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Trent Reznor: What To Do As A New / Unknown Artist

This post on Trent Reznor's NIN blog is a must read from an artist who has helped re-write the rules of modern music marketing. I've added bold type to some passages for emphasis.

"I posted a message on Twitter yesterday stating I thought The Beastie Boys and TopSpin Media "got it right" regarding how to sell music in this day and age. Here's a link to their store: illcommunication.beastieboys.com]

Shortly thereafter, I got some responses from people stating the usual "yeah, if you're an established artist - what if you're just trying to get heard?" argument. In an interview I did recently this topic came up and I'll reiterate what I said here.

If you are an unknown / lesser-known artist trying to get noticed / established:

* Establish your goals. What are you trying to do / accomplish? If you are looking for mainstream super-success (think Lady GaGa, Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake) - your best bet in my opinion is to look at major labels and prepare to share all revenue streams / creative control / music ownership. To reach that kind of critical mass these days your need old-school marketing muscle and that only comes from major labels. Good luck with that one.

If you're forging your own path, read on.

There's Still A Place Where Albums Outsell Singles

Many say that the album is dead and they have the proof. According to Nielsen SoundScan, sales of individual digital tracks led digital album sales by 16 to 1 (1.07 billion to 65 million) in 2008. 

But there ares still places where the album reins supreme. Digital delivery and marketing platform Bandcamp says that their albums outsell tracks 2 to 1. 66% of paid downloads on Bandcamp are for albums, compared to only about 6% for the greater Nielsen reporting world. They postulate that a number of factors contribute to the stunning difference in album interest:

• Most Bandcamp artists are indie and attract fans more interested in complete works than the average Hannah Montana/Lady Gaga flavor of the moment consumer 
• You can listen before you buy via Bandcamp.  Not just 30 second samples, but rather the whole album.
• iTunes and others price most CD's at $10. Bandcamp artists have found that name your own price with a $5 minimum is a real sweet spot.
• iTunes and others encourage single track purchases with page layouts, buy buttons and featured tracks

But even on Bandcamp what constitutes an album is evolving. 

Martin Atkins Wants To Teach You To Thrive In The New Music Industry

I don't know Martin Atkins personally,  but people that I trust tell me that this guy is the real deal.  I do know that he was the drummer in Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, has run the successful indie label Invisible for years and more recently also dedicated some of his boundless energy to teach artists and indie entrepreneurs how to navigate and maybe even thrive in the new music industry or music 2.0 or whatever you want to call this messy yet grand experiment we're all participating in.

He's calling the Chicago based school Revolution Number Three and what intrigues me the most about what Martin is doing is that it's totally hands on - build a recording studio, edit a budget video, put together a compilation album for a local club, etc.

Hypebot Joins 5 Bloggers Advising Indie Artist X

I've joined 5 music industry bloggers and consultants led by KnowTheMusicBiz.com's David Rose in offering free advice to an aspiring indie artist that we'll only identifyi Indie Artist X as launches a d.i.y. release and tour. Our constantly evolving plan can be viewed at any time here.

Why all the secrecy? This is in part an experiment to see if our collective daily pontifications have any real impact and we don't want who we are to influence (positively or negatively) how others in the industry treat the artist.

Indie Artist X is a talented, hard working musician who has had 2 previous records released by a very small indie label. This record is being released 100% d.i.y. and he does not have a booking agent or manager. He does have a day job and a wifebut his goal is to make music his full time career. We'll share his identy once the project ends at the end of October.

Each advisor is responsible for an an area of the artist's career:

Probably The Best Collaborative Music Video Ever

Watch and learn a bit about creative fan engagement. This music video for the song “Hibi no Neiro (Tone of Everyday)” by the Japanese band Sour is a selection of their fans from around the world filming themselves on webcams. (Hinutech via Daily Swarm)

Help Improve Our List Of Artists Who "Made It" Without Major Label Support

Two weeks ago I asked Hypebot readers to help me prove that all this music 2.0 marketing mumbo jumbo actually works.  Stories about Trent Reznor, Radiohead and Jill Sobule who have grown careers using all the 2.0 techniques after leaving a record label who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to break them are great; but for this list, they don't count.

I want to build a useful list that could serve as inspiration for other artists and entrepreneurs. Several  music bloggers encouraged participation and the response so far has been encouraging as readers suggested and debated several dozen artists who have joined the new musical middle class (or above) without label largess.

