September 29th, 2010
The ultimate goal of most musicians who use MySpace is to attract a record label. Earning a contract to record an album can be a musician way into the music business. But what can you do to attract record labels? Creating a profile page and uploading music is a good start, but by no means is it the end of your marketing efforts. Below you will find a few tips on attracting a record label and getting them to take notice of your talent.
Tip#1: Upload a Variety of Songs
Just because you have to list the genre of music you perform does not mean you have to upload songs that only reflect that genre! Show record labels and fans that you have other musical interests by uploading songs that are different from one another. This will show your range, ability to attract fans from other genres, which increases your marketability, and prove to record labels you are worth investing in.
Tip#2: Fuel the Fan Fires
Record labels conduct searches on MySpace everyday looking for talented musicians. One way to get them to stop on your profile page is by showing them you have a strong fan base. The more people who visit your site, the more popular your page becomes on MySpace. Use the marketing tools available in order to gain fan interest.
Record labels want to sign those who are already experienced in working crowds during shows and who have a strong online presence because it makes promoting the music much easier. Having a strong fan base will make selling records and make promoting concert tours and other public appearances much easier.
Create a buzz on MySpace by attracting more fans to your page. Join MySpace forums, list upcoming events, and advertise your page on fliers, business cards, and other marketing materials as this will prompt fans who have seen your live shows to visit and download your songs.
Tip#3: Contacting Record Labels
Finding information about record labels is easy because of the internet. Instead of sending a copy of your latest CD or a few of your tunes, you can send record labels the link to your MySpace profile page. Music executives will appreciate this much more than strange pieces of mail showing up at their offices. Sending a quick email with your contact information may be enough to get you noticed. Research record companies to see which ones cater to your genre, and which ones accept email from musicians.
Tip#4: Selling Your Album on MySpace
If you release an album on your own, sell it on MySpace in order to generate buzz and also catch the attention of record labels. Being able to show record labels that you are a professional musician who is passionate about music will set you apart from the rest.
Attracting record labels will require you to remain diligent about marketing your music on MySpace. Uploading songs, using marketing tools such as blogs, video, and photos will help record labels get a better idea of what your sound. Use these marketing tools and others offered on MySpace go showcase your musical talents.
September 29th, 2010 |
Posted in Indie
| Tagged with Attract, Labels, Marketing, Music, MySpace, Record, Tips |
July 30th, 2009
In the mid 70s, punk music emerged in the UK as a social and cultural phenomenon. Reflecting the hopelessness of an uncompromisingly modern, young audience with a common revolutionary mentality, punk music articulated political views, opposition and controversy as a response to the over-romanticizing of flower-power rock of the early 70s. Moreover, punk rock music was the means for the colossal social attack on the British monarchy and nationalism. Being exceedingly irritated by the British system and highly-politicized, UK Punk groups influenced a whole generation with their effortlessly contagious outbreak of violence and impassiveness against commercialism and political correctness.
Promoting nonconformist ground-breaking sounds with minimal instrumentation, anchored by explosive guitar riffs, military drum tempo and chaotic lyrics, punk groups quickly became a massive cultural fact which greatly impacted the young generations. Through punk rock music, young people found a way to express themselves. The Do It Yourself (DIY) ethic was mainly reflected in distinctive clothing, hairstyle and artwork to convey a new radical ethos generated from punk groups. By opposing to the production values of pop music, punk rock soon became something that anyone could do. People did not have to be pretty, neat and trendy in order to perform punk music. The important thing was to be able to get up on stage and play punk rock.
Soon, the hardcore punk music produced the US punk scene in the East and the West Coast. US punk groups were less controversial than their UK peers, but they satisfied the need of a substantial audience in the States for unusually hard, not easily absorbed and utterly anti-mainstream music. The underground punk movement of the 70s in the United States produced scenes that either evolved from punk or applied its DIY ethics to an utterly dissimilar music, sheltering punk’s legacy in the alternative rock and Indie scenes.
Indie music is the abbreviation of the term “independent music”, which was used to describe autonomy from commercial record labels and a DIY approach to recording and publishing. Opposed to the definition of commercial record labels, which own their own distribution channels, independent record labels do not rely their financing on international licensing deals and distribution agreements.
The punk rock era produced a turning point for independent labels and the DIY ethos considering the emergence of a plethora of independent labels. Indie music evolved in the garages of the US and the UK, where young people were figuring out what they really could do with their guitars and electronic equipment. Singing with a pissed-off voice and being focused on the DIY ethic grind that punk music offered, these self-asserted Indie groups transplanted the actions of the proto punk bands into a new kind of music. Separating themselves from their cultural customs through their appearance and music, Indie groups influenced greatly the popular movements of the 70s.
July 30th, 2009 |
Posted in Indie
| Tagged with Ethic, Indie, Influenced, Labels, Punk, Record, Rock |