Independent Music Promotion on the Web : 3 Steps to Success
Posted by Music Archive | Posted in Online Music | Posted on 17-09-2009
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Let’s face it, the wildfire spread of web-based portals designed to introduce independent music to the world has created a bewildering array of opportunities and costs. So where do they all balance out? When does the fee of signing up to yet another music promotion service yield solutions? What solutions are we looking for anyway?
The key is to make your Web promotion targeted, systematic and rich.
What’s the central drive for independent artists encourage their music on the web? The fundamental incentive for Internet promotion is the occasion to get your music heard by people who might otherwise never know that you exist! If people know you exist they can be come listeners and repeat- listeners. Which of those listeners buy CD’s and downloads? Targeted listeners.
The the majority necessary goal of Web promotion is to attract targeted audiences.
Any independent artist who demonstrates they use the Internet to sell their music has missed the primary target – attracting targeted audiences. Attracting targeted audiences should be every independent musician’s 1st priority. Don’t forget, you don’t sell your music – audiences BUY your music. It is a buyers market. The more targeted audiences you have, the more sales you make – offer d you’re systematic in getting your targeted audiences.
The best way to get targeted listeners is to be systematic.
a lot of musicians tend to approach their Web promotion thinking that since they have a website and have signed up to a couple of performer showcase website s, that the listeners will just come pouring in. Yes you’ve managed to target some potential listeners, but you still have to shout, “Hey, over here… you will like the sound of this!” A systematic approach to getting listeners to hear your music will attract and maintain their interest. But recall to make sure you’ve the content ready for the listener to enjoy.
Sites rich in content will retain your targeted listener.
In the independent musician’s case, the rich content is the music. This could seem like old news, but look at the amount of independent musician websites that give the visitor loads of info about the band but extraordinarily little (or hidden) ear candy. Music should be the 1st thing a visitor gets. At the extraordinarily least they need an clear link to where they could listen to your music. And not just one or two tracks but a variety of your music. Indie musicians have to remember they haven’t had the radio exposure to model the presentation of their music following more well established acts. Listeners need to be convinced they like your independent music before they will buy it.
So the question is how to make your Internet promotion targeted, systematic and rich?
Tips for Targeting.
The optimum targeted audiences on the Web will be those that make it to your website. Locate a way to know who they are. session up a newsletter and make it simple to sign up to it. individuals interested enough to want to receive news about you’re your hardcore Web audiences, keep them happy.
The next best group of targeted listeners are those that hear your music on other website s. Try to select websites that allow listeners to link to your website. If they like your music they can click on that link to visit your website. You can then find out where these visitors are coming from. Locate a wonderful Internet statistics package that lets you know which websites your visitors are being referred from. Take note of those websites and focus your quests with them accordingly.
When picking web sites on which to promote your music, check to see Assuming that they offer any individual stats relating to your music. like how many track plays or page views you and your music receive on their web site. This way you might check in periodically and monitor your performance with these web site s.
Systematic Steps.
The key to being systematic is organization. Keep a note of all the web sites you use to promote your music, a brief description of what they do and how much it costs. Try to get into the practice of monitoring all of them regularly. Take note of which web sites are getting better results than others and focus your resolutions accordingly. You may pay for minimal promotion on one web site, while another gets you loads of audiences for free. Naturally you will want to put more resolution into updating the web sites that are getting better results.
provide a link on your website and newsletters to all of the websites you use to encourage your music. Do not forget your website visitors are your hardcore Web audiences and are the the majority prefer ly to check out and spread the word about your spot on other website s. So encourage them to visit your profile on other website s. At the considerably least it raises your stats on those websites – making your music look more popular!
Try to establish a ring of web sites that link to each other though the content you supply. For instance, you can have your music on your own web site and two other showcase web sites – web site A and web site B. Your web site should without a doubt link with web site A and web site B. web site A should link with your web site and web site B, web site B should link with your web site and web site A and so on. What If the se web sites don’t allow you to set up links to other web site s? Put a Internet address in the areas where they do allow you to supply content. prefer biogs or descriptions.
The highest quality aim of linking all your web sites is to offer your listeners with a variety of access points to your music, as well as access to the varying ways numerous web sites could deliver your music. Remember to link to your specific page on the web site and not just the web site itself. Your web site linked with a web site that play your tracks on Internet radio, linked with a web site that sells your downloads, linked with a web site that sells your compact disc’s offers for a dynamic mixture of exposure.
Be Rich
in the absence of resources ! That is the challenge that the majority independent performers face. The conventional approach to selling music is that it should not be too readily available to listen to, should the incentive for listeners to actually buy albums be undermined. This has persuaded independent performers that they should limit Web listeners to low-quality snippets of streaming audio.
Independent artists have to recall they do not have the sources and finances to assist the “shotgun approach” of spraying their music across radio and music television. Big artists have ample companies behind them that need to recoup the expenses of mass media exposure, and and so try to limit the extent to which fans might sample their music on the web. Listeners have already heard the music and are trying to find a copy of their own.
Conversely, fans haven’t had a chance to listen to independent artist through conventional media. Therefore independent musicians can’t assume that people will buy their music off of a website If they do not get a chance to really listen to it. If people have already heard an artist’s music, and like it, the value they pay for is in owning a copy they might performance whenever they like. If people haven’t already heard an artist’s music, the value is in being able to sample as much of the music as possible.
So being rich is providing your listeners with as much of your music as they want to listen to before they buy it. Now you don’t have to make all your tracks available for free download, but you can provide nice quality, full-length streams that impress the listener and increase your sound. Not tight-fisted snippets that lose the listener because they’re lo-fi and over before they attract the listener’s interest.
Being rich is likewise making your music available in a variety of formats for varying fans s. Telling fans that your music can be heard via Internet radio, on-demand streams, mp3 downloads and mail order CD means you could appeal to fans who like more than one kind of media. You could likewise use your Internet promotion to go beyond freely plays and sales – think about licensing.
Licensing your music for use with television, film, advertising, web site s, video games and other multimedia will open up your listening fans, provide re Club and introduce a degree of professionalism to your career that attracts the notice of industry reps and A&R. Adding this depth to your Internet promotion stimulates to enrich the presentation of your music and retain targeted fans.
So remember : a) maximise your targeted fans, b) be systematic in capture ing them, and c) retain them by making sure your own website and other websites are rich in content.

