Tuesday, October 28, 2008 

An Affordable Music Marketing Plan

by Madalyn Sklar



There is a really cool blog post over at KnowTheMusicBiz.com titled The $52.45 Music Marketing Plan written by David Rose. It's a great read and I'd like to throw out my two cents and add to what he discusses in the post.

Marketing your music is not so difficult. The hard part is wading through the massive resources and finding the right opportunities for you. That is why it's wise to read music business blogs like mine and KnowTheMusicBiz.com. Attend music events, conferences, seminars, panels, etc. Do what you can to learn more about the music biz and how to take advantage of everything that is out there.

David says and I couldn't agree more...


There are numerous solutions now available for marketing music at a minimal cost but keep in mind that none of them can offer a magic bullet for success in the music business.

RADIO
When it comes to marketing your music I agree with David that Pandora and Last.FM are great radio resources. There is also XM Radio as well as tons of resources in the Indie Bible. And for "women in music" there is my favorite NetteRadio.

LICENSING
Again I totally agree here that Rumblefish and PumpAudio are two great resources worth checking out. Be sure to also check out Taxi's Film & TV Music FAQs. There are some great articles here worth a read.

GIGS
I have a few suggestions that are worth checking out when it comes to gigs. David mentions Sonicbids but we now have OurStage offering *FREE* EPKs. They have a new area on their site called "Marketplace" with gig opportunities. It's worth investigating. Then there's ReverbNation's Gig Finder that is FREE. ReverbNation also has their own version of EPK called Reverb Press Kits or RPK. Brilliant! It's not free but has more features than a Sonicbids EPK.

MOBILE
David mentions Broadtexter but I'm a fan of using Mozes for mobile texting. For the last two years I've actually used Mozes to broadcast a twice weekly motivational text message that goes out to indie musicians and friends. You can check it out at Motivation for Musicians or text keyword motivate to 66937. Yes it's really that easy and yes it's free.

AWARENESS
Here David mentions OurStage which I am a big fan of. I would add ReverbNation here because of their incredibly awesome FREE widgets that will help you create a buzz with your music on the Internet. Plus their Facebook applications are great.

So there you have it. A few extra resources to check out. I hope you find David's article useful as well as my added resources.

Send me your comments and feel free to add ones that are not listed here.

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 12 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.

Madalyn's Sites:
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/
http://www.gogirlsmusic.com/
http://www.socialnetworksformusicians.com/

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Friday, October 24, 2008 

OurStage is now available on your iPhone

by Madalyn Sklar



I'm very excited about the news that OurStage, one of my favorite social network sites for musicians, has an iPhone application. I just downloaded it (it's free) and have been playing with it all morning. I'm in love!

I have found that really only a handful of social networks sites that are geared for musicians are really doing it right. Adding an iPhone application is super smart. I already have Pandora and AOL Music on my iPhone. I like them both but really want a way to discover new music from indie artists. And you know what, this is the way to do it on-the-go with your iPhone. When I'm not tied down to my computer this has become my preferred method to listen to music. And like Pandora I can rate the songs with a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Sign up for your FREE OurStage account here. It's a great way to make new fans and get discovered.

And be sure to read: Sweet music to my ears: OurStage is now available on your iPhone

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 12 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.

Madalyn's Sites:
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com/
http://www.gogirlsmusic.com/
http://www.socialnetworksformusicians.com/

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Monday, October 13, 2008 

Why I Dig OurStage

by Madalyn Sklar

So you know I'm a Social Networks geek, guru, expert... what have you. Yes, in addition to all my music biz stuff at GoGirls and IndieMusicCoach, it just so happens I spend a great deal of my time working the Social Networks (Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, ReverbNation, OurStage, Stereofame, etc), explaining it to people, reviewing all the new up and coming sites.

It's exhausting! But I do find super cool sites that I love and make a point to mention here in my blog.

Today I want to chat a bit about one of my favorites, OurStage.

So why do I dig OurStage? Well it's a free site for bands, fans and industry peeps.

For music fans it's a great place to discover new music. As an indie artist, that is extremely valuable. Fans can vote for their favorite music, join fan clubs, chat with bands. It's endless!

For artists and bands you can get discovered by new fans, win prizes and even get gigs. Just load up your music, videos and pics to get started. They offer FREE EPKs!

It's also a great place for music biz people like agents, managers, promoters, publicists, talent buyers, venue owners, etc.

So check out OurStage and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from ya!

Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach

Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 12 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.

Madalyn's Sites:
www.indiemusiccoach.com
www.gogirlsmusic.com
www.socialnetworksformusicians.com

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    Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 14 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.

    Madalyn's Sites:
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    contact: madalynsklar(at)gmail.com

         

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