Promoting music. How to?

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webstop

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Here I am sitting and looking and the CD with several intrumental arrangements that I composed and recorded.
Where do I go from here?
The goal is to have this music heard by lyrics writers, performers, etc., so that it could be used for creating songs, performing, for movies, TV and radio shows. The idea of course is to keep copyright.
So, where do I turn?
Thanks for input.
 
I too would like to know more places to put our music, one though is garageband.com, they ask you to listen to about 20 bands and then you get to post one of your own for review.
 
Hey guys,

Think about it for a minute. Why would a producer, etc. spend time sifting through unsolicited material, when they have music coming in every day with the endorsement of someone who has already reviewed it. ANSWER: They don’t.

The few success stories from services like these are purely a matter of math. They get tons of songs. They sort through a couple of the songs now and then and find a good one. They call a contact and hook those artists up for the PR purposes of the site. I can’t prove that, but it’s what I’d do if I was trying to rip young musicians off (and who isn’t these days)

RULE #1: Does the site profit if you get picked up for a commercial, etc? If they don’t they have no vested interest in you

RULE#2: If they do nothing to shop you’re music, it will sit there and gather digital dust.

RULE#3: Anybody that says “Go for it… it’s free” is steering you wrong (IMHO). Time is money. If you want to be successful, you have to learn to budget both.

RULE#4: Exposure costs money… live with it or find another profession.

Please excuse me if I sound brash. My intent is to help, not to insult anyone. The sooner artists discover how the industry really works, the better off they will be.

Have you checked out Taxi? They are very reputable. Ask around and network with other musicians. Judging from his site, David Hooper at indiebiz.com also seems to be reputable and very well informed. I have never spoken to him, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt.

If you want more information, be sure to check out my website. The entire site is written in a similar tell-it-like-it-is fashion. If you disagree with my post here, you will want to come at me with a flame thrower after reading the rest of the information I have posted there. On the other hand, most people tell me they find it very useful.

Brad Gallagher
http://www.just-for-musicians.com/
 
www.taxi.com
mp3.com
LicenseMusic.com

Take your pick. Taxi is good because they have so many good connections. But its about $300 ayear or something like that. Mp3.com has a license music section where you upload your tunes for $25 a month. Check 'em all out. See which one works best for you.

First things first though; register with ASCAP/BMI. ASCAP
 
BTW, Ireally dig your site, Brad. Straight to the point. No BS
 
Ajay,

Thanks for the compliment. A lot of time has gone into the site. And thanks for mentioning the fee. It is $300 a year, although there are some added benefits besides the ones I mentioned. I’ll leave all the selling bs to their web site.

Remember, the purpose of this whole process is to filter crap, annoying as it may seem. The more you have to pay and the more work it is to submit, the more you will stand out. (Obviously make sure any person or service has good credentials before working with them – don’t just throw your money away).

You’re better picking up an extra gig one day for $300 and spending that on a service that gets results than to spend the same amount of time posting to every free outlet in cyberspace. There is no free ride… there are no magic bullets.

Brad Gallagher
http://www.just-for-musicians.com/
 
Here's a good place to start...

http://www.smartapplerocks.com/radio/index.asp

It's a radio station that promotes independent artists like ourselves, and is owned and operated by a member of this BBS.

Now is the time to get your CD to him, because the station is starting up in the next couple of weeks!

Buck
 
Thanks for the input.
Still I feel that the discussion has drifted aside.
I agree with xtremedb that to evaluate the services like garageband.com we need to understand how they function and how they make profit. If it is just a time saving mechanism of filtering out worthy music, it is fine by me. No wonder they have terabites of music on their servers, and it would take zillions man hours just to listen to the first 30 sec of all that conventional way.
But there is a disturbing provision in their agreement stating that although you retain the rights for your own uploaded piece of music they can use it for their marketing purposes. So are they now fishing for freebies?
I listened to a few pieces in electronic music section and I couldn't stop asking myself: where is the music, or am I just too old? Maybe I will upload one song out of curiosity just to see what happens.
As a starter of this thread I am rephrasing my question.
OK, Internet is one possibility.
What is the standard "brick and mortar" way to start promoting music, where to go, who to call, where to send?
 
… A question for the ages.

As you probably know, very few sources will accept unsolicited material.

So what are your options? The same they’ve always been. Tour and network… tour and network. Ask other artists who they have met that could be a possible contact and just follow the thread. Lawyers make up a large portion of the networking picture today. How do you find these people? Once again, ask around.

If you are looking to get your music placed, you have to find a third party with enough networking contacts to get it heard. On the other hand, if you are looking for a deal with a major label (I hope not), you need to get out and sell as much as you can. Play the largest crowds you can find, for people who like your music. CD sales get attention. So do sales of other merchandise and consistently large turnouts for shows. Getting national distribution is kind of like franchising a restaurant. If it’s not making a killing locally, who’d want to take it national?

Brad Gallagher
http://www.just-for-musicians.com/
 
There's a book titeld "Song Writer's Market" 2001 edition published by Writer's Digest Books. I think you will find many of your answers in this book. The 2002 edition might be out now,too. It really is very helpful. Also try ArtistPro.com . They have the industry sourcebase. FREE. But also check out that book I mentiond.

Peace
 
xtremedb, you are right, but what if I am just a studio animal? I am simply doing instrumental pieces. Although I will probably file for both music and sound recording copyright, the main purpose of my recordings is to present the music for further works (like adding lyrics, re-arranging, etc.). So the idea of touring wouldn't work with me. That pretty much narrows by question down to: who are these people or companies that can help me achieve the goal?
I am getting more serious about putting one or two pieces on garageband.com. If my work gets their attention that would be some sign of recognition. And even if they use my music for their own purposes for free, that might still help to add credibility to my name. Right?
Thanks for the hints, AJay. I will certainly check those out.
 
I honestly don’t know that much about song placement in the terms you’re talking about. I think the problems musicians and songwriters have are very similar to the problems businesses have. Finding prospects and converting them to customers is the most expensive thing you will ever have to do in business. But once you have one happy customer, they will usually tell their friends.

Try listing in the Yellow Pages under recording studios. Decide where you want to place your songs and then use a byline that says specializing in whatever that is. There are actually three names listed under the heading “Musician” in my phone book. If memory serves, these guys have been there for a few years. If they didn’t think it was paying off, I’m sure they would have stopped paying for it after the first year.

If you can do a great job once or twice, word travels fast. A friend of mine used to do session work out in LA. He did an especially good job on a breakfast cereal commercial… he got a call for another cereal commercial… did another terrific job. You know how actors get typecast into a specific sort of role… In no time at all, he became the breakfast cereal call guy. I thought that was hilarious :-)

Brad
 
I feel your pain...

Other than the "traditional" sell your soul for your "art" methods, you may want to check these web sites. Tonos.com is a site/service started by Babyface and record execs which is basically a collaboration site for a fee (simple recording software included). Its very user friendly, and you can seach very specifically for your needs. There is another site called itsonlywords.com that has lyrics only for sale if thats what you looking for. If you have a finished product I agree with the others that Taxi may be a good option (I'm not at that point myself, but am shooting for that goal in the near future).
 
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