Andy vs. Avril . . . talent vs. image

Gee . . . who do you think has got more legs in the new digital music industry?

The fat bald guy with the big old bushy beard who can play real nice, or the nasty little bitch who rips off other peoples songs?

Talents back, bitch.

Hahaha . . . who knew broadband would be the great equalizer of all the hype and bullshit endured at the hands of major labels?


Andy McKee is a genuine Youtube sensation. He’s had over 7 million views on Youtube, placing him in the top 40 most viewed videos of ALL TIME and the top 20 most subscribed of all time. His last release is currently #4 on iTunes folk album charts, and his new album was released this week and should hit iTunes any day now.




Avril Lavigne . . . I'm sure you've probably heard of her . . .

Re: Reality Check - Gettin heartfelt with Kurb in Australia

I get a hard time in Australia. But what I find is once they've had the opportunity to kick ten types of shit out of my tyres, they're usually pretty happy to open their wallets and go all in.

Re: Reality Check for 21st Century Musicians

I've had some strong misgivings about how Kurb operates.

In fact I've only added you because you hit us up twice and in the end its no skin off my nose. In general I'm not impressed by people who attempt to scare you into believing they know more about the way things work than you do in a bid to get you to hand over cash.

But I'm not going to make assumptions.

I'm not trying to suggest that you aren't genuine or motivated by a love of music. But when you ask for money I think you are obliged to be up front about things.

When indie artists struggling to make any money give you between $200 and $400 a month, what is their average return on this investment?

Like I said, I'm not just going to be cynical, tho its tempting. I just would like to know exactly what artists are getting for this money. If i invested that kinda money in blue chip shares it might just fund the craziest rock and roll lifestyle I can dream up. What makes it worth giving kurb this kind of money?

Don't show me other people's musings on the state of the recording industry. I can find this kind of information with nothing other than google. Show me the figures, the nuts and bolts. I'm interested enough to ask for them.

Re:Re: Reality Check for 21st century musicians
well I'm glad you've thought about it!

You're quite welcome to be cynical if you like - it's no skin off my nose either, I'm starting to get cheerfully used to it though I tend to have a habit of being drawn into these debates.

A lot of early misgivings may have been justified in that we were simply a glorified spam service but we've evolved well beyond that now.

But this is precisely why I distribute articles like this. Too many musicians are just totally unaware of how the music industry environment is changing and have unrealistic expectations about what they can achieve! In short I've amazed myself with how much more I know than your average musician, but you don't have to be frightened.

If making your money back is your primary concern I'd definately try the share market before the music industry. Or even buy a lottery ticket.

I provide detailed descriptions on the services we provide if you care to follow the links - especially this one:

Overview of online promotion strategies

Though in saying that just last night I was pondering on a local publicity stunt I've labeled the "$1000 challenge" - The band advances us $1000 for a 3 month campaign and if they don't recoup in increased cd sales, bookings, attendances, licensing and alternative income streams, then we reimburse them the difference.

But in saying that any promotional service that can prove its costs are 100% recoupable would be a golden goose, and demand for our services is already fairly high. I'd have to think about publicly listing myself!

There's few avenues that offer access to this kind of scope and diversity in promotion for musicians and it comes a lot more pricey than what I offer. Do you have an idea of how much it costs to hire a professional publicist? I work for several of NZ's top publicists who pass on my fees to their clients without batting an eyelid. I'm coming to accept that in the future it will only be established acts and corporate clients who can afford the level of service and expertise we offer. But hey, thats business.

I've poured 17-18k into my music career before realising I was better off using what I learned from so much hard work and so many mistakes to help others, just to stay involved in something that was meaningful and exciting for people.

I don't mean to sound harsh myself but with the success I've enjoyed with Kurb since I quit my "real" job last year, if you think $200 is a lot of money to invest in yourself, youre probably best to keep your music a hobby.

