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Finding a distributor is hard. It can take months and months before you find and secure a distributor, which is not an easy process for independent labels or individuals.

Don’t give up or get discouraged; keep plugging away, even if you can’t find a distributor after months of searching. Distributors get a lot of packages on their desks every week, so it’s imperative that you contact them first before you send them a package. When calling a distributor, you may get them on the first try, or it may take you weeks before you get a live person to talk to.

If you don’t contact them first, and send a package to them unsolicited, it might get tossed or sent back unopened. But you may think, ‘My product is awesome! They would never do that with mine.’ Sorry to bring you bad news, but your package may never get opened. As a matter of fact, it may never get past the receptionist’s desk without prior clearance. So why not make sure that your product has a much better chance of getting heard by getting permission first?

For those of you who feel you could never make any cold calls, you will have to get over it, or have a friend do the calling for you. Getting through the first phone call is always tough, but then you will see, as you make more and more calls, that it gets easier every time. You are in competition with a lot of people who are making the calls. If you don’t call, the chances are very slim that you will ever be heard.

If, after the first time you call, you still feel that you are just too embarrassed, try making up a character and make your call as that character. Become “Jicki Wicki” from “Nagawicki.” (You never know; it could lead to an additional career of acting!) Make it a game.

It is important that you submit your CD to a distributor that distributes your kind of music. The person you send it to is not necessarily the person in charge of final decisions. From the time you start contacting them, it may take you six to eight months to get the actual product in their hands and get them to finally listen to it, before you find the right distributor. Once you finally get one, it can take an additional few months to get added to their database. Here are few words of advice on finding a distributor:

• On your first call, tell them your name and label. If you haven’t picked a name yet, make one up.
• Ask about their submission and distribution policies.
• Ask if being the only act on an indie label is going to cause a problem. Many distributors will not take products from Indie labels unless they have at least three to fifteen CDs in their ’stable.’ Additionally, many distributors will not take you on unless you already have established airplay. The catch-22 is that many radio stations, while they may play an independent artist, will only do so if they have national distribution.
• Ask what they want in the press kit. Some want an entire press kit with a CD (forego sending a headshot unless specifically asked for one), while others just need a letter of summary which contains recent happenings, targeting ideas, and review excerpts, if you have any. It’s important to find out this information beforehand. We found out, after much wasted time and money, that several distributors only wanted the letter. They had opened the package, read the tear sheet, and thrown the rest away. Once we started calling frequently, they asked for the whole package again. What a waste of resources!
• In your letter/press kit they will want to know your “SRP,” which is your Suggested Retail Price. For those of you who are unfamiliar with retail versus wholesale, retail is the price the consumer would pay in a music store and wholesale is the price the distributor pays to the product owner.

My suggestion for SRP is $11.98 – $12.98. You don’t want to price yourself out of the market. When you look in a music store, most major-label artists’ CDs are “on sale” for $11.98. Distributors will typically take 40-60% of your SRP as their cut (which at 40% x $11.98 gives you $7.19 per CD), and the music stores will typically mark up your SRP by $1.00 – $4.00. If you set your SRP at $11.98, and the store adds an additional $2.00 to the price of your CD, the cost to the consumer would be $13.98. However, if you set your SRP at $13.98 and the store adds $2.00, the price to the consumer would be $15.98. Which price do you think a consumer who had never heard of you would be more likely to pay?

• Double-check what style of music they currently distribute.
• Ask if they require your music to be played on a particular radio station.

There are some distributors that require you to be played on specific stations before they will distribute you. If that station does not play your genre of music, you have wasted your product, money, and time. Let me give you an example of why this is another key question. We had asked all of the above questions, with the exception of this particular one. Then we shipped off the package. When we contacted them later, they asked us if we were playing on a certain radio station. We said no.

It turned out that the station only played alternative music, while our CD is Country/Jazz. You can see the problem. When we approached them about this fact, they said they did not distribute Country Music. We asked when they stopped distributing Country Music. The gentleman we spoke with during our initial call said he was considering presenting Country Music to the company, but hadn’t had the chance. He realized that we would never be played on the station on which they require airplay, so he dropped it. A great example of wasted time, effort, and money!

