FREE CONSULTATION? How I approach a new client @ Kurb

How I approach a new client for promo @ Kurb

My commitment to marketing and promotion has seen my range of clients grow from a base specialising in the music industry, to media campaigns involved with environmental organisations, educational institutes and working alongside small business owners to grow their businesses With every client I deal with there's gonna have to be a tailored strategy given the character of the proposition, especially given the range of options we provide - street media, disc media, social media, online media, search optimisation, online advertising and more. But the same methodologies can be applied as any enterprise must develop in a certain logical way. An enterprise must develop content to showcase what it is they offer, they must develop a cohesive brand, and value can be created through many different types of messages that result in exposure, credibility and revenue. Now most often Kurb is involved at only one part of this crucial development. But I tend to make suggestions based not on the options, the effectiveness and our ability to get results and return on investment. For example, Posters is not a big earn for us, but we continue to offer this service because it brings people to us, and the artists we support need access to this service without it costing them an arm and a leg. So we keep doing it. But after 5 years it is my gut feeling that posters are useless for "breaking" anything. If the proposition that the poster is making to the "user" is not familiar, it's not going to get processed. But okay. You're my new client and you've got a few hundred bucks and you want to get started. This is what I say: WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN: If you don't have a website this is going to become a big mid term priority for reasons which I shouldn't have to explain. The reason that it's not top priority is because mean time we'll run HQ from a social site but we want to get something half decent up there from the get go and we want it sorted out right so there's no hassles later on. For example - if you already have a website I'm going to need to be able to interact with the "webmaster" - whoever administers the site. Not in principal to make changes to the way it looks but most importantly it's "searchability". if making basic and regular changes to your website every week is a hassle, then it's going to become a problem, so when starting from scratch we try and anticipate that. ADWORDS: Has to be done. This level of personal customisation and targeting is the future of advertising. This is advertising 2.0. You make your ad, decide who sees it deteremined by location and search query, and how much you want to spend, per day, per month, per lead. You see you only pay when someone actually comes to your site through the ad. Basically, if you don't understand adwords completely, that's cool, we can sort everything out for you. I would suggest a budget of $20-$100 p/month. Otherwise for creatives on the self promotion tip who've got a credit card. Get in there. Start targeting. Get your aim down real good for the optimum. This is the future. Facebook have already introduced a similar system, Myspace will soon too. Like your web site, these campaigns will grow as they are groomed and tweaked to optimised perfection. SEO / SEM - Search Engine Optimisation / Search Engine Marketing I guess just put simply, SEO, search engine optimisation, or the art of making you #1 on Google, is a massive part of online marketing. Luckily in this are I have magical powers. If you go to www.google.CO.NZ and search "online promotion" guess who's number #1? Don't ask me how but I'm good. Just be aware it will take months for me to do this for you, but that's something people usually pay a whole lot more than we charge for. Google will inevitably account for no less than half the traffic to your site, which makes it pretty much the most important part of your marketing. CONTENT DISTRIBUTION + VIDEO Much like adwords I will pretty much walk you through your best options to get your music and other primary content distributed for online revenue (itunes etc.) if you are an artist. Starting with retail and moving to publishing and licensing of content. Whether you're in the entertainment business or not, there is a strong need to develop secondary content for the purpose of promotions, branding and viral opportunities to generate exposure. "Secondary content" is a broad phrase I use to cover a range of media from blog copy, podcasts and video on social networking platforms (Facebook etc.) all the way to blogging platforms (Blogger, Wordpress) podcasts and video platforms (Youtube etc.) Video obviously requires more attention than we have time for now, but we're currently creating packages to get new talent and branding promoted through video, not only through marketing services and automated distribution saving hours of time, but in producing clean, effective and inexpensive video content. If next year you're not using video, you'll be behind the times. Watch for my videos coming soon! But fundamentally, using all these content platforms not only gives you access to millions of worldwide users but also forms a powerful cumulative effect - techniques of which I have barely begun to apply in achieveing what I feel is responsible for the traction I'm now getting with kurb, I mean don't even have an ad in the yellow pages!!! There are many ideas that I have cleverly worked in making the most of networks and commercial possibilities that exist online, many of which are rather too anecdotal to go into now. But have you honestly really thought about how you could be using NZ's most popular website? I've pulled out some crazy propositions to stay within the rules. SOCIAL Well I'm not going to go into the finer details of my deft expertise in this area but it really depends how aggressive you want to be. If you're still developing your content, there's no point in spending a lot of money aggressively promoting. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about album releases and hyping, I'm about a slow building rhythm, you got well recorded songs, videos, photography, design, retailing platforms sorted . . . then lets get stuck in already. Similarly, social platforms present massive untapped opportunities for brands, products and services to create awareness and access. But New Zealanders are savvy and both artists and businesses have to be creative and innovative with the propositioning conducted in these communities. Do you want to be associated with contributing to the community or leeching off it? Sure I get flak for being a spammer. But I get far more support from rando's who follow my blogs, and that goodwill is great marketing. If you genuinely offer value, those who are conscious of it will overlook the spam. POSTERS Obviously I mentioned my feelings about our poster services early in the post. Musicians need to have posters, while other clients may be interested in trying this practical strategy out, and we continue to do it simply because it adds value to our all over service, despite the fact it doesn't add much value to my bank account! More people still end up asking for posters and getting nothing more than posters than don't, but it's a start. I guess in marketing, posters do provide instant gratification but again, without a quality proposition, really it's just more ads. DISCS Obviously if you use disc media (CD or DVDs) in your business or you are a musician or visual performer/artist then you'll be pleased to take advantage of the very generous pricing of our various reproduction packages. But it is also worth considering for non audio/visual clients to consider the ways in which distributing free information or content on CD or DVD can create value as a marketing message or as a free gift. CONCLUSION So that just about covers it, but of course the aim is to get results. The nature of modern marketing - especially in grooming an act for the entertainment industry, or making a new small business profitable - suggests long term results are the only way to achieve lasting profitability, and Kurb provides in response such a range of strategies that create value and exposure and different points without breaking the bank, and most of all, I have personally used these techniques to build the leads generated by my own marketing efforts to a point I'm sure most of you would be happy with. You've got to realise you didn't find me by accident. I'm starting to get real good at making things easy to find, especially to those all important targeted consumers who are most likely to be looking for it. I've also learnt how to slowly turn that into sales. So it's time for you to consider the value of the proposition I'm making you. For $NZ200 for talent and $NZ350 for businesses we'll get under way with the first month of your campaign, once we've gauged which of these strategies, either separately or working together, will provide you with the best value for your money. Despite one month being unlikely to create significant exposure, you might want to try one month before commiting to a 3 month package starting at $500 for talent and $950 for businesses. Please contact me, Matt Turner either by email: kurbpromo@gmail.com Or reach me on my mobile - +64 (0)27 684 8250 Cheers for the connection with Kurb. We’re supporting musicians with successful promotion strategies for a budget. Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you’re interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD’s, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and video marketing program. All the best with your music, from Kurb For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo ..................... .