People with big dreams and little else may not see their money come back with kurb. But they're never disappointed - sometimes I even feel a little guilty because 10,000 friends on myspace still doesn't add up to a music career. But it's a small price to pay to avoid so many pitfalls - not least of all feeling like your stuck in a rut and your music is going nowhere.

regards, Matt @ Kurb

(ps this eneded up quite long because im gonna blog it. all about the content baby. The rest, just leave to me.)

Cheers for the connection with Kurb - a promotions company for artists and creative entrepreneurs serious about using the most effective online techniques to market their projects. Come by our page and read our blogs on how the music industry is fundamentally changing now or check out:

how digital promotion and social marketing works
more indie self promotion articles hub
Our artist packages
Overview of online promotion strategies
Real cheap CD/DVD reproduction in NZ
postering – placement in Auckland / Free delivery in NZ

Cheers and all the best with your work from Kurb
.......................
Kurb Myspace

Licensing and future revenue trends . . .

Licensing is tipped to be a mojor growth area in revenue for musicians. Rest assured here at Kurb we're on top researching and following up any and all opportunities to get paid.there better be a youtube video here:

okay, okay. I got it now.

From Pitchforkmedia:

"We've been talking to our customers and listening to their feedback for years, about-- 'Oh God, I wish I could go into iTunes, and right next to the Buy button, there was a License one.' And a music supervisor told me that once, and I was like, 'Why isn't there a License button?'"

The technology isn't new: Production music libraries like DeWolfe Music already offer pre-cleared, easy-to-license music through cross-referenced websites or music-crammed hard drives. But those companies specialize in anonymous library music. Sure, maybe you could settle for a pianist you've never heard of playing in the style of Herbie Hancock; but wouldn't you rather get Gideon Smith and the Dixie Damned playing in the style of themselves?

This is handy for the customers, but as Anthony explains, it has another bonus for the artists: They can drive customers to their music themselves, which makes the site similar to a MySpace or a CD Baby for licensing. But can a self-service model work? There are still advantages to going through a middleman, says Jen Paul, a licensing representative for Jackmusic in New York City: "The thing that does concern me is the absence of a human element."

With a website, you can't negotiate for more money, and you don't have someone holding your hand through the legal mumbojumbo. Working with a representative like Paul also gives you a right of refusal: Rumblefish artists can't pick their licensors. "If you hesitate about a certain type of usage, you should rethink licensing," says Anthony. "You're either all in, or you're not in."

That also saves the licensors from the hassle of finding exactly the right song, only to discover that the artist has some problem with their business. "The last thing we wanted was to make things more complicated," says Anthony.
Searching the website also puts more burden on the music supervisors. To get some perspective, I contacted a giant in the music licensing and A & R business, the Los Angeles-based TAXI, which serves leading music supervisors in Hollywood and elsewhere-- placing everything from indie rock to hip-hop to Hawaiian guitar interludes. Music supervisors are looking for this stuff-- but one thing the music supervisors don't do, founder and CEO Michael Laskow argues, is sit around browsing websites for it. Laskow started TAXI in 1992, and its practice is to deliver CDs to the music supervisors, pre-screened, to give them a small selection to deal with.

"The future is clearly digital. But the future needs a filter," says Laskow. "This is why it's so important for the people on the buying end of this music. They're under tremendous time pressure, and they don't have time to go searching databases and hear a bunch of stuff that's improperly labeled by genre. Nor do they have time to listen to stuff that's pretty darn good. They want to hear the stuff that's incredibly excellent."


Also gaining momentum is www.we7.com which allows free downloads with the inclusion of some advertising. Revenue is split 50/50 after costs with between the artist and We7. Obviously this is one of the latest permutations in the evolution of the music industry - but working hard as they are to deploy their web 2.0 arsenal of apps and widgets there may be some hope for it.

Also not gaining momentum is ipod advertising for unsigned artists - it's only $1US to get ONE of your songs preloaded into ONE ipod with FIFTEEN HUNDRED others.Boy, thats sure to launch your career! Apple. Sometimes, honestly.

