| CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast |
 Ep.81:
Roundtable - Bolton Gets a Theme Song!
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| CD Baby Music Podcasts |
 Music Discovery
 Hip Hop
 60's Pop
 Rockabilly
 Top Sellers
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| The secret to building an audience on the web - Be interesting! |
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I hear artists and musicians asking all the time, “Is it possible to build a bigger fan base just through the web?” I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and I’m convinced that it’s not as hard as people make it out to be. Here’s the big secret - Be interesting! I’ve learned a lot from reading blogs and using Twitter, and one thing I’ve noticed, is that the people who have learned how to convey information in an interesting manner are the ones that have a growing online presence.
The funny thing is that artists (you know, creative types), are some of the worst people at creating interesting content on the web. Instead of conveying information that peaks the interest of those browsing the internet, they usually just post, “Buy my CD!” all over the place. Why would anyone stop to read more? They won’t. Promoting your music online can be as much about your writing skills as your musical skills. In order to give a push in the right direction, I’ve come up with a couple band updates that are typical web fare, and then created examples of how it can be made better.
Boring: We wrote a new song last night. You can hear a demo here
Better: For some songs, the birthing process can be a bit agonizing. Last night, we finally finished up what might turn out to be our best song to date. This is quite a surprise considering we almost scrapped the idea twice, and the fact that two of us (who shall remain nameless), nearly threw punches over the chord progression of the bridge. Writing music can be a wild ride making it easy to get hung up on the small things and lose perspective. That being said, we’re curious to hear how this new song hits your ears. Please take a listen to the demo we posted and let us know what you think! We promise we won’t throw any punches!
Let your readers in on the process so they have a reason to care. Make them feel as if they need to take a listen in order to make the story complete.
Boring: We had a great show last night! Thanks for coming out!
Better: Last night, the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland OR was a rock n roll cauldron of joy. It was one of those amazing nights where the audience and band were in perfect sync. The type of show that makes all the rehearsals and time we’ve invested as a band worth it. But what those in attendance didn’t see, is what we are now calling “The Salsa Incident.” It’s typical for a venue to provide snacks or food backstage, and at the Doug Fir, this means a giant bowl (the term vat would almost be appropriate) of salsa, and a giant bowl of chips. Well, literally five minutes before we were supposed to go on stage, Peter decided to take the bowl of salsa and……
Well, you get the picture. Your fans most likely saw the show. Tell them about what they didn’t see. There is always an interesting story line, you just have to make a conscious effort to pay attention and look for it.
A few more tips:
The people reading your content and discovering your music online can be anywhere in the world. Don’t write strictly to your local audience.
Try to avoid starting your posts with what I call “We phrases.” Things like - We Played, We recorded, We blah blah blah. This will usually turn into a “We don’t care” from your readers
Read blogs and follow folks on Twitter that you think create interesting content. Learn from them.
If you continue to develop a story mentality, creating interesting content will become second nature, and the result will be more subscribers, more readers, more fans!
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Useful tips, thanks for sharing.
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In addition to music updates, I find that my blog hits go crazy when I talk about my personal life.Regarding failed relationships, what keeps me motivated, having a positive outlook and what my kids are up to.Don't be afraid to allow people into your life.
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Great infomation Kevin.It dose make sence to read the other blogs.and the ones on twetter as I just joined a few days ago.I guess I can learn from those post.
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I learned about this artist maybe a month ago and became an
instant fan. She's been building a significant following on
YouTube, which has generated traffic for her MySpace page,
which has encouraged people around the country to request her
via Eventful.
Her appeal is a combination of funny videos, a gorgeous voice,
and elegantly pure songs.
Danielle Ate the Sandwich
http://www.myspace.com/danielleatethesandwich
http://www.tube.com/user/daniellesmagic
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Hey everyone, Google your artist name and the word RAPIDSHARE. I bet you'll notice ALL of your music is there for FREE!. Users music pay to download, or they can download for free.
WE GET NO CASH FOR THIS. Once an un-ethical buyer of our CDBABY music uploads to this website it diminishes our profits.
Don't you love the Pandora's Box Theory?
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I didn't find any of my artists on there... I bet a fan of yours must have loaded it... looks like a file sharing thing like kazaa.
shouldn't make accusations unless you have all the facts. makes you look idiotic and conspiratic
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| by
on Sunday April 26 2009 @ 11:04AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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scratch that... I just realized you said a buyer did it... I thought you were accusing CDBaby... my bust
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| by
on Thursday May 21 2009 @ 02:50PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Out of curiosity, I decided to see how many times Danielle Ate
the Sandwich had been viewed on YouTube. Adding up views for
all of her videos, I came up with 1,001,862 times.
