs sold and more to enable digital artists to better define, evaluate and connect with their fan base. Artist Tools and Services: Music Greetings, advertising tools, MP3.com Messenger services, ticketing services, event planning and merchandising services. Music Licensing: Sign up for MP3.com's Music Licensing service, a low-touch, searchable database system that enables MP3.com digital artists to license their music for commercial use (films, radio, TV, web sites). This service offers music supervisors one-stop "search, sample and license" capabilities. Promo Auctions: Eligible artists now have another cost-effective way to market their music and potentially earn a share of the monies available in the Payback for Playback pool made available to them each month by MP3.com. In much the same way that food distributors procure premium placement on store shelves, eligible artists and labels who are seeking additional exposure on MP3.com are participating in an online auction process to secure high-visibility positioning throughout MP3.com's web site. The Promo Auction process can be viewed by visiting www.mp3.com/auction. Event Calendars: Keep fans posted and drive people to shows and concerts with our free calendar service. Digital artists can add and change their event dates to make sure audiences stay informed of when they are be coming to town. Invite them to shows, notify them about tours, CD release parties and any other planned event. Advocacy for Artists on the Internet: MP3.com has taken a leading role helping artists distribute and promote their music on the Internet. We host the annual MP3 Summit and participate in numerous conferences and events promoting digital music.
Amazon.com's Advantage For Music ProgramWhy Join?
The Power of the Internet's No. 1 Music RetailerAmazon.com is the Internet's No. 1 retailer and has customers in all 50 U.S. states and more than 160 countries around the world. The name Amazon.com is immediately recognized for service, reliability, and security. Amazon.com is the No. 1 retailer on the Web according to PC Meter ratings (which measure audience reach much like TV's Nielsen ratings). With so many people searching for music on our site, your CD is more likely to be discovered by new fans.Completely Free to Enroll--No Exclusive ContractsThere is absolutely no cost to join Amazon.com Advantage. The only thing you have to pay for is shipping your CDs to us when we reorder. Plus, there are no exclusive agreements, so you aren't limited in how or where you market and sell your music.Get Your Own Web Page on Amazon.com--Just Like Major-Label Artists When you join Advantage, you get your own Web page listed on Amazon.com alongside those for major-labelartists. Your page includes track listings, cover art, customer reviews, liner notes, and more to attract and educate potential customers who may not be familiar with your music. When you have a Web page at Amazon.com, fans always know where they can buy your CD. Amazon.com is one of the most recognized and trusted names on the Web. People know our reputation for security and customer service. Just say, "Look for me on Amazon.com," and they'll be able to find you.Upload MP3s to Help Sell CDs With Amazon.com's Digital Music Network, you can upload MP3 tracks of your music for posting and free download by Amazon.com's visitors. By putting free MP3 uploads of your music in front of millions of Amazon.com customers every day, you're giving a passionate audience of music fans the chance to discover your sound--and to buy your CD. To enter the Digital Music Network, click here.Your songs can earn you money with the Amazon Honor System The Amazon Honor System lets you collect tips from fans who listen to your free digital downloads. It's like playing beside an open guitar case in the heart of the Amazon.com Music store. Set up an Amazon Honor System account and start making money today. Quick Shipping and FulfillmentYou want to catch fans when they're excited about your music. With Amazon.com Advantage, we keep your CDs in stock at our distribution centers for fast shipping anywhere in the world, usually within 24 hours. It's been proven that items available for immediate shipping sell more copies than ones that can't be shipped forseveral weeks.Cover Art, Track Listings and Liner NotesOn the Internet, information sells. The more a potential customer knows about your music and your CD, the more likely they are to make a purchase. That's why Amazon.com Advantage gives you the ability to include track listings, cover art, and liner notes on your page--all at no charge. We'll even scan your cover art for free! When a customer comes to your page, they can see your CD cover, view your track listings, read the liner notes, and even read your comments about the CD. These critical elements bring your CD to life on the Internet.Make It Easier for Customers to Discover Your CDYou'll have two kinds of customers who purchase your CD from Amazon.com: 1) people who already know your music and 2) people who are browsing our site for something new and cool. The people who know your music will type your name or the title of your CD into our search engine and find you directly. The people who don't know you need to be directed to your page. When you join Amazon.com Advantage, we classify your CD so that it qualifies to show up on our Indie Music browse lists. Our Indie Music Store showcases new artists and independent labels to help fans in search of the next big thing in music. We have hundreds of Indie Music browse lists, ranging from proto-punk to classical to Christian to bebop jazz, so there's likely one that's perfect for your CD. Classifying your music properly gives you the chance to stand out in your specific genre.Online Sales and Inventory ReportsWhen you join Amazon.com Advantage, you get access to our secure server, which is updated daily with full sales reports for all the titles you've enrolled in Amazon.com Advantage. It's a wealth of information that's simply not available from other music stores.You will be able to see:
Unit sales last month
Unit sales this month
Current inventory
Status of the last order that Amazon.com placed with you to replenish our inventory
Amount of your next payment
This information is updated daily, so you'll always know how your titles are selling and how much Amazon.com owes you.Automatic ReorderingWhen our inventory shows that we're running out of stock on your titles, our ordering software willautomatically send you an e-mail requesting more copies. This way we can keep your CD on hand and available to "usually ship within 24 hours." We continually adjust the number of copies we order from youbased on the recent sales performance of your CD.Easy Restocking and Hassle-Free FulfillmentMaking and promoting a great CD is time-consuming, hard work. So don't hassle with tedious details and chores such as shipping, credit card fulfillment, phone calls, and packaging costs. Amazon.com takes care of it or you--completely free of charge. Amazon.com serves the world, so you only have to restock one store to make sure all of your customers can get your CD. When we start to sell out of your CD, we'll send you an e-mail requesting more. You mail the copies to us and you're done!Amazon.com saves you time that could be better spent on what you do best: making and marketing yourmusic.Quick Payment TermsWith Amazon.com Advantage, payment to you is quick and easy. At the end of each month, Amazon.com automatically sends you a check for the copies sold during the previous month. You don't even need to invoice us. Also, you can always check online to see how your CDs are selling and how much we owe you.Access to Our Marketing Resource CenterAmazon.com Advantage is a powerful marketing tool for the independent musician. And like most things, you get out of it what you put into it. The more time and energy that you as an artist put into self-promotion, the more successful you will be selling on Amazon.com. Advantage members can access our Marketing Resource Center, an online information center for independent musicians, authors, and filmmakers. Inside you'll find information on everything from packaging your CD for shipment to offline guerrilla marketing tactics to tips and success stories from Advantage members who have succeeded in selling their music directly.We also give you free information and expert assistance with manufacturing your CD through Disc Makers, our recommended audio manufacturer. Part 2...……………………………..So, there you go for this month. I have done a lot of work for you, as far as giving you 'from the horse's mouth' what these web music distribution companies have to offer. Now, the real work begins. But remember, you must decide which of these company's best suit your online music marketing needs. I am not recommending that use all of them. Take it slow and easy at first and add a new Internet marketing company to your mix, as you feel comfortable doing so.I have been saying for years now that the Internet is the future for independent musicians. All I can do is try to get you fired up about how many opportunities there are for you to promote your music. However, I have never felt more confident about the power of the web to kick-start a music marketing campaign then I do now. Please note, there are several other websites and companies that may help you get the word out about promoting and selling your music over the Internet. www.muze.com, www.soundbuzz.com, and www.peoplesound.com (purchased by Vitaminic) may be worth your while as well, but I concentrated on the sites I did, because they seemed to me to be the most successful for indie musicians. If you find them useful…great.If you would like some first-hand feedback from a musician who knows what companies are best at selling and promoting music online, I would suggest you go check out David Nevue's website www.musicbizacademy.com . David has been using many of these companies with various degrees of success, and he might be a good jumping off point for deciding which company to try first.Web marketing is only a part of your entire music marketing. Online activities must go hand in hand with your offline touring, publicity, radio, and other distribution and sales activities in the 'analog' world. But I sincerely believe that many of the companies I have introduced you to can go a long way to establishing and promoting you as a successful entrepreneurial musician in this new millennium.Let me know how things are going!