DId you know 6 million people are now using the Ilike widget - a widget similar in its aggregation and recommendation functions as last.fm - on Facebook, Myspace etc.? Apparently it's the best way to make your music accessible on facebook until some kind of platform for musicians is established - sign up at garageband.com.

Cheers for the connection with Kurb - a promotions company for artists and creative entrepreneurs serious about using the most effective online techniques to market their projects. Come by our page and read our blogs on how the music industry is fundamentally changing now or check out: how digital promotion and social marketing works
more indie self promotion articles hub
Our artist packages
Overview of online promotion strategies
Real cheap CD/DVD reproduction in NZ
postering – placement in Auckland / Free delivery in NZ

Cheers and all the best with your work from Kurb
.......................
Kurb Myspace

Reality Check from Bob Lefsetz

MAKING RECORDS from Bob Lefsetz.

Pretty stiff stuff from Bob but he's dead right.

The flip side of this of course which he has mentioned before but doesn't touch on here is that thanks to the barriers busted down by broadband look for a big comeback from authenticity, honesty, and most of all (gasp) TALENT!!! more on this to follow.

The internet has made it easier for every man and his dog to get their 15 minutes but no one's getting paid. Thats why Kurb's artists packages are priced at between NZ$200 and NZ$400 p/month because it's a realistic approach to achieving a sustainable career over the years it will take to get there.

Cheers for the connection with Kurb - a promotions company for artists and creative entrepreneurs serious about using the most effective online techniques to market their projects. Come by our page and read our blogs on how the music industry is fundamentally changing now or check out:

how digital promotion and social marketing works
our latest overview on applying a comprehensive online promotion strategy
more indie self promotion articles hub
Our artist packages
Real cheap CD/DVD reproduction in NZ
postering – placement in Auckland / Free delivery in NZ

Cheers and all the best with your work from Kurb
.......................
Kurb Myspace

MAKING RECORDS by Bob Lefsetz

Are you doing it to get rich, or because you have an innate desire to express yourself?

Hello, let me introduce you to 2007, wherein the powers-that-be tell us the music business has been wrecked by piracy but those with their ear to the ground know it’s much more complicated. The biggest problem facing artists isn’t piracy, but apathy. How do you get people to pay attention in a fast-paced world with so many entertainment options?

And, if you get SOME to pay attention, how easy will it be to get MORE people to pay attention?

Used to be there were amateurs and pros. Hobbyists and careerists. If you were a pro, your goal was to get a major label to sign you. You didn’t worry so much about how your music sounded as to whether the filter, the label, would invest in you. It was THEIR job to figure out how to get people interested. And, with few acts with the ability to get into the marketplace, they could give your project tender loving care, nurture it, develop it, if not to ubiquity, then at least journeyman status.

But then records started flying out of stores. And the major label’s job changed. It wasn’t about being a filter anymore, but a conduit from the customer’s bank account to theirs. What could they put in the value proposition that would get people to open their wallets and throw off enough cash to build cable systems? If you didn’t make mainstream music, suddenly, they didn’t want you.

But independent labels couldn’t get paid. The indie world was a complete backwater. Until about fifteen years ago, when the major label disaffected started growing indies. And by time indies truly got traction, the Net had taken hold, with P2P, and EVERYTHING was available ALL THE TIME!

With this newfound opportunity for exposition, amateurs flooded the gates. They wanted their chance. You no longer had to be a pro. You could make a record on your computer and sell it on CDBaby. Display your wares on MySpace. Suddenly, the pros were hard to find. And what was a pro anyway? Someone good? Someone unique? Someone who could move a lot of product?

MTV punted. It got out of the music game.

Radio admitted that it was in it for the commercials, that what came between them was filler, that if dead air generated the most listeners, they’d program that. They shirked their responsibility to the public, and asked whether they EVER had a responsibility to the public.

So where does that leave YOU?