Matt can haz new music industry model

Okay first, everyone started freaking out that music would become free and nobody would be able to work out how to get paid and break into it. Last week “new models” for the music industry was what everyone was talking about.

 

So first then lets look at hypebots list of new models.

”As CD sales and label profits tumble, a great deal of hope and excitement has been attached to a variety of new models”:

• Music Is Free - And hope to make money elsewhere
  
• Name The Price - Radiohead asks the fans to pay whatever they want
  
• D.I.Y. - The artist is the label handling or hiring out distribution, marketing, etc.
  
• Label As Partner - Band delivers master and label does the rest sharing profits more equitably - often 50/50
  
• Ad Supported Releases - One-offs like Prince and the UK newspaper or Pennywise and MySpace
  
• Ad Supported Labels - The new RCRD LBL
  
• 360 Deals - The band as brand. Labels get a percentage of all revenue streams (albums, tours, merch, etc.) in exchange for longer term career investment
  
• The New Old Label - Keep costs down and hope to monetize across multiple revenue from downolads to ringtones to YouTube

 

Okay the first thing I’ve got to say is this:

All models! Why treat it like a horse race? Different solutions are going to be successful to varying degrees depending on your strengths and strategies, so use them to the degree that they work. If they all work for you, use them all!

I mean if you gig, you gig. If youre some Danny Elfman character who can write music made for TV then you should be looking into that. But the issue is whether revenue from content and even retailing content is even gonna survive. I think before we can even talk about t-shirts the bigger question relates to breaking new acts and how. So today I’m going to be making some models of my own.

If you want to call a blog or an ad supported platform a “label” then sure but I don’t see a big pay out coming. I see innovators who can present dynamic marketing propositions for extracting value from a musicians content and brand - just like prince did.

The models I see don’t include labels because someone like me – an “online content manager” - or possibly your manager will be handling all promotion and distribution of digital content, merchandising, publishing and collecting revenue from such activities, not some huge antiquated apparatus. Either for a fee like I do, or a percentage like a Manager, because if you’re serious, you cant do this by yourself, you need dedicated support in marketing, soliciting and negotiating for revenue, and the technology of media platforms.

If you’ve got the talent to do this, that’s what you should be focused on, not running or promoting the business of your music but in the product itself, in a commitment to quality content.

But let me start from the point where I stand in the business. I thought of offering through kurb a 100% model. That is, Kurb manufactures, distributes, promotes and receives 100% revenue from retail of content. Bands would monetize on the flow on off publicity through gigs, merchandise, licensing, royalties etc. generated by the promotion of the band around the retail of the content, with next to no overheads. But then it could take years to see my end! No Way! There are people in it for the love of music. I just happen to have a good business head on my shoulders as well.

Money in digital retail is like blood from a stone! All I really need to be doing is worrying about expanding on what key controls I have created in my current successful business model so I can learn to break a band like Henry Ford made an automobile. Then, well  . . . all your base are belong to us.

So my next idea came thinking about monetizing on my own music - which lends itself more to an experiment rather than paying off my BMW - when I had a techy friend tell me about this thing called Moodle. Mootle? Apparently it’s a marvellous thing, its free, free open source software, but it was so successful the developer had been consumed by developing this amazing interactive content management system – BUT he didn’t do the obvious thing (like I did) and become a consultant – he made people give a percentage of their revenue from becoming approved consultants themselves!!!

 

THAT WAY HE GOT PAID TO KEEP WORKING ON HIS FREE PRODUCT BY ENGAGING INTERMEDIARIES IN A BLANKET PROPOSITION TO SERVICE ACCESS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT FREE PRODUCT.

So why don’t you just offer anybody and everybody 50% of the profit if they can generate revenue from your music in any way imaginable?

 

This is the crisis of the act that is unknown. The amount of publicity that you must leverage in order to create enough attention to create revenue can only be achieved with either a serious budget or a bold strategy to propagate your content. That’s what’s needed.

 

That’s when amongst all the talk about new revenue models on the net, Dubber over at www.newmusicstrategies.com told us that he liked Bruce Warila over at http://www.unsprungartists.com

Bruce kinda took me as a bit of a crazy genius a bit like Gerd who you kinda react to like: yes you’re right, but it’s madness, and my brain can’t take it. I was down with the Fat packs but by the time we got to cool streams it was getting freaky. You don’t want to be battling over what you’re going to listen to in a public space, you need a gatekeeper on that. You reckon the Fonz would bid on a coolstream? Hell no!

But his blog is mad! I love it. Anyway the thing I really picked up was these Fat package deck things. It’s basically access to ALL your content monetized as either ad supported or premium paid ad-free um “buckets” of access.

And I don’t know where I wemt with it but I was like . . . yeah! I started riffing. You need to become an internet entertainment brand, you need to bundle up all your content, and diversify revenue streams from content by:

 

-         Going old school and selling not that many units on itunes

-         Going new school and embracing a tiny percentage of ad supported revenue

 

AND . . . create the ultimate unique proposition for premium access.

 

MAKE IT SO YOU PAY ONCE AND . . . GET PERPETUAL ACCESS.

 

I DON”T WANT TO PAY A FLAT RATE THAT WILL TIME OUT. I WANT TO PAY A FLAT FEE. EVERYTHING. FOREVER.

Now I’m sounding mad. A one time say - $50 charge allows you unlimited access to not only all archived content by the band, but everything else the band produces ever – everything that is and will be available on any other network, retail, ad supported etc would be available to the one time premium subscribers. Obviously this would need some ironing. But bare with me.

HYPOTHETICAL TIMELINE

In the beginning, when the band has only demos, things will be slow but they should be able to gain 100 close local supporters if they’re any good. Supporters are almost investing in the future of content from this band that they will have perpetual access to. This provides the revenue with which they can step up their online promotion, record a clutch of songs half decently, and arrange inter city tours and swap gigs. Subscribers will be built one by one, and the savvy and hardy musicians will be adapted to updating new content over several formats EVERY WEEK.

 

By the time the band has 1000 subscribed supporters, they’re already on their way. It may have taken a couple of years, but now the band has the funds to take time off to write and record, mount a professional campaign, produce quality merchandise. At this point they should already be monetizing on the traffic through their site.

Even if it takes 5 years or more, by the time the band has 10,000 subscribers – from which  they’ve grossed half a million dollars just in subscription fees, but that’s still nothing compared to the value of those subscribers whose loyalty has been earned with years of regular content - they’re probably ready to pay $50 all over again for whatever physical product you make available – vinyl, t-shirts, coffee mugs, whatever suits your niche.

This model is all about every song traded on P2P and every copy of the big single downloaded off itunes and every ad supported platform, while still generating modest income, becoming the marketing for the flagship content product – unlimited and perpetual access to all digital content for $50. But it’s all about choice. You can still charge them $20 for a year or $30 for 2.

