Are you ready? Getting your head around the internet, digital music marketing and online promotion part 2

 

 This is part TWO of a series on basic basics of online promotion

Part 1 is here:

http://kurbpromotion.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/in-digital-we-trust-getting-your-head-around-the-internet-digital-music-marketing-and-online-promotion/

And part 3: Google and the importance of words on the web: more “who’s going to write our blog copy” now then “who’s going to direct our video”
Part 4:  Getting your head around using social media and web 2.0 to promote your music
Part 5: Setting up a music artists website
Part 6: Music Artist Website promotion: Marketing and Sales
Part 7: Music Artist Website Promotion: Engaging, EMail and Monetizing

 

because we’re gearing up for two big events:

 
The launch of kurbs new music marketing community @ http://newmusicmarketing.com

And my very first presentation working with http://www.depotartspace.co.nz/ in devonport. (July 08)

Don’t forget we’re shifting to http://musicmarketingmanagement.com  any day now!!!

 

 Now last blog I talked about facing the reality of digital music promotion.

It is confusing and complex and it is the future. It is also a lot of work.

To me it’s honestly a lot less work because I don’t have to leave the house. You may have not have played as many demoralising gigs in your life to less than 12 people as I have though.

The http://newmusicmarketing.com forum that we’re launching soon is designed so that you can be informed and instructed on the most effective techniques in online promotion and internet marketing. You can begin your campaign by carrying out the tasks yourself at minimum cost and you can decide where you want to take your campaign on your own watch.

It’s hard to start working with an artist and tell them theyre 6 months away from seeing a cent online and you’ll drop a grand in my pocket before you get there. But that’s reality, it’s better to get the artist or their manager or their mum or little sister in the forum, learning the basic and most importantly carrying out the tasks, carrying out the maintenance, getting on track.

Playing that gig might work. Sending in that demo, getting that interview, going for that grant, entering that competition – it might work! Might.

But building your website is the most solid promotion strategy you can engage in! The amount of people engaging online is not going to stop growing and the laws of almighty Google are not going to alter fundamentally. If they buy your actual real CD this week . . . theyre not going to want to buy it again next week and definately not on the other side of the world in Sweden, where they love that kind of thing that you do.

You have got to start thinking like it already 2010 and your website is your sovereign media territory where you control the environment. It is your channel and it is your community it is your retail outlet . . . it pays you money.

Myspace and WordPress and Facebook have built these platforms so that they can generate massive profits from the attention artists and users are creating. People like me and you!

I read it the other day. Myspace has made $11-12 out of each person who has used it. Google has made an average of $66 out of each person who has used their service.

Now you listen to me, sunshine!

This is not about saying “using your myspace as your website is unprofessional” – this is the next level!

 

It’s about digital ownership of value created through access and attention. Now do you want to give all your money to myspace or do you want to start trying to figure how it is that myspace made $11 out of you when you never even paid for anything . . . and how you could learn to do something like that on your website?

 

 

 

But you gotta build a boat before you can sail it.

It’s like I’m going to tell you how to build your boat and I’ll have some guys around to help out, and after a few months we’ll see how you’re going to see if you’re ready to sail. And then when you’re sailing fine we’ll fit it out with a motor.

I’m not just going to hand you the motor, point at the sea and say, “go promote your content.”

Okay now lets take the elevator to the basement. Lets go back to the start.

Your first tasks are pretty basic. They don’t involve me.

If you’re not particularly skilled in music then you should be at least pretty young an eager, or exceptionally physically attractive or have some other comedic or theatric appeal. Or as we’ve seen more recently with The Gorillaz and Crazy Frog, maybe you’re just really good at cartoons or CGI.

Then you need to create digital content, because I cant help you at all until you do. You need to record your music so it can be converted to mp3, but not only that, almost equally important now, is that you must have an associated image, preferably a photo of you that can be converted into a .jpg, and you should be able to record 60 seconds of video for youtube at least introducing yourself to people who want to meet you.

I’m struggling with this too people, but we’ve got to understand we are living in the 21^st century and talking to the camera is not something that you should be making a big deal about. You maybe choose your favourite top, do a quick check in the mirror, you make sure the light is half decent, you push record, you be yourself. It’s not that hard.

Okay we’re ready to start your online promotion campaign!!!!

 

 

 

Tune in next time where we talk about starting an actual promotion campaign on the internet to make more people know about a musician and for the musician to start making money from it!!!!!

part 3: Google and the importance of words on the web: more “who’s going to write our blog copy” now then “who’s going to direct our video”
Part 4:  Getting your head around using social media and web 2.0 to promote your music
Part 5: Setting up a music artists website
Part 6: Music Artist Website promotion: Marketing and Sales
Part 7: Music Artist Website Promotion: Engaging, EMail and Monetizing

In digital we trust: Getting your head around the internet, digital music marketing and online promotion

This is part one of a series on basic basics gearing up for two big events:

The launch of kurbs new music marketing community @ http://newmusicmarketing.com

And my very first presentation working with http://www.depotartspace.co.nz/ in devonport.

