How to take advantage of these new tools is still being explored within the industry and interestingly different things seem to work well for different artists. Just because one idea or gimmick worked for one band doesn’t mean it’ll work for another. However in the following pages we’ve gone through some of the things to explore.

Online Radio

There are simply thousands of online radio stations now ranging from the 15 year old in his bedroom to the huge multinationals. At the moment most users listen through their static computers but new technology like the iPhone with it’s 3G connection is now allowing people to listen to it on the move as well. One important thing to note is that few online radio stations currently report to or pay copyright royalties on the music they air but if all your after is promotional opportunities then this won’t matter to you.

As with all promotional work it’s essential to target where you’re sending your music to make sure it’s suitable. There is simply no point sending your beautifully crafted acoustic singer/songwriter piece to a Hip Hop station, you’re wasting your time and theirs! Research the stations and shows who play your genre of music and then try and target the DJs and producers of those shows.

It’s also worth really thinking about if the radio station has a bona fide audience or not. There are millions of radio stations available who literally no one listens to and so it’s again important to target your efforts to make sure they aren’t wasted. Websites like live365.com host hundreds of independent radio stations and rate them which can be a helpful guide to their audience size. You can send music to each station by a link on their page or live365 also offer a paid service where they make your music available to all their DJs.

MySpace & Facebook–>

What we mean by fragmentation is that there used to be a just few main radio stations, TV shows and music magazines that the record labels could use to reach the majority of their audience with. These days the way people hear new music has fragmented into hundreds of music shows on a vast array of international TV channels, countless blogs, websites, internet radio stations, podcasts and social networking sites. People are picking up new music in a huge number of different ways and are forging loyalties to media outlets that cater to their specific niche taste.

This can be a huge opportunity for independent artists to reach audiences they would never have been able to reach before. It requires a change of mindset from the traditional way music is marketed which is something the major labels are still struggling with.

Marketing music used to be about shouting loudly about your new band’s release through bill boards, adverts, flyers and shows hoping that people would hear and buy the record. The problem is that with everybody shouting through all these new media channels (eg. online, radio etc) the audience has tuned out. What they want now is a quiet voice speaking directly to them and a relationship built up between them and the artist. We’ll come onto social networking sites and the revolution they’ve been later on but this focus on relationship building has now become gospel in the music industry. One of the most valuable things you can get from a fan is their contact information because that allows you to speak them directly about what’s going on with your new project or new tour. You can send them special offers on merchandise or even send them free demos or tracks from the studio. If you can make them feel valued and part of your ‘community’ then they are a lot more likely to buy the next album, go see the next gig and most importantly tell their friends about you.

Making your fans feel valued is probably the most important marketing tip we can give you. The other huge piece of advice we’d offer is to sit down and make a plan to target all your efforts at the audience your aiming for. There is a huge amount of honesty and creativity that needs to be put into this, ask yourself who is going to like your music and what is the best way to contact them. You may think that your music really appeals to bleeding edge teenage punk crowd but in reality is your core audience really more people in their early 30s with sensible jobs? Either way which magazines, blogs or shows do they read and go to? If your sound is like a folk band on acid then where in the country has a vibrant psychedelic folk scene and who are the promoters running the gigs and shows in that area? If you have a sound like another well known band then find all the online forums, sites and blogs who mention them and post up a bunch of comments saying “You think these guys are good, check us out!” The more targeted you can make your efforts the more likely you are to find a return for all your work. Mis-targeted marketing and promotion – telling people who would obviously have no interest in hearing about you – is simply a waste of time of your time and theirs.

Promoting Music by Playing Live –>