 

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. BRING THAT MOODLE BACK!

You can get canny. Real canny. I’m not just talking about affiliate schemes to incentivise paid up members to sign up their mates. I mean incentivise them to retail as well as develop products and merchandise for retail. Go public. Put up a perpetual 5% dividend of online profit to be shared amongst  the first 500 – which means when the website reaches 10,000 subscribers . . . the first 500 members will get their money  back!

 

Oh! This is making my brain twitch! Countless promotional offshoots abound. I’m getting antsy! Before we go lets look at the solids:

 

- A non exclusive, high value premium content product is only the most expensive of a range of choices

 

- Unique value proposition with unique opportunities to incentivize fans and create revenue streams from related non digital content

 

- the value of the and media and content on offer continues to increase over time as more content is continually added to the package

- Over time, the real asset becomes not the content but the access to the accumulation of subscribers as an active audience. Perhaps a forum would be the best place for fans to discuss fair and appropriate use of advertising and special product offers to existing subscribers.

Sorry I got kind of distracted. But I just love my new model! I’m off to get started! Maybe I can still hit half a mill in sales before I’m 35!

Puff Daddy, New Music industry, 360 deals, Ancillary earnings etc.

If you're smart you're probably thininking . . . but but but puff daddy - I mean uhhh just "Diddy" - is a commercial sell out rapper and I’m a serious songwriter with integrity who’s authentic!!! Or something. Well good. on. you.

So then you understand the crisis of credibility that the advertising industry is facing right now and their desperate need to connect their message in the most subtle and nuanced of ways with . . . you guessed it. Something authentic.

No, you don’t have to endorse “dolphin killers detergent” so I don’t want to hear anybody bleating about “selling out”. if you’re “doing it for the love” then go do it and quit whining about only playing to 12 people and how christmas will be hard this year. sheesh.

I’ve never been a huge fan of his material or anything but the guy knows how to get paid – something of a current preoccupation for musicians currently working part time jobs or looking after their kids.

Also big bad bob is right to chastise Gene Simmons for saying he can’t be bothered making an album if he can’t get paid. Prince, Radiohead, The Eagles . . . have certainly landed on their feet.

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2007/11/19/more-eagles/

Bob's also had another go at Jay Z for his prehistoric decision to not allow his album to be broken up for sale as singles online. The argument maybe that Jay Z's had 10 no. 1 albums and he can do what he likes, but if you're not Jay Z . . . don't try this foolishness at home. It's about access people. Make it accessible. Become a star. Then we'll worry about the cash later.

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2007/11/20/jermaine-dupri-on-the-huffington-post/


Over to the piece on the diddymeister . . .


While the music business continues its downward spiral, the latest talk among label executives is revolving around so-called 360 deals: ventures designed to give them a piece of all the revenues that come an artist's way.

Executives say monetizing and sharing in every aspect of a performer's career--from recording and publishing to movies, merchandising and endorsement deals--could make up for losses in record sales. But critics argue that the strategy is just another way for the majors to take money out of an artist's pocket.

When this reporter sat down for a recent interview with Sean "Diddy" Combs, one of music's biggest voices and a leading architect of the concept of artist as brand, he expressed a few reservations about the record industry's latest magic bullet.

"Right now, everyone just says this brand-building concept out of their mouths so easily, claiming it's revolutionizing the industry," he says. "But it takes a certain type of superstar who understands at all times what it takes to be in the middle of a 360 situation. This is not going to solve the labels' problem."

Brand bonanza

The hip-hop mogul knows whereof he speaks. He has been so successful at building brands outside of music that fashion, fragrances, restaurants, television and film production, and now vodka collectively make up the lion's share of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group's approximately $500 million in annual sales. Music accounts for just $100 million, according to industry estimates.

Mr. Combs' focus on building an urban lifestyle empire began more than a decade ago, even before he became a huge name on the music scene.

"He created a movement, and he's carried that over into everything he's done in the branding space," says Rob Stone, a former colleague of Mr. Combs' at Arista Records. He now heads Cornerstone Promotion, which specializes in leveraging music to market consumer products.

"Early on, I made a 360 deal with myself," Mr. Combs says. "What separates me is that I always had a blueprint to be a lifestyle brand. The things people are talking about doing now I already did. I always wanted to diversify."

Building his brands didn't come easily. Artists interested in exploring branding and endorsement opportunities need to do their homework, be selective and have a passion for the products they are touting, says Mr. Combs.

Becoming a business

"You have to become and understand the business you take on," he says. A towering poster in Times Square of Mr. Combs, decked out in clothing from his eponymous Sean John line, says it all.

Mr. Combs demonstrates his commitment to the products under his umbrella with the latest addition to his roster of luxury products: Ciroc, a premium vodka that he's marketing in partnership with distributor Diageo. He plans to be hands-on in developing the liquor's marketing campaign.

"This is not about me just throwing a couple of parties and sticking Ciroc in a music video," he says.

Of course, music still matters to Mr. Combs.

"Music is that thing that makes [my products] sexy and edgy and gives me that direct connection to the consumer," says Mr. Combs. "It's an endorsement of how cool my brand is."



See what Puffy's saying? He's only making %20 of his earn of the music he sells. He's leveraging his rock star status to sell 400 mill worth of other stuff that people who won't pay for music WILL pay for.


Cheers for the connection with Kurb.

We’re supporting musicians with successful promotion strategies for a budget. Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you’re interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD’s, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and videomarketing program.

All the best with your music, from Kurb
For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo


.....................
Kurb Myspace

content and trust - working backwards from success

It’s always good to take a “working backwards” perspective on things to get a clearer perspective on the journey from where you are to where you want to be.

That is, in my case, I create services out of successful strategies. I think in observing these strategies in both form and content, you can reflect on opportunities to adapt these techniques to your own uses promoting your music.

A lot of musicians are frustrated about not getting paid, and I understand. All I can do is provide concepts that have proven successful in my own web 2.0 kind of way and draw from that.

And basically I’m still promoting two major concepts: Content and Trust.

I don’t think you can be a musician any more. You are a provider of entertainment content. Content is contact. Contact is access. Access is value, and value is revenue.

Secondary content is blogs, videos, and podcasts, you’re covering your main social platforms, Myspace, Bebo, You’ve already signed up for a Facebook band page HAVEN’T YOU?, your blogs are on Blogger, Wordpress, Livejournal maybe you’re paying for Typepad, but if you’re rancid on it, you’re on Stumbleupon, Digg and Del.icio.us. You’re on Last.fm, you use Ilike. You wanna kick out free mp3’s? Of course you’re on Mp3.com, Download.com, Soundclick.

You have to provide this content consistently to build and maintain your audience. This whole album release hype shit is nonsense. Look at youtube: you literally have to become a “channel”. Fans tune in. They want to be updated. They want fresh content. Producing an “album” is a distinctly arbitrary form of delivery.

