Music News, Interviews and Reviews

How to promote your band and music online

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:47:35 -0700

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.

Radiohead Use Fancy Technology in Camera-Free Video

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:23:10 -0700

Take that, conventional music video-making wisdom! Radiohead don't have time for your petty, archaic devices, such as, um, the camera. Indeed, they've gone and made a new music video for In Rainbows' woozy "House of Cards" that doesn't make use of a camera at all!

Nope, the "Cards" clip instead utilizes two state-of-the-art fancy-pants hyperoptic-mumbo-jumbo-something-or-other multimedia technologies known as Geometric Informatics and Velodyne Lidar. Um, press release, a little help please?

Ah, here we go: "The Geometric Informatics scanning system employs structured light to capture detailed 3D images at close proximity, and was used to render the performances of Radiohead's Thom Yorke, the female lead, and several partygoers. The Velodyne Lidar system uses multiple lasers to capture large environments in 3D, in this case 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute, capturing all of the exterior scenes and wide party shots." Well shucks, ain't that somethin'?

The James Frost-directed video hasn't gone live quite yet, but when it does, you'll find it by clicking here. Until then, feast your eyes on some more stills presumably from the clip that Radiohead posted on Dead Air Space late last month.

Thus spake Thom Yorke in the press release: "I always like the idea of using technology in a way that it wasn't meant to be used, the struggle to get your head round what you can do with it. I liked the idea of making a video of human beings and real life and time without using any cameras, just lasers, so there are just mathematical points-- and how strangely emotional it ended up being."

Finally, much like they butchered "Nude" into convenient little iTunes pieces for your remixing pleasure, Radiohead will be sharing data used in the creation of their new video with fans, so that fans can do their own crazy, rave-y things with it. And good news for folks who think Velodyne Lidar sounds like a character in a fantasy novel: a documentary will soon surface showing just how all this fancy stuff was done.

The "House of Cards" clip and the accompanying fun are due to hit Google later today (July 10). UPDATE: The video launch has been pushed back to a later date, it seems.

Gnarls Barkley, Verve, Raveonettes Play Italia Wave Fest

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:23:10 -0700

With one of the finest names in all of festivaldom and a wide-ranging lineup of old favorites and fresh young upstarts, the Italia Wave Love Festival has plenty going for it. That it takes place right along the water in the lovely port city of Livorno, Italy certainly doesn't hurt matters.

This year's Italia Wave Love Festival goes down July 16-19, and among the many who've responded to its call are Gnarls Barkley, the Verve, the Raveonettes, Stereo Total, the Chemical Brothers, the Ting Tings, the Whip, Chrome Hoof, and Appaloosa.

Pumpkins Set First Anniversary Gig, Corgan Gets Guitar

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:23:10 -0700

Photo by Kristin Burns

Hey kids! Wanna sound just like your real-life guitar hero, Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan? Oh sure, you could stub that big toe pretty good, then make haste towards the microphone... or, er, you could head on down to wherever Fender instruments are sold and pick up one of the iconic guitar makers' new line of Billy Corgan Stratocaster guitars.

"Designed," as the press material would have us believe, "for maximum sound versatility"-- so that's why Mellon Collie was so long-- "the new Billy Corgan Stratocaster is an especially modern take on the iconic Fender Strat® model, built especially for a high-gain sound and designed to create Corgan's signature mid-'90s buzz saw tone."

Guitar tech geeks, rejoice: the Billy signature Strat sports "three DiMarzio pickups (two of which are custom-wound for the instrument), a string-through hard-tail bridge, jumbo frets, a satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish and a vintage tweed case." You can fondle Corgyboy's frets on one of two axes: the first, with "an Olympic White finish, with a black pickguard" and the other, "black finish with a white pickguard, reflective of Corgan's signature style." Yeah, he does like black and stuff.

Billy and company are still planning those big anniversary runs in NYC, L.A., and Chicago, though that's going down in August-- not, as first believed, in September. The first Chicago area date was just announced for August 9 at Hammond, Indiana's Horseshoe Casino.