 But we need to do more.

I need your suggestions. I'm willing to do some work, find an intern or volunteer (anyone interested?) and even spend a little money (unless someone wants to sponsor) to create a useful ongoing database of new music success stories.

Berklee's Mike King On Modern Music Marketing

Berklee College of Music instructor Mike King gives a strong overview a modern integrated music marketing campaign. (via IndieHipHop.net)

Drake Redefines D.I.Y. Success With 300K iTunes Downloads In Just Two Weeks

This just in from digital distributor TuneCore:

According to the iTunes Store's trending data, Hip hop artist Drake has logged the two highest selling weeks ever for a DIY artist, totaling almost 300,000 song downloads in only two weeks fueled by the single "Best I Ever Had".

Lime Wire Adds CD Baby's 240K Indie Artists

  

Lime Wire is adding CD Baby's catalog of 240,000 independent artists to its digital the LimeWire Store. The CD Baby catalog includes topsellers from Regina Spektor, Gary Jules, Joe Purdy, Ingrid Michaelson, Melissa Ferrick, Charlotte Martin, Colin Hay and Stan Ridgway, and this deal brings the total number of licensed tracks on Lime Wire to 3.5 million.  

Pandora Forces $29.95 Payments From Indie Bands

(UPDATED) Until recently, Pandora accepted music from indie artists at no cost in almost any form including home burned CD-R's. But now, in part because of a deal to display album cover art via Amazon's servers,  submissions must be available as a physical CD for sale on Amazon and include cover art and a UPC code to even be considered for airplay.

Compliance with the new rules will cost artists in several ways. According to its FAQ page, to get play on Pandora you now need:

• a CD of your music
• a unique UPC code for that CD
• your CD to be available through Amazon (must be a physical CD, not just MP3s for download)
• the legal rights to your music
• MP3 files for two of the songs from your CD
• free Pandora account, based on a valid email address, which can be associated with your music

In addition to art and packaging costs, Pandora explains that to comply with the new "available through Amazon" rule, indie artists should join the Amazon Advantage Program. Membership costs $29.95 each year plus Amazon takes 55% of the list price of every CD sold.

Established artists and labels already comply with Pandora's new rules. But for an indie artist trying to win new fans with a little help from Pandora and to keep his hard earned cash by selling direct, the new threshold may shut off an important avenue for exposure.

More:

• Pandora 's Founder Tim Westergren Responds
• POLL: What Do You Think Of The New Pandora Requirements For Indie Bands?
• Read one Hypebot reader's open letter to Pandora in the Comments section below.

VOTE: What Do You Think Of The New Pandora Requirements For Indie Bands?

Online Surveys & Market Research

More: Pandora Forces $29.95 Payments From Indie Bands

Video Interview: Amanda Palmer On Making $19K In 10 Hours On Twitter

Amanda Palmer: Friday Night Freaks.

Just in case you missed the story of Amanda Palmer earning $19K in 10 hours via Twitter, here she explains how it all came together. You can also read more here.

Success Begins In The Niche

niche

a specialized market;  a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted;   a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species

In the new music industry, success begins in the niche.  Start where you are wanted. Use that base to build a bigger and broader audience. Then repeat the process.

Whether its Irish partiers, thoughtful thirty-somethings, redneck blues loving punks or you're church in South Florida, begin you're efforts wherever and with whomever you're most likely to find a receptive audience. If they like what they see and hear, they'll tell their friends. Their friends have friends and some of them are bloggers or DJ's; or at least they have other friends.

It can take longer to become successful this way and your definition of  success may need to be  adjusted. But the good news is that success built from the niches lasts a longer than the mass media, big hype, big hit success that barely exists any more.

Your niche is the foundation upon which your house is built; and if you're any good at maintenance, you can live there happily for a long time.

ReverbNation And Bandzoogle Partner For D.I.Y. Artist Web Site Builder

D.I.Y. music marketing platform ReverbNation is partnering with website software provider Bandzoogle to launch Site Builder. The new offering enables easy yet robust self-created web sites that automatically integrate content loaded onto ReverbNation.

Songs, videos, shows, ticket inks and more entered on ReverbNation.com are instantly updated on the artist's site, with the Fan Reach email service, on widgets and across ReverbNation's other viral and social marketing tools. Artists will able to use their own url whenSite Builder, which is currently in private beta, goes public sometime in July at a cost of about $20 per month.