• Inquire where their distribution arm reaches. Ask for specific states and regions. Some distributors only distribute in certain states. If your radio airplay, live gigs, and promotion are not in those regions, they cannot help you.
• When is the best time to reach them?
• Who are some of the major stores they distribute too, and in what areas? Call several of the stores and double-check their references. If the stores have never heard of them, they may not be a legitimate distributor. Save your product from an unscrupulous person who may be trying to rip you off.

This is just a sampling of things you must do in order to obtain a distributor. Don’t forget to get your music listed with iTunes, Sonymusic and all the other online distributors. Once you actually obtain a distributor it’s an entirely different playing field, and a lot of work, but well worth it.

No other type of music stirs the soul and is more widely loved among all groups of people than instrumental music. Solo guitar music is passionate, alive, and full of artistic expression. It crosses social boundaries including ethnicity, religion, and geographical region. Solo piano music is relaxing and soothing. Whether you listen as you relax or listen as you work, great instrumental music can help eliminate distractions, introduce a gentle rhythm to your system and leave you feeling refreshed and restored.

Finding free instrumental music online used to be extremely difficult, but the internet has changed all of that. New and established artists are now able to upload their favorite pieces online for people to download and enjoy. This has enabled artists to utilize the low-cost advertising methods of the internet to get their music out there where it can be heard and enjoyed. But…not all freely-available music is worth listening to. Different level of creativity, performance talent and recording quality can lead to wild variations in the quality of free music. So, quality is the first problem.

What’s been good for the internet has largely been bad for the mainstream music business. You’re likely to find it difficult to locate and purchase quality instrumental music in brick-and-mortar stores due to the limited selection that most music stores carry these days. Those stores which have survived so far generally focus more on stocking big-name best-sellers…and most quality instrumentalists these days fall into the category of “indie musicians”…so they are ignored. So, you may ask…why not simply go for peer-to-peer music sharing (stealing) services? Well, in addition to the moral issues…you have to be careful not to download viruses, spyware, and adware along with your music selections. So, availability is the second problem.

Virus-free music that is uploaded by up-and-coming indie artists is generally easier to find, but it often requires visiting several sites to download a large enough selection to fill up one CD. You’ll likely have to visit many artist websites individually find what you’re looking for. This can be an incredibly time-consuming process. So the third problem is accessibility.

But I’ve recently discovered two sites which offer all three…without fear of viruses and without the need to steal to discover new music:

quality

availability

accessibility

The distribution format is MP3…so there are no hassles with Digital Rights Management (DRM) issues, either.

For a delightful variety of fingerstyle and tapstyle instrumental music performed on acoustic guitar: FreeSoloGuitar.com

And for a great selection of beautiful new-age solo piano pieces: FreeSoloPiano.com

Now I can find music to suit my mood no matter what it is. These sites have quickly become some of my favorites for downloading free music.

Millions of people every day surf the web looking for a variety of different popular music websites and of course they find that there are 1,000’s if not millions of them all over the internet. Its as if these websites are having mini-battles with each other just to gain the number one statues for the market they are targeting.

But what happens if you love all sorts of different music from country to rock? Is there a place for you that will support your need to headbang but also let you cry in your beer if your desire is a good country song with a lot of heart?

There are several ways to narrow down your search each and every time you desire to know what is happening with this metal band or when your favorite singer is going to release their next album. The first step is getting on the internet.

After you have arrived on the World Wide Web you might just need to do a little digging. Look for sites that offer each artist it’s own page. Not only does this make it easier to locate the information you want on one particular artist or band but it also will tell you how easy it will be to come back next time you have a question about someone else.

You also want to find a site that offers MP3 downloads because of course you want the latest music by your favorite artist. Tossing in a video and of course the newest pictures is also on your list of top desires in a music website.

There are several places on the internet that will offer you exactly what you are looking for from NME to BBC and of course there is also CUE music database. When checking out your top contenders who will end up being your favorite music website there are a few things you should be looking for such as a wide range of data from several different sources. You also want to be confident that the latest news about your favorite artist is there.

One more great thing that should be on your top ten list of must haves in a music website is the fact that they have their very own top ten list of articles, top 10 music videos and pictures. Why is this important? Because you might have come to the website seeking information on a certain rapper but what you didn’t know is that your favorite pop star is also in the news. Why be left out because the site leaves you hanging? By finding the perfect site for all of your music desires you wont be left holding the mic anymore!

This site  was created with the primary goal to be a resource for worship leaders and others who love Christian music. Hoping to help people find lyrics to all their favorite Christian songs. Here you’ll find some of your favorite songs and many new songs to learn. We are constantly adding new songs and new features.