My blogs are already kicking off quite nicely and I’m still just tooling around. At the end of the day I’ve at least got a couple of Page Rank 3’s under my belt, and most of my key content pages on www.kurb.co.nz has gone to PR3 too. I’m into the habit of posting regularly so things will only build.

As I said this summer I’m finishing our studio set in the garage. My goal is when working with bands, at LEAST fortnightly, we want them in front of the camera, reporting to fans, we want the fans to find out who the musicians are. We want to build relationships.

Presentation is a massive part of content, all this branding stuff, your aesthetic signatures, this IS important. You just can’t afford to spend money on this stuff!

I’m already making connections - obviously we’re living in the 21st century and India is well, it’s basically the done thing. That’s why what I’m doing is finding workers in India who can deliver to an expected standard design and web services on the more techy side of things where I am less adept, at a price that’s affordable for artists.

Which comes round to my second point. Trust.

Honesty and credibility are often in short supply on the internet and that’s why it’s becoming so valuable.


You wouldn’t really trust some Indian on the other side of the world to deliver a high standard of presentation encapsulating the finely nuanced visual message of your music. That is why it is my job to find trustworthy workers working within a quality regulated environment in this area to do so, provide trusted services, and profit from it.

What can I say about trust? How about this? If you’re music isn’t that good, don’t hide from it. Don’t pretend you’re the greatest band in the world if you’re not. This is the internet! People are looking to connect with something that’s honest, that they can understand, that they can relate to, identify with . . . and trust!!!

Trust is a commitment to providing access to valuable content. Useful content. You can gain trust and credibility just by being a source of valuable information – theres nothing to say you cant promote other peoples credited content that you feel has value to your online following.

That’s why I write these damn blogs, and I repost heaps of sourced articles. To most people the kind of stuff I do is way off the map, so it’s up to me to draw potential clients a picture, with them in it, just like I’m doing right now. So are you and your music. You gotta open your mouth and start talking, start a conversation with your fans, get them talking back, staying for a cuppa, and picking up something they can take away, share . . . and a reason to come back!

You don’t have to be the best band in the world in order for people to connect with what you’re doing but you’ve got to show them what your about, you’ve got to tell a story . . . or no one will really care.

Just another bunch of guys with a bunch of songs . . .


Cheers for the connection with Kurb.

We’re supporting musicians with successful promotion strategies for a budget. Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you’re interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD’s, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and videomarketing program.

All the best with your music, from Kurb
For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo


.....................
Kurb Myspace

Facebook doesn't grab me but I'm grabbing it

FACEBOOK MUSIC IS ON!!!! GO! GO NOW! GET IN THERE.

More coming up on Googles new open social that should fix everything. I mean . . . well . . .

Social networks on the move: Facebook doesn’t grab me but I’m grabbing it

I don’t like Facebook! It doesn’t do much for me! Silly little stupid boxes everywhere and constantly updating streams of information every time someone on my friends list scratches their arse!

People I barely know off my address book are cyber “hugging” me with their crazy apps and widgets (these are little like mini websites embedded within a website page which are massive component for web 2.0 and distributing content) and “challenging me to an arm wrestle” or “buying me a drink”.

It’s bizarre. What does it mean? I came to network!

I came to represent what I have to offer! I came to reap the kudos of electro shocking music promotion techniques in New Zealand into the 21st century! I don’t want to exchange cutesy little trivialities, just read my damn blog feed – and where am I to pimp my big ass backlinks back to my blog and back to the kurb home site, where I’ve got you where I want you? I’ve got to say myspace is much better for marketing and branding. Facebook’s great if you want to mess around with your mates. But I don’t know about breaking new bands.

Oh I know what you’re thinking, I’m just put out because everyone’s leaving myspace and I can’t get them with my spam. Well just you shush up and don’t worry about that. I got all the spam I need – it just takes time to perfect the recipe and this one’s going to take an extra spoonful of my patented innocuous enthusiasm infused with mass produced sincerity too work the touchy feely environment of Facebook. And Bebo is much the same, but with much a much larger teen focus.

On Bebo the concept of a “band page” is more like a myspace group while Facebook you can’t even have a weird sounding name! To me, unless there’s a change in direction, it is even more of a call to develop your secondary content (video, blog, alternative audio content that you can still promote on facebook) as a strong brand for your band’s identity because on facebook . . . your band isn’t allowed an identity!

THAT of course could all be about to change with Facebook music rumours now flying all over the place.

BREAKING NEWS: FACEBOOK MUSIC IS NOW ON!!! GO GO GO!!!

This from Co-Ed magazine:

Here’s how it works:
Major and independent label artists and will register their sub-domain name through Facebook. Like “www.facebook.com/insertbandnamehere” for example.
On this page Facebook users will be allowed to become “fans” of the artist and connect to the media hosted on the “artist page.”
In the first generation of Facebook Music “fans” will be allowed to listen to artist’s music, watch videos, upload pictures, add music to their page, receive tour information and interact with other fans. Online music moguls, be warned.
Future generations will come quickly and allow unprecedented targeted marketing, ad buys and media promotion. Facebook is developing artist specific sales widgets to allow for music sales through the site as well.


Of course there is an important reason I’m bringing up these new socials which relates to a common theme recently – go where the people are, carve your fanbase out of the traffic.

% of web traffic in NZ October 2007-10-25

1 – Google – 7.13%
2 – Trademe – 3.92%
4 – Bebo - 2.06%
8 – Facebook – 1.11%
9 – Youtube – 1.08%
20 – Myspace - .49%

You feeling me? Myspace is done. I hope you didn’t put too much effort like some.

Go where the people are. The kiddies are going to Bebo, and the grown ups are going to Facebook.

And of course, Kurb is offering all the tools to give you the edge. Seeya there.



Cheers for the connection with Kurb.

We’re supporting musicians with successful promotion strategies for a budget. Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you’re interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD’s, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and videomarketing program.


All the best with your music, from Kurb
For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo

Online music promotion: 44 apps and critical mass

So recently if you follow my stuff on myspace, or my main blog, or facebook, I’ve been talking about the importance of creating and distributing regular online content and now I’m going to be talking about the best way to go about deciding how and where to do that.

I’ve talked about your website as your online “home” – a place where you might build a community for fans, and of sites like myspace as “doorways” to that community. We’re talking about the best ways for you to take your content and fit it in with media communities that already exist – that is, going to where the people already are. So build a great big ornate entrance for the main streets that are Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube but just forget about all those back alley sites that no one cares about!

Gerd Leonhard recently blogged this little slideshow from hypebot/gotoweb2.0 covering 44 web 2.0 music sites. And recently with me having to slog through more geek shit on Social bookmarking now in order to evaluate it’s ability to get results for me and my clients, I had to say, even me, who goes on 6 hour online research binges – is their really time for all this? 44 new web 2.0 sites to promote your music on?

http://go2web2.blogspot.com/2007/10/44-web-20-music-services-in-one.html

I mean guys I get all my juice from such as Andrew Dubber (www.newmusicstrategies.com) and Gerd Leonhard (www.mediafuturist.com) are always like – try this new site, watch out for this new start up, try this new app, add this widget – even those hypebot tips I posted! And what? Is there anybody there? Is anybody listening? Is the crowd calling out for more? Sure if you’re radiohead then it doesn’t matter what platform you’re using, the masses are already looking for you!