Chances are, you don’t make music that the major label wants to pay for. Or, even if you do, you’re wary of the company’s input. And, it’s not so easy for the label to run the gauntlet anymore. There are fewer outlets of exposure, and they’re ever tighter. Sure, there are NEW ways to expose music, BUT IS ANYBODY PAYING ATTENTION?

Satellite radio play… How many subscribers and how many listeners? Each one might be happy as a clam, with this programmed choice, but if you want to make a living playing music getting a lot of spins on satellite won’t buy you a Bentley, probably not even a Kia.

Get to number one on MySpace and you can’t make a living, not playing music, just ask Tila Tequila. And she only got to number one because of SEX!

And if you’re selling your album on CDBaby your fans will buy it, but how many fans do you actually have? And, unfortunately, P2P isn’t benefiting you, because you don’t have enough fans to populate your product on the network. P2P isn’t hurting you at all, it could only HELP you, if only you could get someone to pay attention.

You’d argue for lower TicketMaster fees if only you could play a building WITH a TicketMaster contract. Instead, you’re lucky if you don’t have to guarantee the CLUB attendance by a certain number of YOUR fans. You’re doing it yourself, and you’re LOSING money, and you’re frustrated.

Don’t complain, give up.

That’s one of the dirty little secrets of this business. Talent is only fifty percent. Desire and perseverance make up the rest of your success. But NONE of the foregoing are a guarantee.

So, you’re up shit ocean with a paddle so small you’re overwhelmed.

Welcome to the club. You’d better be doing it for a love of the music, because chances are that’s ALL you’ll have, your music and your enjoyment in playing it.

Maybe you’ll gain some traction, you’ll become a pro. But the odds are against you. You need that desire and perseverance and LUCK! And it’s harder to get lucky every day. Even if the radio station DID play your record, what would it MEAN, is anybody LISTENING?

We’ll get some clarity in the future. The gulf between amateur and pro will reemerge. But chances are, only a thin sliver of pros will be like the stars of yore. There will be Kanye, and then the guy who can fill theatres.

That’s the game you’re getting into.

So don’t lay out a plan for world domination. If you’re lucky, you can dominate your DOMICILE! Maybe if a friend goes to college in another state you can make headway there. But there are too many people and too few slots and no pot at the end of a rainbow.

Cry all you want, but this is fact. You’d better be doing it for the love of the music. And this is the key that may grant you success. Those old paradigms, how you look, how you’re marketed…the majors only have a few slots per year, and most of THEM don’t make it. The old game is dead. The new game is daunting.

Overview of online promotion strategies

how digital promotion and social marketing works
more indie self promotion articles hub
Our artist packages
Real cheap CD/DVD reproduction in NZ
postering – placement in Auckland / Free delivery in NZ

Okay people! This for all those on the artist packages and those maybe
interested in what the shape of a comprehensive online campaign looks
like.

Sorry if you haven't heard from me for awhile – on the road for a
month on tour while trying to keep the business going turned out to be
a real over commitment on my part!

Of course I learnt plenty of lessons on the nuts and bolts of putting
on shows around New Zealand so feel free to bend my ear if you're
headed in that direction.

There was a lot of housework to do once I got back but now I'm on top
of that it's back to all the good stuff we were bringing in.

What I've got for you today is a quick overview of everything we're
doing online. So this has got nothing to do with Web design, CD/DVD
Duplication and posters all of which is still going also with decent
discounts for those who are signed on.

However I am strictly limiting the number of acts I am working with
now - so we're starting at $NZ200 p/month but this is way more than
just myspace now. As before you're under no obligation month to month
BUT if things get too crazy with the amount of business we're doing
here you will have to wait for a spot!

My suggestion is this kind of promotion may not turn you into a global
internet superstar overnight but it puts you in the best position to
take advantage of the way the internet is currently completely
changing the music industry – this is the biggest revolution in music
since the phonograph!!!

My approach is dealing with you in a way to address which of these
services are going to be of most benefit to you according to what you
can afford.

