Posts tagged as:

giveaway

10 Great Tips to Help You Fail as an Independent Artist

by Scott James October 14, 2010

10 Great Tips to Help you Fail as an Independent ArtistWe’ve all seen and read posts and eBooks about how to ‘succeed’ as independent artists and to be honest, I’ve even written a few. But what about those of us who are bent on failure? Those of us who would like to know how to shoot ourselves in the foot as efficiently and painfully as possible? Those of us who would like to be more unsuccessful and confused? Well this post is for you!

Some of these things I’ve done myself, and I can assure you – they work amazingly well! Read more…

23 comments

Music Marketing 2.0: The Digital Brand Manifesto

by Dexter Bryant Jr. October 11, 2010

Every artist needs a fully customized DIGITAL BRAND to succeed. Proper branding requires the following:

  1. A unique web domain separate from an artist profile on the record label website. The artist’s website functions as the central web hub for that artist’s digital brand.
  2. A simplified e-commerce system on the artist website. Easy check-out store supporting various forms of payment (PayPal, credit, debit, etc).

Read more…

1 comment

Get Offline and Promote the Old Fashioned Way

by CD Baby July 7, 2010

offline music promotionWhile maintaining a steady web presence is a vital part of any musician’s promotional arsenal, you shouldn’t rely on it as the only way for fans to feel connected to your music. Make sure you’re not neglecting an equally important means of making an impact: real-life interaction with your audience. Read more…

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20 Ways To Engage Your Fans

by Scott James May 5, 2010

In this day and age there’s a lot of talk about engaging with fans. Technology has changed marketing from a one way street to a two way conversation. So now that we all know that we’re supposed to engage our fans, how do we do it? I’ve created a list to help get you started with some ideas. Read more…

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Should You Give Your Music Away?
The Great Debate.

by Andre Calilhanna March 15, 2010

No one’s arguing that the changes in the music industry haven’t tipped the scales in favor of the independents. Not only can you forge a path to success without the help of a label, you can choose from a variety of means to achieve it. But that leaves a number of questions on the table, including whether or not you ought to give your music away for free.

As an indie, CD and download sales can be a huge part of the equation in regard to your income. Read more…

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What is a Free CD Worth?

by Scott James March 9, 2010

I recently had someone on the Disc Makers blog ask me about a promotion they were thinking of doing for their upcoming CD. The idea was to give out 50-100 CDs to fans who were willing to recruit a certain number of their friends to join the band’s Facebook fan page. I thought it brought up some things that are worth thinking about. Here was my response:

My first thought is that you might get a better return on investment with Facebook advertising. Read more…

1 comment

Free Music = Free Advertising = Smart Business

by Dexter Bryant Jr. January 26, 2010

Free music is free advertising. You, as the music creator and/or promoter, need not pay a single cent to get your music into the ears of consumers. This is assuming, of course, that you’re aware of how to distribute and market your music online with social media and web 2.0 tools and you believe in the power of the mailing list. Read more…

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10 Best Practices of Online Music Promotion

by Disc Makers September 18, 2009

Get your music streaming : If you want people to get into your music, they need to be able to hear it. Get your entire catalogue up at Last.fm, load those songs on MySpace, make sure iMeem and iLike have your tunes, find out what services people are using in the regions you want to be heard and make sure those people have easy free access to your catalog. No one’s going to fall in love with thirty second tidbits, and if you’ve got a great song, people will want to know if the rest of your stuff is as good. Let them listen. Read more…

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Kickstarter: A New Way to Fund Ideas and Endeavors

by Disc Makers August 25, 2009

Kickstarter got picked up by the New York Times! If you’re unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it’s a “funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers…” where the average Joe can make pledges to artists who need a little help getting started. The Kickstarter website explains that “money is collected only if a project reaches or exceeds its funding goal before time expires. If a project’s funding goal is $5,000 and only $4,999 is pledged when time expires, no money is collected. Zip, zero. Also, no rewards will be delivered. No funding, no rewards. Everyone walks away as if nothing happened.” Why did they decide to run the system like this? They provide three reasons: Read more…

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10 Major Milestones In Modern Music Marketing

by Hypebot August 12, 2009

In no particular order:

1. Seth Godin writes “Permission Marketing” way back in 1999 pointing the way towards a new era of artist and fan relationships.

2. CD Baby offers indie and d.i.y. artists a home to reach a wider audience on the net. Read more…

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Congratulations To @bereanbeats For Winning 1,000 CDs in Jewel Cases!

by Disc Makers July 31, 2009

Berea_AlbumOur week-long 1,000 CD giveaway on Twitter is now over. Thanks to everyone who participated!

We randomly selected a winner this afternoon and…drumroll please…@bereanbeats won! He gets 1,000 CDs in jewel cases, worth $890.

Check out his website here: www.wechristlikerecords.com

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1,000 CDs in jewel cases for one lucky Twitter follower

by Disc Makers July 27, 2009

Win 1000 CDs! All you have to do is follow Disc Makers on Twitter (@discmakers) and post a tweet with this hashtag: #discmakers1000. One lucky follower will be selected at random to receive 1000 CDs in jewel cases – absolutely free! But hurry, this giveaway only runs from 9AM EST on 7/27 to 3PM EST on 7/31. Click here for more details.

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