The Gish shows, too, are on, though those have been moved back to 2009. The Gish box is still in the works, and the band wants your vintage Pumpkins photos. And there's also that DVD of their Fillmore run from last summer, but no further details have emerged since our last report. You guitar guys never can keep to a schedule, can you?

Radiohead releases live video album on iTunes

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:05:29 -0700

Reuters - Radiohead has released a live video album exclusively on iTunes to coincide with the band's run of U.K. outdoor concerts.

MTV broadens use of Web with slate of new shows

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:05:27 -0700

Reuters - Seeking new ways to entertain audiences, music television network MTV has recently begun allowing fans of new and upcoming shows to discuss and post their own versions of music videos on the Web.

Read the whole article:
MTV broadens use of Web with slate of new shows (Reu

New Single from The Verve

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:16:26 -0700

Last week The Verve announced they're releasing their new CD on August 19th. My heart briefly pitter-pattered with excitement as I read the news, but I also was a bit fearful. What will the band will sound like 11 years after the release of Urban Hymns? Will any of their songs ever get past the Bittersweet Symphony comparison? Will this record be an improvement over Richard Ashcroft's solo efforts? You can understand my skepticism. This week the band is streaming their new single Love Is Noise on their MySpace in an effort to put those fears to rest. It's a straight-ahead rocker (no, it doesn't sound like Bittersweet Symphony or Lucky Man) that should do its part to tweak the public's interest in the band again - at least until we can get more than this tiny taste of the new record.

Rap, rock, classical music to Obama's ears

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:15:51 -0700

AP - Bob Dylan. Yo-Yo Ma. Sheryl Crow. Jay-Z. These aren't musical acts in a summer concert series: They're artists featured on Barack Obama's iPod.

Man is acquitted in Amy Winehouse husband case

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:15:50 -0700

AP - A British court on Wednesday acquitted a former pub manager of taking a bribe to drop assault charges against Amy Winehouse's husband.

Canada's Hockey Theme ready for a change?

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:45:50 -0700

For those of us who grew up in Canada, the Hockey Theme (a.k.a. The Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song) is as familiar as our national anthem. However, the end of the '07/'08 season also means the end of one of the longest running license deals in broadcast history. As of this writing, the CBC and the owner of the song (Copyright Music and Visuals) haven't reached a suitable agreement to continue.

The Pitchfork Guide to Summer Festivals 2008

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:34:05 -0700

Photo by Joseph Mohan

Ah, Memorial Day weekend. It's a time to fire up the grill, crack open a few cold ones, put Astral Weeks on repeat, hit the softball diamond, and start wearing white (not necessarily in that order). But if in the midst of this weekend's relaxation, you find yourself longing to be out in an open field somewhere, surrounded by thousands of your closest friends, watching bands play at extremely loud volumes, then keep this page bookmarked for your convenience. It's Pitchfork's guide to the 2008 summer festival season!

Rock's New Economy: Making Money When CDs Don't Sell

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:44:55 -0700

TV, games, tours and more: How smart bands thrive today

For Austin rockers Spoon, 2007 was a
breakthrough year — but not because they sold a lot of
records. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, their album on the indie label
Merge, garnered more radio play than any disc in their 15-year
history and earned them an appearance on Saturday Night
Live. So far the disc has moved just over 250,000 copies,
according to Nielsen SoundScan — about half of what Spoon's
manager, Ben Dickey, believes it would have sold even five years
ago. "But as far as the band is...

The Cure to release new single each month

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:44:01 -0700

Yahoo! Music - The Cure have announced that they will release a new single each month leading up to the release of their 13th studio album in September.

Read the whole article: The Cure to release new single each month

Project Playlist: Another Lopsided Settlement Ahead?

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:41:53 -0700

Project Playlist is now being sued by the major labels , an all-too-familiar result for music-related startups. The lawsuit, ...

Read the whole article: Project Playlist: Another Lopsided Settlement Ahead?

Imeem: These Numbers Are Starting to Look Good

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:41:52 -0700

Imeem is now becoming a serious contender in the streaming music space, at least according to data points surfacing Tuesday.� I...

Read the whole article: Imeem: These Numbers Are Starting to Look Good