But the basics are that I need strong and regular content
(music/video/blog) provided from you in order to make the distribution
and access that I provide to this content worthwhile.

attached is two HOT diagrams one is on online music listening trends
and the other is on future music revenue trends.

Breakdown:

Online distribution - full support
Search – high google rankings, google ad campaign
Social – ongoing automated targeted promotion on social sites, viral
triggers through access
Content (video etc.) – Automated distribution of video and other
content through content providers; automated promotion on youtube
Viral + Web 2.0 strategies – utilizing P2P sharing, Aggregation and RSS feeds
Content required

Online distro + players with storefronts

I can't set it up for you – that's too complicated when we want all
the money going straight to the artists, but I can pretty much walk
you through the whole process and make recommendations based on my
experience. In areas where income is derived from the sale of music my
aim is to keep clients up to date with the latest opportunities.

Search manipulation + advertising

Google search is obviously the main way New Zealanders find things,
it's the most frequently used site here. It is also the internal
search engine powered within myspace.

By generating backlinks from automated distribution of content, I've
learned to manipulate Google pretty successfully for Kurb, but results
come about slowly over the weeks and will vary depending on the nature
and volume of the content available (e.g. acts with a distinct name or
spelling have a distinct advantage on google!)

In addition, an ad campaign on Google on top of "organic search" is
inexpensive and easy to manage – giving the act a higher profile
through googles immense network while helping to underpin traffic
generated from key relevant phrases – for example:

"New Zeland Hip Hop" (back 2 basics was the first nz site a #4)

"Auckland Hardcore" etc. (the myspace of a band "Cell" from west
Auckland came up #1)

The result is obviously we want the name of the act to come up as
close as possible to first when its typed into google. We want the
myspace coming up and we want results from youtube coming up.

Automated social campaigns

Digital promotion on myspace you know about – regularly maintain
searching and requesting of targeted audiences of between 50-100 per
day, then following up with specific campaigns consisting of targeted
messages and comments related to content (new single, new video, tour
announcement, etc.) and offering direct links to downloads, videos,
blogs, backlinks to relevant sites and all relevant content.

The same applies to other social sites to varying extents, I am still
experimenting with this but we already know that Bebo is tremendously
popular with New Zealand teenagers while Facebook has started to
siphon off older and more sophisticated myspace users in there 20's.

A global campaign would involve applying this across many different
accounts with specific geographic or demographic targets assigned to
each account. A New Zealand focused campaign doesn't really require
more than one account.

In regards to security, I feel I need to create separate social
account that is managed separately from the original account
established by the act mainly because if I'm going to get the best
results I don't want to be worried about the consequences of taking
responsibility for a bands account being compromised – though this has
never happened - but just as important I need to know exactly whats
going on with that account, back up data, make specific content
available etc. – especially where key differences in the nature of
specific social sites in relation to artists (myspace/bebo/facebook)
may call for a different approach - without the artists getting
tetchy that im messing around with their personal profiles. This way
of course the artists also keep their privacy.

There needs to be some delineation between the bands own accounts
where the band can be contacted directly and the nature of the
"satellite" account as a promotional entity. obviously the term
"street team" is undesirable but there'll be something related to the
content that will be appropriate.

Again content is key. I can request, I can comment, but the audience
have got to engage with the content beyond another spam campaign
albeit a local one. Obviously providing access to the tools that allow
users to initiate the viral process (specifically promoting access to
the relevant codes that allow users to promote/share/embed content)
should be promoted, but the next step is encouraging/prompting users
to interact with the content – for example: users creating their own
videos applying audio content, making content freely available for
myspace bedroom producers to remix etc.

And once promotion has taken on a life of it's own separate from the
actions of you or me that's when it's "gone viral".

Also a thorough campaign will make use of all other aspects of social
sites available – forums, groups, bulletins etc. – to present content
and make it available for viral proliferation by again making relevant
codes easily accessible.