With over  7000 of your favorite free Christian music lyrics and check out the latest Christian music news and new releases.You can also checkout your favorite CDs, DVDs or Sheet Music from our partners and don’t forget to visit our sponsor sites!

Keep up to date with the latest music news with Cortina’s Music Blog. Reviews of albums, the current hits and what’s new on the Christian music scene will keep you current.

All lyrics are FREE as a service to the consumer. Feel free to submit any lyrics or artists that you think we may be missing. We are adding updates to our site daily.

Looking for a great community to meet other Christians? Than visit our sponsor sites on our homepage. From Christian dating to schooling to learning how to play guitar, we can meet your social networking needs.

Need new worship music? Visit our catalog of sheet music to update your music library. Find everything you need from contemporary to gospel to pop to praise music. See what’s popular so that your music collection can be a success. Use our tools to help you. User friendly and functional, even the first time online surfer will find our site easy to navigate.

With the recent rise of groups in the UK such as Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire, the internet is proving its worth more and more in the music industry. As traditional formats decline in use, the internet is providing independent musicians with a myriad of possibilities for promoting their music. Indeed, unsigned bands can reach their audiences without needing a record label.

Emerging artists used to spend most of their time down at the post office, licking envelopes, sending off cassettes and making further copies of their cassettes. Looking back, it seemed like the dark ages. Today’s indie music scene sees many bands sat at their computer screens, looking for new ways to promote their music. The emergence of several top bands over the last few months thanks to the Internet is proof that the cream will always rise to the top, and using the net, they have every chance of doing so.

Almost all artists have band pages nowadays. In fact, it seems to be the first step on the way to internet recognition. A band page will commonly feature a news page, a separate page for downloading music for free, a photos page, and a contact page. These band pages are, in effect, business cards for musicians. The website receives promotion on various music websites and forums, and the band can create their own image through web branding.

The majority of band pages are very simple. Some carry an internet radio feature on the home page, others allow you to simply download the music in mp3 format, others have lyrics and features on the group, but the intention is always the same: to get people to listen to the group’s music.

However, the limitation to a band page is that unless the band promotes itself through other means, i.e. through forums, internet radio stations, flyers at concerts, etc., the website will receive very few visitors.

Internet radio is becoming more and more popular. Sites like www.bluebeamradio.com function largely thanks to emerging artists who wish to promote their music, creating a partnership that brings a community of musicians together. By allowing groups to register for free and to post their mp3s, these radio stations are becoming an essential stop for new bands and independent musicians wishing to create a buzz about themselves.

The idea is catching on. Many listeners want to listen to one particular genre, and are frustrated at mainstream radio offerings. By finding an internet radio station that fits their needs, they are introduced to new bands. New bands, in return, are being given an audience that has already decided which genre they want to listen to, and internet radio stations like Blue Beam Radio, for example, offer the top-rated bands prizes, such as a concert in New York. The potential to be heard is enormous; it simply requires time in front of the computer!

So while internet radio stations offer streaming music, people will always want to download music for free online. While the music industry is clearly unhappy about free downloads of mp3s or other music formats, listeners will always find ways of sharing their music, it seems. Emerging artists are today taking advantage of that by scouring the internet for sites that offer free music downloads, and literally giving their music away.

The disadvantage to this is that most people will not automatically download online music from a group that they do not know. Almost all sites that offer free music for download operate using a search engine, and users search directly for a group. However, word of mouth on the internet means that when a band is being talked about, people will actually search for that particular band. The best example of this, as mentioned at the top of this article, is the Arctic Monkeys.

Hailing from Sheffield in the UK, the Arctic Monkeys’ success is due entirely to word of mouth on the internet. Their music is pure indie. Raw, punky, and blessed with no shortage of attitude, the buzz around the Arctic Monkeys started on blogs, and started to snowball. They were offering free mp3 downloads via their own website, which was a very basic portal including downloads, photos, future concerts and latest news. Once the buzz started growing into a shout, their music was available on internet radio stations, music download sites, blogs linked to blogs linked to blogs… very soon, they became the first band to reach number 1 in the UK through internet downloads!

What started off as a music curiosity became a music event. The band were soon appearing on national television, and even on the news, as their album sold more copies on its first day of release than the first releases of Oasis or The Beatles.

