MARKETING YOUR MUSIC

How to use all that confusing stuff on the internet

Presented by: Tom SiegelHosted by: The Maine Songwriters Association

The History of the Music Industry

The recording industry was the music industry.

The four areas of record label control:

Quality recording Distribution Marketing Radio / Promotion

WHAT CHANGED?

Just about everything

Quality recording The digital age brought the

recording studio into our basements or the basements of our neighbors

Distribution The growth of the Mp3 and

digital delivery giving birth to digital distribution company’s such as CD Baby.

Marketing MySpace and other social

networks came on the scene lowering the barrier to entry for musicians to do it themselves.

Radio / Promotion The record labels still have

terrestrial radio. However, internet radio platforms are big contenders and these platforms are available to independent artists.

For the first time in history: You Can Do it ALL Yourself

Your first step is to define your goals!

You May Still Want a Record DealThat’s ok…

RECORD DEAL INDEPENDENT CAREER

You want to be famous.

You want to be rich. You don’t want to

have to do any of this work.

You want music to be your career.

You want to earn a living.

You are ready to run your own business.

MARKETING YOUR MUSIC

What does it take?

Marketing Vs. Publicity

Marketing Vs. PublicityMARKETING

The message being delivered

Branding

Marketing Vs. PublicityMARKETING PUBLICITY

The message being delivered

Branding

Eyeballs and Eardrums

Exposure Numbers

Good Marketing Grabs and holds people’s attention Encourages an action or reaction Develops a relationship Makes your audience want to tell their

friends about you

Develop Your Infrastructure

A delivery mechanism for your message.

The Seven Elements of your Music Marketing Infrastructure

A Website Market Analysis Distribution Email Blogging Social Media Promotion

RESOURCEShttp://www.indieleap.com/

resources

YOUR WEBSITEBuckle up!

Where to Start Domain name How are you going to build your site?

Elements to include in your site

Home page About page Music page / Lyrics Store Gigs / Events News / Blog Media – Photos & Videos Contact / Bookings

Home Page Nice photo Inviting text Clear Navigation Name capture form (email) Music player – NO AUTOPLAY PLEASE Upcoming shows

About Page Make it About _______ Bio

1-2 sentences One paragraph Full Bio

Include name capture forms in the body of the About Page.

Music Page Image of each of your albums Music player – NO AUTOPLAY PLEASE!! Combined with your store

Store Sell Music & Merch Bandzoogle Topspin CD Baby More…

Gigs / Events Google Calendar Gigpress Wordpress plugin Bandzoogle

News / Blog To be continued…

Photos / Videos This is where you put your photos and

videos.

Contact / Booking Invite people to contact you Include links to social networks Give your email address & phone number I like Contact form 7 Wordpress plugin

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is complicated so don’t worry about it too much

Worry about developing content and inspiring people to share your content

Types of SEO On page and off page

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

On page = If you are going to be found for a particular

search phrase, it has to be in text somewhere on your site

Title tags are important More important phrases are given an H1 or an

H2 tag Lyrics pages help Blogs help

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Off page = Links

Reviews Social media Directories Anything really

YouTube Videos

MARKET ANALYSISWho is your audience?

Market Research Live in person

Take real notes Talk to people Survey people What are people wearing? Any trend that you can notice

Market Research Electronic - Analytics

Google analytics Facebook insights Hootsuite / Tweet Deck / bit.ly – for Twitter YouTube analytics (owned by Google) Surveys delivered by email or on your website

Market Research What metrics to pay attention to

Anything that helps you to know who your audience is Age Geographic Male or female What do they buy? Coffee or tea

EMAIL“The money is in the list” –Every direct marketer to ever roam the

earth

The Law – The Canned Spam Act

You may not send emails for commercial purposes to people who have not expressed interest in receiving emails from you.

People must “opt-in” to your list. You must have a link embedded in the email

that allows people to “opt-out” of receiving future emails.

How do you make this happen?

Email Software Makes you legal Gives you a way to collect names and

email addresses on your website, Facebook and other places.

Schedule and automate email delivery.

Some Email Software Options

Bandzoogle Aweber MailChimp iContact Constant Contact

How Often to Send Email Once per month Twice per month Plus Broadcasts

What to Include in Your Newsletter

What happened last month Did you have a big gig? New equipment that you are excited about. New posts to your blog. Were you interviewed on a blog or radio show,

etc.

What to Include in Your Newsletter

What is coming up this month Upcoming gigs Any other special events New song is coming out Getting a new guitarist

What to Include in Your Newsletter

Something unrelated to music Nicest sunset you saw last month. Funniest thing the drummer did backstage. Update on your garden. Cute picture-of-the-month of your cat. Interesting snake fact.

BLOGGINGEvery musician’s favorite thing.

What to Post on Your Blog News update

Band personnel change. New haircut

Story from the road (or the house) New video Picture Poem Whatever…

SOCIAL MEDIAGo ahead, try and keep up

General Strategy Be Everywhere

General Strategy Be Everywhere

Start with the social media platform that you are most comfortable with.

Learn to use it and track your effectiveness Start posting/sharing Notice what types of posts get the most engagement. Start to track results using various analytics.

Facebook Insights Hootsuite / Tweetdeck / bit.ly - for Twitter YouTube analytics Plus Google analyics

General Strategy Be Everywhere

Tracking results of social media activity. Facebook Insights Hootsuite / Tweetdeck / bit.ly - for Twitter YouTube analytics Plus Google analyics

Social Media Best Practices

Promotional posts are boring It’s a party and you are either the host or

the guest at any given moment and sometimes you’re both.

80/20 80% of the time you need to either start a

conversation or join one. 20% of the time you can post promotional stuff.

Social Media Best Practices

Engagement Sharing

What is the Goal?

Social Media Structure Set up each of your profiles to funnel into

your website. YouTube

Put the URL of your site as the first thing in the videos description

Facebook Link in the beginning of your about description

Twitter Put a link to your website in your bio

DISTRIBUTION

Digital Distribution There are several digital distribution

services Best known

CD Baby Cool because they handle physical as well.

TuneCore Ala Carte label services from UMG

Ingrooves Distribution + Marketing

Physical Distribution You still need to be chosen for this. The Orchard

Primarily for independent labels This is something that might make a label

useful.

Most Important Thing About Chosing a Digital Distributor

READ THE TERMS OF SERVICE

PROMOTIONYour message delivered

Types of Promotion Radio Bloggers Magazines Podcasts Media Placement Touring Press

How to Approach Media People

Notice their work Read their blog Listen to their podcast Read their articles

Find common ground Then pitch yourself

BONUS: REVENUE SOURCES FOR MUSICIANS

Diversify, Diversify, Diversify…

Sources of Revenue Music Sales (CD, Digital, whatever

happens next) Gigs Merchandise Sponsorships Placements – Licensing

Music X-Ray Rumble Fish – CD Baby

THANK YOUIndieLeap.com

IndieLeap.com/resources