Look I been through all this and basically, if you don’t even have an audience to identify, getting exposure for your stuff on the net is going to come down – once again – to the numbers game . . . on the internet means that means TRAFFIC.

These 44 sites – I don’t care. I don’t care how snazzy they look or what exciting new feature they offer. Or how many times they advance theoretically how they can “get your music out to the world” using this new fangled computer internet thing.

If nobodies using their site, if there’s no audience to promote to, then it’s just a waste of time. You’ll come back in a year, and the site will be gone. Another failed online music industry concept start up goes out with a whimper.

Should we get excited about www.we7.com, the site that offers artists a share of advertising revenue in exchange for offering free downloads?

Well why is myspace such a big deal? Bebo? Youtube? Facebook? Google? Itunes? Because it’s what everyone’s using!!! It’s the party that everyone’s at. They’re not at those other 44 sites! I look at the traffic.
Let’s look at specifically our local NZ target audience. I hope you’re not working to hard on your myspace presence or this could be a little deflating. You gotta stay up with it.

% of web traffic in NZ October 2007-10-25
1 – Google – 7.13%
2 – Trademe – 3.92%
4 – Bebo - 2.06%
8 – Facebook – 1.11%
9 – Youtube – 1.08%
20 – Myspace - .49%

See if you’re smart like me you’ll be thinking of clever ways to exploit trademe for marketing. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve but i’m keeping those little puppies close to my chest.

(trademe is NZ's ebay for overseas readers)

Socials like myspace dwarf distribution sites like Soundclick, Download and Mp3. Still use them! Use Last.fm – the biggest aggregator, use Garageband.com or sonific to create a media platform you can distribute – for example the Ilike widget for spreading your music on facebook . . . which is NOW partnered with billboard to render chart information!

But don’t waste your time on sites without any qualifying knowledge as to what signing up and maintaining your presence or even paying them for services will really render in return.

Paying to use a website is like buying a cd. It's a 20th century thing. Forget about it. It's antiquated.

But let's use an example, I’m really excited about the new isynx.com site which is attempting to open up licensing and syncing royalties to everyday artist – tipped to be see major growth in revenue distribution for artists.
But it doesn’t matter how romantic I am about these ideas, it won’t make this site work. So no, I’m not going to spend even 20 minutes to sign up. I’m going to come back in a month and see what happens, to see if gets traction, if it can build a critical mass.

So how do you know where to invest your effort? Quick rule of thumb: If you hear a site discussed in offline media – like myspace, bebo or facebook – you better get your ass on there.

This is really about time management. You know you’ve got to build your presence painstakingly online. Every online promo handbook tells you to create every opportunity for exposure, but really! It takes energy to create energy. Your promotional effort online has to be just like a gig, a rookie band playing a warm up, you’ve got to get the crowd involved, create a vibe, foster the community and create something there that people walking past will see and want to be a part of. But not if there’s nobody walking past! Your energy might be better applied to other tasks in other areas.

social bookmarking: geeking out on it

See this is one frustrating part of my job is trying to understand technology that only geeks currently use so that 6,12,18 months down the track when it becomes popular enough to offer real promotion opportunities to musicians and creatives I've already got a thorough understanding - as it was one of the great fortunes of my life that such a thing happened with myspace and social networking to put me where I am today.
I will be blogging soon about deciding how to avoid wasting your time resources on sites that won't help promote your music because there's no one there to promote your music to.
But see as I've said before, promoting on the net is all about having the distribution systems in place for the ongoing genration of content, and having this set up in the most favourable way for search.
Although theories are starting to fester in the unlikeliest corners of Nigeria that Social - with the potential to infinitely and effortlessly connect, network, aggregate and deliver is gonna eventually be bigger than search, the sons of myspace will destroy the sons of google.
But you'll see that rather than going nutty on the quantity and quality of my content creation (and here I am writing a boring as geeky blog post to blow off steam) which comes further down the line, I'm strengthening my distribution network.
Because the latest technology I am trying to come to grips with in this area is social bookmarking and feeds and the like and though it may seem otherwise to you who are co ordinated enough to play an instrument - I am not naturally adapted to such geek environments.
And don't try and argue that Stumbleupon, Digg and Del.icio.us isn't geek shit. Myspace is mainstream. Social bookmarking is still geek shit.
So whats it about? Well I have managed to wrap my head around the significance of distribution and ease of access to quality information.
Although as you know I write my own material when I can, and I'm trying to get more into useful and unique analyses, you probably notice I repost a lot of articles I find for you people to read and the happy result is more business and more kudos for my business by providing access to significant items of interest in my chosen field of expertise.
So whereas in times past this would have been considered akin to plagiarism, these days, with the flaws of the internet manifested by google in screeds of pointless unvaluable information or "noise", being able to provide direct access to high quality information, creating trust and worthiness - as I've pointed out several times - is now quite a powerful marketing strategy.
Hopefully you can reflect on how all this relates to YOUR online promotion strategy.
What kind of access and redistribution of information can you provide to your fanbase to add value to your brand?
More less geek oriented stuff coming through soon.
Stupid bloody bookmarking sites. This better bump my google ranking and get me lots of hits.

Lets see how this goes:

Hot to get gigs/shows/bookings

How to get gigs

Here's another article I grabbed this time from about.com (music.about.com) they got a few good ones! People are always asking me how to get gigs, but I don't touch that stuff! Posters I do, press kits I do, CD promos I do, gig promotion on and networking on myspace, bebo, facebook I do. My role I see as a happy helper who makes sure your gig doesn't go completely to shit and become a lasting scar on your psyche. Not a bad deal for a couple of hundy. I know all about gigging, touring, promoting gigs, I've done plenty of it, made all the mistakes. If you're an unknown, you're going to have to spend a couple of years playing gigs to no one and it coming out of your own pocket and there's no cut in that for me! If you're not an unknown, then you'll already have a manager. Poor sod. Fortunately, online promotion and networking gives you a chance to at least generate some interest before you hit the stage, but being a manager is not a glamourous or thankful job - that's why I charge $500 p/month to do it on top of a full promotions package. OH ALSO: one day I will have to write about why it's important to be nice. From my experience Auckland is the ONLY place in NZ where not being nice won't fuck your career and even then, you'll be lucky. Pay your debts, don't be rude or demanding, don't get into "beef" on the "scene" with other musicians. Trust me. Or 6 months from now you'll be sitting in your room wondering why you never get any gigs. Of course it wasn't to do with you dissing that band on the message boards. HOW TO GET GIGS: One of the best ways to build up a fan base for your band is to get out there and play live, as often as your can. But often bands find themselves between a rock and hard place - to get a gig, you need an audience, but to get an audience, you need a gig. You can rise above that, however, and get your band in front of the crowd if you follow the right steps. This how-to guide will cover getting a single show, but many of these steps can be built upon to book your band an entire tour. 1. Think Locally - The best place to start looking for gigs is in your own backyard. Get to know the music scene in your area. What venues and promoters are willing to give up and coming bands a chance? What bands in your area play live often and might need a support act? What venues in your area put on touring bands, who might need a local opening act? To get a gig, all of these factors can come into play. Approaching the right venues will open doors to you, and there is strength in numbers, so working together will the other bands in the area will increase the opportunities for everyone. (Plus, you can share gear!) 2. Get your Promo Package Together - [or "media kit"] Have a standard package ready to introduce yourself to venues and promoters. Much like the package you use when you send a demo to a label , this promo package should be short and sweet. Include a short demo CD, a short bio or one sheet to introduce the band, and some press clippings, if you have any (especially ones that review live performances). If you're going to approach people by email instead, cut and paste the info into the body of an email and include a link to a site where your music can be heard. Don't send attachments - most people won't open them. 3. Approach the Venue - To get a gig directly with a venue, call and find out who is in charge of booking bands and send them your promo package. They may tell when to contact them again. If not, give them about a week, and follow up by phone or email. Keep trying until you get an answer. If you've haven't played live much, your best bet is try to get on an existing bill with a band that already has a bit of a following. Keep in mind that if you book with a venue, you may be in charge of promoting the show yourself and paying venue rental fees, unless you are invited on to an existing concert bill. 4. Approach the Promoter - If you'd rather not self promote and take on venue fees, you can approach a promoter to get a gig. Send your promo pack to the promoter and follow up in the same way you would with a venue. If a promoter agrees to get you a show, they will book the venue and promote the show for you, but you may need to send them posters you have made yourself to do so. If the promoter doesn't want to put you on by yourself yet, ask them if they have any shows you could play as an opening act. If they say no, check in from time to time to remind them you are always available as a support act. [Matt - lets not pussyfoot about. If you're not established and there's a big promoter guy who's running game in your scene, you'll have to offer to play for free. Rememeber, promoters are often people who like to feel important. work with that.] 5. Understand the Deal - This is the trickiest part for most bands. First, understand that when you are just getting started, you often will not make money on your shows. In fact, you may even end up out of pocket. That doesn't mean it was all for nothing - building up your fan base will mean you do make money on future gigs. If you do make money, you will either have a deal where you get paid a pre-agreed amount no matter how many people turn up, or you will have a door split deal . Either deal is fine and fair. Focus on building your audience and not the money right now. 6. Play the Gig - Sounds obvious, I know, but the way you handle the gig can have a lasting impact on your ability to get future shows. Show up on time for the soundcheck and if there are other bands playing, remember everyone needs time for their soundcheck. Be professional - there is likely to be free drinks around, but remember everyone is there to hear your music, not to see if you can handle your beer. Don't sell yourself short by getting on stage in anything but your top shape, ready to play a great show. Play a good show, be courteous and professional, and you'll soon be getting more show offers! [Matt - this is a big one. If you're just starting out, don't be all anal about soundcheck and free drinks!!! You're just there to fill in the gap before the guys everyones coming to see plays. The promoter will look at you like the amateur you are if you stat getting huffy and making demands.] Tips: 1. Don't Get Caught Up on the Deal - This is worth repeating. Your goal is build up your audience. Promoters and venues are taking a chance on you when you are just getting started - they will be more willing to give you a chance if you don't have a lot of financial demands. 2. But Don't Pay to Play - If you're putting on your own show, of course you may have to pay a venue hire fee and you may to pay some promotional costs. However, don't pay money simply to get on a bill, and don't trust anyone who asks you to. 3. Invite the Press - Keep the entertainment writers at your local papers informed about your activities and always invite them to the show. Also, keep your local radio stations up to date on what's happening with your band and when you're playing. 4. Respect the Guest List - Guests lists have a way of getting out of hand, fast. Don't push it with promoters with the guest list when you are trying to build up a name for yourself. If you're part of a larger bill, you may not even have any guest list spaces. If you do, use what you have and be done with it. Don't try to get 50 of your closest cheapskate friends into every show for free. You'll get a bad name for yourself. More How To's from your Guide To Music Careers Playing live may be the most important thing a band can do. If your band is unsigned, playing live is a great way to build up a loyal fan base, get some media attention and attract record label interest. For signed bands, gigs are the means by which you can keep building your audience while promoting your new releases. Booking a gig can seem like an overwhelming process, however, especially when a band is doing all of the booking themselves. If you're in a cold sweat, wondering how to get some shows for your band, never fear. Take a deep breath, relax and follow these steps that are sure to get your band on stage. The Basics - Let's go right back to the beginning. Before you even can think about booking a gig, there are a few things you will need to have in place: • A demo or a finished CD, or a website on which people can listen to your music • A press pack, including information about your band and clippings of any press coverage you may have had. You should also have an idea of when you want to play a show - approaching a venue or promoter and asking for a gig "whenever" isn't very helpful. Come up with a window of preferred dates and make sure everyone in the band has their calendar clear for those days. Find the Right People - So, you've got the promo package and demo ready to go - now, who should you send it to? There are two ways you can go about booking a gig: • Book directly with the venue, in which case you as a band take on the costs and responsibilities of promoting the show • Book with a promoter, who takes charge of promoting the show Sometimes, venues work with a specific promoter, and sometimes they don't. Give your venue of choice a call to find out how they do things. If you don't know any promoters, ask the venue for advice, or ask around to find out with whom other bands in your area work. If possible, get the names of a few different promoters and venue booking agents and send them all promo packages - nothing wrong with people fighting to give you a chance to play, right? Tired of booking gigs for yourself? Try getting a manager or agent on board who can help you get the shows you want. The Deal - A good deal is part and parcel of a good gig. You should prepare yourself, however, for the fact that many shows lose money. If you're just getting started and don't have much of a following yet, you should think of your gigs as promotional opportunities for your band rather than money making opportunities. Your willingness to work with a promoter and/or a venue to try and minimize the financial risk involved in a show will only help you convince people to work with you. Your deal should detail how any income for the show will be divided, as well as confirming information about things like accommodation for the band, riders, backline, and soundchecks. If there is something you're unsure about or you don't think is fair, speak up well in advance of the show. • Door Split Deals • Before you Sign a Music Promoter Contract • Backline • Rider • Should I Pay to Play a Gig? Show Up and Play - Now all you have to do is show up and play a good show. Be professional, treat the promoter and the people at the venue with respect, and if you can't handle drinking all of the rider before going on stage, then for goodness sake, don't do it. If you happen to have an off night, but you have treated people well, most promoters will want to work with you again. If you've given everyone working to put on the show a night of utter chaos and stress, well, then, you'll probably be looking for a new place to play. Make sure you take full advantage of the audience at the show and promote any releases, new websites, or any other news the band may have. Encourage everyone who enjoyed your set to sign your mailing list, so you can let them know when you're playing again. Cheers for the connection with Kurb. Supporting musicians with successful strategies on a budget. Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you’re interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD’s, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and videomarketing program. All the best with your music, from Kurb For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo ..................... Kurb Myspace

Music Industry Long Tail - Everythings up! Except CD's.

