Submitted by novamusic on Fri, 2008-07-11 18:47.
Category: Editorial

So you want more plays and sales on Project Opus? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially now that summer is kicking in, but for musicians to see the real benefit of Project Opus – work is required.

I'll try to keep this as straightforward as possible and if you want further information about indie music marketing please see this mini-reference book.

I usually tell people to go for a walk in their downtown entertainment district to get an idea of the competitiveness of the music industry. On this walk, pretend you are not a musician or don't work in the music business. On the first pass walk like you are going somewhere, don't look around unless something catches your eye. Pretend you are late for a meeting. At the end of a few blocks try to remember what music marketing you remember. Not much, eh? Now take the same walk in reverse and this time look for music marketing. It's everywhere – fliers, stickers, posters, billboards – all the way from indie to major artists. Now combine this with all the other advertising in the world – everything from diapers to vacation deals. Trust me – it's like waking up and realizing you are in the Matrix. The average person doesn't actually see advertising anymore – in order to cope we actually filter it out. So, the indie band down the street is not your competition – the entire world of advertising is your competition.

Don't be afraid – you will soon learn how to dodge bullets. I am not telling you this to depress you – more to let you know what you have to consider when marketing your music on any level. You have to reach through the massive amounts of advertising that already exists on the internet and in real life. The internet is the cheapest way to be prolific and Project Opus has great tools to help you, but as with all music discovery websites, it is up to you to direct traffic towards your music. As your popularity grows on those sites, your profile will become more popular on its own.

Here is a basic strategy everyone should use:

Step 1  Upload your music and customize it.

Look like a pro – put up good photos, not ones taken with your webcam. Write up a bio and make sure it contains some info that is truly interesting – your bio is your opportunity to tell us something neat about you.

Customize your player. Under the Edit Music tab there is a section call Opus Players. Using the dimensions they specify, create an image that fits. If you know a little graphic design that helps, but if you don't, simply get a really good band photo and crop it to fit those dimensions. Use this opportunity to make this player your own.

Step 2  Strategize.

A good strategy is to make one page on the net your home page and then have your links bounce from there. I either prefer the official website or myspace. If you are your own web programmer or have one on the speed dial then opt for the official space. If you don't, then use your myspace. In this way, you can market one site and build traffic on all your sites. For example, on a flier you could have "Go to www.myspace.com/dnahq for a free download!" then put a big bold link to your Project Opus site and redirect your fans to that page to get your free download.

This is an example of a flier we have been using for DNA6, we have been using the PO mainpage link, as well as our website links ...

This generic flier is something all bands should have. Print lots of them and give them away at shows, on the street, put them in coffee shops, etc. Get someone to go through audiences at festivals, etc and give fliers away. Or, make the front a cool sticker and the back has all your info on it. Whatever you can afford.

Step 3  Link-back.

Now start placing your music all over the web. On the Home tab, you will see your music player to the right of your bio. Click on "Embed this collection" on the bottom of the player and it will take you to the embed code. Copy and paste the embed code into your myspace or website.

You have to give away at least some free music – so advertise that fact. Everywhere you go on the web, Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, make sure to put up a link for your free download. When someone becomes a friend on any of your social networking sites, comment back with a link to the free download. It will not devalue your product... DNA6 has been offering their song Behemoth for free in this fashion for quite some time, and Behemoth has consistently been their biggest seller on PO and iTunes. (Just ask David from Project Opus – he keeps having to write giant cheques for me.) We created an html banner for this (above-right), but feel free to simply use your link.

Step 4  Use the playlist function and talk-back.

Project Opus is foremost a community. Like any community, no one will talk to you if you don't talk to them. So talk already! Go through the site – create a playlist of other bands that you like. Send kudos and good will to all you can. You can also embed these playlists on your myspace, etc. (but do so in your blog). For example start a blog on your myspace that is your top twenty favorite tracks from PO every other week and embed that top twenty player in your blog. Include a few of your own tracks and work with other musicians to create a community of like-minded artists. I have done this with my own Project Opus account ... and use the player on my myspace page. Which reminds me ... I should create a new list. LOL.

Step 5  Engage your fans.

Engage your fans and ask for their support. Ask them to embed your player into their sites or encourage them to support indie music and make their own accounts and players on Project Opus.

Ask your fans to share the free link ... check out this site: www.sharethis.com and sign up as a publisher and follow the instructions for putting it on your website. It makes it easy for your fans to share your content with their friends and it provides reporting on what your fans like and don't like.

Step 6  Speaking of which - The power of Blog.

Blog, blog, blog. I always tell musicians to write blogs. About anything at all! Animal Nation and Carmen and Camille are great bloggers. These girls and guys have different styles, but are pretty willing to blog frequently. I don't blog enough – by my own standards – but I still do. Write about anything – upcoming news, fun times you've had, great shows, a particularly great fan, what you had for breakfast. It honestly doesn't matter. Blog on as many sites as you can – social networks, music discovery sites like iLike and Reverbnation and of course, PO!

Why? Well – let's just call it the power of indexing. Text content on blogs such as the ones found on Myspace and Project Opus are indexed by Google and other search engines. Plus, your fans truly do want to know what you're up to. And, either add a whole Project Opus player or add your PO single song (solo) player to showcase individual songs.

Step 7  Advertise.

It can be cheap, but never free. Facebook advertising is gaining in popularity. If you are on tour why not use Facebook advertising to reach out to tour markets – and it will work better if you offer a free download and use the Project Opus link. Even if you are not on tour – just do a cool ad. Also check out www.blogads.com – it's easy to create little campaigns using their tools and target popular music blogs. $50 a month can drive a lot of traffic your way with the right ad.

So the point is to create ways to drive traffic to your sites. Your site is among billions, perhaps trillions of places on the web. Your advertising is competing with the vast amount of advertising being bombarded in the marketplace.

Ouch.

You are not going to take over the world tomorrow, but you can chip away at the world every day. As you hack at it you will uncover bigger and better opportunities that will help you grow faster – think of the time spent in the beginning like an investment in your future. Musicians really need to treat the internet as a part of their work-day. It requires maintenance and work everyday in order to see the full benefit of it. I work with many diverse artists, not all of them are commercial, but they all have a market. By working everyday towards your own success you will start to see the initiatives that work for you and you can start to focus your efforts in those directions where you see a return. If people like what they hear and see they will start spreading the word for you. That's when it's viral, baby, and when the internet starts working for you. Then you can quote the band Timbuk 3... "The future's so bright... I gotta wear shades".

(LOL – yes, I'm a nerd.)

Cheers, nova
Nova Music Services
Artist Management and Marketing