Last week I co-sponsored the “Distributing and Marketing your Music on the Internet” panel at Artomatic with the Future of Music Coalition and the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts. In lieu of a policy or legal discussion, the panelists offered practical advice to musicians and others interested in marketing and distributing music online.
Eric Gordon, a noted DJ in the real and virtual world, led Erik Gilbert, Vice President of Content for IODA, Amy Schrieffer, product manager of music for NPR, Kristin Thomson, Education Director for the Future of Music Coalition, Greg Beshers, musician, and Chris MacDonald, founder indiefeed.com, through the steps artists should take to not just get their music online but to also get consumers to hear, and buy, it.
The panelists discussed the opportunities available to individual musicians, as well as labels, for digital distribution. For example, services like TuneCore and CD Baby allow artists to make their music available on digital retailers in the same manner that labels have access through services including IODA.
Though the panelists discussed the value of sites like MySpace and YouTube, they all agreed that it is important for active bands to have an official website. Among other reasons, it looks more professional for you to be able to refer someone to www.bandsname.com instead of www.myspace.com/bandsname. Furthermore, the band’s own website can serve as a centralized location for all of its online presences.
But just getting your music on digital retail websites and having a digital presence is not enough according to the panel. The beauty of the Internet is that musicians can interact directly with fans. However, fans have to be able to find you.
Therefore, it is important, according to the panelists, for musicians to stay up on the websites, blogs and other sites that serve as tastemakers for the type of music you create. Each of the panelists agreed that musicians should do their research before submitting music to such tastemakers to better their chances of having their music highlighted. According to a couple of the panelists there is significant value in making a one-on-one connection with the tastemakers in your genre.
Similarly the panelists agreed that there is value in “free music” to the degree it is given away in a strategic matter. That is, letting people who visit your website take away some music has a greater value than handing it out to random people at coffee shops.
The panelists all agree that this is a great time to be in the music business even though sales of product have decreased. There are more options and opportunities for musicians to have their music heard, and to be compensated for the performance of the music. However, musicians will have to take an active role in their career, rather than relying on third parties, to attain success.
March 9, 2009 at 10:06 am |
I have shopped around to get my bands album out and have found that CD baby and Tunecore, but didn’t come close to the what Ditto Music offer (www.dittomusic.co.uk) They put your music on over 700 sites including iTunes, HMV etc, they even do things like mobile buying where you text a word to download a track, something we have used on all our posters. They don’t take commission from you sales unlike CD baby who take 9% and they just seem a bit more friendly. I would recommend anyone checking them out if they want to get their music out there.
Rob