The Devaluation of Music

I've become greatly concerned that music is no longer considered to be magical, and I suspect I'm not alone in this belief. Music has become a mere commodity and is not valued for the exciting, emotional experience it's capable of creating. A number of things happened recently that have confirmed this realization.

When I was growing up, it took a number of weeks' allowance for me to afford to buy an album -- bought as a stack of five or six 78s in those days -- of whatever music I was into at the time. As I grew older, buying music became a regular habit, if not an illness. Music has always filled my life in one way or another. When I was not working in the theatre (my original choice for a career) I had a standing invitation from the senior record executive at Doubleday Bookstores in New York to sell records in the music department at whichever of their Manhattan locations I was needed. I think I spent most of my salary there buying LPs at wholesale prices.

At my brother's urging I eventually chose the record business for my career and joined him at Elektra. Over the years I've continued to spend a lot of money purchasing music in the currently prevailing format. My home is filled with row upon row of LPs and CDs, almost all of which were paid for with cold, hard cash, although some have been gifts from friends in the industry. That's after I've given away countless cartons of music to libraries in the Los Angeles area.

Music has an incomparable value to me -- as inspiration, pure melodic enjoyment, intellectual exercise (there's nothing quite like analyzing the structure of a Bach fugue to invigorate your mind) and as the background to just plain living.

But what I see happening today is mind-numbing and extremely dangerous to our industry.

Commercial music has become a tool for businesses to use as a come-on to something else. For example. It's just been announced that Adidas, the giant sport shoe manufacturer, is planning a summer download promotion. Though plans were not finalized, according to a June 8 piece in Digital Music News, "the concept will involve download giveaways on a customized Adidas microsite, and various advertising tie-ins related to the destination." Here's music being devalued for the benefit of selling sneakers!

An article by Lars Brandle in the June 9 issue of Billboard discusses a clash over "covermounts" in the U.K. These are free CDs that are attached to covers of magazines, and more recently, newspapers. "The issue has long been the subject of debate between labels and retailers here, while trade body the Music Managers Forum has been particularly vocal about its negative aspects.

"'How ludicrous it is that the music industry are shouting about illegal downloading,' Music Managers Forum chairman Jazz Summers asks, "but they're giving [music] away for free on the cover of a paper? It's the same thing."

The Billboard article discloses that, on a recent Sunday, the national Mail gave away 3 million copies of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" as part of the newspaper. Free, but for the purchase of something to wrap your garbage in!

I read quite a few news stories last week about a deal that Warner Music Group is making with Lala.com that will allow anyone to listen to WMG music for free. Robert Levine, in The New York Times on June 5, writes that Lala "will make the vast majority of albums in the Warner Music catalog available at its site as audio 'streams,' which can be heard online but not downloaded. Although listening to those streams will be free for consumers, Lala.com will pay Warner a royalty each time a user listens to a song."

You may remember Lala as the site where fans can trade their used CDs for a fee, further devaluing the CD, and the music it contains.

Let's not forget about big-box chains like Wal-Mart and Best Buy that sell CDs at bargain, loss-leader, prices in order to generate traffic in their stores. These prices are usually at or below their cost, making it a lot tougher for other music retailers, who need to sell CDs at higher prices, in order to stay in business.

Then there's radio. Stations that exist primarily for playing music pay only for performance rights -- at annual fees set by ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. They do not pay for specific songs or compositions, and more important, they do not pay record labels for use of the recorded masters. This is something that prevails only in the U.S. In almost all other nations in the world, radio stations pay record labels for use of their music.

To me, music is an emotional, and thought-provoking experience, and I hate seeing how it's become devalued.

