Have an album on iTunes/Napster/Rhapsody etc. How do I get people to liten to/buy it?

pisces7378

pisces7378

New member
Hey gang,

My band "Kilroy" and I just made a record. It's called "The Violent Jolt of the Capitol". We are an Athens, GA based band and we have worked really hard to get this record put together. I have been on this website for at least five years learning and trying new things.
Anyway, the record is done, mastered, and we pressed 1,000 copies through a duplication firm. We also got our album on iTunes/Napster/Rhapsody etc. and have basically sold 9 copies of the record online in three months.

Now, I am not complaining about the financial aspect of it. Selling 9 copies is GREAT from a financial point of view (we are small time). Selling nine copies will keep gas in our van for two out of town shows at least. I just think that the record is really good, and so far no one outside of Athens seems to have even heard it.
The local music magazine "Flagpole" gave us three GREAT reviews on the album and our live shows. (Which you can read here if you'd like: http://www.kilroymusic.com/press.htm )

Basically, I would just like to get the record out to as many people as we can, honestly just because we are that proud of the songs. (I know it sounds naive). We have no idea how to get people to listen to the record online. We play show after show throughout the south-east AL, NC, SC, TN, FL, etc. and people who come to the shows really like the record, but how do I get it in the hands of someone in Colorado? Or Utah? We can't afford a treck like that, and we have no booking agent etc.

I guess this is just my desperate cry for help! And believe me, I am crying.

Thanks guys!
Michael
c/o Kilroy

"The Violent Jolt of the Capitol"
 
first of all i would suggest merchandise e.g. T shirts etc (band name, logo, and most importantly website name made noticable) sell those at gigs or wherever needs be the next you might chastise me for but consider giving some CD's away as freebies you got to entice them after all and what better than something free. finally but most important start compiling a fan database/mailing list at gigs to start literally 'connecting' that way you got information, information being power to allow you to focus your market it makes your audience feel more appreciated therefore more open to spending when their kept in the loop, with the names and adresses be it physical addresses or email addresses you can mail them information on latest news upcoming gigs that way you fish them back to your website and to your gigs, because somebody from one gig may bring a friend who happens to live in colorado, once you got them on the mailing list your on your way, people are mroe inclined to buy something when the feel like they belong to what it is about.
 
A good start would be to learn how to make hyperlinks. You have your MySpace address, but it's not a link. You'd be surprised how lazy people are. I ran my mouse over, it didn't turn into a hand, I said "forget it". Same thing with your "Download Kilroy songs". Nobody's going to bother going to Napster or Itunes and searching for you. You have to make your music accessible at the touch of a button. People are lazy and impatient.
There are many ways to promote your band. I've sold about 50 CD's in the last 2 weeks and I don't even play live. I have a website where people can listen to the songs for free, with a link to my CDBABY page. I give people the choice of buying it at CDBABY or buying straight off my site through Paypal for a few bucks cheaper. I gave a bunch of copies away to people on the internet hoping they'd like it and sure enough, many of my sales came from people who knew someone I gave a CD to.

I have a forum on my site so people can come and hang out while my music plays and post about anything.. I have a LINKS page where I have many bands' links there. Helping other bands like that makes them appreciate you and they help you out however they can in return. I'm no marketing genius and, in fact, I'm probably the worst businessman I know. But, you've got to use your imagination and create a buzz somehow without always coming off like you're trying to sell people something.
 
they both give some good ideas, I would suggest giving out a sampler cd with 3 or 4 songs on it. Dont use your pressed cds, just burn a copy and put your contact info on it. If they like it theyll go to your site and check out the rest off your stuff maybe buy a cd.

For someone who plays live you should sell 70% off your albums at shows. Have t-shirts,stickers, anything with your band on it. Make a deal a cd and a shirt for 15 bucks. Have a few people selling cds for you while you perform, And dont forget product placement. Give a few t-shirts away Hundreds off people will see it, and will make you look more popular.
 
We did the sampler thing and got a great response. We sell "plenty" of physical CDs. I am talking about selling CD's online.

I get the thing about hyperlinks. That is a great idea that I can't believe I overlooked. I made that section of the website very quickly and honestly, never went back to that page.

Any ideas about online marketing to non-fans? We have an email list, and we have a MySpace. We have promoted our website and MySpace with stickers that have our website URL on them. Our CD has our URL on them.

Maybe there is nothing we can really do. I just wanted to keep digging.

Thanks guys!
Michael
 
Hi Mike,


pisces7378 said:
, and we have a MySpace.
Click to expand...

I looked, you have 236 people on myspace. Realistically, you could probably get that many in a day ;) For something like that to work for you, it would take thousands. Tens of thousands. Tens of tens of thousands. Tens of tens of tens of.... :rolleyes: :D

Myspace is a victim of it's own success, but I suppose it could do some good if you worked it like mad.
 
Athens, GA has a nice music community. Why not ask bands like Of Montreal or anyone from the E6 collective how they do it?
 
You've got to do more marketing. A myspace helps a little but not enough by far.

Send CDs to radio stations, music magazines, tv stations, newspapers and other media outlets

Send CDs to pubs, restaurants, fashions shows (!), videogame producers, movie producers

Participate in local/national/international music contests, join other bands and to set up bigger shows that attracts more people

Send mp3s to bloggers, podcasters, internet radio stations, music review sites, [upload to] torrent sites

Upload songs to the multitude of "band exposure" sites out there. Try to get reviews and votes (review other people's music for goodwill)

Do search-engine-optimisation (SEO) for Google to bring your band up nearer to the top (who's that Kilroy band at #3 with the album The Neon Gate, is that you?). Have some sample tracks on your own website (and lose that splash "enter" page, it's so 2000 ;))

Marketing is a fulltime job if you want to do it seriously, so maybe you should look into getting someone (friends?) to help you.

Hope it helps!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top