Let's Prove That Artists Don't Need Major Labels To "Make It"

Help Build A Database Of Music 2.0 Success Stories

During every interview, convention panel, startup negotiation or conversation with an industry peer, there is inevitably a moment when someone says something like, "All this talk about social networking, new media and digital marketing is exciting, but does it work?  And if it does, where are all the successful artists that have made it because of music 2.0?" 

They're not interested in stories of Trent Reznor, Radiohead and Jill Sobule who have maintained and even grown careers using all the 2.0 techniques after leaving a record label who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to break them.These skeptics want to know about artists that have "made it" without ever having the help of a major or even larger indie label.

I usually point out that in an era when only 950 new releases sold more than 25K copies in the U.S. last year, we need to redefine success. Touring, merchandise and direct to fan sales all are part of modern artist income streams. But even after that re-calibration of expectations, the doubters understandably want examples.

 They Want Proof? Let's Give 'Em Proof

To answer the skeptics, I'm starting a list of artists that are growing and sustaining real careers in what I like to call the new musical middle class (or above) without label largess.  I've included links to articles on Hypebot about each act or to their web site.  This very short list is just to get things started. Will you help me add to it?

• Jonathan Coulton
• Cory Smith

Your Online Music Marketing Report Card

This guest post is from Nick Crocker who runs Native, a digital agency based in Australia.  You can read his blog or follow him on Twitter.

Not every artist needs an A+ online.  But everyone needs at least a C-.

The challenge for independent artists, label managers, artist managers and anyone working with artists in online marketing is deciding where to apportion effort.

Am I doing enough online? Should I tweet? 

Should I blog on MySpace?

Do I need my own website or is a MySpace enough?

Do I need a Facebook page?

For digital music and music marketing in general to move forward, I think it’s important that some basic standards are established around an artist’s online presence.  If these standards are established, music marketers can spend more time innovating and less time worrying about whether the Bebo page has enough of a photo gallery.

If we agree on a minimum standard, then we can define what is exceptional and extraneous.

Digital agency Native has developed an online artist report card to help structure decision-making and reduce the grey area around representing music online.It moves from the basic to the advanced and is intended for all levels of artists.

A threshold: This is the minimum requirement to pass. You need to answer ‘yes’ to questions 1-5.

Track Your Daily D.I.Y. Activity

Update your web site. Spend 20 minutes each answering fan emails on MySpace and Bebo.  Post your new track to iLike and your Reverb Nation widget. Then there's that live video for YouTube... Its a lot to remember, and which actions are actually acheiving results?

Christopher Lars Carlson has created a simple chart (download a free copy after the jump) to help hold yourself accountable for all the "business" things you should be doing to build a self-sustaining career. "Every artist is different,"  says Chris Carlson. "Some may see more results from reaching out to bloggers, while others will benefit from hyperactivity on MySpace."

A Look Inside Topspin's Premium Offerings

Deluxe and limited editions are one of the new tools in the artist monetization Toolkit that seems to be working. Think of it as music's version of retail up-selling ("Do you want fries with that 99 cent burger?")  Nine Inch Nails was one of the first to use it effectively offering versions of a new release from for free to $5, $15, $75 and even $300.  Whatever your level of income of interest; there was a product for you.

Topspin is helping to refine the concept of premium music offers with a series of deluxe and limited edition packages, and Topspin's lead guru Ian Rogers has been recording the unboxing of several of them.  These clips aren't going to win awards at Sundance, but they provide some insights into this effective marketing and monetization strategy.

And if you're thinking that your band is not "big enough" to start charging fans a premium, then maybe your not thinking enough out of the box about what you'd put into your deluxe box to make it worth buying.

Metric's Fantasies Deluxe Edition

Reader Poll: What Email Program Do You Use To Connect With Fans?

UPDATE: Please participate in an updated poll here.

What program do you use to collect email addressees and stay connected with your fans?  They come in all shapes and sizes and cost anything from free to hundreds of dollars a month.  Which one works best for you?

The Rules:

1. Let us know the name of the email program that you use in the Comments Section. Sharing why you like it and a url is great, but not required.
2. We'll count up the top programs and put together a formal poll later this week for you to vote on. We reserve the right to add a company or two to the poll if some of the most popular programs are not included.
3. We'll share the results in a special post with links to and reviews of the top programs.

What program do you use to collect email addressees and stay connected with your fans?