I'm curious how others in the record business perceive what I believe is an extremely serious trend that threatens our entire industry. I invite your comments and opinions, and if there are enough provocative responses, I'll compile them for a future newsletter

10 Things to Do Before Your Release Your CD

Following are, in no particular order, 10 important things you should do before you release your album:

1. If you are hiring musicians (background singers, instrumentalists, etc.) to play on your album, you will need to make sure they fill out a musicians release agreement or talent release form. This agreement is not necessary for musicians that own their own record label, are performing on their own albums, and will pay for and release the albums themselves. It is used more for the “hired guns” than group members.

2. All writers and publishers involved should fill out a songwriter publisher share letter of agreement that spells out their writer and publisher shares. This agreement is a document that all writers and publishers should sign and keep for their records. Any money made from the songs (except for money paid to the writers and publishers by their respective Performing Rights Organizations) should be split up according to what is spelled out in this agreement.

3. All involved songwriters should fill out a form PA and register their work (the songs) with the U.S. Copyright Office .

4. The artists / performers or the record producer (or both), unless Musician Release Agreements have been signed, should fill out a form SR and register the album (sound recording) with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you are the writer and performer / producer on the album, you can fill out just one Form SR instead of both forms.

5. Register for an Internatinal Standard Recording Code (ISRC) for your songs. If you are not based in the United States, visit here to find the ISRC Agency in your territory. The ISRC is a unique international identifier for the songs (tracks) on your album and functions as a digital “fingerprint” for each track. Unlike a Universal Product Code (UPC), the ISRC is tied to the track and not the carrier of the track (CD, cassette, etc). The ISRC is usually inserted onto the CD master during the CD mastering session.

6. If you include songs on your album that you have not written yourself (i.e. covers), you will need to obtain a Mechanical License from the Harry Fox Agency (via Songfile ) that will allow you to manufacture and distribute up to 2,500 copies to the public. If you happen to know the songwriter(s) yourself, you can negotiate a fee directly with them or just write up a Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License and issue it to them.

7. If you wish to have your own UPC Bar Code, you can get one from GS1 US . Several companies, for example CD manufacturers, will offer you a UPC Bar Code free with their services. Keep in mind that in these cases the UPC Bar Code will belong to the CD manufacturer. If you produce another album, it will not have a UPC Bar Code unless you get another one from them or someone else. Having your own Uniform Code Council account will allow you to assign all your music-related products a unique UPC Bar Code in your company’s name.

8. As a songwriter and/or publisher, in order to get paid for the performances of your songs on radio, TV, in nightclubs, airlines, elevators, jukeboxes, etc., you should join a Performing Rights Organization (PRO). In the United States, you can join ASCAP or BMI . Another U.S. PRO is SESAC , but affiliation with SESAC is by invitation only (subject to review by their writer / publisher relations staff).

9. As a Sound Recording Copyright Owner (SRCO – e.g. artist, producer, record label), in order to get paid for non-interactive digital transmissions on cable, satellite and web cast services, you should join SoundExchange .

10. Add your songs to the Gracenote Media Database . When correctly added, song titles and artist names will be displayed on media players (e.g. home stereos, computer media players, satellite and terrestrial radio, mp3 players, cell phones and other wireless devices, etc.) that take advantage of the Gracenote Media Database data. Alternatively, you can use a freedb-aware program to upload your songs into the database.

MySpace Music Marketing

It's one of the great Internet success stories of the modern era. With tens of millions of registered users and hundreds of thousands of music acts setting up free profiles on the site, MySpace.com has become a godsend for countless independent artists.
MySpace is now one of the top five most popular web sites on the planet -- right up there with Google, Yahoo and Ebay in total visitors and page views. Click here to see the latest web rankings.

This should go without saying, but ...

If you aren't promoting your music on MySpace yet, you need to start -- fast!
If you already have a MySpace artist profile, you need to make the best use of it so you get the maximum exposure possible.
For the past few months I've been researching MySpace and uncovering how the most successful acts use it to reach thousands of fans, make connections, and advance their music careers. What I discovered along the way is that most artists misuse the many free features that MySpace offers and simply don't squeeze the most potential out of them.

I searched far and wide for useful how-to information on MySpace music marketing ... and couldn't find any. So I decided to publish it myself. Therefore, to help you reach thousands of new fans and make valuable music biz contacts on MySpace, I just published a 65-page, first-ever, one-of-a-kind report called...

MySpace Music Marketing:
How to Promote & Sell Your Music on the World's Biggest Networking Web Site
How to Set Up a Killer MySpace Profile

What most bands do WRONG with their profile headline
Insider tips on fine-tuning your MySpace profile for MAXIMUM PUNCH
How to use the "Influences" and "Sounds Like" sections to reach your ideal raving fans
The one thing you MUST DO with your song files
An awesome song sample trick hardly anyone is doing
What you really should -- AND SHOULDN'T -- do with your default photo
How to maximize your Profile Settings
Special resources to help you spice up your profile's look and feel (with an important WORD OF WARNING)
Using MySpace to Turbo-Charge Your Indie Music Career

The 7 types of "Friends" you need to make on MySpace
How the most successful bands build huge and loyal friend lists
Four ways to uncover your ideal MySpace friends and music biz contacts
Top tips for sending and receiving friend requests
The "Smart Way" and the "Dumb Way" to leave comments
Three things you need to know about sending and receiving MySpace messages
Why you need to post Bulletins and add your Upcoming Shows to the calendar -- and how to do it effectively
Advice on posting killer content to your blog and joining MySpace groups
Why you should create your own MySpace group to attract fans like magnets
The best ideas on working the Forums and posting in the free Classifieds section
More hot tips on uploading your videos, scouring the MySpace Music Directory, and using Music Search

How to Write and Send a Press Release

In the music business, the press release (or news release) is a common tool used to bring an artist or business "free" publicity. Basically, a press release is a simple, neat-looking sheet that provides news to reporters, editors, and other media people. Any publication you get from your press release will be free, so it's easy to see why writing a good press release is a valuable skill.