Youtube . . . + content sites for Video/Blogs/Free Mp3's

Again this applies the concept of taking artist generated content
(video/mp3/copy) and where possible automating distribution through as
many user channels and sites as is reasonable to create blanket
accessibility – Youtube obviously that dominates video content as
well as key social sites that offer content (Myspace, Bebo, Facebook),
key blog sites (Blogger, Wordpress, Livejournal), key mp3 sites
(mp3.com, soundclick, download.com) , reinforcing the presence of such
content online with appropriate and intelligent tagging (tags enable
searches within content providing sites), furnishing with other
content and backlinks to all relevant sites where possible.

Digital promotion allows for this kind of blanket distribution, while
the digital promotion techniques used on social sites (requesting
adds, messaging, commenting etc.) can also be applied on Youtube. The
time consuming part of this job is really in establishing the sites
and managing all the account information.

But the effect is that you're building up a massive self reinforcing
network. Some blogs, some videos may never even be seen, but they
still reinforce the acts presence by the benefit of the links, tags,
and key content phrases.

Viral tie ins

Video/Blog/Mp3 sites present content, social sites are a point of
first contact where promotion can be conducted in order to encourage
users to adopt, interact with and redistribute content and the acts
website is ultimately where we want users to end up – signing up for
mailing lists, seeking in depth information, interacting with primary
content and sharing secondary content with other users in a community
(48may nailed this one).

Players: players allow music to be provided to be presented for
listening (and digital downloads of content in multiple formats
retailed) in a full range of key online environments so are a key
viral tool. Right now many free services exist its just a matter of
utilizing the most useful amongst a range of competitors.

Spam fatigue: it's fundamental when automating promotion to conduct
this in a way that has some authenticity above your garden variety
spam campaign - creating relevance through whatever targeting is
available and creating interest by offering something of value – not
just another excuse to get in peoples faces.

Obviously the big push in in presence - awareness and accessibility,
not the hard sell to move units. But the key is creating as much ease
of access for those who just want to see the video or hear the song
and share it with their friends online to those who do want to
purchase downloads, merchandise, etc. or order cds.

P2P/RSS/Aggregation

P2P (Limewire, Bittorrent, Soulseek etc.) promotion is a forward
looking technique engaging viral users in their own environment, as
P2P is obviously the way most mp3 and increasingly video content is
distributed, albeit illegally. By making mp3 and video content
available 24 hours through all the most appropriate P2P networks,
you're releasing that content "into the wild" so to speak.

Much like creating searchability through the tagging of content, this
content can be duplicated and labelled in different ways to bring in a
broader range of search hits.

Aggregation services such as Last.fm are getting more popular as a
means to discover new music by recommending users music based on the
choices of other users who listen to the same music. As they expand on
the nature of the different music services they provide they're
crossing into providing content also, but creating access through
aggregration is the key.

Whereas RSS technology is still slowly catching on, when it reaches
critical mass, there will be an opportunity to respond by creating
access there.

Content required:

Obviously in terms of audio, video and written copy I work with
whatever I get, but images will be required as buttons and banners for
digital promotion and given the broad scale of promoting video and
audio content and the way that once it "goes viral" theres vey little
control over where it goes I think theres a need to include basic
information within the content – who the act is, their website, etc.

Alright! If you read all that you probably deserve a biscuit!

Don't be afraid to drop me a line!

Cheers all, Matt @ Kurb

Kurb is back!

Where to start with the getting back . . . I dunno. Lets just get on with it.

Alright . . . Kurb is BACK!!!

more indie self promotion articles hub
Artist promotions management packages

I've actually been back over a week but I quickly realised I wasn't going to just slot back into where my head was at before I attempted to do a 14 date tour while keeping kurb steaming along . . . as if that was ever gonna happen! More on that later.

Now by the end of july I had started to get a pretty good grasp on where things were headed from the crossroads of music and technology – and how what kurb does fits into that - the big question was the same one most clued up people are asking . . . we understand the direction new technology is taking the music industry, we're just not sure how to make money off it. Yet.