Band Rewards Fans For Burning Their CD And Giving It Away

It's no secret that there is promotional power in giving away music, but just slapping a FREE banner on a web site doesn't cut it anymore.  Free is everywhere.  But what if the free music was on a CD given fan to fan with no strings attached?  That could get pretty expensive...unless the fans do it for you. 

Free fan created CD's os exactly what indie band Chester French is encouraging fans to do with a video series about an an uber-fan who "burned tons of copies and gave them out to everyone he knows (and a bunch of people he doesn’t!)". Through the videos, "Bryce wants to teach you guys how to be the Ultimate Chester French Supporter, just like him." Then the bands asks, "So, how did you guys promote the mixtape?" Brilliant.

But the band doesn't just embrace "free" with fan burned CD's.

Audiolife Adds Warehousing To On-Demand Indie Artist Services

Keeping costs down as you're growing a business is crucial whether your a tech start up or a rock band; and in recent months, Audiolife has been building an infrastructure to help D.I.Y. and indie artists do just that. The company offers a platform that allows artists to create CDs, t-shirts and other merchandise on-demand with no up front costs for sale alongside downloads in a virtual storefront. (Watch a video after the jump.)

Now Audiolife has added fulfillment and warehousing to its menu of services. They can ship as little or as many of their existing products including CDs, merchandise, and posters to the company's warehouse to be stored for a small monthly fee. Audiolife will then ship their items with no extra re-stocking charges.

"We wanted to make sure that we could accommodate any artist at any level of their career, and to do so, we needed to provide warehousing and tour support," Brandon Hance, co-founder and CEO of Audiolife told Hypebot.

SayNow Connects Artists To Fans Via Voice Mail & Text Messages

Our Call Katy Perry Now post last week led us to service provider SayNow. This free service connects bands with fans via voice mail and text messages.  Rapper Soulja Boy regularly connects with 2 million opt-in fans via SayNow.

Fans get voice or text messages broadcast from participating artists and can call in to hear a message recorded by the act, leave their own...

The New Art Of Collaboration

Files flying across the net to be mixed in a studio on the other side of world. Mashups. Fan re-mixes. Collaboration in all its forms is almost as much part of music 2.0 as the internet that powers it.  Here via the net detectives at the Listenerd are two wonderful examples of the new art of collaboration - the first between many musicians and second with the user.

• Bb 2.0 is a collaborative music and spoken word project conceived by Darren Solomon from Science for Girls. The videos can be played simultaneously -- the soundtracks will work together, and the mix can be adjusted with the individual volume sliders
• Be patient for this site to load and be sure to move your mouse.

TuneCore Adds Amazon To D.I.Y. Toolbox

TuneCore has announced a new service that adds physical distribution via Amazon's CreateSpace to it's Amazon digital offering; expands marketing exclusives to TuneCore Artists and creates a TuneCore branded section of Amazon.com. 

Amazon's CreateSpace is an on demand pressing and printing service open to all musicians, authors and artists. When a CD is ordered at Amazon.com, CreateSpace manufactures the CD complete with a CD booklet, tray card and jewel box.  Unlike Amazon Marketplace and most other options open to indie musicians, titles are shipped just like any other Amazon order and eligible for expedited shipping options. 
 
TuneCore is smartly bundling services...

CD Baby To Add Single Song Downloads

One complaint about CD Baby's popular indie digital download distribution service has been the inability to sell single song downloads.  That's about to change alongside a major site redesign schedule for summer launch. From the blog:

"One of the main improvements we're absolutely thrilled about is the addition of single song downloads on cdbaby.com. Just like with full album pricing, you'll be able to charge whatever you want for individual song downloads (and each track can be priced differently!)

Oh, and if you'd like to offer some tracks for free as a promotional tool, go for it!"

Note: The free and variable pricing options are for downloads sold directly from CD Baby. The site charges 9% for download distribution services.

ReverbNation To Indie Artists: We'll Pay You To Give Away Your Music

New Sponsored Songs Program Also Offers Brands A Unique Opportunity To Connect With Elusive Indie Music Fans

ReverbNation today announced that about 1000 of its almost 400,000 artist members will be eligible to participate in a new revenue generating Sponsored Songs program.  The initiative makes it possible to tap into the kind of major brand relationships that have typically been elusive for unsigned and indie talent.