When To Use A Press Release

You can use a release to notify the media about any sort of happening - such as a new CD release, special gig, or label signing. The key thing to remember is, this is supposed to be "news", so your press release needs to be "newsworthy".

So what is newsworthy? Well, that requires a little research into your media contacts. What types of stories or articles are usually published? Will the readers of the publication care about your music? You need to target your releases to proper sources - that is, someone who actually cares about your news. If you continually send announcements of gigs to a paper that does not print calendar listings, it will be a total waste of time... your time, and the editor's, which is unlikely to make you popular around the paper's offices.

Make sure you do your homework and find out what kind of topics get coverage in each media outlet. Naturally you will send a press release announcing your new CD to the local music paper. But you will also want to explore different "angles" with other outlets. For instance, if your band has a popular website, perhaps internet magazines would be interested. If you offer a percentage of sales on your CD to the Save the Rain Forest organization, perhaps environmental publications would find your news worthy of printing.

Remember that a writer or editor has a duty to the readers - not you - to report interesting news. They do not owe you a story, so you must make it interesting. If you can send news that will appeal to the readers, you are far more likely to get printed.

The free publicity you generate with your press release will be many times more valuable than any advertisements you could buy. Studies have shown that people respond to articles at a much higher rate than ads, because they are perceived to be more credible. After all, anyone can buy an ad, but if there is an article written about you, you must be "important".


How To Write The Release

Most press releases follow a similar format, and it's easy to learn. First, spend some time defining the Main Message you want to get across. You will need to tell the who, what, when, why, and where in your press release.

Start with an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of your letterhead. Many people suggest double-spacing your type, as well as leaving a minimum 1 inch white border on all sides. Use an easy to read font. You can use any simple word processing program to build your release, and print it on any decent computer printer. Lower-priced laser printers have sharper type than ink jet printers, but lack color printing capability.

The first lines you want to include are:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" (or FOR RELEASE JUNE 30, 2001) and

"For more information, contact:"

followed by your contact information. (Make sure the phone number you give will be answered promptly during the period right after the release is sent out. Editor's who are interested in running your story may need to talk to you.)

Then, write your headline, which looks good in all capital letters. The headline is the single most important sentence of your press release - if the headline sounds interesting, it compels people to read further. If not - your release may be passed over quickly. Spend some time and creative thought on the headline. Read other headlines and notice what makes you read an article. This is the same kind of thing you need to accomplish. Don't be afraid to be dramatic, as bold headlines can draw the reader in. Don't make it too boring. "HELPING STOP DEAFNESS: ONE SONG AT A TIME" is a lot more enticing that "LOCAL BAND PLAYS AT DEAF SCHOOL" if you're doing a show at the Deaf School.

After you have crafted the perfect headline, you need to write the body of your release. Here's where you give all the details of your story. Write it in third person (using "He" or "She" instead of "I") and make it read like a news story. Press releases should be, at maximum, two pages long, and one page is better.

Special mention should be given here to the first paragraph. Just like the headline, the first paragraph needs to grab the reader's interest. In fact, many busy editors will only read past the beginning if you have "hooked" them in the first few lines. Make sure you include ALL pertinent details in this paragraph, since often papers will run releases verbatim. Use full city and state descriptions (Seattle, Washington, not just Seattle), and include the month, day, and year in dates (May 4, 2001, not May 4th).

Describe your news without adding flowery adjectives (it's supposed to be NEWS). You can use quotations to add more interest. ("We always wanted to help deaf kids, and this benefit is how we're doing it", said Johnny about the band's gig at the Deal School.)

At the end of the release, summarize your story and add any "About Us" information that is necessary. Follow it up with a contact for further information.

End your press release with the symbol "###" (without the quotation marks) after your last lines of text. This lets the editor know they have successfully received the entire release.

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

Your Name
Your Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Phone
Fax
Email

HEADLINE


MONTH DAY#, YEAR (CITY, STATE) -- Important information answering the who, what, where, when, and why. Make sure the first paragraph summarizes your news clearly.

Add additional details here.

About The Band: blah, blah, blah

For further information, contact Your Name at (xxx) xxx-xxxx.


###

-----


Sending Your Release

Almost any newspaper, magazine, radio station or other media can be an outlet for your music news release. You need to build a media list that you regularly send your releases to, and add to it as often as possible. Make it a habit to pick up copies of all publications you see when traveling, and record the information in a contact management program like ACT! or FileMaker Pro.

To build an effective media list that will work for your time after time, you need to build relationships with the journalists. Research the media outlets, and make sure you only send in news that is relevant to the editor's interest.

It's also wise to contact each journalist personally, and find out how they like to receive press releases. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to sending releases by mail, fax, or email, so you need to ask. (To be safe, use snail mail if you haven't inquired.) Be aware that most journalists do not like to be contacted via telephone and asked if they received your release. If the release is newsworthy to their readers, they will print it. Writers and Editors are generally very busy people, and will appreciate it if you respect their time.

Address the envelope neatly and clearly, making sure to spell the contact's name correctly.( If you are unsure of the name, try "News Director", "Music Editor", or "Features Editor".) Include a photo and caption if you have one.


Wrapping Up

You can get some great free publicity by learning to write effective press releases. The coverage costs you nothing more than time and the paper to write the release on, and can bring invaluable promotion to your music or business.

10 Reasons Why Most Demo Rejected

"Getting a deal" has long been the goal of many would-be artists and bands. For mostly naive reasons, most new talent feel that by securing a recording contract with a significant major or independent label, success will be guaranteed. (talk about naivete). Even in this new era of "do-it-yourself" career building, many musicians figure all they have to do is send off their demo to a label, and a recording contract will come their way .