For those who are not familiar with the "Long Tail" theory it is one of the most persuasive theories in the economy of the entertainment business right now - that the infinite shelf space of the internet will cater to so many more tastes and demands out there than before, that the small amount of "hits" and "hitmakers" traditionally responsible for the bulk of profits will see a decline as tatses diversify amongst the infinite range of whats now available.

Here's an update from author and editor of wired magazine Chris Anderson on the state of the music industry.

October 19, 2007
Everything in the music industry is up! (except those plastic discs)

At a speech last week I was asked a question that has come up every day since the Radiohead (and Madonna, NIN, Prince, etc, etc) announcement: What's going to happen to the music industry?

To which I answered "Which music industry?" You don't mean just the one that sells CDs, do you? Because it's a big mistake to equate the major labels and their plastic disc business with the industry as a whole. Indeed, when you stand back and look at all of music, things don't look so bad at all.

Indeed, it appears that every single part of the music industry except the sale of compact discs is up.

* Concerts and merchandise: UP (+4%)
* Digital tracks: UP (+46%)
* Ringtones: UP (+86% last year, but probably just single-digit percent this year)
* Licensing for commercials, TV shows, movies and videogames: UP (Warner Music saw licensing grow by about $20 million over the past year)
* Even vinyl singles (think DJs): UP (more than doubled in the UK)
* And, if you include the iPod in the music industry, as I'd argue a fair-minded analysis would: UP, UP, UP! (+31% this year)

Only CDs are down (-18%). They're around 60% of the industry not including the MP3 players, but just around 25% if you do include them.

So the problem with the music labels is not that music is an industry in decline, but that they have a too-narrow view of what business they're in. Madonna's switch from a label to a concert promoter should be a clue. This quote from an excellent article (it's worth reading it all) in Entertainment Weekly says it all:

''Soon a lot of these companies won't define themselves as record companies,'' says Steve Greenberg, the former head of Columbia Records who now runs the independent record company S-Curve. ''They'll define themselves as artist development companies. If you're involved in an entire career with an artist, then everyone's interests can be aligned."

I think most music will soon be free, as artists give away the product as marketing for their performances and licensing, and as a celebrity accelerant that creates more opportunities to make money than just from the sale of a record.

And for those who say that this avenue is only available to artists at the head of the curve, such as Madonna and Radiohead, I'd point out that the other group poorly served by the labels are those at the bottom of the curve, the many thousands of bands who fall below the radar of the hit-driven majors. I'd argue that they, too, have nothing to lose by letting their music go free, nothing to lose but the prospect of becoming indentured to companies stuck in last century's model of monetizing music,

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And, for what it's worth, down here in long-tail retailer land at CD Baby, even physical CD sales are up 35% over this same month last year. I suspect that part (not all) of the decline of the top-40 CD sales are people buying more CDs directly from independent musicians and alternative outlets.

Posted by: Derek Sivers October 19, 2007 at 11:07 PM

Then there's the content. I'd bet that # of bands, # of musicians, # of tracks being made and available somewhere, # of venues are all up as well. My gut feel is that there are more people making more music than ever before. Then how about streaming; Last.fm and Pandora up. P2P sharing; Up. Number of shoutcast servers; Up. Digital radio and radio over cable/satellite stations are Up.

It's highly likely that more people are listening to more (and more varied) music than ever before.

It's not really CD sales that are down. It's the Music Major's profits.

Posted by: julian bond October 20, 2007 at 01:46 AM

The EW article is extremely interesting, just read it last night. Of particular interest are the "360" deals which include concerts, merchandising, etc. (all forms of revenue, not just CD's). These all-inclusive deals should be the logical progression for the music ologopoly. They clearly need to hedge their bets and diversifying is the answer. These big companies are also much better suited at trafficking in the short head rather than discovering talent in the long tail. Increasingly, technology is facilitating the discovery of longtail artists.

Perhaps this will evolve like the financial markets have. Large labels can start acting like investment banks rather than VC's or seed financiers. They become more transactional in nature and only deal with artists with a lower risk profile (guaranteed revenue stream). Technology will facilitate the viability of smaller unsigned artists getting discovered, and music labels will play less of a role in that process. Perhaps there is still room for labels to take risks and "make" unknown artists into superstars, but maybe it's time they embraced their future in "buying" artists rather than "building" them?

Posted by: Ryan October 20, 2007 at 08:08 AM

Sharing music to promote concerts has been going on for over forty years. The Jam Bands, specifically The Grateful Dead starting allowing their concerts to be taped and shared from their beginning. From this grew a fanatical group of concert goers that follows the band in it's various incarnations today.

They have now spawned a new genre which is instant high quality sound board mixes of the concerts that they do. At $10.00 for an MP3 it makes it worth while to purchase directly from the band online. I expect you'll see more of this as the "real" music companies catch on.....even if it only took them forty years.

Posted by: Josh Patrick October 20, 2007 at 08:38 AM

Sharing music to promote concerts has been going on for over forty years. The Jam Bands, specifically The Grateful Dead starting allowing their concerts to be taped and shared from their beginning. From this grew a fanatical group of concert goers that follows the band in it's various incarnations today.

They have now spawned a new genre which is instant high quality sound board mixes of the concerts that they do. At $10.00 for an MP3 it makes it worth while to purchase directly from the band online. I expect you'll see more of this as the "real" music companies catch on.....even if it only took them forty years.

Posted by: Josh Patrick October 20, 2007 at 08:39 AM

I'm still in shock that the RIAA is running such a gangster outfit... and the government is standing by them as well as the justice system. When more money is spent on lobbying than on marketing, you should take a hint that you're in a dying industry.

Posted by: Douglas Karr October 20, 2007 at 11:14 AM



Cheers for the connection with Kurb.

Supporting musicians with successful strategies on a budget.

Kurb is NZ’s leader in online promotion strategies for artists and creative projects plus we offer the cheapestCD/DVD reproduction and
posters available.


Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you’re interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD’s, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and videomarketing program.


All the best with your music, from Kurb
For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo


.....................
Kurb Myspace

Online promotion: it's all about content

Right in part 2 of my new blog series from my latest research - well it's not really research its more of a successful experiment which I am extrapolating on i.e. doing more of.

Yay I'm on the observation post team for NZ musician now. I guess I'll have to tone down the buy buy buy angle. Oh and the spam spam spam angle.

