For Independent Musicians in the Business of Selling, Promoting or Doing Music on the Internet

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How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet

Promote Your Music
on the Internet!

Music Business 101:
Making Music Your Life
At the Music Business Academy, we have two primary goals: first, we aim to teach musicians how to use the Internet to their financial advantage, whether that means using the Net to sell more CDs, 'get the word out,' or simply to make some extra cash. Secondly, we aim to arm musicians with all the information they need to move their music career forward in the 'real' world, with or without a major label record deal. Find out more about our musician services, visit our musician's guide to the web, read our music business tips, or get help with planning strategies for effective music promotion on the Internet!

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Newsflash!
CD Baby Passes $80 Million in Indie Music Sales
If anyone tries to tell you independent music is unimportant, has no significance, and no market of any value - just them that CD Baby has now paid over $80 MILLION to independent musicians. In addition to retail sales, CD Baby distributes the music of its artist members to services such as  iTunes, Rhapsody, BuyMusic, MSN Music and Sony Connect.  Read more about CD Baby here.

Read the latest stories at Music Business News...


New Articles at the Academy....

Latest articles & music business tips for musicians.

Sirius XM in Perspective: Winners and Losers
The freshly-combined Sirius XM Radio shifts the radio landscape somewhat, though the broader impact on the music and media terrain will be modest. The days of four TV channels and ten radio stations is over - consumers now have more options than they can possibly handle, and that makes it difficult for any one company to dominate. And now that approvals have been granted, there are more winners than losers. Article by Paul Resnikoff.

Making a Living From Just Your Music

Can it be done? Can it really be done? The answer is yes. I've been doing it. I've been making a living from music for the last seven years now. Living the dream. Doing music full time. Commentary by David Nevue.

Twitter-ing Your Music: Google Alerts

One of the aspects of Internet marketing I'm working on for the next edition of my book (the 2009 Edition) is the impact of social media on marketing music. Now, every year there is inevitably a "buzz" about the this or that - some big new something that is the rage in online marketing. Well, right now it's social media. And so one of the things I have been exploring is the viability of using social media to promote ones music. And one of the tools I have just started using is Twitter. Commentary by David Nevue.

The Lessons of Vinyl

It won't save the recording industry.  But the recent resurgence in vinyl is happening for a reason. The numbers aren't jaw-dropping, but they are difficult to ignore.  Just recently, Boston-based Newbury Comics pointed to monthly vinyl sales of more than $100,000, and other independent stores are also reporting gains. Majors are also taking notice.  That includes EMI, which recently started offering vinyl versions on a select number of titles.  The major pointed to an 80 percent jump in vinyl sales last year.  And the RIAA pegged 2007 sales at 1.3 million, a 36.6 percent increase from 2006.  Article by Paul Resnikoff.

Going Digital: Atoms and Bits or Bits Without Atoms?

Just about every artist and label is releasing music in some digital form these days. That's a no-brainer, and I see no reason not to release any new project digitally -- as bits. But many clients are asking themselves if they also need to release in one of the traditional physical formats such as CD or LP -- in other words, as atoms. Such a decision has to be based on the many disparate aspects of a business and will be different in each instance. It all depends on an artist's or label's circumstances. What should YOU do? Article by Keith Holzman.

How to Write Your Own Music Marketing Plan
I want you to sit down right now and write the answer to this question on a piece of paper:
“Of all the things I could do in my life, WHY do I want to learn how to write a music marketing plan?" I ask this because the only business that needs to know how to market music are record labels. If you are just an independent musician who has recorded a CD but wants it to sell, then (whether or not you want to admit it....) you are starting your own record label, and record labels must write music marketing plans if they have any chance of selling the recordings they have made! Article by Chris Knab.

20 Things to Do While You're Sitting Around Waiting for Your Fans to Show Up

This article
was forwarded to us recently by an associate. It's an older blog (posted July 2007), but still very "current" in topic and worthwhile reading, especially if you're scratching your head thinking "what now?" in regards to promoting your music online. Article by Michael Lee 

Will Awards and Contests Lead to Bigger Things?

Human beings are fascinated with awards.  So, it’s no surprise that musicians are constantly submitting to the many awards and entering the myriads of contests offered to unsigned artists every year.  But what if you continue to enter and never win?  Will you be branded as a loser?  Will your fans abandon you, asked to be removed from your mailing list, line their birdcages with your CDs?  It is really better to have entered and lost than never to have entered at all? Article by Sheena Metal. 

Record Labels: Survival of the Fittest

We all know that the record business is in major transition, has been for a few years now. Still, major labels and independent labels are trying to figure out what the new model is. But the real problem with most labels is that they still want to be in 'big business'. This is the first real issue labels have got to deal with. Because CD sales are on the downturn and record labels are cutting back on staff (hence the EMI shake up recently). Commentary by Chris Standring

20 Steps to Creating a Successful Blog for Your Band
Part One: Blogs prove to be a tricky field to conquer, especially when it comes to gaining an initial reader-base.  However, once you get that reader base, great potential for increasing your online reputation is created.  Successful blogs keep their status by following these 20 rules from the start and throughout their blog’s lifetime. Article by Lance Trebesch of TicketPrinting.com.