The following list of '10 Reasons Why Demo Are Rejected' was gathered together after years of listening to comments made by Record Label A&R reps at music industry conferences and workshops; as well as from personal interviews with reps, and from many interviews A&R reps have given to the press. In addition, I can verify that these observations as true, from having personally listened to thousands of demos over the years.

Since there is little I can do to stop anyone from 'demo shopping', (which I truly believe is a waste of time these days) the least I can do is try to improve the odds that your music will get listened to if you do send out your demos. This list will look at the most common mistakes musicians make when either shopping for a record deal, or trying to get the attention of A&R Reps with their demo recordings.

10 Reasons Demos are Rejected:

1. No Contact Information on CDR and/or CDR container
(put your name, address, email, URL, MySpace address, and your phone number on both)

2. Lack of Originality
(just because you can record, doesn't mean your music is worth recording)

3. The Music Is Good, But The Artist Doesn't Play Live
( this applies to all genres of music except electroninca and experimental music)

4. Poorly Recorded Material
( so you bought ProTools....so what!)

5. Best songs are not identified or highlighted on the CD or the CDR
( send only 3 or 4 songs and highlight the best ones)

6. Sending Videos In Place Of CDRs
( keep it simple, in the demo mode, all anyone wants is to check out your songwriting and musicianship. If you want to send a link to a video you have put-up on YouTube, that would be a better idea then sending a video disc or tape.)

7. Sending Unsolicited Recordings
(you sent them, but they never asked for them...which means they will probably mail them back to you.)

8. Sending The Wrong Music To The Wrong Label
(you didn't do your research to find out what labels put out what kind of music, did you?)

9. Musicians Can't Play Their Instruments Competently
(this is so basic, but you would be astounded at how incompetant most start-up musicians are)

10. The Music Sucks
( this criticism is as old as music itself. you may think your music is the greatest thing since frappacinos, but most demo recordings the industry receives are as bad as the first round contestants on American Idol)

Releasing Your Own Record:

Legal Ease

For artists who are releasing their own record for the first time, without the involvement or assistance of a label, the process can be a little intimidating. It can be easy to miss some key legal details in the process.

Here, therefore, is a very basic checklist of issues to be considered when releasing a record. Bear in mind, though, that your own particular circumstances may dictate that you take certain steps that are different from, or in addition to, the various steps mentioned below. Also, it has been necessary to greatly oversimplify some of the issues discussed below due to space limitations.

1) Agreement Between Members of Group. If it is a group (as opposed to a solo artist) releasing the record, and if the group has not already formalized its relationship by way of a partnership agreement, incorporation, or limited liability company ("LLC"), there should at least be a clear and simple written agreement among the group members about how the finances of the recording project will be handled. Also, it is always a good idea to deal with the issue of the ownership of the group's name as early in the group's career as possible.

2) Investors. If there are investors involved, documents will need to be prepared in order to comply with certain Federal and State securities laws. Be especially careful here.

3) Distribution and Promotion Strategy. Think ahead about how the record will be distributed, advertised, and promoted, and how much money will be needed to effectively market the record. Sometimes all (or almost all) of the budget for a project is spent on recording and manufacturing costs, and there is little or no money left to effectively advertise or promote the record. This, of course, is not really a legal issue but is such a common (and often fatal) problem that I feel obliged to mention it here.

4) Mechanical Licenses. For any cover songs appearing on the record, you must obtain a mechanical license from the owner of the song (i.e., the song's publisher), authorizing the song to be recorded and providing for the payment of mechanical royalties. In many cases this license can be obtained from The Harry Fox Agency (212/ 370-5330). Allow six to eight weeks for this process.

For songs not licensable through Harry Fox, you must contact the publisher directly. Usually the easiest way to do so is to obtain the publisher's contact info from the "song indexing" departments at ASCAP and BMI.

5) Sampling Clearances. If you are including any samples on your record, you need to obtain sample clearances from the publisher of the musical composition being sampled AND, separately, the record label that owns the master being sampled. Do this as early as possible, as there will be some instances in which either the publisher or label will not be willing to issue a license, or the licensing fee which they require may not be affordable.

Also, some duplicators will require you to sign a form stating that either you have not used any samples, or that if you have done so, you have obtained all necessary clearances. If there is any obvious sampling done, the duplicator may require you to show them the clearance documentation.

6) "Work for Hire" Agreements. For any session people, engineers, etc. whom you are hiring, it is wise to have them sign a short and simple "work for hire" agreement, to preclude any possible future claims by them that they are owed royalties or that they have ownership rights in the masters. Do this BEFORE you go into the studio.

7) Producer Agreement. If you are using an outside producer, there needs to be a producer agreement signed, defining (among other things) how the various costs of the recording sessions will be handled, what advances (if any) will be paid to the producer, and what producer royalties will be paid to the producer. Just as in the case of the Work for Hire agreements mentioned above, do this BEFORE you go into the studio.

8) Production Credits. Make sure that the production credits listed in the liner notes--for session people, producers, and others--conform to any contractual requirements. For example, the producer agreement will often be very specific about how the producer's credits are to be listed. For musicians performing on the record who are signed to a label, they will normally need to be credited as appearing "Courtesy Of" their label.

9) Liability Releases/Permission Forms. You need to consider the possible necessity of getting a liability release or permission form signed in any of the following scenarios: (a) If a photograph and/or artistic image of an individual outside the group is included in the artwork; (b) If any of the artwork which you are going to use is owned by any third party; or (c) If any logos or trademarks owned by third parties appear in your artwork. There can be some tricky legal issues in this area, so be very careful here.

10) Copyright Notices for Songs. Be sure that the liner notes contain the correct copyright notices for all of the songs on the record, i.e., both for your original songs and any cover songs that you are using. Information about copyright notices can be obtained here. Also, make sure that the song credits correctly state for each song the name of the song's publisher and the publisher's performing rights society (i.e., ASCAP, BMI, etc.).

