Are you ready? Getting your head around the internet, digital music marketing and online promotion part 2

This is part TWO of a series on basic basics of online promotion

Part 1 is here:

http://kurbpromotion.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/in-digital-we-trust-getting-your-head-around-the-internet-digital-music-marketing-and-online-promotion/

because we’re gearing up for two big events:

The launch of kurbs new music marketing community @ http://newmusicmarketing.com/

And my very first presentation working with http://www.depotartspace.co.nz/ in devonport.

Jason there is going to be organising a seminar for local musicians covering

- album launch
- tour promotion
- digital strategies (thats me!)

So if you’re in Auckland in late July this should be an awesome opportunity to sponge up vital industry knowledge and hopefully I will get a biscuit.

Don’t forget we’re shifting to http://musicmarketingblog.info/ any day now!!!

Now last blog I talked about facing the reality of digital music promotion.

It is confusing and complex and it is the future. It is also a lot of work.

To me it’s honestly a lot less work because I don’t have to leave the house. You may have not have played as many demoralising gigs in your life to less than 12 people as I have though.

The http://newmusicmarketing.com forum that we’re launching soon is designed so that you can be informed and instructed on the most effective techniques in online promotion and internet marketing. You can begin your campaign by carrying out the tasks yourself at minimum cost and you can decide where you want to take your campaign on your own watch.

It’s hard to start working with an artist and tell them theyre 6 months away from seeing a cent online and you'll drop a grand in my pocket before you get there. But that’s reality, it’s better to get the artist or their manager or their mum or little sister in the forum, learning the basic and most importantly carrying out the tasks, carrying out the maintenance, getting on track.

Playing that gig might work. Sending in that demo, getting that interview, going for that grant, entering that competition – it might work! Might.

But building your website is the most solid promotion strategy you can engage in! The amount of people engaging online is not going to stop growing and the laws of almighty Google are not going to alter fundamentally. If they buy your actual real CD this week . . . theyre not going to want to buy it again next week and definately not on the other side of the world in Sweden, where they love that kind of thing that you do.

You have got to start thinking like it already 2010 and your website is your sovereign media territory where you control the environment. It is your channel and it is your community it is your retail outlet . . . it pays you money.

Myspace and Wordpress and Facebook have built these platforms so that they can generate massive profits from the attention artists and users are creating. People like me and you!

I read it the other day. Myspace has made $11-12 out of each person who has used it. Google has made an average of $66 out of each person who has used their service.

Now you listen to me, sunshine!

This is not about saying “using your myspace as your website is unprofessional” - this is the next level!

It’s about digital ownership of value created through access and attention. Now do you want to give all your money to myspace or do you want to start trying to figure how it is that myspace made $11 out of you when you never even paid for anything . . . and how you could learn to do something like that on your website?

But you gotta build a boat before you can sail it.

It’s like I’m going to tell you how to build your boat and I’ll have some guys around to help out, and after a few months we’ll see how you’re going to see if you’re ready to sail. And then when you’re sailing fine we’ll fit it out with a motor.

I’m not just going to hand you the motor, point at the sea and say, “go promote your content.”

Okay now lets take the elevator to the basement. Lets go back to the start.

Your first tasks are pretty basic. They don’t involve me.

If you’re not particularly skilled in music then you should be at least pretty young an eager, or exceptionally physically attractive or have some other comedic or theatric appeal. Or as we’ve seen more recently with The Gorillaz and Crazy Frog, maybe you’re just really good at cartoons or CGI.

Then you need to create digital content, because I cant help you at all until you do. You need to record your music so it can be converted to mp3, but not only that, almost equally important now, is that you must have an associated image, preferably a photo of you that can be converted into a .jpg, and you should be able to record 60 seconds of video for youtube at least introducing yourself to people who want to meet you.

I’m struggling with this too people, but we’ve got to understand we are living in the 21^st century and talking to the camera is not something that you should be making a big deal about. You maybe choose your favourite top, do a quick check in the mirror, you make sure the light is half decent, you push record, you be yourself. It’s not that hard.

Okay we’re ready to start your online promotion campaign!!!!

Tune in next time where we talk about starting an actual promotion campaign on the internet to make more people know about a musician and for the musician to start making money from it!!!!!