So someone who records her music and her videos by herself in
her kitchen, who has no one working with her (no manager,
publicist, or booking agent), has been viewed on YouTube more
than 1 million times.
So it can be done. But she's got a great voice, beautiful songs,
and a funny sense of humor, so I'm not sure it's a formula that
will work for everyone.
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Getting seen can be done, certainly. But a million views doesn't translate to a million sales. Not even close. Not that she isn't good. Thanks, Suzanne.
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The thread says "building an audience on the web." So that's what I
was referring to. Her visibility has translated into CD sales, though.
Certainly not one million, but quite good. And there have been
quite a few eventful requests for her to play around the country.
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I should have written Eventful requests, for those who may not
have know what I was referring to.
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Great advice Kevin! Hopefully this will lead to more interesting tweets.
This Kills The Whole Idea, give your music away, for free!
http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/please-buy-my-record-the-futility-of-flogging-music.html
I've tried it all and now I have two goals:
1) Write the best music I can
2) Get it into the hands of as many people as possible.
I feel so liberated and happy because of this.
I have been giving my latest album away for free now for a couple of weeks and it's been the best method I have ever found (Better than hired college radio promoters, touring, advertising, etc.) to accomplish my 2 goals.
Take care,
Monty
http://www.myspace.com/destroytheevidence
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great philosophy monty. my respect! you might be interested in
the artist issa's (jane siberry - www.sheeba.ca)) approach to
selling her music as 'self-determined pricing'. i do this at shows
for the most part. works great. aloha, - de
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Anyone know why bands/people follow you back via twitter when you follow them? I can barely follow three bands/people, I can't imagine following 100+
Take care,
Monty
http://www.myspace.com/destroytheevidence
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I have about 500 cds that I'm thinking about giving away in some sort of promotion for my next cd release . If I do I would like to figure out the most effective way to do it for the most benifit? Any thoughts or ideas that anyone might have on this would help.
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i live in a peaceful town where its easy for me to just bring a small satchel of cds down to the bar on friday and start handing out discs - most people are very surprised and pleased that it is totally free - the only people who turn it down are those who don't like my genre (electronic/house)
i can give out 10 in a night - i'll bet if i teamed up with two or three friends we could deliver 100 in a weekend just hanging around downtown..
maybe hang around the door to the record shop? i haven't tried that one..
http://www.noahcohn.com
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Free music can be great, but don't just give it away! Make sure you get something in return like an email address, or a way to contact that person in the future. I can give away 1,000 CDs to random people, and probably not accomplish anything. Building a relationship with music fans is key, not just handing them a CD.
Also, I would add that you need to target the right audience with free music. If you go to a local club full of people, or just hand music to random folks on the street, it's probably not going to advance your music at all. Honestly, most of those CDs will end up in the trash.
If you want impact, find out where people are that like your music, target that group and get something in exchange like an email address so the relationship can begin.
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i feel like i did post a bit hastily - 500 cds is a whole lot!! i have never considered the ramifications of making up that many for any reason.. i am excited for you that you are working on such a grand scale!
i hand out about a dozen at a time, like i was saying, so i do actually talk with each person if only for a minute - also, each of my cds has my noahcohn.com URL in big letters on the inside cover and the site has my contact info if they want to take it that far..
it is a very cool idea to ask for their email! thanks very much for that tip.. it makes me want some kind of PDA.. i don't even have a cellphone...
i sure hope none of my discs aren't ending up in the trash.. i get a smile and a thank you from each person.. sometimes i don't even have to offer - once a guy saw the colorful cover of a cd i was holding and he asked who was on it - when i told him it was me several other people gathered around and i ended up handing out a bunch of copies..
Richy - could you post a link to your website? it makes me want to know what your music is like and where you are before i say anything about what to do with your large stack of discs..
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write the best music as you can
be in touch, and contact with people to get to know their tastes, an up to date or change your music style to be always different, and colorful and that's how you can get more fans to listen to your music when you make differen kin of music because you have everything for different tastes
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If you consider yourself an entertainer that is exactly what you will come off as. You are a musician, YES but what are you doing? Entertaining! So be that way when ever you interact with you fans.
They come to you to get away from their mundane lives. So don't add to it be captivating!
www.hollywoodhangover.net
www.myspace.com/imhungover
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| NOTE: If you need a reply you should email CD Baby directly instead of posting here. We don't often read old message board postings, and have no way of replying to them!
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