A non-legal sidenote: At the same time you are working on the artwork and the copyright notices, etc., doublecheck to make sure that your artwork meets all technical specs of whoever will be printing the artwork. Also, if you will be distributing the record through a record distributor, make sure that your artwork conforms to the distributor's specs.

11) Copyrighting Your Original Material. Certain copyright applications need to be filed promptly for your recordings and for your own original songs. Use "Form SR" for copyrighting the masters of the songs, "Form PA" for each of your original songs on the record, and "Form VA" for the artwork (if you own the artwork and want to copyright it). You can download the copyright application forms from the Copyright Office's website.

In some instances, it is possible to file an SR form to cover both the musical composition and your particular recording of that musical composition. The instructions for Form SR discuss when and how you can do this.

12) Registering Your Original Songs with BMI/ASCAP. Assuming that the record contains one or more songs that you have written, and assuming that you are affiliated with ASCAP or BMI, or are in the course of becoming affiliated, you will need to file "title registration" forms for each of your original songs appearing on the record. This will enable your rights society (i.e., ASCAP or BMI) to monitor any airplay of your material.

13) Trademark Notices/Registrations. Be very sure that you have the legal right to use the group name and label name which you have chosen, and consider the advantages of filing trademark applications for those names. Also, make sure that your liner notes contain a proper trademark notice for the name of your group, and (if applicable) the name of your label. Information about trademark notices can be obtained at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office web site.

14) Obtaining A Bar Code. For information about bar codes, visit the Uniform Code Council website, or call the Uniform Code Council at (937) 435-3870 (Dayton, Ohio). Also, many CD duplicators will, as part of their service and at no additional charge, provide you with a bar code for your record. Ask about this when getting quotes from duplicators. Also, for the reason mentioned in the next paragraph below, you may want to make sure that any bar code you obtain from a duplicator will identify your particular record, and not someone else's record.

15) Registering with SoundScan. If you anticipate significant sales and want to come to the attention of record labels, it's a good idea to register your record with SoundScan, a private company. SoundScan compiles record sales data based on the scanning of bar codes from sales at retail stores and then sells that information to its subscribers, which include all of the major record companies.You can obtain a SoundScan application form from DiscMakers.

If you plan on submitting a SoundScan application, be sure that you obtain a bar code specifically for your own record. If, instead, you "borrow" someone else's barcode (or the duplicator's general barcode), your sales will be credited to them and not to you.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, the above checklist will help to reduce, at least slightly, some of the stress and strain of putting out your own records. The key, of course, is to think ahead as much as possible. Some of the steps mentioned above, such as obtaining sampling clearances and mechanical licenses, can take some time and a lack of planning can unnecessarily increase your costs and/or delay the release date.

Also, make sure that you have all of your "ducks in a row" before you schedule any record release event. It's not an enjoyable experience to be locked into a record release date, only to find out at the last minute that you aren't going to be receiving your CDs from the duplicator by the time of the event or that there are legal or technical problems with either the CD or the CD artwork.

By thinking ahead, the odds are much better that your record release will proceed smoothly and that, after the record release, you will be able to spend your time and budget effectively promoting the record, rather than having to spend time doing repair damage.

Good luck!

How to Write an Biography

Before you begin to write your bio, be sure you have "taken an inventory" of your background, accomplishments, goals, and objectives as a musician, and remember who you are writing the Bio for:..A&R Reps at Record Labels, Media Contacts, Booking Agents, and Management Contacts. These professionals in the music business are busy individuals, who may deal with dozens of "wanna-be's" every week, so make your bio informative, upbeat, and filled with useful comments, descriptions, quotes, and motivational language that can make them want to listen to your music, and help you on your musical way. When you are ready to rock n’roll, writing the Bio using this outline can keep you focused and organized.
1st Paragraph:

Start with an introductory sentence that clearly defines the essential band/artist name, your specific genre of music, where you are from, and perhaps a positive quote about your music from a contact you have made in the music business.

2nd Paragraph:

This section should address the immediate purpose of the Bio. What are you doing at this time? Mention a current activity you are involved with. If a new CD or digital release is coming out, that should be the main topic of the first sentence of the second paragraph. In other word, a reason why the Bio has been written should be clearly stated early on. Hints about any promotional activities that will be occurring to support the CD or digital release is also useful in this paragraph.

3rd and 4th Paragraph:

At this point, information on any other band members can be introduced, and background information on the forming of the group, past experience, accomplishments, and recognition issues can be addressed. If you have developed a plan for your career path, additional paragraphs elaborating on this type of can be written, that demonstrate how your current project is part of a larger career development plan. Quotes from a couple of your songs can be useful to highlight your new release.

Ending:

As stated earlier, the Bio should not waste words. For a new artist 1 page is sufficient to get the job done. For more experienced artists, a page and a half to two pages should be the maximum length. So, ending the Bio in a efficient way should be the aim; use another quote from a gatekeeper who supports the artist, or summarize the 2nd paragraph information, reminding the reader of current activities.

Superstar Leftovers

Once upon a time, major labels created superstar artists. Then, a digital disruption dismantled the major label model, and big-name artists began pursuing post-label ambitions. But even in their darkest hour, the influence of major labels is still being felt. Because without the promotional, marketing, and financial backing of the majors, Madonna, Radiohead, and the Eagles wouldn't be hogging headlines today. These are superstars created in an earlier era, and that makes their newfound models less indicative of the future music industry. Get ready for an echo-chamber of "360 degree," quite possibly the next big buzzword - or buzz phrase - of this industry.That would explain the absorption of publishing houses into major label groups. The recorded music industry is plummeting, but publishing represents a diversified and more steady sector. Fresh questions now surround the financial fate of publishing divisions, though so far, they have offered a rather stable counterpoint to sinking recording sales.