Jason there is going to be organising a seminar for local musicians covering

- album launch
- tour promotion
- digital strategies (thats me!)

So if you’re in Auckland in late July this should be an awesome opportunity to sponge up vital industry knowledge and hopefully I will get a biscuit.

I am not planning on showing you how to set up a myspace account. I’m not going to be talking about what you would do if you already had as much money behind you as people who have already made it do. To me, a digital strategy is a strategy to go to part time hours in your day job or get off the benefit within 12 months.

Glamourous huh? OK lets go!

Don’t forget we’re shifting to http://musicmarketingmanagement.com  any day now!!!

*

Remember, marketing is all about delivering products and services that are solutions to peoples problems.

Now that my blog has become a half decent platform, I can start using it to draw in certain targets through the content I provide. Those targets of course being the ones who have the most to gain from the value I provide. I mean it’s nice to have a community. It’s nicer to have a community that gives you money for fixing their problems.  

And needing an effective digital music promotions strategy in place that they can afford in the months before it provides even a hint of income is a massive problem for many artists.

If you end up signing up for the new http://newmusicmarketing.com  forum when it launches soon – I’ll be able to reveal many effective techniques that I wouldn’t otherwise share because its too valuable and it takes so long to explain why and how it works!

In the new Kurb artist community, I won’t just be explaining the idea behind things that work, I’ll actually just give out step by step instructions to follow, so you can just get it done with minimum hassle and brain numbing internet marketing talk.

Just late last week I sent out a task for my clients while theyre waiting around on the new forum – I carried out the rather lengthy task too and have been really happy with the result. Sure it was several hours of long and boring work. But romance aside, I had a lot more fun that night than some of the worst gigs I’ve ever played.

 

When it comes to the deepest levels of what I do, once all the long boring internet marketing stuff is done – it really does just come down to engaging the fan. And this is how you do it for your audience – Just like I’m doing for my audience. By providing access to content that draws the prospect into the value, that makes them want more value.

That’s what this introduction to digital music promotion basics is all about. Just a taste of what going to be in that artist community. Here’s the next 6 parts for reference:

And part 2 is here: Are you ready? Content you need for your digital online promotion campaign
And part 3: Google and the importance of words on the web: more “who’s going to write our blog copy” now then “who’s going to direct our video”
Part 4:  Getting your head around using social media and web 2.0 to promote your music
Part 5: Setting up a music artists website
Part 6: Music Artist Website promotion: Marketing and Sales
Part 7: Music Artist Website Promotion: Engaging, EMail and Monetizing

 

The digital revolution is turning everything on it’s head and it’s a whole new world online. I’ve been learning this stuff for years, it’s no wonder artists are so confused!

The http://newmusicmarketing.com community recognises yes, it is work carrying out online promotion tasks but the craziest thing about web promotion is getting your head around how it works and knowing what to do, where to start, where to focus.

 It’s a bit like music itself. You don’t have to know how to read and write music to make great music. You don’t have to have me explain everything about internet marketing for it to work for it. Obviously you would get a lot of benefit out of it, but it is a time vs. benefit equation, and you’ve got more hit songs, blogs and video updates to do, haven’t you?

See, I don’t think musicians want to be worrying about online promotion, they just want to get it done. Artists have enough on their plate writing great music, making meaningful artistic statements that resonate, looking cool, being cool, and interacting with their fans in a meaningful way.

o you think when you’ve made it, you’re going to be interested in building SEO backlinking strategies, administering mailing lists, optimizing ad revenue, keeping two dozen odd social and distribution avenues updated and all the rest.

Hosting on a dedicated server? Domain names? Podcasts? Blog administration – back ups and spam protection . . .

You don’t even want to have to think about it. That’s why we’re here. When you’ve made it, you’re going to pay me well and it won’t even be discussed until there’s a problem.

But until then – you don’t have to worry about how and why it works. Absorb what you can and carry out my instructions and you will have an internet campaign happening that you can afford. And when you’ve seen the results and you’re ready to lift it to the next level and quit doing all the boring stuff yourself, we’ll be there to take you up to the next level with your online promotion campaign.

I don’t promise to make anyone a star. The reality is there may not be stars anymore, just muso’s who can pay their mortgage, and that’s what I’m trying to create.

The thing is you’ve got to remember that now music is going digital, you’ve got a chance to make it that you never had before. But so has everybody else, which as it turns out, is probably just as much work as it used to be.

Now the next blog is going to introduce more fundamental theory and practice on what to know when initiating your online campaign.

part 2 is here: Are you ready? Content you need for your digital online promotion campaign
And part 3: Google and the importance of words on the web: more “who’s going to write our blog copy” now then “who’s going to direct our video”
Part 4:  Getting your head around using social media and web 2.0 to promote your music
Part 5: Setting up a music artists website
Part 6: Music Artist Website promotion: Marketing and Sales
Part 7: Music Artist Website Promotion: Engaging, EMail and Monetizing