“Traditionally the music business has been synonymous with the record business where the lion’s share of revenue came from selling music. With reduced emphasis on music sales, the music business must develop new revenue streams that leverage the artist as a brand,” Michael Doernberg, CEO of ReverbNation said in a statement. ReverbNation will pay participating musicians $.50 per free download with each track incorporating a small section of branded messaging within the digital cover art displayed every time the song is played.

The downloads, which the company confirmed to Hypebot will be in the MP3 and M4A formats, will be offered to fans on a set of branded landing pages. When a fan initiates a download, patent pending technology...

iLike Adds Custom iPhone Apps Plus Twitter, Ticketmaster, YouTube & MySpace Integration

iLike today launched an impressive suite of digital music marketing  tools including integration with Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and Ticketmaster, as well as, a system to easily create and distribute custom artist iPhone apps. The company has also added a Premium Artists Stats service offering reports on fan interactions across their syndication network.

Some of these digital tools can be found elsewhere, but iLike is offering them in a free, integrated and easy to use package which when combined with its existing iGoogle, Facebook, hi5, Bebo and Orkut apps, creates a must-use toolbox for any indie musician or label. New features include:

• iPhone Apps: Quickly create and distribute their own iPhone app with concert dates, photos, blogs, bulletins, and videos. The self-service system allows artists to customize the look of their app and submit it to the iTunes App Store. (Watch a demo)
• Twitter:  Link and artist's iLike and Twitter accounts adding “tweets” to the iLike music feed and profile as well as their Facebook page; and when a new song, video, or concert listing is posted, iLike will notify fans via Twitter.
• YouTube: Sync an artist's YouTube channel and iLike account. Every video posted to iLike can automatically be posted to a YouTube channel, and vice versa.
• MySpace: Enhance the concert listings on MySpace pages via a widget that adds buy inks and allows fans to “RSVP” and see who else is going. Artists can also configure the iLike Artist Dashboard so that any blog, bulletin, or video posted on iLike is also added to MySpace.

Music Creation Software Popularity Index

The ten most popular music creation software products on the Internet, based on recent search engine activity, are:

PRODUCT (INDEX)
1. DigiDesign Pro Tools (11.4)
2. FL Studio (10.1)
3. Steinberg Cubase (7.3)
4. Cakewalk Sonar (6.0)
5. Apple Logic (3.5)
6. Adobe Audition (3.5)
7. Apple GarageBand (3.1)
8. Sony Sound Forge (2.3)
9. Ableton Live (2.0)
10. MOTU Digital Performer (1.9)

This index is based on quarterly Internet search activity on Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN.

Which software do you use and why?

LoudFeed Hopes To Empower The D.I.Y. Artist

Now in beta, Loudfeed joins the growing list of artist services sites offering drag and drop websites and widget creation with built-in shopping carts. The company also offers custom development including branded widgets like the ones for myreggae.com created by their team in Sri Lanka. 

MUSIC BIZ CAMPS & DIGITAL COACHES

There's not a lot revoltionary going on Loudfeed yet, though with the free one month trial and 0% commissions, you may want to give the service a try. But Loudfeed is going a step father than many of its its competitors by organizing a series of  live "unconferences" they're calling MusicBizCamps with the first in Detroit May 21-22. to share their tools and techniques. They want to partner with others to bring their MusicBizCamps elsewhere, as well as, to build a network of digital music coaches to teach artists, labels and distributors digital music marketing.

7 SEO Tips For Musicians & Labels

Using Search Engine Optimization To Get Your Music Discovered

Most musicians want their band to be discovered. Not by a Universal Music talent scout maybe - that would be so 2005.  Nowadays musicians need to be discovered by their fans and using a search engine like Google is the top way that people find out more about anything they're interested in, including music.

But when a fan "googles" Ten Ton Rock Machine do they find a great band or the latest in granite splitting technology?  And when the fan finally finds the band, will their MySpace page and an article from the Peoria Rocks blog be at the top of the rankings? Or will they find the band's official web site where they control the message and can capture email addresses?

In an age of too many choices and 10 second attention spans, this stuff matters. Courtesy of Jason Feinberg of PBS' MediaShift blog, here are 7 Search Engine Optimization Tips For Musicians:

1. Don't Build Your Site Using Only Flash - Unless properly planned in the design stages, Flash cannot be indexed by search engines.

2. Don't Build Your Site Only With Images - Again much harder for the search engines to find.