20 Steps to Creating a Successful Blog for Your Band
Part Two: Part one talks about setting up the blog in the right format to gain reader interest.  Part two discusses about more promotion techniques and how to keep your readers. Article by Lance Trebesch of TicketPrinting.com.

See Also: The Four Fronts of Your Music Career and Internet Promotion 101.


Quote...
"I've been promoting my music on the Internet since 1995. I'm now doing music full time. I didn't need a record label to accomplish that. I did it on my own, by the grace of God, and in fact, I really don't care if my music ever is 'discovered' by a major record label. What I do care about is the fans who listen to my music every day, how it touches their lives, and how it brings them joy. I get such encouragement from my fans, email from people I've never met from all around the world. And now I'm able to work from home, write my music, and spend more time with my wife and beautiful little boy.
That is my definition of success." - David Nevue, author of
How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet.


The MBA Musicians Directory: Featured This Month
Latest reviews, additions and updates to our web directory.

IndieKazoo
IndieKazoo is a very clever, easy-to-use "web store" add-on tool for your web site. Create your own personal music store, sell your own music (CDs and/or downloads) directly to your fans and receive 100% of your sales revenue. Sales go directly and instantly to your PayPal account. It's an easy setup, and you are only charged a flat-rate of $20/month. Pay-as-you-go, no contract, cancel at any time. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial to try it out. The store integrates seemlessly between your own web site and PayPal. Added 04/03/2008.

CD Poster Shop

With most manufacturers, if you want high-quality short run CD duplication, you're going to pay an arm and a leg for each disc. CD Poster Shop, however, keeps the costs down. You can get retail style packaging of as few as 25 CDs for just $1.80 per disc. Customize your package however you want and your new, adjusted price is immediately updated on the web site so you can see exactly what you'll pay up front (without having to wait to get a quote back.) CD Poster Shop also does poster printing as well as just CD inserts if you want that. Overall, we were very impressed with their short run pricing, and that's why they are included here. Added 01/11/2008.

Oceanbound Entertainment

Want a job playing music on a cruise ship? Oceanbound Entertainment Inc. is looking for solo musicians, 2 to 4 piece bands, string ensembles, individual musicians to be a part of the ships orchestra, and variety entertainers such as jugglers, magicians, comedians, instrumentalists and singers. Visit our website for more details.

Rock and Roll Design and Hosting
Get hosting for your band page with a terrific premade or custom web site design templates for as little as $10/month. You can look great online without a lot of
the hassle. Their fully integrated content management system supports blogs, music pages, album sales, lyrics, digital sales, merch sales, an event calendar, guestbook, video, forums, flash media players, mailing lists, email and more. Everything under one roof, with one standard interface.


Contact Us...
If you have an
order question, wish to submit an article or recommend a web site for our directory, you can get info here. Or, if you'd like, feel free to link to us.
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Our Top 20 Articles
21 Songwriting Tips 
How to Write an Artist Bio
Mastering Your Music
Improve Your Press Kit
Sell Your CDs Online 
Performance Contracts
What's a Record Deal About? 
Inside Record Labels
A Legal Checklist
How to Write a Press Release
Record Distribution: 25 Tips
Guerrilla Marketing Tips
How to Make a Living w/ Music
Internship Do's & Don'ts
Starting a Music Business
Reasons Demos Are Rejected
Artist/Band Interview Form
Facts About Music Licensing
Planning A Radio Campaign
Tax Tips for Musicians

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The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company
This wonderful book guides you step by step through the process of starting up your own independent record label. It includes vital advice on how to retain lawyers and accountants, construct budgets, sign artists, navigate artist contracts, find a distributor and how to develop and execute an effective marketing plan. More...



MySpace Music Marketing
With tens of millions of registered users, MySpace.com has become a godsend for countless independent artists. If you're not promoting your music on MySpace yet, you need to start - right away. Everything you need to know, including tips and tricks, interviews with successful MySpace bands, and how to fine-tune your MySpace profile for maximum punch. The perfect "how to" guide for MySpace beginners, especially! More...



Music Is Your Business

Christopher Knab and Bartley F. Day's expanded edition of "Music Is Your Business" is filled with more insights into the business side of being a successful musician or band. Included are chapters on both Internet and traditional music marketing methods. The essential legal issues you need to know are explained as are music contract tips, how to license your music, attract distributors, get radio airplay and create a demand for your music. More...



The Music Phone Book
The Music Phone Book lists detailed contact information for over 1,000 live music clubs and venues (More than any other magazine) in the U.S. Also listed are over 1,800 independent and major record labels, nearly every national touring artist, and thousands of music contacts that can't be found anywhere else. More...


Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook!
This is your guide to independent music success secrets, featuring over 175 ways to thrive and prosper with your own band or record label. Goal setting, networking, lists of distribution channels, offbeat promotional ideas. It's all here!
More....



The Indie Bible
With 350 pages containing over 10,000 contacts, including music reviewers and radio stations, The Indie Bible is a resource for songwriters and musicians who wish to have their music heard, reviewed, or considered for radio play
. More....



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