Outside of that, the lack of diversification has always been painfully obvious, but not easily solved. Perhaps the pain was most acute with MTV in the 80s and 90s. Labels would sometimes spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new video, and reap none of the resulting advertising revenue. Or, perhaps MTV would simply reject a video, an increasingly common occurrence as programming shifted away from music video playback.


But the promotional value that MTV offered could shoot an artist into the stars, and generate millions of album sales. Still, labels would have preferred greater control over the music video tentacle. They just didn't know how to get it.

Terrestrial radio posed a similar problem. Like MTV, radio represented a massive promotional generator. But labels lacked direct control over playlists, and to this day, they reap no performance royalties on recordings.

Even retailers make independent decisions on product placement and positioning. Sure, major distribution machines can get the product into the racks. But retailers will always feature the most promising content, whether or not it represents a label priority.


Now, that lack of diversification has become a critical problem. Labels are currently unable to generate significant revenues outside of the recording, and that is punishing their bottom lines and threatening their existence.


And yet, the label was a critical component of the 360-degree picture, at least until recently. Without a major, there was no tour support, no funding for expensive recordings (pre-GarageBand, pre-$2,500 albums), no aggressive retail positioning on Tuesday morning, no marketing spend, no publicity department, no knowledgeable A&R, no in-house legal department. Majors didn't control it all, but they did exert a level of influence and wealth that made them indispensable to superstardom.


And that power created modern-day icons like Madonna, Radiohead, and the Eagles. And post-label, these bands are using their immense and lofty positions to fuel newer business models. No wonder labels executives are cranky.


But are these models representative of what the future business will look like? In every case, post-major superstars are being buoyed by a huge tailwind, thanks to massive upfront label investments that often span decades. That is something that may not exist in the future.


Suddenly, labels are exiting the picture, thanks to radically altered digital consumption habits. We haven't seen a diamond album in years, and even multi-platinum releases are becoming rare. That means less money, and labels now have only a fraction to invest in new artists. Superstars like Madonna are becoming relics from a different period, a less fragmented and non-digital era.

The RIAA will tell you that stealing music has a profound cultural impact. That without major labels, great bands will never see the light of day.

Sure, mega-superstars require massive upfront capital, and the money-machine is quickly going away. But music remains an incredibly important part of our lives, even as the influence of majors erodes.


Just take a look at any one of the millions of bands on MySpace, iTunes Radio, or eMusic. Or simply stroll into any club, subway station, or cafe in thousands of cities worldwide. Most of these artists will never achieve mega-stardom, and larger-than-life stars (and disasters) like Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Guns N' Roses are probably a thing of the past.

For a band starting out, that puts a whole new spin on 360-degree thinking. How many artists can pack an arena like Madonna? In the present, the answer is precious few. And in the future, without a major artist development machine, the answer may be virtually zero.

Artist Nation (the Live Nation division minted by Madonna) now has to figure out how to create the arena-packing superstars of tomorrow, a very difficult challenge. Sure, Artist Nation can cherry-pick major label success stories for mega-millions. But over the long-term, newer artists will need to be groomed.


And what about the Eagles? Could Wal-Mart have created a band so huge? The answer is laughably obvious - because without decades of investment, development, and momentum, the retail exclusive would never have been so successful. The tailwind remains incredibly powerful - it's just that the label isn't benefiting anymore.

And Radiohead? The name-your-price plan found itself in the middle of an incredible media swirl, thanks to the massive stature of the group. And even so, most fans chose to download the album for free. Sure, Radiohead has disputed the comScore numbers. But outside of the In Rainbows site, large numbers of fans are grabbing the album for free on file-sharing networks. In fact, free downloads are easily surpassing paid copies, no matter how you stack the data.

So what does that mean for a smaller artist like Saul Williams, who is also pushing a name-your-price concept? Without the media hype, without the massive fanbase, without the awareness, does name-your-price change anything?

And make no mistake, Radiohead wants to sell CDs. "If we didn't believe that when people hear the music they will want to buy the CD, then we wouldn't do what we are doing," Radiohead manager Bryce Edge told Music Week last month. But CDs are last-generation, and not a smart cornerstone for up-and-coming artists.


Of course, we're still in the middle of this experiment. And maybe Radiohead sells a heap of CDs. But does that mean someone smaller, and lesser-known, can achieve the same thing? Not without the stature and awareness that comes from a superstar profile.


All of these models are healthy experiments, and a progression from earlier structures. But they are being executed by extreme cases, not grassroots artists. These post-major superstars are making moves from great positions of power and wealth, something created in an entirely different marketplace.


And that makes it less realistic for everyone else. And quite possibly, unrealistic for the future-generation music business.

Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars

What is called the music business today, however, is not the business of producing music. At some point it became the business of selling CDs in plastic cases, and that business will soon be over. But that's not bad news for music, and it's certainly not bad news for musicians. Indeed, with all the ways to reach an audience, there have never been more opportunities for artists.

Where are things going? Well, some people's charts look like this:Some see this picture as a dire trend. The fact that Radiohead debuted its latest album online and Madonna defected from Warner Bros. to Live Nation, a concert promoter, is held to signal the end of the music business as we know it. Actually, these are just two examples of how musicians are increasingly able to work outside of the traditional label relationship. There is no one single way of doing business these days. There are, in fact, six viable models by my count. That variety is good for artists; it gives them more ways to get paid and make a living. And it's good for audiences, too, who will have more — and more interesting — music to listen to. Let's step back and get some perspective.

What is music?
First, a definition of terms. What is it we're talking about here? What exactly is being bought and sold? In the past, music was something you heard and experienced — it was as much a social event as a purely musical one. Before recording technology existed, you could not separate music from its social context. Epic songs and ballads, troubadours, courtly entertainments, church music, shamanic chants, pub sing-alongs, ceremonial music, military music, dance music — it was pretty much all tied to specific social functions. It was communal and often utilitarian. You couldn't take it home, copy it, sell it as a commodity (except as sheet music, but that's not music), or even hear it again. Music was an experience, intimately married to your life. You could pay to hear music, but after you did, it was over, gone — a memory.