What happened in Sheffield can happen anywhere in the world. The internet has brought bands and listeners together at an international level – the rap artist at his home in Seattle can reach the rap fan at his home in Singapore, the independent musician in New York can reach the indie fan in York… but it is also interesting how communities are forming at a local level.

The internet is providing emerging artists with opportunities to create a buzz around their latest concerts, generating an audience that would previously have taken a great deal of legwork to gather. Through mailing lists, online flyers, blog and forum entries, a music event can be publicised many ways. The more innovative a group becomes, the more chance it has of reaching its public.

Local music forums have popped up all around the world. Indie bands will always look for a solid local fan base, and it is thanks to the internet forum that they have found this. Using their forum post signature to promote their website, these bands post flyers, concert information and more, and even share information about how to find concerts, where to buy equipment, and recording techniques. When looking for a local community of listeners, indie bands can easily find local communities of bands who are doing the same thing. While seemingly these bands rarely get the chance to meet each other unless they are playing a gig together, the internet gives them the opportunity to discuss and promote 24 hours a day.

In truth, the internet is simply offering an extension to the old “local scene” that existed before it. Indie music has grown over the last few years largely because of the adaptability of independent musicians to the internet, and because of their community spirit. While prior to the internet, a local music scene would have been limited to a handful of bands, today it is much easier for a group to break onto the local music scene, as long as they have a strong website, a strong image, and of course, good music.

And in the end, the essential truths of the music industry will always bear out. If you don’t have the music, you won’t make the grade. Listeners are canny people, and they will always filter out the good bands from the average bands, regardless of how good the website is, or how persistent the promotion is. However, as indie music flourishes, so do the best bands, and if they are on the right internet radio stations, if they can create the right buzz around themselves, and if they can reach their audience, emerging artists today have every chance not just of increasing their audiences, but of getting a contract with a record label.

Have you ever had the classic experience with a close friend who tells you about a great song and is very confident that you will love it just as much as he or she does? Upon listening to it, you begin to question the trust you have in them, and no longer have faith in their musical opinions. I’ve had this experience one too many times and I say let modern technology succeed where friends have failed!

Finding Music Online

There are several online resources available which are much more intuitive than a friend, and can “learn” your music preferences and make suggestions for new music suited to your tastes. These suggestions are tailored to your musical preference history and are pulled from some of the world’s largest online collections of tagged music. Radio stations almost always have to play corporate-backed bands with label restriction which makes them a bad avenue to find more obscure music.

Online sources are you best bet for finding the best music available. Pulling from a huge compilation of online music, you have access to tons of new music in the genres you want and based on your listening history rather than getting a random suggestion from some weird friend who has an obsession with a local Rush tribute band who couldn’t hit the right notes even if they were sober.

The music-bots are smarter than your friends, and have a slightly different learning capacity. Looking for indie music? Up and coming local and underground musicians get suggested and listed every day and with good ratings from other users, you can use these tools to be introduced to bands and musicians through a new avenue.

What Are My Options?

Pandora is a free online radio project that generates music suggestions based on a profile you create, where you list your favorite artists and genres. Pandora uses a comprehensive database known as the Music Genome Project, to find and match user music preferences with related music. Just go to www.pandora.com, create a profile, and start listening.

Last.fm also has a unique way of gathering preferences to suggest new music to a listener. Users download a plug-in application that will make suggestions based on your listening history. It keeps track of the music you listen to (your current favorite artists) in a process called “scrobbling” and creates your individual music profile based off of that information.

The profile is then compared with the music listening history of millions of other Last.fm users to find listeners with similar tastes, and suggestions for new artists and bands are given based off of that comparison. Last.fm already has over 15 million+ active users to base suggestions from. Visit www.last.fm and let them expose you to the best new music.

Yahoo!’s LAUNCHcast has a similar structure to Last.fm, but lacks a comprehensive music profile list because it has a smaller network of users. LAUNCHcast also seems to offer a more limited library, with more mainstream music than Last.fm does. This seems quite similar to the way that corporate-owned radio stations provide music.

Another resource features unsigned or independent artists that would not be able to reach their potential fan base unless they ended up getting a major record deal and/or corporate sponsorship. Try www.purevolume.com to get into the online indie scene and of course, MySpace always works too.

Most of these sites also make it very easy to purchase your recently discovered music once you decide you like it, so you can add it to your ever-growing collection of music and turn it up!