Many of the experts I follow almost religiously (Andrew Dubber, Gerd Leonhard, Bob Lefsetz) Seem to advocate an almost blind faith in a theoretical premise that if you're creating value (i.e free downloads) for users through content (Your songs etc.) and you can build recognition for your brand, you're gonna make some money one way or the other.

One fascinating thing Bob keeps banging on about is how little money there really is left in Top 40 music - his inference is that the people who listen to that music don't really care about it. Most of the biggest earning acts in the US are country acts I've barely ever heard of.

I keep referring back to local D'n B act Concord Dawn, who have accepted that filesharing is the reason they get good money playing to full houses in obscure east European cities they've barely heard of. Those who are the first to embrace the new technology will be the first to benefit.

Anyway, I didn't want to come back on it after my trip without something solid for people to get stuck into. Here's Gerd Leonhards latest slide on revenue streams.



Look at that. I think I'll have to take the time to analyse this in more detail at a later date.

For those looking at Kurbs agency fees of $200-300 p/month obviously it would be wonderful for us to guarantee a return on your investment, but like so many other comparable business models, building an enterprise in the music industry is about investing in your personal brand and creating value in it before seeing a return. Kurb is a business modelling itself to allow artists to take advantage of any proven opportunity the internet is creating an income from the content and brand provided by an artist.

So its situation Normal back at Kurb – you got New Zealand cheapest rates on short cd, dvd and poster runs – we're not talking about high end production standards we're talking about facilitating a multi level promotions strategy on a budget. We don't charge set up fees for graphics plus free delivery in New Zealand on all posters and CD's means you save on heaps of hidden costs on top of the saving you've already made.

So then it's about tackling the whole online situation because however you choose to see it, the internet is continuing to expand its ever growing influence on the music industry. This certainly doesn't mean we should turn our backs completely on traditional means, but in a country like New Zealand (where musicians are really feeling the pinch in a tiny market) you've got to be enthusiastic about how many more opportunities present themselves on a global level. I know this is pretty basic stuff but I'm just settling back in and all.



Though Kurb's key online strategies for artists can be divided into two distinct areas – Social (Myspace, Bebo, Facebook etc.) and Video (Youtube etc.) it's grounded in a concept that the artist is creating content (music, video, blogs, etc.) and we support the artist by mass distributing this content using all the "exclusive insider knowledge" (oooh! aaahhh!) I've built up - building and feeding a massive electronic information distribution network of digital pathways (profile pages, mp3 streaming, mini sites, blogs - lots of blogs) that reinforce themselves - and of course our particular skills and techniques for drawing on the massive audiences and opportunities for exposure and key network contacts created by a number of prominent internet communities – starting with this one.

Again, a future topic will definitely touch more how social networking is evolving – and more technical specifics of what I do for artists in networking and video promotion and why you've really got to approach your whole online marketing in terms of developing and maintaining a content "eco system" for your fans – it's not enough to have a free download on myspace or a cool video on youtube it will never be that simple anymore no matter what the press say.

I'm still watching the competition but still am not aware of anyone else doing everything I'm doing. When I'm talking about the techniques I use with Kurb I'm not talking about getting in amongst the throng, I'm talking about cutting through it and standing out - and using as many electronic loopholes and shortcuts as I'm aware of to get there.

I'm really excited about working with more artists and entrepreneurs who are serious about realising a vision and creating attention for those who are serious about delivering something people will treasure and gives them meaning. It's a really exciting time because what the internet has done is created an environment where quality and substance really does shine out amongst all the crap and for the first time in a while if you haven't got something to offer that's original and authentic you simply wont last.

I'm just getting back into it so drop me a line at kurbpromo@gmail.com

cheers, Matt


Kurb - a promotions company for artists serious about using the most effective online techniques to market their music. Come by our page and read our blogs on how the music industry is fundamentally changing now or check out:
how digital promotion and social marketing works
more indie self promotion articles hub
Our artist packages

Cheers and all the best with your music from Kurb