Sell Your Album Online with TuneCore
The true spirit of independence is not found within the realm of fragmentation between the independent and major music industries. It is a singular industry because music is music. You have the freedom to promote your music and sell your music. It’s the only way to get your music out there.
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One band of musicians helping each other in the macro sense is the real virtue behind any real music artist or artists. Again, this is not a singular concept, nor is it a new one. You must be promoting your music everyday. Start with one or two daily tasks that enable you to stop at nothing until those tasks are completed.
It’s nice to know that our sense of national pride is still very healthy and in full swing. I got to celebrate the holiday outside CBS studios to watch the fireworks. As Artists, we are on a global mission to change the scope of thinking and feeling throughout the human race. Yes, our goal really is that big and that important. Do you include yourself within this mission?
The New Years holiday is not the only time to come up with worthy resolutions. Independence Day is the perfect time as well to get serious about renewing or modifying your resolutions (and revolutionary vows) through music. Music promotion means you must sell your music. It is not a crime. Make sure your music is available for sale on your music website. Accomplishing this is a means to an end, with the end serving as the means (since the process never really ends at all). We are a free country, and a free market economy. We work each day towards a free world, regardless of whether or not all people among the human race agree. Most secretly agree. Believe these words. By the way, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
More to come.
© 2010 – Paul Alexander for: www.MusiciansCompanion.net – All Rights Reserved. Paul Alexander Music: http://www.PaulAlexanderMusic.com – The Official Home of Paul Alexander Music.
Home Recording: Thy daunting task before thee
It was miserable for me, really. Actually, it was misery mixed with painful hope. I had something “good” for a musical recording I was working on, but I did not have something “great.” Well, maybe some will disagree, but after 10 hours playing doctor at the mixing board and 100,000 variations of percussion (okay, I’m exaggerating by 50,000 or so), I have to say that I did accomplish something: I went from the realm of “good” to “better.” Here is my point:
Whether you’ve come to this conclusion already on your own, but tend to forget or lose sight of it, I’m here to remind you that the very best thing that you can do is “take a break” from it and listen to it the next day when you are a whole new musician with a different blend of musical creativity in your head.
Yes, I’ve been close to disgusted and unusually hard on myself (which really isn’t all that unusual). However, I did actually “have to” utilize “a slant on the strategy” I wrote about in this previous article as a method of slowing down an analog track that could not be slowed down anymore within its current mode. It took hours. This was one variation on a prior lesson I wrote about that I hoped I would NEVER have to do again. One thing is certain though: it works; so should you. The only way to make it happen and turn that “good” into “great” is to take the time and “spend the time,” finishing your soon-to-be polished recordings in an ergonomically comfortable environment designed for the “short attention span.” Dale Carnegie would even agree, despite the arduous or frustrating circumstances you might be working under. The very greatest of accomplishments have been completed during the worst of times and circumstances. By the way, I am not saying you have a short attention span , but many creative people do, and I have my own moments.
Again, thank you for these continued comments. It is really my hope that musicians and music-related websites leave genuine comments from their actual “craft” of making music and writing songs. I am grateful you have taken the time to read.
© 2010 – Paul Alexander for www.MusiciansCompanion.net – All Rights Reserved. Paul Alexander Music: http://www.PaulAlexanderMusic.com – The Official Home of Paul Alexander Music.
I am grateful beyond words for the flood of comments and expressed gratitude for my blog articles about music promotion. Thank you. I am hoping for more comments, and that all of you are implementing the suggestions found here; mainly, getting yourselves a website for your music. I do want to mention that I’ve decided that, any or most comments that have a website RELATED TO MUSIC will be approved. Websites unrelated to music cannot be approved for posting (this is in an effort to reduce spam). More importantly, this is an online forum for musicians and songwriters. If you do not have a website, you don’t need to list one, and your comments can still be approved.
I really want you to build a music website to create a solid online presence and sell your music. I also want to reference the article I wrote about organizing your laptop music arsenal. I want to add a single, precautionary (but not required) addition to implement from this article. Here it is: you are NOT required to keep your music files directly on your hard drive if you are not comfortable with this. Just keep your memory stick handy, and your cd roms (that have music data on them) on-hand near your machine, especially if you decide not to keep your songs right on the hard drive. Some people might be concerned about theft. If you have excellent security programs on your computer, then you can also make the choice to keep them there.
(C) 2010 – Paul Alexander for: www.MusiciansCompanion.net - All Rights Reserved. Paul Alexander Music: http://www.PaulAlexanderMusic.com – The Official Home of Paul Alexander Music.
In keeping with the principle of an automated process for music promotion, I have accomplished the one thing that must be accomplished before any music promotion efforts start for any artists. My music website, www.paulalexandermusic.com, is getting an upgrade. It will be back SOON, and might be back by the time you are reading this! The reason I mention this (besides the fact that I want you to know about it and visit it!), is that I kept something rather obvious in mind that is all-to-often missed by so many musicians. MAKE SURE YOU SELL YOUR MUSIC ON EVERY PAGE.
You have to make it as easy as possible for music lovers to purchase your music via music downloads from itunes, rhapsody, napster, and the like. Without making it too obvious that you are, in fact, trying to sell music, you don’t want to be so understated with your sales pages that music lovers end up leaving your site without purchasing or knowing that they can purchase your songs right from your web page. Make sure a CD, EP, or singles are available on every page, and be sure that each page follows a coherent design and format. Most importantly, make sure there is plenty of streaming audio (not free, downloadable audio) on every page, playing a song in its entirety or, at the very least, 30-60 seconds of the song, so that people can hear it, love it, and see that they can very easily purchase and download it through one of the online digital music sites you feature on your own website. You have to make it as easy as possible for your fans and visitors to get your music so you CAN sell your music. As much as we’d all love to just give our songs away, we are not presently in an economy where this is possible. After all, you NEED to make a living!
© 2010 – Paul Alexander for: www.MusiciansCompanion.net – All Rights Reserved.
Having ringtones of your own music for sale as downloads to peoples’ cell phones has always been cool, yet hasn’t always been (realistically) profitable. Either that, or you just haven’t gotten around to it anyway. But you really should. Here’s why and here’s how.
When the first few companies surfaced that sold “independent” music ringtones a few years back, they were setting most of their pricing parameters/suggested selling prices as “free” by default, or for very cheap. While you could still choose to sell them for .99 (which is typical, and more importantly, “not free,”), you were still up against piles upon piles of sub-par musical ringtones created by amateurs giving THEIRS away for free, that the people who actually went to those sites to download ringtones often chose the “free ones” over yours.
Now, things have changed. Newer companies have surfaced that help your ringtones become “ingested” into the MAJOR ringtone distribution companies for sale at the retail price. All you have to do is think of big-name artists to know which ringtone distributors I’m referring to. The difference is that you will be selling at the same retail prices as major artists, and still receiving a (very) fair cut; sometimes a full 100% cut. You will often be selling next to other big names. Your music will categorized into a database based on your musical genre. It is easier to get paid listens and purchases when your ringtones are displayed to open consumers searching for ringtones within your genre.
You need to make sure your ringtones are thrilling, and most importantly, clear-sounding (and digital, if possible). Lengths of ringtones can vary greatly, so don’t feel held back by how you design the length your’s (which you can edit using any basic wave editor). This can and should become an exciting part of your music promotion routine.
