How the Internet Aids Independent Music
July 26th, 2010
The World Wide Web has reformed every aspect of the world from social interaction to business to music. A couple of years ago Indie bands played in garages, family functions, and cafes. They cut CDs and sent them to music giants in the hope they will be noticed.
The Internet and MP3s has brought about many changes in the affluence of independent music artists. The distribution system and marketing opportunities have changed. New media formats and many individual websites popped up and the reach of independent music became world wide. Gone were city boundaries or traveling on the road to spread awareness in the music industry and beyond. With the click of a mouse, popularity would dramatically increase.
However it is not all about success after the initial boom, several music sites and bands failed anyway. What every band with a dream of platinum albums and a plethora of weath must do is:
-Complete a study of their options.
-Create a marketing plan and constantly develop it and stick to it.
-When in doubt of their next move, talk to music contacts and mentors within the music industry.
Marketing online is all about promoting creatively:
-Be realistic and don’t expect profits overnight. You need to popularize your independent music by possibly sending it out as a freebie. Place MP3s and videos on your site. When someone downloads a song and listens to it, they hopefully will play it over and over. This increases the likelihood of them wanting to hear your next song.
-Make sure you music is easily identified as yours no matter where it is posted.
-Categorize your music into the correct genre.
-Take advantage of popular music sites to distribute your music. People who love music scour these sites.
-Make your band’s mark in stone. Get a website, purchase a domain name, use a reliable host and learn how to use SEO it so that it ranks high in the search engines. Educate yourself on the construction and proper use of a website. The old saying, “if you build it, they will come,” does not apply here.
-Make your site interactive. You can do this by posting a blog, reviewing other music or introducing the band members. Make the site appealing so that guests are persuaded to look through and listen to your music.
-Explore other blogs and music forums to meet music contacts and increase your own popularity.
-Last is developing ways to generate funds, profits! Selling your music and merchandise is just the beginning. The music industry on the web is full of all kinds of ways to make some dough so be creative!
Watch the video related to music education
Piano Lesson #4 – Part 2 – How to Practice Chords CM, c-, c dim & C Aug Blocked & Arpeggios
Help answer the question about music education
What are some common reasons for supporting the cutting of funds for music education?I'm writing a paper about why music education is important, but I also need some input from the other side. I have looked for sources, but can only find ones for music education. If you know of any "scholarly" sources, that would be really helpful!
About Author
Ty Cohen -
About the Author:
Owner of Platinum Millennium publishing, former record label owner & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. Author/creator of best-selling music biz books, courses, audio products & “How to” resources that helped 1000s. Go to http://www.TheIndustryYellowPages.com for more info on music contacts, music industry & independent music.
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@Jmozee Nice chords. Can you play shouting music
I'm in the same situation – I realized music history is my passion.
Most schools do not offer music history in itself as a single class. The only schools that might offer it are performing arts schools or very wealthy public schools who have a need for the class. Right now it's not a separate entity within the music curriculum in most public schools – its taught as *part* of the music curriculum, but not the sole focus.
I've taken it upon myself to teach music history in my classrooms (I teach K-12 music) and it's actually been great in getting interest in music because I use what they enjoy to sort of "pull" them in (start with teaching classic rock history and tie it to the far past).
However, I'm moving on to study organology/musicology in graduate school next year.
If you want to focus on music history alone, your best bet is teaching at the collegiate level.
Um, I know that The University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign has a good music school. Souther Illinois University at Carbondale and Edwardsville are good too. NIU is ranked pretty good. U of I is ranked the highest.
@Jmozee Nice chords. Can you play shouting music?