But see I see Kurb as like uhhh the mighty Totara, that we might, like mad Vikings, board our cyber wakas fashioned and hewn from the technology of kurb and set forth to conquer far off lands with our antipodean sound – except thanks to kurb, you don't actually have to leave the house.

I live only a few blocks from The New Zealand Music Industry Commission. Man, if they gave me one of those $50,000 grants they're always giving out to the household names to get radio play in europe I could put every kiwi artist on myspace on a kurb online promotion plan – then we'd really see some developments!

Btw there's a reason I never talk about getting NZ on Air or creative NZ grants. You're better off looking for fairies and leprechauns in the back garden. Maybe Kurb should develop an artist strategy package for that also.


Cheers for the connection with Kurb.

Supporting musicians with successful strategies on a budget.

Kurb is NZ's leader in online promotion strategies for artists and creative projects plus we offer the cheapest
CD/DVD reproduction and posters available.

Come by our page, theres plenty to pick up about new developments in the music industry in our blogs and theres a whole lot of free info and articles at our self promotions hub. Get some scope checking out our overview of online promotion strategies and if you're interested our artist packages or brand new campaign packages including CD's, posters and a dedicated online distribution, promotion and video marketing program.

All the best with your music, from Kurb
For direct enquiries get us on gmail as kurbpromo
.....................
Kurb Myspace




Your online promotion strategy: Its all about content.

Whattya mean "Content"? Y'know, stuff!

Well theres primary content. That's your music (kinda) and your gigs and your merch. Where your earn is. I don't deal with that stuff. I make CD's and posters and I can put you in touch with engineers etc. but basically all the promo stuff that makes you seem cool – your words, pictures, website and profile designs, videos, that's your secondary content. And it's my jobe to make sure thousands of people see it.

Remember what I was saying last time about how if your content is good and they can get it, then people will like you, and you'll make money? Oh but remember how I said – if people can find you amongst all the "access"?

I think what I'm really trying to reinforce to you is that my end of things – the bit where everyone finds out about you – that's sorted. Just leave that to me. But sure, so if I can make 10,000 people watch your video, what if your video is crap? Or worse, what if you only ever do one decent thing and people think you must have died? I mean I'm open to strategies but . . .

I said do you want to get famous and make money not doing some normal job or not?

But it is kinda why I've launched the 3 month thing because if we wanna build your fan base up in a way that's real we gotta put some work in! Even if you're amazing it'll take 6 months at least.

I think I'll do a post "the cost of fame: $NZ2000".

Which brings us to the subject. People want cool stuff. Stuff that grabs them, cool stuff they can enjoy, stuff they can feel cool telling other people about. That happens so quickly now its insane.

People come to my blogs. I'm tip toe spamming round some of the biggest internet communities in the world linking musicians I've targeted to my blogs and they're coming and they're liking and they're linking and googles reading the links and the blogs are coming up on searches and people are clicking the links and googles reading the behaviour and next thing Kurb is beating out huge established companies in NZ for searches on "online promotion" AND "cd duplication" and "postering".

THIS IS WHY BLOGS ARE MASSIVE. Because Google pays attention to them. Those little google spiders read EVERY WORD.

Helps if you've got 20-odd like me, but I'm lazy I should really get another few hundred up and running.

I can't tell you all my secrets. But if you can get into the habit of writing about cool stuff that the kind of people who listen to your kind of music like at least once a week, y'know, 2-300 words - you're gonna have something to work with even if you don't work with us. Just make sure you put your links! Back to your website! You do have a website don't you? Oh then make your wordpress blog your website then, shit!

Seriously. Did somebody say "Radiohead"? Your website is now MORE IMPORTANT than your CD. And having your myspace as your website is basically like having a cd without a case. It looks unprofessional and things will get messy.

Your myspace is (or bebo if you're a teen act or facebook if you play to the discerning crowd) the doorway to well exactly what youtube calls it – your channel. A place where you're engaging them on your own terms. Myspace is like the gig. Now invite them back to your place and make it personal.

It's totally like "Like our myspace? You should totally come back to my site and check out our band – we've got downloads and everything, it'll be crazy. I've totally got this blog about like, the craziest gig we did ever its like got pictures and everything. Just leave your email if you wanna know when the video for the song we wrote about it is up."

Now doesn't that just sound like a bunch of dudes?

And now I'm talking about videos! Videos are different from blogs – they're not special in a jedi geek way like blogs are because they're not text, google spioders can't "read" them, they don't link, they don't tell google anything. But videos . . . they sure say something.

As I'm moving onto in part 3, people don't want to pay for your CD!! How do you think you're gonna get paid? They're just gonna throw money at you? Why does rich come before famous uh "syntactically"?? If it ever did in reality it certainly doesn't any more.

We're gonna have to work – I can get these people to you but you've got to really get to these people about who you are, what your music is and what it's about. It's gonna take more than one cool video to make them part with their cash, but if you're the real thing it'll happen eventually.

If you are the real thing then let people know. Blog about it. Film it. Sorry to be old balloonhead over here, but when it comes to internet campaigns I'm the real thing and that's why I go to the trouble of explaining that the experience is real, and people who pursue this information connect with it and they want to be involved. And they want to spend money. Your music works in the same way. We do business on the internet now. Trust = earning.

And if you've already got well recorded songs and you know you're ready to start blogging and making videos and keep doing it then as I say - write the cheques and leave the rest to me. Then you'll have plenty of time to make videos and blog posts. Being an industrious fellow I'll probably be able to do both of those things for you as well soon enough.

We're already working on our studio set in the garage so we can start filming, bringing content live that people can connect with. Do you think I'm going to be dropping 5k every time I want to make a shitty little clip for youtube? And being all "Te Irirangi Motu" on it? Don't hold your breath.

Have you seen youtube? People record themselves in their rooms talking to shitty little webcams. And they get famous. People are engaging this shit. Video does so much more than blogs to break down the anonymity of the web and create bonds, connections, whatever - for creative and thoughtful people theres endless ways to use video to bring character to your musical identity.

This is what media is all about. Some people love the tight playing, some people love the style, some people know all the lyrics, some people think the bass player has a real attitude and great hair. How are people gonna get that message if you're not sending it? And I mean every month because you know they'll just forget if you don't remind them.

So.

See the way media is converging – as a musician you've got to see the SERVICE you provide as part of a larger product which is an experience. To have a career in music these days – well we knew when video came along it was less about the sound - now promoting yourself as a musician on the internet is about promoting yourself as an experience! When people believe in the experience, when you've provided someone with the experience of the music and what it represents and it's real for them . . . people want to feel closer to that experience, and that could mean as little as buying the T shirt. Or the box set. And they're gonna be there next time you play, and they're going to bring all their friends.

That's what happens when people discover something real amongst the shit. They hold it up. They say, "look what I found!"

So when it comes to providing content as the engine of your online promotions campaign remember that now, what you're providing is more than ever, more than a sound, more than a catchy tune, it's an experience, it's a way of life.