Technology changed all that in the 20th century. Music — or its recorded artifact, at least — became a product, a thing that could be bought, sold, traded, and replayed endlessly in any context. This upended the economics of music, but our human instincts remained intact. I spend plenty of time with buds in my ears listening to recorded music, but I still get out to stand in a crowd with an audience. I sing to myself, and, yes, I play an instrument (not always well).

We'll always want to use music as part of our social fabric: to congregate at concerts and in bars, even if the sound sucks; to pass music from hand to hand (or via the Internet) as a form of social currency; to build temples where only "our kind of people" can hear music (opera houses and symphony halls); to want to know more about our favorite bards — their love lives, their clothes, their political beliefs. This betrays an eternal urge to have a larger context beyond a piece of plastic. One might say this urge is part of our genetic makeup.

SoundScan and BDS

Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Nielsen SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts. SoundScan can only track sales on CDs that have a UPC bar code. Disc Makers clients get a free UPC bar code when they make CDs with us... a savings of $750! Click here for bar code FAQs Once you receive your bar code number (either from the UCC or from Disc Makers) you must register it with SoundScan to ensure you are properly credited for all sales. To register, you need to fill out a Title Addition Sheet. You'll need a separate form for each release. • Download U.S. Word version• Download U.S. PDF version• Download Canada Word version• Download Canada PDF version (right click on a version and select "Save Target As...") The Title Addition Sheet must be submitted to SoundScan's Database Department by email at dbase@soundscan.com Once a title is submitted to SoundScan, it can take up to 10-15 business days for it to be entered into their system. Once entered, the title has the ability to be tracked by SoundScan. Note: In order to find out if a title is already registered with SoundScan, you may contact Client Services by email at clientservices@soundscan.com (If emailed please include the full UPC code), or call SoundScan at (914) 684-5525.For further questions visit the SounScan website at

BDS
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems is the world's leading provider of airplay tracking for the entertainment industry. It's free to submit your music to BDS for tracking. You do not need a bar code to register with BDS. Radio formats monitored include Adult Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Album Rock, Classic Rock, Contemporary Christian, Country, Light AC, Modern Rock, Oldies, R&B (including Rap and Hip Hop), Spanish (including Latin Contemporary, Regional Mexican and Tropical Salsa), and Top 40. Additionally, Nielsen BDS monitors 7 U.S. Music Video Channels and 9 Canadian Video Channels. Nielsen BDS information is utilized exclusively by Billboard, Airplay Monitor and Canadian Music Network magazines in determining their radio airplay music charts.Submitting Your Music to BDS Send all mixes of your single releases (preferably on CD) to: BDS 8100 N.W. 101st Terrace Kansas City, MO 64153 Attn: Encoding Department Fill out and include a Media Information Form. The form is in the PDF format. If you don't have Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®, click here to get it for free, then download the form.Click here to go to the Transactional/Non Client Media Information Form For more information on submitting your music to BDS visit their website at http://www.bdsonline.com/submit.html.

Bar Code FAQs
What is a bar code?Why do I need one? Where do I get one?
How much do they cost?
So, how are you able to give them away for free?
Is that illegal?
What do I do once I get a Disc Makers bar code?
What do I put down for "parent label?"
How do I get the actual bar code on my album design?
What about bar code stickers?
Can I use my bar code outside of North America?


What is a bar code?According to the Uniform Code Council's Web site, a bar code is "a precise arrangement of parallel lines (bars) and spaces that vary in width to represent data." Specifically, they represent a unique 12-digit number, sometimes called a Universal Product Code number. When placed on a product, these bars can be scanned by lasers so that stores can digitally record what products they have sold. You've probably seen how much time they save cashiers at supermarkets.Back to top Why do I need one?You don't, unless you plan on selling your CD in a store that requires you to have one. This would include all retail chains and online stores. If you're just selling CDs at your gigs and in little mom and pop stores, then you don't need one. Back to top Where do I get one? The Uniform Code Council dispenses all UPC bar codes. http://www.uc-council.org/.Back to top How much do they cost?For most indie musicians it's $750 plus yearly renewal fees.Back to top So, how are you able to give them away for free?Here's how it works. When you buy a bar code, what you're actually doing is buying a unique six-digit number for your company or band, let's say it's 123456. But what you're really getting is a range of numbers from 12345600000 to 12345699999 (plus one more number known as the check digit, but let's move on). So you can buy one UPC number and assign it to your first ten thousand releases. Now, while you might not produce ten thousand albums, a CD manufacturer like Disc Makers does. So, we've purchased many six-digit numbers and have been giving out all the possible 12-digit combinations to our clients. Back to top Is that illegal?Not at all. It's common practice. Major labels do this for their bands. Back to top What do I do once I get a Disc Makers bar code?If you want SoundScan to be able to track sales of your CD, you need to register your bar code number with them, so they know to attribute any sales to you, rather than to Disc Makers. You simply download the application form above, fill out the information.Back to top What do I put down for "parent label?"If you have a Disc Makers bar code, use your name or your band name for the Parent Label. That doesn't mean anything technically or financially (we do not get any money or anything for any sales you have). If you are on a label, put that down as your "Sub Label." If you don't, put your name or band name in that field as well. Back to top How do I get the actual bar code on my album design?We'll provide that for you. If you're supplying your own design, make sure you leave a 1.25" x .5" space where you want the bar code to appear and we'll insert it for you. Back to top What about bar code stickers?Stickers are a great way to get the value of having a bar code, without letting the bar code interfere with your graphic design. They are attached to the polywrap, so the store can scan the CD, but once it's purchased, the bar code gets tossed away with the wrapping. Disc Makers' bar code stickers cost $50 per thousand, plus a fee to apply them to your CD. Back to top Can I use my bar code outside of North America?Yes.Back to top